“If the Mets sell…” is no longer a “if,” as the struggling team in Flushing is apparently listening, shopping, and pushing the vast majority of their 26-man roster. Presumably, according to some delusional elements of the fan base, they’re only considering a complete roster collapse to clear 4-to-5 roster spaces for Juan Soto, giving in to his demands.
While the Mets have faded from public notice this spring, it does not mean they lack star power. Slugging first baseman Pete Alonso, the Mets’ most famous player, will be free agent at the end of the season. He adores New York. New York adores him. But does Steve Cohen love him enough to offer him $250 million and call him “one-dimensional”? Who cares! To hell with all other realities!”
According to veteran MLB general manager Jim Bowden (subs. required), the Mets are considering pulling an Aroldis Chapman on Alonso and trading him to a competitive team this summer, then wooing him again in the offseason after extracting assets from some poor sap.
What about the Yankees? With Anthony Rizzo’s situation becoming more serious by the day, they may be that sap!
Yankees could trade for Pete Alonso, help him walk back to Mets in offseason
First and foremost, Jim truly wants your feedback, so please, Twitter, for the first time ever, let him hear it! Don’t hold back like you have in the past.
Second, while the heaping mound of Yankees praise in this story (as well as Bowden’s gymnastics to slip Anthony Volpe onto the team) is noticeable, that small Alonso detail drowns out the roster speculation just a little.
According to Jeff Passan’s trade deadline primer, the assumption is now that an Alonso deal will occur, but the second half of the equation remains undetermined. According to an ESPN insider, “Multiple general managers said they expect new president of baseball operations David Stearns to trade the All-Star first baseman.”
Other potential Alonso destinations include the Giants, Mariners, Astros, and Twins, but none are as appealing as the Yankees. Would Brian Cashman really disrupt team harmony in the middle of the season and hand over valuable assets to the Mets in exchange for their offense-first first baseman? Only if it included a Cohen pledge not to pursue Juan Soto to the best of his powers this winter, as we believe happened with Aaron Judge in 2022.
The Yankees’ main concern with Rizzo has been defense, and adding Alonso would do little to address that. The Mets first baseman has a.784 OPS and a positive WAR that is still less than 1.0. If you ask us, trading great talent for a weakened Alonso makes more sense for the Giants. But you did not ask us. You asked Bowden after he begged for your feedback! Go for it!
