Mets' Pete Alonso stubbornness could salvage John Mozeliak's disastrous offseason

What felt like a near-certainty now appears to be anything but. For much of the offseason, it felt like a near lock that the New York Mets were going to re-sign Pete Alonso. Now, as the offseason continues to progress, that's looking less likely, with New York reportedly pivoting to its Plan B, expecting Alonso to land elsewhere.

While Alonso is not a lock to depart New York, he certainly doesn't appear to be as likely to remain a Met as he once did. Assuming he does depart, the Mets are going to have to find a replacement, assuming they don't want to roll with someone like Brett Baty regularly in their infield.

That's where the St. Louis Cardinals come in. John Mozeliak has been looking all offseason to trade Nolan Arenado, but has been unable to find a deal since the eight-time All-Star vetoed a trade which would've sent him to the Houston Astros. If the Mets let Alonso walk, Arenado could suddenly make a lot of sense for New York.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop between now and the MLB offseason.

Mets Pete Alonso stubbornness opens the door to potential Nolan Arenado trade

If the Mets do let Alonso walk, chances are, Arenado won't be the first player they'd turn to. The dream scenario would be a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. trade, but that's extremely unlikely. The Mets could look to sign Anthony Santander, but he has virtually no experience at first base. They could look to sign Alex Bregman, but would they really be willing to give him the long-term deal he's stuck on while also forfeiting two additional draft picks after failing to agree on a short-term deal with Alonso? Chances are, the answer to that question is no.

With that in mind, Arenado sticks out as a pretty seamless fit. He could man the hot corner while Mark Vientos could make the transition across the diamond to first base. That would hurt the Mets' offense when considering what Arenado has done at the dish in recent years, but it would improve their defense tremendously, moving Vientos from a position he struggles at and replacing him with a 10-time Gold Glove winner.

While Arenado is far from the MVP-caliber player he was as recently as 2022, he's still a productive player who can conceivably rebound offensively surrounded by more talent. His 2.5 bWAR from this past season was just a smidge below Alonso's 2.6.

Assuming the Mets are willing to take on something similar to the $45 million that the Astros were reportedly willing to take on in the three years remaining on Arenado's contract, they would suddenly have a player worth the relatively same WAR as Alonso for a whole lot cheaper. With how desperate the Cardinals are to move Arenado's money, the Mets likely won't have to give up much at all in terms of prospect capital.

If the Mets fully close the door on an Alonso reunion, Arenado makes a whole lot of sense, especially when considering the other options available on the market. Their lack of eagerness to bring Alonso back could be the break Mozeliak had been waiting for.