MLB Insider Urges Red Sox To Sign Big-Time Free-Agent Bat: ‘Really Good Fit’
A bidding war could erupt for the two-time Home Run Derby champion
So you’re saying there’s a chance? Add WEEI’s Rob Bradford to the list of MLB insiders connecting the Boston Red Sox to New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso.
“This isn’t Juan Soto, but, like (Alex) Bregman a year ago, this is a really good fit,” Bradford wrote Tuesday.
“Alonso is a player you don’t have to worry about,” Bradford added. “He has played in the second-most games of anybody in MLB over the past four seasons, hitting the fourth-most homers of any player. “Yes, the ‘models’ might not suggest it’s worth allocating such a big chunk of change to a corner infielder, but some of those same narratives were also in play when it came to Bregman a year ago.
“Sometimes, it’s just about being the right guy at the right time for the right team. That would seem to be Alonso and the Red Sox,” Bradford concluded.
That echoes what long-time New York loudmouth Mike Francesa said last month about Alonso.
“Alonso had a terrific year. And let me say this about Alonso. I don’t know if we just saw him play his last game as a Met or not. I don’t know what the future’s gonna hold for him. But I will tell you this: he’s a hell of a baseball player,” Francesa said. “He cares. He shows up every day. He’s a terrific teammate. He battled to the end.
“… This guy is a gamer,” Francesa continued. “He answered every critic … When he was terribly treated in the offseason, he responded in a huge way.
“If the Mets don’t want him, somebody’s gonna get a really good baseball player. A really, really good baseball player. And a good teammate. And I think a winning player,” Francesa concluded.
That may be true, but it won’t be easy for Boston to sign the two-time Home Run Derby champion, who said after the regular season ended he will opt out of his contract and hit the open market.
“The Astros, Yankees, Red Sox, Giants, Mariners and Rangers are among possible fits for Alonso,” the New York Post’s Jon Heyman reported last week.
MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand noted last month the Red Sox, Mets and Giants are possible bidders for Alonso.
The Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, Washington Nationals and Arizona Diamondbacks also have been linked to Alonso, according to Feinsand.
A five-time All-Star, Alonso was a free agent last winter and didn’t find a multi-year, nine-figure contract to his liking so he returned to the Mets, who gave him a two-year, $54 million deal with an opt-out clause.
Alonso, a home-grown Mets star, spent seven seasons in Queens. This year he became the franchise’s all-time home run leader, surpassing eight-time All-Star Darryl Strawberry.
The 30-year-old Alonso hit 38 home runs this season, which was eighth-best in the majors, and drove in 126 runs, second only to Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber.
Several reports during the 2025 season linked Alonso to the Red Sox, who saw first baseman Triston Casas go down in May with a season-ending knee injury.
