The New York Mets have already made the move of the offseason by agreeing to a historic $765 million contract with superstar slugger Juan Soto.
But if the team hopes to build on its run to the National League Championship Series this past season, president of baseball operations David Stearns will have to continue making improvements.
The Mets only have four starters listed on their depth chart and could use some infield reinforcement as well.
That reinforcement could come in the form of a new deal for homegrown slugger Pete Alonso, who is now a free agent.
But will the Mets still have the salary room necessary to bring Alonso back after handing out the largest contract in sports history to Soto?
In a recent interview, Stearns wanted to make it clear that the Mets still have significant financial flexibility.
I think our ownership has consistently demonstrated that there’s going to be resources when we need them,” he said, per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo.
“There is the ability for us to make baseball moves when we think that they’re there to improve the team, and we’re going to continue to pursue a wide variety of areas to continue to improve our team.”
Alonso is a four-time All-Star who is projected for a new deal in the six-year, $174 million range, per Spotrac. Stearns hinted that price won’t be an issue if the Mets feel a move will help the team, but fell short of definitively placing Alonso in that category. Still, it seems as if the Mets are keeping the door open to a reunion that would pair Soto with Alonso.
“We’d love to bring Pete back,” Stearns said. He had enormous hits for us, and we’ll see where that goes.”
Ultimately, Stearns won’t make definitive comments about any pending free agent, though he wants the world to know that the Mets can continue to add to the payroll.
His comments do seem like a hint that if the Mets decide Alonso is the best option at first base, they can offer him a competitive deal to return. Though that might not happen anytime soon.
