"Pete Alonso got Aaron Judge envy" - Yankees sportscaster claims 4x All-Star rejected $158,000,000 deal for outlandish $40,000,000 AAV expectation

The New York Mets haven't yet made any formal offers to Pete Alonso, who remains unsigned despite coming in as one of the hottest free agents of the season.

It's reported that his representative, Scott Boras, has opened negotiations for the first baseman on a short-term contract with a high annual salary after failing to find any suitors for a lucrative long-term deal.

MLB sportscaster Michael Kay feels Pete Alonso misjudged the market after rejecting a seven-year, $158 million contract extension the New York Mets had offered him in 2023. He believes the four-time All-Star estimated that he would be able to match the $40 million average annual salary of Aaron Judge after the New York Yankees had signed him to a nine-year $360 million deal earlier that year.

Michael Kay, a television play-by-play announcer for the Yankees on the YES Network, said on The Michael Kay Show on ESPN on Wednesday:

"The problem with Pete Alonso was that he saw what Aaron Judge got. He got Judge envy. That's what I deserve. I'm a homegrown Met; he's a homegrown Yankee. I deserve what he makes, which is $40 million a year. Nine years, $360 (million).

"Pete has to come back down to earth. He's not near the player that Aaron Judge is. He might be near the power hitter that Aaron Judge is, but he's not the average hitter. He's not the on-base percentage guy. He's not the OPS guy, he's not the WAR guy.

"He's not the defender that Judge is; he's not the base runner that Judge is," he added. "So, just because you play in the same city and you're a homegrown guy does not dictate that you get money commensurate to what Aaron Judge got. Doesn't make sense to think like that."

Judge has hit the most home runs in the MLB since 2019, with Alonso taking fourth spot on this list.

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"To overpay for Pete Alonso just because he's a homegrown Met is dumb": Michael Kay

Pete Alonso has spent his entire six-year major league career with the Mets.(Image Source: Imagn)

Michael Kay believes that Pete Alonso will eventually have to accept an offer that will be far below the extension the New York Mets had handed to him a couple of years back.

Kay feels Mets general manager David Stearns won't be tempted to overpay for the first baseman simply because he's drafted and developed into a superstar by the franchise.

"David Stearns has war-gamed this whole thing," he said. "He knows who's out there. He knows where he could pivot. He knows exactly which way to go. But to overpay for a guy just because he's a homegrown Met is dumb.

"With all the maneuvering that's gone on, Pete Alonso has put himself into a corner with no place to turn to, other than to accept a deal that's far under the one that he turned down at seven years, $158 (million)," he added.

As per latest reports, Scott Boras has propositioned a three-year deal to teams for the 30-year-old slugger in excess of $90 million.