Mets owner Steve Cohen, already well known for wearing his heart on his sleeve in addition to his league-leading wealth, peeled back the curtain on the difficult state of the club’s negotiations with free-agent first baseman Pete Alonso—revealing just how fraught the ongoing talks have been.
Cohen, speaking last weekend at the club’s Amazin’ Day fan fest, said the contract talks with Alonso and agent Scott Boras have been definitively “worse” than the path leading to the record-setting, $765 million deal last month with Juan Soto, also represented by Boras.
“This has been an exhausting conversation and negotiation,” said Cohen, whose $21.3 billion estimated net worth is the highest among MLB owners. “I mean, Soto was tough—this is worse. … I don’t like the structures that are being presented back to us. It’s highly asymmetric against us, and I feel strongly about it. I will never say no. There’s always the possibility [of Alonso returning to the Mets]. But the reality is we’re moving forward, and as we continue to bring in players, the reality is it becomes harder to fit Pete into what is a very expensive group of players we already have.”
Alonso has been a favorite among Mets fans since debuting with the team in 2019, but he is now highlighting a group of MLB stars still without a signed deal with spring training set to start in less than three weeks.
The Mets’ current luxury-tax payroll of $288 million for 2025 ranks fourth in the league behind the Dodgers, Phillies, and Yankees.
Boras defended his client and the negotiating conduct with the Mets, saying there has been nothing unusual for a player of Alonso’s stature.
“Pete’s free-agent contract structure requests are identical to the standard and practices of other clubs who have signed similarly situated qualifying offer/All Star–level players,” he said. “Nothing different. Just established fairness standards.”
