Pete Alonso Has Reportedly Been on Trade Market Over Last Week, Mets ‘Price Points Are High’

I have no idea what it would take to get him, but one player would instantly fill the Cubs’ need for power and an everyday first baseman is Pete Alonso. According to Will Sammon and Tim Britton of The Athletic, the Mets slugger has been on the trade market over the last week. The Mets have already moved Max Scherzer to the Rangers and are fielding offers for Justin Verlander, and their “price points are high” according to GM Billy Eppler. Alonso, who has 30 homers and is controllable via arbitration through next season, will certainly fetch a big return if he’s dealt.

The one untouchable in the Cubs’ system is probably Pete Crow-Armstrong, and not just because they more or less hoodwinked the Mets to get him back in 2021. Cade Horton and Kevin Alcantara might be approaching that rarefied no-trade air as well, though I have to imagine just about anyone else in the system would be available if it meant landing an elite slugger for more than just two months.

Acquiring Alonso would also mean entering CBT penalty range, as his prorated $14.5 million salary comes to just under $6 million and the Cubs are currently around $4.6 million below the $233 million threshold. Not that the resulting pittance of a penalty should mean much given the return. Provided the return was sweet enough, the Mets might be willing to offset some of the cost just like they did in the Scherzer deal.

One thing we know about Steve Cohen is that he’s not shy about spending money. In the end, however, this seems like one of those deals where the Mets are dangling Alonso to see if a team is willing to blow them away with an offer. I don’t feel particularly confident in that happening, and I don’t see the Cubs being the team to do it at all. Still, it’s fun to think about.