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Will Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr. impact Pete Alonso's second contract year with Mets?
Shortly after it was learned that first baseman Pete Alonso accepted a two-year contract that included a player opt-out after this season to return to the New York Mets, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns insisted he is confident Alonso "is very motivated to" bounce back from a down walk year.
Alonso now knows he'll have even more to prove to Stearns and Co. than he did in 2024 after first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Toronto Blue Jays failed to come to terms on a contract extension before Guerrero's self-imposed Monday deadline for such a deal. Guerrero is on track to reach free agency shortly after the 2025 season concludes.
Alonso reportedly rejected a seven-year, $158M contract extension offered by the Mets during the 2023 season and then struggled at the plate throughout much of 2024. The 34 home runs and .788 OPS he recorded over 162 regular-season games were career lows outside of the 2020 campaign that was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To compare, Alonso tallied 46 homers and 118 RBI for the 2023 season.
MLB insiders such as Jon Heyman of the New York Post have repeatedly mentioned that Stearns "prefers free agents 28 and younger." Alonso turned 30 this past December, while Guerrero will turn 26 next month.
Some speculated as Alonso remained available this winter that Steve Cohen, the richest owner in all of MLB, could instruct Stearns to try to trade for Guerrero so that the big-spending Mets could lock the slugger down via an extension sooner rather than later.
For a piece published Tuesday morning, ESPN's Buster Olney noted that the Mets have already "talked internally about finding a way to land [Guerrero] and team him with Juan Soto for years to come."
"Listen, I want to be here. I want to be a Blue Jay for the rest of my career," Guerrero said while speaking with reporters on Tuesday, as shared by Jeff Passan of ESPN. "But it's free agency. It's business. So I'm going to have to listen to 29 more teams and they're going to have to compete for that."
History shows teams often can't legitimately compete with Cohen when he decides he's all-in on acquiring a talent. That reality means Guerrero's uncertain future will cast a shadow over Alonso throughout much or even all of the upcoming season.
More must-reads:
- Why Aaron Judge 'wasn’t too surprised' Juan Soto left Yankees for Mets
- Steve Cohen opens up about expectations after signing Juan Soto
- The 'Home Run Derby champion' quiz
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Brewers righty deserves consideration as dark-horse Cy Young candidate
The Milwaukee Brewers' trade with the Boston Red Sox early in the season flew under the radar. The Brewers acquired former top prospect Quinn Priester from the Red Sox, sending outfield prospect Yophery Rodriguez to Boston on April 7. Pitching prospect John Holobetz was sent to the Red Sox on May 5 to complete the trade. Priester had been expected to be a top-of-the-rotation arm, lauded for his athleticism and plus fastball and curve. However, he struggled during his time in the majors in 2023 and 2024, posting a combined 6.23 ERA and a 1.555 WHiP over 99.2 innings, striking out 69 batters with 41 walks while serving up 19 home runs. Despite a solid outing in his only appearance for the Red Sox, Priester remained in Triple-A as nothing more than pitching depth. That changed with his arrival in Milwaukee. He has exceeded expectations, either as a traditional starter or following an opener. Priester has posted a 3.15 ERA and a 1.190 WHiP over his 114.1 innings for the Brewers, striking out 93 batters with 38 walks. Opponents have mustered a meager .228/.294/.382 batting line in 471 plate appearances with just 13 homers. The Brewers' 64-48 record entering Tuesday is the best in the majors despite a nondescript rotation. While Freddy Peralta is a top-of-the-rotation arm in his own right, staff ace Brandon Woodruff missed all of 2024 and most of the first half of 2025. Pitchers such as Chad Patrick, Tobias Myers and Jose Quintana are back-of-the-rotation arms at this point. The Brewers needed someone to step up with Priester being the unlikely hero. Pitchers Paul Skenes and Zack Wheeler are the prohibitive favorites to win the National League Cy Young Award. BetMGM does not have Priester listed as one of the 10 most likely candidates to take home the hardware. However, Priester's performance, coupled with the Brewers' success this season, is worthy of attention. If he can continue to perform at this level, Priester deserves at least some consideration on the ballot.
Cowboys' problem with Micah Parsons may hand Steelers a franchise QB
The Pittsburgh Steelers have been one of the most-talked-about NFL organizations throughout the course of the 2025 offseason. One of the biggest headlines that was attached to the franchise involved a rare May trade that sent George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys. Many expected the wide receiver to be dealt before or during the NFL Draft, but after a move didn't occur, it was believed that he would play out the final year of his rookie contract in the Steel City. Now, he is teaming up with CeeDee Lamb in the NFC, and a duo has been formed that could be very dangerous. Unfortunately for fans of the Cowboys, the two wide receivers have not been the talk of Dallas' training camp. Team owner Jerry Jones is playing hardball with edge-rusher Micah Parsons, and the talented defender recently requested a trade. The decision not to pay Parsons yet has left Jones under intense scrutiny, given the fact that the pass-rusher is one of the league's best. Jones' recent comments also show how dysfunctional the situation has become. In a recent appearance on ESPN's "Get Up," respected analyst Dan Orlovsky found a way to relate Parsons' situation to quarterback Dak Prescott, insinuating that if Jones does indeed trade Parsons, Prescott's Super Bowl window in Dallas would close. "If they trade [Parsons], and I don't think they do, if they trade him, it declares the Dak Prescott era over," Orlovsky said. "This team has no shot of winning a Super Bowl without Micah Parsons. No shot, and if you're doing it, it's to acquire a ton of first-round picks, so you have the ammunition to go get an Arch Manning of the future." The Steelers are set to have 12 draft picks in 2026, which gives the front office plenty of options when it comes to bringing in the next franchise quarterback. Instead of drafting one, however, could an available Prescott be a target for general manager Omar Khan? Orlovsky believes trading Parsons away would upset the Cowboys' best players. "There's no way that you can go to your locker room with Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, some of the first-round picks you have on your offensive line, Trevon Diggs, and go, 'Hey, go beat Philadelphia when you don't have Micah Parsons. Go beat the Rams when you don't have Micah Parsons.' Your locker room will sit there and go like, 'Oh, well you've obviously moved on, so we're going to start our process of moving on as well.'" Any team interested in acquiring Prescott would have to take a long look at his contract. Some of the cap hits are astronomical in the coming years, but Khan is known to be a guru when it comes to the finances in deals. There's no reason to believe that he couldn't make something work for Prescott if a trade were to happen during the 2026 offseason. Fans in Dallas shouldn't be panicking just yet, but there were already some rumors about Prescott's long-term position with the Cowboys during the 2025 offseason. Certain reports were eventually debunked because it was quite literally impossible for Jones to entertain the idea of dealing Prescott after the franchise altered the quarterback's contract. Prescott has a no-trade clause, but that can always be waived, especially if he is upset about how Jones moves forward. If the Cowboys trade Parsons and pick up a plethora of draft capital, and then go on to invest in a first-round signal-caller, Prescott may be requesting to be traded as well. That's a long way away from happening, but the Steelers immediately come to mind as a team that would likely be interested. The Steelers' best-case scenario would be the emergence of Will Howard It's not easy to make a name for oneself in the NFL, and it's even tougher for players like Will Howard who were drafted in the sixth round. Pittsburgh will be in the quarterback market once again in 2026 if Aaron Rodgers is serious about retirement, so it would be a fantastic development if Howard solidifies himself as the next starter in the Steel City.
Jerry Jones vocal in defense of handshake deal not being honored by Micah Parsons
Jerry Jones seems to be a firm believer that a handshake deal is as binding as any written contract. The Dallas Cowboys owner has maintained his stance that he had reached a verbal agreement with Micah Parsons on a contract extension back in March. On Tuesday, Jones was asked by NFL Network’s Jane Slater about the agreement not being put in writing. The 82-year-old claimed his initial acquisition of the Cowboys in 1989 started with a similar handshake deal. “I bought the Dallas Cowboys with a handshake,” Jones said, via The Athletic’s Jon Machota. “It took about 30 seconds. I gave the number, shook hands, the details we worked out later. As a matter of fact, one of the details involved a lot of money and I had to flip a coin over that. But the fundamental, ‘I’m buying and you’re gonna sell it to me for that range,’ that’s done. And those are done with eye contact and handshake. “Just so you understand the way that I communicate with people that I negotiate with. Let’s leave it at that. There’s no question that in the case of a player contract, you have to have it in writing. All parties do. We have a contract in writing, yet we’re still talking about renegotiating, so so much for that.” Parsons does not deny that he talked about contract terms with Jones in March. However, the star linebacker claims that he did not believe the conversation to be a formal negotiation. Parsons asserted in his trade request statement that he believed the conversation was going to be about team leadership before Jones shifted gears to talk about an extension. You can read more about Parsons’ side of the story here.
'Talks will advance soon' – Chelsea fans will be delighted after latest Fabrizio Romano update
Chelsea will offer Marc Cucurella a new contract, with talks expected to advance soon according to Fabrizio Romano. Cucurella has been at Chelsea for three years following his £63m move from Brighton in the summer of 2022, but his time at Stamford Bridge hasn’t been plain sailing. The 27-year-old endured a tough first season, in which he was booed by Chelsea supporters, and he almost joined Manchester United on loan in the summer of 2023. Chelsea to advance talks over new Cucurella deal Since then Cucurella has completely turned his Chelsea career around and is not only a fan favourite, but also one of the most important players in the team. The Spaniard has established himself as arguably the best left back in the league, but it can also be argued he’s one of the best in the world. Cucurella added goals to his game, and was a real threat in the attacking third last season as he found the back of the net seven times, including crucial winners against Leicester and Manchester United. Maresca has praised Cucurella for his intelligence, with it reported the Blues are planning to offer him a new contract, and Romano has now provided an update. He took to X.com and said: “As exclusively revealed, Chelsea will offer new deal to Marc Cucurella as talks will advance soon. “Cucurella, happy at Chelsea and club very happy with Marc. He’s staying despite links with Al Nassr.” Cucurella had been linked with a surprise move to Saudi side Al-Nassr, but it looks like he’s set to extend his stay at Stamford Bridge. Jorrel Hato will provide back-up Chelsea now finally have back-up and competition for Cucurella in the form of 19-year-old Dutch international Jorrel Hato. The Blues have now officially announced Hato, following his move from Ajax which was thought to be worth €43m. Hato is a key signing, and he can also play at centre back, although he’s predominantly expected to feature at left back. Supporters could see Hato in action for the first time against Bayer Leverkusen on Friday, or AC Milan on Sunday, with both games taking place at Stamford Bridge.
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