Mets’ Pete Alonso doesn’t ‘want to get traded’ before deadline as free agency looms
ARLINGTON, Texas — The way the Mets are trending — arising from the cellar to possibly avoid becoming sellers and sitting in playoff position at the All-Star break — the chances have grown that Pete Alonso will remain in Queens at least through the end of the season.
This development has been welcome to Alonso.
The Mets first baseman has been resolute throughout this season and in past seasons in saying that he enjoys being a Met.
If the Mets, who were 11 games under .500 as recently as June 2, continued to lose, the free agent to-be might have been one of the prizes on the trade market.
The strong run into contention might mean that the Polar Bear finishes the season with the only team he has known.
“I’m super happy to be a Met, super proud to be a Met,” Alonso said from Globe Life Field on Monday before his first-round exit in the Home Run Derby. “It’s just been awesome.
“I’d love to stay. I don’t want to get traded. I love it. It’s home.”
It has been home since Alonso debuted in 2019, though the Mets organization has been Alonso’s family since he was drafted in the second round in 2016.
Alonso slugged his way through the minors, cracked the Opening Day roster in ’19 and has led the majors in home runs (211) since.
“I love being in Queens. It’s been such a special place,” the 29-year-old said. “Some of my best not just baseball memories but life memories have been in New York. It’s been almost nine, 10 years. For me, how the fans, the organization has welcomed me, embraced me from Day 1 … it’s been awesome.
“I’ve grown up in New York. Pretty much all of my 20s I’ve been in New York.”
The Mets (49-46) won 25 of 36 games entering the break, catapulting them up the crowded wild-card standings and offering hope that the club can play in October.
The return of Francisco Alvarez, minor league call-ups from Mark Vientos to Jose Iglesias and a deep and powerful offense may have turned the season around.
But Alonso acknowledged that the next few weeks, leading up to the July 30 deadline, will be “critical.”
A cold spell from a team that has been up and down could mean a sell-off.
And a sell-off could start with Alonso, whose long-term future is unclear as an aging slugger who will have other suitors on the open market.
“We got to earn the right to be buyers,” Alonso said. “I’d love for us to come back and absolutely kill it. We have such a great group. The vibes are great. It’s been such a good story collectively because from where we were to where we are, it’s been a tremendous group effort.”
— Additional reporting by Jon Heyman