Mets' Steve Cohen addresses Pete Alonso's future, Juan Soto's rough start

The New York Mets correctly avoided overpaying to hold onto first baseman Pete Alonso this past offseason, as they were able to sign him to a two-year, $54M contract that included an opt-out after the 2025 campaign. 

Alonso has since become one of the National League's hottest hitters and a big reason the Mets began Tuesday at 20-9. 

Before the Amazins thrashed the Washington Nationals 19-5 on Monday afternoon, Mets owner Steve Cohen told MLB insiders Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman on the latest episode of "The Show" podcast that he understands Alonso's next contract likely won't be quite as cheap as the deal the slugger inked before the start of spring training. 

"He’s a great Met, and I said this last year, if we can work it out, we’ll work it out, but he’s going to go explore his market, and you know that’s his right," Cohen said, as shared by Christian Arnold of the New York Post. "It’s hard to know how those things work out. I know we’re happy with him. I believe he’s happy to be a Met and that’s a good place to start in any future discussions." 

Will Sammon of The Athletic is among those who have recently noted that what Alonso has given the 2025 Mets since Opening Day may be the best version, to date, of the "Polar Bear." Per ESPN stats, he ended Monday leading the team with a .337 average, six home runs (tied with outfielder Brandon Nimmo), 27 RBI and a 1.088 OPS. 

It's far too early to guess what Alonso could be worth on the open market this fall. For now, Cohen and Co. are still waiting for All-Star outfielder Juan Soto to heat up. 

"If you ask him, he'd probably say it's not going as what he hoped," Cohen said about Soto's unimpressive start to his Mets tenure, per Danny Abriano of SNY. "That's not what the back of his baseball card would say. But saying that, there's a lot of subtle things that he does that I really think matters. The way that he works the count, makes pitchers throw extra pitches, really matters."

That's all well and good, but Cohen didn't hand Soto a 15-year, $765M contract that could exceed $800M to work counts and simply get on base. Soto began Tuesday morning slashing .257/.378/.410 with a .787 OPS, three home runs and 12 RBI on the season. He last went deep on April 15, and his signature "Soto Shuffle" has gone missing as of late. 

"It’s going to come out one day," Soto said about the shuffle while speaking with Sammon ahead of Monday's victory. "It just depends — I just gotta feel it."

Cohen added that he is "not worried about Juan" roughly one month into the campaign. That's understandable on the final Tuesday of April, but it remains to be seen how long the Mets can stay atop the NL standings with Soto failing to live up to the expectations that come with receiving a historic contract. 

The Mets open a three-game home series against the Arizona Diamondbacks (15-13) on Tuesday night.