Breaking: Mets’ Alonso Eyed by NL Rival as Replacement for…
Once the offseason arrives, all eyes will be on what the New York Mets plan on doing with one of their star sluggers.
For the first time in his career, Pete Alonso is set to become a free agent and despite expressing his desire to be a Met for life, his future in New York is still up in the air.
With Alonso expected to draw interest across the major leagues this offseason, one NL Central team could be a significant bidder for Alonso’s services, especially if they lose one of their own key players.
Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report came out with a story on Monday about eight bold predictions that could happen this offseason; even though he ultimately predicted that Alonso would sign a $200 million deal to stay with the Mets, he also sees the Polar Bear joining the Chicago Cubs.
Miller’s reasoning for Chicago potentially pursuing Alonso, who turns 30 in December, is if their star slugger Cody Bellinger opts out of the three-year, $80 million deal he signed back in February.
“The Cubs probably won’t get that carried away, especially if Cody Bellinger returns on his $27.5M player option. If he leaves, though, they’ll be very much in the mix for Alonso at around $200M,” Miller said.
Despite Alonso having a down year by his standards, slashing just .240/.329/.459 with a .788 OPS, the slugger still hit 34 home runs (fifth in the NL) with 88 RBI and played in every single game for New York (162 in the regular season and 13 more in the postseason).
Alonso also slugged four home runs during the postseason, with the biggest being his go-ahead, ninth-inning three-run homer against the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 3 of the NL Wild Card Series, sending the Mets to the NLDS.
It is very hard to envision Alonso in a different uniform next season, especially with the heroics he had during the Mets’ postseason run. But if Bellinger decides to opt out of his contract, the Cubs could end up pursuing Alonso this winter.
