Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns also said, "We also feel really good about the young players that are coming through our system that have the ability to play."

As long as Alonso remains a free agent, a path back to the Mets remains possible — even with Steve Cohen throwing cold water on the state of negotiations — but in the meantime Vientos and Baty are trying to make themselves in-house options to step into Polar Bear-sized shoes at first base.