Morning Briefing: Steve Cohen Praises Stearns for Alonso Negotiations

Good morning, Mets fans!

On a phone call with FOX Sports’ Deesha Thosar, Mets owner Steve Cohen heaped praise on his president of baseball operations, David Stearns, for the way he handled the Pete Alonso contract negotiations: “That’s why I hired him. He’s very good at what he does. He’s very patient and disciplined and thoughtful and that’s the kind of thing you start to see paying dividends over time. We’re seeing it.”

The Mets won the long-lasting negotiations with Alonso, turning their original contract offer of seven-years, $158 million into two-years, $54 million with an opt-out.

On Alonso, Cohen said: “If he performs well, good for him, right? I mean, how fantastic is that? He just has to be Pete. Go do his thing. Hopefully he’s more relaxed. Not saying he wasn’t relaxed. But hopefully he can go focus on what he does, which is baseball, and enjoy the season with his teammates. Let’s go win something.”

Latest Mets News

Speaking to reporters in Port St. Lucie, Brandon Nimmo said he is “so excited” to have Pete Alonso back with the team.

Mets radio broadcaster Keith Raad shared the team’s spring training radio broadcast schedule in a post on X. They will call a total of 10 games with the Spanish broadcast team calling two games.

The St. Lucie Mets announced that the Fan Shop at Clover Park will re-open on Monday at 10 a.m. with a large supply of new merchandise.

On an episode of “The Show,” with Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman, 2024 Met J.D. Martinez spoke about his free agency and Steve Cohen while also revealing his ownership of the original “OMG” sign the Mets team used last year.

Latest MLB News

The Diamondbacks signed first baseman and outfielder Trey Mancini to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. Mancini, once one of the more underrated players in the sport, was a free agent during the 2024 season and most recently had a .635 OPS for the Cubs in 2023.

The White Sox announced that they signed former Met Brandon Drury and Tristan Gray to minor league deals with invites to spring training. Drury is not far removed from being an impact player, but he struggled mightily in 2024 with a .469 OPS with the Angels. Gray has limited major league experience and spent the majority of last year in Triple-A in the Marlins organization.

San Diego signed veteran outfielder Jason Heyward, per Dennis Lin of The Athletic. He’ll share time with Connor Joe, who was also recently picked up by the Padres.

The Cardinals signed pitcher Nick Anderson to a minor league contract with an invite to spring training. Anderson pitched to a 4.04 ERA in 37 games out of the Royals’ bullpen in 2024.

Former Met Jeurys Familia is reportedly attempting an MLB comeback and has been training in Puerto Rico. Familia last pitched in the big leagues for the A’s in 2023.

Latest on MMO

On the latest episode of the Get Metsmerized Podcast, we talk about Pete Alonso’s return to the Mets.

Christian De Block ranks the National League East’s shortstops.

Jorge Eckardt analyzes the Phillies’ farm system as part of our NL East Farm System Analysis series.

Michael Mayer previews our list of the Mets’ top 30 prospects by talking about some players who didn’t make the list.

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