Pete Alonso Now Predicted to Go Back to New York Mets on Short-Term Deal

Free agent New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso has seen his first foray into the open market fall flat, at least so far, with 34 days remaining until the opening of spring training. Several teams that were initially reported to be interested in the former National League Rookie of the Year looked elsewhere to fill their first base needs, and Alonso as a consequence saw his available options winnow down to almost nothing.

Teams are believed to have an issue with Alonso’s asking price as well. According to a report on Tuesday, super-agent Scott Boras, who represents Alonso, has been telling prospective suitors that he wants Alonso’s deal to match the one given way back in 2012 by the Detroit Tigers to Prince Fielder. Why Boras would see the market more than a decade ago as a good comparison for player values today is not clear, but the Fielder contract paid $214 million over nine years.

On Monday, however, ESPN’s Jeff Passan predicted Alonso would not receive any such long-term, nine-figure offer and instead would end up back with the Mets on a contract for far fewer than nine years.

Alonso will “almost certainly get an opt-out-laden short-term deal,” Passan said. In fact, it appears to be the case that the Mets have already taken steps in that direction, offering Alonso a three-year deal at a total of $90 million. Alonso obviously rejected that offer and continues to follow Boras’s lead and chase a long-term deal.

The Yankees blog Bleeding Yankee Blue also examined the Alonso situation on Wednesday and arrived at the same prediction: Alonso back to the Mets for few years and low money.

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“What’s the likely scenario? Alonso probably heads back to the Mets on a short-term deal, maybe with an opt-out clause,” Bleeding Yankee Blue wrote. “MLB fans do like Pete, Mets fans definitely do. But big money and a lengthy contract for him now? That’s a fairy tale I would never buy into.”

Adding to the puzzling question of why Boras would compare his client to Prince Fielder is the fact that Fielder’s contract was not a success story but a cautionary tale. Fielder played just two of the contract’s nine years in Detroit before the Tigers dumped his salary, or a portion of it, by trading him to the Texas Rangers for Ian Kinsler. The Tigers agreed to pay a share of Fielder’s contract to persuade Texas to make the trade.

Fielder lasted just over two more years in baseball before a series of neck injuries forced him out of the game in July, 2016. He did not officially retire, however, and was able to collect his $24 million annual salary through the 2020 season.

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