Pete Alonso free agency: Why slugger may face another chilly market this offseason, plus landing spots

Earlier this week, first baseman Pete Alonso officially exercised the opt-out clause in his contract that will see him walk away from the one year, $24 million left on his pact with the New York Mets. Alonso, 31 come December, will instead re-enter free agency hoping to land a more lucrative deal than the one he settled for last offseason, in his first foray on the open market. 

On the eve of free agency, it’s fair to write there’s no guarantee of that coming to fruition. 

Although Alonso has had a productive career, averaging 42 home runs and a 135 OPS+ per 162 games, there are numerous factors working against him. Those include his age and skill set, and extend to the market’s general weariness to invest heavily in any right-handed-hitting first baseman.

Scroll slowly with us now for more on that dynamic and some potential Alonso landing spots.

1. Coming off great season

Again, Alonso had a terrific year. His 144 OPS+ was the third-best mark of his career and his finest since 2022. He posted career-high marks in both hard-hit and sweet-spot percentages (fancy ways of saying he hit the ball with authority and at fruitful trajectories). He even improved his strikeout rate, dropping it to a three-year low (albeit without a corresponding bump in contact rate).

The reality is that, shy of morphing into a completely different player, there’s not much within Alonso’s control that he could do to make himself a more attractive long-term signing. 

2. Market reservations may remain

Despite all of the above, some front offices may consider Alonso and figure the only difference between now and last year is that he’s 12 months older — and thereby closer to his downturn.

This isn’t 1997. Teams are wiser and choosier about who they prioritize in free agency, with more of a premium placed on players who offer better positional or platoon value. That’s bad news for first basemen, particularly right-handed ones, who are more likely to be viewed as fungible these days.

Granted, there have been exceptions. Those tend to be the elites of the elite, however: your Albert Pujols here, Miguel Cabrera there, and so on. These days, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is the benchmark. Alonso, for as good as he was in 2025 and as good as he’s been in his career, isn’t on that level. He’s also almost five years older.

3. What precedent says about contract

You needn’t trust our read of the market on this matter. Just look at recent history.

Since winter 2019, four first basemen have signed a contract for five years or longer — and only one of those was as a free agent. The others were the extensions signed by Vladimir Guerrero Jr.. Matt Olson, and Evan White (a pre-debut deal that busted for the Seattle Mariners). The free-agent exception was Freddie Freeman, a better pure hitter than Alonso who inked a five-year pact worth $162 million.

Freeman’s $27 million AAV is also illustrative because it’s tied with Alonso for the second highest for a first baseman during that period. Guerrero is the only first baseman to clear $30 million per annum (he’s around $35 million). Additionally, just one other player who can be classified as a first baseman, Cody Bellinger, cleared $25 million annually — and Bellinger sees most of his action in the outfield. 

Given that precedent, there’s no sense expecting Alonso to sign for a super long term or blockbuster AAV — at least not relative to what true marquee free agents receive anymore.

4. Few clear landing spots

Finding a good home for Alonso is trickier than it seems because of the above factors. The New York Mets, his only employer to date, may prefer to install Mark Vientos at the cold corner, or pursue a cheaper alternative so that they can allocate more of their resources toward the pitching staff.

“Pete is a great Met,” Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said shortly after the regular season ended. “He had a fantastic year. I said this last year and it worked out: I’d love to have Pete back, and we’ll see where the offseason goes.”

While Alonso did in fact reunite with the Mets ahead of the 2025 season, it took until February for an agreement to come together. More importantly, it followed some messy negotiations that included owner Steve Cohen publicly suggesting the Mets were ready to proceed without Alonso. The abbreviated two-year term (with an opt-out opportunity after the first year) made it clear that neither side was necessarily approaching this as a long-term partnership.

Some of the potential contenders with the most apparent need have cheaper internal options they can use instead: the Arizona Diamondbacks with Tyler Locklear, the Cincinnati Reds with Sal Stewart. Elsewhere, the San Francisco Giants have Bryce Eldridge coming (not to mention Rafael Devers in place), and the New York Yankees have Ben Rice. That’s without getting into stickier situations, like the Houston Astros, who just signed Christian Walker last winter.

One of CBS Sports’ Mike Axisa’s bold offseason predictions had Alonso joining the Boston Red Sox. Beyond that, you start to get into situations where you have to get creative. Could the San Diego Padres work Alonso into their budget? What about the Tampa Bay Rays, now under a new owner who may want to make a splash with a local product? The Washington Nationals and their incoming front office? 

Again, there’s not a clean fit to be found — even if that speaks more to the league’s modern philosophy than it does a true defect on Alonso’s part.