Mets owner Steve Cohen doesn’t appear too worried about Pete Alonso having a monster season to raise his value even further before he hits free agency next winter.
In fact, he was hoping for it while appearing on the Mets’ team-endorsed new podcast, Meet At The Apple.
“I hope he hits 55 home runs and makes it so difficult on me in free agency,” Cohen said. “I would call that a great outcome.”
Cohen obviously has the money to outbid everyone in free agency for the slugger’s services — he’s the richest owner in baseball and Alonso is already tracking toward a handsome payday next winter, anyway. The 29-year-old has been Major League Baseball’s most prolific slugger since debuting in 2019 with 192 home runs. No one in the game has hit more than him during that span.
This is the kind of talent the Mets have not been able to develop from their homegrown ranks and sustain since Darryl Strawberry, who did not meet his full potential more than 30 years ago. Understanding that, Cohen wants Alonso playing nowhere else in 2025 and beyond.
“Listen, we want to keep him,” Cohen said. “He’s an important part of our team today and hopefully in the future. We know the fans feel strongly about him. And I’m not tone-deaf. I totally understand the fans’ love of Pete.”
Following the 2023 campaign in which he slugged 46 home runs, Alonso switched representation to Scott Boras to position himself for what will be a pivotal offseason — because this winter certainly was not that.
President of baseball operations David Stearns was non-committal about discussing Alonso’s future with the club before ultimately admitting earlier this month that free agency would be “the most likely outcome.”
