The Mets said they wanted Pete Alonso back — what they did said something else

David Stearns told Pete Alonso’s camp at the general manager’s meetings in Las Vegas last month that the Mets were interested in re-signing the All-Star first baseman.

Almost four weeks passed after that conversation, and Stearns, the Mets president of baseball operations, still hadn’t engaged in discussions with Alonso’s agent, Scott Boras, about a new contract for the slugger.

Contact between the two sides finally occurred on Dec. 10, during the winter meetings. That was when Boras placed a courtesy phone call to team owner Steve Cohen, informing him Alonso was finalizing a five-year contract worth $155 million with the Orioles.

By the time Boras spoke to Stearns, the president of baseball operations had already received a phone call from Cohen informing him that Alonso was on the verge of a deal with the Orioles.