First baseman Pete Alonso has already said he will be opting out of his deal with the Mets and re-entering free agency, which could set up another will-they-won’t-they winter. A report from Will Sammon of The Athletic suggests that the Mets aren’t thrilled with Alonso’s defense and that spending more time at designated hitter may be necessary if the two sides do end up reuniting.
Alonso has been a mainstay at first base for the Mets for many years. He has started at least 134 games there in each of the past six full seasons, including at least 160 games in each of the past two campaigns.
While that reliable presence is valuable, the actual results have been less consistent. Defensive Runs Saved oscillated between giving Alonso positive and negative grades earlier in his career but has soured on him more recently. He was credited with a -3 score last year and -9 this season, bringing him down to -7 for his whole career. Outs Above Average has been more consistently down on him, as 2021 is the only year that metric had him above average. He’s at -33 for his career overall, including -8 in 2024 and -9 in 2025.
Alonso has only ever played for the Mets but the club seemed willing to let him go last winter. He reached free agency and lingered unsigned until February, when he and the Mets finally reunited on a two-year, $54MM deal which allowed him to opt out after the first season. Just prior to that reunion, Mets owner Steve Cohen publicly complained about the “exhausting” negotiations.
It was often speculated last offseason that the Mets were willing to let Alonso walk. At that point, the Mets would perhaps move Mark Vientos from third base to first base, leaving the hot corner open for someone like Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio or Luisangel Acuña. Now that Alonso is returning to free agency, that kind of speculation might return.
It’s unknown if Alonso is willing to spend more time in the DH slot or if he prides himself on continuing to be out there at first. If he is open to it, the Mets could accommodate him. Most of their DH at-bats went to Starling Marte this year, with Jesse Winker also in the mix before he got hurt. Both players are impending free agents, so the Mets could offer plenty of DH time to Alonso or someone else.
It’s also possible Alonso plays for a team other than the Mets for the first time. He didn’t get the long-term deal he was looking for last winter but his upcoming market could be stronger. He won’t be attached to a qualifying offer this time since players can only receive the QO once. He’s also coming off a better offensive platform, having increased his batting line from .240/.329/.459 in 2024 to .272/.347/.524 in 2025. But on the other hand, he’s about to turn 31 years old and other teams might be just as concerned about his glovework as the Mets.
Speaking of Marte, he spoke to Sammon this week, saying that he hopes to play for several more years and would be open to doing that as a Met. “Only God knows, but with continued good health, I’d love to have the opportunity to play at least three or four more years,” Marte said, “and continue to be part of this team and continue to help the young guys grow.”
Marte last reached free agency ahead of the 2022 season, when he was going into his age-33 campaign. He and the Mets agreed to a four-year, $78MM pact, which is now ending. The first year went well, as he slashed .292/.347/.468 for a 133 wRC+ and stole 18 bases.
However, he required groin surgery after that season and hasn’t been at that level since. He made multiple trips to the IL in 2023 and hit just .248/.301/.324 for a wRC+ of 75. He has bounced back somewhat in the two most recent seasons. He just hit .270/.335/.410 for a 112 wRC+ this year but, as mentioned, was mostly a DH. He only logged 65 innings in the outfield.
The bat is still decent but he’s about to turn 37 years old, so he’s probably ticketed for a part-time role somewhere. Based on Sammon’s piece, Marte seems to also provide intangibles as a clubhouse leader. That could help his market somewhat but he’ll have considerably less earning power than in his previous trip to free agency. As mentioned, the Mets have DH at-bats available, though they will probably wait to see how things go with Alonso and other free agents before they consider bringing back Marte.
Elsewhere on the roster, Andy Martino of SNY provides an update on left-hander Sean Manaea. Martino says Manaea finished the season with his elbow feeling good and may not need surgery, though the final decision will wait until after a cool-down period.
Manaea began the season on the injured list due to an oblique strain. He was working back from that injury in June when a loose body was found in his elbow. Despite that elbow issue, he made it back from the IL in July.
His results from there weren’t great, though there was less concern under the hood. A 5.64 earned run average is obviously not good but his 28.5% strikeout rate and 4.6% walk rate were both strong. He allowed 13 home runs in just 60 2/3 innings, with a home run to flyball rate of 19.4% in that small sample. His 3.08 SIERA, a measure that corrects for such abnormalities, suggested his ERA would have been much better with some normalization in a larger sample size.
The Mets signed the lefty to a three-year, $75MM deal coming into this season. They will obviously want him to be fully healthy and back to his usual self next year, especially with questions all throughout the rest of their rotation. The fact that he’s trending towards not needing surgery is encouraging, though further updates should be forthcoming in the future.
Photo courtesy of Brad Mills, Imagn Images