5 Mets Options for 1B if Pete Alonso Leaves in Free Agency

Are Pete Alonso's days in Queens coming to an end? For the second straight offseason, the Polar Bear is spending the winter as a free agent. Last year, the Mets put the squeeze on him as he wasn't receiving any other significant offers, and signed him to a short, two-year, $54 million deal with an opt-out. After an excellent power-laden season at the plate, Alonso indeed opted out.

If the Mets once again won't come up to his demands and he lands elsewhere, they'll have to look for another solution at first base. With free agent Josh Naylor already re-upping with the Seattle Mariners, and Cody Bellinger likely to cost at least as much, if not more than Alonso, the Mets could look for a less splashy Plan B.

Let's have a look at five lower-end options that they can look to, to fill that first base void, though none of them will come close to providing the offensive numbers that Petey did. In fact, the first two should be considered less than Plan Bs... More like Plan C or Ds:

Rhys Hoskins

The former two-time 30-HR slugger had a solid start to his career in Philly, posting OPSs in the high .800s for most of his six years there, and an OPS+ of 125.

But he missed the entire 2023 season after Tommy John surgery, then returned in 2024 by signing a two-year, $34 million contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. His first campaign there brought mixed results, as he slugged 26 homers and drove in 82, but was a tick under being a league-average hitter (99 OPS+) due to his propensity to strike out, leading to a .214 average and a .303 on-base pct. His 2025 was a disaster, playing in just 90 games, losing his first base job, and hitting just 12 homers.

Hoskins has a career .238 average, with 176 homers and 495 RBIs.

Paul Goldschmidt

Goldy had a shockingly good start to his lone season with the New York Yankees, batting around the .350 mark for the first two months of the 2025 campaign, with six homers, 28 RBIs and an OPS in the high .800s.

But then came June, and the 38-year-old's production slowed to a crawl, as he batted just .143 with a .454 OPS. He never recovered, and had just four homers and 17 RBIs over the last four months of the season. Does he have anything left in the tank?

Mark Vientos

This one, an internal move, would be the Mets' best bet. The third baseman could shift across the diamond to first, where he's played a total of 17 games over parts of the last three seasons in the majors. The 26-year-old can probably handle the job. Whether he can return to his 27-HR form of 2024 at the plate is the bigger question.

Two trade options for Mets to consider at 1B if Alonso leaves

Neither of these options are ideal, either, as both Christian Walker and Ryan Mountcastle had down seasons in Houston and Baltimore, respectively. But in Walker's case, at least, he would provide a big upgrade defensively at first.

From this writer's standpoint, it still seems like the Mets' best option would be to bite the bullet and re-sign Alonso. He's a franchise icon at this point, a team leader, and a necessary pillar in their lineup.