Shortly after it was reported Tuesday night that New York Mets owner Steve Cohen “was back in conversation with” representatives for free-agent first baseman Pete Alonso regarding a potential reunion in part because “it feels like Alonso desperately hopes to return” to the organization, media personalities such as WFAN’s Evan Roberts suggested Alonso had instructed agent Scott Boras to get a deal done with what’s been the 30-year-old’s only MLB home.
Whether or not that’s the case may never be known, but Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith revealed on Wednesday that anybody believing Alonso is considering parting ways with Boras because of how the slugger’s free-agency journey has gone should put such thoughts to bed for now.
“A source said MLB agents have recently been informed they cannot contact Pete Alonso,” Nicholson-Smith reported. “This would have to be initiated by Alonso himself. Evidently, Alonso wants to continue working with his agent Scott Boras without hearing from other agents looking to poach him.”
While Cohen publicly acknowledged at a fan event this past Saturday that contract talks with Alonso’s camp this offseason have been “exhausting,” a report from Wednesday indicated that the Mets bringing reliever Ryne Stanek back via a one-year deal worth between $4M-5M “could keep a bit of wiggle room” for the club to re-sign Alonso. On Thursday, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon pointed out that “the Mets appear unlikely to add another reliever” before the start of spring training.
MLB insider Andy Martino of SNY and MLB Network analyst Jim Duquette have repeatedly said the Toronto Blue Jays’ signing of outfielder Anthony Santander to a five-year deal worth at least $92.5M makes it unlikely they will even match the three-year contract that included opt-outs and was worth more than $70M with deferred money that the Mets previously offered Alonso. Specifically, Martino noted on Wednesday that “a potential stumbling block there could have been deferred money, based on Toronto’s heavily deferred agreement with” Santander.
Meanwhile, MLB reporter Jon Heyman said during Wednesday’s edition of his Bleacher Report livestream that he thinks it’s “at least 50/50” that Alonso ultimately returns to the Mets.
“At this point, he has to move on and accept that his market is what it is, and he can’t change it this winter,” MLB reporter Deesha Thosar of Fox Sports added about Alonso on Wednesday. “…The only thing he can control now is playing better in 2025 in hopes of resetting his market. Alonso is 27 home runs away from surpassing Darryl Strawberry as the Mets’ all-time leader. He’s one signing away from cementing himself as a franchise legend versus an unpopular mercenary. The choice is his, but the ending to this saga always seemed like it was painted in orange and blue. It’s time for Alonso to accept that his destiny is calling him back to Queens.”
Assuming Nicholson-Smith is correct, it sounds like Boras will remain associated with Alonso until the “Polar Bear” puts pen to paper on his next contract.
