Pete Alonso is ‘sitting back and listening’ to Mets as free agency looms over walk year

PORT ST. LUCIE, Florida — There have always been extra eyeballs on Pete Alonso and his baseball career. Whether it was the attention to his subpar defense as a minor leaguer, his MLB-leading 53 home runs as a rookie, his charitable endeavors, his presence and impact in the Mets clubhouse, or his antics and passion on the field, Alonso is used to the publicity that has accompanied his stardom in the game.

The thing is, Alonso has yet to experience the megawatt spotlight of playing in a walk year and how that attention can have the power to change his season, for better or worse. On Saturday afternoon, Alonso’s first day at Mets spring training, the bombardment of questions surrounding his contract situation was his first sample of what to expect this season.

“For me, right now, I’ve just been sitting back and listening,” Alonso said of his negotiations with the Mets. “And the only contract matters that we talked about were my one-year contract this year.”

Alonso and the Mets avoided arbitration last month when the two sides agreed on a one-year, $20.5 million contract for the 2024 season – his final year of team control. When asked directly if Alonso and his agent, Scott Boras, had any long-term contract talks with the Mets, he reiterated that their conversations were only regarding his arbitration deal.

“Definitely, we welcome conversation,” Alonso said. “It’s just that the only conversation we had, it was about the one-year deal.”

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns acknowledged earlier this week that “probably the most likely outcome” is that the Mets will wait until after the season to discuss a possible deal with Alonso.

On one hand, the longer the Mets wait to sign their Polar Bear, or even make him a serious offer, the louder the noise will get. Alonso is too important to the Mets franchise, too valuable as a player, and the Mets are too rich, led by Steve Cohen’s billions, for there to be any nuance on the matter now, at this juncture, as he approaches free agency.

On the other hand, it’s not surprising that the Mets will let the season play out before entering serious contract discussions because Alonso hired Boras as his agent at the start of the offseason. Boras encourages his clients to test the market in free agency rather than potentially accept a team-friendly deal on a hometown discount. Stearns, too, acknowledged that “when you have a really talented player who’s entering his final year of club control, who happens to be represented by Scott Boras, these things generally end up in free agency.” Brandon Nimmo is the Mets’ most recent example of reuniting with a player who is a Boras client after he explores the market.

It’s possible Alonso and the Mets are still too far apart in contract negotiations to deep dive into further discussions. If that’s the case, Alonso can help himself out by having a huge season. Aaron Judge and the Yankees publicly disagreed about his contract value ahead of his walk year, and then the slugger rocketed 62 home runs and forced the Yankees to listen. Judge wound up increasing his value and getting an enormous pay day in the form of $360 million over nine years. Alonso can now take a similar approach to his free agency. Even so, it will be interesting to see how he handles the megawatt spotlight and the pressure.

“My whole focus this year is to be the best I can be,” Alonso said. “Be as locked in mentally and physically as possible to help this team win. That’s my job. And yeah, I mean, we’ll see what happens in the future. I don’t know what’s gonna happen. But I’m fully committed to being the best player I can be to help this team win.”

If the walk year itself wasn’t enough motivation to put up a powerful season, Alonso created another incentive to hit as many home runs as he possibly can. The first baseman opened his first press conference of the year Saturday by announcing that he will donate $1,000 to animal shelters for every home run he hits this season. Alonso said in particular he will try to get dogs out of “kill shelters,” which typically have an overpopulation of stray and abandoned animals.

Alonso’s commitment to charitable endeavors and community service is just another reason Steve Cohen’s Mets should do their best to secure a long-term deal with the slugger. Cohen’s wife, Alex, is also dedicated to giving back through her Amazin’ Mets Foundation and said the first ever conversation she and Steve had with Alonso, back when the Cohen’s bought the club in 2020, was about community service.

“Hopefully there’s a lot of homers and we get to save a lot of animals,” Alonso said.

Alonso said he doesn’t have a hard deadline for the Mets to discuss contract negotiations like Francisco Lindor did ahead of his walk year in 2021. Instead, Alonso said multiple times that he’s “just here, sitting back and listening,” indicating the Mets could make a serious offer at any point in the upcoming season and he would consider it. As far as handling the added distraction, Alonso listed his former teammates in Todd Frazier, Robinson Cano, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer as players who expressed the importance of continuing to focus on playing well while free agency and contract talks could dominate his season.

If Saturday was a preview of the questions Alonso could face all year, and his responses were the test, then he passed with flying colors. At one point in the 18-minute interview that was mainly focused on his future, Alonso was asked whether he’s thought about the possibility of being traded in the middle of the season – a la Scherzer and Verlander during last year’s trade deadline. Alonso, always honest and forthright in front of a mic, laughed as he answered the question.

“Well, I mean, that’s a lot to think about – I just had my first live [batting practice] session,” he quipped. “So, I don’t know.”

So far, Alonso has handled the incessant questions – in the biggest media market in the world – about his murky contract situation with candor, kindness, and grace. He hasn’t shied from the spotlight, nor has he let it completely change who he is. If Alonso can use all the extra attention to his advantage by, say, crushing 60 home runs, then he can help eliminate any concerns the Mets might still have about paying him what he wants.

The optimism about Alonso’s contract situation has always been tied to the slugger’s very public desire to continue playing for the Mets. Several times Alonso has voiced, when asked, his love for New York City and the Mets organization as a whole. He believes in the team’s vision – for 2024, Alonso expects the Mets to “grab one of those playoff spots” – and wants to stay in Queens long-term.

To achieve that goal, new Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said he will encourage Alonso to be himself and “don’t try to do too much.” Mendoza, as a member of the Yankees’ coaching staff in 2022, watched Judge play through his walk year with the same mentality. If Alonso can stick to that game plan, and be the best version of himself to help the Mets reach the playoffs, then he can look back on what should be a fruitful walk year.

“I’m really excited to be here,” Alonso said. “And playing in an iconic city like New York. I mean, it’s really a blessing. It’s a great place to play and fans, our fans, are awesome. Like, I mean, it’s – I love it. So, again, I’m just really, really blessed to be here.”

Deesha Thosar is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.