Mariners have perfect opportunity to capitalize on Mets-Pete Alonso drama

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before, but the Seattle Mariners need some quality infield help. The one exception is at shortstop, where J.P. Crawford will be aiming to bounce back from last season and look more like the player who had a career year in 2023.

The Mariners have signed Donovan Solano and traded for Miles Mastrobuoni, but they are more of the platoon/depth-type variety as opposed to being able to man a specific infield position on a full time basis. Additionally, Solano is now 37, while Mastrobuoni has limited experience at the Major League level.

Of course the biggest issue in all of this, is that Jerry Dipoto, Justin Hollander and the front office have been hamstrung to a certain degree with money provided by ownership. This is particularly frustrating for everyone concerned, considering this is a club with a rotation that is arguably the best in the Majors, but also has a limited window to take full advantage.

It’s often stated that you need to spend money to make money, but is Mariners ownership prepared to change their mindset and take that gamble? Certainly if they were ever going to, now is a prime time to do so, when you consider someone of the quality of Alex Bregman is still available.

Pete Alonso to Seattle would change perception of the Mariners

Another enticing option is Pete Alonso, who was previously expected to re-sign in New York but was apparently low-balled with a three-year, $70 million offer as negotiations fell apart this week. In fact the Mets now apparently expect that the four-time All-Star will not return to them, at least according to a report from SNY‘s Andy Martino.

As per The Athletic‘s Will Sammon and Ken Rosenthal (subscription required), the Toronto Blue Jays have had discussions with Alonso’s camp, with another unnamed team apparently also in the mix. Whether that other team is the Mariners or not — and we would predict it isn’t at this juncture — they need to be involved.

Now yes, as previously noted, there would be a gamble in acquiring Alonso. If he’s turning down three years and $70 million from the only team he has ever known and enjoyed playing for (most of the time), then what would it take for the Mariners to convince him to sign in Seattle?

Should Mariners be worried about Pete Alonso’s decline?

Let’s also be clear in noting the 30-year-old has been providing diminishing returns over the past few seasons. Not that the Mariners would have an issue with the 34 home runs and 88 RBI that he produced last year, but these are the lowest he has ever recorded in a full 162-game season since bursting onto the Major League scene as a rookie in 2019 (he also had a career-low .788 OPS in 2024).

Add in the reality that T-Mobile Park is the least hitter-friendly environment in baseball, and there has to be a genuine concern about how this would impact Alonso over the course of a full season in Seattle. As a final note of warning, consider that the first baseman has never been renowned for his defensive prowess.

Regardless, this is still a potential union which can benefit both sides, by coming to an agreeable compromise contractually. For example, Alonso is now more amenable to a shorter-term deal as long as it has opt-outs, which could in turn entice a Mariners ownership group not wanting to commit significant money over the long-term.

Going down this route would also help the Mariners, knowing they will have a a supremely motivated player looking to recapture his previous form and convince a team to offer him a more lucrative multi-year deal in the future. Even if it only ended up being one-year in Seattle, something similar to the 2022 version of Alonso, i.e. 40 home runs and a career-high 131 RBI, automatically makes the M’s a genuine World Series contender when combined with their stellar rotation.

Ultimately, we don’t believe such a union is going to take place, with the 2016 second-round draft pick ending up somewhere like the more hitter-friendly surroundings in Toronto (if he is indeed done with the Mets). However, if there was ever a time to quite happily be proven wrong, then this is it.