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3 acceptable Mets replacements for Pete Alonso at first base not named Mark Vientos
If not Pete Alonso or Mark Vientos at first base, who?
If not Pete Alonso at first base for the New York Mets on Opening Day, who? Talks about Alonso’s future are nothing new for Mets fans. He has been discussed in trade rumors since the middle of 2023. Throughout last offseason and until the Mets were clear buyers, many speculated about where he could be sold off to.
Reality has now set in. Alonso is already testing free agency. While no new deal seems imminent, especially with Juan Soto out there as a fallback for several teams, the offseason can go from 0 to 60 very quickly.
A thought of the Mets simply moving Mark Vientos across the diamond to first base does exist. Frankly, it’s probably the most realistic alternative to Alonso for the Mets. Aside from the young rising slugger, what other options do the Mets have?
1) Christian Walker
There is a lot to like about what Christian Walker can bring to the Mets. Not nearly as powerful as Alonso, he makes up for it with Gold Glove defense. He has won the National League’s Gold Glove in three consecutive seasons. Last year he fell short offensively in some ways but with around 100 plate appearances lost on the IL, we need to look more closely at where he was projected to go.
Walker hit 26 home runs (and had as many doubles) plus 84 RBI in 552 plate appearances. He slashed .251/.335/.468 which is well in line with his career total of .250/.330/.468. Alonso had a down year in 2024. Walker put together an average one for what one can expect.
A minus for Walker is his age. He’ll play next year at age 34. A positive spin on this could be that he won’t cost as many dollars or years in his free agent contract. He did receive a qualifying offer from the Arizona Diamondbacks which means if the Mets did sign him they’d be punished, more so if they ended up with more than one player who rejected the QO. Just because the Mets would gain draft pick compensation if Alonso signs elsewhere doesn’t negate what they’d lose with Walker or any other player who rejected the qualifying offer.
2) Anthony Santander
Another recipient of the qualifying offer, Anthony Santander isn’t just a first base candidate. Found frequently in right field as well for the Baltimore Orioles, he’d be more of a hybrid replacement for Alonso. Those same negatives with the QO exist for him. A few years younger with his age 30 season coming in 2025, Santander measures up remarkably close to the offensive production Walker has given the Diamondbacks.
Santander smashed a career-best 44 home runs last year while driving in 102. A career .246/.307/.469 slash line, it wasn’t too much different from the .235/.308/.506 he hit for Baltimore last year. The obvious difference was the increase in slugging.
Defensively, Santander doesn’t measure up anywhere close to Walker. Only 73 innings in his MLB career at first base should create a little doubt the Mets would go in this direction. The greatest benefit he does offer is the flexibility to play some corner outfield. Not known for his outfield defense, he isn’t as atrocious based on the numbers as Starling Marte or Jesse Winker were.
Santander is a switch hitter which could help break up the Mets lineup in a couple of different ways. The qualifying offer penalty might be too steep for the Mets to seriously consider him. He’s not the guy you necessarily want to lose draft picks for when there are so many other alternatives, including re-signing Alonso.
3) Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Free agency does have a couple of other options, but they aren’t quite as appealing. Josh Bell? Anthony Rizzo? We can pass on this group. A trade for Toronto Blue Jays superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is where this list ends. A free agent after the 2025 season, he’s someone Mets fans should drool over.
The Mets can’t find a better realistic pivot from Alonso than to pull off a trade for Guerrero. Even his down year of 2023 was pretty spectacular in retrospect. He hit .264/.345/.444 with 26 home runs and 94 RBI. He rebounded nicely in 2024 with 30 home runs and 103 RBI all with a .323/.396/.544 slash line. A gifted defender and even an option at third base in case of an emergency, this would be a rental the Mets would need to immediately extend.
Guerrero’s age is appealing, too. He doesn’t turn 26 until March. Building a team of young stars doesn’t always have to cost a lot of money. In this case, it will. Guerrero doesn’t play a “premium” position and yet he should easily get a deal of $200+ million when his free agency does come around if for no other reason than his age.
The big roadblock here is the Blue Jays will probably prefer to simply keep Guerrero and pay him. This is a team that came close to signing Shohei Ohtani. They’re going to be in the Soto sweepstakes. If the Mets were to lose Alonso, there isn’t a better somewhat realistic alternative.
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