Alonso ended up re-signing with New York (two years, $54 million with a player option after the first year), but his presence in the middle of the Mets’ lineup wasn’t always a given. In free agency, as he put it, Alonso and agent Scott Boras received “dialogue from a number of places over the course of the offseason.”

Pete Alonso hit a grand slam and the New York Mets beat the Miami Marlins 10-4. Starling Marte, Luis Torrens and Brandon Nimmo also went deep for the Mets, who finished with 11 hits in the opener of a three-game series.

Mets lefthander David Peterson turned in a quality start, allowing two runs in six innings. Otto Lopez homered in the first and Eric Wagaman went deep in the sixth. Peterson struck out nine and scattered three walks and five hits, benefitting in particular from a double-play ground ball in the fourth.