ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The New York Mets do not have plans to meet with Pete Alonso this week at the winter meetings.
The five-time All-Star first baseman, who turned 31 on Sunday, lives about two hours away from the hotel for the meetings in Florida. He is a free agent for the second straight offseason.
“I think Pete knows us really well. I think we know Pete really well,” Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said Monday, adding that Alonso will “take the time here to perhaps meet with organizations he doesn’t know quite as well.”
Alonso was drafted by New York and spent his first seven seasons with the Mets. After a slow free agent market last winter, he signed .
The slugger opted out of the final year of the deal after hitting a career-high .272 with 38 homers, 126 RBIs and an .871 OPS in 162 games.
Stearns stuck to his no-public-negotiations script when pressed on where things stand with Alonso, but he detailed where he thinks the player belongs with the market.
“Pete has demonstrated that he’s one of the best offensive players in baseball, and he’s performed at a high level for us,” Stearns said. “That would be a priority for any team. It certainly is for us.”
Beyond Alonso, Stearns said the team is prioritizing run prevention.
The bullpen upgrades are not finished — even after the Mets’ deal with — and Stearns said they are looking at both free agency and the trade market for help. They also want to add a starting pitcher, though Stearns expressed confidence that the organization’s young arms could play a significant role. Kodai Senga’s strong offseason progress was a major positive for Stearns.
The Mets also are looking for a replacement for outfielder , who was traded to the Texas Rangers for . Their fallback position would be Jeff McNeil in left field to start the season.
While Stearns would not rule out another big move this offseason, he was preaching balance on the first day of the winter meetings.
“I think we’re probably going to make some moves that don’t grab a ton of headlines, that we think are really impactful moves our organization,” Stearns said. “I’d imagine over the course of the offseason, there are also going to be moves that allow you guys to write a lot. And so I think it’s probably a combination of the both, and that’s what we should be doing. I think, given our market, given the support that our owner puts into this team, we have the ability to make both the more headline and the more subtle moves that quietly really help a roster.”
___
AP MLB:
