Maybe Pete Alonso will be trading “LFGM” for “Go Cubs Go.”
Longtime Chicago baseball reporter Bruce Levine reported the Cubs will be all-in with their attempt to acquire Alonso from the Mets this offseason.
“The mumbling out there is the Cubs are going to do everything they can to trade for Pete Alonso from the Mets,” Levine said during an appearance on “Hit & Run with Matt Spiegel” on Monday.
“Alonso, in the last year of a contract, obviously 46 home runs, 100 RBIs, a guy that pounds the ball. Sure, he strikes out but who doesn’t these days?”
Of course, it takes two to tango.
And the Mets would have to be open to trading Alonso.
New Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said Monday during his introductory press conference he expects Alonso to be the Mets’ 2024 Opening Day first baseman.
It should be noted that “expect” is not a surefire guarantee.
“I expect Pete to be the Opening Day first baseman next year,” Stearns said. “Pete’s an important member of this team. He’s an important member of this organization. And I think we’re really fortunate to have him.”
Alonso’s status with the Mets will be a major storyline with the team unless the sides come to an agreement on a long-term deal.
If Stearns and Steve Cohen decide they don’t want to extend the 28-year-old – who will be 29 in December – then a trade makes sense.
And the Cubs could make sense as a partner after they missed the playoffs by one game.
The Cubs actually finished with the sixth-most runs in baseball, but Alonso would provide them with a solidified slugger to either complement or replace impending free agent Cody Bellinger.
“(Alonso) one year away from being a free agent, much like Bellinger was, and the only difference is that you’re going to have to trade something really good for him, even though there’s only one year left and the Mets and him have not come to a meeting of the minds about a long-term deal,” Levine said.
“Alonso is that middle-of-the-order type hitter to go along with Bellinger. We’re stretching it in this conversation on Oct. 2 thinking they are going to get both of them, but that would be their plan going into the offseason. A slugger like Alonso, a great piece like Bellinger.
“I don’t think their plan is to go backwards.”
Levine noted that Bellinger spoke after the Cubs’ final game against the Brewers in a tone that indicated he will be leaving the Cubs on a mega-contract.
Whether Bellinger returns could shape the Cubs’ plans regarding a potential pursuit of Alonso.
Said Levine: “You hear everything in his voice is past tense and that was resonating right away as he was talking about taking it all in, was, everything was about the fact there’s a likelihood he won’t be back on the northside of Chicago.”
On the Mets’ side, what Stearns decides to do with Alonso could be a defining early move of his tenure.
“I think the entire package weighs into it,” Stearns said of deciding on Alonso’s future. “Pete is a great player. He is also good in the clubhouse, and he is also homegrown. All of that matters.”
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