Pete Alonso is gone, David Stearns still with Mets, and it's his team now
Pete Alonso #20 of the New York Mets follows through on his fifth inning two run home run against the Miami Marlins at Citi Field on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. Credit: Jim McIsaac
ORLANDO, Fla. — One of the darkest 24-hour periods in recent Mets history wrapped Wednesday morning when Pete Alonso, the beloved homer-hitting Polar Bear, agreed to bolt Flushing for a five-year, $155 million contract with the Orioles.
A day earlier, almost to the minute, it was closer Edwin Diaz who put Citi Field in his rearview, jumping to the Dodgers on a three-year, $69 million deal without giving the Mets a chance for a counteroffer.
The swiftness of the Mets’ dismantling was shocking to behold, and delivered a devastating blow to their legion of fans, who overwhelmingly had hoped two of the most popular — and productive — players would be back.
Steve Cohen, the billionaire rescuer of the franchise, may own the Mets. But this is David Stearns’ team now, and for anyone paying attention, from the final out of Game 162 in Miami through the Brandon Nimmo trade to Wednesday’s gut punch by Alonso, the early developments of this offseason should not have come as a total surprise.
Stearns has been telegraphing his demolition of the Mets’ core for quite some time. And if not for Cohen’s intervention during last February’s Alonso negotiations, the Polar Bear wouldn’t be taking the franchise’s home-run record with him as a parting gift for Camden Yards.
After the Mets let Alonso dangle for months last winter, then double-down on that disinterest at the start of this offseason, how could anyone realistically expect a different outcome? That was no way to treat a homegrown Mets icon, but for all his childhood fandom, Stearns refuses to let sentiment interfere with the cold-blooded business of assembling a roster.
And Cohen? Entering Season 3 of Stearns’ reign as president of baseball operations, the sport’s richest individual owner apparently has let him fully take the wheel — either to restore the Mets’ status as a World Series contender or crash and burn in the attempt.
It was Cohen who saved Alonso’s Mets career last year with the Hail Mary summit in Tampa that resulted in a bridge contract that briefly made him the highest-paid first baseman ($30 million AAV) in the sport. This time around, Cohen stayed on the sideline — and a source said the Mets didn’t even bother to make Alonso an offer, figuring the market was beyond their own contract parameters.
Only Stearns could be responsible for that. Cohen was the guy who signed off on record deals for Francisco Lindor (10 years, $341M) and Juan Soto (15 years, $765M). But now money was suddenly a problem when it came to Alonso, a franchise cornerstone and fan favorite?
“Our resources that we have here are an enormous advantage,” Stearns said Tuesday night. “As long as we allocate those resources intelligently, they’re going to continue to be an enormous advantage. Steve gives us everything we need to have not only a great roster, but a competitive organization in every single respect.”
We’ll assume the Mets are going use those resources again in the very near future, because to this point, Stearns’ primary mission has been to remake the team in his own vision — by tearing down some of the existing pillars. He coldly dispatched Nimmo in the name of run-prevention and roster flexibility, then signed Devin Williams — his former Milwaukee closer — to a three-year, $51 million deal that ultimately helped nudged Diaz out the door.
To think that Diaz chose the Dodgers for the same years and only $3 million more should be a cause of concern for the Mets. But we’ve yet to hear an explanation from Stearns, who declined Tuesday to discuss the Diaz deal — citing MLB’s tampering policy — and did not make himself available at all Wednesday as the winter meetings finished up.
Frankly, with the Mets we once knew in shambles, there’s not much Stearns can say to quell the gathering mob. It’s all about his actions now. If he can’t retool the Mets to win more than last season’s 83 games and find a way to beat out a team like the Reds for a playoff berth, Stearns shouldn’t be running Flushing’s baseball operation anymore.
After piloting the biggest $340 million bust in history, all Stearns has done is make Cohen’s paying customers even angrier. He insists there’s a plan, but it’s going to take some wizardry — and more big checks from Cohen — to reverse the damage he’s caused so far.
“We’ve certainly got work to do,” Stearns said Tuesday. “But there are a lot of good players out there and I’m confident that we’re really going to like where our team is once we get to Opening Day.”
That’s the one card Stearns has left to play at the moment: he’s got plenty of time to change the narrative. Not much got done at the winter meetings, other than the Mets being embarrassed on a daily basis, so there’s a number of scenarios still at Stearns’ disposal.
Cohen’s money has to go somewhere. So I’d expect a bidding war with the Yankees over Cody Bellinger, definitely some involvement in the mid-range starter market (say Michael King) and active trade discussions, considering that the Mets have a deep farm system coveted by other teams. Should Tarik Skubal become available, figure Stearns to be at the front of the line, same for Freddy Peralta.
Still, none of those imports are going to be Alonso, and that’s the real head-scratcher in all this. How the Mets refused to pay for a homegrown star who never took a day off, hits 40 homers and played the game with the tongue-wagging joy of a 6-foot-3 golden retriever.
But Stearns has his reasons. And the Mets are his problem now.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
