The Polar Bear Has Landed
and will eat rather well considering his new contract
Pete Alonso is arguably the best power bat that was available this offseason. People can argue about players like Juan Soto, Teoscar Hernandez, and/or Anthony Santander, but let’s be honest, Alonso straight mashes. We are talking about the guy who holds the record for most home runs by a rookie when he hit 53 bombs in his 2019 campaign.
Career Accomplishments (2019-2024):
Rookie of the Year (2019)
4x All-Star (2019, 2022, 2023, 2024)
2x HR Derby Champion (2019 & 2021)
As you can see here, Alonso has never finished outside the top 15 players in terms of home runs hit at the end of each of his first six seasons. That is very impressive, to say the least. The Mets just signed an imposing power bat that will hit in the middle of the lineup, where he will crush nukes.
The deal is worth $54M across 2 years ($27M AAV). Was Alonso wronged by Scott Boras? Most likely, but this deal is getting done now, pending a physical. I am just appreciative this didn’t last any longer as I would hate to see Alonso get a slow start due to not being around for Spring Training.
Alonso HR Totals by Year:
2019 - 53 HR across 161 games (1st in MLB)
2020 - 16 HR across 57 games (tie-7th in MLB)
2021 - 37 HR across 152 games (13th in MLB)
2022 - 40 HR across 160 games (3rd in MLB)
2023 - 46 HR across 154 games (3rd in MLB)
2024 - 34 HR across 162 games (tie-12th MLB)
According to Fangraphs, Pete Alonso is projected to have another big year in the home run department. They have him hitting thirty-seven bombs, and I think he can hit north of forty! This Mets lineup became that much better by adding a bat of Alonso’s caliber.
New York Projected Lineup w/ Alonso:
1) Francisco Lindor - SS
2) Juan Soto - OF
3) Mark Vientos - 3B
4) Pete Alonso - 1B
5) Brandon Nimmo - OF
6) Jesse Winker - DH
7) Francisco Alvarez - C
8) Jeff McNeil - 2B
9) Jose Siri - OF
Statistics:
2024: 2.6 bWAR | 34 HR | .240 BA | .329 OBP | .788 OPS | 122 wRC+
Career: 19.8 bWAR | 226 HR | .249 BA | .339 OBP | .854 OPS | 131 wRC+