3 days agoNew York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso agreed to a two-year, $54 million contract to return to Queens after a disappointing 2024 season. The powerful 30-year-old still hit 34 home runs with 88 RBI and 91 runs scored to go with a .240/.329/.459 slash line over 695 plate appearances. He played in all 162 games and hasn't missed more than 10 games in any of his six MLB seasons, which should instill confidence in his availability at the heart of NYM's order. However, the slip in batted-ball metrics led to lesser output after swatting 46 HRs with 118 RBI in '23. It's the first full season of his career where his expected slugging percentage was below the 92nd percentile (82nd). His 42.1 percent fly-ball rate was his lowest since 2019 and the 18.4 percent HR/FB rate was his lowest ever as his strikeout rate crept up near 25 percent. Perhaps the poor free-agent market experience will motivate as he bats cleanup behind Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto. He could threaten his career-high mark of 131 RBI set in '22 even without a return to his prime HR form as a result. But a Mark Vientos breakout with a failure to rebound could slide Alonso to fifth. Early ATC projections of 33 HRs and 94 RBI in 143 games appear modest and echo his February RotoBaller rank of around 75, which trails the early 53 NFBC ADP.--Nick Mariano - RotoBaller