After surging to one of the best starts in baseball, the New York Mets can point to a lot of encouraging performances.
Francisco Lindor has been one of the most productive infielders in the big leagues, as usual. Juan Soto has not quite been a $765 million man, but even a slow start by his standards is pretty good. And former New York Yankees reliever Clay Holmes seems to be adjusting well to life as a starter.
But no single contributor has been more important than Pete Alonso, who agreed to return to the Mets on a two-year, $54 million deal after failing to secure a longer-term contract in free agency this past winter.
Alonso has rewarded the Mets with a Most Valuable Award caliber start to the 2025 campaign. But his contract includes an opt out after this season and he is planning to utilize it to test the market again, according to team owner Steve Cohen.
And when Alonso does return to the market, he’s now expected to earn a nine-figure deal, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
“After a brutal free agency in which he sought upward of four times the $54 million over two years that he ultimately signed for in January, Alonso has put himself comfortably into the $100 million category with a shot at $200 million assuming he opts out of his current deal after this season,” Passan projected. “He plays a position teams don’t prioritize. But it’s impossible to ignore his production and ability to stay on the field as well as his evolution.”
When Alonso does drop his current Mets deal, fans will surely be hoping the only team he’s ever played for is willing to up his next payday and keep him around.
More MLB: Dodgers could replace Teoscar Hernandez with $50 million slugger by end of May