The Baltimore Orioles may have pulled out the biggest move of Major League Baseball's Winter Meetings when they signed slugger Pete Alonso to a five-year contract that is worth $155 million.
The Orioles signed Alonso away from the New York Mets, the team that he had risen to stardom with during his seven-year career. Alonso is a 5-time All-Star and a 2-time winner of the Home Run Derby at the annual Major League All-Star Game.
It was expected that the Boston Red Sox would make a strong run at Alonso and the Mets would also make an effort to keep him. However, the Orioles offered Alonso more money than the Red Sox did and the Mets did not appear to make a significant offer to retain him.
Baltimore had shown significant interest Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber, but they were not able to bring him into the fold as he will stay in Philadelphia. They reacted quickly and signed Alonso.
The Orioles have some talent they can trade
The Orioles are a team that returned to prominence during the 2023 season when they won the American League East title. They were a Wild Card team in 2024, but they were unable to win a single postseason game in either year. The 2025 season was disastrous for the Orioles as they entered the year with high expectations but finished in last place with a 75-87 record.
A look at the Orioles roster indicates that they have a number of talented young players including Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, Jackson Holliday and Jordan Westburg. A bounce-back season in 2026 would not be a surprise even though they compete in one of the toughest divisions in the sport. However, if the Orioles are going to get back into contention with the defending American League champion Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees and Red Sox, they are going to have to add quality pitching.
Alonso is coming off a brilliant season in which he blasted 38 home runs for the Mets and he could easily fit in the clean-up spot in the Baltimore lineup. He may not be a Gold Glove quality first baseman, but he is good enough to play the position on a regular basis for the Orioles.
Finding pitching is a priority
The Orioles already had Ryan Mountcastle, Colby Mayo and Ryan O'Hearn and they are all capable of playing first base. The Oriole can dangle any or all of them in potential trades for pitchers.
One of the pitchers that they may be interested in acquiring is left-handed starter MacKenzie Gore of the Washington Nationals. In addition to pursuing Gore, the Orioles are expected to have enough capital to go after an additional free-agent pitcher in addition to making a trade for one.
The Orioles struggled with their pitching throughout the 2025 season. Dean Kremer had a solid season with an 11-10 record and a 4.19 earned run average while starting 29 games and pitching 171.2 innings. He struck out 142 batters, but he is not considered a power pitcher.
Tomoyuki Sugano should also be in contention for a starting spot in 2026. He was 10-10 for the Orioles a year ago and started 30 games. He had a 4.64 ERA and struck out 106 batters in 157.0 innings.
Gore was 5-15 for the Nationals a year ago, but he made 30 starts last season and he demonstrated that he could overpower batters at times. He struck out 185 batters in 159.2 innings. His 4.17 ERA is right in line with Kremer and Sugano.
Alonso is coming off one of his best seasons
Alonso was determined to bounce back from a struggling season he had in 2024. In addition to the 38 home runs he blasted, Alonso slashed .272/.347/.524 and he belted a National League leading 41 doubles. He also drove in 126 runs for the Mets.
Alonso rocketed to stardom during his rookie season in 2019 when he hammered 53 home runs and won the National League Rookie of the Year Award. He has hit 34 home runs or more in every year except the Covid-impacted 2020 season.
Alonso is the Mets' all-time home run leader. He hit 264 home runs in a Mets uniform and he passed Darryl Strawberry last season.
The slugging first baseman should be able to take advantage of the left field walls that were brought back in prior to the 2025 season. By surrounding Alonso with Henderson, Rutschman and Holliday, the Orioles should be able to provide a lift for new Orioles manager Craig Albernaz.
