First baseman Pete Alonso and the Baltimore Orioles are finalizing a five-year, $155 million contract, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
It was Alonso’s best offensive output since his rookie season, with one key underlying metric (xwOBA) being the best of his career. So what changed? His strikeout rate was down and his power numbers were up, both of which would be affected by the shortening of his swing length. The shortness of his swing was in the 74th percentile (ranked 58th) this season after being in the 51st percentile (ranked 104th) last season, among qualified hitters.
His baserunning and defensive metrics, however, continue to regress, almost entirely due to his range.
Within minutes of the Mets’ final game — a season that saw them collapse over three and a half months from the best team in baseball in mid-June to postseason spectators — Alonso opted out of the $24 million remaining on his contract to reenter free agency.
The Orioles won the AL East in 2023 and were a wild card last year, but a team full of young talent backslid significantly in 2025. Baltimore’s pitching had a lot to do with that, but the offense wasn’t great either despite the presence of Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman and Jordan Westburg.
Alonso gives the Orioles a veteran power bat in the middle of the lineup, and new manager Craig Albernaz will have some flexibility. Rutschman and Samuel Basallo are options at both catcher and designated hitter, with Basallo potentially getting at-bats at first base, too. Alonso has played 162 games each of the past two seasons, almost entirely at first base.
Baltimore could still use a dependable starter to help a rotation that produced a 4.65 ERA last season, but acquiring Alonso shows the Orioles are willing and able to land a top free agent after sticking mostly to short-term deals in recent years.
Earlier this offseason, Baltimore signed reliever Ryan Helsley and traded for outfielder Taylor Ward.
The Mets lost Alonso a day after closer Edwin Diaz agreed to leave New York for a $93 million, three-year contract with the two-time World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, a deal still not finalized. New York also traded outfielder Brandon Nimmo to Texas on Nov, 24 for Gold Glove second baseman Marcus Semien.
New York was baseball’s second-biggest spender this year behind the Dodgers but failed to reach the postseason.
“Christmas came early,” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said on social media after the news broke.
ESPN’s Jorge Castillo, Kiley McDaniel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Jeff Passan raves about Orioles’ lineup after addition of Pete Alonso (2:08)Jeff Passan talks about the importance of Pete Alonso joining the Orioles and how his departure impacts the Mets. (2:08)