Since his debut in 2019, nobody in baseball has hit more home runs than New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso. Nobody has come close, actually. Alonso’s 130 homers outpace the second-most-prolific home run hitter, Eugenio Suarez, by 19. Alonso has 24 more homers than Aaron Judge, 32 more than Bryce Harper, 35 more than Juan Soto and 36 more than Mike Trout.

“It’s the most addicting feeling,” Alonso said. “I mean, I can’t get enough of it. I don’t know if there’s anyone that loves hitting homers more than I do.”

Never does that love manifest itself better than at the Home Run Derby, the All-Star week showcase in which Major League Baseball’s greatest home run hitters show out. As well-rounded a hitter as Alonso has become — his .268/.344/.527 line in a depressed offensive environment this season is a testament to that — the annual midsummer reminder of his longball prowess is set for another go- around Monday at Dodger Stadium on ESPN at 8 pm ET.

Winner of the last two Derbies in 2019 and 2021, Alonso is primed to make history with a third straight. Only Ken Griffey Jr. Has taken three Derby titles, and he did so in 1994, 1998 and 1999. Though Alonso, 27, has plenty of time to match Junior’s total, he’d rather go the three-peat route.

To do so will take strategy alongside skill. And in a recent interview with ESPN, Alonso peeled back the curtain on how he approaches the Derby and what it takes to win, whether you’re a seasoned big leaguer or a rookie in search of glory. Behold, only a few hours before he puts them to the test: Pete Alonso’s 10 Rules to Win a Home Run Derby.

Rule No. 1: Hydrate like crazy

Winning a home run derby starts days before the event itself, Alonso said. He makes sure to eat well and grab a few extra hours of sleep. Above all, though, he drinks water like he’s suffering from a personal drought.

The Derby’s new format, instituted in 2015, places the eight participants in a seeded bracket. Each competitor swings for three minutes, with one 45-second timeout per round. Then he receives 30 seconds of bonus time — and can earn another 30 seconds if, in the first three minutes, at least one homer travels 440-plus feet.

“People think that the Derby’s a power showcase, but I think it’s more of an endurance competition,” Alonso said. “Thing is, it’s not just the day before. It’s a couple days before for me. I always try and be the most hydrated person I can be because when you’re out here sweating, especially now in the summer, it gets to be and then you start feeling fatigued if you’re not [hydrated]. So I just want to be able for my body to bounce back, recover and be able to sustain a high energy output.”

Rule No. 2: Get moral support

For those who have the gumption to enter a home run derby, know that the backing of friends goes a long way. And when you’re Pete Alonso, your friends are Mike Piazza and Mark McGwire, the latter of whom won the 1992 Derby.

“I thought they were pretty much superheroes, and to be able to reach out to both of ’em [is amazing],” Alonso said. “Mark actually texted me the other day, and he’s pretty excited that I was gonna participate in the Derby. So it’s really amazing that for me, I have a relationship with my childhood idols.”

Rule No. 3: The opponent doesn’t matter

Alonso is the No. 2 seed in this year’s Derby, which ranked hitters based on their first-half home runs. Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber leads the field, followed by Alonso, Corey Seager, Soto, Jose Ramirez, rookie Julio Rodriguez, Alonso’s opponent, Ronald Acuna Jr. and Albert Pujols.

It would be easy, and natural, for Alonso to fear Acuna — his first-round opponent (the 7 seed, with eight home runs this season). Acuna’s prodigious power stroke and youth — he’s 24 — are the sort of combination that plays well in this event. But he is Pete Alonso, and everyone else isn’t, and that sort of self-assurance goes a long way.

“It doesn’t necessarily matter who I’m facing because I’m just out there and focusing on my job at hand, which is whatever number is set, I just need to hit one more than that,” he said. “So I don’t really pay attention to who’s doing it. I just want to hit one more than whoever I’m facing.”

Rule No. 4: Find the right pitcher

Not everybody, Alonso acknowledged, can get the best batting-practice pitcher in the world — a pitcher willing to fly in from Europe for the event. Dave Jauss, the former Mets bench coach and current pitcher in Home Run Derby X, MLB’s attempt to make the Derby an international event, turned into a temporary celebrity last year when he grooved pitch after pitch into Alonso’s nitro zone.

“He knows where it is just right,” Alonso said. “Right over the middle of the plate and right in the bread basket. As much as I have to hit ’em, the pitcher’s gotta throw ’em. It’s just as nerve-wracking for the pitcher as it is the hitter, because the pitcher has a responsibility to throw the ball over the dish. When you have 40, 50,000 people with their eyes on you and breathing down your neck, so to speak, it can be difficult.”

Rule No. 5: Know your zone

In timed derbies, it’s not only imperative for a pitcher to find the hitter’s sweet spot but for the participant not to swing at substandard pitches. Remember, a pitcher must wait until a flyball lands to throw the next offering. High flies that fall short of the fence are killers.

“Basically I’m just looking for a pitch in my area,” Alonso said. “I have an area I’m looking for the ball to be in. So that’s gonna be my go-zone. Pretty much my entire load is trying to see the ball in my area. And then, once I finally get into that loaded position, if I like what I see, you should see my hips, my core, my legs rotating back and through the baseball.”

Rule No. 6: Stick to your swing

For all the consternation over whether the Derby can ruin a player’s swing — plenty of evidence shows that participants’ offensive numbers decline after the break … and plenty of examples exist of players’ offense improving — Alonso rendered the point moot by trying to replicate his in-game swing in the exhibition.

“When I take batting practice, I try and take game-like swings,” Alonso said. “I want to be quick and concise to the baseball but also adding that similar effort level. Because I want to practice in a similar tempo [as] the way that I play.

“The swing is almost like a fingerprint, where every single baseball player is different. In baseball, there’s a lot of comparisons. No one’s the same. People can be strikingly similar. But I think that the swing is one of those things — it’s almost like a baseball player’s thumbprint.”

Rule No. 7: Use your timeouts smartly

A well-timed timeout can be the saving grace for a player’s chances at the $1 million first-place Derby prize. Participants can use it for any number of reasons — he’s off to a bad start and wants to change his juju, he needs to calculate the pace he needs to hit to surpass an opponent or, typically, he’s simply tired.

“I know it sounds like a super simple answer,” Alonso said, “but when I’ve taken time out, it’s like, OK, I need to take a breath. I need to reset. Or like last year: I went past As soon as the groove ended, it’s like, OK, let’s take a time out here, catch our breath and then cross the finish line. So I think timing the breaks correctly is huge “

Rule No. 8: Let your emotions out

Trying to calibrate all of the feelings a derby brings still challenges Alonso. He doesn’t have any special technique to calm the nerves. So he embraces all of them — and, in the process, likens himself to a carbonated beverage.

“There’s excitement,” Alonso said. “There’s doubt. There’s antsiness. There’s reservedness. It’s just like a whole soda bottle of emotions. And then when you go out there and hit, by the time you shake it up and let the top off, it’s just this release of emotions. And that’s when, for me, when I’m in my groove, it just naturally comes out.”

Rule No. 9: Hit tanks

Look, home run derbies are not for the meek. It takes a special sort of confidence to step into a batter’s box and whack a ball over the fence. But come on. The fence is merely an arbitrary measure of distance. As memorable as homers in bunches may be, the truly legendary performances come from the guys who hit the ball the farthest.

Alonso embraces this ethos. In the finals last year against Baltimore’s Trey Mancini, Alonso’s first swing brought his longest homer of the Derby: 509 feet. Later that round, on the cusp of clinching the victory, he destroyed another ball: 115 mph off the bat, 508 feet before it landed. His 74 home runs in the event traveled a total of 6.35 miles — an average of 453 feet per homer.

Dodger Stadium presents a particularly appetizing opportunity for Alonso. Six times in history has a batter hit a ball over the outfield pavilion and clear out of the stadium: Willie Stargell twice, Piazza, McGwire, Giancarlo Stanton — who nearly participated in this year’s Derby but pulled out this week — and Fernando Tatis jr. Alonso, a believer in the idea that the league uses extra-springy balls for the Derby, wants to be the seventh.

“People tell me all the time that with the Derby balls and the environment that I’d probably be able to put one in the parking lot,” Alonso said. “So I think that’d be fun. Hit one actually outta the stadium.”

Rule No. 10: Have a blast

Perhaps this one is obvious. The Home Run Derby is an inherently fun event, and regardless of the conflicting emotions, the out-of-your-control variables, the perils of hydration, it should be a good time. Relish the long ones. Be thankful for the fence-scrapers. Laugh at the bad swings. And, above all, enjoy it.

“I’m there to win,” Alonso said. “I’m doing it to win, and it’d be great, but ultimately I’m gonna be having a wonderful time. I’m gonna be able to help support some people in need. It’s gonna be a blast.”

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The Mets will have one less player in the All-Star Game.

Starling Marte was replaced by the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman on the National League roster. There was no immediate reason given as to why Marte, who will be inactive, withdrew.

Marte had been nursing a groin injury last week after exiting the Mets’ win over the Marlins on July 9. He underwent imaging after the game and was considered day-to-day, missing the Mets’ next four games. He returned on Thursday and played all four games of the team’s series with the Cubs in Chicago, going 2-for-4 at the plate and stealing home in the Mets’ 3-2 loss on Sunday.

The first-year Met put together a strong first half in earning his second-career nod to the Midsummer Classic, slashing .292/.343/.458 with nine home runs, 41 RBIs and 11 stolen bases.

Marte’s withdrawal opens the door for Freeman to play in his home ballpark, becoming the sixth Dodger named to the game. He joins Clayton Kershaw, Tony Gonsolin, Tyler Anderson, Trea Turner and Mookie Betts.

In his first year in Los Angeles, Freeman is hitting .321/.397/.530 ​​with 13 home runs and 59 RBIs. His 114 hits lead MLB. It will be his sixth All-Star Game appearance.

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LOS ANGELES — Both the Yankees and Mets will look into a trade for suddenly available superstar Juan Soto, sources tell The Post. That should surprise no one as his availability represents a rare chance to acquire an all-time talent at age 23.

That said, the early speculation around the game is that it won’t be easy for anyone to complete a megadeal like this by the Aug. 2 trade deadline since this is a generational type talent. Contending teams won’t want to surrender major league talent while they are in races and non-contenders won’t get value this year, only the following two years before he is due to become a free agent.

It may be especially hard for the Mets, as the Nats presumably wouldn’t want to see him in their division the next 2 ½ years. (Josh Bell and Nelson Cruz are a different story as impending free agents.)

“It’s going to be like Kevin Durant,” says one top decision-maker with a rival team, alluding to the NBA great who seems hard for the Nets to trade due to the difficulty of acquiring equal value for a monster talent.

Early unconfirmed speculation is that the Nats would request a team’s top four prospects and/or young major leaguers and perhaps a willingness to take Patrick Corbin’s bloated contract. With this kind of player, almost anything in the ask should be considered fair game.

Soto could help anyone as arguably the game’s top hitter, and since he has 2 ½ years to go before free agency, it’s possible that could open up the field a bit. However, teams have to assume it would be difficult to lock him up before free agency.

Soto declined the Nats’ $440 million, 15-year offer, as it represented a $29.3M average salary, which was rebuffed because it is below some other mega-stars and way below the target Max Scherzer’s record $43.3M Mets deal. (Nats people maintain Scherzer isn’t a fair comp because it’s a three-year deal). In any case, the early read is folks aren’t anywhere near shocked Soto would rebuff that offer even though it represents a record for total dollars.

Here’s a very early assessment of the likely hopefuls (with odds):

1. Rangers: Texas showed it’s one of the big players when it spent a half of a billion dollars on the double-play combo of Corey Seager and Marcus Semien this winter. Could the Rangers go for another $500M? odds: 10-1

2. Dodgers: They have been in on all the best players in recent years, and gotten some of them. The lineup is already considered an all-timer, but could you imagine Soto joining Trea Turner, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman? They obviously have a lot of money and the prospect capital, but will soon need to figure out shortstop as Turner is a free agent. odds: 12-1

3. Padres: GM AJ Preller nearly signed Soto as an amateur and surely would like another crack at him. While they are reluctant to trade Fernando Tatis, they do have a few top prospects. But there is one big issue. “They don’t have the money,” one rival exec said. Of course, nobody thought they had the money for Manny Machado, or before that even Eric Hosmer. Give them credit for amazing effort. Odds: 15-1.

4. Yankees: They do want to keep Aaron Judge, who they love (even if he wasn’t thrilled with how their own negotiations went) and under normal circumstances a Soto acquisition might make things a bit uncomfortable (though Judge is a pro who would welcome him) . Soto, like Judge, would be a tremendous fit at Yankee Stadium. They’d have to be willing to package some combo of Jasson Dominguez, Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza after looking reluctant to trade any of them in early deadline talk. odds: 20-1

5. Mets: The Mets have the money, of course, but they are reluctant to surrender top prospects, they wouldn’t want to give up big leaguers while in first place and they would be a very unpopular trading partner in DC Odds: 30-1.

6. Red Sox: While the Red Sox seemed to have reluctant to sign monster free-agent contracts, they have several key free agents and a lot of money potentially coming off the books (JD Martinez, Xander Bogaerts and Nate Eovaldi are among many free agents). Odds: 40-1.

7. Giants: They tried previously for Bryce Harper and Giancarlo Stanton (Harper wound up choosing the Phillies, and Stanton had a full no-trade and accepted the Yankees after rebuffing the Cardinals, too). They have some pretty prospects, but perhaps not quite enough of them. Odds: 50-1.

8. Cubs: They have the revenues and presumably a lot of money left, but they are not in the race and seem reluctant to go big. Odds: 100-1.

9. The field: Did anyone see the Twins signing Carlos Correa? You never know in these cases. Odds: 8-1.

10. Nats: There’s a decent chance he winds up staying. He’d still carry tremendous value in the winter, and more teams may be in play. Odds: Even money.

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LOS ANGELES — Shea Langeliers is headed to the Hall of Fame, even before his big league debut.

A 24-year-old catching prospect, Langeliers was voted MVP of the All-Star Futures Game on Saturday after homering and throwing out a runner trying to steal third base in the American League’s 6-4 victory.

His Victus Pro Reserved DT29 maple bat, size 34-32, is headed to Cooperstown.

“It’s crazy, I came into today just excited to be here,” Langeliers said.

New York Yankees prospect Jasson Dominguez and Minnesota’s Matt Wallner hit two-run homers in the third inning off San Francisco’s Kyle Harrison, who took the loss.

Dominguez, at 19 the youngest AL prospect at the game, tied the score 3-3 with his 415-foot drive on a slider at the letters. Wallner homered three batters later on hanging sinker for a 5-3 lead, a 115.3 mph drive hit harder than any home run by the major league Twins this year.

“In an ideal world, that’s what I would have done,” Wallner said.

Langeliers, the oldest player on either team, added a solo homer in the fourth on a hanging changeup from Atlanta’s Jared Shuster. Langeliers caught Shuster last year at Double-A Mississippi, before Oakland acquired Langeliers in the March trade that sent first baseman Matt Olson to Atlanta.

“I know how good he is,” Langeliers said. “He made my job really easy catching last year. It was cool being on the other side of it.”

He threw out Corbin Carroll, the No. 3 overall prospect, trying to steal third.

What was more satisfying?

“Throwing the runner out, for sure,” Langeliers said.

The Futures Game attracts top prospects. Julio Rodriguez played in last year’s game and is the youngest All-Star this year at 21, also picked for Monday night’s Home Run Derby.

Jack Leiter, last of former major league pitcher Al Leiter, threw a 1-2-3 fourth. Selected second overall by Texas in last year’s draft, Leiter reached 97.5 mph.

Darren Baker, son of Houston manager Dusty Baker, entered in the fifth and hit a liner that Chicago White Sox center fielder Oscar Colas grabbed with a tumbling catch.

Toronto’s Yosver Zulueta faced one batter and got the win, retiring the Mets’ Francisco Alvarez on a grounder that ended the third.

The teams played at Dodger Stadium, three days before the All-Star Game is held at the park.

Milwaukee’s Joey Wiemer hit a ninth-inning sacrifice fly that Oakland’s Denzel Clarke caught against the eight-field wall. The Yankees’ Ken Waldichuk got the save by retiring the Brewers’ Jackson Chourio on a flyout.

Players, excited to be in a big league ballpark, watched while hanging over the dugout railings. Agent Scott Boras and his staff filled the first row a section behind home plate.

Dodgers right-hander Bobby Miller struck out three in the first: Dominguez on a changeup, Anthony Volpe on a curveball and Wallner on a changeup.

Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn made a 100.5 mph to first to throw out Houston’s Yainer Diaz in the second inning, faster than any throw in a big league game since Statcast started in 2015. The big league high is 97.8 mph by Pittsburgh’s Oneil Cruz on Thursday.

Texas prospect Dustin Harris had an RBI single in the first off Miller, but the NL built a 3-1 lead in the second after the Dodgers’ Diego Cartaya hit a two-out fly to the center field warning track was dropped by Dominguez on the warning track for a two-run error. San Diego’s Robert Hassell III followed with an RBI single that chased Hunter Brown.

Dominguez, who learned Thursday he is being promoted from Tampa to Hudson Valley, was relieved when he homered.

“My mind said: Everybody forget this error,” he said.

WEB GEM

Cleveland’s George Valera ran into deep left to rob Hassell of a run-scoring extra-base hit in the first.

THWACK

Tony, Olivier and Emmy Award winner Bryan Cranston took a line drive to a shoulder off the bat of Grammy Award winner Anthony Ramos during batting practice before the celebrity softball game.

“It’s definitely going to bruise,” Cranston said after recovering in his trailer. “I might be more of a cheerleader in this game.”

Actor Simu Liu on his softball ability: “I’m all athleticism, zero technique.”

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CHICAGO — Jacob deGrom’s fastball is popping at or near triple digits on the radar gun, and his secondary pitches are crisp. Another tune up awaits him next week, and then it could be go time at Citi Field for the Mets ace.

“He’s getting there,” Mets pitching coach Jeremy Hefner said Friday, a day after deGrom fired four innings and allowed an unearned run for Triple-A Syracuse against Jacksonville. “Now it’s just about building up. He’s got the command, his stuff is coming out well and crispness and the offspeed pitches. It’s all there. Now we just have to make sure he’s built up properly.”

DeGrom was removed after 42 pitches in his latest outing, having completed four innings for the first time. With the minor leagues dark during the All-Star break, the Mets are planning a simulated game for deGrom that would stretch him to about 60 pitches before he would be considered for the major league rotation.

The right-hander, rehabbing most recently from a stress reaction on his right scapula, last pitched for the Mets in the regular season on July 7, 2021.

Hefner was asked if he has seen any red flags during deGrom’s three rehab starts.

“There’s little things that go on with all pitchers, even guys that are healthy and on the team, like little mechanical stuff that you work on,” Hefner said. “Outside the normal tune ups there hasn’t been anything. We still have to take it day by day and see how he is feeling.”

As for the possibility deGrom will return during the homestand following the All-Star break — team officials have discussed July 24 (against San Diego) and July 26 (Subway Series) as possibilities — Hefner doesn’t yet want to look that far ahead.

“It just depends on how he feels,” Hefner said. “It’s just one of those things where he could get another rehab start in Triple-A or Double-A or something and then five days later or six days later that could be the day [with the Mets]”

The Mets already have a formidable rotation, which includes Max Scherzer, Taijuan Walker, Chris Bassitt, Carlos Carrasco and David Peterson. The Mets began Friday ranked ninth in MLB with a 3.79 ERA from starting pitchers. In July, that unit has pitched to a 2.55 ERA.

DeGrom’s looming return will only bolster Hefner’s confidence in the rotation.

“You are adding one of the greatest pitchers of all-time to your team,” Hefner said of the two-time Cy Young award winner. “We are going to be excited and I think it’s a credit to kind of what we have built here over the last couple of years, what [Peterson] has been able to do and Trevor [Williams]and ultimately it’s a credit to them and the hard work they have put in to go out and put their best foot forward.

“We are going to need those guys, regardless of Jake or anyone else. You have to have 20 pitchers to win a championship and not all 20 of them are going to be on the roster at the same time, but they are just as valuable. They bring different things.”

Hefner said he hasn’t been surprised by anything he has seen from his starters to this point.

“These guys have pretty substantial track records of being consistent major league starters,” he said. “Not necessarily dominant every time out, but consistent and I think that is what we have done. We don’t get blown out. By and large we have been in almost every game and give our offense a chance to put up some runs and I think that has been part of our success and the bullpen has been great.”

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CHICAGO — Jacob deGrom extended to pitch four innings Thursday night, perhaps the last action he will see in a minor league uniform before rejoining the Mets.

The ace right-hander allowed an unearned run over four innings and 42 pitches for Triple-A Syracuse against Jacksonville. DeGrom hit 100 mph on the radar gun three times, finishing with two hits allowed and one walk with four strikeouts.

“I felt a little out of whack the first couple of innings, but then I made an adjustment,” deGrom told reporters in Syracuse. “I wasn’t locating my fastball quite like I wanted to early on, but over the last couple of innings felt a lot better.”

DeGrom’s previous two rehab starts in his comeback from a stress reaction on his right scapula came for Single-A St. Lucie. He last pitched in a regular-season game for the Mets on July 7, 2021.

Mets officials tentatively plan to have deGrom pitch in a simulated game next week (the minor league affiliates are dark during the All-Star break) and could insert him into the rotation thereafter. If deGrom remains on schedule, he would likely pitch July 24 against the Padres or two days later in the Subway Series. Mets officials have not ruled out the idea of ​​an additional minor league rehab start for deGrom if they feel it’s warranted.

DeGrom said “trusting the process” has been an important part of his rehab.

“It was pretty thorough in reaching different thresholds of throwing before I even stepped on the mound,” deGrom said. “Everything was on a radar gun as far as each day you are going to throw this hard and no harder than that. So it was very thorough and step by step. I had to trust the process and try not to do too much, because if I did it again, I was out for the rest of this year.”

DeGrom’s night included the Mets’ top prospect, catcher Francisco Alvarez, receiving his pitches.

“He did a good job,” deGrom said. “He came up to me before the game, asked kind of what I wanted to do and was a nice target.”

Taijuan Walker spent Wednesday night at Marcus Stroman’s home. Among the topics was their scheduled pitching matchup on Friday. The right-handers were teammates with the Mets last season.

“It would be more fun if we were hitting so we could hit against each other,” Walker said. “But it will be a fun little matchup: See who can go out there and go further and have a better stat line.”

Stroman received a three-year contract worth $71 million from the Cubs after the Mets didn’t make a serious offer to retain him. Stroman pitched to a 3.02 ERA in 33 starts last season and became the staff ace after deGrom was sidelined.

Will Stroman have a chip on his shoulder facing the Mets?

“I feel like he always pitches with a chip on his shoulder, which makes him good, which makes him who he is,” Walker said. “It drives him and he’s so competitive and whether it’s us or anybody else.”

Stroman has pitched to a 4.91 ERA in 10 starts for the Cubs this season. He spent more than a month on the injured list with a shoulder injury, returning last weekend against the Dodgers to pitch four scoreless innings.

Trevor May is scheduled to begin facing hitters on Sunday in Port St. Lucie in his rehab from a stress reaction in his right triceps.

Ender Inciarte was designated for assignment to clear space for Jeff McNeil’s return from the injured list.

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New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom pitched four innings Thursday for Triple-A Syracuse in his third rehab start, striking out four and allowing two hits and an unearned run against Jacksonville, the Miami Marlins’ Triple-A affiliate.

DeGrom threw 42 pitches, 29 for strikes.

“I feel good,” deGrom said after leaving the game. “Felt a little out of whack the first two innings and I tried to make a little bit of an adjustment. I wasn’t locating my fastball quite like I wanted to early on but then the last couple of innings felt a lot better.”

DeGrom’s catcher in the game was Francisco Alvarez, the top prospect in the Mets’ system and one of the top prospects in Major League Baseball.

“He did a good job. He came up to me before the game and asked what I wanted to do and was a nice target back there,” deGrom said.

DeGrom’s first two rehab starts were for Single-A St. Lucie. In his three rehab starts he has 15 strikeouts in 8⅔ innings and has hit 100 mph on the radar gun in all three starts.

The two-time Cy Young Award winner has been sidelined all season with a stress reaction in his right scapula that caused inflammation but appears to be on track to return to the major leagues by late July.

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Donovan Mitchell has popped up this year at Rangers playoff games and at Citi Field to take batting practice with the Mets.

Even before a potential trade to the Knicks comes to fruition, the three-time NBA All-Star guard is already being honored this weekend with his first New York-based bobblehead giveaway.

Mitchell, a Westchester County product whose father, Donovan Sr., is the Mets’ senior director of player relations, will be throwing out the first pitch Saturday before the Brooklyn Cyclones’ game in Coney Island. The first 2,000 fans in attendance also will receive a Mitchell bobblehead, according to the Single-A affiliate.

Might a similar promotional giveaway by the Knicks be in his future? It was revealed earlier this week that the Jazz are listening to offers for the 25year-old Mitchell, and The Athletic reported the Knicks have emerged as a “focused destination.”

The Knicks control 11 first-round picks over the next seven years, so perhaps they could avoid including RJ Barrett in any deal by attaching several picks, with one or two prospects out of a group including Quentin Grimes, Obi Toppin, Immanuel Quickley, Cam Reddish, Miles McBride and Jericho Sims.

Utah acquired four first-round draft picks, one pick swap and multiple players in trading All-Star center Rudy Gobert to the Timberwolves earlier this month.

Mitchell has performed well on most of his visits to the Garden during his five seasons with the Jazz, including a 36-point performance to lead Utah to a 108-93 victory in March. He has played five games at the Garden during his NBA career, averaging 25.2 points and 5.2 assists per game while shooting 47.1 percent from the floor and 40.9 from 3-point range.

“It’s fun, just seeing friends and family, being able to do that, but also understanding that we have a job to do,” Mitchell said after the March game. “I think that’s what our focus was all day, understanding that if we can put ourselves in the right position for the playoffs, keeping the main thing the main thing regardless of what’s around.”

Mitchell’s former Louisville coach, Rick Pitino, who also coached the Knicks from 1987-89, praised Mitchell via Twitter on Thursday.

“Everyone asking me to weigh in on Donovan Mitchell trade rumors — all I can say is he’s all about winning and improving,” the current Iona coach tweeted. “Tremendous work ethic and is a 10 star person on a 5 star scale.”

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Gunning for history, back-to-back champion Pete Alonso will start his pursuit of a third title as the No. 2 seed in the 2022 Home Run Derby on Monday night at Dodgers Stadium.

The New York Mets star will face No. 7 seeds Ronald Acuna Jr. in a rematch from their tilt in the second round of the 2019 Home Run Derby. Alonso hit a buzzer-beating homer to eliminate Acuna en route to the first of his Derby wins.

Alonso, who has hit 23 homers this season and leads the National League with 72 RBIs, is just the third player in history to have won back-to-back Derby titles. A third win would tie him with Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. for the most ever.

National League home run leader Kyle Schwarber is the top seed at the event and will face off against future Hall of Famer and No. 8 seeds Albert Pujols.

Schwarber, who has hit 28 homers this season, is making his second appearance in the Derby. He came in second to now-teammate Bryce Harper in 2018.

A Derby veteran, Pujols is participating in his fifth event, although he’s only ever reached the finals once. Pujols is fifth in MLB history with 684 homers and has hit six so far this season in his return to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Former Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager comes in as the No. 3 seed and will face Seattle Mariners rookie and No. 7 seed Julio Rodriguez.

Seager, who has bashed 21 home runs this season for the Texas Rangers, is participating in his first Derby since his rookie year in 2016. Rodriguez, who has hit 15 homers during his sterling rookie campaign, will try to join Alonso and Aaron Judge as the only rookies to outright win the Derby.

Finally, Cleveland Guardians star Jose Ramirez will be making his long-awaited Derby debut as the No. 5 seeds against No. 4 seeds Juan Soto.

Soto is coming off a Derby debut in 2021 that saw him upset No. 1 seed Shohei Ohtani in a matchup that came down to a swing-off. He also hit the longest home run ever recorded at the Derby, a 520-foot shot. Ramirez is in the midst of another stellar season; he’s hit 17 homers and leads the American League with 68 RBIs.

Each battery will have three minutes in the first two rounds to hit more home runs than their opponent before a two-minute final round. The winner will get $1 million of $2.5 million in prize money, the losing finalist will collect $500,000 and the six other participants will earn $150,000 apiece. The player with the longest home run will get an extra $100,000.

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<p>The post Back-to-back champ Pete Alonso to open 2022 MLB Home Run Derby with Ronald Acuna Jr. rematch first appeared on harchi90.</p>