Mets could soon lose homegrown $54 million superstar to Red Sox in free agency

The New York Mets have lofty goals for the rest of 2025, but big questions lurk in the offseason.

Last winter, the Mets signed Juan Soto to a record-breaking $765 million deal. For $711 million less, they also locked in their best hitter this season.

First baseman Pete Alonso's disappointing haul in free agency hasn't stopped him from lighting up major league pitching this year. In fact, it's looked like a revenge tour of sorts. The 30-year-old has a .942 OPS, 17 home runs, and a major league-leading 63 RBI.

That production has made it almost certain that Alonso will opt out of his two-year, $54 million "pillow contract" this winter. And one baseball writer believes there's a big-market team that will threaten the Mets' chances of keeping him.

On Thursday, Drew Koch of FanSided named Alonso as a free-agent fit for the Boston Red Sox, who recently cleared roughly $255 million in future payroll from their books when they traded designated hitter Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants.

"Pete Alonso's two-year, $54 million deal with the New York Mets contains a player option for next season," Koch wrote.

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"Seeing as how Alonso is hitting .293/.390/.570 with a 174 OPS+ this season, he's bound to opt out of his current deal. Alonso bet on himself after receiving little interest on the open market this past winter and should be on the Red Sox's radar."

Boston has a gaping hole at first base at the moment thanks to Triston Casas' season-ending injury. While Casas hopes to be back in 2026, he's proving to be injury-prone early in his career, and the Red Sox seem to be at least open to the possibility of a new long-term plan.

Alonso loves New York, and if there's any lingering ill will from the negotiations this fall, it isn't showing. But Boston's freed up wallet could throw an X-factor into the situation.

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