ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The New York Mets do not have plans to meet with Pete Alonso this week at the winter meetings.
The five-time All-Star first baseman, who turned 31 on Sunday, lives about two hours away from the hotel for the meetings in Florida. He is a free agent for the second straight offseason.
“I think Pete knows us really well. I think we know Pete really well,” Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said Monday, adding that Alonso will “take the time here to perhaps meet with organizations he doesn’t know quite as well.”
Alonso was drafted by New York and spent his first seven seasons with the Mets. After a slow free agent market last winter, he signed a $54 million, two-year contract.
He opted out of the final year of the deal after hitting a career-high .272 with 38 homers, 126 RBIs and an .871 OPS in 162 games.
“As a manager, his ability to post every day ... you don’t have to worry about who’s playing first base or who’s hitting in the middle of your lineup,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “I think he knows how much we want him, but we’ll see how it goes.”
Mendoza said he's had intermittent contact with Alonso this offseason. Mendoza remains hopeful they can keep Alonso in Queens.
Stearns stuck to his no-public-negotiations script when pressed on where things stand, but he detailed where he thinks the slugger belongs with the market.
“Pete has demonstrated that he’s one of the best offensive players in baseball, and he’s performed at a high level for us,” Stearns said. “That would be a priority for any team. It certainly is for us.”
Beyond Alonso, Stearns said the team is prioritizing run prevention.
The bullpen upgrades are not finished — even after the Mets' deal with Devin Williams — and Stearns said they are looking at both free agency and the trade market for help. They also want to add a starting pitcher, though Stearns expressed confidence that the organization's young arms could play a significant role. Kodai Senga’s strong offseason progress was a major positive for Stearns.
The Mets also are looking for a replacement for outfielder Brandon Nimmo, who was traded to the Texas Rangers for Marcus Semien. Their fallback position would be Jeff McNeil in left field to start the season.
The disappointing 2025 season for the Mets had Mendoza defending himself and the organization on Monday.
On his podcast last month, former Mets reliever Adam Ottavino blasted the organization’s handling of its pitching staff, accusing Mendoza of mismanaging the bullpen, failing to communicate effectively with injured players and not doing enough to protect arms. The Mets used a record 46 pitchers this season due to injuries and performance issues.
Mendoza declined to engage in a back-and-forth with Ottavino, but he defended the organization. Despite the injuries, Mendoza said he thinks the club “was probably one of the teams that protected the bullpen guys better than anybody,” even with limited length from the rotation.
Mendoza also pushed back on reports of clubhouse friction involving shortstop Francisco Lindor, outfielder Juan Soto and McNeil. He said the players “enjoyed being around each other.”
“I’m not going to get into what happens in the clubhouse. Obviously it stays there,” Mendoza said. “Now, for the past few weeks, it feels like we were fighting pretty much every day. Nobody talked about our clubhouse when we got to the second week of June with the best record in baseball. We have the best clubhouse. And then we started losing, and now everybody’s talking about, oh, some of the issues.”
Stearns admitted that clubhouse could look different in 2026. While he would not rule out another big move this offseason, the Mets are looking for more balance this winter.
“I think we’re probably going to make some moves that don’t grab a ton of headlines, that we think are really impactful moves our organization,” Stearns said. “I’d imagine over the course of the offseason, there are also going to be moves that allow you guys to write a lot. And so I think it’s probably a combination of the both, and that’s what we should be doing.”
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FILE - New York Mets' Pete Alonso returns to the dugout after striking out during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Sept. 23, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley, File)
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Coco Gauff wants those people posing questions to her about the teenagers breaking through at the Australian Open to remember one thing: She’s 21.
The 18-year-old Iva Jovic will be playing No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park. That's after Sabalenka, a two-time champion in Australia, beat 19-year-old Vicky Mboko on Sunday in the fourth round.
“The way people ask the questions make it seem like I’m way older than,” the teenagers, Gauff said. “I have been around longer, obviously, but yeah, they’re always, like, ‘Do you have any advice to give them?’
“I’m, like, you guys, these are, like, my peers. We are the same. We are hanging out,” she added for effect, smiling. “We’re in the same age group.”
Gauff has been on tour for more than five years — she made a stunning Grand Slam debut as a qualifier at Wimbledon against five-time champion Venus Williams when she was 15 — but she's still among the younger pros. She won her first major title at 19.
Seeded No. 3 and a two-time major winner, Gauff reached the quarterfinals in Australia for the third straight year with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 win Sunday over No. 19 Karolina Muchova.
She's gone on to win the title each of the previous four times she's beaten Muchova, including the 2023 U.S. Open, her maiden Grand Slam title. When she was still a teenager.
Three teenagers played in fourth-round matches Sunday, but only Jovic advanced — 6-0, 6-1 over Yulia Putintseva.
Mboko troubled Sabalenka in the second set but lost 6-1, 7-6 (1). In the last match of Day 8, the 18-year-old, eighth-seeded Mirra Andreeva lost 6-2, 6-4 to 31-year-old Elina Svitolina, who reached the Grand Slam quarterfinals for the 14th time. That will be against Gauff, who is into the last 8 for the 10th time.
Gauff said she found it difficult when she was adjusting from juniors to the professional ranks, because some players don't talk or even say hi.
So, she makes a point of greeting the newbies, making them feel welcome.
“Just saying hi or saying good luck," Gauff said. "And then you start to talk and then you become friends, and it’s cool.”
In the case of Jovic, who is playing just her sixth Grand Slam tournament and making her first run past the second round, Gauff has a sister-like affinity.
“Yeah, she’s the age of my little brother,” Gauff said. "I do feel older than them. That’s for sure. I don’t feel the exact same, but I don’t feel as old as people make it seem.
“I have talked to Iva a couple of times. I have never talked to her about advice or anything — I feel like she has such a good head on her shoulders. I don’t think she needs that.”
Gauff had few peers when she was starting out, saying it was “very lonely for me, honestly.”
And while she's friends with the likes of Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula and Amanda Anisimova, sometimes she doesn't “connect” on everything, so she still likes to hang out with a younger crowd sometimes.
“We’re interested in the same things and stuff like that, but it’s always funny when people ask me the question," about the up-and-coming teens, she said. "I usually don’t have anything to say, because I’m still figuring out, just like they are.
“So it’s great to have, like, more people of my age range doing better. I feel like maybe last two years on tour have been some of my happiest, even though maybe the tennis has been up and down, just because you see more friendly faces in the locker room.”
Jovic is likely to be around for a while. She said last year she wanted to take on No. 1-ranked Sabalenka because she wanted to test her level. After her best run at a major to date, she gets the chance.
“Obviously, the Slams are where you want to do well," she said. “Being here in a Slam just gives me belief that I can be at the, you know, highest level of tennis. And, hopefully, be consistently having these results.”
Iva Jovic of the U.S. plays a forehand return to Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan during their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Iva Jovic of the U.S. celebrates after defeating Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan in their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Coco Gauff of the U.S. celebrates after defeating Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Coco Gauff of the U.S. signs autographs after defeating Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Coco Gauff of the U.S. plays a backhand return to Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic during their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
