MLB Playoffs: One Play improved the Mets’ chances of re-signing the free agent, per report

The New York Mets had “no chance” of re-signing a pending free agent before Thursday’s pivotal moment in Game 3 of their Wild Card series, according to a new report.

That free agent? Pete Alonso, whose three-run home run against the Milwaukee Brewers silenced a stunned crowd and prepared the Mets for a National League Division Series date with the Philadelphia Phillies.

According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Mets owner Steve Cohen “would have made some sort of perfunctory offer to Alonso if the Mets had been eliminated in the wild-card round with just Alonso whimpering.” But there would have been no excitement, no momentum, really no chance for Alonso to be in a Mets jersey again.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported that the Mets offered Alonso a seven-year, $158 million contract extension last year – one that would cover his final season as an arbitration candidate, and then six more years.

Heyman reported Friday that such an offer was unlikely to come from any club, after a season in which Alonso hit just three homers after Sept. 3 and the Mets clinched a playoff spot.

Alonso, 29, is a four-time All-Star and two-time Home Run Derby champion whose greatest skill is his power. As a rookie in 2019, he hit a record 53 home runs and won the National League Rookie of the Year award.

Over the past four years, Alonso has averaged 39 home runs per season. But the idea that he couldn’t perform would have prevented a lucrative payday this winter, at least in Queens.

Pete Alonso from the @Mets is the first player in MLB history to hit a green HR while trailing in the 9th inning or later of a winner-take-all postseason game.

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) October 4, 2024

“Until the home run that left Brewers fans crying in their Miller beers,” Heyman wrote, “Alonso’s top five hits all came in the first half, based on the added probability of victory.”

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The Mets play the Philadelphia Phillies in the best-of-five NL Division Series beginning Saturday in Philadelphia. Once again they will be the underdogs. After a turbulent week, anything seems possible.

On Monday, the Mets played a doubleheader in Atlanta and were in danger of being eliminated from the postseason altogether. The Braves and Mets each won one game, allowing both teams to advance to the Wild Card round.

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Then on Thursday in Milwaukee, the Mets were down 2-0 in the ninth inning against Brewers closer Devin Williams when Alonso hit a three-run home run to win the game – and the series. For the second time in four days, their season was saved.

Alonso’s tenure in New York could also have been saved.

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