NEW YORK — Pete Alonso and the Mets have agreed to a $14.5 million deal for the 2023 season to avoid salary arbitration, a source told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.
Friday marked the deadline for teams and arbitration-eligible players to agree on a salary for 2023 before exchanging salary figures, a move that typically results on the two sides going to a hearing. The Mets came to terms with one of the faces of their franchise for the second straight year. The club has not confirmed the agreement.
Alonso will earn nearly double the $7.4 million he made in his first year of eligibility last season, setting a record for the largest single-season sum given to an arbitration-eligible first baseman. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. tied him for that distinction in a deal with the Blue Jays later on Friday.
Alonso’s pay bump comes after a 2022 season in which the 28-year-old was named a National League All-Star for the first time since his Rookie of the Year Award-winning ’19 campaign and once again finished in the top 10 in NL MVP Award voting. Alonso led the Majors with 131 RBIs and hit 40 home runs while compiling a .271/.352/.518 slash line.
The Mets also reportedly agreed to a $1.3 million deal with high-leverage reliever Drew Smith, per MLB Network insider Jon Heyman.
The Mets had already avoided arbitration with left-hander Joey Lucchesi by agreeing to a one-year, $1.15 million deal (per source) in December, as well as with first baseman/designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach by exercising a $1.5 million club option in November. The club non-tendered infielder/outfielder Dominic Smith, who signed with the Nationals last week, and righty Sean Reid-Foley, who underwent Tommy John surgery last May, ahead of the November deadline in order to circumvent the arbitration process.