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Jorge Castillo, ESPN Staff WriterDec 9, 2024, 08:57 PM ET
- ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.
DALLAS — While the baseball world continued buzzing about Juan Soto‘s record-breaking contract with the New York Mets, David Stearns, the man in charge of the organization’s baseball operations, met with reporters inside a suite at the Hilton Anatole on Monday and, because the transaction is not official, chose not to comment on it.
Stearns, however, did express an opinion about another Scott Boras client sitting in free agency: first baseman Pete Alonso.
“We’d love to bring Pete back,” Stearns said. “Pete’s been a great Met. He had some enormous hits for us, and we’ll see where that goes.”
Alonso is a beloved, homegrown fan favorite. He ascended from a second-round pick in 2016 to a four-time All-Star with 216 home runs since his debut in 2019 — the second most in baseball over span — while not missing more than 10 games in a season. He saved the Mets’ season with a dramatic home run in the National League Wild Card Series to continue the club’s unexpected run to the National League Championship Series.
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But he’s also a 30-year-old first baseman who isn’t a plus defender or runner and whose offensive production has regressed each of the past three years.
“I think our ownership has consistently demonstrated that there’s going to be resources when we need them,” Stearns said. “There is the ability for us to make baseball moves when we think 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.”
Moving Mark Vientos, a breakout star in 2024, from third base to first base, should Alonso not re-sign, is theoretically a possibility, but Stearns said he viewed Vientos as a third baseman.
The Mets, so far this offseason, have lost right-hander Luis Severino in free agency to the A’s, acquired outfielder Jose Siri and signed right-handers Frankie Montas and Clay Holmes for the starting rotation.
Stearns said there is “room” to add another starting pitcher, but he doesn’t believe “it’s a necessity.” Left-handers Sean Manaea and Jose Quintana, key contributors in 2024, remain free agents. Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, Jack Flaherty and Walker Buehler are among the other veteran free agent starters.
Japanese star Roki Sasaki was officially posted to MLB teams Monday and will be available to sign as a free agent beginning Tuesday.
Besides Montas and Holmes, the Mets have David Peterson, Tylor Megill, Paul Blackburn and Jose Butto, who pitched out of the bullpen in 2024, as rotation options.
