Philadelphia Phillies Facing Major Challenge After Mets Bring Back Pete Alonso

The Philadelphia Phillies have been quiet this offseason.

The New York Mets haven't.

That continued late on Wednesday night when it was first reported by Andy Martino of SNY that they had re-signed their star slugger Pete Alonso. Multiple reports, including one from Jeff Passan of ESPN, shared the deal was for two years and $54 million with $30 million of that coming in 2025 and a player option for the 2026 campaign.

Based on what had transpired to this point of the winter, this news is fairly surprising.

It looked like the Phillies' archrival would be without their power-hitting first baseman since the two sides were playing chicken when it came to a financial package.

Plenty of teams had the opportunity to swoop in and sign Alonso, but he ultimately returned to the only franchise he's known as a professional.

This provides a massive challenge for Philadelphia's status atop the NL East.

Having accomplished something for the first time since 2011 when the Phillies won the division, they already knew they were set to face a battle from the perennial contending Atlanta Braves. But when the Mets handed Juan Soto the most lucrative contract in United States history coming off their trip to the NLCS, it appears like it will be a three-horse race.

Keeping Alonso in the mix for 2025 only adds to that.

While he's coming off a down showing last year when it comes to his pure power numbers, he still slashed .240/.329/.459 with 34 homers and 88 RBI, finishing with an OPS+ that was 23 points above the league average.

There's no doubt now that New York won the offseason, especially when compared to what Philadelphia did.

Of course, baseball is decided on the field and not on paper, so the Mets will still have to go out there and prove they can eclipse the star-studded Phillies over the course of a 162-game campaign.

But after re-signing Alonso, it's clear Philadelphia will face a substantial challenge when it comes to winning back-to-back NL East titles for the first time since they rattled off five in a row from 2007-11.

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