Three Potential External First Base Free Agent Options If Alonso Leaves

Arguably the most important part of the 2025 offseason for the New York Mets is what happens with slugger Pete Alonso. Alonso has a player option for 2026 that he already confirmed he would, unsurprisingly, exercise the right to opt-out of.

Of course, this does not mean Alonso won’t re-sign with the Mets, and that should be New York’s priority as the external options will not bring anywhere near the offensive production the career-long Met has brought. However, if he does move on, the below are three options, all of which will be cheaper than Alonso, that are currently set to hit the open market come free agency.

Note, this list only includes players who were in Major League Baseball last year.

Josh Naylor

The left-handed Canadian has made his rounds through his first seven years in the major leagues. Josh Naylor has played for four different teams and three different clubs over the last two seasons. He had a breakout in 2023 where he posted a career-best .308 average and 130 OPS+ across 452 at-bats. Then, the following year, he had a massive 31-homer season to go along with 108 RBIs. Lastly, in 2025 he hit 20 homers, drove in 92 runs, and posted the second-highest OPS of his career at .831. Over the last three seasons, Naylor has been one of the more prolific offensive first baseman in the league.

One of the more notable develops for Naylor has been his ability to hit left-handed pitching better. One of the reasons he was limited to 452 at-bats in his career-year in 2023 was due to his struggles against lefties. In 2025 he had a .759 OPS which is much higher than the career .694 OPS. His OPS against lefties in 2024 was also improved; above the .700 mark and well above his career average.

Defensively, he would be an upgrade over Alonso. Outside of a poor defensive 2024 (negative-six defensive runs saved), he has a positive defensive runs saved every other season put 2025 (negative-one). As far as outs above average goes, he has posted a positive figure every year in the league. This includes 2025 where his plus-two rating ranked in the league’s 80th percentile.

Contract-wise, he is one of the more expensive replacements for Alonso, but would still save the Mets some money. Sportstrac projects a three-year deal worth $15.1 million annually. This would come in at sixth among first baseman. Meanwhile, the Athletic projects a four-year deal worth $90 million.

Regardless of the notable different in projections, Naylor’s most likely outcome would still come below whatever Alonso’s new deal; in both average annual value and length. Not to mention, Naylor would be an upgrade defensively and is a couple years younger than Alonso.

Ryan O’Hearn

The 32-year-old Ryan O’Hearn reinitialized his career after leaving Kansas City. Since joining Baltimore in 2023, O’Hearn posted OPS seasons of .801, .761, and .803, respectively, over the last three seasons.

His best year was this past season, splitting time between the Orioles and San Diego Padres, where he slashed .281/.366/.437 with 17 homers and 63 RBIs. The underlying metrics in 2024 and 2025 tell a very similar story; O’Hearn walks at an above-average, doesn’t swing-and-miss a ton, and makes strong contact. All has contributed to a huge turnaround for a player that posted a negative wins above replacement in in four of his five seasons with Kansas City.

One of the issues with O’Hearn is his issues against left-handed pitching. He has only had between 340 and 475 at-bats the last three seasons due in large part to his inability to hit lefties. His career OPS against southpaws is .642, and in 2024 was barely above the .600 mark. However, an extremely interesting development that happened in 2025, and the reason why he set a career-high in at-bats, is he posted a career-best .832 OPS against lefties which was even higher than the .795 mark he had against right-handed pitchers.

Given the larger sample size, one would assume that success is not sustainable, but, you never know. Given that, if you bring O’Hearn in, it would probably be wise to house an option that can play first base and play against lefties if O’Hearn results to his previous left-handed hitting self.

Defensively, O’Hearns plus-five outs above average in 2025 was in the league’s 89th percentile. Over the last five seasons his fielding run value has been negative only once. So he would be an upgrade defensively over Alonso.

As far as what a deal may look like, O’Hearn would bring vast savings compared to Alonso. The Athletic projects a two-year, $24 million deal ($12 million annually) while Sportstrac only projects a two-year deal worth $11.5 million annually. This would also allow you to sign some left-handed pitching insurance to platoon with O’Hearn if needs be and still save money compared to if Alonso was re-signed.

Ty France

By far the least tantalizing player on this list is 31-year-old Ty France. However, France turned in a Gold Glove caliber season out of nowhere in 2025. Something that will certainly appeal to president of baseball operations David Stearns. France posted a monster plus-nine defensive runs saved and plus-10 outs above average at first base between two teams. These two numbers rivaled only Matt Olson as the best among first baseman this season. As a result, he was nominated for the Gold Glove award in the American League.

Offensively, since a run from 2020 through 2022, it has been a struggle and the reason why he has bounced around between several teams. Since 2024, France has played for Seattle, Cincinnati, Minnesota, and Toronto. The highest OPS he has had since his All-Star 2022 season was a .703 mark in 2023. In 2025, despite the strong defensive year, he still had a sub-.700 OPS at .681 to go along with only seven home runs across 444 at-bats.

Some of the encouraging aspects of France’s game is his ability to hit both left-handed and right-handed pitching pretty evenly. He has a career .731 OPS against righties and a .743 OPS against lefties. Additionally, his offensive analytics in 2025 were as strong as they’ve been in a while.

Both his wxOBA and xBA were above the 59th percentile. Additionally, his whiff and stakeout rates were above the 70th percentile. If the offensive numbers can slightly regress closer to these expected figures, while keeping up the elite defense, he can be a valuable piece in 2025.

France being included on this list is almost solely due to his defensive season. That will likely steer Stearns and his staff toward him if Alonso were to depart. Relying solely on France at first would be a risky endeavor, so some insurance would also likely have to be signed. However, bringing in France would cost next to nothing contract-wise.

Final Thoughts

As mentioned above, the main priority for the Mets should be to re-sign Alonso. There is no one on the open free agent market that comes close to his abilities. However, age, plus his defensive abilities will rightfully result in New York being careful to not break the bank in re-signing the organization’s all-time home run leader. If a deal is not reached, the above three are just a few names the team may consider that would provide a financial relief from re-signing Alonso and give them an ability to pour assets into the starting rotation, which desperately needs help.

Of course, there is also the trade market. As well as some foreign free agents from the NPB who can also be considered. Regardless, first base will be an extremely interesting position to watch for the Mets throughout the offseason.

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