{"id":67614,"date":"2025-12-11T08:24:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T08:24:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/67614\/"},"modified":"2025-12-11T08:24:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T08:24:11","slug":"pete-alonsos-departure-leaves-another-hole-mets-need-to-address","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/67614\/","title":{"rendered":"Pete Alonso’s departure leaves another hole Mets need to address"},"content":{"rendered":"

ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014 Another day, another piece of the Mets\u2019 franchise fabric removed.<\/p>\n

Pete Alonso joined the ranks<\/a> of the former Mets on Wednesday, agreeing to a five-year contract worth $155 million with the Orioles, according to industry sources. The agreement occurred one day after Edwin D\u00edaz departed Queens for the Dodgers as a free agent.<\/p>\n

Alonso, the franchise\u2019s all-time home run leader, did not receive an offer from the Mets, according to sources. Alonso visited the Winter Meetings on Tuesday \u2014 driving 90 minutes from his home in Tampa \u2014 to meet with interested teams, but didn\u2019t convene with Mets officials.<\/p>\n

Since the season\u2019s conclusion, the Mets have moved on from Alonso, D\u00edaz and Brandon Nimmo, leaving holes that must be addressed<\/a> by president of baseball operations David Stearns.<\/p>\n

Alonso\u2019s departure shouldn\u2019t have been a surprise given the two sides nearly didn\u2019t reach agreement last winter. Alonso ultimately returned on a two-year deal worth $54 million that included an opt-out. Alonso announced immediately after the season concluded his intention to exercise that opt-out, and followed through after the World Series concluded.<\/p>\n

\u201cI loved being a Met,\u201d Alonso said following the final Mets game. \u201cHopefully they appreciated me.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2023, Alonso rejected a seven-year contract offer from the Mets worth $158 million. His new Orioles contract, added to his salaries over the past two seasons, places his guaranteed dollars at $205 million over the same seven years. He will jump into the AL East in a hitter-friendly ballpark in Baltimore \u2014 a venue in which he\u2019s played 10 games and blasted five homers.<\/p>\n

Alonso was in position to cash<\/a> in following a season with the Mets in which he posted a .272\/.347\/.524 slash line with 38 homers and 126 RBIs. He played in all 162 games for a second straight season and received a fifth career All-Star selection.<\/p>\n

\"PetePete Alonso catches the ball to get an out during a Mets game against the Rangers last season. Getty Images<\/p>\n

The market for Alonso was set following the five-year contract worth $150 million that Kyle Schwarber received Tuesday for a return to the Phillies. The Orioles were among the bidders for Schwarber and were in position to offer Alonso essentially the same deal.<\/p>\n

\"Baseball<\/p>\n

Alonso\u2019s departure leaves the Mets without protection for Juan Soto in the lineup. Soto, who arrived last offseason on a record $765 million contract, hit a career-high 43 homers last season, with Alonso hitting behind him. Alonso also brought scarce right-handed power to the lineup.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight-handed power is a commodity,\u201d Alonso\u2019s agent, Scott Boras, said earlier in the week. \u201cA guy that can play on the dirt is a commodity.\u201d<\/p>\n

But there were concerns about the 31-year-old first baseman\u2019s range, as Stearns looks to improve defensively. Last month Stearns traded Nimmo to Texas for Marcus Semien, bringing the Mets a Gold Glove second baseman.<\/p>\n

The Mets also still have to address left field, the starting rotation and bullpen. Devin Williams\u2019 arrival on a three-year contract worth $51 million<\/a> represents their only free agent addition on a major league deal this offseason.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDelivering insights on all things Amazin\u2019s\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for Inside the Mets by Mike Puma, exclusively on Sports+\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tThank you\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Alonso, nicknamed \u201cPolar Bear\u201d upon his arrival to the Mets in 2019, became a fast favorite with the fans by establishing an MLB rookie record with 53 homers.<\/p>\n

In August, Alonso moved ahead of Darryl Strawberry for first place on the franchise\u2019s all-time list by blasting homer No. 253. Alonso finished his Mets tenure with 264.<\/p>\n

\u201cPete is a great Met,\u201d Stearns said in October. \u201cHe had a fantastic year \u2014 I said this last year and it worked out \u2014 I would love to have Pete back and we\u2019ll see where the offseason goes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stearns reiterated at the Winter Meetings this week that the organization would \u201clove to have Pete back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cody Bellinger is among the free agent options who could give the Mets coverage at first base and in the outfield. Internally, the Mets have Mark Vientos, who has played first base sparingly, and prospect Ryan Clifford as possibilities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014 Another day, another piece of the Mets\u2019 franchise fabric removed. Pete Alonso joined the ranks…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":67615,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[20,3473,9,11,320,10,5419,319],"class_list":{"0":"post-67614","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-mlb","9":"tag-mlb-free-agency","10":"tag-new-york","11":"tag-new-york-headlines","12":"tag-new-york-mets","13":"tag-new-york-news","14":"tag-pete-alonso","15":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67614"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67614\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}