Over the course of the past few days, the first base options have been flying off the board left and right. Christian Walker signed with the Houston Astros, Paul Goldschmidt went to the , Carlos Santana signed with the Guardians, Josh Naylor got traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Nationals acquired Nathaniel Lowe.These factors are why 'Now the Mets can concentrate on bringing back Pete Alonso as their final major move of the offseason,' Bowden wrote.
'His market has shrunk, which should help them get a deal done sooner rather than later.' Alonso's market has been slow moving for a few reasons. Teams are reportedly hesitant to give out a long-term deal to a power-hitting first baseman that is 30-years-old. Instead, clubs who had a first base need focused on short-term or one-year deals or pursued the trade market to fill their void. But the Mets and Alonso have both made it clear that they'd love to stick together. The Mets have remained in contact with Alonso, who has been testing the market to discover his value around the league. There is also sentimental value between the two sides as Alonso is a homegrown franchise cornerstone, who has been a star for the Mets since making his MLB debut in Queens back in 2019. During this span, Alonso has hit the second-most homers (226) in baseball behind two-time AL MVP winner Aaron Judge. Alonso turned down a seven-year, $158 million extension from the Mets in 2023, but he was under different representation at the time. Alonso is now represented by super agent Scott Boras and Boras Corporation, who just capped off the richest contract in sports history with Mets owner Steve Cohen for Juan Soto. The offer also came from ex-Mets GM Billy Eppler prior to the arrival of president of baseball operations David Stearns. If the Mets are unable to bring back Alonso, signing third baseman Alex Bregman and moving Mark Vientos to first base seems like a logical pat