As Pete Alonso entered free agency for the first time in his career, he was hopeful. And so was his agent, Scott Boras. But two months have passed since then, and the only hint we’re getting lately is that of an unwillingness from the Mets’ front office.

See, the issue at hand is Boras, who’s been with the first baseman since October last year, has been adamant about no less than $200 million for his player. The Mets’ offer? A meagre—by Boras’ standards—$90 million over three years, leading to a deadlock many didn’t anticipate. If we are to believe the latest reports, it seems, the Mets might finally be getting a slight upper hand. But before we get to that…

It’s not like the Mets don’t want him. The team’s president of baseball operations, David Stearns, had categorically said earlier this month, “We’d love to bring Pete (Alonso) back. I think our ownership has consistently demonstrated that there’s going to be resources when we need them. There is the ability for us to make baseball moves when we think that they’re there to improve the team and we’re going to continue to pursue a wide variety of areas to continue to improve our team.” But here’s the kicker:

As per ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Mets are unwilling to “chase” a trade, but are willing to listen to offers. This leads us to perhaps the most asked question in the baseball landscape: Does Pete Alonso deserve that $200 million Boras is raving about? Or should Boras start panicking?

Well, there’s a couple of things to consider first. For starters, the 30-year-old has been a shadow of his former self in the past few years—his OPS dropped from .869 during the 2022 season, to .821 in 2023, and then .788 in 2024. But his results aren’t bad; he still smashed 34 homers. And then again, we shouldn’t forget that Alonso’s durability has been a shining light. We’re talking about him being one of seven ball players who have played at least 620 ball games over the past four seasons, as per baseball-reference. Additionally, this season, Polar Bear has also been one of the four ball players who played in all 162 regular season ball games. Since his debut in 2019, the only person who’s beat him (846) is Marcus Semien (859) of the Texas Rangers.

Yet, Forbes’ Wayne G. McDonnell Jr. notes, “Aspirations for a $200 million contract might have been more of a dream than reality for Alonso prior to the news regarding Soto.” But Soto’s contract negotiations are already done and dusted. 19 days have come and gone since the record-breaking 15-year, $765 million deal rocked the nation. The Mets are still tight-lipped on the Alonso situation, leading Boras to feel some heat—especially after the NY Post’s Jon Heyman opined why Boras should absolutely aim to make the deal happen.

As per what Fansided’s Cody Williams opined on the dicey situation the sports agent faces, “Anyone other than Alonso at this point would represent a downgrade at first base for the Mets. However, free agency is always about far more than fit and there’s at least some chance that the price tag that Boras and Alonso are looking for doesn’t exactly align with what New York is aiming to accomplish in a deal, even for the deep-pocketed Steve Cohen.” 

“Thus, getting a respected columnist and insider such as Heyman to urge the Mets to get something done quickly feels like Boras and Alonso could, in theory, be panicking a bit in this situation…last offseason represents good reason for Boras to be panicking. The agent overplayed his hand with the likes of Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery, which led to largely less-than-desirable results both with contracts and on the field.” 

Boras is well known for crafting blockbuster deals; he helped Juan Soto clinch THE contract—a number never seen before in MLB. And yet, he couldn’t extend the same service to Pete, which is surprising because Alonso in Queens makes perfect sense. Pete Alonso is the ideal bat to protect Juan Soto in the lineup. The stakes couldn’t be higher for Scott Boras, now that his reputation might also be under question. Interestingly, Alonso wouldn’t have been in this situation had he accepted the Mets’ seven-year, $158 million offer in 2023. Boras, according to many, has clearly judged the situation wrong…especially with the Boston Red Sox out of the race as reported by Gabrielle Starr of The Boston Herald. 

But, don’t worry, he still has some options available at the moment…

Pete Alonso has surprising new contenders

Pete Alonso and the New York Mets, though a best fit, might or might not happen. But Alonso cannot sit and wait around with the market really closing in. There is a surprising new contender for him right now—the San Francisco Giants. The team just missed out on their target, Corbin Burnes, who shockingly left for the Arizona Diamondbacks after they offered him an opt-out. Also, he is essentially playing in his backyard there, so now, the Giants can be gearing up to land Alonso.

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported, “The Giants also remain on the hunt for a first baseman or designated hitter, and four-time All-Star Pete Alonso, who has hit 226 home runs in six seasons with the Mets, is on their radar.” Well, San Francisco isn’t alone in the chase for a good bat—Jon Heyman mentioned that the Toronto Blue Jays are also in the run.

The Jays, after losing out on key players, are looking out for Alonso and Anthony Santander. “At this point, I think Blue Jays fans would be happy with either one,” Heyman reported. For a while, it looked like Alonso’s options were weak, but now that the market is tightened, his leverage is growing—Scott Boras needs to make the most of this development.

Where do you think Pete will ultimately sign? Let us know in the comments.