Mets star Pete Alonso likely headed to free agency, David Stearns says

Discussing Mets star Pete Alonso's contract situation on Monday at spring training, David Stearns said something that has been apparent for quite some time -- Alonso is likely headed to free agency.

"That's probably the most likely outcome," Stearns told reporters. "Look, when you have a really talented player, who's really good, who's entering his final year of club control, who happens to be represented by Scott Boras, these things generally end up into free agency and we understand that." 

Stearns noted that the Mets have dealt with this kind of situation before, and there are two very recent examples -- one of which is nearly identical.

After the 2022 season, the Mets re-signed both Brandon Nimmo (a Boras client) and Edwin Diaz after they reached free agency.

Nimmo, like Alonso, left his former agency to link up with Boras ahead of his walk year.

And if Alonso does indeed make it to free agency, it stands to reason that the Mets would still have a strong shot at retaining him.

Speaking on Feb. 7, Stearns said that the team was "invested" in keeping Alonso beyond 2024.

“Pete’s a really good player. He’s performed on a big stage here for a long time. I know that we all know that. I know how important he is to the fan base,” Stearns said on the Foul Territory podcast. “Where we are right now, where Pete is, everyone is going to focus on this year.

Stearns added, "The best thing for us is for Pete to have a great year and the best thing for Pete is to have a great year, and we’ll go forward from there. We’re certainly invested in keeping Pete a Met and I’m hopeful, over time, we’ll be able to work that out."

There was some trade buzz surrounding Alonso during the 2023 deadline as New York dealt Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, and others -- and that trade buzz did not totally go away this offseason.

However, Stearns has been clear since taking over that he had no intention of trading Alonso ahead of the season. And even if the Mets aren't in contention at the trade deadline (they expect to be in it), trading Alonso at that point would not be a slam dunk.