Mets’ David Stearns discusses Pete Alonso’s free agency: ‘I hope we have him back’

Moments before David Stearns sat down for his end-of-season press conference, the Mets’ president of baseball operations crossed paths with Pete Alonso at Citi Field.

Knowing much of Wednesday’s address would revolve around Alonso’s fast-approaching free agency, Stearns told the first baseman he was about to answer a multitude of questions about him.

“He told me, ‘Good luck,’” Stearns said with a smile.

“He’s a great Met,” Stearns continued. “I hope we have him back. I think we both understand this is a process and everyone’s got their own interests. Pete deserves to go out into the free-agent market and see what’s out there and ultimately make the best choice for him and his family.”

Alonso’s future is the biggest storyline entering a pivotal offseason for the Mets, whose improbable run to the NLCS in Stearns’ first season with the organization ended with a Game 6 loss to the Dodgers on Sunday.

Around a dozen players from the big-league club are set to become free agents, but none command as much attention as Alonso, whose contract status remained the subject of widespread speculation throughout his walk year.

“Pete and I, frankly, have never really talked about his contract face to face,” Stearns said. “I think those conversations are best left, generally, with a player’s representative, but Pete and I talked about the team plenty. He’s very invested in our group, certainly was very invested in this team this year, and obviously got some enormous hits for us down the stretch.”

Alonso, 29, hit 34 home runs with 88 RBI in the regular season, then added four homers during the postseason, including an instant-classic, go-ahead three-run shot in the ninth inning of the Mets’ Wild Card Series Game 3 victory in Milwaukee.

In an acknowledgement of the fan-favorite first baseman’s uncertain future, a sold-out Citi Field crowd gave Alonso a standing ovation during the Mets’ home regular-season finale on Sept. 22, then showed him love again during NLCS Game 5 in what ended up being the final game in Queens this year.

“It’s so special,” Alonso said of that Game 5 reception. “It’s like storybook-type stuff. When you grow up as a kid, you dream about that type of stuff. In the moment, it’s so special, but it’s difficult to take a step back and enjoy, because it’s, like, OK, great, we’ve got a job to do.”

Taken by the Mets in the second round of the 2016 draft, Alonso boasts 226 home runs in his six MLB seasons. Only Darryl Strawberry (252) and David Wright (242) hit more homers as a Met.

Fellow first baseman Freddie Freeman was 32 when he signed a six-year, $162 million contract with the Dodgers during his free agency in 2022. Max Olson was 27 when he signed a eight-year, $168 million extension with the Braves that same offseason.

Asked Wednesday how he would balance evaluating what Alonso means to the Mets with how first basemen entering their 30s have generally aged, Stearns replied, “I think all of that is important.”

“Who Pete is as a person is important,” Stearns said. “What he means to this franchise is important. Who he is as a player is also important, and what he contributes on the field.

“There’s no magic formula to this. There’s no equation that spits out what all of that is for us, so there’s judgment involved. There’s evaluating the market involved, and we’ll see how this process goes throughout the offseason.”

Alonso helps headline a talent-rich free-agent class that is also expected to include the Yankees’ Juan Soto, the Orioles’ Corbin Burnes, the Giants’ Blake Snell and the Braves’ Max Fried. Alonso, Soto, Burnes and Snell are all represented by agent Scott Boras.

The Mets — whose owner, Steve Cohen, has a net worth of $21.3 billion, according to Forbes — have more than $100 million coming off of a payroll that exceeded $300 million last year.

“We’ve got financial flexibility. It means that pretty much the entirety of the player universe is potentially accessible to us,” Stearns said, without naming any player specifically. “That’s an enormous opportunity. I envision us taking advantage of that opportunity and being aggressive in certain spaces.”

Last offseason, Stearns and the Mets made a strong push for Yoshinobu Yamamoto before the Japanese ace signed a 12-year, $325 million contract with the Dodgers.

The Mets ultimately did not hand out any significant long-term commitments last year. Asked Wednesday if he expected this year’s market to play out differently in that respect, Stearns said it is “too early to determine exactly where we’re going to take our shots.”

“We have a lot of money coming off the books,” Stearns said. “I would expect us to spend some of that, a good portion of that, to complement our team, to improve our team, heading into next year. We’re also not going to do anything that hamstrings us in future years.”

Mets ace Kodai Senga, who missed most of the season with shoulder and calf injuries, is expected to have a normal offseason, Stearns said Wednesday.

Fellow starters Luis Severino and Jose Quintana are both set to become free agents, however, while Sean Manaea can opt out of his contract after going 12-6 with a 3.47 ERA during a resurgent season.

The Mets’ pitching proved problematic during the NLCS, as the Dodgers averaged 7.7 runs per game during the six-game series and scored at least eight runs four times.

“Pitching’s a priority this offseason,” Stearns said.

“We’re gonna have to replace innings. Certainly, part of that could potentially be from some of those guys returning, or we may look elsewhere. We’re going to have to add starting pitching. We’re going to have to add multiple starters. We understand that. We went into last offseason with the same need, and I think we’ll be able to do it.”