Red Sox's Reported Pete Alonso Offer Raises Red Flag

Boston Red Sox fans are going to see a lot of Pete Alonso over the next five years, but not as a member of the organization.

Alonso reportedly agreed to a five-year, $155 million deal on Wednesday to join the American League East rival Baltimore Orioles, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

"Breaking: First baseman Pete Alonso and the Baltimore Orioles are finalizing a five-year, $155 million contract, sources tell ESPN," Passan wrote on X on Wednesday. "Alonso leaves the Mets to make a loaded AL East even better."

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Outside of Baltimore, the Red Sox were the hottest in the Alonso market. All week at the winter meetings, reports surfaced about Boston's interest in Alonso and his potential interest in playing at Fenway Park. Well, he will get the chance to play at Fenway Park a lot over the next five years, but in an Orioles jersey. With the rumors swirling and Boston seemingly having plenty of cash to spend with Rafael Devers gone, you'd think that the club could meet any asking price, if they really wanted the player. But Boston reportedly was far behind in the Alonso sweepstakes.

Boston needs to get moving

While the exact figure behind Boston's offer to Alonso hasn't been reported, Tim Healey of the Boston Globe reported that it was for "fewer years and significantly less money" than what the Orioles gave him.

"Following Kyle Schwarber’s return to the Phillies on Tuesday, Alonso’s deal meant that both of the best power bats available via free agency landed with other clubs — and in the case of Alonso, in the AL East," Healey wrote. "The Red Sox’ offer to Alonso was for fewer years and significantly less money, sources said.

"Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has described the addition of a middle-of-the-order hitter as his top remaining priority this offseason. The Red Sox have explored the trade market — including for the Diamondbacks’ Ketel Marte and the Astros’ Isaac Paredes — and have options remaining on the open market."

That's somewhat surprising to hear. Breslow and the Red Sox brass have been candid all offseason about how a pure slugger is a target for the organization. Now, the top two sluggers of the offseason are off the board. Healey reported that Boston didn't make an offer to Schwarber, and its offer to Alonso was "significantly" less than what he got from Baltimore.

Arguably, that is a red flag for now, unless Boston has something up its sleeve. Boston has been saying over and over again that a slugger the priority and two were out there for the taking, but the Red Sox didn't meet the asking prices.

Baseball is a business with plenty of negotiation, but that's not exactly what you want to see if you're a Red Sox fan. Now, there are plenty of options available, like Alex Bregman.

Last offseason, Boston struck out on Juan Soto and Max Fried and still had success by getting Bregman and Garrett Crochet. So, there are plenty of reasons to still have hope. But not the start in the slugger market Boston would want.

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