New York Mets Re-Sign Pete Alonso, Now A's Have an Opportunity

The New York Mets at long last have re-signed free agent first baseman Pete Alonso according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. The deal is for two years and includes an opt-out after the first. That initial season will have the Mets pay him $30 million. According to Will Sammon of The Athletic, the second year is for $24 million.

With Alonso back for the upcoming season, that means that the Mets now have third base taken care of as well, with Mark Vientos set to slide back across the diamond. This also means that former top prospect Brett Baty doesn't have a position anymore. He was set to be in the mix at third, but wasn't guaranteed a roster spot, but the addition of Alonso basically means that it may be time for New York to start taking calls.

Roster Resource over at FanGraphs has Baty slated to begin the year in Triple-A if he sticks with the Mets. The A's, meanwhile, are slated to start Gio Urshela at third base, potentially as a platoon option, but he's certainly not the long-term solution for the club at the position. Baty seems like a change of scenery option, and the A's would be able to make room for him at the very least in a platoon role.

Last season in 50 games with New York, Baty hit .229 with a .306 OBP, four home runs, 16 RBI, and an 83 wRC+. Overall, he was well below league average. That said, his bat speed was well above average, he puts the ball in the air, which could be beneficial in Sacramento, and he was pretty decent against right-handers.

If Baty were to be part of a platoon, he could handle the righties, having gone 29-for-120 (.242) against them while holding a 91 wRC+. Baty is a left-handed stick, and the Athletics could use another lefty in the lineup.

In addition to his decent bat on the strong side of the platoon, Baty would also bring a solid glove to the hot corner, with the 25-year-old collecting +2 Outs Above Average according to Statcast last season. Over the course of a full season, that number would triple, which would put him in line to be a top-10 fielder at the position.

The A's were the worst fielding team in baseball last season, and have said they want to upgrade their defense heading into 2025. They haven't made many moves on the offensive side of the ball aside from Urshela, who is also a good defensive third baseman. The problem here is that Urshela is also much better against right-handers, so the two wouldn't be able to platoon with one another, which could leave Baty in the minors for a couple of months.

There is also a chance that the Mets would try to add on Starling Marte and his contract in a potential trade, and honestly that may not be the worst thing for the A's, who are currently slated to have a platoon in left field. Adding Marte back onto the A's roster would be an upgrade for the club, though his nearly $21 million salary would be a bit much if they had to eat the whole thing.

The A's could either eat a pretty good chunk of Marte's salary and not have to send much in the way of prospects to the Mets, or they could pay about half of it, which is more likely, and relinquish a flier-type prospect.

Or the Mets could decide to dangle Baty all by himself and see what kinds of offers they receive. He still has one more option year remaining, which kind of makes this the perfect time to move him, since an acquiring team would have a year to continue his development before needing to add him to the 26-man roster.

It's likely that Baty gets moved at some point, potentially during spring training, but whether he lands with the A's will depend on what the Sacramento-bound club is willing to part with, and how confident they are in Max Muncy taking over third in 2026.