Mets urged to sign projected $210 million slugger as Juan Soto alternative

After back-to-back years with baseball’s largest payroll, the New York Mets face a pivotal offseason.

The team has played beyond expectations and is now vying for a National League Wild Card bid. And owner Steve Cohen is poised to build on that success this winter by signing a number of free agents as roughly $175 million in payroll frees up.

But while many expect Juan Soto to be the most in-demand option, Zachary Rymer of Bleacher Report has suggested the team could re-sign homegrown star Pete Alonso and add slugging third baseman Alex Bregman instead.

“Steve Cohen is the richest owner in baseball, and back-to-back $300 million payrolls show just how willing he is to leverage his wealth in his pursuit of wins,” Rymer noted. “If the Mets stick to this tactic this winter, they wouldn’t have to stop at Bregman. To wit, they might sign Bregman and re-sign Pete Alonso and still end up spending less than it would have cost them to lure Juan Soto from the Yankees.”

Rymer listed the Mets as a top landing spot for Bregman, who is poised to hit free agency, as he could be a defensive upgrade for Mark Vientos at the hot corner. He projected that Bregman will earn a deal in the seven-year, $210 million range while Bob Nightengale of USA Today has reported that Alonso is seeking “at least” $200 million.

As Rymer noted, even a combined cost of $410 million for both Bregman and Alonso would be considerably less than Soto is poised to earn. The Athletic’s Tim Britton recently projected Soto’s next deal at as much as $560 million.

There are any number of ways that Cohen and the Mets might retool their payroll around premium players this offseason. But it seems clear that Bregman, Soto, and Alonso are the biggest offensive names to watch .

“The Mets could let Pete Alonso walk, slide Mark Vientos to first base, and install Bregman at the hot corner,” Mike Axisa suggested for CBS Sports.

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