New Red Sox-Pete Alonso Update Has Juicy Rumor NL East Rival Is Lurking

Here’s something to ponder over breakfast this morning: Where do the Boston Red Sox stand with New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso in free agency?

The five-time All-Star is scheduled to meet today with the Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles. But before you start penciling him into Boston’s lineup, there’s a red flag being raised by the New York Post’s Joel Sherman.

“This is again a tough market for Pete Alonso. Even coming off of a strong season, where he was … second in the majors in RBIs, and top ten in homers and OPS, and really high in doubles, he had a very strong season,” Sherman says. “That because he’s a right-hand hitter, right-hand thrower, literally turned 31 on Sunday, he’s in his 30s, limited value defensively, almost no value as a base runner, probably negative value as a base runner, that he’s going to have a hard time getting his market. 

“Remember, Mike Puma of the Post said he wants at least seven years. I mean, nobody I talked to is talking seven. Nobody’s talking six. Nobody’s talking five,” Sherman says. “Some people are talking that it’s going to be tough for him to get four. But it doesn’t matter if that’s the industry and everyone finishes second, third, fourth. If there’s a team out there that values Pete Alonso at five years or six years, then that will change the marketplace and he’ll likely sign there.

“So it’s something to keep an eye one because the Mets have some interest in Kyle Schwarber,” Sherman notes. “If that market is moving quick and they’re reading the Alonso market, it would be tough to have both of those guys and Juan Soto at a time where you’re talking  about run prevention.

“So if Schwarber is moving quickly and the Mets want to get on that train, they have to have a full understanding of where they think Alonso is going, if that is actually their priority, or is Schwarber their priority? Because Schwarber not only gives a left-hand bat, arguably a better bat than Alonso, but there’s a clubhouse value at a time where the Mets want to fix their clubhouse,” Sherman concludes.

“The bidding for the likes of Alonso and Kyle Schwarber has yet to even get underway, but it’s easy to anticipate those deals spiraling ever upward with the interest from a handful of big market teams (Phillies, Mets and others) all positioning themselves for one of the sluggers,” Masslive.com’s Sean McAdam adds.

“But for a team that needs home run pop, is looking for a right-handed hitter and hasn’t been able to figure out first base for a while, Alonso appears to be the perfect fit (for the Red Sox),” MLB.com’s Thomas Harrigan reports.

“Pete Alonso‘s signing could go down after Schwarber,” ESPN’s Jeff Passan adds.

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.

The 31-year-old Alonso hit 38 home runs this season, which was eighth-best in the majors, and drove in 126 runs, second only to Schwarber, who also led the National League with a career-high 56 home runs.

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.