Mets' Pete Alonso 'Stoked' to Play with Juan Soto: 'He Definitely Makes Us Better'

There's a new power-hitting duo suiting up for the New York Mets this year.

Pete Alonso, who re-signed with the Mets last week, and Juan Soto, who joined New York on a record-setting deal in December, will be the one-two punch at the plate this season.

Ahead of their first campaign together, Alonso said he's "stoked" to play with his new teammate.

"We all know Juan is a phenomenal player," Alonso said. "He definitely makes us better... I'm just really thankful that he ended up with us because it seems like anytime you play against Juan Soto, he has a big hit or takes someone up top or makes a game-changing play."

Alonso has been with the Mets his entire career but received some interest from other teams once he hit free agency this offseason. After conversations with several teams, including the Toronto Blue Jays, Alonso opted to stay in New York on a two-year, $54 million contract.

The move meant joining Soto, who commanded a 15-year, $765 million deal to leave the Mets' crosstown rivals, the New York Yankees. The deal is the largest in MLB history, surpassing the 10-year, $700 million deal that lured Shohei Ohtani to the Los Angeles Dodgers last offseason.

Considering the trajectory Soto has been on over the last few years, the historic deal didn't come as much of a surprise. The 26-year-old had the best season of his career last year, hitting 41 homers and 109 RBI with a .288 batting average and a .989 OPS.

Soto, playing alongside superstar Aaron Judge, helped lead the Yankees to the World Series for the first time since 2009, though they came up short against the Dodgers.

Alonso also had another strong season, hitting 34 home runs and 88 RBI with a .240 batting average. He and the Mets beat the Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies in the wild-card and divisional series, respectively, before losing to the Dodgers in the NLCS. It was the furthest New York had made it in the postseason since its World Series run in 2015.

The Mets had a tremendous season last year, but with Soto now in the lineup, New York will be eyeing its first World Series victory in nearly 40 years in 2025.