David Stearns Hints At Desired Long-Term Commitment To New York Mets' Superstar

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns recently hinted at the organization's desire to keep this superstar in the long-term.

It sounds like the New York Mets intend to keep this homegrown superstar in Queens for the foreseeable future.

There has been a ton of speculation surrounding first baseman Pete Alonso, as he enters the final year of arbitration. 

Alonso's name has been brought up in trade rumors, and the Mets have yet to begin discussing a possible extension with him.

However, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns recently hinted at the organization's desire to keep Alonso around for a long-time.

"He's one of the best power hitters in baseball and we are really fortunate to have him," Stearns told The New York Post on "The Show" podcast. "He's a homegrown player. He cares about our organization, & clearly the fanbase and our organization cares about him. We'd love to keep that going for a long-time."

David Stearns discusses Alonso's Mets future here. Also on "The Show" he hits on if the Mets are contenders, is Nimmo still a CF, state of rotation and prospect base, more.@JonHeyman
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— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) January 10, 2024

By the sound of Stearns' statement, it appears the Mets plan is to attempt to seriously make a run at extending Alonso, whether that be prior to the season or afterwards when he becomes a free agent.

Alonso's agent Scott Boras has said multiple times that they are open to talking with the Mets about a new deal. Stearns and Boras have spoke with each other this offseason, but have just exchanged concepts and philosophies. To this point, there has been no talk about a new deal between the two sides. 

Stearns has also said numerous times that he expects Alonso to be the Mets' Opening Day first baseman in 2024, which all but puts the flames of any trade rumors out.

Even still, if the Mets fail to extend Alonso this offseason, they will be taking a significant risk by letting him go to free agency.

Since entering the league in 2019, Alonso has hit the most home runs and driven in the most RBIs in baseball. 

The Mets would like to keep their homegrown star in the long-term, this is clear, but that doesn't guarantee that a deal will get done before the regular season begins.