Remember when the Braves let Freddie Freeman walk after 2021? Reportedly, Atlanta offered five years and $140 million, but Freeman wanted a sixth year, and the Braves wouldn’t budge. To top that, it was right after they’d won the World Series. The result?

Freeman signs with the Dodgers for six years, goes on to win more World Series rings and MVPs, and cements his legacy even further. Then there’s that moment in Game 3 of the 2025 World Series, when he blasted a walk-off homer in the 18th inning, becoming the first player ever to hit multiple walk-off home runs in World Series history. So, all of it makes you think the Braves have to regret letting him go. And according to Alex Rodriguez, the Mets could end up feeling that same kind of regret after letting Pete Alonso walk.

“I was surprised because Pete’s been an outstanding ball player. Great character. He’s done; he’s been flawless in the community. He wears the Mets, that orange and blue, with a lot of pride, and he is really an outstanding young man. It reminds me a little bit of when the Braves let Freddie Freeman go to the Dodgers,”

Well, Rodriguez might actually be right here, at least if you look at what Pete Alonso did in 2025. Coming into last winter, Alonso was fresh off the worst season of his career, and teams were clearly hesitant to commit to him long term. Multi-year offers weren’t exactly flying around.

Then 2025 happened. Alonso bounced back in a big way, boosting his OPS by nearly 100 points to .871 and posting a career-best .272 batting average. His .524 slugging percentage was his highest since that record-setting rookie season. In short, he looked a lot more like the old Pete Alonso again.

And this goes beyond just numbers.

Notably, Alonso was the face of the Mets for years and is arguably the greatest power hitter the franchise has ever had. He is the only Met with three 40-homer seasons. Yes, he’ll be entering his age-31 season in 2026, which is usually when power hitters start to decline. But if you compare his 2024 and 2025 seasons, it almost looks like he’s aging in reverse.

Still, the Mets didn’t pull the trigger. The sticking point? Alonso wanted a seven-year deal, and that was outside the Mets’ comfort zone. A situation that feels eerily similar to the Braves drawing the line with Freddie Freeman.

But now Alonso’s in Baltimore, and how he performs next season will go a long way in deciding whether the Mets end up regretting letting him walk.

The Mets still have better names to replace Alonso

Letting Pete Alonso go would definitely sting for the Mets, but that doesn’t mean they’re out of options. If you look at the remaining free-agent market, there are still some big names out there. For instance, Kyle Tucker, Munetaka Murakami, Alex Bregman, and Cody Bellinger are all still available. And any of them could realistically step in and help fill the void Alonso left behind.

What makes it more interesting is that the Mets have been linked to pretty much all of those players.

And when you look at how their offseason has unfolded so far, it’s been relatively quiet by their standards. They haven’t made that signature, money-splashing move yet, which could be a sign that something big is still coming.

So, with plenty of financial flexibility still on the table, Mets fans have every reason to believe the team could land a player who’s just as impactful — and just as big a name — as Alonso. If that happens, the decision to let him walk might not look so bad after all.

But if it doesn’t, then only time will tell whether this becomes another “what if” moment for the franchise.