All offseason, CBS Sports MLB experts will bring you a weekly Batting Around roundtable breaking down just about everything. The latest news, a historical question, thoughts on the future of baseball, all sorts of things. Earlier this week we discussed whether the Dodgers were bad for baseball.. Now we will discuss Pete Alonso’s future.
Which team will recruit Pete Alonso? How much?
RJ Anderson: I thought that the Dishes would retain Alonso on a three- or four-year pact worth around $28 million to $30 million per year. I’m not sure what to make of the recent reports that they evolved (especially given that their alternate path apparently involved the addition of Jesse Winker And AJ Minter); I guess it’s possible that they’re actually out there and not just posing? If that’s the case, I don’t know where this leaves Alonso. Although there is no shortage of teams that would make sense from a baseball perspective, among them: Padres, Blue Jays, Angels, SailorsAnd Giants – I don’t know how many of these clubs have both the financial wherewithal and the willingness to spend on an aging right-handed first baseman. For the sake of providing an answer here, I’m going to choose the giants of the aforementioned terms – I just think Buster Posey could use another hitter, and that a former general manager is more likely to get past Alonso’s flaws than some of the more analytical diehards.
Dayn Perry: I guess I’ll pick the Mets up, since there’s been at least some semi-recent smoke on that front. We may be reaching the point where the market has over-corrected for Alonso’s flaws and possible decline, so my guess is he’ll eventually be headed to the natural fit in Queens. I’d say three years and $93 million, with an opt-out clause somewhere. I think the Mets would probably be better served by moving Marc Vientos across the diamond and find a third baseman capable of being a defensive asset at the position, but bringing back Alonso appears to be the path of least resistance at this late hour.
Matt Snyder: I’ll say the Blue Jays. They continued to lose big-name free agents and land Antoine Santander more Jeff Hoffman should not be enough. Mobile Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at third base would be a major mistake, but they could easily switch Alonso and Vlad between first base and designated hitter. They still need more attacking power and Santander hasn’t solved all the problems. I’ll say they’re four years and $100 million.
Mike Axisa: I think he ends up with the Mets. They need him and he needs them. Remember, Cody Bellinger did not re-sign with the Small until February 27 of last year, after weeks of talk about “they’re moving on.” I don’t think the Mets will do anything crazy Alex Bregman or exchange for Nolan Arenadoand I don’t think they want to give a job to Brett Baty Again. I’ll say three years and $83 million – $1 million more per year than Bellinger, which was the biggest of those Boras Four contracts – with opt-out clauses.
The Blue Jays are my runners-up and I think they pose a real threat. They gave Santander a longer deal than expected, mainly because they struggled to convince anyone to take their money and had to overpay. Something similar could happen with Alonso, who would then share first base/DH duty with Vlad Jr. while Santander plays the infield full time.