The Baltimore Orioles are expected to have their hands full with one of their own free agents, but have now been linked with another top player.
A former 50-home run hitter, Pete Alonso of the New York Mets, is going to become a free agent after this season. The Orioles were recently linked to him by MLB insider Jon Heyman of New York Post as a team that could potentially go after the slugger.
While Alonso hasn’t been exactly the same monster at the plate this year that he has been in others, the difference might not be as stark as one might think.
“In an alleged ‘off’ year, he has [34] homers and his [128] OPS plus is actually higher than 2023 following recent mechanical adjustments,” said Heyman. “The Mets reasonably tried $158M last year, but he can probably beat that. One rival predicts $185M.”
Alonso broke into baseball as a 24-year-old rookie that led the league with 53 home runs. He ran away with the rookie of the year award and was an MVP candidate.
While he hasn’t lived up to be that level of player since, he’s still been extremely valuable. He has eclipsed 40 home runs in three of his five season (not counting the shortened 2020 season). He then really made a name for himself as a star of the Home Run Derby for a couple of years.
The 29-year-old’s season has been the worst of his career, which usually doesn’t bode well for a guy looking for his first big money contract.
Locking in someone turning 30 at his desired ~$25 million salary is a tough ask for a front office. Still, if a team needed a bat badly enough, it wouldn’t be shocking to see that happen.
The contract that the San Francisco Giants gave Matt Chapman a few weeks ago, a six-year deal worth $151 million, makes things interesting for a lot of infielders.
Prices for players of Alonso’s caliber likely skyrocketed, given that Chapman got a bigger deal than many thought he was going to.
They likely have gotten too high for it to make much sense for Baltimore to pursue him.
Bringing in more power to first base is a need, though. That spot in the lineup has only produced a .255/.301/.417 slashing line with 18 home runs this season. First base is meant to be a spot that produces a lot of power.
A shorter-term answer in free agency may make more sense given that Baltimore has an influx of infield talent coming down their pipeline.
