MLB Insider Says Only A Physical Stands Between Alonso & Shocking Move

The Pete Alonso saga took another turn this weekend when New York Mets owner Steve Cohen addressed fans and said that the excruciating negotiations with Alonso's agent Scott Boras have been "exhausting" and he didn't like it one bit.

Then former GM and MLB Network insider Steve Phillips said this morning on MLB Network Radio that an Alonso to the Toronto Blue Jays move is "so close":

I hear that he's really close in Toronto... It may be so close that it's just pending a physical. But they (Alonso & Boras) are still hoping that the Mets will jump back in.

The last reports had something in the range of a three-year offer worth in the $75 million range from the Jays, while the Mets' last proposed deal was in the neighborhood of three years, $70 million. Doesn't sound like a huge difference for the deep pockets of Cohen, and yet, here we are, with Polar Bear supposedly on the brink of bolting for Canada.

"If they get [Pete Alonso], you can start to dream a little bit about this team. I think it's a great fit."

- @StevePhillipsGM on the Blue Jays pic.twitter.com/Tnz1lfIZIe
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) January 27, 2025

Phillips told his MLB Network compatriots today that this does sound like "deja vu all over again" for the Jays, as Yogi Berra would say. The team is always in as a finalist right to the end on so many big name free agents, only to be shunned in the end. But he thinks this one could definitely play out differently.

"If they get Alonso, and they have Anthony Santander, now you've got protection for Vlad in the lineup... You can start to dream a little bit about this team."

He also adds that having Alonso would give them a backup plan if they can't re-sign Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Since Alonso arrived in the big leagues in 2019, he is second only to Aaron Judge in total home runs (226 HR to Judge's 232).

Here we go again for Blue Jays fans... Hang on tight...