The biggest Mets trade deadline candidate is helping spoil everyone else's midseason plans

Of the ongoing New York Mets storylines, the performance of first baseman Pete Alonso is one escaping the consciousness of many. Why would it be a story? He hasn’t slumped at the level as some of his teammates. He’s just doing his job and clobbering home runs in bunches.

Golfing one out of the ballpark late in the team’s first homestand to save themselves from complete disaster helped liven up the team for a few days. Ever since, Alonso has continued to play well, go yard, and ensure the Mets won’t be one of those teams who fall out of the playoff race before the first month is over.

A very obvious trade candidate if the Mets do falter, Alonso is playing like a guy who has no interest finishing the year representing any other team.

Pete Alonso might not give the Mets a chance to trade him

Two home runs in Saturday’s loss against the Kansas City Royals might go forgotten soon enough. Well on his way to another big home run and RBI season, it’s the other things Alonso has done well this year that have him well on his way to earning a big free agent contract.

The misery that was the 2023 season for Alonso—oddly, one which still included an All-Star selection, 46 home runs, and 118 RBI—seems distant at this point. His .217/.318/.504 slash line included two career lows with only the slugging percentage overtaking what he did in the abridged 202 campaign by 14 points. For all of his struggles last season, Alonso at least assured us that when things aren’t going right for him, he’ll slug home runs at the same rate if not better.

This year is young, however, we’ve seen a much different version of the Polar Bear at the plate. He’s actually going the other way more often than usual and it’s showing in the results. Six early home runs are nice, including four in his last five games. Yet this isn't why he has been so successful.

In those same recent five games, Alonso has four walks versus only two strikeouts. His leadoff walk in the bottom of the eighth inning on Sunday kicked off the club’s two-out rally. He could’ve played hero with the bat. Instead, his eye and a little wildness led to the run he’d come around to score to finally beak the 0-0 tie.

A premature assumption by many was for months of Alonso chatter to involve where he could end up traded. Well, the Mets aren’t close to sunk despite their 0-5 start. An even record is within sight. 

Contention for the Mets this year will spoil a lot of those LOLMets drafts people have saved for June. We have a long way to go and with some early cracks visible, the season can easily swing one way or another. Although the best outcome for the Mets would be for a mega sell-off at the trade deadline as the alternative to a failed attempt at making the postseason altogether, keeping Alonso through the final 162 games will allow the Mets to give him a qualifying offer. Considering how poorly that worked out for other Scott Boras clients plus a now former client of his Jordan Montgomery who didn’t even have the QO penalties attached to him, it’s equally as bad for him to remain in New York and fall short of the playoffs, too.

Home runs are what made Alonso a star in Major League Baseball. Doing some extra credit is what will get the Mets further than he’s familiar with.