Rangers Linked to Mets’ Top Free-Agent Slugger in Bold New Offseason Forecast

The Rangers could get aggressive this offseason and they have recently been linked to slugging first baseman, Pete Alonso.

Sep 27, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso (20) celebrates his solo home run against the Miami Marlins in the third inning at loanDepot Park. | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers had a disappointing 2025 season, missing out on the playoffs for the second straight year after winning the World Series in 2023. It was especially frustrating because Texas had the best pitching staff in baseball, and that could have been a big edge in the postseason.

A lot went wrong for the Rangers, including the offense taking a step backward and multiple young stars not playing at the level Texas had expected. Beyond that, Adolis Garcia took a step back at the plate for the second year in a row, and Joc Pederson didn't work out as a free agent.

In a recent prediction, Joe Tansey of Bleacher Report chose the Rangers as the landing spot for free agent first baseman Pete Alonso. The plan at first base didn't work out in 2025, so Texas needs a power-hitting first baseman in the middle of the order that they can rely on to hit for quality power each day.

Alonso Fills First Base Hole in Texas

Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

Heading into the 2025 season, the Rangers made a couple of trades in an attempt to improve the first base position. They sent Nathaniel Lowe to Washington in favor of bringing in Jake Burger from Miami. Burger isn't a free agent until 2029, while Lowe hits the open market in 2027. The two extra years of control, plus the seeming power upgrade, were enticing to Texas.

Burger was coming off a 34-homer season in 2023 and 29 homers in 2024 and was going to be 29 years old in 2025. It went about as poorly as it could go for the Rangers and Burger. The first baseman was optioned in May after hitting .190 in his first month, but it didn't get better from there.

He had two different stints on the IL and finished with a .419 slugging percentage, down from .460 last season. He hit 16 home runs and had an OPS of .687, all disappointing results for both sides. Burger was unable to take the step forward to become the electric power hitter the Rangers thought he could be.

That's where Pete Alonso slides in. Every year of his career, Alonso has done exactly what Texas had hoped Burger would do. In the past four seasons, he's hit 34 or more home runs, including two 40-homer seasons. He's also driven in over 100 batters in three out of the four seasons.

In his seven-year career, not counting the shortened 2020 season, Alonso has played the fewest games, 152, in 2021. He has played 160 or more games in three of the past four years, including back-to-back seasons of 162.

All to say that the 30-year-old has become one of the most reliable players in baseball, something the Rangers could use. As good as Corey Seager is, he has dealt with an injury every year he's been with the team, and he has only played 150 games once. Alonso brings a power bat day in and day out, so that if Seager does get hurt again, the dropoff in the lineup won't be as drastic.

Alonso would be a big upgrade over Jake Burger at a position they clearly want to upgrade after trading Nathaniel Lowe. The five-time All-Star will require a big contract to bring in, but Texas has been willing to do that over the past half-decade.

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