Orioles, Pete Alonso contract grades for $155 million deal

The Baltimore Orioles are apparently pushing their chips in. After reports swirled that they made a $150 million offer to Kyle Schwarber, who ended up back with the Philadelphia Phillies, the Orioles stunned MLB by signing Pete Alonso.

Alonso is signing a five-year, $155 million deal to come to the Orioles in a massive surprise during the MLB Winter Meetings.

The Mets seemed hesitant to pay big money to Alonso, which opened the path for teams such as the Orioles and Boston Red Sox, but he decided to come to Baltimore in a massive AL East move.

While $155 million is a ton of money, Spotrac weighed in on some comparisons with the deal.

‘1B Pete Alonso has agreed to a 5 year, $155 million free agent contract with the Baltimore #Orioles. The $31M APY makes him the 2nd highest average paid 1B in baseball (Vlad Jr., $35.7M), and locks in the 31-year-old through the 2030 season. Alonso declined a $24M option with the #Mets for 2026.’

So, how did the Orioles do with this contract?

Orioles grade for Pete Alonso Contract: A-

Yes, the Orioles made a run at Schwarber, who is turning 33 years old in March of 2026. The Phillies slugger is a star and would’ve brought a huge bat to the lineup.

But, instead, they land Alonso for just a little more money. Alonso just turned 31 years old on December 7, so he is going to be two years younger than Schwarber is when the season starts.

Alonso also had a .272 batting average with 38 home runs and 126 RBI, so he is arguably a better overall hitter than Schwarber.

And, the Orioles already had a loaded lineup, so adding Alonso could give them the best one in the MLB, as Jeff Passon wrote after the deal was announced.

‘The Baltimore Orioles lineup might have the best lineup in baseball. Whatever order Craig Albernaz chooses, he’s got Gunnar Henderson, Pete Alonso, Jordan Westburg, Taylor Ward, Adley Rutschman, Jackson Holliday, Sam Basallo, Dylan Beavers and Colton Cowser. A wrecking crew.’

Orioles Busy Offseason Continues 

The Orioles acquired Taylor Ward in an early offseason trade with the Los Angeles Angels, and now they hit big with the Alonso deal. They also added closer Ryan Helsley on a $28 million deal, so they are spending a lot of money.

This offseason, it seemed like Baltimore needed to hit big to stay in the running with the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox in the AL East, and this deal might’ve done exactly that. Jake Rill of MLB.com also added that this deal includes a partial no-trade clause, and it will be interesting to see what the final terms of the contract look like.

Joel Sherman then added there are no deferrals and no opt-outs in the deal, so Alonso will be in Baltimore for the next five tears barring a trade.

The only reason for the A- is because of Alonso’s age, but that was the expected money he was set to get from some team in free agency. Passan had predicted in May that Alonso would command more than $100 million in free agency, and that is what happened this time.

The Orioles hadn’t made a splash in free agency such as this since inking Chris Davis to a seven-year, $161 million deal in 2016.

At the end of the day, this is a home run contract for the Orioles, and a massive win as well for Alonso.

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