The Pete Alonso Conundrum

[Centerfield]

I watched segments from Andy Martino (SNY) and Jon Heyman (Bleacher Report) today. It's funny. Neither of them have any idea what is going on. They're absolutely guessing. If the situation wasn't so exhausting, I think I'd better appreciate the comedy of two guys being shoved in front of a camera with nothing to say and air time to fill.

So what that means is that Scott Boras has stopped leaking to the press. His last attempt at leverage was that ridiculous "10 yard line" garbage that he fed to Andy Martino the Thursday before Amazin' Day. But ever since Steve Cohen made his public statements, the only thing the Boras camp has leaked is their immediate response that their demands were industry standard. It's now been 10 days of nothing. When Boras was doing his propaganda, you could read the tea leaves and see what he was trying to do. But with this complete silence, it's anyone's guess.

When Boras first went silent I wondered if maybe Pete took over negotiations. And if he did, I figured something would get done quickly. But if Pete did take over negotiations and we still don't have a deal, then maybe the two sides were further apart then we thought.

[Frayed Knot]

Yeah, it's tough to see what the Pete/Scott end game is here.

Any offer that tops the Mets offer, or one they will potentially offer to match, isn't likely to top it by much as owners don't seem to get tricked into bidding against themselves nearly as much these days.
So is Pete prepared to go with the highest bid even if that bid is only nominally better and it winds up landing his Floridian butt in Canada*?
Or will he take the bid which takes him away from his publicly stated preferred choice simply out of spite that the Mets didn't offer higher?

You've got to wonder whether the stress and uncertainty of waiting out these last few months is going to be worth 'winning' whatever winds up as the cherry-on-top winning salary.





* even if they do have lots more actual Polar Bears there

[Gwreck]

Pete has re-signed with the Mets. $30M for 2025, $24M
player option for 2026.

https://twitter.com/willsammon/status/1 ... 809mK6f8eg

[Bob Alpacadaca]

Great news!!

[metsmarathon]

Fucking hell. That took too long. Can we just not do this again next year…?

[Frayed Knot]

I can live with that!!!!

[Centerfield]

And the Mets sign the damn guy.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Finally!

[Edgy MD]

Fucking hell. That took too long. Can we just not do this again next year…?

It seems almost guaranteed to end up there next year, doesn't it?

[batmagadanleadoff]

That's all the Mets get? Just two years? And with a player opt-out after the first season? So if Alonso plays like the player the Mets are paying him to play like, he can renegotiate his contract or shop it around to any other team? He should have to pay the Mets back $10M or $15M if he sucks next year. $30M in the first year and an opt-out?

What is this shit?

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

This sounds like a good deal to me.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Boomer Esiason is reporting that Pete Alonso will sign with the Blue Jays tomorrow. Esiason is certain of this. Esiason was a quarterback.

[Centerfield]

Fucking hell. That took too long. Can we just not do this again next year…?

It seems almost guaranteed to end up there next year, doesn't it?

It seems like it. I’m glad he’s back. And I’m not sure it was on the table, but I would have preferred overpaying AAV and locking him up for 3 years.

If 3/90 with no opt outs was possible, I would have preferred that.

Again. I don’t have the discipline Stearns has.

[Edgy MD]

Esiason comes away smelling like a rose if you just think of us being in the 125th hour of Friday.

Just adjust your concept of time and it's all good.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Well. that's some top five of a lineup the Mets will present this season: Lindor, Nimmo, Vientos, Soto and Alonso. I think that Alonso's 2024 season of diminished production or so-called decline might be a little bit overblown. Yes, his numbers were down, but not by that much. And last season, offense was down all-around, league-wide. So we'll see, I suppose.

[Gwreck]

If 3/90 with no opt outs was possible, I would have preferred that.

Again. I don’t have the discipline Stearns has.

It is being reported the Mets alternately offered a 3/$71 M deal (27 in year 1, 22 in years 2 and 3); not clear what the opt-outs/option years were in that deal structure.

[batmagadanleadoff]

It seems almost guaranteed to end up there next year, doesn't it?

Alonso will be one year older next year, so he'll lose some leverage and value on that front. OTOH, the Mets won't be allowed to offer him a qualifying offer and won't get a compensation draft pick if Alonso opts out and signs elsewhere after next season, so Alonso will pick up some leverage on that front.

[Channel9]

Baruch Hashem.

[Frayed Knot]

I'm just glad that Pete & Boras read my post at the top of this page and came to their senses.

Pete has re-signed with the Mets. $30M for 2025, $24M, player option for 2026.

Now compare this final agreement to the reported seven year deal he turned down (fall/winter '22?) or to the variety of
proposals floated (both from within this forum and from various outside sources) on the early pages of this thread.

The only thing constant is change.

[metirish]

Great news to wake up to

[Benjamin Grimm]

Fucking hell. That took too long. Can we just not do this again next year…?

It seems almost guaranteed to end up there next year, doesn't it?

It depends on how Pete performs this year. If he hits 45 homers, then yeah. But if he hits 22, I'm sure he'll take the $24 million for 2026 and hope for a better free agency after that.

If Pete does opt out after 2025, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the Mets said thanks for everything and then pivoted to Vlad, if he's still available.

[MFS62]

Baruch Hashem.

Amein.

Sometimes you get what you wish for.
Later

[kcmets]

Supposedly a $10 million signing bonus thrown in too?

[Gwreck]

My read is just that he gets the first $10M now, and the other $20M paid out across the rest of the 2025 season.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Yes, it looks that way. $20 million for 2025, $24 million for 2026, plus a $10 million signing bonus.