Pete

Alonso

The Orioles currently have Coby Mayo, Ryan Mountcastle and Samuel Basallo for first base and DH, but Mountcastle doesn’t seem all that likely to stick around and Mayo is hardly a sure thing at this point. Alonso would definitely look pretty good hitting third or fourth behind Gunnar Henderson.

Of his 994 career starts, just 60 have come at DH and only three the last two seasons. Alonso surely doesn’t want to be a full-time DH just yet, though that is likely coming at some point. Still, one of the reasons the Mets seem ill-suited to giving him the long-term deal he wants is that they’re probably going to need to make Juan Soto their DH someday.

The Mets missed the playoffs despite Alonso’s huge year on offense, and the team is now “preaching defense or in the words of Stearns, ‘run prevention,’” which means that Alonso may not be the best fit. However, the Red Sox have an opening at first base and need the power that Alonso could provide them. Even if Triston Casas (knee) were to begin the year healthy, he and Alonso could split the first base and designated hitter roles.

Alonso doesn’t have a qualifying offer attached to him, so he will command a large free agent contract and not cost the team signing him a draft pick. That may lead the Mets to back out of competition for his services since they appeared to have concerns last season about how quickly Alonso would become just a DH-only power bat. If the Mets do draw a firm line on the bidding for Alonso, there’s a good chance that we could see the 30-year-old in another uniform next season.

The American League winners will be announced on Friday night. Here is the complete list of winners for the senior circuit: Hunter Goodman (C), Pete Alonso (1B), Ketel Marte (2B), Manny Machado (3B), Geraldo Perdomo (SS), Juan Soto (OF), Corbin Carroll (OF), Kyle Tucker (OF), Ohtani (DH) and Alec Burleson (UTIL). Ohtani has claimed the award in back-to-back seasons since joining the Dodgers and four times overall in his career. Soto takes home the honor in his Mets debut, giving him six in eight seasons. At this rate, he might need an entire room just to display them all by the time his 15-year megadeal is through. Alonso, Perdomo, Goodman, Carroll and Burleson are all first-time winners.

Alonso would made $24 million next season had he opted in to the second year of his contract with the Mets. He’s in line for a much better deal this time around after hitting .272/.347/.524 last season, especially since he’ll no longer be saddled with a qualifying offer.

It doesn’t come as any sort of surprise as the 30-year-old slugger had another outstanding season with the Mets — slashing .272/.347/.524 with 38 homers and 126 RBI in a career-high 709 plate appearances. He’ll once again be among the top overall bats available on the free agent market and it’ll take a highly lucrative multi-year deal in order to land him.

Alonso put the Mets on the board early with a double to drive in Francisco Lindor in the first inning. He then took Eury Pérez deep for a solo homer in the third. Alonso led off the sixth with a walk and scored again on a double by Jeff McNeil. The 30-year-old first baseman has had an outstanding season, hitting .273/.348/.526 with 38 homers, 87 runs scored, and 126 RBI across 705 plate appearances.

Alonso’s 37th homer was a solo shot off Randy Vásquez that gave him 120 RBI for the third time in his career, and he later added No. 121 on a sac fly. Alonso finished at 120 RBI while hitting 53 homers as a rookie in 2019, and he came in at 131 in 2022.

Alonso’s homer was a no-doubter at 113 mph and 437 feet. He’s overtaken his 2024 total of 34 homers, but he’s still 18 shy of the career-best 53 he hit as a rookie in 2019. He has a slim chance of establishing a new career high in RBI, but it’d take a big finish; with 11 games remaining, he’s 13 shy of his 2022 total of 131.