Insider updates if Mets will trade, sign Pete Alonso this winter

It sounds like Pete Alonso won't have a new baseball home before the 2024 season begins, but that doesn't mean the All-Star first baseman is close to signing a contract extension with the New York Mets as the World Series approaches. 

MLB insider Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported Thursday that "it doesn’t feel like there’s momentum toward a quick deal for Pete Alonso, so the Mets' best hope to make the homegrown slugging star a lifetime Met probably comes when he’s a free agent next winter."

Alonso isn't eligible for free agency until after the 2024 campaign, and new Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns told reporters earlier this month that he expects the 28-year-old to remain with the team through at least the start of next season. Last week, Heyman poured cold water over speculation that Alonso could try to force an offseason trade to the Chicago Cubs after the three-time All-Star hired Scott Boras as his new agent. 

Heyman offered more information about Alonso's mindset on Thursday afternoon. 

"...Folks insist Alonso loves New York, and no one should assume (he and the Mets) can’t find common ground, even if it takes until next winter," Heyman explained. 

Boras has previously enjoyed a positive relationship with big-spending Mets owner Steve Cohen, and Heyman noted Thursday that the Amazins trading Alonso seems "unlikely" because they are "aiming to compete in 2024" after the 2023 edition of the club collapsed under massive expectations and finished with a 75-87 record. 

Following the Mets' pre-trade deadline fire sale, conflicting reports emerged regarding whether Cohen could essentially punt on next season and instead plan to compete beginning in either 2025 or 2026. Heyman now thinks the Mets could attempt "to acquire another bona fide slugger to protect" Alonso in the lineup after the "Polar Bear" finished this past regular season third in all of MLB with 46 home runs and second with 118 RBIs.