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The New York Yankees have been active in the free agency and trade market, trading for Devin Williams on December 13. With the Yankees improving their pitching staff, they still need to add a big-time bat after losing Juan Soto.
The free agency market has started to heat up, but right-handed slugger Pete Alonso remains on the market. Alonso signing with the Yankees can’t be counted out, even if he isn’t their first option.
Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report predicted landing spots and contracts for the top players available, including Alonso. While his prediction didn’t have him signing with the Yankees, Miller predicted Alonso would sign a six-year, $182 million deal.
“When I wrote Pete Alonso’s landing spots article back in October, an offseason full of big names staying put on more expensive contracts felt about right, including Alonso returning to the Mets if and when they lost the Juan Soto sweepstakes to the Yankees. They didn’t lose that bidding war, though.
“So, do they still have room in the budget—if Steve Cohen even believes in a budget—for an Alonso reunion? The Mets presently have nine players with salaries of $13M or greater, costing a combined total of $202.375M in 2025. Factor in a few arbitration salaries to be determined, about a dozen players on league-minimum $800,000 salaries and they’re right around the $241 competitive balance tax threshold,” Miller wrote on December 13.
Yankees Have Interest in Alonso
With Soto’s decision to leave the New York Yankees in free agency, they could give the New York Mets a taste of their own medicine by signing one of their top players.
Alonso will be expensive, and some have questioned whether he should get that type of money, but the interest from the Yankees is there, with Peter Botte of The New York Post reporting that they’re interested in him.
“The Yanks also have interest in Mets first baseman Pete Alonso and they believe it’s mutual. Alonso is a Tampa-area native and he’s already proven he can handle playing in New York…
“The Yanks potentially could pursue both Bellinger and Alonso — who also are represented by Soto’s agent Scott Boras — perhaps depending on how much money the Cubs fork over in a trade,” Botte wrote on December 13.
Is Alonso Worth Nearly $200 Million?
With the situation the New York Yankees are in, they don’t have much of a choice but to make a move. While handing out a big contract just to do so wouldn’t make much sense, Alonso’s numbers suggest he should be paid like one of the top first basemen in baseball.
The Florida native hit 53 home runs in his rookie season and has followed that up with elite power numbers throughout the rest of his career. In his five non-COVID seasons, Alonso has hit at least 34 home runs, including three of those five with at least 40.
His strikeout numbers are a bit concerning, striking out 172 times in 2024, but most power hitters around Major League Baseball have swing-and-miss issues.
If the Yankees believe he could be Soto’s replacement in the lineup, they’d be able to sign him for a much lower price. He’s expensive, but that’s what it takes to sign a player with his power.
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Yankees 53 Home Run Target Predicted to Sign $182 Million Deal