At this afternoons pre ser to introduce , Mets owner Steve Cohen Kevin Alcantara Jersey said the team is still engaged with ( ). That comes a few days after baseball operations president David Stearns said at the that the team would love to bring Pete back. There hasnt been much public chatter about Alonsos free agency. wrote last night that Alonso would have interest in joining the Yankees if the Mets dont make a serious push to retain him. Ties between the Yanks and Alonso have been fairly loose, though, as reports have cast them as for . Beyond the New York teams, chatter about the Alonso market has been speculative. The Nationals and Giants are among the teams that could use an impact bat at first base, but theres no firm indication theyve been involved. Alonso declined a qualifying offer last month. Aside from the Mets, every team would forfeit draft picks and/or international signing bonus space to add him. The Mets would relinquish the right to receive a compensatory pick, but thatd only come after the fourth round if he walked. Its a minimal barrier. The slugger is coming off a relative down year. Alonso hit .240/.329/.459, the first time in his career hes had an OPS below .800. His 34 home runs is a personal low over a full season. Its not an ideal time for his production to dip, but theres obvious value in a player whose floor is a 30+ homer showing. Alonso has been incredibly durable and started 160 games this past season. He heated up in the postseason, hitting .273/.431/.568 with four homers over 13 games. As MLBTR in a post for Front Office subscribers last month, Alonso is a tricky free agent to value. His reputation could lead his camp to seek a deal approaching or topping ($168MM) and ($162MM with deferrals). Front offices have increasingly devalued this general profile, though. Alonso has limited defensive and baserunning value, while his average and on-base percentage are middling. Stearns preferred not to invest heavily at first base during his time leading baseball operations with the Brewers. Milwaukee ran payrolls that were a fraction of what the Mets do under Cohen, of course, so thats not nece sarily an indication of how Stearns will operate in Queens. Even after paying Soto a record $51MM average annual value, New York has an estimated luxury tax payroll around $252MM (via ). Thatll probably end up north of $300MM by the end of the offseason. They could certainly accommodate Alonso financially. New York also needs to add at least one starter and will probably deepen the bullpen via another acquisition or two. Jose Cuas Jersey
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