Yonder

Alonso

Alonso will make his first appearance on “Intentional Talk” this coming Friday. The 33-year-old announced his retirement last November after a 10-year career in the majors. He finished with 100 career home runs and a .259/.332/.404 batting line over 1,072 games between the Padres, Reds, Athletics, Rockies, Indians, Mariners, and White Sox.

Alonso made the announcement in an Instagram post, saying, among other things, that he is “forever grateful for what the game has blessed me with and the friendships I’ve created.” He’s only 33, but Alonso really struggled in 2019 and didn’t see any time in the majors in 2020. The first baseman made the All-Star team in 2017 and finishes with a career .736 OPS and exactly 100 home runs over parts of 10 seasons.

Alonso spent four whole seasons with the Padres between 2012-2015, so this will be a homecoming of sorts for the 33-year-old first baseman. He’ll report to the team’s alternate training site for now.

Alonso was just added to the 40-man roster a few days ago, but things have changed since Matt Adams returned to the fold. This also speaks to the Braves’ confidence in Freddie Freeman feeling better post-COVID.

Alonso looked like a strong candidate to be cut back in March, but things have obviously changed quite a bit since then. He’s a better fit with expanded rosters and the DH spot as well as insurance for Freddie Freeman, who is just returning from COVID-19. Alonso, now 33 years old, hit just .199/.296/.346 with 10 home runs and 37 RBI in 121 games last season between the White Sox and Rockies.

Alonso never made much sense for the Braves roster, but he’s also not doing anything to impress anyone else thus far. The Braves will likely cut him later this month.

Alonso apparently failed to attract any guaranteed major league offers on the open market this winter after struggling to the tune of a .199/.296/.346 batting line with 10 home runs and 37 RBI in 121 games last season between the White Sox and Rockies. The 32-year-old left-handed hitter will try to carve out a spot as a bench bat and backup first baseman this spring in Braves camp.

Alonso took Padres starter Dinelson Lamet deep in the sixth inning to spark the Rockies to a comeback victory in this one. The 32-year-old veteran has left the yard in back-to-back games. He also walked three times in this one. There’s some NL-only value to be extracted here, but he doesn’t offer enough upside to warrant a mixed-league investment.

Alonso came into Friday’s action hitting just .125 (8-for-64) in the second half, though he’s still been taking plenty of walks. Hopefully this night can serve as a springboard for him.

There is a possibility that Murphy gets traded before the 4pm ET deadline, but his absence from the lineup here is probably due more to the fact that the Dodgers are throwing left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu. Yonder Alonso is starting at first base and batting sixth for Colorado.