Shortly after the New York Mets were officially eliminated from postseason contention, amid their loss to the Miami Marlins, Pete Alonso confirmed that he is using his opt-out to become a free agent.
With the Mets slugger hitting the open market for the second straight season, Alonso will look to land more than a prove-it deal he signed with the Mets over the last offseason.
Fortunately, according to one AL executive in a piece from Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, Alonso should have a better time in free agency than last year. The AL executive identified one clear reason why Alonso's market will be more robust this winter than it was in 2024.
Why Pete Alonso will have a more robust free agent market this winter
"Not having the qualifying offer will be huge for him," one AL executive said. "Teams that might not have considered him last year may think differently now."
This lack of a qualifying offer is a huge deal for Alonso. What the qualifying offer does is that if the Mets use it, Alonso would cost any team signing him in free agency a draft pick in the upcoming draft.
However, if he doesn't have the qualifying offer, then no draft picks could be lost if a team were to sign him to a deal this offseason. In 2024, Alonso wouldn't just cost a fortune to sign, but he'd also cost a draft choice as well.
Now, he would only cost a team money, making him a much more desirable player to go after this winter. While he might not have the same robust market as Kyle Tucker or Alex Bregman, he should still have a much better market than he did a year ago.
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Alonso is coming off another strong year with the Mets and has set a few new career-high benchmarks. He had a .272 batting average, 41 doubles, and 170 hits, all of which are new career highs for Alonso.
He also has 87 runs scored, one triple, 38 home runs, 126 RBIs, 61 walks, 162 strikeouts, and an .871 OPS in an NL-best 162 games this season. He earned his fifth All-Star nod and is now poised to be one of the hottest names this free agent cycle.
The Mets slugger would've had a few teams interested in him this offseason regardless of the qualifying offer, but now with it out of the picture, Alonso is poised to receive a lot more attention from teams this offseason.
It's a big deal for Alonso, and it also impacts the Mets' chances of re-signing Alonso. With more teams interested and able to justify the cost, the Mets might be more easily beaten out for Alonso's services this winter, as they'll have to look elsewhere for a new first baseman.
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