As the last New York Mets series featured the return of Pete Alonso with the Baltimore Orioles, it has many are reflecting on the team not pursuing the slugger hard enough to re-sign him during the offseason. With Alonso hitting his 300th career home run against the Mets, the chatter heightened as former star and analyst Joey Votto gives his opinion on it all.

Speaking on “MLB Now,” Votto was blunt in saying that Alonso isn't a “break-the-bank” type of player, but the star wasn't asking for a 10-year contract. This would lead to Votto calling the decision of New York losing Alonso to Baltimore “botched,” saying the Mets got “cute.”

“It was just a clear mistake; they got cute,” Votto said. “Pete wasn't the break-the-bank sort of guy. He handled New York well, he handled that ballpark well, he was good both with the fan base and behind the scenes. It just felt like an easy signing that I felt like they got cute on and botched…It's like they were trying to send the message: we're going to create a brand new identity here.”

“Pete was really not asking for the 10-year contract,” Votto continued. “I think he was reasonable in that five, six, seven-year range. And now look at-he's the best offensive, best first baseman in 2026. And are you telling me the Mets could not have used someone like that? You throw that batter in the middle of many of these lineups that are losing these one-run games, and you've got a team that flips from 76 wins to 82, 84, 86 wins.”

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Alonso currently has a .267 batting average to go along with 37 home runs and 102 RBIs, as it remains to be seen how the Mets build after letting him walk.