If the New York Mets decide to go nuclear and blow things up at the MLB trade deadline, first baseman Pete Alonso will likely be the most high-profile player they move.
The Mets are still technically in the thick of the National League Wild Card hunt, but that says a whole lot more about the quality of the NL race than it does about New York's prospects as a contending team. The Mets aren't very good, and owner Steve Cohen surely knows it.
Should New York decide to sell between now and the July 30 deadline, Alonso will certainly attract plenty of attention. He isn't exactly having his best season, slashing just .238/.315/.477, but he has smashed 14 home runs and could absolutely bolster a contender's lineup somewhere.
Of course, the catch is that Alonso will be a free agent at the end of the season, and that will absolutely curb what the Mets can bring back in return for him.
Still, New York would certainly rather trade him than lose him for nothing. All the Mets would get in return if he signs elsewhere in free agency is a conditional fourth-round draft pick, and he already turned down a $158 million extension from the club last year.
Here are three of the best landing spots for Alonso if New York decides to move him.
Mets may find a taker in the Houston Astros
The Astros looked dead in the water early on in the season. They got off to a miserable 7-19 start, and it was looking like their reign in the American League was coming to an end.
However, Houston has bounced back, going 21-16 since then. It has encountered a bit of a rough patch recently, as it has gone just 8-10 since reeling off a six-game winning streak in mid-May, but the Astros are still technically in contention, particularly in the weak AL West division.
As a result, Houston may end up buying at the trade deadline, and given how much of an unmitigated disaster Jose Abreu has been at first base, the Astros may certainly explore an Alonso trade.
Houston's offense has been respectable as a whole, ranking sixth in OPS and 10th in runs scored, but much of that has been due to the dynamic duo of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. Aside from Jose Altuve, the rest of the Astros' lineup is decidedly mediocre, so they could definitely use an upgrade.
Alonso hit over 40 home runs in back-to-back campaigns before this season. He is just 29 years old, so it seems hard to imagine his bat has fallen off that much. Putting him in a lineup that includes Altuve, Tucker and Alvarez would result in him seeing better pitches, which, in turn, could result in a huge second half for the slugger.
Houston actually needs pitching more than anything else, but if it can go from Jon Singleton and Abreu to Alonso at first base, it should pull the trigger.
Mets will certainly get a call from the Seattle Mariners
That brings us to the Mariners, who actually sit in first place in the AL West.
It certainly isn't because of their offense, though.
Seattle ranks 29th in batting average, 26th in OPS and 27th in runs scored this season. It doesn't have a single .800 OPS hitter in its lineup, and outfielder Julio Rodriguez has been mired in a miserable season-long slump after finishing fourth in MVP voting a year ago.
The Mariners are atop their division because they rank sixth in the majors in ERA. Now, imagine if they actually had some offense to go along with it?
Right now, Ty France is Seattle's first baseman, and he owns an OPS of just .715 through 228 plate appearances. Alonso would represent a massive upgrade over France and would actually give the Mariners a respectable middle-of-the-order hitter.
And who knows? Maybe the potential presence of Alonso in Seattle's lineup would make things easier for Rodriguez, who has no support at all.
The Mariners finally made the playoffs for the first time in 21 years in 2022. They failed to make it last season, so you can bet that ownership wants to get back to the postseason this year so the team doesn't lose its luster.
Two decades of no success weighs on a fanbase, so Seattle surely doesn't want to alienate its fans by sitting pat at the deadline. Don't be surprised if the Mariners end up being one of the most steadfast ballclubs in the Alonso sweepstakes.
Would the Mets do the unthinkable and send Pete Alonso to the New York Yankees?
Would the Mets do this? Would Cohen seriously ship his best power hitter to the Yankees?
It's something that he would probably only consider if the Yanks put together one heck of a package for Alonso, but from a stylistic standpoint, a trade for Alonso would make sense for the Bronx Bombers.
The Yankees currently have Anthony Rizzo at first base, and his .651 OPS is wearing thin on the club. He has not homered since May 10, and he has just three RBI since then. It's looking more and more like the 34-year-old is simply cooked, and while Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton have been carrying the offense, the Yankees' bottom half of the order is questionable, at best.
Going from Rizzo to Alonso would be a big move for the Yanks, as it would give them another big-time power bat in a lineup that is already full of them.
Of course, Alonso's impending free-agent status may serve as big deterrent to the Yankees seeing as how their main focus next offseason will be re-signing Soto. Soto is expected to command a contract worth in excess of $500 million, and the Yanks have already handed out deals worth over $300 million to Judge and Gerrit Cole. Should the Yankees swing a trade for Alonso, they almost certainly wouldn't retain him, so this would most likely strictly be a rental move.
That would obviously put a limit on what the Yankees would be willing to offer the Mets, and given that Cohen would probably ask for more from the Yanks than anyone else, it may ultimately put the kibosh on Alonso to the Bronx.
Still, it's fun to think about, and it would not be surprising if general manager Brian Cashman at least places a call to Mets GM David Stearns.
Follow Us
Subscribe