ORLANDO, Fla. -- About 70 miles down the road from a Hilton hotel complex in southwest Orlando, where Major League Baseball’s Winter Meetings are taking place this week, Pete Alonso resides in Tampa. He plans to make the drive east on Tuesday to meet with interested teams, including the Orioles and Red Sox, a source confirmed.
The Mets will not be among those clubs, president of baseball operations David Stearns indicated Monday, though that hardly means they’re uninterested in a reunion.
“I think Pete knows us really well, and I think we know Pete really well,” Stearns said. “I think he’ll take the time here to perhaps meet with organizations he doesn’t know quite as well, and I’m sure we’ll be in touch.”
The situation is evocative of the 2022 Winter Meetings in San Diego, where then-free agent Brandon Nimmo -- also a Scott Boras client -- rather publicly met with the Yankees and Giants. Nimmo did not do the same that week with the Mets, who turned around and re-signed him to a $162 million contract anyway.
While Alonso’s situation isn’t completely analogous, it’s obvious the Mets are operating differently than they did a year ago, when their negotiations with Alonso didn’t gain significant steam until late January. (They ultimately inked him to a two-year, $54 million contract, which he opted out of after one season.) This year, Stearns said, he “made clear” to Boras “right at the start of free agency” that the Mets are interested in re-signing Alonso.
“How much do I want him? Of course I want him,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “His ability to post every day, when you don’t have to worry about who’s playing first base and who’s going to be hitting in the middle of your lineup, you can’t beat that. So he earned [his free agency]. He’s going through the process right now, and I think David’s been very vocal how much we want him. We’ll see how it goes here.”
That’s not to say for the Mets, it’s Alonso or bust. Alternatives do exist; to that end, the Mets have been rumored in connection with longtime Phillies star Kyle Schwarber, who’s more of a DH type but would add a big bat to their lineup. Stearns has personally scouted Japanese standout Munetaka Murakami, whom he said “is going to be exciting for American fans to watch.” The Mets could also pursue a heavy-hitting outfielder such as Kyle Tucker or Cody Bellinger, which would reduce the need for a premier first-base bat.
But Alonso is different, particularly in the eyes of local fans. A Met for seven seasons and a member of the organization since 2016, Alonso is the organization’s single-season and career home run recordholder. If he re-signs on a long-term deal, he could put the latter mark out of reach for a generation or more. He would also give himself a chance to bring a World Series back to Flushing and have his No. 20 hang atop the stadium forever.
What remains to be seen is how much those possibilities will play into the Mets’ decision-making. Already with his trade of Nimmo to the Rangers for Marcus Semien, Stearns proved he’s willing to set emotion aside. Would he do it again for Alonso, if he feels an alternative course of action is best? Would owner Steve Cohen step in and force a reunion?
For now, Stearns isn’t tipping his hand, seemingly content to let Alonso work the marketplace. One advantage of the Mets under Cohen is that they can almost always swoop in at the final moment and match or exceed the highest bidder. That’s especially true when it comes to a player as important as Alonso.
“As I’ve said all along, Pete is a great Met, and we’d love to have him back,” Stearns said. “I think Pete has demonstrated that he’s one of the best offensive players in baseball, and he’s performed at a high level for us. And so that would be a priority for any team. It certainly is for us.”