Port St. Lucy – The Mets can look forward to “motivated” Pete Alonso this season.
David Stearns, president of the team's baseball business, used a base-hand explanation of slugging on Wednesday after a two-year contract worth $54 million for his return to the Mets became official.
The deal includes opt-outs from this season onwards.
There is no motive left to Alonso to produce big numbers heading into another potential winter for the Free Institution.
Stearns cited another reason why Alonso was motivated.
“What he expressed to us is that he wants to win the World Series as the Met,” Stearns said. “He knows a big part of our ability. That's what he produces. I think Pete has had a good year over the past few years, but it's not that good, not elite, he's It's not the standard he set for the front-end of his career, and I think he's very motivated to demonstrate that throwing away such numbers is achievable.”
Alonso hit 34 homers, producing .788 OPS last season.
Alonso, who turned 30 in September, could benefit from hitting in a lineup that includes Fan Soto, who would likely hit him in batting order.
Stearns put aside the notion that it was the only team owner Steve Cohen who wanted to get Alonso back to Queens.
Cohen flew to Tampa last week to meet Alonso for about three hours, a day before Stearns and Agent Scott Bolas were part of the discussion and Alonso reached an agreement with the club in the New Deal.
Stearns said he wanted to get Alonso back.
“He makes us a better team,” Stearns said. “We're in a place where we feel we have a really good team. We're trying to win as many games as possible.”
Speaking at the team's Fanfest on January 25th, Cohen was called a negotiation of Alonso's camp “tiring.”
Sources said the Mets' first offer was $85 million over three years, which has reduced its current value.
Ultimately, Alonso chose one of the three-year contract worth $71 million and what he ultimately accepted.
“Both sides, how we saw it, how Pete saw it, each side would have a different purpose,” Stearns said. “And obviously, the length of the contract is one of the purposes. AAV [average annual value] It's another purpose, and experiment with different structures on either side. This was a combination of overlapping AAV structures and lengths on both sides. I think it will work for both sides. ”
Alonso's free agency was not helped by the qualifying offers received from the Mets.
That designation meant that other teams signing Alonso had to abandon the draft pick. Alonso is not eligible to receive qualifying offers at his next free agency.
The Mets saw the best Alonso in the postseason. This includes Homer for the ninth time against the Brewers in the wildcard round that will help save the team from early elimination.
For some reason, as Alonso's numbers were soaked during the regular season, Stearns said the pressure to play on a new contract is probably not one of them.
“He played his entire career in New York and handled the pressure,” Stearns said. “So, perhaps for me, it's not a concern at all.”
