Good morning, Baltimore! Alonso ushers in new era for O's

This story was excerpted from Jake Rill’s Orioles Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The wait is finally over.

It was easy to understand why Orioles fans may have been hesitant earlier this week, when rumors began to circulate about the team being in the market for many marquee free agents. Or why people may have been reluctant to trust repeated comments made by president of baseball operations Mike Elias as he expressed a willingness to substantially expand the club’s payroll.

Moves like this traditionally haven’t happened for Baltimore -- not in the seven-year Elias era, nor before. Past reports of the team “expressing interest” in or being “in on” free agents have rarely progressed past that point.

But on Wednesday afternoon, the O’s became the talk of the baseball world shortly before the Winter Meetings concluded in Orlando. The spotlight was all theirs.

The Polar Bear was coming.

Orioles fans celebrated upon receiving the news that Pete Alonso agreed to a five-year, $155 million deal (according to a source). The signing, which was not announced by the team, was pending a physical.

But it was complete. The O’s had done it. They put their money where their mouths had recently been and landed one of the top players on the free-agent market this offseason.

It’s becoming an exciting time in Baltimore again. The bad vibes felt throughout the 2025 season -- when the Orioles greatly underperformed by going 75-87 and finishing in last place in the American League East -- are starting to be erased. The acquisition of Alonso has everybody looking forward instead of backward, thinking about what the next half-decade could bring.

Alonso is a great player. He has the type of right-handed power that is becoming rare in today’s game. The potential for him to hit 40-plus homers from the heart of the O’s lineup is what made the club target him, even though they didn’t have a hole at first base or a particular need for another right-handed-hitting option at the position.

The Orioles wanted to make a splash. They wanted to bring in a star to strengthen their offense, to complement a young core that’s still intact and to make it known they’re ready to be legitimate players in free-agent bidding wars -- and they accomplished all of that with this move.

That’s what made the Alonso news even more exciting for those in Baltimore.

The O’s aren’t a large-market team like the Dodgers, Yankees or Mets, who will bid farewell to Alonso after the first seven years of his MLB career. Baltimore has never been known as an aggressive spender swimming in the deep end of the free-agent pool.

When private equity billionaire David Rubenstein’s group purchased the Orioles in March 2024, this was the hope. Finally, the ownership team -- one led by a Baltimore native, no less -- was coming to open their wallets and substantially spend to upgrade the club.

Elias made it clear these types of moves were possible last offseason, even if none materialized. On paper, it looked like the O’s operated close to normal -- one-year deals to a pair of starters (Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano), one slightly larger contract for a free agent featuring an opt-out clause (Tyler O’Neill) and other tertiary moves.

But the Orioles may have been more aggressive behind the scenes, just unsuccessful in attempts to sway free agents (which happens sometimes). That became apparent when a source confirmed to MLB.com earlier this year that Corbin Burnes had been offered a four-year, $180 million deal by the O’s before signing a six-year, $210 million contract with the D-backs, unable to pass up the opportunity to live at his home in Scottsdale, Ariz., year-round.

With Alonso, there will be no opt-outs and there will not even be deferred money (per a source). That’s what makes the second-largest financial commitment in Orioles history different from the first.

In January 2016, the O’s retained a key player by bringing back Chris Davis on a seven-year, $161 million deal. At the time, Baltimore was again concerned a star would be leaving -- à la Mike Mussina to the Yankees in December 2000 -- and Davis would be gone.

The Orioles kept Davis, not knowing how quickly his career would regress or able to forecast how tough it would end. Because so much of the money from that contract was deferred, he is still receiving payments from the team through 2037.

Alonso’s $155 million won’t be on the books anywhere near as long. And despite that, the O’s are seemingly eager to spend more right now.

The first move like this by the Orioles in a long time may not be the last in December -- or at least not during this offseason. Baltimore is remaining in the market for frontline starting pitchers, with Framber Valdez, Ranger Suárez, Michael King and others getting linked to the team in reports.

The O’s might sign one of those pitchers, still swing a big trade and even do a bit more.

That’s why the Alonso signing means so much in Baltimore. That’s why people are excited.

And before the 2026 season is here, there could be more of this to come.