Pete Alonso Predicted to Lose Mets Negotiation, Take Deal Team Offers

The New York Mets' first baseman for the past six seasons, Pete Alonso, is likely to become the Mets' first baseman for at least the next two, according to a prediction issued Thursday by a former MLB Executive of the Year.

Just a few days after he said he was exhausted by the Alonso negotiations, Mets billionaire owner Steve Cohen — the 39th-richest person in the United States, according to Forbes magazine — has restarted talks with Alonso and agent Scott Boras, who represents the 30-year-old slugger.

According to a report by Andy Martino, baseball reporter for the Mets cable television network SNY, the Mets have an offer out to Alonso for three years at a total of $70 million. But the offer includes a portion of that money paid on a deferred basis, bringing Alonso's actual pay over the next three seasons, should he sign the deal, to around $60 million, Martino reported.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 17: Pete Alonso #20 of the New York Mets reacts during the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during Game Four of the National League Championship Series at... Luke Hales/Getty Images

But that may be the best Alonso will be able to do, according to Jim Bowden, former general manager for both the Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals. Bowden was the youngest GM in baseball when he was first hired by the Reds in 1992 at age 31. In 1999, when he guided the Reds to 96 wins with the 10th-lowest payroll in MLB, he was named MLB Executive of the Year by Baseball America.

"Look, Pete Alonso is gonna lose this negotiation. It is what it is," Bowden, now a writer for The Athletic, said on the "Foul Territory" podcast Thursday. "But he needs to do the best he can to get the most money up front like Cody Bellinger did with the Cubs two years ago, which was another Boras client, and then be able to opt out in two years and hope that the market for first baseman is better, and that he can put up two years of 40 home runs a year."

In 2019, Alonso set an MLB rookie record belting 53 home runs, breaking Aaron Judge's record of 52 set two years earlier. He hit 40 in 2022 and 46 in 2023 before sliding to a career-low 37 (outside of the shortened 2020 season) in 2024.

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