There were no press conferences at Citi Field on Friday.
But as the Mets’ quiet offseason continued, there was activity elsewhere that likely got Mets fans’ attention.
If they were paying close enough attention, they would have noticed Pete Alonso in Baltimore and Edwin Díaz in Los Angeles, both introduced Friday afternoon.
The pair of ex-Met stars were beaming in their new homes, Alonso fresh off his five-year, $155 million deal with the Orioles and Díaz with a three-year, $69 million contract with the Dodgers.
And neither expressed any regret about leaving Queens behind.
“It wasn’t easy,” Díaz said about ending his time with the Mets to join the two-time defending World Series champions. “I spent seven years in New York. … They treated me great. I chose the Dodgers because they are a winning organization. I’m looking to win and I think they have everything [needed] to win. Picking the Dodgers was pretty easy.”
Díaz didn’t give the Mets a chance to match the Dodgers’ offer, which was only $3 million more than the last one he received from the Mets.
Alonso, on the other hand, didn’t even get an offer from the Mets once they learned the stratosphere he had reached with other teams, which landed him in Baltimore.
He said Friday he “really enjoyed my time” with the Mets, but jumped on the opportunity to head to Camden Yards.
“For me, there was no hesitation at all,” Alonso said of joining the Orioles and new manager Craig Albernaz. “[I said], ‘Yup, that’s the team …’ This park, this city, this organization. Everything just clicked. It was a perfect fit.”
Wearing the unfamiliar No. 25, since 20 is retired by the Orioles for Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, Alonso acknowledged the element of the unknown.
“The free agency process, once that starts, you really don’t know what’s gonna happen,” said Alonso, who had a rough introduction to it last offseason, when he returned to the Mets on a two-year, $54 million with an opt out that allowed him to hit the open market again this year.
This time around, Alonso was coming off a better season and was helped by the fact the market for sluggers was set by the Phillies signing Kyle Schwarber to a five-year contract worth $150 million last week.
“It’s kind of a weird baseball limbo,” Alonso said Friday of his time on the open market. “But you sit down, think about things and have some time to reflect, as [this] offseason progressed and — realistically — as we got further along, this partnership [with the Orioles], for me, was head and shoulders above everybody else.”
Díaz, who said he’ll bring his introduction song “Narcos” with him to Dodger Stadium, and Alonso joined Brandon Nimmo as key parts of the Mets’ recent past to have departed this offseason, with Nimmo having been traded to Texas in exchange for Marcus Semien.
David Stearns signed Devin Williams to a three-year, $51 million deal and Williams is set to be the team’s closer after a rough 2025 season with the Yankees.
But there are holes to fill now at first base, left field and perhaps center, as well as plenty more in the rotation and the bullpen.
And like Díaz, Alonso made clear he was comfortable in his new home.
“I’ve played on a couple winning teams,” said Alonso, the Mets’ all-time home run leader. “You need talent, you need some young guys, a mix of veterans and commitment from top to bottom.”
He saw all of that with Baltimore, a team that won 101 games in 2023 and made the playoffs again in 2024, but took a giant step back last season in finishing in last place in the American League East.
“I can’t wait to play here,” Alonso said.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
