"Deserved that respect": Mets owner Steve Cohen reveals reasons to re-open Pete Alonso's contract negotiations

Mets owner Steve Cohen made headlines when he flew all the way to Tampa to bring one of the most loved baseball stars back to the clubhouse. Pete Alonso was re-signed by the Mets for the upcoming two seasons for $54 million. The homecoming of the Polar Bear as he is famously known was no less than a celebration at the Mets clubhouse. Mets owner Steve Cohen believes that Pete Alonso deserved the love and adulation he got from the MLB team members and as well as his fans. Pete Alsonso was the hotbed of discussion during the entire off-season due to his prolonged free agency. From his agent Scott Boras to his age- almost every factor with respect to the Polar Bear was discussed before he was re-signed by the New York Mets recently. During a recent appearance on an interview on Meet on the Apple podcast, Steve Cohen opened up on one of the most important aspects of the Mets. While talking about the roster change, Steve Cohen pointed out the reasons behind re-signing Pete Alonso. He said- "Well, it was my idea. I just felt that the negotiation had gone on so long, I just wanted to make sure that he heard from us how we felt about him. According to the Mets owner, Pete Alonso deserved the respect and the MLB team was eager to have him back. He said-“I just felt like he deserved that respect. He has been a great Met for a long time, he's a fan favorite, and I thought there was a real opportunity to sit down with him and kind of hash it out. And so David and I flew down to Tampa, had a great conversation over a few hours, and frankly, Pete did all the talking," Pete Alonso is back with the New York Mets after a long and intricate period of free agency. Even though the process took some time, the four-time MLB All-Star seems to be in good spirits as he rejoins the team. Alonso’s 2024 season wasn’t up to his usual standards, finishing with a .240 batting average, .329 on-base percentage, and a .456 slugging percentage—numbers that contributed to the lowest OPS (.788) of his career. While he still hit 34 home runs and drove in 88 RBIs, both were the fewest he’s posted in a full season. His 2.1 fWAR was also his lowest since the 2020 season, which was cut short.