The New York Mets’ sole focus right now is on convincing a certain superstar outfielder to come to Queens. Juan Soto is priorities 1-1,000 this offseason, and the rest of New York’s offseason (and Steve Cohen’s budget) won’t come into focus until we know where Soto is signing and for how much.

But even if the Mets do pull off the coup of a lifetime and land Soto as their right fielder, the team’s work will be far from finished. There’s still most of a rotation to fill out, and a bullpen to be bolstered, and a high-priced slugger of their own to worry about in first baseman Pete Alonso. It’s a testament to Soto’s ability to dominate headlines that Alonso’s own free agency has flown relatively under the radar, but make no mistake: You don’t just casually replace 34 home runs in the middle of your lineup.

So, what should New York do about its first-base question? Recent reports suggest that Stearns isn’t wild about handing Alonso the long-term deal he seeks, and understandably so; right-right first basemen on the wrong side of 30 aren’t exactly the most reliable player profile. But filling the positoin through free agency isn’t all that compelling either — after Alonso, the options are pretty much Christian Walker or hoping that Paul Goldschmidt has a little bit left in the tank.

But what if Stearns could solve this problem without adding a first baseman at all? What if he got a little bit creative on the trade market instead, taking advantage of a distressed asset with an NL rival?

Could Nolan Arenado be the Mets’ Plan B if Pete Alonso leaves in free agency?

The St. Louis Cardinals are a team in transition, looking to free up as much payroll and playing time for their younger players as they can without bottoming out entirely. It sure seems like Arenado could be first on the trade block, with Katie Woo of The Athletic reporting that St. Louis is open to the idea of moving its star third baseman. A 33-year-old entering his decline with three years remaining on his nine-year, $275 million contract doesn’t hold a ton of value to a team that isn’t sure how quickly it can get back to contention.

But Arenado would hold value to a team like the Mets, who are looking to win the World Series in 2025. Obviously Arenado plays third base, not first. But it just so happens that New York’s current third baseman, Mark Vientos, is a bit stretched defensively at the hot corner. Vientos deserves credit for the strides he made with his glove in 2024, but he’s still below-average at the position, and shifting him across the diamond to first would allow New York to upgrade at third while still keeping Vientos’ impressive bat in the lineup.

Arenado represents a shorter-term investment than someone like Alonso, while bringing more upside than any other first baseman the Mets could reasonably expect to acquire. The eight-time All-Star has declined at the plate in each of the last two seasons, but he’s at worst league-average there, while remaining very much above-average with the glove. Rather than tying themselves to an aging Alonso, or trying to catch lightning in a bottle with a veteran like Goldschmidt or Carlos Santana, Arenado represents a middle path, a way to significantly upgrade the roster without taking a huge bite out of payroll for the better part of the next decade.

And given how many young, cost-controlled players New York has both in the Majors and the high Minors, Stearns could absolutely build a package that would appeal to the Cardinals as St. Louis looks to reload.