Pete

Alonso

Alonso opened the scoring with an RBI double in the opening frame before walloping a clutch game-tying homer in the eighth inning that wound up sending the contest to extra innings. The 30-year-old slugger recorded three extra-base hits, including a 415-foot dinger off Marlins reliever Calvin Faucher, with exit velocities over 113 mph. It’s only happened five other times in the Statcast era since 2015, according to MLB.con’s Sarah Langs. The Mets are struggling a bit offensively, but Alonso is completely locked in at the moment.

Alonso’s grand slam against Marlins starter Cal Quantrill, which traveled 412 feet to right-center field, opened the proverbial floodgates during a seven-run fourth inning explosion as New York rolled to a lopsided victory. It was his first round-tripper of the season. The 30-year-old slugger is set up perfectly for fantasy success as the Mets’ middle-of-the-order run-producing threat behind on-base machine and generational talent Juan Soto.

Alonso worked out at Diesel Optimization in Tampa and “learned the importance of his hips as a power source.” New York Mets co-hitting coach Eric Chavez said Alonso has “actually learned how to hit” and mentioned this is “the best I’ve ever seen him. I’m very, very optimistic that Pete is going to have a monster year.” While Chavez may be being tongue-in-cheek about Alonso learning how to hit, it can’t be a bad thing that the 30-year-old finally decided to drill down on his swing mechanics to create more consistency. We’ll see if it makes an impact on his declining batting average over the last few seasons.

Alonso’s double off Ryan Helsley checked in at 114.4 mph. That’s actually harder than any ball in play ever against Helsley during the regular season, though this wasn’t exactly regular-season Helsley today; the fastball Alonso hit was thrown at 95.2 mph, rather than Helsley’s usual 99-100 mph.

Here we go. It feels like a potential Opening Day preview with Francisco Lindor leading off and Pete Alonso batting directly behind New York’s marquee offseason addition. The 26-year-old generational talent will make his highly anticipated Mets spring debut on Saturday afternoon and figures to bat second once the regular season kicks off. Leaving Yankee Stadium’s extremely hitter-friendly environment slightly diminishes his realistic over-the-fence power ceiling, but Soto remains set up for success at Citi Field as part of a loaded lineup.

Nothing has been finalized at this early stage of spring training, but Mendoza’s latest musing re-affirms the widely-held belief that Lindor will remain in the leadoff spot, which he did 109 times last season. Soto’s on-base and power skills make the most sense in the second spot, which should provide middle-of-the-order run producers Pete Alonso and Mark Vientos with plenty of RBI opportunities with a pair of NL MVP candidates setting the table.

The deal, which includes a $10 million signing bonus and an opt-out following the 2025 season, is now official. Alonso has averaged 43 round-trippers per-season since breaking into the majors back in 2019 and returns to bolster New York’s formidable lineup as their primary middle-of-the-order run-producer to complement Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto and Mark Vientos. The 30-year-old remains one of the safest four-category power plus counting stats contributors in the fantasy landscape.

Alonso has agreed to terms with the Mets on a two-year $54 million contract, but it hasn’t been finalized just yet. The 30-year-old will get a chance to be in the middle of a lineup that has Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto at the top, and it’d be a surprise — assuming good health — if he wasn’t one of the RBI leaders in 2025.

Passan adds that the deal includes an opt-out following the 2025 season and a $24 million player option for 2026. New York badly needed this one after the two sides remained locked in a prolonged offseason standoff. Alonso’s return to the Big Apple seemed inevitable, especially when the rest of the cold corner dominoes began to fall, leaving few alternative landing spots. The 30-year-old slugger has launched at least 34 round-trippers in each of the previous five full seasons dating back to 2019 and finds himself in the absolute perfect spot from a fantasy standpoint. He’ll benefit tremendously from batting cleanup behind generational talents Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto in a loaded Mets lineup that also includes Mark Vientos blossoming into a middle-of-the-order force. He’s one of the safest four-category, run-producing stalwarts in the fantasy landscape and returning to New York further cements his early-round status in drafts this spring.

“I don’t like the negotiations,” Cohen said. “I don’t like [the structure of the offer that’s] been presented to us. Maybe that changes...If it stays this way, I think we have to get used to the fact that we may have to go forward with existing players.” Existing players likely means Mark Vientos at first, with third base turning into a competition between Brett Baty, Luisangel Acuña and Ronny Mauricio.