Like a year ago, Pete AlonsoFree agency is the talk of the town. Dishes offseason.
The franchise leader in home runs and Edwin Diaz has declined his player options to explore free agency ahead of the 2026 season. The two players are the biggest names likely to leave the organization and president of baseball operations. David Stearns ” was asked about both when he met the media Tuesday evening at the general managers’ meetings in Las Vegas.
"We love Pete and Edwin. They have been excellent representatives of the organization," » said Stearns. "We would love to see them both again. At this point in the offseason, it’s really hard to predict outcomes, but we’d certainly love to have both of these guys back."
For Alonso in particular, he and the Mets have already done this dance, while it took until late February for the two sides to agree on a new deal ahead of the 2025 season. The Mets have taken minor steps, like re-signing Jesse Winker, to begin their offseason moves as negotiations between the first baseman and the team continued.
Stearns is in a similar position after a disappointing 2025. There are holes to fill on the roster and, for now, first baseman is one of them. But Stearns says patience is key during this time.
"You would always like clarity from the start of the process. Sometimes it’s not realistic," Stearns talked about his timeline. "Offseasons are very long and can sometimes be tough in November when we are all very excited to get started and attend general manager meetings…but many signings happen in January, February and March. The offseasons are now moving into spring training and we need to recognize that, be patient and let the offseason play out."
During his end-of-season speech, Stearns emphasized run prevention and defense as areas the Mets needed to improve on. He was asked if Alonso’s defense would be part of his evaluation of the slugger.
"All parts of the player contribution inform how we perceive the player," he said. "For a position player, this will definitely include the offense, what he does in the box and what he does defensively. It also includes what they mean to us off the field, what they mean to us in the clubhouse and in the community. All of this is taken into account by each player and Pete is no different."
Stearns said all returning Mets players need to improve defensively and that will be a priority during the offseason, spring training and as the season progresses.
"The quality of baseball, the quality of defense that we played over the last two months of the season, wasn’t good enough," » said Stearns. "It has to improve."
Stearns was asked if he thought Alonso could improve his defense early, and the second-year Met executive said yes because Alonso has shown it in the past and he’s a "motivated and dedicated player."
But what happens if Alono doesn’t come back? What will Stearns and the Mets’ plan be for first base?
Stearns was confident the Mets would be able to pivot, but reiterated how early it was in the offseason.
"We have internal options. We have younger players who deserve more opportunities," » said Stearns. "We have players we can move positionally and also explore outside (the organization), but that’s all premature. We’ll see how the offseason progresses and go from there."
