ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Orioles wanted to be aggressive this offseason. President of baseball operations Mike Elias was expressing a willingness to spend more money than at any point before. And it felt like a big move was brewing all week at the Winter Meetings.
Then, the massive news came Wednesday afternoon.
Baltimore has agreed to a five-year, $155 million contract with slugging first baseman Pete Alonso, a source told MLB.com. The deal, which has not been announced by the club, is pending a physical and features a partial no-trade clause, per source.
To sum it up in a word: Wow.
Alonso’s deal will mark the highest average annual value given to a first baseman. It’ll also be the second-largest financial commitment made in the history of the Orioles, who hadn’t made this type of splash since signing Chris Davis to a seven-year, $161 million deal in 2016.
But the Davis signing occurred before Elias was hired in November 2018. Early in his tenure, the O’s were hesitant to sign long-term deals as the club underwent a lengthy rebuild. In more recent offseasons, they were unsuccessful in attempts to make this type of a splash.
Now, the addition of Alonso could mark a turning point in the Elias era of the Orioles, who are attempting to quickly bounce back after going 75-87 and finishing in last place in the American League East in 2025.
Alonso will significantly upgrade an offense that underperformed this past season. The 31-year-old is a five-time All-Star who won his first National League Silver Slugger Award in 2025, when he hit .272 with 41 doubles, 38 home runs, 126 RBIs and an .871 OPS in 162 games.
In seven MLB seasons (all with the Mets), Alonso has clubbed 264 homers, including at least 34 in each of the past five years.
A source told MLB.com earlier this week that Alonso (who lives in Tampa) would be coming to Orlando to meet with clubs at the Winter Meetings and that the Orioles were expected to be among that group. Clearly, the scheduled meeting appears to have gone well. And because Alonso rejected a qualifying offer last offseason, he was not eligible to receive another this year, meaning he will not be tied to Draft-pick compensation.
MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand also reported that the Mets were hesitant to give Alonso a contract of more than three years in length in their attempt to keep the Polar Bear in New York.
This shouldn’t be the only major move made by Baltimore this winter, especially now that the club has a logjam at first base. The O’s already had a pair of right-handed-hitting first basemen in Ryan Mountcastle (who was tendered a contract last month) and Coby Mayo, while lefty-hitting catcher Samuel Basallo was also expected to get some time at first.
To the Orioles, that doesn’t seem to matter. Elias made it clear on Monday that the team wanted to acquire an impact bat, regardless of position. The plan appeared to be for the O’s to sign a top-tier free-agent hitter and then figure out the construction of the roster later on.
It could lead to Mountcastle and/or Mayo becoming trade chips. Baltimore still hasn’t acquired any starting pitchers this offseason, and it is currently exploring all avenues to doing so.