Insider Passan Names 4 Top Contenders for Pete Alonso in Latest Intel

The Polar Bear will not be going into hibernation this winter and watch his free agent dreams fade away as they did last offseason. The longtime New York Mets slugger will surely find a big-money suitor much earlier in free agency this time around. In his latest Intel, well-connected insider Jeff Passan has named three teams as the biggest threats to the Mets being able to retain the slugger. And it all starts with Alonso not locking himself in at first base for the future. 

Alonso's willingness to play designated hitter offers the sorts of avenues a first-base-only mindset wouldn't. He could stay with the Mets, move up to Boston, bring Cincinnati the big bat it desperately needst or, if Ryan Mountcastle is traded or nontendered, split the first-base and DH jobs in Baltimore with rookie Samuel Basallo, who will also spend plenty of time at catcher.

Boston Red Sox the leading contender to steal Alonso away from Mets

By all accounts, the Red Sox are the biggest threats to steal Alonso from the Mets.

Whether or not that hinges on their ability to re-sign their own big-time free agent, Alex Bregman, remains to be seen. But as former MLB GM Jim Bowden notes, adding a bat like Alonso’s in the middle of the order would take a ton of pressure off phenom outfielder Roman Anthony. 

Cincinnati Reds in dire need of adding offense; Alonso a natural fit

Imagine Alonso launching bombs in the hitting-friendly environment of the Great American Ballpark. He could take his numbers to a whole new stratosphere, while providing Elly de le Cruz and the Reds a massive boost to their offense.

Baltimore Orioles could use Alonso as 1B/DH

Camden Yards would be another nice hitting home for Pete, as the O’s are in need of shaking things up after many of their young position players didn’t have quite the year they had hoped. Of course, if Baltimore is really going to spend big money like Alonso would command, we’d recommend they spend it on pitching. 

New York Mets need to cough up the big dough for Alonso this winter

Is there really a more logical destination for Alonso than staying a New York Met for life? He’s a fan favourite, a team leader, and a great Met on and off the field. Only three players in all of baseball—Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber (you may have heard of them)—have more homers than Alonso over the last five years.

Last year, the Mets put the squeeze on Petey, forcing him to take a two-year, $54M deal in free agency, with an opt out clause. This time around, it’s the Polar Bear that will be putting the squeeze on.