Pete Alonso has authored some of the most iconic moments in Mets history, but the former Gators star will be writing his next chapter with the Baltimore Orioles.
One day after the Mets lost closer Edwin Diaz to the Los Angeles Dodgers, they let Alonso walk to the Charm City, coming to terms with the Orioles on the final day of the Winter Meetings for a $155 million contract for five years, a source confirmed to the Daily News. ESPN’s Jeff Passan was first to report the contract.
It’s the highest AAV ever for a first baseman. Alonso bet on himself last season with a short-term contract and was able to finally land the multi-year contract he’s been seeking since 2023.
The Mets are saying goodbye to the most prolific hitter they’ve developed since David Wright. A second-round draft pick out of the University of Florida in 2016, Alonso, now 30, grew into one of the club’s best hitters, surpassing Darryl Strawberry’s all-time home run record last season. His 264 home runs are the most ever hit by anyone in Mets uniform.
It will likely stand as a record for years to come. Brandon Nimmo, traded last month for second baseman Marcus Semien, was the closest active player to reaching that total with 135. Michael Conforto, another free agent, hit 132 with the Mets.
For the second year in a row, the first baseman tested free agency. Last year, president of baseball operations David Stearns was hesitant to sign the first baseman, but owner Steve Cohen ultimately made the call to bring him back on a one-year contract for $30 million with a player option for 2026. Alonso declined the option. The Mets have said all of the right things about Alonso since the end of the season, but it was always clear that he wasn’t in their future plans.
This time, the Mets never made him an offer.
Run prevention is the priority, and the club has identified first base as the position where they have the most need for defensive improvements.
Mark Vientos and Jeff McNeil are the expected candidates to see time at first base in place of Alonso. Neither have a great amount of experience at the position. Ryan Clifford, a highly-touted first base/outfield prospect in the Mets’ system, will look to take over the position when he’s ready for the big leagues.
Alonso regressed defensively over the last three seasons, despite making it a point to improve on his defensive fundamentals the last two winters. Adept at picks, it’s the throwing and catching that Alonso has struggled with since 22, leading to four straight seasons with a negative run value.
But replacing Alonso’s bat will be the bigger challenge for the Mets. Run prevention might be the priority for the team at the moment, but they’re now without two of their most productive bats without Nimmo or Alonso. Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto are without protection in a lineup that suddenly looks pretty lackluster.
Alonso proved that he can still produce at the levels the Mets have become accustomed to last season when he slashed .272/.347/.524 with 38 home runs, 126 RBI and an MLB-best 41 doubles.
A five-time All-Star, Alonso burst onto the scene in 2019 when he hit 53 home runs as a rookie to set a new league record, en route to being named NL MVP. He’s never hit fewer than 37 home runs in a full 162-game season, and he typically plays all 162 games as well. Alonso hit 40 home runs and led the NL with 131 RBI in 2022, earning MVP votes for another strong season.
However, his 2023 and 2024 seasons were relatively strange. In 2023, he hit 46 homers, but hit just .217. In 2024, he posted career lows in slugging (.459) and OPS (.788), hitting just .240, the third-lowest average of his career.
Still, when it mattered the most, Alonso came through, hitting a historic homer off former Milwaukee Brewers closer Devin Williams in Game 3 of the Wild Card series. A low liner over the right field fence, the go-ahead shot served as a shot of adrenaline for the Mets as well, as they rode the momentum to Game 6 of the NLCS. Alonso hit three more homers during that postseason run, only his second playoff appearance ever.
In 16 playoff games, Alonso has five home runs, 11 RBI, 14 walks and a 1.003 OPS.
Williams is now wearing Alonso’s previous uniform; the Mets signed the right-hander to a three-year, $51 million contract last week.
Alonso’s name is written all over the Mets’ record books. Aside from being the franchise home-run leader, his 712 RBI are the third-most all-time behind David Wright’s 970 and Strawberry’s 733. His .516 career slugging clip is the third-best all-time, he’s 10th in position player WAR and offensive WAR, fourth in adjusted OPS+ with a career mark of 135, and he’s created 658 runs, the seventh-most in Mets history.
A well-liked and well-respected teammate in the clubhouse, Alonso was an instant hit with the fanbase even before he made his MLB debut. A gregarious personality and a passionate competitor, fans loved his use of “LFGM” and the shirtless Gatorade showers he became known for during his rookie year. Of course, the home runs help, but Alonso and his wife, Haley, have long been active in the Queens community, as well as in Tampa, where Alonso grew up and where the couple lives in the offseason. They created the Alonso Foundation, which supports youth, veteran and animal causes.
Alonso has also been a proponent of helping first responders, especially those who were affected by 9/11.
Under Steve Cohen’s ownership, Mets fans were hoping to see players like Alonso and Nimmo wearing Mets uniforms for the entirety of their careers. But the club has continued to churn through managers and executives at a high rate, which naturally leads to player turnover as well.
With the core now gone, it’s truly the end of an era for the Mets.
