Mets' Brandon Nimmo discusses Pete Alonso playing in contract year

Barring an unforeseen development, New York Mets All-Star first baseman Pete Alonso is expected to play in a contract year before he reaches free agency this fall. 

Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo went through a similar experience in 2022 and thus knows something about how Alonso may be feeling in the early days of spring training. 

"I just tried to control the little things each and every day," Nimmo recently told Tim Britton of The Athletic. "(It was) understanding that yes, it is a very important year and yes, your walk year does matter. But also people are going to be looking at it as a whole, and they want to know what they’re getting as a whole in a player. This is important, but if I take care of the little things over the course of 162 games, it’ll work out."

Nimmo appeared in what was (at the time) a career-high 151 regular-season games in 2022, and he slashed .274/.367/.433 with 16 home runs, 64 RBI and 102 runs scored before he signed an eight-year contract reportedly worth $162M to stay with the Mets. 

He was represented in negotiations by Scott Boras, the agent hired by Alonso this past fall. 

"He’s been through it so much and has so much wisdom that’s really hard to come by," Nimmo said about his dealings with Boras. "(Free agency) was something that we only wanted to go through one time. You only know you get one shot at this, and we wanted to be really confident in it."

Alonso reportedly won't be offering his current employer any type of hometown discount before or during the season. 

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns acknowledged as recently as last week that both Alonso and the club "are going to be set up very well going into the offseason" if the "Polar Bear" produces monster numbers for New York through October. 

"He’s always been one of those guys that lives for the big moments," Nimmo said about Alonso. "He loves the pressure and loves those clutch moments. I think he’ll take it in stride and be himself. I want that just as bad as everyone else because if he does well, we’re going to do well."

It's no secret that big-spending Mets owner Steve Cohen can afford to outbid every club for Alonso. 

As SNY's Danny Abriano mentioned in January, though, a handful of top-tier talents are expected to become free agents along with Alonso, so there's no guarantee signing the 29-year-old will be a top priority for Stearns this fall.