Steve Cohen once again played an integral role in recruiting a star player

Steve Cohen and Pete Alonso met face-to-face to get a deal done in Tampa earlier this week

AP

What’s up with the Mets? 🍎

• Owner Steve Cohen played an integral role in the return of Pete Alonso to the Mets (NY Post)

• After a bit of a down year, Alonso could recapture his elite power tool this season (MLB)

• Both the Mets and the slugger need a bounce back season from the first baseman (Athletic)

• Darryl Strawberry is excited for the Polar Bear’s return and his potential to break the franchise’s home run record (MLB)

• Brandon Sproat, Jett Williams, and Luisangel Acuña will most likely be the Padres top targets in a deal for Dylan Cease (NY Post)

• The Mets still haven’t ruled out a reunion with Jose Iglesias (NY Post)

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Rumor Mill 💨

• Alex Bregman is still seeking a long-term deal despite it being late in the offseason (USA Today)

• The Twins are looking for a backup shortstop to Carlos Correa (Athletic)

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Both Pete Alonso and the Mets get a second chance… ✍️

NY Post

Pete Alonso is finally back with the Mets after a tumultuous offseason with what might have appeared as bitter negotiations played out in the media on both sides.

This was most likely not the offseason the slugger envisioned when he turned down a seven-year, $158 million extension in 2023. The Mets parted ways with Billy Eppler and brought in David Stearns, who is very efficient when it comes to reading the market and handing out contracts.

Couple that with a down season from Alonso, and the big contract never materialized. He bet on himself and lost. But the common denominators prevailed. He always wanted to come back, the Mets always wanted to bring him back.

And now, he has an opportunity to bet on himself again after receiving the highest single-season salary for a first baseman in the history of baseball, and at worst, his total deal matches the average annual value given to Freddie Freeman.

Last year, Alonso hit .240/.329/.459 with 34 home runs and 88 RBI, a far cry from 2022 when he set the franchise record for RBI in a single season with 131. His bWAR of 2.6 was the lowest of his career, not counting the COVID-shortened season of 2020.

Perhaps it was the lack of a contract that weighed on the first baseman, which led to him pressing for the entire year? Only he knows that for sure. If so, that should be behind him with this new contract, which is a two-year max deal. He does have an opt-out, which could make it only a one-year deal, but if disaster strikes, he does have a safety net with a second year. The pressure of a new deal is now gone, and with the addition of Juan Soto to help support him in the lineup, there is less pressure on him as well.

Barring anything unforeseen, he will cement himself in the Mets record books as the new home run leader. This will be a nice celebration for the first baseman who has been a great Met since he entered the league in 2019. This scenario is a win-win for both him and the organization. The team has a determined Alonso back who is looking for the record and a big payday, while Alonso is back with the only organization he has ever known.

Hopefully, when the 2025 season is written, the bitterness will be a thing of the past, and both sides will get the happy ending to the story they are hoping to write. And who knows? Maybe he and the Mets will eventually work out a longer-term deal that will make him a Met for life.

And if that happens, perhaps he won’t be so quick to turn it down.

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Around the League 🚩

• Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was sentenced to almost five years in prison for stealing $17 million from Ohtani (ESPN)

• The Angels signed third baseman Yoan Moncada to a one-year deal worth $5 million

• Tommy Pham signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates for one year and $4 million

• MLB owners voted to approve John Seidler as control person of the Padres after the death of his brother Peter Seidler

• According to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, fans are concerned about the lack of a salary cap in Major League Baseball (ESPN)