Mets make their deal with Juan Soto official, press conference today, 3 PM

Plus, Scott Boras insists Pete Alonso's market is robust right now, but its hard to see a lot of fits for him

Michael Baron

Dec 12, 2024

What’s Up with the Mets? 🍎

Pete Alonso’s agent, Scott Boras, said on Wednesday he and Alonso have begun meeting with teams and insists his market is robust
The Mets are open to trading OF Starling Marte this winter, and are willing to pay down some of the $19.5 million owed over the final year of his deal (SI | Athletic)
The Mets and Reds are talking to the agents for RHP Nick Pivetta (Heyman | Sherman)
The Mets were unable to land Garrett Crochet in part because they weren’t willing to deal both Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat - the White Sox were looking for two top 100 prospects (New York Post)
The Mets lost RHP Mike Vasil to the Phillies and LHP Nate Lavender to the Rays in the Rule 5 Draft - they must be carried on the active roster for the entire season, or be returned to the Mets for a fee - the Phillies traded Vasil to the Rays for cash

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Rumor Mill 💨

The Yankees have Pete Alonso on their radar (New York Post)
The Blue Jays and Giants are currently the most aggressive teams vying for RHP Corbin Burnes (MLB.com)
The Red Sox are also looking at Corbin Burnes (Boston Globe)
The Astros are talking to the Cubs and the Yankees about a trade involving OF Kyle Tucker (Athletic)
The Red Sox are trying to acquire a starting pitcher from the Mariners (MLB Network)
The Nationals are interested in signing Gleyber Torres as a third baseman (New York Post)

Juan Soto 💰👏

The Mets made their 15-year contract with Juan Soto official on Wednesday - they will introduce him in a press conference at Citi Field at 3 PM on Thursday.

“This is a seminal moment in franchise history,” Mets Owners Steve and Alex Cohen said. “Juan Soto is a generational talent. He is not only bringing staggering historical statistics with him but also a championship pedigree. Our Amazin’ fan base is very excited to welcome Juan to Queens. Congratulations, Juan.”

“Today’s signing further solidifies our organizational commitment to consistent championship competitiveness,” said Mets President of Baseball Operations, David Stearns. “Not only does Juan provide historic levels of on field production, but his joy, intensity, and passion for the game mirror our budding culture. We are thrilled to add him to our team and look forward to watching his excellence for years to come.”

Contract details, per the New York Post:

$765 million over 15 years

$75 million signing bonus

Salaries:

$46.875 million - 2025-2026

$42.5 million - 2027

$46.875 million - 2028-2029

$46 million - 2030-2038

Club option to increase the base salary from 2030-2039 by $4 million per year. If the Mets decline, Soto may opt out after 2029.

Awards bonuses: $500,000 for 1st MVP, $350,000 for 2nd; $150,000 for 3rd-5th, $1 million for subsequent MVPs.

Where might Pete Alonso’s market be right now? ✍️

Right now, the Mets are clearly prioritizing finding pitching. They are working to reconstruct their rotation, and they need to build out their bullpen again. They know this team is only going as far as their pitching staff takes them, which is why it is a front and center issue for them even after the winter meetings concluded last night in Dallas.

But that doesn’t mean it isn’t time to revisit the Pete Alonso situation, as his market is set to become more defined with Soto off the board.

On Wednesday in Dallas, Alonso’s agent, Scott Boras, essentially suggested Alonso’s market was robust with power at a premium in the marketplace. Having said that, I can’t remember Boras ever saying the market for one of his clients was stagnant, and I wouldn’t ever expect him to say he is struggling to get one of his clients signed even though that has been evident at times in recent years.

Still, it’s hard to really see where Alonso’s market might be, at the moment anyway.

There are some reports out there the Yankees are not considering Alonso, as they’d prefer a shorter-term deal with Christian Walker, an older player who is better defensively and fits more of what they’re trying to do in the run prevention category. But then last night, the New York Post said the Yankees had Alonso on their radar, presumably as an alternative if they’re unable to work a deal out with the Cubs for Cody Bellinger. So, that could eliminate one big market team from the equation, and a point of leverage for Scott Boras in his negotiation for Alonso.

The Phillies aren’t an option with Bryce Harper now at first base, the Dodgers have Freddie Freeman locked in at first as well, and of course, the Braves have Matt Olson set at first. The Padres are looking to unload money and not add to their payroll, so that would seem unrealistic as well.

Seattle could be an option in theory, but that’s a ballpark where bats often go to die. It’s hard for me to see him wanting to go there. He seemingly loves the big stage, and Seattle isn’t exactly at the center of the baseball universe.

Houston could be an option for Alonso, but there’s a lot of buzz out there that they’re trying to jettison Kyle Tucker and perhaps Framber Valdez, among others. So, why would they sign Alonso when they could very well be eying a temporary reboot on their big league roster? And, why would Alonso - entering his age-30 season - want to go to a team which might be rebooting?

Some have suggested the Blue Jays to me. They are indeed hungry to make a big splash after losing out on Soto this winter and Shohei Ohtani last winter. They would probably like to load up ahead of the walk years for both Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette too. But how would Alonso fit into that equation? Would Toronto move Guerrero to third full time in his walk year to accommodate Alonso? In theory, that could boost Guerrero’s value if he is competent at third, but is that how Guerrero would want to be valued as a free agent, and would he re-sign with Toronto as their full-time third baseman for the duration of Alonso’s contract at a minimum?

That’s a lot of moving parts, and that doesn’t even consider whether or not Alonso would want to go there.

There are the Cubs who have long been rumored to be interested in Alonso. But what are they doing exactly and where are they as an organization? Yeah, they’re apparently in on a potential trade for Tucker, but they’ve also been rumored to be trying to move Nico Hoerner and I don’t see how they can keep Bellinger after heavily shopping him. They’ve made a couple of moves for the major league roster and they’ll add more pitching, but it remains to be seen if they’d truly be interested in committing long term to a player in their current stage. As such, would Alonso want to be there in a situation which is always in flux there? I’d still keep them in mind as a wild card in all of this, but they seem to be a franchise that’s meandering around right now.

There are the Angels who need a lot of pieces all over the roster. But they often surprise with a deal out of nowhere for a lot of money, like they did with Yusei Kikuchi earlier in the winter. Alonso would make them better, but it’s hard to see them as competitive unless they did a lot more.

There’s one team to keep an eye on from my seat, and that is the Red Sox.

Triston Casas is their first baseman right now, but there’s a lot of buzz out there that he could be moved in a package to the Mariners for one of their starting pitchers (Luis Castillo?). If that happens, that opens up first base for Alonso, who would be a great fit there in a lefty/righty combination with Rafael Devers. Of course, the Sox could shift Devers to first and try to sign Alex Bregman or trade for Nolan Arenado too. Alonso would be an upgrade to Casas offensively - there’s no question about that.

But aside from that, what else is there for Alonso right now?

Well, there are the Mets, which probably offer both sides the most both on and off the field.

I can’t help but be excited to think about Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, Juan Soto, Pete Alonso, and Mark Vientos 1-5 in the Mets lineup. That is as deep and dynamic 1-5 as there is. It’s an on-base and power machine all rolled into one, and I firmly believe the presence of Soto would make Nimmo, Alonso, and Vientos that much better. There’s the potential for 165 home runs in that part of the order alone with two 40+ home run threats in Soto and Alonso hitting back-to-back with a ton of on-base in front of them, and that’s before they get to Vientos.

It’s also an opportunity for Alonso to not be the center point of an offense, which both he and Lindor have been for the last four years here. With Soto, he would become a complimentary piece, which is hard to believe considering Alonso is a 40+ home run presence himself.

And as we all know, Alonso knows this franchise, knows New York, knows how to win in New York, he loves the big stage and the bright lights, the Mets have the opening, and the need can pay him fair market value, the latter of which doesn’t exist in a lot of places in the market.

I see this playing out similarly to the way Nimmo’s free agency played out a couple of years ago. It took a while, but eventually, the two sides circled back on each other after Nimmo shopped his services in the marketplace and made a fair deal.

Of course, Alonso is a different player than Nimmo, and more playing opportunities can pop up anytime for him, but right now, I don’t see much of a runway for him in the market, which, coupled with a mutual desire for a reunion, leads me to believe this will eventually work out between Alonso and the Mets.

Despite the inflated prices in the marketplace this winter, I still believe a fair contract for Alonso is five years, $125-130 million or six years, $150-156 million ($25-26 million per year). Maybe it ticks up a bit because of this market, but as we all know, first base isn’t particularly valued in free agency as it’s not a premium position.

Around the League 🚩

The Red Sox sent four prospects to the White Sox to land LHP Garrett Crochet (official)
The Rangers signed RHP Jacob Webb to a one-year deal (official)
Guardians broadcaster Tom Hamilton is the 2025 Ford C. Frick Award winner and will be inducted into the hall of fame in July (official)
RHP Jonathan Loaisiga is going back to the Yankees on a one-year deal (ESPN)