With Pete Alonso gone, the Mets bet big on Jorge Polanco at first base. Can he overcome inexperience and injury concerns to avoid a massive free-agent bust?
The New York Mets entered the offseason in a precarious position regarding first base. Franchise icon and star Pete Alonso was entering free agency yet again after settling for a one-year deal that kept him in New York for the 2025 campaign, but the likelihood of a similar deal wasn’t great this time around.
It wasn’t all that surprising when Alonso ultimately did walk in free agency, signing a five-year, $155 million deal with the Baltimore Orioles. With Alonso officially out of Queens, the Mets were tasked with finding a replacement for the slugger in the midst of trying to completely retool their roster after the 2025 season’s collapse.
President of baseball operations, David Stearns, got creative to do so, signing a player who has only played one career game at first base to take over the role full-time for the Mets. Jorge Polanco signed for $40 million and two years – a big risk taken by the Mets organization.
Polanco was great in 2025 for a Seattle Mariners team that was one win away from the World Series. He recorded his highest OPS+ since he became a mainstay in the major leagues in 2016, hitting 56 extra-base hits in the process.
He played most of his games at the designated hitter spot, only playing 43 games on defense. Just one of those appearances was at first base – the position the Mets signed him for $40 million to play.
Despite coming off a great season on a winning team last year, Polanco has been named as a candidate to be one of the biggest busts signed this free agency by Bleacher Report. Concern comes with his lack of experience at first and questions about his durability.
If Polanco struggles to adjust to first, New York is kind of trapped. They will be faced with a choice of sticking it out with Polanco at first in hopes he figures it out, or he will be relegated to a designated hitter role. If he moved to DH, it’d be a huge disappointment for what the Mets thought was Alonso’s replacement.
Polanco also has a history of missing time, playing less than 120 games in three of his last four seasons. Turning 33 years old this year, it’s something for New York to watch and be cautious of in 2026.
If New York wants to avoid being the team that made the worst free agency signing with Polanco, it needs to see similar production at the plate for him in 2026. Polanco cut his strikeouts down by 55 from 2024 to 2025 despite playing in 20 more games, and his slugging percentage rose .140 points.
He may not reach the levels he reached in 2025, but if Polanco can put up a season with an OPS near .800 and sufficiently covers first base, the Mets will have found a good way to replace Alonso. Polanco doesn't have to be great with all the other stars on the Mets roster, but he has to be good. Even if some say he’s a free agent bust candidate, he could also be one of the most impactful players for New York in 2026.