Ex-Marlins president gets honest on Pete Alonso's free agency situation

Former Miami Marlins president David Samson didn't mince words as he gave his two cents on the ongoing Pete Alonso free agency period.

Samson talked about how Pete Alonso has been overplayed by his agent Scott Boras and believes that it's a trick to put some pressure on New York Mets owner Steven Cohen.

"Pete Alonso's had good numbers," Samson said. "His season last year, nowhere near what he did his rookie season. He has not been the player he was since his rookie year. Some people are saying that rookie year could have been the JBE, the juiced ball era.

"Some people are remembering his huge home run that catapulted the Mets to a post-season series victory when they were about to be eliminated. You remember? Seems like Scott Boras overplayed the Pete Alonso hand."

"The Blue Jays have not done anything major this offseason. They're always in conversations for free agents. Do you think it's a coincidence in any way, shape, or form that part of what the report was yesterday is that the eight teams include the Blue Jays and the Red Sox? This is what Boras does. He makes stuff up. He makes up interest in teams because he wants Steven Cohen to panic," he added.

Samson also said that Cohen won't easily give in to Scott Boras, as he has established his stance with a record-breaking deal with Juan Soto:

"Steven Cohen is not going to be bullied by Boras. He already took care of Boras with the Soto deal. And if Steven Cohen is smart and good at what he does, query we don't know. He's speaking to Scott Boras now and saying, I gave you the record.

"You have a race to Ohtani. You got 15 years. You got an AAV of 51. You got an opt-out that could bring the AAV to 55. You've got your victory, Scott. You're not getting another one with Alonso," he stated.

Nevertheless, Samson believes that the Mets would be the ideal place for Pete Alonso for the 2025 season.

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New York Mets legend David Wright talks about Pete Alonso situation

Legendary Mets third baseman David Wright talked about the Pete Alonso situation after the team retired his No. 5 jersey and inducted him into the franchise's Hall of Fame on July 19.

The Mets legend never had a free agency period, as he signed an eight-year, $138 million contract, which marked the end of his successful career.

Wright talked about the feeling of spending an entire career with one team, as he saw Chipper Jones during the end of his tenure, who always played for the Atlanta Braves.

"I remember what hit home big time for me was we were in Atlanta towards the end of Chipper's tenure," Wright said. "And seeing Chipper's emotion and his words having spent his entire career in Atlanta certainly hit home for me, and obviously playing across town from Derek (Jeter), seeing how much that meant to him.

"I certainly learned a lot from them, learned a lot from afar just kind of following them. What they would say, how they would act, and how much it meant to them to put the same uniform on their entire career. I think that that should certainly be a consideration -- hopefully is a consideration to Pete -- when he's looking for his next team or coming back to New York."

Pete Alonso has made a place for himself with the Mets, as he's just 26 home runs away from being the franchise's biggest hitter ever. He has hit 226 home runs, which is the most in the National League, since his debut in 2019, as he looks to surpass Darryl Strawberry's franchise record.