Rumored Pete Alonso suitors give Mets and Steve Cohen edge for impending reunion

The 2024 offseason should be fascinating for the New York Mets. Not only is the team linked to Juan Soto and several other high-end free agents, but they also have a long list of their own players hitting free agency, none bigger than Pete Alonso.

Alonso has spent his entire six-year career with the Mets and has been the most productive power hitter in the National League since his debut in 2019. He is a fan favorite and is someone the Mets would obviously prefer to see remain with the team for the coming period. foreseeable future. Unfortunately, they have no control over what Alonso decides to do with his future given his free agency status.

The uncertainty surrounding Alonso’s future has some Mets fans on edge, and rightly so, but this list of Alonso landing spots should he leave Flushing, courtesy of Jon Heyman of the NY Post, gives the fanbase reason to be optimistic.

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Heyman listed eight landing spots for Alonso if he were to leave the Mets, and curiously, the New York Yankees are not one of them. This could change if the Yankees miss out on Juan Soto (perhaps from the Mets), but for now Alonso has not been linked to the Yankees, which is great news for Mets fans. The Yankees have money to spend and a hole at first base, and besides, they’re the Yankees. The rest of the list feels like long shots.

The San Francisco Giants and Seattle Mariners are listed as the top two landing spots for Alonso. While they could both use a big bat, how realistic is the fit in either location? Oracle Park and T-Mobile Park are both extremely pitcher-friendly (even more so than Citi Field, according to Baseball Savant). Would Alonso want to sign there and risk his numbers decreasing? Would a team like the Mariners even want to give him what he can get on the open market?

Next on the list are the Houston Astros, a team that Heyman says is more focused on re-signing Alex Bregman. If they miss out on Bregman, it might become more of a realistic matchup, but for now there’s not much to worry about on that front.

Teams like the Toronto Blue Jays (Vladimir Guerrero Jr.), Boston Red Sox (Triston Casas), and Philadelphia Phillies (Bryce Harper) are on this list, but they filled first base. Sure, the Jays could move Guerrero to third base and the Phillies could move Harper back to the outfield, but how smart would those decisions be? How likely are the Red Sox to trade Casas just to make room for Alonso?

The bottom line is these teams are yes could If we’re going to pursue Alonso, there’s even more reason to believe Alonso won’t end up signing for either of these teams. If he were to leave the Mets, the Yankees make the most sense on paper, but they aren’t even on this list. Assuming Alonso wants to remain a Met, this list gives Mets fans more reason to believe he will eventually re-sign.