Why Mets believe Pete Alonso will have better second contract year

First baseman Pete Alonso bet on himself multiple times, first when he entered last season in a walk year and then when he dragged his free-agency saga into the winter months. 

In the end, he had to accept a two-year contract that included a player opt-out after this season to return to the New York Mets ahead of the first day of spring training. 

While speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns explained why he believes Alonso will be motivated to silence doubters later this year for reasons that go beyond the fact he'll once again be chasing a lucrative deal.

"What he expressed to us is he wants to win a World Series as a Met," Stearns said about the discussion that resulted in Alonso re-signing with what's been the only MLB home of his career, as shared by Mike Puma of the New York Post. "He knows a big part of our ability to do that is him producing. I think Pete’s had good years the last couple of years, but not as good, not as elite, not at the standard that he set at the front end of his career. And I think he is very motivated to demonstrate that it’s achievable throwing up those kind of numbers."

Alonso reportedly rejected a seven-year, $158M contract extension offered by the Mets during the 2023 season and then noticeably pressed at the plate from last spring up until he hit one of the most dramatic home runs in franchise history during the wild-card round of the playoffs. While he played in 162 regular-season games, his 34 homers and .788 OPS were career lows outside of the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign.

Fair or not, the perception exists that Alonso handled the pressure of playing in a walk year quite poorly. Nevertheless, Stearns is confident that won't be the same in 2025. 

"He played in New York his entire career and handled the pressure," Stearns said about Alonso. "So that, probably for me, is not a concern at all."

The 2025 Mets should be better with Alonso than if a younger option was playing first base, but he likely also understands that Stearns and team owner Steve Cohen could target Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays if Guerrero becomes available this fall. For now, Stearns and Cohen will hope that sharing a lineup with All-Star outfielder Juan Soto will relax Alonso from Opening Day through the heart of summer. 

"He’s a really motivated player right now," Stearns added during his comments, per David Lennon of Newsday. "He's a very motivated player to have an elite Pete Alonso season. I expect we're going to see that. He is confident in his ability. I'm excited to watch it."