The Baltimore Orioles have arrived this winter and are showing that they mean business.
The Birds have acquired reliever Andrew Kittredge and outfielder Taylor Ward, as well as signed closer Ryan Helsley all to show the baseball world that the organization is trying to take advantage of the talent they have been fortunate enough to put on the diamond.
The Orioles’ front office showed they were here to compete with the big boys during this year’s MLB Winter Meetings in Orlando. They swung and missed on Kyle Schwarber, offering him a five-year, $150 million deal that the Philadelphia Phillies matched.
Then, news came out early Wednesday afternoon that the Orioles have signed former New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso to a five-year, $155 million contract with no deferred payments or opt out years included.
Alonso, who opted out of his contract this spring to become a free agent for the second consecutive year, could not be tendered, as he was tendered last season and cannot be tendered a qualifying offer in back-to-back seasons. This means there is no penalty or draft pick compensation attached to signing Alonso.
Alonso, 31, bet on himself in his return to New York and slugged 38 home runs and 41 doubles, while driving in 126 RBIs and with an .871 OPS. He ranked in the 96th percentile or better in metrics categories of average exit velocity, hard-hit rate, barrel rate, expected slug and xwOBA.
The Tampa, FL, native also is very durable, playing in 1,008 of a possible 1,032 games since coming onto the scene in 2019 as a former second-round draft pick.
Since 2019, Alonso has hit 264 home runs, behind only Aaron Judge and the aforementioned Schwarber, while also driving in 712 RBIs, the most during that time. Since his rookie season, in which he hit a rookie record 53 home runs en route to NL Rookie of the Year honors, Alonso has not hit fewer than 34 home runs in a full 162-game season.
Alonso is the all-time leader in home runs for the Mets, hitting his 253rd and passing Darryl Strawberry while also being a two-time Home Run Derby champion.
Alonso has a career slash line of .253/.341/.516/.847 with 455 career extra-base hits. He has four seasons with at least 118 or more RBIs and has scored at least 81 runs in every full season since he entered the league. Alonso carries a 1.003 OPS and five home runs in 16 career postseason games.
The Orioles’ deal with The Polar Bear is the second largest in Orioles franchise history, only trailing fellow O’s first baseman Chris Davis‘ seven-year, $161 million contract in 2016.
We would like to welcome Pete Alonso to Baltimore and wish him nothing but success as he helps to lead the Orioles to the promise land.
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