MLB writer shares huge Mets, Pete Alonso trade prediction

New York Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns repeatedly said throughout the winter that Pete Alonso won't be traded before Opening Day even though the All-Star first baseman is entering his walk year. 

That doesn't mean Stearns won't make Alonso available to other clubs if the Mets are clearly out of the playoff picture after the All-Star break, wrote ESPN's Eric Karabell.

"[Catcher] Francisco Alvarez, in his second season, hits a team-leading 31 homers," Karabell predicted about the 2024 Mets. Karabell added he believes Alvarez will lead the Mets in home runs because Stearns will trade Alonso to the Seattle Mariners "in July." 

In November, Jim Bowden of The Athletic wrote that the Mariners were among several clubs "rumored as possible destinations if Alonso is traded." While Stearns and others within the Mets have insisted the club currently has the goods to make a run at a wild-card playoff berth with Alonso in the lineup, the organization completed a relatively uninspiring offseason after it failed to land two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani or Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto in free agency.

In January, ESPN's Paul Hembekides mentioned that the Milwaukee Brewers had seven different Opening Day first basemen across Stearns' eight seasons as an executive with the club. More recently, R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports wrote in late February, "Stearns does not strike me as the kind of executive who wants to commit a long-term deal to a right-right first baseman — even one as accomplished and popular as Alonso." 

It's thought that big-spending Mets owner Steve Cohen wants to win so badly that he'll overpay to keep Alonso and sign current New York Yankees All-Star outfielder Juan Soto. However, MLB insider Jon Heyman of the New York Post noted on Thursday that "folks say...Stearns prefers free agents 28 and younger." Alonso turns 30 years old in December. 

Cohen suggested last month he understands many paying customers will be furious if he doesn't hold onto Alonso through and beyond this season. With that said, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Mets' over/under win total for this coming season at 81.5 as of Friday afternoon. 

If the 2024 Mets are as "meh" as many believe they will be, Stearns may at least try to convince Cohen that trading Alonso this summer is what's best for the franchise's long-term future.