Conflicting Mets rumors on how much the team can get in a Pete Alonso trade

The decision to sell, buy, or stay put will depend on what the New York Mets do in the standings over the next month and a half. Alive in the National League Wild Card picture, the most-discussed trade candidate on the roster remains Pete Alonso.

A Mets lifer and fan-favorite, recent rumors reported by SNY’s Andy Martino have some varying returns for what the team could get in return for him.

One evaluator said they won’t get much because he’s a rental “unless there’s a bidding war.” A second said that maybe the Mets can get a “5-10 rated prospect. Not someone who is a stud.” Finally, a third countered by noting how he could be the difference between making the playoffs or not and referenced that he is better than Luis Arraez thus should cost more.

The latest Mets rumors on what the team could get for Pete Alonso is clear, no one knows

Somewhere in between tends to be where the truth lies although the health of first basemen around the league could always throw a wrench into what we’d expect the Mets to get for Alonso. Let’s say a team with an All-Star first baseman loses their big slugger for the year. Suddenly, Alonso becomes a necessary addition.

A bidding war is probably not going to happen because of the position he plays. First base is easy enough to fill. Players at more premium positions generally have teams battling for them at the trade deadline. This especially goes for the top-level starting pitchers.

A team’s 5-10 rated prospect doesn’t seem so awful. The Mets would probably get more but the player falling in this range would be the headliner. Looking at the Mets top prospects falling in this range, would acquiring someone’s Blade Tidwell—who ranks tenth according to MLB Pipeline—be such an unacceptable prospect to land?

As Martino and many others have noted, the Mets don’t need to trade Alonso if the return isn’t a great one. The qualifying offer they’ll extend him will allow them to acquire an additional draft pick. They’d get their pick and spare the fans from having to go through the torment of seeing yet another beloved player dealt elsewhere.

Alonso may need to get hot in the next few weeks for the price to go beyond what most believe the ceiling is. Pairing him with another player, whether it’s a pitcher or his buddy Harrison Bader, could be one way to approach it.