Mets' Pete Alonso makes trade-deadline wish clear

During his All-Star Game media availability on Monday, first baseman Pete Alonso made it clear he wants to remain with the New York Mets beyond the July 30 MLB trade deadline.

"I’d love to stay and I don’t want to get traded," Alonso directly said, as shared by Alex Smith of SNY. "I love [New York]. It’s home."

Alonso remains on track to reach free agency after the season and repeatedly was the subject of trade rumors as the Mets floundered in May. However, the Amazins entered the All-Star break at 49-46 on the campaign and in possession of a wild-card playoff berth.

The Mets acquired right-handed relief pitcher Phil Maton from the Tampa Bay Rays last week, and The Athletic's Levi Weaver noted on Tuesday that New York making further additions by the end of the month "should follow." 

Outfielder Brandon Nimmo has publicly campaigned for Mets owner Steve Cohen and president of baseball operations David Stearns to buy instead of sell before the deadline, but Alonso didn't go quite that far on Monday.

"Right now there’s a lot that could happen, and whatever the front office and ownership decides to do, that’s their prerogative," Alonso explained. "But for me, my job is to do whatever I can to help win ballgames every single day. I love this organization, I love this city, so I just want to do the best I can every single night for the guys in the clubhouse and the fans."

There's no indication Alonso's camp will agree to an extension with the Mets before the slugger who turns 30 years old in December reaches free agency. Some within the MLB community believe that Stearns would prefer to pay New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto over Alonso assuming Soto hits the open market after the World Series as most expect.

"I love New York," Alonso added during his comments. "I love the Mets. I love being in Queens. It’s really been such a special place. Some of my best, not just baseball memories but life memories, have been in New York."

The Mets open the second half of their season with a four-game series at the lowly Miami Marlins (33-63) that begins on Friday. Those matchups theoretically should give Alonso and others within the Mets clubhouse opportunities to convince Cohen and Stearns that New York's play over the past month wasn't a fluke.