Pirates Named Fit for Mets Slugger

His fewest home runs hit in a season is 34 in 2024, which is still 14 home runs more than Oneil Cruz, who led the Pirates with 20 home runs in 2025.

Alonso's career-low in RBIs is 88 in 2024, which is still 15 RBIs more than Bryan Reynolds, who led the Pirates with 73 RBIs this past campaign.

The Pirates would benefit greatly from Alonso's bat and could fit him at first base or designated hitter, where Andrew McCutchen's future with the team is not certain.

Will the Pirates Sign Pete Alonso?

Alonso will command a great salary and suitors who are willing to commit to those demands, as they try and also build a lineup that is geared towards a postseason.

He made $30.2 million on a one-year deal with the Mets last season and immediately hit free agency after they failed to make the playoffs.

The Pirates have never paid a player that much in one season, and their highest paid player in 2025 was right-handed starting pitcher Mitch Keller at $15.4 million.

Pittsburgh has notoriously had amongst the lowest payrolls in baseball, ranking in the bottom four teams in 16 of the 19 seasons under owner Bob Nutting since he took over in 2007.

Castillo listed big market teams like the Mets, the Boston Red Sox and the Philadelphia Phillies, who have the money that Alonso would consider, and small market teams like the Cincinnati Reds and Baltimore Orioles, who will also compete with the Pirates

The Pirates do need hitting and may be willing to overpay for Alonso, who would bolster a great pitching staff, led by National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes, rookies in Braxton Ashcraft, Hunter Barco, Mike Burrows and Bubba Chandler, veterans in Keller and Johan Oviedo, plus relievers in Justin Lawrence, Isaac Mattson, Carmen Mlodzinski and Dennis Santana.

"This is a long shot, but the Pirates want to spend money on upgrading their offense to complement a strong pitching staff headlined by Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes," Castillo wrote. "Like the A's last winter in their quest to upgrade their starting rotation, that could require overpaying for an impact bat. The price of doing business."

Background on Pete Alonso

Alonso hails from Tampa, Fla. and after playing three seasons at Florida, the Mets took him in the second round with the 64th overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft.

He quickly moved through the minor leagues and made his debut in 2019, making the Mets' Opening Day roster.

Alonso had an incredible campaign, slashing .260/.358/.583 for an OPS of .941 in 161 games, with 155 hits, 30 doubles, two triples, 53 home runs, 120 RBIs and 72 walks to 183 strikeouts.

He led all MLB hitters in home runs and won the NL Rookie of the Year Award, earning an All-Star nod and All-MLB First Team honors.

Alonso has hit well in his career since then, earning four straight All-Star nods from 2022-25, leading all NL hitters with 131 RBIs in 2022 and winning an NL Silver Slugger Award in 2025.

His biggest moment in his MLB career came in Game 3 of the 2024 NL Wild Card series vs. the Milwaukee Brewers, where he hit a three-run home run down 2-0 in the top of the ninth inning, putting the Mets up 3-2 and helping them move on to the NLDS.

Alonso has slashed .253/.341/.516 for an OPS of .857 in 1,008 games over seven seasons with the Mets. He also has 951 hits, 183 doubles, eight triples, 264 home runs, 712 RBIs and 419 walks to 984 strikeouts.