Now that Grimace has helped save the season for the New York Mets, he may also have played a role in Pete Alonso finishing the year in Queens.

Per USA Today's Bob Nightengale, rival teams that have shown interest in Alonso are "convinced" the Mets will keep their star first baseman through the trade deadline if they are within five games of a wild card spot in the NL.

After a 4-2 loss to the Miami Marlins on June 11 dropped their record to 28-37, the Mets seemed like a definite seller leading up to the trade deadline.

Since on June 12, which was the day Grimace threw out the first pitch at Citi Field, the Mets have won 12 of 14 games. Their 7-2 victory over the Houston Astros on Saturday moved them over the .500 mark (40-39) for the first time since May 2.

The Mets are currently one game behind the St. Louis Cardinals for the NL's final playoff spot. They are 5.5 games back of the Atlanta Braves for the first wild-card spot.

One thing working to the Mets' advantage is the overall mediocrity of the National League. The Chicago Cubs entered Sunday with the third-worst record in the Senior Circuit (39-45), but they are only four games out of a playoff spot.

It would take a lot of bad luck to push the Mets down to the point where they are more than five games out of the third wild-card position. They were only 3.5 games back when they were 28-37.

Alonso is set to become a free agent after the season. The two-time All-Star is hitting .241/.326/.472 with 17 homers and 44 RBI in 79 games.

After the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers, there don't appear to be any other dominant teams in the NL. The 2023 Arizona Diamondbacks showed it's possible to make a run to the World Series on the heels of a mediocre regular season.