Revealed: NY Mets Offer To Pete Alonso

The New York Mets, it's now been revealed, made a significant extension offer to pending free agent slugger Pete Alonso last summer, and it would have made him the 3rd highest-paid first baseman in the game.

#Mets 1B Pete Alonso declined a 7-year, $158M contract extension offer last summer, per @Joelsherman1

Sherman notes the two sides “never got close to a deal”.

Alonso, 29, is a free-agent after this season. He is represented by Scott Boras. pic.twitter.com/nNWPDTiRCM
— MLB Deadline News (@MLBDeadlineNews) May 18, 2024

Alonso, despite wanting to stay on as the face of the Mets franchise, turned down the 7-year, $158 million offer, of course, as he is represented by Scott Boras, who always insists of his clients that they get to the open market on free agency rather than taking the sure thing in the place they'd prefer.

Mets insider Joel Sherman reports that the team is serious about signing him, but they “never got close to a deal” with that offer. Fellow baseball insider and former MLB GM Jim Bowden says it's clear that Alonso & Boras "want more than the market, and want to set records."

Matt Olson received an 8-year, $168 million contract from the Atlanta Braves last year, while Freddie Freeman has a 6-year, $162 million deal with the Dodgers. That Mets' offer to Alonso comes in just under those two, which makes sense from a performance standpoint.

Alonso is a sure 40 home runs on a yearly basis, but he doesn't bring the defense to first base that Olson and Freeman do, and his on-base skills aren't what those players are.

"If I'm Alonso, I would have taken the offer," said Bowden on MLB Network Radio Sunday. He did point out, however, the intangibles that Alonso brings to the table for the Mets, in that "he can handle New York City. He loves New York and New York loves him, he's a great teammate... he's very happy there."

This will all play out in the winter of 2024-25.