PHOENIX − Just eight days remain until pitchers and catchers begin reporting to spring training, but after 93 days since the start of free agency, two of the biggest free-agent infielders remain unsigned in this winter-long, stare-down contest.
All-Star first baseman Pete Alonso, who badly wants to return to the New York Mets while the club insist they want him back too, must decide whether he’s going to swallow his pride and take the Mets’ three-year offer for about $70 million.
All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman, who has said he would love to stay in Houston while the Astros share the same sentiments, haven’t moved towards a reunion since November.
Now, after it has become clear that the Mets and Astros aren’t budging from their offers, it’s now decision time, with Alonso expected to return while Bregman departs and goes elsewhere.
Alonso, the four-time All-Star whose 226 homers are the most in the National League since 2019, has simply run out of alternatives. The first-base carousel moved quickly in December with nearly one-third of the teams in baseball switching first basemen, and leaving Alonso standing.
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The Toronto Blue Jays really have been Alonso’s only serious suitor outside the Mets, and if Alonso really wanted to sign there, or anywhere else on a short-term deal, it likely would have happened already.
Alonso, 30, has made it clear he wants to go back to the Mets, and as much as the Mets would welcome him back, owner Steve Cohen publicly made it clear they simply won’t meet Alonso’s contract proposals.
It likely will come down just how much the Mets will pay Alonso in the first year of that three-year contract, which will include an opt-out after the 2025 season to allow Alonso to test the market again.
It seems almost inevitable that a resolution will be reached.
Bregman’s free agency has been more complicated, with the Astros offering a six-year, $156 million deal for Bregman in November, telling him to take it or leave it. Bregman never took it. The Astros, tired of waiting for an answer, not only traded for third baseman Isaac Paredes from the Chicago Cubs, but signed Gold Glove first baseman Christian Walker.
The Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox have aggressively pursued Bregman this winter, with the Red Sox offering a four-year deal, according to the Boston Globe, while the Tigers are offering at least a five- or six-year deal.
The Astros, after trading reliever Ryan Pressly to the Chicago Cubs and freeing $8.5 million in their payroll, reached out again to Bregman’s agent, Scott Boras, this past week asking whether they still had interest in a potential return. The Astros would create an opening by shifting Paredes to second base and moving All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve to left field while also sharing time at second base.
Yet, while there appeared to be momentum towards a possible reunion, nothing has changed. The Astros have not altered their six-year, $156 million proposal, or even formally put their offer back on the table.
Astros GM Dana Brown continues to say it’s a “long-shot,’’ and Bregman shares the same viewpoint with close friends.
It now may be down to whether Bregman wants to receive a lucrative contract from the Detroit Tigers and play for former Astros manager A.J. Hinch, or go to second base and play in Boston for former Astros bench coach Alex Cora.
“We’re not done,” Scott Harris, Tigers president of baseball operations, told reporters on a zoom call Thursday. “We’re going to try to find new ways to make this team better, and there are a number of ways to do it … Bullpen and our lineup are two areas we’re going to look to upgrade, if we can.”
Meanwhile, the Cubs lurk just in case Bregman suddenly changes his mind and is interested in a short-term deal.
“Having him come to Chicago would be an amazing thing for us,” Pressly said during his introductory zoom call with the Cubs. “However, I don’t know exactly what’s going on in his camp. Me, personally, I would love to play with him again just because he’s a solid dude and a great teammate. …
“He’s one of those guys you have in the clubhouse, man, all he wants to do is win. He doesn’t care where he’s at. That’s the one thing I love about him. He was the heartbeat of that clubhouse in Houston.”
The stare-down for Alonso and Bregman and their former clubs soon should be nearing a merciful end.
We’re about to find out who blinks first.
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