This week pitchers and catchers reported to their spring training camps around baseball and fan bases rejoiced. There is a great joy for baseball enthusiasts when they hear the snap of the glove and the whip of the fastball. This season however, right before the Mets fans could smile and dream about what the 2024 season could bring their new General Manager David Stearns poured cold water over the season.
Stearns gave a press conference just days before players were expected to report to camp and in that conference he was asked about the face of the Mets, and impending free agent Pete Alonso's future with the club. Stearns' response was deafening for fans. Stearns said he believes that the most likely outcome would be that the team would not negotiate with Alonso during the season and he expects him to test free agency. With a smile that annoyed many, he went on to explain that the Polar Bear was represented by agent Scott Boras, a notoriously tough player negotiator, and that usually leads to his players testing the market.
This sort of talk is alarming to the Amazin’ fans because when Uncle Stevie Cohen bought the team they believed this sort of cat and mouse game with their star players would be over. After all, Cohen has more money than every owner in the league and Stearns was just brought over from Milwaukee to lead the Mets in a direction of stability. The new GM even told reporters that he has not even met with Alonso yet, an even more concerning situation.
Alonso is just 29-years-old. He is set to make $20.5 million dollars this season on his arbitration deal and remains one of baseball’s best power hitters. He is also a home grown Met and a very clear fan favorite. Alonso has made the All Star team two years in a row, and three in his young career. He led the National League in home runs as a rookie with 53, then 46 homers in 2023 and 40 in 2022 while leading the league with 131 RBI. Not only has he averaged 44 home runs per year, but he is a rarity in Mets orange and blue because he stays healthy, playing in 152 games every season.
Alonso has nothing left to prove and will get paid whether it is with the Mets or another team, rumors are he might not even need to leave New York if the Mets fail to re-sign him. What is alarming for Mets fans is this was thought to be a no-brainer contract extension for one of their own, and now it will drag out throughout the season and into next year. There is no doubt Uncle Stevie can afford it, but will he break the bank for the Polar Bear? It seems we all have to wait the entire season to find out.