Pete Alonso has a new home, and the Orioles just landed one of baseball's premier power bats.
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Baltimore is signing Alonso to a five-year, $155 million contract, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The deal ends the Polar Bear sweepstakes and closes the book on his seven-year run with the Mets.
The Post's Joel Sherman added that the contract contains no opt-outs and no deferrals, which tells you how aggressive the Orioles were to get this done.
Alonso is coming off a season that looked like vintage Polar Bear. He hit 38 homers, posted a .272/.347/.524 slash line, and played all 162 games while leading the National League with 41 doubles. At 31, he entered free agency as one of the sport's marquee sluggers after opting out following the World Series.
He visited Orlando for the winter meetings to meet with interested clubs, though the Mets were not one of the teams he sat down with. Still, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza made it clear earlier this month that the club wanted Alonso back and valued his durability and middle-of-the-order presence.
It wasn't enough. This marks the second straight offseason Alonso hit the market after inking a two-year, $54 million deal last February that included an opt-out.
He originally broke in with the Mets in 2019 and set the MLB rookie home run record with 53. He leaves the Mets as a five-time All-Star and the reigning Silver Slugger at first base.
Alonso got his deal. The Orioles got their bat. And the Mets are waking up to a very different infield.
