Throughout the offseason the CBS Sports MLB experts will bring you a weekly Batting Around roundtable breaking down pretty much anything. The latest news, a historical question, thoughts about the future of baseball, all sorts of stuff. Earlier this week we discussed whether the Dodgers are bad for baseball. Now we’re going to tackle Pete Alonso’s future.
Which team will sign Pete Alonso? How much?
R.J. Anderson: I’ve been of the mind that the Mets would retain Alonso on a three- or four-year pact worth around $28-30 million annually. I don’t know what to make of the recent reports that they’ve moved on (especially given their alternative path seemingly involved adding Jesse Winker and A.J. Minter); I guess it’s possible they’re actually out and not just posturing? If so, I’m not sure where that leaves Alonso. While there’s no shortage of teams who would make sense from a baseball perspective — among them: the Padres, Blue Jays, Angels, Mariners, and Giants — it’s unclear to me how many of those clubs have both the financial means and the willingness to spend on an aging right-right first baseman. For the sake of providing an answer here, I’ll go with the Giants of those aforementioned terms — I just think Buster Posey could use another hitter, and that a former player GM is more likely to look past Alonso’s flaws than some of the more analytical diehards.
Dayn Perry: I guess I’ll go with the incumbent Mets since there’s at least been some semi-recent smoke on that front. We may be getting to the point at which the market has over-corrected for Alonso’s flaws and possible decline, so I’ll guess he winds up being shunted toward the natural fit in Queens. I’ll say three years and $93 million with an opt-out somewhere in there. I think the Mets would probably be best served by moving Mark Vientos across the diamond and finding a third baseman capable of being a defensive asset at the position, but bringing back Alonso feels like the path of least resistance at this late hour.
Matt Snyder: I’ll say the Blue Jays. They kept losing out on big-name free agents and landing Anthony Santander plus Jeff Hoffman shouldn’t be enough. Moving Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to third base would be a major mistake, but they could easily switch Alonso and Vlad back and forth between first base and designated hitter. They still need more power in the offense and Santander didn’t solve every issue. I’ll say they go four years and $100 million.
Mike Axisa: I think he winds up back with the Mets. They need him and he needs them. Remember, Cody Bellinger did not re-sign with the Cubs until Feb. 27 last year, after weeks of “they’re moving on” talk. I don’t think the Mets will splurge on Alex Bregman or trade for Nolan Arenado, and I don’t think they want to hand a job to Brett Baty again. I’ll say three years and $83 million — $1 million more a year than Bellinger, which was the largest of those Boras Four contracts — with opt outs.
The Blue Jays are my runner-up and I think a real threat. They gave Santander a longer deal than I think anyone expected, mostly because they’re having trouble getting 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 outfield full-time.
Read the full article here
