When Pete Alonso left Queens, the Mets were betting they could replace a proven middle-of-the-order force with a different kind of roster math. A year later, that gamble looks a lot shakier.
Alonso, now 31, is in his first season with the Orioles and has done just about everything Baltimore could have hoped for. He has started every game, is hitting .270/.360/.500 with 30 home runs and 85 RBIs, and has given the club better-than-advertised defense at first base along with clubhouse leadership. For an Orioles offense that has been anemic in 2025, he has been exactly what the doctor ordered.
The contract itself is the part that still makes you stop and ask why the Mets never found a way to keep him. Baltimore gave Alonso five years and $155 million.
That came after the Mets had already handed Juan Soto a 15-year, $765 million deal. If the issue was the age on Alonso’s deal - five years covering ages 31-35 - then the larger question writes itself: how does that concern fit with the Soto contract?
Instead, the Mets moved on. In one offseason, president of baseball operations David Stearns let Alonso and Edwin Díaz walk in free agency, while Jeff McNeil and Brandon Nimmo were traded away.
Díaz has mostly been hurt for the Dodgers, McNeil hasn’t hit for the Athletics, and the Nimmo trade opened the door for young outfielders Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing.
Even with those caveats, letting Alonso leave never made much sense.
The replacement spending only sharpens the point. After saving $155 million by not retaining Alonso, the Mets guaranteed Bo Bichette $126 million over three years, or $42 million per year, and then added Jorge Polanco on a two-year, $40 million deal. That adds up to $62 million in 2026 and 2027 to get maybe the totality of Alonso’s production.
That kind of decision-making lands on Stearns, but it also lands on owner Steve Cohen, who is reputed to be worth $23 billion. Cohen thought he could simply buy a championship, and the Mets have found out the hard way that owning a big-market club takes more than net worth. Stearns was supposed to bring rational structure to both the farm system and the major league roster, the same kind of big-market stewardship that made Theo Epstein and Andrew Friedman such prized hires in Chicago and Los Angeles.
Instead, the Mets’ run under Stearns has gone poorly. And Alonso’s season in Baltimore has only made that harder to explain.
There’s always risk in any contract for a player over 30. Chris Davis’ seven-year deal is the cautionary tale everybody remembers in Baltimore, especially the sudden and steep decline that arrived three years in. But so far, Alonso has been the biggest home run of Mike Elias’ tenure.
With calendar pages about to turn to September, Alonso is not going to win the Triple Crown or the AL MVP or lead the Orioles to the World Series. But what he has done is make the Mets’ decision look increasingly baffling every time he steps on the field.
In Other News...
Pete Alonso's Orioles Turnaround Followed A Huge Offseason Life Change
Pete Alonsos first months in Baltimore came with more than the usual challenge of changing teams. After spending his entire career with the Mets, he signed a five-year, $155 million deal with the Orioles and then had to adjust not just to a new clubhouse and routine, but to a major life change at home as well. The early stretch was an adjustment period, and it showed at times as he settled into both roles.
Since May, though, Alonso has looked far more like the middle-of-the-order force Baltimore expected. He has posted a .940 OPS and hit 27 home runs, a strong sign that the personal and professional transition is finally smoothing out. For the Orioles, the encouraging part is not just the production, but the way he has managed to find it after such a significant offseason shift. [Read more 🡒]
Tyler O'Neill Said Exactly What Orioles Fans Needed To Hear
Tyler O'Neill gave the Orioles one of their biggest defensive moments of late with a diving catch in the Aug. 22 win over Tampa Bay, the kind of play that can change the feel of a game and, in this case, helped set up a walk-off finish. Just a few days later, Baltimore had to move him to the 10-day injured list on Aug. 26 because of a strained rotator cuff, a reminder of how quickly a key contributor can go from difference-maker to sidelined.
Even with O'Neill out, the clubhouse tone has stayed upbeat as the Orioles keep chasing a Wild Card spot. Reliever Andrew Kittredge has pointed to the team's positive momentum, and for a club trying to bank wins in late August, that matters almost as much as the box score. Baltimore still has to navigate the stretch ahead without one of its more impactful defenders, but the confidence around the group has not gone anywhere. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Suddenly Have A Christian Encarnacion-Strand Decision To Make
Christian Encarnacion-Strand has quickly turned himself into a relevant Orioles conversation piece at the right time. Over the last 13 games, he has given Baltimore a real jolt at the plate, driving in 15 runs while batting .294/.302/.588, and his surge has come with the kind of timing that forces a front office to start thinking beyond the current stretch run.
Craig Albernaz has already acknowledged the impact Encarnacion-Strand has made, especially after Blaze Alexander went down with an injury, and now the bigger question is how that production fits into Baltimores long-term picture. With trades and positional shuffles potentially reshaping the roster, the Orioles suddenly have to decide whether his recent run is a short-term burst or something they need to build around going into next season. [Read more 🡒]