The Mets’ Jesse Winker reacts after hitting a solo home...

The Mets’ Jesse Winker reacts after hitting a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth inning  in Game 3 of the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field on Oct. 8, 2024. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.

Jesse Winker’s bearded face showed up in the Mets’ Zoom room on Wednesday as he was welcomed back to the club after agreeing to a one-year, $7.5 million contract last week.

There was an elephant in the room, too. Or, rather, a Polar Bear.

Pete Alonso’s name was never mentioned during the short Q&A portion, but Winker was asked about his willingness and ability to play first base as the Mets plan to open the season without Alonso, who remains a free agent with less than three weeks to go before spring training.

“Yeah, I'm definitely comfortable [at first],” said Winker, who has not played the position in the majors but did two years ago with Milwaukee during a minor-league rehab assignment. “Like I said, whatever's asked of me, I'll be ready and I'll put my best foot forward and give it everything I have. I definitely got more comfortable at first base two years ago. Up until then, I hadn't really played it, but it was definitely a position that I kind of felt like, ‘Man, maybe I should have been playing this a long time ago to at least kind of have it like as a tool in the bag.’ ”

Winker said playing first came up “a little bit last year” after he joined the Mets in a July 28 trade.

“I think I may have even taken ground balls there,” he said. “At some point. I forget where we were — maybe Arizona— just kind of like showing that I could, like, work there.”

The Mets say privately that they are moving on to a post-Alonso plan for 2025. Until he actually signs with another team, the Mets always have the chance to revisit that position and bring the slugger back to the only organization he has ever known.

Should they? That depends on whether you believe Alonso, at 30, is not worthy of a multiyear contract.

It depends on whether you believe the current roster is enough to overcome the loss of Alonso’s power, with Mark Vientos and maybe Winker and who knows who else playing first base and Brett Baty or Luisangel Acuna and Ronny Mauricio in some combination replacing Vientos at third.

It depends on whether you think the Mets as currently constituted have closed the gap in the division on Philadelphia and Atlanta, and in the National League on the Dodgers.

There was a joke going around that the Dodgers were considering signing Alonso as Freddie Freeman’s backup at first base. Or with the Dodgers signing everyone in creation, was it a joke?

Third baseman Alex Bregman is still a free agent, but there has been no chatter that the Mets are interested in the two-time All-Star. Both Bregman and Alonso are Scott Boras clients, and the way it looks at this moment, both will have to swallow their pride and take scaled-down, short-term offers just to have a place to play in 2025.

Some Boras clients always fall through the cracks every offseason and have to scramble as spring training approaches. Last year it was Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery.

But when you also sign one of your clients (a Mr. Juan Soto) for a guaranteed $765 million, it all evens out, right? Bregman and Alonso may not feel that way. But that’s not the Mets’ problem.

The Mets have the right to build their team any way they want. If that means Winker does more than take ground balls at first and manager Carlos Mendoza gets creative with the corner infield positions, so be it.

But it still seems short-sighted to all of a sudden get budget conscious when it comes to Alonso, who has earned every bit of the love Mets fans shower on him, and is still a pretty darn good player.

It was revealed on Wednesday that Winker will be one of the attendees at Saturday’s “Amazin’ Day” fanfest at Citi Field.

We wrote here last week that Alonso still being out there would likely be a partial buzzkill at the event, which is sold out except for $950 VIP tickets.

Owner Steve Cohen said he is going to be there, too. With the Mets and their fans still riding a wave of jubilation after last season’s incredible playoff run and the historic signing of Soto to his astronomical contract, maybe having Winker instead of Alonso to sign autographs and pose for selfies will be enough to satisfy the masses and avoid any uncomfortable exchanges.

But Mets fans are known to speak their minds. Cohen enjoys the back and forth. It could be interesting.

Maybe Cohen will turn into a Steinbrenner-like showman and trot out a newly signed Alonso at “Amazin’ Day.”

That would be truly Amazin’.

Amazin' Lineup

The Mets on Wednesday announced the lineup for Saturday's "Amazin' Day" fanfest at Citi Field, with more names to follow.

Among the current players expected to attend are Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, Mark Vientos, Brett Baty, David Peterson, Francisco Alvarez, Edwin Diaz, Jesse Winker, Frankie Montas and Clay Holmes, plus manager Carlos Mendoza.

Also expected to attend: Former players Mike Piazza and Mookie Wilson and former Mets managers Bobby Valentine and Terry Collins.

The event — the first fanfest the Mets have held since 2020 and the first under Steve Cohen's ownership — is scheduled to run from 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m.

General admission tickets are sold out. VIP tickets are available for $950 each.

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