After an epic collapse and a non-playoff season, there are plenty of questions the Mets face heading into the offseason. However, as the club explores ways to improve, they are faced with some big decisions just regarding keeping two key players at first base. Pete Alonso and closer Edwin Diaz. Alonso has already said he will decline his $24 million player option for 2026 to re-enter free agency, and it is widely expected that Diaz will also test the market by declining his player options for the 2026-2027 seasons (under the terms of Diaz’s deal, he must exercise or decline both options simultaneously).
Many Mets fans will point out that the club could or should simply re-sign both players. Money isn’t really an object for a team that has built record salaries under Steve Cohen, and Alonso and Diaz are both coming off big seasons. For all the Mets’ troubles in 2025, Alonso and Diaz weren’t part of the problem: Alonso hit .272/.347/.524 with 38 home runs over 709 at-bats, and Diaz recorded 28 saves while posting a 1.63 ERA and 38% strikeout rate over 66 1/3 innings.
Keeping both players obviously comes with some concerns. The Mets and Alonso just went through this free agent dance last winter, after Alonso settled for a two-year, $54 million deal with an opt-out clause after the first season after a lack of interest from other suitors and a lengthy series of negotiations with New York’s front office. Alonso’s goal of entering the market with a better platform season came true, and he won’t have the qualifying offer attached to his services this time either, for clubs concerned about giving up draft picks to sign him.
While Alonso’s numbers were certainly better in 2025 than they were in 2024, whether Alonso was still a top prospect wasn’t really one of the main concerns facing the Mets or other free agents last offseason. Alonso is a right-handed player who only bats at first base, and the market simply hasn’t been all that hospitable to such players in recent years, regardless of how much pop there is in their bats. Speaking of defense, Alonso’s poor glovework points him toward a future as a DH, so any team signing the slugger will be faced with the immediate question of how long they are willing to use him at first base. If Alonso is going to be a one-dimensional player going forward, the fact that he’s entering his age-31 season means he’s one year closer to the end of his prime.
A plus in Alonso’s favor is his extreme durability. Diaz is entering his age-32 season, and his health record includes a 2023 season completely lost due to knee surgery, and a (minimal) 15-day stint on the injured list in 2024 due to a shoulder impingement. While Diaz shows no sign of slowing down on the mound, there are also the natural concerns that come with considering a bullpen arm for a long-term contract given how inconsistent most relievers can be from year to year.
Diaz’s knee injury obviously hadn’t occurred at the time of his latest foray into free agency, but larger concerns about his future performance didn’t weigh too heavily on the Mets’ minds in 2022, as the team quickly re-signed the right-holder to his five-year, $102 million deal shortly after the free agent market opened. Cohen was, of course, the one who made the final decision on Diaz’s new contract, although it’s worth noting that Billy Eppler was New York’s general manager at the time of the signing.
Current president of baseball operations David Stearns may have a different view of Diaz’s value, and that’s why Anthony DiComo of MLB.com believes that if the Mets retain just one of the two free agents, “Alonso has a better chance of staying.” Stearns has traditionally favored building his bullpens with relievers on short-term commitments, both when he ran the Brewers’ front office (and focused more on cheap hidden gems) and during his two years in Queens (when he worked with a much larger payroll).
DiComo also noted that “just about everyone needs relief pitching,” so while only a few teams may be able to meet Diaz’s projected price tag, “Díaz will also likely have at least as many suitors as Alonso.” Diaz’s age comes into play here in another sense, such as SNY’s Andy Martino points out that Diaz can view this trip to free agency as his “last bite at the apple in landing a huge contract.” Despite the mutual interest between Diaz and the Mets in a reunion, he may not be able to resist taking the bigger offer as a team in greater need of a better offer than the Mets will be years from now.
Would it be possible that both Have Alonso and Diaz played their last game in a Mets uniform? This may seem like the least likely scenario, as it would require the Mets to add both first base and move closer to an offseason shopping list that is already marked by a serious need for starting pitching. Technically, releasing both Alonso and Diaz would free up more room on the payroll for the Amazins to spend money on rotation help, or for the club to pursue other quality first base players or high-leverage help that would come at lower price tags. But ‘payroll room’ is probably not that big of a problem for a club with a more or less endless budget. And letting go of two fan favorites in the same offseason might not appeal to a Mets fanbase already upset about the disappointment of 2025.
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