O's expected to meet with Alonso amid search for another impact bat (source)

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Much of the focus on the items remaining on the Orioles’ offseason wish list has been centered around the club’s pursuit of starting pitching. It was a clear need entering the offseason, and it has yet to be addressed over the past month.

However, Baltimore is remaining engaged in the market for top free-agent hitters, too. And one of those sluggers appears to be free agent Pete Alonso.

Alonso, who lives in Tampa, is scheduled to travel to Orlando to meet with various clubs this week at the Signia by Hilton & Waldorf Astoria, and the Orioles are expected to be among that group, a source confirmed to MLB.com on Monday.

A seven-year big league veteran who has spent his entire career with the Mets, Alonso is among the top hitters in free agency, a group that includes others such as outfielders Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger, designated hitter Kyle Schwarber and more. Alonso is a five-time All-Star who has slugged 264 home runs, including at least 34 each of the past five seasons.

Here’s the obvious question linked to the Alonso/O’s buzz: Why would the Orioles add a right-handed-hitting first baseman when they already have two? Ryan Mountcastle was tendered a contract last month, while Coby Mayo (a former top prospect) has been expected to be a long-term fit at the position.

Although president of baseball operations Mike Elias didn’t discuss free agents by name on Monday, he addressed Baltimore’s search for another impact bat. As it turns out, it may not be a pursuit tied to specific positions.

“We’re talking to a whole bunch of hitters, and we just view it as, ‘Do they improve the team? Do they improve the roster? Do they raise the ceiling of the team? Do they have an impact?’” Elias said. “If the player’s good enough, we can figure out ways to accommodate them. So we have a lot of conversations going on, mostly in free agency, but also some in trades, on guys that we view as impact bats.”

Alonso would certainly qualify. He’s coming off a 2025 season in which he slashed .272/.347/.524 with 41 doubles, 38 home runs and 126 RBIs in 162 games. The 31-year-old also won a National League Silver Slugger Award for the first time.

If the Orioles plan on landing Alonso -- or another hitter from the top tier of free agency -- they’ll likely need to spend a good bit. Plus, they still need to upgrade their rotation by adding a frontline starter, an item that Elias has stated is on his agenda multiple times in the past month.

But Baltimore is showing a willingness to spend, something it has had increased flexibility to do since private equity billionaire David Rubenstein and his group purchased the team in March 2024. The O’s haven’t emerged as big buyers yet, but that could soon change.

The Orioles’ Opening Day payroll in 2025 was $164.6 million, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. At the moment, the team’s projected payroll for ‘26 is $116.5 million following the signing of closer Ryan Helsley to a two-year, $28 million contract on Dec. 1.

“You look at our payroll as it stands right now and it’s still well below where we were at last year,” Elias said. “We’ll just consider opportunities as they come up and have those conversations with ownership, but we do have room for more moves -- multiple more moves.”

Baltimore’s offense underperformed as the team went 75-87 and finished in last place in the American League East in 2025. The O’s ranked 21st in MLB with a .699 OPS, while their 677 runs scored placed 24th.

The Orioles already upgraded their lineup by acquiring corner outfielder Taylor Ward in a Nov. 19 trade that sent right-hander Grayson Rodriguez to the Angels. Ward slugged a career-high 36 homers and posted a .792 OPS in 157 games for the Halos this past season.

But the O’s could use another impact bat to construct their roster around. That pursuit won’t preclude them from adding a frontline starter as well, according to Elias.

It also remains possible the Orioles could add multiple starters -- one to group with right-hander Kyle Bradish and left-hander Trevor Rogers at the top of the staff and another for added depth.

“I think that that’s a possibility, that we add multiple starting pitchers on Major League contracts,” Elias said. “But there is a possibility that it’s just one. I think it’s just going to kind of depend on the personnel.”