Even with Juan Soto run away to the Bronx to join the Dishesthe possibility of being a free agent Pete Alonso finish with the Yankees seems to be distant.
Alonso ‘doesn’t seem to be on their radar’, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported Monday.
The above shouldn’t come as a surprise, since Alonso doesn’t really make sense for the Yankees – even with Anthony Rizzo ready to leave as a free agent.
The Bombers already have two right-handed power hitters over 30 who hit at a relatively high rate in Aaron judges (171 strikeouts in 2024) and Giancarlo Stanton (143 strikeouts in 2024 in just 114 games). Adding Alonso (172 strikeouts in 2024) to the mix would make the Yankees roster even more one-dimensional.
As the Yankees look to bolster their offense following Soto’s departure, they have been linked to free agents including Alex Bregman And Antoine Santander. They would also have have interest in trading for Cubs first baseman/outfielder Cody Bellinger.
Although the Yankees don’t appear to be interested in Alonso, the Mets are interested in bringing him back.
Speaking Monday at the Winter Meetings, president of baseball operations David Stearns says the Mets have the resources to retain Alonso if they wish.
“We would love to bring Pete back,” Stearns said. “Pete has been a great Met, he’s had huge successes for us and we’ll see where that takes us.”
Added Stearns: “I think our ownership has consistently demonstrated that there will be resources when we need them. We have the opportunity to make baseball moves when we think they are there to make the team better. And we will continue to pursue a wide variety of areas to continue to improve our team.
Alonso, who will begin his age-30 season in 2025, had a rough year at the plate in 2024 but was still productive.
While playing in all 162 regular season games, Alonso slashed .240/.329/.459 with 34 home runs, 31 doubles, 88 RBIs and 91 runs scored.
In 13 playoff games as the Mets headed to Game 6 of the NLCS, Alonso was a force, hitting .273/.431/.568 (.999 OPS) with four home runs, 10 RBIs and 10 runs scored for 58. appearance of plaques. That of course included his series-changing three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning of Game 3 of the Wild Card Series against the Brewers. Devin Williams.