First baseman Pete Alonso will stay with the New York Mets, agreeing to a two-year contract worth $54 million.
The deal was confirmed on Wednesday night, with the agreement, still subject to a successful physical.
Alonso will receive a $10 million signing bonus and a salary of $20 million this year, plus $24 million in 2026. He has the option to opt out after the 2025 season to become a free agent again.
New York had also offered Alonso a $71 million, three-year deal, which included salaries of $27 million in 2025 and $22 million in each of the next two seasons, with the ability to opt out after each of the first two years, according to the source.
Alonso, who turned 30 on December 7, took longer than other top players to sign. Among other free-agent first basemen, Christian Walker signed a $60 million, three-year deal with Houston, while Paul Goldschmidt (New York Yankees) and Carlos Santana (Cleveland) agreed to one-year deals.
Mets owner Steve Cohen expressed frustration last month, stating that negotiations for Alonso were tougher than those for a record $765 million, 15-year contract with Juan Soto, who, like Alonso, is represented by agent Scott Boras.
Pete Alonso celebrates after his home run“I don’t like the structures that are being presented to us,” Cohen said. “It’s highly asymmetric against us and I feel strongly about it. I will never say no. You know, there’s always a possibility. But the reality is that we’re moving forward and we continue to bring in players. And as we continue to bring in players, the reality is, it becomes harder to fit Pete into what is a very expensive group of players that we already have.”
Previously, Alonso rejected a $158 million, seven-year offer in 2023 from his former agency that would have covered 2024-30. After the 2023 season, he switched to Boras and agreed to a $20.5 million, one-year deal that avoided arbitration.
Alonso has hit 226 homers over six seasons with the Mets and became a four-time All-Star, but his strikeouts increased to a career-high 172 last year while his OPS dropped to a career-low .788.
Nicknamed the Polar Bear, Alonso became a fan favorite at Citi Field as a home-grown member of the Mets.
He was the NL Rookie of the Year in 2019, when he hit .260 with a major-league-high 53 homers—setting a rookie record—and 120 RBIs. He had a career-high 131 RBIs in 2022.
Alonso batted a career-low .217 in 2023, hitting 46 homers and driving in 118 runs, then hit .240 with 34 homers and 88 RBIs this year. His three-run, ninth-inning homer off Devin Williams helped the Mets beat Milwaukee in the decisive third game of their NL Wild Card Series.
After losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Championship Series, the Mets added Soto and right-handers Frankie Montas, Clay Holmes, and Griffin Canning, along with left-hander A.J. Minter. They also re-signed left-hander Sean Manaea, right-hander Ryne Stanek, and outfielder Jesse Winker.
