The New York Mets have spent a lot of money this offseason, which made re-signing first baseman Pete Alonso a bit of an uphill climb.
Well, Mets fans can take a deep sigh of relief. Alonso is officially back.
News broke on Wednesday night that the franchise had re-signed its beloved first baseman to a two-year contract worth $54 million, per the New York Post‘s Jon Heyman. There will be an opt-out after the first year, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
As the MLB sure looks like the Los Angeles Dodgers and everyone else right now, the Mets re-signing Alonso ensures they’ll at least be in the title conversation in 2025. The contract exhaustion was well worth it.
Steve Cohen isn’t ruling out an Alonso reunion, but he’s not budging, either.
Pete Alonso remains one of the biggest free agents remaining this winter and Saturday gave New York Mets fans an opportunity to voice their concern that the team let him hit the market at all.
That led to a refreshingly candid moment from chairman Steve Cohen over his desire to bring the first baseman back to Queens — up to a certain price.
Mets fans got some face time with the owner during a panel session at the team’s Amazin’ Day fanfest at Citi Field. During the session, fans began chanting “we want Pete”, leading Cohen to provide an update on where things stand.
"I don't like the negotiations. I don't like what's been presented to us."
Steve Cohen talks about the Mets' negotiations with Pete Alonso and the possibility of the Mets moving forward without him:
We’ve made a significant offer to Pete. And what David [Stearns] said is correct, he’s entitled to go out and explore his market, and that’s what he’s doing. Personally, this has been an exhausting conversation and negotiation. Soto was tough, this is worse. A lot of it is, we made a significant offer. I don’t like the structures that are being presented back to us. I think it is highly asymmetric against us. I feel strongly about it.
“I will never say, no. There is always a possibility. The reality is, we’re moving forward. We continue to bring in players. As we continue to bring in players, the reality is, it becomes harder to fit Pete into a very expensive group of players we already have. That’s where we are.
“I’m being brutally honest. I don’t like the negotiations. I don’t like what’s been presented to us. Listen, maybe that changes. I’ll always stay flexible. If it stays this way, we may have to go forward with the existing players we have.”
Cohen said the disconnect between the Mets and Alonso is over contract structures that are “highly asymmetric against us” and that it’s getting harder and harder to justify fitting Alonso back on the roster as the team keeps building elsewhere.
Whether you agree with Cohen’s response or not, it’s always nice to see an owner forced to respond to fans. It’s also easy to believe Cohen when he says these talks have been tougher than the Juan Soto negotiations. There’s a years-long personal relationship with Alonso, who endeared himself to fans and delivered eyeballs when the team was in the dumps.
Of course, the subtext here is that Cohen was willing to spend more than the GDP of Sweden and get hit with a huge luxury tax to sign Soto while playing hardball with Alonso.
That can’t feel great for the Alonso camp to hear — even if deep down they already knew it.
There was a brief period before Shohei Ohtani won the NL MVP when fans wondered if it should go to a New York Mets star instead.
Some argued that Francisco Lindor brought more valuable impact to the Mets than Ohtani brought to the Dodgers because, at the time, Los Angeles had so much star power on the roster. Additionally, unlike Ohtani, the Mets star added tremendous value as a defensive fielder as well.
Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos agreed that the MVP wasn’t Ohtani and played for the Mets, but his pick wasn’t Lindor.
Nick Castellanos says that Jose Iglesias deserved to win NL MVP over Shohei Ohtani
“If you’re looking at the MVP as having the most weight on creating wins for your team, there’s no other player that has had that much weight as Jose Iglesias” pic.twitter.com/vifn4Btx5Z
Castellanos argued that if you’re looking at the most valuable player, it’s who has the most weight on creating wins for your team.
In his estimation, no other player had as much weight as the pop star slash infielder. He said that Iglesias brought in the Latin spark and knock the ice off Lindor, got Mark Vientos comfortable as a rising third baseman, and gave a team that was directionless some purpose.
Iglesias was hardly the best player on his team, but Castellanos is at least making some fascinating points about what he believes is “valuable” from a teammate.
He added that the way “OMG” song and sign hit New York was the most important thing to happen to baseball. But when he was told that argument would not fly with the sabermetricians, he had the best response.
“I’m not a sabermetrician,” he said. “I’m a baseball player.”
Fresh off signing the most lucrative contract in baseball history, Juan Soto was introduced as a member of the New York Mets on Thursday. But he probably shouldn’t expect many congratulatory texts from his now-former Yankees teammates.
Soto — who helped lead the Yankees to their first World Series appearance since 2009 — decided to sign with the crosstown rivals for a 15-year, $765 million deal. Given how crucial Soto was to the Yankees’ success in 2024, one might have expected more of a recruitment effort from players like Aaron Judge or Gerrit Cole. But that wasn’t the case at all.
Speaking to reporters, Soto was asked if he had talked to any Yankees players during the free agency process. And that was when Soto revealed that he hadn’t spoken to any of them since leaving the clubhouse for the final time.
Juan Soto when asked if he has spoken to any of his former Yankees teammates:
If that didn’t indicate just how unhappy Soto was with the Yankees’ clubhouse atmosphere, I don’t know what does. Typically, team leaders would do what they could to support (or even subtly recruit) a free agent of Soto’s caliber. Yet, in this case, the silence seemed mutual.
He was ready to move on from the Yankees, and he made that clear on Thursday.
Juan Soto’s decision to sign with the Mets for a record-shattering deal wasn’t much of a surprise within baseball circles. The number was always going to be astronomical, and the Mets had deep pockets to make it happen.
According to the New York Post, Soto wanted the Yankees to provide his family with a suite for the duration of the contract. The Yankees — having already made Derek Jeter and Aaron Judge pay for their own suites in the past — didn’t want to ignore precedent and give Soto a multimillion-dollar perk. Instead, they offered Soto that suite at a discounted rate.
Mets owner Steve Cohen, on the other hand, was more than willing to give Soto a suite at Citi Field and got the deal done. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman was asked about the suite saga, and he essentially said that a player making that much should be OK paying for his own suite.
Brian Cashman said he has “no regrets” with how the Juan Soto negotiations played out and doesn’t think the Yankees could have done anything differently. He also said that he does not believe Soto’s request for a suite, nor a reported issue with club security, played any part.…
“Some high-end players that make a lot of money for us, if they want suites, they buy them.”
Cashman also added that he had no regrets about how the Yankees handled their negotiations. And Yankees fans loved how Cashman implied that Soto could have afforded his own suite because, well, look at that contract.
If you told me that the Yankees would lose Juan Soto and I wouldn’t be upset at Cashman or the front office at all, I would’ve laughed in your face but I think they did the right thing based on all the nonsense that’s come out about the negotiations so far https://t.co/EXoXKeYHbX
this isn’t a charity. u got offered 760, buy ur own suite. ur not jeter and ur not judge. what a ridiculous ask that only a baby organization would bend over to fulfill https://t.co/elp5vZDbGg
To the surprise of many, the Yankees actually came close to matching the Mets’ record-shattering $765 million contract to Juan Soto. And at face value, 16 years, $760 million seemed like a sweet deal to stay in pinstripes.
But Soto was looking for a suite deal.
According to a report from the New York Post’s Jon Heyman, Soto grew discouraged with the Yankees’ unwillingness to provide him with a luxury suite for his family at Yankee Stadium. Instead, the Yankees insisted that Soto pay for the suite himself at a discounted rate. Meanwhile, the Mets were willing to give Soto his suite at Citi Field.
Since the Yankees had made Derek Jeter and Aaron Judge pay for their suites, they didn’t want to set a different precedent with Soto. Via the Post:
The Yankees shouldn’t be faulted for bidding a whopping $760M, but they wouldn’t budge on the suite. The Yankees felt they couldn’t give a suite to Soto when Judge pays for his suite, and even Derek Jeter paid. They were willing to discount a suite but not alter their precedent.
When you think about it, though, that does make some sense — especially when you’re looking at the cost of that request. Suites at Yankee Stadium can go for upwards of $25,000 for a single game. And while the Yankees did offer Soto a discounted rate, you’re looking at around a $20 million perk over the 16 years on top of that $760 million deal.
Mets owner Steve Cohen, on the other hand, didn’t care about the cost effectiveness here. He wanted Soto and was going to do whatever it took.
Good morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thanks for reading today. We appreciate you.
Now that the dust has settled from the sticker shock of Juan Soto’s megadeal with the Mets, we’ve collectively moved on to the next stage: The backlash.
That’s typically how free agency works across sports. The star player hits the market. Then, the star player signs a huge contract we’ve never seen before. Fans see the headlines about the deal and are in awe. Then that awe turns into “Well, is this actually a good deal?” and that’s where we’re now.
Juan Soto is overpaid. At least, according to two of the premier baseball analysts in the zeitgeist, he is.
“Do we really believe that either Brian Cashman (Yankees GM) or David Stearns (Mets president baseball operations) is saying to their owner, ‘You know what? It’s a good baseball deal to give this guy $51 million when we know he’s probably going to be a DH for most of his career,” Olney said. “There’s no chance that happens. This is all about the two owners.”
Passan suggested that the Yankees might be “better off” long-term for missing out on Juan Soto. “This is not a good baseball deal. It’s just not. In the context of everything else in the sport, it is an exceptional overpay,” he said.
Here’s the thing: They’re absolutely right. This is an overpay.
Paying a guy $51 million annually for the next 15 years will certainly not make it easy to build the rest of the team out year after year moving forward. Unlike Ohtani’s megadeal last year, there are no deferrals there. This isn’t a “team-friendly” contract. It’s Juan Soto hitting the lottery.
But, guys. Let’s not overthink it. This is Juan Soto. He’s a 26-year-old slugger who is still a beast in the outfield and has one of the most unique batting styles we’ve seen. Even if he is a designated hitter in, say, five to seven years, so what? His OBP might still be stupidly good. He’s won’t magically suck in two years.
The Mets saw the opportunity to go get a guy that could get the franchise over the hump and Steve Cohen had the cash to make it happen. So why not go get the guy?
Sure, the Mets could’ve played it prudently and spread that money out a bit. But New York probably wasn’t going to win a World Series that way, either. As they say: Scared money doesn’t make money. And Steve Cohen has more money than anyone in that league. Might as well spend it!
Good on the Mets. Go win it all now.
The Cowboys broke Micah Parsons
Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY NETWORK
Boy, I cannot WAIT to hear Micah Parsons on his podcast this week. What are the chances he demands a trade? Gotta be a greater than zero percent chance after Monday Night Football.
“The Bengals were set to punt the ball away after the two-minute warning when the Cowboys blocked the punt! However, the Cowboys made the unfortunate mistake of touching the ball after the block and not recovering it, meaning the Bengals got possession back with a chance to score for the lead.
And score they did, as the Bengals went right down the field and made the game 27-20, which is how the game ended when all was said and done.”
I, for one, didn’t even know you could muff a blocked punt. Anyway, that led to Parsons losing it on the sideline. He looks so confused. To be fair, we all were.
After Monday night’s game against the Raptors, it seems to be so. The game wasn’t anything special, really. But the moment that came after Towns hit a big shot to essentially seal the game felt like a pivotal one — at least in the scope of his career.
He hits the big 3-pointer and then points to his jersey.
Towns has been on the Knicks for months at this point, but this felt like the moment he became a Knick.
Good for KAT, man. He’s been one of the most maligned NBA players in the league since being drafted. Folks questioned his personality fit when the Timberwolves traded him to New York. People didn’t think he could take the bright lights.
Seems to be fitting in well so far.
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While a difference of $5 million would change lives for most people, this is effectively the same contract with figures that large. So why would Soto then decide to jump ship?
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan during an appearance on SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt, this was perhaps an evaluation on the future trajectories of the franchises.
"I think Juan Soto looked at the New York Mets' future … and believed that the Mets have a better future than Yankees."@JeffPassan tells @notthefakeSVP on why Soto chose the Mets over the Yankees despite only a $5M difference pic.twitter.com/lL4bXmARGD
“The Mets weren’t that much at a different place than the New York Yankees were. The Yankees had a $760 million, only $5 million less spread out over 16 years, so it wasn’t a huge demonstrable difference. At the end, I think Juan Soto looked at the New York Mets future and looked at the New York Yankees future and believed that the Mets have a better future than the Yankees.”
Let that sink in for a second.
The Mets, long considered the LOL Mets for their consistent misfortune, ushered in a changing of the guard.
Here is more context from Passan:
“The Yankees have been the most successful franchise in North American sports history. They have 27 championships. They New York Mets have been the New York Mets. And so to see the transformation that Steve Cohen has helped make with this franchise over the last four years after he bought it, to turn them from laughing stock to the team that Juan Soto wants to play with because he believes that they are going to have a brighter future, speaks volumes about what he has been able to do since he has bought the team. This, I think, is just the beginning. They are going to spend more money. They are going to continue to have payrolls like this.”
The Mets still have more decisions to make this offseason, including whether or not they will re-sign first baseman Pete Alonso and starting pitcher Sean Manaea.
But based on Passan’s characterization of Soto’s assessment, it seems very likely that this team isn’t done spending with the hopes of creating a threat and juggernaut in the National League.
As the baseball world waits for news on where Juan Soto will sign, fans are holding on to clues wherever they can possibly get them.
One unlikely but potential source is the comments of a post on TikTok. But while others have remained fairly tight-lipped during the free agency process thus far leading up to the MLB winter meetings, some actual information on the New York Yankees star may have slipped through the cracks.
While none of this is confirmed and is purely speculative, the idea is that the son of New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza may have provided a bit too much insider knowledge to his social media.
But why should anyone believe that this account belongs to Mendoza’s son?
His next comment said “bro do you know who inam” [sic] and if you go to his profile, the Mets are in his bio.
The two videos he has posted are both of the Mets, including one practicing with star short stop Francisco Lindor. The other caption is “my dad’s speech good?” with a video of Mendoza.
His username includes the name Adrian and Mendoza has two sons, and the eldest is a 12-year-old named Adrian. Hmmmmm!
30-year-old right-handed pitcher Luis Severino is leaving the Mets to sign with the Athletics and he is getting paid handsomely by his new club.
Severino enjoyed a strong season with New York, helping lead the Mets to an appearance in the NLCS against the Dodgers. He was a starter in three games for New York during their postseason, lasting six innings in two of his starts.
While he played an important role in the rotation for the Mets, he was not necessarily throwing consistently like a bona fide staff ace either.
Yet as a free agent, he just managed to sign what became the largest contract guarantee in franchise history for the Athletics, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan. New York will receive draft compensation in return. Here are more details about the move (via ESPN):
“By stretching themselves financially — their previous high deal was a six-year, $66 million extension for Eric Chavez in 2004, and their biggest free agent outlay was three years and $30 million for Billy Butler — the A’s convinced Severino to anchor their rotation.”
Although he is far from a scrub and has made two MLB All-Star appearances during his professional career, a three-year deal for $67 million is considered “well above” his market expectations.
Some believed that Severino would have accepted a one-year qualifying deal worth approximately $21.0 million, but instead, he will make more annually over three seasons.
However, for the next few seasons, Severino will pitch his home games in a minor league ballpark in Sacramento before the franchise eventually settles in Las Vegas.
Perhaps the Athletics overpaid to land his services in their starting rotation due to their unusual relocation, but if this is an indication of how much it will cost to land a quality starter, teams must prepare to loosen their purse strings.
Either way, this would have been an expensive bill for Steve Cohen and the Mets that the Athletics will pay instead.
Tri-State 
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