Pete Alonso's big year at the plate ahead of his final year of arbitration eligibility earned him a significant pay increase from last season.
The Mets first baseman avoided arbitration with the club on Thursday by agreeing to a 2024 contract that will pay him $20.5 million, according to the Post's Jon Heyman.
Alonso earned $14.5 million last season, hitting .217/.318/.504 with 46 home runs and 118 RBIs.
The immediate question is whether Alonso will sign a new long-term contract before he potentially becomes a free agent next offseason.
Players often set a deadline for negotiating new contracts for the year at the end of spring training, so this question could be answered by Opening Day.
Alonso hired super agent Scott Boras to represent him this offseason, sparking expectations that he would become a free agent.
But Boras also hinted in November that Alonso would be open to discussing a new contract with the Mets this winter.
On a Zoom call this week, President of Baseball Operations David Stearns declined to say whether there had been any discussions with Boras about Alonso's long-term contract.
Stearns dismissed the idea that Alonso could be under pressure during the season if his contract situation remains unresolved.
“I think Pete has proven he can handle pressure well,” Stearns said. “He performed at a very high level in a very high-pressure environment. I'm not worried about Pete handling the pressure.”
Alonso's name surfaced in trade rumors last summer, but Stearns said multiple times this offseason that he expected Alonso to be the club's Opening Day first baseman.
And Alonso, who hit at least 40 home runs in three seasons with the Mets, expressed hope that he could sign a long-term contract with the Mets.
“I love representing this organization,” Alonso said in August. “I love being a Met. I love representing New York City in the best way possible. I love everyone in this clubhouse and I love being a part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. That’s the only thing I know.”
