David Stearns addresses factors that will impact Mets' Pete Alonso decision

For the second straight year, the New York Mets declined to lock Pete Alonso down via a multi-year agreement before the first baseman reached free agency. 

While speaking with reporters at the MLB general managers' meetings in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns addressed the factors that will impact the final offer made to Alonso's camp during the offseason. 

Mets' evaluation of Pete Alonso goes beyond on-the-field contributions

"All parts of player contribution inform how we view the player," Stearns explained, per Phillip Martinez of SNY. "For a position player, that’s certainly going to include offense and what they do in the box and what they do defensively. It also includes what they mean to us off the field, what they meant to us in the clubhouse and in the community. All that gets factored in with every player, and Pete's no different."

Stearns' comments from earlier this fall about the Mets needing to improve their "run prevention" after the club missed the playoffs this year left many assuming he wants to find a defensive upgrade over Alonso at first base. 

"The brand of baseball, the brand of defense that we played over the last two months of the season, was not close to good enough," Stearns said about the 2025 Mets on Tuesday. "It has to get better."

However, Mets and MLB insider Andy Martino of SNY recently noted that Stearns understands fans of the Amazins feel an "emotional connection" toward Alonso, a homegrown star who became the franchise's all-time home run king this past summer. Martino also insisted that Stearns and Mets owner Steve Cohen "were both happy to have Alonso on the team in 2025." 

Do Mets have timeline for Pete Alonso decision in mind? 

The last time Alonso hit the open market, he remained a free agent until he accepted a two-year, $54M contract with a player opt-out after the 2025 season in February of this year. Understandably, some have suggested that Stearns will want to have the Mets' first-base situation sorted earlier this time around. 

"You’d always love clarity early in the process," Stearns said about a potential timeline for a final Alonso decision. "Sometimes that’s not realistic. Offseasons are really long and can be tough at times in November when we’re all really excited to get going and standing here in the GM meetings…but a lot of signings occur in January, February and March. Offseasons now go into spring training, and we have to recognize that, be patient and let the offseason play out."

In short, it sounds like Stearns won't give Alonso a "take it or leave it" offer ahead of Thanksgiving.