This story was excerpted from Anthony DiComo¡¯s Mets Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

NEW YORK -- At some point, the Mets are going to have to make a decision on Pete Alonso. Or perhaps Pete Alonso is going to have to make a decision on the Mets.

Since taking his current job, president of baseball operations David Stearns has offered a stock line on Alonso that typically goes something like this: ¡°We¡¯d love to bring Pete back. Pete¡¯s been a great Met. He had some enormous hits for us, and we¡¯ll see how that goes.¡±

Ask owner Steve Cohen, and the response tends to be something similar: ¡°We think he¡¯s a great Met. We¡¯re still engaged. We hope that he stays as a Met.¡±

¡°Listen, he¡¯s entitled to go out and test his market and see what it is,¡± Cohen continued earlier this month at Juan Soto¡¯s introductory press conference. ¡°And hopefully, we¡¯ll get there.¡±

Translation: the Mets would love to have Alonso back, but not necessarily at any cost.

At this juncture of the offseason, it¡¯s not as if the Mets have committed themselves elsewhere. Josh Bell leads a thin class of free-agent first basemen still available. The Mets could credibly acquire anyone from that group or the trade market, surround him with Soto and the like, and be just fine in the long run. They¡¯d certainly save a bunch of money while avoiding the risk of another long-term contract.

But Alonso is clearly the top slugger of the bunch, with an emotional attachment to Queens that runs both ways. For those reasons, Mets officials are being honest when they say they¡¯d love to have Alonso back. Of course they¡¯d love to have Alonso back ¡­ provided Alonso is willing to return at a reasonable price.

This is a negotiation that could stretch deep into the offseason, as Alonso¡¯s agent, Scott Boras, tries to find the best fit for his client. In the meantime, the Mets will stay in touch. Perhaps they¡¯ll match any offer for Alonso¡¯s services. Perhaps they won¡¯t.

In any event, it¡¯s by far the biggest unanswered question for these Mets.