Mets Notebook: Steve Cohen met with Pete Alonso after trade rumors involving star surfaced

KANSAS CITY — Pete Alonso is still a Met. But following the Tuesday trade deadline, the question becomes, for how much longer?

One day after word leaked that the Mets were looking into a potential trade of their homegrown first baseman, Steve Cohen came to town to talk to the slugger. The owner of the Mets pulled aside several different players in the Kauffman Stadium visitor’s clubhouse Wednesday afternoon, one day after the club shed significant talent at the trade deadline.

Alonso was one of them. Cohen said he received a promise from the three-time All-Star that he would continue to play hard for the rest of the season. But Alonso is only under team control for one more season, so he would be a steal for a contending team on the trade market and would net the team a haul of prospects.

“We love him as a Met,” Cohen said. “He’s an integral part of the Mets. He’s still with us for another year and we hope we work things out. Even with [outfielder Brandon Nimmo], we worked things out in free agency. So hopefully we’ll get a few shots at the apple and try to figure it out.”

There have been no meaningful conversations between Alonso’s camp and the Mets that we know of. If the Mets have engaged the first baseman and his agent, then both parties have kept the talks under wraps. This could mean that Alonso, like Nimmo last year, wants to test free agency.

This also could mean nothing.

Alonso is the most prolific hitter the Mets have developed since David Wright. He’s been the face of the franchise since his rookie season in 2019 and has handled that well. General manager Billy Eppler is considering a trip to Baltimore this weekend to talk to Alonso privately, which is a courtesy he gave to several players on long-term contracts over the weekend.

The Mets don’t plan to contend for a World Series next season, though they do plan to be “competitive,” and this news was not initially well-received by some players in the clubhouse, but the Mets are coming around to the idea that a transition season can still be a winning season.

“As tough as it may be, it’s a little bit of pain now for a brighter future,” Nimmo said.

Nimmo, Francisco Lindor and the rest of the group are hoping to “surprise” some people next season. The Mets believe they have the pieces in place to be a team that, at the very least, plays meaningful games next season. They cited the 2022 Philadelphia Phillies and the 2023 Miami Marlins, who were expected to lose this season and instead are only a half-game out of a Wild Card spot.

Still, it wasn’t easy to digest the news that the Mets were waiving the white flag on the season. Cohen said players were still processing, but took it as professionals.

“Of course, they would have preferred that the club stay together because everyone values the short-term — the here and now — a lot more than down the road. But unfortunately, I’ve got to look at it from multiple angles. I came to such a hard decision because I came to the conclusion that it is in the best interest of the organization to do the right thing.”

Publicly, the Mets are pledging their commitment to Alonso now and in the future. Privately, it might be a different story. We’ll find out this winter just strong that pledge to the Polar Bear is.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Nimmo remained out of the lineup for the second day in a row with left quad tightness. He could’ve played through it if needed, but he didn’t want to have to play with hesitation. With the gaps in Kauffman Stadium playing so big, the center fielder wanted to make sure he could run down fly balls, so the Mets held him out again for precautionary reasons.

“Today I went outside and ran and I felt really good, but I’m probably missing that last 10 percent,” Nimmo said. “Right now, we’re going to play things a little more safe. Today, I’m not in there. It’s going to be day-to-day, but I’m not worried about it.”

Starling Marte (migraines) was unable to get work done on the field with rain in the Kansas City area, so the Mets are going to keep him on the injured list at least through the end of the series with the Kansas City Royals. They’re hoping to activate him this weekend in Baltimore for a series against the Orioles.

ROSTER MOVES

The Mets sent right-hander Vinny Nittoli and catcher Michael Perez to Triple-A Syracuse and called up infielder Jonathan Arauz and right-hander Phil Bickford to take their places.

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