The New York Mets agreed to a two-year, $54 million deal with Pete Alonso last offseason to keep him in Queens for at least one more season.
Alonso’s deal with the Mets comes with a player option for next season. Following another All-Star campaign this year, MLB insider Mark Feinsand revealed he is “likely” to decline his option and test the market again.
Considering he agreed to a short-term deal, there may not have been much interest in him around the league last winter. However, after playing even better this year, that figures to change. He entered Friday with a better batting average, better OPS, more RBIs and more doubles than last season. He is also on pace to hit more home runs than last season.
Alonso seems destined to find a longer deal like he was searching for last season. However, the Mets may not be able to afford him anymore. They already have one of the highest payrolls in baseball. The Boston Red Sox could be an ideal landing spot for the five-time All-Star this winter.
The Boston Red Sox have their own potential superstar free agent to worry about. However, after trading Rafael Devers and the remainder of his $313 million contract, the team has room to spend on Alonso.
Alonso could fill a huge need for the Red Sox as well. The team is currently fighting to make the postseason and potentially win the division. However, they have a need at first base.
They came into the year with high expectations of Triston Casas. However, he suffered a season-ending injury and was not playing well even before his injury. The Red Sox have a young core, highlighted by Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, Marcelo Mayer and Wilyer Abreu. If they think they are in a position to win now, and a first baseman is the only thing holding them back, they could take a big swing at Alonso.
He is one of the best first basemen in the sport. Spotrac projects him to sign a six-year, $175 million deal in free agency. There will be plenty of competition to land him, but Craig Breslow could be aggressive if it means bringing another World Series to Boston.
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