PORT ST. LUCIE — The Mets can expect a “motivated” Pete Alonso this season. David Stearns, the team’s president of baseball operations, used that description of the slugging first baseman Wednesday after Alonso’s two-year contract worth $54 million for a return to the Mets became official.

Even when it looked as though the Mets were ready to move on from the Polar Bear, a reunion never felt far off.

With Pete Alonso's contract official David Stearns could address what it took to get a deal and the impact he can have in a lineup led by Juan Soto.