New York Mets owner Steve Cohen said he made a "significant offer" to free agent slugger Pete Alonso but may have to go forward without him.
Cohen spoke candidly about the ongoing negotiations with Alonso while on stage alongside president of baseball operations David Stearns and manager Carlos Mendoza during the team's Amazin' Day fan festival event Saturday at Citi Field.
Although the Mets landed coveted free agent Juan Soto, signing a $765 million, 15-year mega deal, there was one player the fans had on their minds. Chants of "We want Pete" broke out among the Mets faithful in attendance, prompting Cohen to share the latest.
"Personally, this has been an exhausting conversation and negotiation," Cohen said. "I mean, Soto was tough; this is worse, OK? A lot of it is … I don’t like the structures that are being presented back to us. I think it’s highly asymmetric against us, and I feel strongly about it."
Even if Cohen doesn't like how the negotiations have played out, Alonso's agent, Scott Boras, sees the slugging first baseman's free agency as one similar to other players he considers to have been in the same situation.
Last off-season, Boras represented Blake Snell, Matt Chapman, Cody Bellinger and Jordan Montgomery, all of whom had their free agencies extend up to or past the beginning of spring training before signing short-term deals that included opt-outs.
“Pete’s free-agent contract structure request are identical to the standards and practices of other clubs who have signed similarly situated qualifying-offer/all-star level players,” Boras told The Athletic's Will Sammon later Saturday. “Nothing different. Just established fairness standards.”
Alonso had a breakout rookie season with the Mets in 2019, earning the NL Rookie of the Year award and leading the majors with 53 homers.
The four-time All-Star has a .249 batting average, 226 home runs and 586 RBIs over six seasons with the Mets. He batted .240 with 34 homers and 88 RBIs last year.
Alonso became a free agent at the end of the season. The Mets offered Alonso a qualifying offer, which he declined.
Cohen said he will never say no and there's always the possibility Alonso signs, but he said, "The reality is we’re moving forward."
"We continue to bring in players," Cohen said. "As we continue to bring in players, reality is, it becomes harder to fit Pete into what is a very expensive group of players that 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 and certainly I’ll always stay flexible. If it stays this way, I think we’re going to have to get used to the fact that we may have to go forward with the existing players that we have."
Cohen was then met with a round of applause from the fans.
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