As if signing Juan Soto to a record contract wasn’t enough, the Mets could be exploring another big-ticket addition for the corner infield. Ari Alexander of KPRC (X link) reports that the Mets are among the teams who have interest in Alex Bregman, while president of baseball operations David Stearns told MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo and other reporters that the Mets would “love to bring [Pete] Alonso back.”
While referring to Alonso’s market but perhaps speaking broadly about the Mets’ payroll situation as a whole, Stearns said “I think our ownership has consistently demonstrated that there’s going to be resources when we need them. There is the ability for us to make baseball moves when we think that they’re there to improve the team, and we’re going to continue to pursue a wide variety of areas to continue to improve our team.”
This means that neither Alonso, Bregman, or perhaps a top-tier pitcher can be ruled out during what has already been an aggressive offseason in Queens. The Mets had so much coming off the books this winter that even with Soto’s mega-deal now factored in, New York’s luxury tax number is still a relatively modest $251.8MM (as per RosterResource’s estimate). While this is over the $241MM tax threshold, simply exceeding the tax line is nothing to Mets owner Steve Cohen, whose team had an estimated $358.1MM tax number in 2024.
Mark Vientos’ breakout season makes him a lock for one corner infield slot, giving New York some flexibility in deciding what to do with the other side of the diamond. Vientos could just remain at the hot corner and the Mets could run it back entirely by re-signing a popular homegrown slugger Alonso. Or, the Mets could shake things up by moving Vientos to first base, clearing room for Bregman as the new starting third baseman.
Both Bregman and Alonso rejected qualifying offers, though in re-signing Alonso, the Mets wouldn’t have to give up any compensation since he is their own free agent. Signing Soto cost the Mets $1MM in international draft pool money and their second- and fifth-highest picks in the 2025 draft, so signing another QO-rejecting free agent would cost another $1MM of bonus pool funds plus two more picks — this time New York’s third- and sixth-highest selections. It isn’t entirely out of the question that the Mets could burn such a big chunk of a draft year in search of premium win-now talent, though the club’s preference is likely to avoid another free agent tied to compensation.
Moving onto pitching targets, ESPN’s Jorge Castillo writes that the Mets are one of the teams linked to Jonathan Loaisiga’s market. Loaisiga was known to have received interest from 14 teams, including both New York clubs. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza is very familiar with Loaisiga from their shared time together in the Bronx when Mendoza was the Yankees’ bench coach.
Loaisiga pitched just four innings in the 2024 season before his year was cut short by a UCL-related surgery (not a Tommy John procedure). Multiple injuries have limited Loaisiga to 219 2/3 innings since his MLB debut in 2018, but the right-hander has been an intriguing bullpen weapon when he’s been healthy, delivering a 3.28 ERA over 181 1/3 frames as a reliever. The buy-low potential is strong, so it isn’t surprising that Loaisiga is drawing such widespread attention from teams in need of bullpen help.
Stearns also provided a couple of injury updates during his media session (hat tip to DiComo and Newsday’s Tim Healey). The Mets believe Paul Blackburn will be ready for Opening Day in the aftermath of an October surgery to fix a spinal fluid leak. As dangerous as that procedure sounds, it carried a relatively brief recovery timeline of 4-5 months, and the Mets are encouraged enough by Blackburn’s rehab to now project him on the shorter end of that timeframe.
Blackburn could be another part of New York’s bullpen picture, but Stearns said the right-hander is still being viewed as a starting pitching option. Blackburn would currently line up as the fifth starter behind Kodai Senga, Frankie Montas, David Peterson, and Clay Holmes, though both his health status throughout Spring Training and the Mets’ further offseason moves could impact that rotation job. Acquired from the A’s at last year’s trade deadline, Blackburn was limited to five starts and 24 1/3 innings (posting a 5.18 ERA) due to both his back problem and a hand bruise.
It was almost exactly a year ago that top prospect Ronny Mauricio suffered a torn ACL during winter ball action, and Stearns said that Mauricio is now getting back to baseball-related activities. A former regular of the top-100 prospect rankings, Mauricio made his MLB debut in the form of 26 games and 108 PA for the Mets in 2023, but his injury dealt a big setback to his chances of being a bigger part of the infield mix last season.
No Bregman just resign Alonso
Agreed
I’m not even a big Alonso guy, but I still want him back. He’d cost less than Bregman and you wouldn’t need to move Vientos to a new position. Plus it would be cool if he was a Met his entire career.
Get them both. I’m sure a lot of players want to play for the Mets.
Bergman is not a Citifield player. He needs the short porches like Houston or Boston. Otherwise he’s nothing great, especially for the big money he’s looking to get paid.
What will it take for MLB to embrace a salary cap? The NY and LA teams with billion dollar payrolls, with 10 or more All Stars on each team? Why is it not only considered OK for only 2 cities to hog all the talent, with national media clowns like Rosenthal, Nightengale and the entire MLB Network lecturing fans that this is good for baseball?
Because that’s what the wealthy teams and the players association wants. CBA negotiations are two against one (the one being lower budget teams).
If there is a salary cap get ready for Liv Baseball. The players will leave the league to maximize their value. PGA let it happen. Let’s hope that MLB just forces owners to sell their team to people that can pay for them to be competitive.
It’s not like thI cap would be 50m. Also there would be a floor. So the mlb would still be the place to be:
Yes, there would have to be a floor but you assume the teams who don’t spend now would agree to having a floor. They are unlikely to do so because it would prevent them from pocketing the money the way may of them do now. They are not even required to spend the Central Fund money they receive. What makes you think the league would establish a floor? Until you have a neutral commissioner (i.e., one not hired to do the bidding of the owners) you will not get a CBA requiring owners to spend.
“Let’s hope that MLB just forces owners to sell their team to people that can pay for them to be competitive.” Yea this would obviously cause lawsuits and I seriously doubt the court system in the USA would allow an organization to allow a forced sell of private property. Maybe your town should forcefully make you sell your home because you are too cheap to maintain your fence. You can see how a case law like that could be used.
If they eliminate revenue sharing they’d all be forced to sell pretty quick.
Soco-comfort
Your home analogy totally fails.
First, we do allow some people to have five million dollar homes while others crowd into a 200,000 fixer.
Second, baseball is a government sanctioned monopoly not a free market. Perfectly ok for the owners to force a team to sell for not spending enough, and the interim step of spend more if you want shared media revenue.
I would not oppose a cap and a floor but the owners would never go for it because it would require open books to see how much teams appreciate in value, take in as gross revenues and pay as actual costs.
There are more billionaires who want teams than spots available. No reason to coddle billionaire owner who get a coveted spot in the monopoly. Then, those same owners have the nerve to pit city against city to get taxpayer subsidies for sports arenas. Rather than getting government more involved in baseball, I prefer to keep it the way it is.
But if they try to add the golden batter, then congress should threaten to take away their monopoly. I don’t want a golden batter on anything but the fast food that RFK is going to ban.
if the fans wont boycott the owner then the fan is the sucker…. go ahead try to organize the fan, the sucker
“ First, we do allow some people to have five million dollar homes while others crowd into a 200,000 fixer.”
Yes and it’s the same with baseball teams. The Cohens of world have more than 20x the amount of money as some owners. The Mets have the 20 million dollar home and the Pirates have the 200k fixer. Many owners can’t afford a $750 million contract. Just because they can’t afford such a contract doesn’t mean they should be forced to sell their property. Really people are complaining because it comes down to straight jealousy that their team doesn’t or can’t spend big. Also not all teams have the baseball intellectually capacity to run a lower budget and still compete like the Tampa Bay Rays. Also all these owners vote for approval to allow people to buy a team. It’s completely unreasonable to think they would vote to force someone to sell the team for not spending enough money. It’s never going to happen. Owners are not going into the red on their business to win championships as well or maybe they do it for a while then scale back bc you can’t run a reliable business always in the red. These owners treat sports ownership as a business and not as a hobby. Obviously the Yankees and Dodgers of the world make more money than the Reds and Rays of the world
How are they hogging the talent? The other cheapskate owners have the same opportunities to make offers to players. They just choose not to.
And if you think the contacts the la and ny teams offer are over the top, then you should like their ultimate failure to win despite large payrolls
This meme needs to die. No, other teams do not have the revenue streams that that NY and LA teams (and a few others) have. They cannot run payrolls that high.
The Mets don’t have the revenues of the Dodgers or the Yankees. What they do have is an owner that doesn’t care.
The Mets cant run payrolls that high either, steve cohen chooses to anyway. Any other team could find itself in the same position. Hardly the mets or cohens fault most owners mooch frm their team and dont care like cohen does
We will see. I don’t think the Mets will build a $500 million super team and if they do, there are no sure things.
You are right but you are right in bad faith, every team can offer huge contracts with deferrals but as a player why would they choose the small market team over a big market team stacked with talent while also having to defer some of their salary? Of course they’d sign with the big market team full of talent if they absolutely had to have deferrals. They will choose the smaller market team though however if there is no deferrals, there is opt outs and no trade clauses. It’s not fair and you know it. And guess what now they have all their money tied up in just a few players because unlike the dodgers or any other big market team that small market team doesn’t have the luxury of players actually accepting large deferrals in their contracts. So while the dodgers can easily get away with it teams like the Brewers, royals, etc. will have to over pay, as well as promise no deferrals and opt outs or no trade clauses. I know I’m repeating myself, but that way you see how always blaming fans of other teams saying they can do the same thing, you understand that sure they can, but it isn’t easy for them or on the same level as large market teams.
Terrible for baseball.
There should be a salary floor. Every damn team is owned by a billionaire that can spend like this. The fact that they use their teams as a piggy bank while providing a mediocre product for their fans is the real problem. We’ve fooled ourselves into believing there are rich teams and poor teams.
False. No owners subsidize their teams. Teams spend out of team revenues only. You or I could own a team and it would have the exact same profit and loss sheet as it does with a billionaire in charge.
I don’t care if they shut it down for 2 years, I want a salary cap (and floor) just like the NFL. It would be nice to have a cap on contract size as well as a healthy increase to contract minimums.
Also, I want to see tradeable draft picks, with limits. For example, you can only have a maximum of 3 future picks traded at a time and no more than one future 1st round pick. That way teams aren’t ruining their futures.
Pretty sure the players don’t want one and the owners don’t want a floor
Baseball doesn’t need a salary cap. It’ll be just like football where teams have to worry more about cap management than about acquiring and developing players. Football teams have little continuity from year to year due to not being able to keep their good players because of the salary cap.
Baseball has always been a game of the haves and the have-nots. If you think there’s competitive imbalance today, look at the years from 1923 to 1962, when one team won twenty championships and a handful of others won the rest.
First, the Mets just started spending money. The previous owners were a joke. More importantly, don’t believe owners when they say they are losing money. They’re lying. Don’t believe when they say they can’t spend money. They’re lying. And if they can’t run a team or can’t field a competitive team get out of the baseball business, they’re not capable of being an owner.
The pirates, devil rays, guardians and royals are all valued at over $1 billion. “Small market teams” all have TV deals, ticket sales ect – they’re not spending their money on players. They don’t care about winning or they would invest in their players and they hide behind the “small market” label. These are privately owned businesses they can spend what they want – there are ways to push the money down the road with deferrals or large signing bonus’ with small AAV. Stop crying poor for these billion dollar businesses. It’s bad enough they seek public funds for stadiums (which is BS). There is talent all over the league, the Mets were looked at as a joke going into last year, they dumped payroll and still figured it out. The dodgers and Yankees try to win the WS every single year. If that was every teams mentality this would be a much different league. Stop buying the nonsense that they’re playing for next year.
Salary cap? Why not a profits cap for the owners, with a mandatory percentage of profits having to go into making the team better, not the owner’s bank account?
Great offense garbage pitching… bad luck
still feel bregman will end up a Phillies. it seems bohm is most likely gone in a package for another good starter and bregman will fill bohms vacant position. Or bohm might be part of a bellinger trade
The Cubs last two first round picks both play 3B, so if the Cubs deal Bellinger to the Phillies and Bohm is included, it will need to be a three team deal.
move on from pete
vientos can be 1B, healthy mauricio can be 3B
Great to hear Mauricio is back to baseball activities.
Baseball activities, like eating sunflower seeds and adjusting his cup
Both should be added to the all-star game activities. I’d love to see Manfred shake the hand of the guy who just won the Cup Adjusting Derby.
Heyman loses it on WFAN
youtu.be/oE8knFBIGX4?si=tL4iUULPOVorWOjT
A spinal fluid league sounds insane. Even with a shorter recovery time, I’d be more worried about that than say Tommy John.
Mets pitching rotation needs some serious help. Looks pretty bleak.
Oh they will get it.
If they re-sign Manaea, their starting pitching will be fine. Senga is their best pitcher and they didn’t have him all last year. And Peterson took a big step forward. Holmes and Montas are the back end starters.
If they bring back Manaea the rotation will be fine. It’s not great, but it can be enough.
I also think they’ll use a 6 man rotation for guys like Senga and Holmes.
They can assess how they’re doing mid season and make a trade for a SP if necessary
I get the sense theyre holding their prospects to do just this… make midseason trades
They really need to resign Big Meat Pete. That lineup needs another big thumper.
Agreed
Very happy the Yankees didn’t make that ridiculous deal for Soto.
I wonder how happy you will be watching a lineup that has one hitter in it next season.
LMAO
Well this past season had 2. Maybe in 25 they can lengthen the lineup with more depth.
Theres still a few months till the season starts in case you didn’t know.
DavRz:
I did know that. In case you didn’t know your comment about Soto‘s contract isn’t a fact it’s an opinion. I’m very happy to have him instead of Bregman or whoever the Yankees are going to bring in. Good luck getting Kyle Tucker. Other teams with better prospects are going after him.
Sour grapes, Yankee
Yankee fans were unprepared emotionally for this, as pathetic as that may be. i pity the ones who feel the need to bash the deal, the mets, or soto.
Sour grapes?..not at all..nobody’s worth 3/4 o f a billion dollars..once it reached 650 I hoped the Yanks would bow out
Soto, Trout, and ARod all were.
When I think of the Soto signing, I think of Steve Cohen as Eddie Murphy’s character in 48 hrs, and in the bar scene. There’s a new sheriff in town, and his name is Steve Cohen…Right on!!! Y’all be cool!!!
Soto with Lindor and Alonso is a scary lineup. Keeping Alonso needs to happen.
Bregman will age like George Springer.
Bregman is thebsuperior player probably but alonso is the way better fit for the mets
Do you really lose a 2nd million IFA dollars for signing a 2nd QO free-agent? I though you only lose an additional 2 regular draft picks for the 2nd player.
Sign Bregman and Alonso.. Make Vientos the primary DH.
Wouldnt make sense to make the young guy the dh. Better to let some the kids play via 2B, DH, and CF. I would probolably expect 1 infielder to be signed at first or third. Maybe a CF comes from somewhere at some point
Mets main target should be Gavin Crochet. We have the trade pieces to make it happen. Need a stud young pitcher. Senga is injury prone now and Manea had a career year and faltered in big game against Dodgers. Move on
Plenty of big games he didnt lose to a stacked lineup with 3 hall of famers at the top
Nobody seems to realize soto isnt even half the biggest contract inflation adjusted. ARod’s deal crushed soto and is aproximately the same as Trouts. Why nobody understands inflation? Its a damn shame. All the sports fans seem to think though they never really say it, that this inflation has something to do with baseball or cohen or boras. Open your eyes, your dollars are losing a ton of value, that is it.