Contract situation for Mets' Pete Alonso reportedly remains unchanged

It was reported back in December that the New York Mets had not yet discussed "the possibility of a long-term deal" with representatives for All-Star first baseman Pete Alonso.

That appears to still be the case early into the new year. 

"There have been no negotiations about a contract extension to this point, according to one league source, and there is little expectation that there will be substantive negotiations about a contract extension before Alonso hits free agency at the end of the season," Will Sammon and Tim Britton of The Athletic reported on Tuesday. 

Alonso turned 29 years old in December and hired Scott Boras as his new agent shortly after the 2023 regular season ended. Over the weekend, MLB insider Bob Nightengale of USA Today predicted that Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns will put Alonso "on the trade block in July." 

Stearns has repeatedly insisted he does not "anticipate" trading Alonso anytime soon. 

"However, that doesn’t mean that the two sides are uninterested in eventually agreeing to a long-term deal," Britton added about the Alonso-Mets relationship. "In recent years, we’ve seen more high-profile free agents elect to re-sign with their prior team even after hitting the open market."

Specifically, Danny Abriano of SNY noted that the Mets re-signed both outfielder Brandon Nimmo and closer Edwin Diaz after they reached free agency following the 2022 campaign.  

While much has been made about New York potentially "punting" on the upcoming season, Britton wrote that "the Mets don’t share that pessimistic view of their 2024 chances" and "think they’re competitive for a postseason spot." Trading Alonso, a fan-favorite who has hit more regular-season home runs (192) than any other player since the start of the 2019 campaign, would seemingly take the Mets out of playoff conversations until March 2025 at the earliest.