The Mets certainly had been busy in the 2024 off-season. Of course, the Juan Soto saga is one that stands out where they broke the bank to rope in the five-time Silver Slugger Award winner. However, at the same time, they weren’t able to seal a deal to keep hold of their very own Pete Alonso. On one hand, they shelled out a record $765 million to get hold of Soto, but when it came to Alonso they had to take a measured approach.

Even the fans got in on the act and erupted with chants of “We want Pete” and “Pete Alonso,” Cohen didn’t hold back on a response. He got honest with the behind-the-scenes action, something not often seen—at least not from owners. Cohen mentioned, “Personally, this has been an exhausting conversation and negotiation. I mean, Soto was tough—this is worse.” After a lengthy dialogue the two parties finally reached a consensus, and neither of them made major compromises. From the outside looking in it seems as if Alonso wasn’t treated well which could’ve led to a fallout. Fortunately that wasn’t the case.

No hard feelings between Cohen and Alonso

After months of back and forth, Pete Alonso and the Mets finally got a deal done. But it wasn’t like the negotiations were purposely stalled or to make Alonso feel slighted. Speaking on the New York Mets show, Cohen cleared the air that it wasn’t about hurt feelings, but it was all just business.

The issue he explained had a lot to do with how the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) works. When a player gets a qualifying offer, it does tend to hurt their market value. And according to Cohen, Pete also got caught up in that. ‘We’ve seen that happen with multiple players across the league. Unfortunately, Pete found himself in that same predicament,” said Cohen at the New York Mets show. 

Steve Cohen also made it clear that they weren’t lowballing on their hometown favorite star. They did do their homework and compared his value to other first basemen in the league. Cohen admitted that they stuck to their initial bid for a while but, of course, gave a sweetened deal offering both two and three-year options. In the end, Pete Alonso took the two-year contract. So yes, no bad blood, just the twists and turns in baseball business.

And Cohen did go the extra mile to make sure to get this deal done. And he revealed the details about the meetup with Alonso right before his decision too.

Cohen pulled out all stops to keep Pete Alonso in Queens

If you doubted even once that Steve Cohen didn’t care enough for Pete Alonso, you are absolutely wrong. Before Alonso ultimately signed a $54 million contract, Cohen made sure Alonso knew how much the New York Mets really valued him. So in a rare move from an owner, he flew down to Tampa along with David Stearns to have a face-to-face conversation with Alonso.

Cohen mentioned, “It was my idea. The negotiation had gone on so long, and I just wanted to make sure he heard from us directly. He deserved that respect. He’s been a great Met for a long time, a fan favorite, and I thought there was a real opportunity to sit down with him.” These meetings usually go through the agent. So, wondering where super agent Scott Boras was?

Well, Steve Cohen mentioned that Scott Boras was right there but completely silent. “David and I flew down, had a great conversation over a few hours, and frankly, Pete did all the talking. Scott didn’t say a freaking word the whole time.” Seems like Pete really took the reigns in his own hands. Mostly after the public outbreak by Cohen.

Meanwhile, Pete Alonso is also a player that Juan Soto, their star signing of the year, is also most interested in. Soto had mentioned, “I think Pete Alonso is one of the guys who impressed me.”  So things look up for the team moving forward.

And, despite the drama, Alonso is back with the Queens. Do you think he will have an up year this time around? Let us know!