Could concerns about aging cause Mets to trade Pete Alonso this summer?

In their latest mailbag, Will Sammon and Tim Britton of The Athletic addressed if the New York Mets are "growing concerned" that All-Star first baseman Pete Alonso "is not going to age well" so much so that the Mets could trade him this summer. 

"Since the start of last season (a span of 813 plate appearances), Alonso has slashed .216/.314/.492," Sammon said. "At the end of last season, one longtime National League scout from a rival team told me, 'He is going to have to either do more damage or start walking more. His trend is not great.'" 

On Tuesday, Alonso gave fans and the Mets some hope that he could soon break out of a long-term slump. However, his overall numbers across his contract campaign are alarming. After 36 games, Alonso is responsible for a .212 batting average and a .742 OPS with nine home runs and 19 RBI. 

Multiple MLB writers and reporters have suggested since this past fall that Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns won't want to sign a power-hitting first baseman who turns 30 years old this December to a long-term contract. 

Meanwhile, New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto will be 26 years old next spring and is set to become a free agent along with Alonso. The Mets are expected to heavily pursue Soto. 

"In a vacuum, I’d surmise Mets officials see the concerns regarding Alonso the same way everyone else does," Sammon continued. "But he also holds more value to the Mets than any other team, given his history with the franchise." 

Alonso has played only for the Mets since 2019 and is a beloved fan favorite despite his recent struggles. New York will enter Friday's home game versus the 22-12 Atlanta Braves at 18-18. Such up-and-down play could keep the Mets in the wild-card hunt through at least the trade deadline. 

"The team the Mets projected to be coming into the season and the team they’ve looked like to this point both point to them being a fringe contender around the deadline, somewhere around .500 and within reasonable distance of a playoff spot," Britton mentioned. "Since the new playoff format was introduced in 2022, a .500 record the day of the trade deadline has averaged being 3 3/4 games out of a playoff spot."

It seems unlikely Mets owner Steve Cohen would sign off on trading Alonso in July unless the club has, as Britton put it, "little to no chance of making the postseason this year." 

With that said, both the Mets and Alonso need the "Polar Bear" to heat up sooner rather than later so everyone involved can benefit from a relationship that currently has no guaranteed future beyond the July 30 trade deadline.