"Pete Alonso is a victim of his time" - MLB insider delivers harsh reality on ex-Mets superstar's free agency

Veteran slugger Pete Alonso remains a free agent without a team one month away from Spring Training, with analyst Joel Sherman delivering a harsh reality on his position.

The 30-year-old turned down a lucrative, long-term, offer in his final year with the New York Mets to explore free agency, but that hasn't yielded any results so far. Speaking about Alonso's predicament, Sherman said on The Show podcast (2:36 - 8:25)

"Pete Alonso, to me, is a bit of a victim of his time. If this was 10, 15, certainly 20 years ago, his home run totals alone would net him a big contract. The reality is, the sport has changed. It's turned against corner players, namely first basemen. It's turned against non-atheletes, it's turned against guys who can't bring big end defence and it's turned against guys who are already in their thirties.

"I know many Mets fans are very upset that this hasn't gotten to the finish line. ... I just think the Stearns model has been shown, and we'll see over the long-term now whether it goes."

He added:

"That being said, I don't know if the Mets have closed the door...but I don't think it's impossible... I just think Met fans should recognize that they're not to opening Day yet, we're not even to the opening of Spring Training, there's a lot of free agents out there.

"I think they're still going to be busy. Does busy include Pete Alonso? I would think not, but until that door is completely slammed, I'll hold out some thought that could happen."

Since making his MLB debut with the New York Mets in 2019, Pete Alonso has evolved into one of the central players for the franchise. He was offered a seven-year, $158 million, extension in May last year, but he declined that to become a free agent.

However, things haven't fallen his way, as no team is willing to offer a long-term contract to a player in his early thirties. However, as long he remains a free agent, there's always chance of a reunion with the Mets. There have been cases in the past where the New York front office have signed players late in the offseason after their valuation went down considerably.

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MLB analyst claims that the New York Mets aren't interested in retaining Pete Alonso

As long as Pete Alonso remains a free agent in the market, the New York Mets are believed to be a possible landing spot for the slugger. However, MLB analyst Mike Francesa has said that the Mets front office aren't interested in Alonso:

"The general manager's vision for this team does not include an aging, lumbering, one-dimensional slugger at first base. That's what this is about."

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns has made it clear that he's willing to give young, versatile players a long-term contract.

Unfortunately, Alonso doesn't fall into that bracket. The only thing that remains to be seen is whether his value drops enough for the Mets to take an interest in a short-term contract.