Mets Rumors: Pete Alonso Agrees to Record Contract After ROY Performance

Pete Alonso set a Major League Baseball record with 53 home runs for the New York Mets last season while making $555,000 for the year. 

Now he's set another record with a raise that will give him the largest salary for an MLB player coming off his first season. The first baseman will now earn $652,521 in 2020.

"For the Mets to make this happen, it's incredible," Alonso said, per MLB.com's Anthony DiComo. "I truly care about my teammates, my peers, the people I work with every day. And I care about the fans. I care about the city. So to be rewarded is fantastic, because for me, I give blood, sweat and tears to this organization. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to win."

Alonso won't be eligible for arbitration until his age-27 season in 2022—players must accrue three years of service time in order to reach arbitration, but the slugger is under team control until 2025 already. While a long-term extension will be discussed at some point, that hasn't been the case just yet. 

So the team decided to bump up Alonso's salary in the interim. The MLB minimum for 2020 is set for $563,500. The Mets topped that by about 17 percent for their franchise first baseman. 

Notably, Alonso was the only pre-arbitration player with service time New York decided to offer more money to. 

Neither Jeff McNeil nor Amed Rosario received raises. 

McNeil slashed .318/.384/.531 with 23 home runs and an All-Star nod in 2019. The outfielder had the fourth-best batting average in the National League behind Ketel Marte, Christian Yelich and Anthony Rendon. 

McNeil, Ahmed and Alonso help make up a nucleus in New York that's expected to contend not only for the NL East title, but for the World Series as well. 

According to Baseball Prospectus PECOTA projections, the Mets are expected to capture their division with an 88-74 record. PECOTA also gives the Mets a 75.3 percent chance to make the playoffs regardless of NL East standing. 

Should that happen, it's easy to imagine many players in New York earning a raise around this time next year. With contract discussions out of the way for 2020, Alonso is ready to help lead his teammates back to the postseason. 

"I just feel really blessed right now having the [new contract]," Alonso said. "I feel really blessed with what I've been given. ... If we don't play well, if we don't end up where we want to be because I'm worried about something else, then that's just not productive for anybody. My mind's focused. I've got blinders on. I'm just raring to go. I'm excited about 2020."