Mets Could Turn Attention Toward All-Star Outfielder After Pete Alonso Pursuit Sours

The New York Mets have their eyes on another All-Star after their negotiations with Pete Alonso went south.
Oct 6, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Mets first base Pete Alonso (20) reacts after striking our in the third inning against the Philadelphia Phillies during game two of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
Oct 6, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Mets first base Pete Alonso (20) reacts after striking our in the third inning against the Philadelphia Phillies during game two of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images / Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

It appears that superstar slugger Pete Alonso's time with the New York Mets may have come to an end.

The biggest news of the baseball world on January 16 was that the Mets seem to have pivoted away from pursuing Alonso after the two sides were unable to come to a deal after the most recent round of negotiations.

According to Joel Sherman of The New York Post, the Mets offered Alonso a three-year deal in the $68 million to $70 million range that included opt-outs. He also noted that New York considered this would be their "last-ditch effort" to retain Alonso.

Alonso's camp rejected the offer. So the Mets now seem to have turned their attention elsewhere.

And according to a January 16 article from Jon Heyman of the New York Post, they have their eyes on former Baltimore Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander.

"The Mets like switch-hitting star Anthony Santander. But Santander’s only played occasionally at first base," Heyman wrote.

This isn't the first time an MLB insider has linked the Mets to Santander. In a January 9 TV segment,MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reported, “What has been described as a ‘stall’ in the Pete Alonso market could create an opening here for the Mets to get involved in the Anthony Santander sweepstakes."

While Santander doesn't have quite the same sustained power-hitting pedigree as the Polar Bear, his .235/.308/.506 line with 44 home runs and 102 RBI in 155 games for the Orioles (which earned him a Silver Slugger Award in 2024) shows that he would be an absolute force hitting behind Juan Soto in the middle of the Mets lineup.


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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.