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New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso

Most teams around Major League Baseball don’t value first basemen at the level they should. That was the unfortunate reality for New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso last winter, having to take a two-year deal with an opt-out after the first season.

It’s a tough situation for Alonso to be in heading into this winter. Still, the expectation around Major League Baseball is for him to get paid handsomely this time around.

As long as Alonso continues to swing the bat at the level he has throughout the entire campaign, hitting 29 home runs and driving in 106 RBIs, there shouldn’t be much of a question on whether he’ll get paid or not.

The bigger question is if he’ll opt out of that contract, and according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, Alonso is likely to do so.

“Through 70 games this season, it looked like Alonso would wind up in the National League Most Valuable Player conversation, hitting 17 home runs with 63 RBIs and a .981 OPS. Since then, Alonso has 12 home runs, 40 RBIs and a .693 OPS in 60 games, his performance dipping significantly from his red-hot start. Still, with few true power bats heading to the open market, Alonso is likely to decline his $24 million option and give free agency another whirl,” he wrote .

Is Pete Alonso Worth the Money?

For the New York Mets, they’ll have to determine what they believe Alonso is worth on the open market.

Last winter, it didn’t seem like Steve Cohen and David Stearns wanted to keep Alonso around too much, unless they understood that no other team was willing to give him any sort of money that he would’ve accepted.

As a result, Alonso returned to the Mets on a short-term deal, but some don’t expect that to be the case this time around.

That includes Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report, who thinks he could get a four-year, $110 million contract.

Pete Alonso has a $24M player option for 2026, but it is just about a foregone conclusion that he will be declining it and venturing back into free agency for a second consecutive winter, hoping to find a market more willing to invest in what has been one of the best sluggers over the past seven years…

“Between Alonso faring better in 2025 than he did in 2024 and Vientos taking a gigantic step backward, the Mets may well be willing to increase the length of their offer, even though he’s now a year older. Prediction: 4 years, $110M with the New York Mets,” he wrote .

Will There Be a Market for the Mets Star?

With Alonso only continuing to swing the bat at the level he has for the New York Mets, there should be more teams than just New York interested in signing him.

When searching for potential fits, Feinsand named the San Francisco Giants and Boston Red Sox as suitors the Mets might have to be careful for.

“Like Bregman, it took Alonso until mid-February to land a deal, re-signing with the Mets for two years and $54 million. Alonso can opt out of the final year and $24 million of the deal to give free agency another try, and with 28 home runs, 101 RBIs and an .862 OPS through 126 games this season, that scenario appears likely. Potential fits: Giants, Mets, Red Sox,” he noted.

The Red Sox are actively pursuing a first baseman, and Alonso fits perfectly with the Red Monster at Fenway Park.

Jon Conahan covers the NBA and NFL for Heavy.com. Since 2019, his sports coverage has appeared at Sports Illustrated, oddschecker, ClutchPoints and Sportskeeda. More about Jon Conahan