Mets' Pete Alonso addresses uncertain future amid club's collapse

For the second straight year, first baseman Pete Alonso made what may go down as the final regular-season appearance at Citi Field of his New York Mets career on Sunday as the club suffered a 3-2 loss to the Washington Nationals that left the Amazins no longer in control of their own path to the playoffs.

Following that result, Alonso spoke openly about his unsettled future. 

Pete Alonso confident the "right thing" will happen this offseason

"We’ll see what happens, but I am a firm believer that the right thing is going to happen," Alonso said, as shared by Mike Puma of the New York Post. 

The market for Alonso's services never materialized as he and agent Scott Boras had hoped following the 2024 season. In fact, it seemed in late January of this year that Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns had little interest in giving Alonso a multi-year deal until Stearns and Mets owner Steve Cohen heard directly from fans who made it known that they wanted the club to hold onto the "Polar Bear." 

In the end, Cohen and Alonso agreed to a two-year, $54M contract with a player opt-out after this season. The 30-year-old slugger is widely expected to test free agency this coming fall considering what he's achieved this season. According to ESPN stats, Alonso began ranks second in all of MLB with 122 RBI on the season, eighth with 37 home runs and ninth with an .876 OPS. 

Does Pete Alonso want to stay with Mets?

"This place has been really special to me," Alonso said about his only MLB home since his big-league debut in 2019. "The fans are awesome, super passionate and really dedicated to this team." 

That said, it's unclear how much Cohen will be willing to spend on a right-handed power-hitting first baseman in his 30s after the Mets signed star outfielder Juan Soto to a 15-year, $765M contract that could exceed $800M total last offseason. Alonso could prove his worth to the Mets by carrying the club back to the postseason after it and the Cincinnati Reds ended the weekend tied in the standings for the final National League wild-card spot. The Reds own the tiebreaker over the Mets. 

"If I had a nickel for how many times everyone in this room has [talked about] that and I received it, I’d be really rich," Alonso added about the chatter regarding his future. "So, again, we’ll see what happens."

Alonso and the 80-76 Mets will begin a massive three-game series at the 88-68 Chicago Cubs on Tuesday evening.