Pete Alonso negotiations highlight busy GM meetings for Mets' David Stearns
Mets first baseman Pete Alonso follows through on his walk-off three-run home run against the Texas Rangers during the 10th inning of an MLB game at Citi Field on Sept. 14. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
LAS VEGAS — Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns and agent Scott Boras arrived at the Cosmopolitan Hotel for the start of MLB’s general managers’ meetings Monday in what appears likely to be the beginning of yet another standoff involving Pete Alonso’s free agency.
Stearns is set to address the media on Tuesday. Boras said Monday that he intends to highlight Alonso’s worth in his own news conference Wednesday afternoon. Edwin Diaz’s agent, Joel Wolfe of Wasserman Media Group, was on site for what should be the continuation of another set of negotiations.
All of it sets the stage for a pivotal Mets offseason.
Coming off one of the worst collapses in franchise history, the team has been gutted in more ways than one: In addition to a slew of pitching injuries, the Mets have 11 players hitting free agency: Alonso, Diaz, Griffin Canning, Ryan Helsley, Starling Marte, Cedric Mullins, Tyler Rogers, Drew Smith, Gregory Soto, Ryne Stanek and Jesse Winker.
For Stearns, that means a near-complete bullpen rebuild, constructing a more reliable rotation, finding a more permanent solution in centerfield, parsing the Mets’ designated hitter situation and deciding exactly how much Alonso is worth to them.
That last one is particularly thorny. Boras and Alonso have made it clear that they do not intend to have a repeat of last offseason — one in which the first baseman sought a long-term contract but agreed to a team-friendly two-year deal with a second-year player option that Alonso wasted no time confirming that he would opt out of.
Alonso also has gained a lot of leverage between this year and last. He no longer has a qualifying offer attached to him, meaning that any team that signs him won’t have to cede a compensatory draft pick to the Mets. He is by far the best first baseman on the free-agent market and had a far better season in 2025 than 2024 — hitting .272 with 38 homers and a team-high 126 RBIs, playing all 162 games and earning his first career Silver Slugger award.
Stearns, however, has shown caution in his dealings with Alonso. Though he said he would “love to have Pete back” in his end-of-season news conference, precedent indicates that he questions whether Alonso is a safe long-term investment.
Reports say Alonso is looking for a seven-year deal — something that will take him to his age-38 season — and that is further complicated by two factors: 1. Power hitters can decline dramatically in their mid-to-late 30s, and 2. The organization is focusing on “run prevention,” which doesn’t jibe with Alonso’s subpar defense.
There also are other big fish to consider, including a third-base upgrade in Alex Bregman, a shot at Cody Bellinger, who can play the outfield and first base, and exploring the market for front-line starters such as Dylan Cease or Framber Valdez.
It’s more than anyone can pack into the three-day span that marks the GM meetings, but then again, Monday marked only the beginning.
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
