MLB free agency is underway and there’s a lot of star power in this class. One of those names is first baseman Pete Alonso. Alonso is set to command a heavy tag this offseason and can be a key piece to plug into any lineup at first for a serious contender. However, the New York Mets won’t see Pete Alonso again in a Mets uniform.
Alonso spent six seasons with the Mets, where he has produced from game one of his MLB career. Alonso played in all but one of the Mets’s 162 regular season games in his rookie year in 2019 where he would make his first of four All-Star appearances. In that season, he’d go on to hit 53 home runs, which would lead the league. He won Rookie of the Year honors. Alonso has been very healthy and is 29. Alonso brings power and reliability at the first base position. The Mets clearly want to keep him in Flushing as a key part of their roster along with Francisco Lindor; however, Alonso will certainly get more entertaining offers. Here are three teams I think could snag Alonso from the Mets.
San Francisco Giants
The Giants replaced their former President of Baseball Operations in Farhan Zaidi this year. Who took over that job? None other than San Francisco Giant legend and three time World Series champion Buster Posey. Under Zaidi, the Giants have been trying to sign that big time slugger for years and have failed. Posey walked in running the show and could easily make a name for himself by signing a big name at Alonso.
For the Giants, Lamonte Wade Jr and Wilmer Flores manned first base this season. There are a lot of places this team could improve. The Giants were a bottom half offense last season. Jorge Soler and Matt Chapman were those “big signings” in last year’s offseason before they dumped Soler to the Braves at the deadline. The Giants have every intention of becoming spoilers for the Dodgers and Padres in the NL West, and signing Alonso could be the key piece they need to accomplish that.
Houston Astros
Re-signing Alex Bregman should be priority number one for the ‘Stros this offseason. Bregman could sign his last big deal with the team he’s called home forever, or jump ship for a new beginning. Either way the Bregman domino falls, Pete Alonso should also be a name heavily targeted by the front office. The Astros are in need of a first baseman as the Jose Abreu experiment didn’t go as planned, and anything at this point could be an upgrade over Jon Singleton.
Kyle Tucker, Yordan Alvarez, Jose Altuve, and Bregman (if he resigns) could be a perfect nucleus for Alonso to join. The Astros are damaged and in danger of falling off back into irrelevance, and they can still make noise in a stronger AL West division if they play their cards right. Alonso would add a perfect right-handed bat to slot in the middle of the order next to Yordan and Kyle Tucker. I mean lets be honest, a one through five of Altuve, Tucker, Alvarez, Yordan, and Bregman could be pretty scary for any pitching staff, especially in the postseason.
New York Yankees
Let’s be honest here, all signs point to Juan Soto hitting the subway and joining the Mets in the offseason. If that’s the case, the Yankees could inevitably swing Alonso over to their side of the city. While I’m sure the Mets would love to keep Alonso and sign Soto, I don’t see both happening. It’s either one or the other in my opinion.
The Yankees fell in the World Series to the Dodgers this season, and one of the key components for why they lost was the defense of Anthony Rizzo. Rizzo hit .267 in the playoffs, but had so many moments get away from him that ultimately harmed the team. Rizzo is 35 and regressing every season. If the Yankees lose Soto, they need to replace the power he brought, and first base is a position that could definitely use an upgrade in that category.
