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.

As discussed earlier this week in this space, there¡¯s still a plausible chance Pete Alonso returns to the Mets. Until he actually signs elsewhere, the match between player and team will always seem too snug to ignore.

But what if he doesn¡¯t? How will the Mets fill that hole?

In some ways, they won¡¯t. Since Alonso entered the league in 2019, only Aaron Judge has more home runs than Alonso. It helps, of course, that Juan Soto ranks sixth on that list and is a better overall hitter, replacing much of Alonso¡¯s production if the latter doesn¡¯t return. But Soto is an outfielder, not a first baseman, which leaves the Mets with questions on the infield.

The most obvious path to replacing Alonso there -- and one with which Mets officials are comfortable -- involves shifting Mark Vientos from third base to first. That would, in turn, open third base for a host of competitors: namely Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acu?a, but also offseason acquisitions Jared Young and Luis De Los Santos. Jeff McNeil¡¯s versatility helps, though he profiles best at this point as the starting second baseman.

It¡¯s not an ideal proposition to ask Vientos to switch to a new position just as he¡¯s establishing himself as a big league regular. But Vientos does have 84 career appearances at first between the Majors and the Minors, all of them over the past four seasons. Not all rival scouts love the idea of a position switch, considering first base is more about hands and range -- two areas in which Vientos struggles -- and would neutralize his strong throwing arm. But there¡¯s enough respect around the game for Vientos¡¯ offense that it might not matter -- similar to how Alonso has made a career as a bat-first player.

Then there is Jesse Winker, who recently returned on a one-year deal and has spoken about his comfortability at first.

¡°I definitely got more comfortable at first base two years ago,¡± Winker said, referencing his 13-game stint there while on a rehab assignment with the Brewers. ¡°Up until then, I hadn¡¯t really played it. It was definitely a position that I kind of felt like, ¡®Man, maybe I should have been playing this a long time ago to kind of have a tool in the bag, per se.¡¯¡±

Upon joining the Mets at last year¡¯s Trade Deadline, Winker discussed the idea of playing first with team officials and even took some pregame reps there. Despite never appearing in a game at the position, Winker profiles as the type of player the Mets could at least experiment with in Spring Training.

Of course, if Alonso winds up returning at the 11th hour, all of the above becomes moot. But with less than three weeks until the first official Spring Training workout, the Mets cannot operate as if an Alonso reunion is going to materialize. There¡¯s still a chance he returns, yes -- maybe even a decent one. In the meantime, the Mets are making real contingency plans to replace him at first base.

At this point, any other course of action would be imprudent.