On January 16, I was one of the many journalists who heard and relayed that the Put expected Pete Alonso To sign elsewhere.
According to sources from the League, the organization has reached this conclusion because Alonon refused its offer of a three-year contract which contained opt-outs and included delayed money which would have increased the total to more $ 70 million. If he said no to that, thought the dishes, he must have a better deal elsewhere.
But now it’s February, and Alonso is still a free agent. The most recent signs of the dishes have left room in their expanding budget for another addition. Obviously, the team’s pivot was not a slammed door – or, as a owner Steve Cohen Said January 25, they will “never say no”.
Given all of this, why not forget the events of last month and come together? With training in the spring which should start next week, it may be time for Alonso to go home to food for at least one more season, if not two or three.
Of all things, it was the Ryne Stanek The signing of this told me for the first time that this path remained somewhat open.
An examination of the recent calendar of food / alonso events should explain why:
– Speaking of league sources in the days preceding Christmas, I had the impression that a meeting Alonso / Mets was very likely, even inevitable, but only at the cost of the food. The offer of $ 158 million over seven years that Alonon rejected in 2023 has long disappeared; The organization has calculated its value closer to three years and 25 million dollars. They arrived at this figure by looking at the market for the other first basic players and the corner of the bats.
– At the beginning of January, the Alonso camp approached the dishes with a concept of three years, but at a salary that the team considered too far above the market value (the exact number is not known) .
– On January 16, after Alonso refused the three -year supply of the food, the team immediately pivoted, committing a significant salary to voltiseur Jesse Winker and relief AJ Minister. I can tell you that the dishes were entirely and sincerely prepared to move forward without Alonso – a player and a person they wanted, but not at its current price.
– On January 23, I pointed out that talks between Alonso and the Blue Jays de Toronto advanced. They were not at the line of a meter, but as a source said with direct knowledge, they were 10. Josh AllenTash knows, these last yards are hardly a guarantee.
Tim Healey de Newsday beat me that day, reporting that it was “deeply in contractual interviews with the Blue Jays”.
Obviously, the parties could not conclude this agreement. It left Alonso without known public pretender.
– On January 25, in the Amazin ‘Day Fan Fest, Cohen explained the Pivot des Mets. “The reality is that we are going ahead and we continue to bring players,” said the owner. “While we continue to bring players, the reality is that it becomes more difficult to integrate Pete into what is a group of very expensive players that we already have. And that’s where we are.
Cohen said the truth: the dishes pushed the past of the pay where they wanted, and should now extend to their point of evil, in the range of $ 340 million, to add another player of more than 20 million Dollars like Alonso.
– in a few days of the fans’ festival, the agent of Cohen and Alonso, Scott Borasbriefly spoke of Alonso, but president of baseball operations David Stearns has remained in charge of talks, as he does to date.
– At that time, the dishes were in conversations with two levels of readers: a group that cost around $ 10 million (think Kenley Jansen) And the one that cost half of it.
– When the dishes concluded an agreement with Stanek on January 30 for $ 4.5 million, he told me that they left room for the possibility of a pivot in Alonso.
– This same thought occurred when the team probably completed its public championship championship by Sign Nick Madrigal to a divided contract which is maximum at 1.35 million dollars. It is much less than a meeting with Jose Iglesias would have a cost.
It brings us to today. Although it may seem incongruous so that the rich teams remain aware of money, that’s what they all do. The owners of the MLB did not succeed in business by operating without budgetary objectives.
Stearns and Cohen would like to obtain the dishes under the so-called “Cohen tax” threshold one of these years, and stop paying a penalty of 110% on each dollar. The addition of Alonso will make it more difficult, especially if it is an opt-out after this season, then refuses to exercise it.
But Stearns and his Baseball Operations Department have always preferred to have Alonso on their 2025 list. If Alonso does not come back, the team believes that it can win with an internal rotation on the field that involves Mark Venos See important time at the first basis. But they were never absent Alonso, the baseball player.
Yes, they made a financial pivot from January 16. And yes, these negotiations were “exhausting”, as Cohen said.
But it is difficult to see everything that would prevent a warm meeting. If the dishes are ready to extend their budget (their call) and that Alonso is willing to come back much less than what he refused in 2023 (his call, but the calendar above suggests that it is) , why not do it?
It would certainly be a happy ending to the most exciting offseason – Remember Juan Soto? – In the history of the franchise.
