The ‘Polar Bear’ is heading back to Queens.
Slugging first baseman Pete Alonso agreed to a two-year, $54 million with New York Mets that includes an opt-out after the first year, finally re-signing with the team that drafted him after a drawn-out winter of negotiations, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.
The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because the deal isn’t yet official.
One of the most prolific power hitters in Major League Baseball, only Aaron Judge has more home runs than Alonso since his big-league debut in 2019. That year saw the first baseman set an MLB rookie record with 53 homers.
Now 30 years old, Alonso averaged 43 home runs and 112 RBI per 162 games over his six seasons with the Mets.
Follow every MLB game: Latest MLB scores, stats, schedules and standings.
Alonso will earn $30 million in 2025 including a signing bonus, and has a $24 million player option for 2026.
A second-round pick out of Florida in 2016, Alonso had spent his entire career with the New York Mets organization and quickly became one of the most popular players in franchise history. His 226 homers rank third on New York’s all-time list behind Darryl Strawberry and David Wright.
In 2024, Alonso had a disappointing contract year with career-lows in slugging percentage (.459) and OPS (.788). But he came alive in the postseason, hitting four homers with 10 RBI and a .999 OPS in 13 games as the Mets took the eventual World Series champion Dodgers to six games in the National League Championship Series.
His ninth-inning home run in Game 3 of the wild-card series off Brewers All-Star closer Devin Williams kept the Mets’ season alive in what could have been his final at-bat with the club.
At 6-foot-3, 245 pounds, Alonso has vastly improved his defense at first base and has become one of the league’s most reliable receivers, ranking near the top of baseball in scoop percentage.
Alonso appeared in all 162 games in 2024, and ranks second behind Marcus Semien in games played since 2019.
As a rookie in 2019, Alonso became the Mets’ first position player to win Rookie of the Year honors since Strawberry in 1983, pick up the first of his four All-Star nods and win the Home Run Derby, a crown he’d earn again in 2021.
Pete Alonso stats
.249 career average, .854 OPS in 846 games
226 home runs. 586 RBI
MLB rookie record 53 home runs in 2019
1.003 OPS (5 HR, 11 RBI) in 16 postseason games
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.