First baseman Pete Alonso and the Baltimore Orioles are finalizing a five-year, $155 million contract, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Alonso, after failing to get the long-term deal that he coveted, made $30 million with the New York Mets in 2025 and was worth every penny as he rebounded to slash .272/.347/.524 with 38 home runs and 126 RBIs, batting behind Juan Soto for the first time.
In August, the five-time All-Star became the Mets’ all-time leader in home runs, surpassing Darryl Strawberry’s previous record of 252 to solidify his place as one of the franchise’s top players. Alonso now has 264 home runs.
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.
Alonso, 31, was a beloved homegrown star in Queens after he was drafted in the second round by the Mets in 2016. He burst onto the scene with an MLB-leading 53 home runs to win the 2019 NL Rookie of the Year Award. He became a fixture over six seasons for his slugging prowess, eccentric personality and his affinity for the organization.
Coming off his worst year in 2024 as a major leaguer with full-season career lows in home runs, RBIs, slugging percentage and OPS, Alonso sought a lucrative long-term contract after rejecting a seven-year, $158 million extension in the summer of 2023. President of baseball operations David Stearns, however, refused to engage Alonso on the long-term deal he wanted.
ESPN’s Jorge Castillo and Kiley McDaniel contributed to this report.
