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.