Stats show why Mets may pass on re-signing Pete Alonso this offseason

While speaking with reporters during his end-of-season news conference on Monday, New York Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns repeatedly referenced "run prevention" as something the Mets need to improve. 

The club disappointingly finished the 2025 regular season outside of the playoff picture. For a piece published on Wednesday, SNY manager of editorial production Danny Abriano shared stats that show why Stearns and Mets owner Steve Cohen may now view first baseman Pete Alonso as a defensive liability at 31, the age that the "Polar Bear" will reach this coming December. 

How bad was Pete Alonso defensively this season?

"Alonso was near the very bottom of the league in 2025 when it came to range/outs above average, ranking in the second percentile," Abriano wrote. "His arm also graded out as very poor (fifth percentile), and he had issues with throws all season. It was Alonso's high throw to first base to a covering Kodai Senga that led to Senga's hamstring injury in June."

Of course, Alonso defenders may point out that he ended this past Sunday's MLB action ranked second in the league with 126 RBI, 11th with an .871 OPS and eighth with 38 home runs. Such offensive production could indicate that those who previously said Alonso's play throughout the 2024 campaign proved he'll age poorly as a right-handed power-hitting first baseman were wrong. 

That said, there are reasons to believe Alonso may never again repeat the success he enjoyed while playing for what became arguably the biggest flop of a squad in Mets history. 

Is Pete Alonso already exiting physical prime?

"He has had more swing-and-miss in his game over the last two seasons, striking out 162 times in 2025 after fanning a career-high 172 times in 2024. If his bat starts to slow down, those strikeout numbers could spike," Abriano added about Alonso. 

According to StatMuse, only 13 batters were responsible for more total regular-season strikeouts than Alonso (334) from Opening Day 2024 through Sept. 28 of this year. Interestingly, Abriano shared that he has "no reason to expect" that Alonso's market will "get out of control" after the slugger had to accept a two-year, $54M contract with a player opt-out after the 2025 season to return to the Mets this past February. 

If that proves to be the case, Cohen once again may have to do his paying customers a solid and spend what it ultimately will cost to hold onto one of the most popular Mets players of the past decade.