The Baltimore Orioles have signed first baseman Pete Alonso to a 5 year, $155M contract after he failed to come to terms with the New York Mets on an extension. According to reports, the deal is currently pending a physical.
The Mets all-time leader in home runs is coming off one of his best professional seasons to date, hitting 38 homers, with 126 RBIs and a .272 batting average in 2025. However, New York was reportedly unwilling to offer a contract longer than 3 years, which resulted in Alonso looking at other options around the league.
The club had previously offered the slugger a 7 year, $158M extension back in 2023, which the 31 year old’s camp turned down. Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns cited Alonso’s declining defensive metrics and base running abilities as part of the reason why the team wasn’t interested in doling out a long term deal this winter.
His departure marks the second significant blow to the Mets roster this offseason after closer Edwin Diaz opted to take his talents out west and join the Dodgers earlier this week.
In Baltimore, Alonso joins a young squad looking to rebound from a disastrous 2025 MLB campaign and make a return to the postseason next fall. The Orioles were reportedly deep into negotiations with Kyle Schwarber to add his bat to the lineup. However when he ultimately decided to remain with the Phillies, the team’s front office pivoted to Alonso with renewed vigour.
Initial reports indicate that there is no deferred money or opt-outs in the contract, and that Alonso will receive a limited no-trade clause as part of the deal.
While initially lambasted for turning down the Mets 7 year offer, especially after his tumultuous 2024 campaign, Alonso will ultimately get the last laugh for betting on himself. With his new deal in place, and the front loaded contract he opted out of following the 2025 season, the former second round pick will end up pocketing just shy of $50M more over the same seven year span as he would have had he put pen to paper back in 2023.
Alonso is now the second impact bat that the Orioles have added to their roster this offseason, joining Taylor Ward who came over from the Angles in the Grayson Rodriguez trade. That now marks two 30+ home run hitters that Baltimore has injected into an already talented lineup.
According to reports, the other teams that had at least a cursory interest in signing Alonso were the Red Sox, Yankees, Giants, and Mariners. Those clubs will now have to shift their focus to other free agents as they look to retool their rosters.
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