Like a year ago, Pete AlonsoFree agency is the talk of the Mets’ offseason.
The leading franchise in home runs and Edwin Diaz He declined his player options to explore free agency ahead of the 2026 season. Both players are the biggest names potentially leaving the organization and the president of baseball operations. David Stearns He was asked about both when he met with the media Tuesday night at the GM Meetings in Las Vegas.
"We love both Pete and Edwin. They have been great representatives of the organization," Stearns said. "We would love to have you both back. At this stage of the offseason, it’s really hard to predict any outcome, but certainly, we’d love to have both guys back."
For Alonso in particular, he and the Mets did this dance before, when it took until late February for both sides to reach a new deal before the 2025 season. The Mets made minor moves, such as re-signing Jesse Winker to begin his offseason moves as negotiations continued between the first baseman and the team.
Stearns finds himself in a similar position after a disappointing 2025. There are holes to fill on the roster and, for now, first base is one of them. But Stearns says patience is needed during this time.
"You’ll always love clarity at the beginning of the process. Sometimes that’s not realistic," Stearns said of his timeline. "The offseasons are really long and can be tough sometimes in November when we’re all really excited to get started and be here at the GM meetings… but a lot of signings happen in January, February and March. The offseasons now roll into spring training and we have to recognize that, be patient and let the offseason play out."
In his end-of-season press conference, Stearns emphasized run prevention and defense as areas in which the Mets needed to improve. He was asked if Alonso’s defense would be part of his evaluation of the slugger.
"All parts of the player’s contribution inform how we view the player," said. "For a position player, that will certainly include the offense and what he does in the box and what he does on defense. It also includes what they mean to us off the field, what they meant to us in the clubhouse and in the community. All of that is taken into account with every player and Pete is no different."
Stearns said all returning Mets players need to improve defensively and that this will be an emphasis in the offseason, in spring training and as the season progresses.
"The type of baseball, the type of defense that we played during the last two months of the season, was not good enough," Stearns said. "It has to improve."
Stearns was asked if he thinks Alonso can improve his defense early, and the second-year Met executive said yes because Alonso has shown that in the past and that he is a "Motivated and dedicated player."
But what happens if Alono doesn’t return? What will Stearns and the Mets plan for first base?
Stearns was confident the Mets could turn things around, but reiterated how early the offseason is.
"We have internal options. We have younger players who deserve more opportunities." Stearns said. "We have players we can move positionally and also scout outside (the organization), but that’s all premature. We’ll see how the offseason goes and go from there."