New York Mets’ Pete Alonso flies out with the bases loaded during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

Pete Alonso didn’t get the contract he desired in his first trip through free agency. Now the New York Mets first baseman is taking another crack at it.

It was no surprise when Alonso told reporters at the end of the regular season that he would decline his $24 million option for 2026 and become a free agent. Recently, Mike Puma of the New York Post reported that he would seek at least a seven-year deal.

Alonso has been one of the games foremost sluggers since his debut, when he set an MLB record with 53 home runs by a rookie in 2019. He has never hit fewer than 34 home runs in a full season, including 38 in 2025, when he also led the National League with 41 doubles. He is perhaps most recognized for winning the MLB Home Run Derby in both 2019 and 2021.

Overall, he batted .272/.347/.524 this year at the age of 30, and his career 135 OPS+ indicates he has been a 35% better hitter than an average MLB player. He has also been especially durable throughout his career. He played all 162 games in each of the last two seasons, and has never missed more than 10 games in any year of his career, all of which has been spent with the Mets.

When he became a free agent last offseason, he expected a big payout, especially after he reportedly turned down a seven-year, $158 million extension during the 2023 season. He was unquestionably the top player at his position in free agency last year going by age, recent production, and durability, but when the first base musical chairs stopped, he was left without a seat. The Mets scooped him back up on what was essentially a one-year contract.

A year ago, Alonso wasn’t seen as a sure-thing despite his consistent power production. For one thing, he is perceived as a poor defender who will likely have to move to designated hitter during the life of a long-term contract. The bigger concern was that his power appeared to wane during the second half of the 2024 season based on the exit velocity and swing speed metrics.

In 2025, he alleviated those concerns by posting a career-best 93.5 mph average exit velocity. In fact, he achieved personal bests in most of the advanced power metrics on Baseball Savant.

Since he’s still a relatively young free agent who will turn 31 in December, he should have more offers to his liking. However, it’s still unlikely he finds the seven-year deal he seeks. Keeping a defensively limited power hitter under contract through age 37 rarely works out well.

It’s more probable that he gets something like a five-year deal with options for additional years. That would still put him in line to become one of the highest-paid first basemen in the game, and one of the top free agents available this offseason.

Pete Alonso doesn’t officially become a free agent until five days after the end of the World Series, but based on the season he just had, it’ll be a much more rewarding experience for him than it was last year.