Mets Rumors: Pete Alonso Agrees to 1-Year, $20.5M Contract to Avoid Arbitration

The New York Mets are reportedly keeping their best slugger for at least one more year.

According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, the Mets and first baseman Pete Alonso agreed to a one-year, $20.5 million contract on Wednesday to avoid arbitration. Alonso will become a free agent after the 2024 season.

In addition to Alonso's deal, the Mets reached agreements with pitchers Adrian Houser ($5.05M), David Peterson ($2.15M) and Joey Lucchesi ($1.65M) and outfielder Tyrone Taylor ($2.025M) to avoid arbitration, per SNY. The deadline to reach deals with arbitration-eligible players was Thursday at 8 p.m. ET.

Alonso has spent his entire five-year major league career with the Mets. He has hit over 35 home runs four times, with the only outlier being in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

In 2023, Alonso appeared in 154 games and finished with a career-low batting average of .217 while leading the Mets with 46 home runs and 118 RBI. Despite his solid individual production, New York had another disappointing season after entering the year with aspirations of competing for a spot in the World Series.

The Mets finished fourth in the NL East with a 75-87 record and missed the playoffs for the sixth time in the last seven years. General manager Billy Eppler stepped down after the season amid an MLB investigation. Manager Buck Showalter was fired by newly hired president of baseball operations David Stearns and replaced by former New York Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza, who received a three-year deal.

Retaining Alonso is a step in the right direction for the Mets to bounce back and contend for a spot in the postseason in 2024.