Pete Alonso accepting a two-year deal in February to return to the New York Mets allowed him to become the franchise’s new home run king, with 254 career homers.
The slugging first baseman went deep twice in the club’s 13-5 win over the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field on Tuesday to capture the record.
After his New York Yankees earned a 9-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday, captain Aaron Judge shared a somewhat surprising revelation about Alonso’s free-agency journey in the offseason.
“The guy hits 25-30 homers every year,” Judge said about Alonso while speaking with Anthony Rieber of Newsday. “It’s pretty special. That’s why, during the whole free-agency thing, I was hoping he’d sign back with the Mets because he means so much to this city, so much to that team and that franchise. And seeing him go out there and get the record, I think that record’s going to be tough to beat once he’s done playing. He’s just going to continue to do what he does. Just so happy for him. He’s just a great, great guy. I can’t speak enough to the person he is.”
There was a time last fall when some linked Alonso with the Yankees, as the market for his services was quiet. However, a December report revealed that the Bronx Bombers were not going to sign the 30-year-old “for multiple, long-time years to stick at first base.”
Alonso almost certainly will opt out of his existing contract after the 2025 season. While he expressed on Tuesday that he would like to remain with the Mets, he also called upon team owner Steve Cohen and president of baseball operations David Stearns “to come through” with a lucrative multiyear deal.
Cohen may or may not have had a handshake agreement with Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner regarding Judge’s availability in the fall of 2022. That was before Cohen gave slugger Juan Soto a 15-year, $765M contract that could reportedly exceed $800M in December 2024.
It’s unclear if Alonso could be on Steinbrenner’s radar in the coming months.
“It’s great,” Judge added about Alonso becoming the all-time Mets home run record-holder. “Happened quick, to be honest, which is pretty cool, but speaks just volumes to the type of player he is, the consistency over the years to go out there from his rookie year on.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
