Why Keith Hernandez believes Mets must re-sign Pete Alonso

Keith Hernandez understands the importance of Pete Alonso to the Mets.

Sep 16, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso (20) celebrates with teammates after defeating the San Diego Padres at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

In the aftermath of the Brandon Nimmo/Marcus Semien trade, former New York Mets first baseman Keith Hernandez thinks it's more important than ever to re-sign Pete Alonso.

The Met legend and current SNY analyst joined Monday night's SportsNite show, saying it was "very imperative" for the Mets to bring back the Polar Bear, despite David Stearns emphasizing the need for the Amazins' to improve their defense.

"I still feel that you can't replace Pete's bat, and I'm hopeful that they will sign Pete; we'll find out how deep into the pockets are of Mr. [Steve] Cohen, but I think that Pete was the biggest clutch hitter on that team last year," Hernandez said. "I feel that he's a tough one to replace. You're not going to replace 125 RBI."

"He's probably the best power hitter, along with Aaron Judge, over the past five, six, seven years of Pete's career," Hernandez added. "His power numbers are incredible; you can't find anybody that can replicate that, so I think it's very imperative that he stays."

On @Honda SportsNite, @emacSNY talks with Keith Hernandez about the Mets trading Brandon Nimmo to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Marcus Semien, along with Pete Alonso's free agency: pic.twitter.com/v1Wd2FTs1u

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) November 25, 2025

Alonso opted out of the final year of the two-year, $54 million deal he signed with New York last offseason; he is expected to receive a big contract this winter after stringing together a monster season with the bat in 2025.

For the second year in a row, the 30-year-old appeared in every regular season game for the Mets and slashed .272/.347/.524 with 38 home runs, 126 RBI (the second most in Major League Baseball) and an .871 OPS. Alonso also cemented himself as a Mets legend when he surpassed Darryl Strawberry for the most home runs in franchise history on August 12, clubbing his 253rd career long ball. He finished the year with 264 homers.

Read More: Mets trade for Marcus Semien complicates path for top prospect

After parting ways with Nimmo this week, the "Fab Four," which owner Steve Cohen famously called Alonso, Nimmo, Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto, is now just the "Fab Two" with Alonso's future in Flushing uncertain.

While Stearns has made it clear he would love to bring back Alonso next season and perhaps for the rest of his career, he clearly wants to see the defense improve in 2026 after it was one of the main reasons why the Mets fell well short of expectations this past year. That emphasis on defense was exactly why he traded Nimmo for Semien, as the Mets now have a Gold Glove-caliber second baseman.

But as Hernandez alluded, Alonso's offense is irreplaceable as his 263 career homers rank third in baseball since his major league debut in 2019; only Kyle Schwarber (268) and Aaron Judge (285) have hit more. Alonso's defense may not be a huge part of his game, but after moving on from Nimmo, losing two franchise cornerstones in one offseason may be a tough pill for Mets fans to swallow.

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