Sometimes a number sticks in your head and refuses to leave. For the New York Mets, that number is 264. It’s the home run total Pete Alonso leaves behind as he steps back into free agency, a reminder of just how much thunder has lived in his bat and how complicated his value has become as he moves through his thirties. The Mets know the player better than anyone. They also know the market doesn’t always reward nostalgia.
A Familiar Free Agency, A Very Different Landscape
Alonso opting out of the final year of his two-year, 54 million dollar deal didn’t catch anyone off guard. The surprise is how quiet the path forward looks for a hitter who still ranks among the most intimidating sluggers in baseball. He and Scott Boras came into the winter dreaming of seven years, but the league has made its stance clear. At 31, with limited defensive and baserunning value, clubs aren’t lining up to stretch the contract deep into the next decade.
Even a four or five-year offer isn’t a lock, and that alone shapes how the Mets might play this. They’ve said the reunion matters to them. They’ve repeated it enough that you can feel the sincerity. But they’re also letting Alonso walk the halls of the Winter Meetings and hear other voices. They did it last year. They’re doing it again now.
The Field Emerges While the Mets Stay Quiet
Two teams have put themselves in front of the line: the Boston Red Sox and the Baltimore Orioles. Alonso is scheduled to sit down with both this week in Orlando, meetings that at least clarify who’s serious about adding a middle-of-the-order threat. What remains unclear is whether the Mets will carve out their own time with him.
That mystery lingers over everything, and Mike Puma’s report only added to the uncertainty. Alonso will be in the building. His suitors will be in the building. The Mets might be, too, but no one’s saying if a conversation is actually on the calendar. And that silence says something. For a team that insists it wants him back, the Mets aren’t pushing to control the process.
Value, Risk, And a Decision the Mets Can’t Escape
The question at the center of all this is simple: what is Pete Alonso worth right now? A 141 wRC+ in 2025, plus 38 home runs and 126 RBI, is usually the kind of line that commands attention. Alonso can still change a game with a single swing. Very few hitters in the league create that kind of instant leverage. The bat remains elite.
But teams aren’t just buying home runs. They’re buying the aging curve, the lack of positional flexibility, the probability that the offense stays loud enough to mask everything else. If someone steps forward with four or five guaranteed years, most evaluators believe the Mets will back away. Anything shorter, and New York is fully in the race. They just won’t bid against themselves, and they won’t chase a contract structure they don’t believe in.
What Comes Next
For now, Alonso is taking meetings with other clubs and gathering information. The Mets can afford patience, but they can’t avoid the choice forever. Letting their all-time home run leader walk a second time would reshape not just the roster but the identity of a team trying to push out of transition and back into relevance.
The Mets want him, but on their terms. The market wants him, but not on his. Somewhere in the middle, a deal either finds its shape or slips away. And until that truth reveals itself, the Mets are left hoping the number 264 doesn’t become the last meaningful one Alonso ever gives them.