Well, Marc Malusis has a New Year’s Resolution for Pete Alonso: re-sign with the Mets.
“Nobody’s perfect, everyone is going to make mistakes, and the point is you have to learn from those mistakes over the course of your life – and I bring that up and bring it into the sports world because I’m thinking about Pete Alonso on this New Year’s Eve, for a number of different reasons,” Moose said as he opened his NYE midday show. “Alonso is on the outside looking in for an organization, in the New York Mets, that he was the face of for a number of years, but that changed last year with Francisco Lindor, and changes even more with the addition of Juan Soto.”
Speaking of mistakes to learn from, Alonso turned down a $158 million contract extension in 2023, and now, he remains a free agent as the calendar turns to 2025, with the Mets’ best offer seemingly three years at $90 million – more per year than that extension, but less years, less money, and less certainty for the back half of his thirties.
“As Alonso right now is looking at a franchise that he loves, adores, and takes great pride in, and has told everyone he wants to be back with, his free agency market has dwindled for a number of reasons, and everything is trending in the wrong direction,” Moose said.
Moose, remembering the past, remembers Darryl Strawberry signing a then-massive five-year, $20 million deal with the Dodgers after being the face of the Mets for most of the late-1980s…and how one of Straw’s biggest regrets was doing that, and leaving the Mets.
“As you’ve seen the marketplace dwindle, and we’ve seen the Astros sign Walker and the Yankees sign Goldschmidt and so on, if you’re Pete Alonso here, look back and learn from the past,” Moose said. “Another great, unbelievable homegrown Met in Darryl Strawberry regrets that he left. Money is money, I get it, and if Alonso goes out and gets a $200 million offer, great; but the message I would have for Alonso is this: don’t make a decision you will regret. Learn from Strawberry and the past, and understand where home is.”
Yes, the Mets could slide Mark Vientos to first long-term, or sign a stopgap and look toward the Vlad Guerrero sweepstakes in 2025-26, and with Soto, their offense could be okay – but it’s about more than that to Moose.
“The Mets will transition away if they have to, and Alonso is a guy Mets fans adore,” Moose said. “I always thought Alonso would come back, and I'm not saying he won't, but he has to take the reins of this free agency. Money plays, I get it, and I don't fault any player for trying to get every single possible last dollar. But I would say, if you're Alonzo, realize where your marketplace is, and don't go out there and make a foolish decision thinking the grass is greener someplace else, and they regret it down the line.
You’ve been here through some really, really bad times, and some good times as well.”
So almighty dollar be damned, Pete: follow your heart.
“You hit free agency and watch Soto get $765 million and you want to say to yourself, well, where's mine? Why am I not gonna get that? Because you're not as good of a hitter,” Moose said. “As the reports come out that the Giants are interested in adding Alonso and that there's a sizable gap between what Alonso wants and what the Mets are willing to offer – a far cry from what he wants, and what he turned down – well, maybe you take a deal with an opt-out, have a monster year, and take another swing at free agency. But I think back to Straw, and his regrets, and I think Alonso’s offers are going to be relatively similar, so if they’re close, don’t look back and regret leaving the Mets. Don’t make the mistake.”