Mets, Pete Alonso avoid arbitration

The Mets and first baseman Pete Alonso have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $14.5MM deal for 2023, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Alonso, 28, had a stellar year in 2022, slashing .271/.352/.518 and hitting 40 home runs in a campaign that saw him lead the NL in RBI while tying Aaron Judge for the MLB lead. Alonso’s 143 wRC+ was 12th-best among all major league hitters this season.

Alonso has been a member of the Mets organization for his entire career to this point, he exploded onto the major league scene in 2019, slugging a league-leading 53 home runs during a season that saw him win Rookie of the Year and place 7th in NL MVP voting. While he hasn’t returned to the heights of his rookie season to this point in his career, he’s been remarkably consistent nonetheless. His wRC+ in 2022 nearly matched that of his 2019 debut season (144 wRC+), and both seasons are only slightly above his career mark of 138, with his only season below a 130 wRC+ being the shortened 2020 campaign. As the best offensive performer on a 101-win Mets team in 2022, Alonso figures to once again be a key player on a team with World Series aspirations heading into the 2023 season.

The $14.5MM agreement, despite being the largest agreement ever for a first baseman in arbitration (though it was promptly matched by Vladimir Guerrero Jr.), actually comes in significantly below his $15.9MM projection from MLBTR contributor Matt Schwartz. Alonso will be eligible for arbitration once more in 2024 and is set to become a free agent during the 2024-2025 offseason.