After settling for a short-term deal with the New York Mets in free agency last offseason, Pete Alonso is looking to cash in on a long-term deal this winter with several potential suitors in the mix for the five-time All-Star.
ESPN’s Jorge Castillo ran down a list of possible landing spots for Alonso that includes many of the traditional big-market teams, but one potential surprise option on the list is the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Other suitors for Alonso listed by Castillo include a return to the Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays.
Castillo did acknowledge the Pirates are a “long shot” given ownership’s long-standing aversion to spending big on free agents, but this offseason could be different because they are looking to upgrade their lineup to support a talented pitching staff, led by 2025 NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes.
There does seem to be some fire to this smoke since ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported on Tuesday that Pittsburgh was primed to make a significant offer to Josh Naylor before he agreed to a five-year, $92.5 million deal to stay with the Seattle Mariners.
The Pirates may have started with Naylor assuming it would cost less to sign him than someone like Alonso.
Using MLB Trade Rumors’ predictions as a starting point, Alonso is projected to sign a four-year deal worth $110 million. The richest free-agent contract Pittsburgh has ever handed out was a three-year, $39 million deal to Francisco Liriano in December 2014.
The largest deal Pittsburgh has ever given was Bryan Reynolds’ eight-year, $106.8 million extension in April 2023.
There does seem to be increasing pressure on Pirates owner Bob Nutting to invest in the roster, especially since Skenes is under team control through 2029. He isn’t eligible for arbitration until 2027, meaning he could earn as little as $1 million in base salary for the upcoming season.
Pittsburgh’s offense is screaming for help right now. The team ranked 29th in runs scored, last in home runs and last in slugging percentage in 2025.
Skenes’ win-loss record was just 10-10 despite leading MLB with a 1.97 ERA. Seven of his 10 losses came in games when he allowed between one and three earned runs.
Adding Alonso to the group wouldn’t solve all of the Pirates’ issues, but he certainly would help them be more competitive. He hit .272/.347/.524 with 38 homers for the Mets last season.
Pittsburgh hasn’t had a player hit at least 30 homers with a .500 slugging percentage in a season since Josh Bell in 2019.
