When the Baltimore Orioles signed the former New York Mets’ slugger to a 5-year, $155 million deal, including $31 annually (the highest average annual value in a contract in Orioles history), expectations were sky high. Alonso had just come off one of his best seasons in New York, batting .272 with 38 home runs and 126 RBIs, and the momentum around the deal had everyone buzzing with excitement.
However, like most free agents signing big deals this past offseason, the start to the season was not kind in any way to Alonso, after an average month of March, April was rock bottom for the Polar Bear. In 97 at-bats, he slashed .175/.292/.340, with an OPS of just .632. The panic meter was getting warm but even Orioles fans had to show some patience, seeing similar results from guys like Bo Bichette, Kyle Tucker, and Alex Bregman.
Alonso Has Found His Stride
Defensive Improvement
Now the most encouraging signs of improvement even during this rough stretch weren’t even on that side of the ball. Alonso spent countless time before the season focusing on his defense at first base, due to the fact that the Orioles elite catcher duo clogs up the DH spot just about every night. In 2025 with the Mets, Alonso posted a -9 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), one of the worst marks among first basemen in the entire league. That’s before he met Miguel Cairo, the Orioles top fielding coach, who has turned him into a plus defender, already accumulating 4 DRS not even halfway through this season. He now ranks in the 91st percentile in range over at first base, a massive increase from being in the 3rd percentile not even a full calendar year ago.
A Backloaded Spring
But let’s be honest, Baltimore paid one of the biggest contracts in the team’s history for his bat, trying to add a top of the line slugger to a lineup that saw nobody reach the 20 home run mark last season. While April brought plenty of showers for Alonso at the plate, May and now June have brought more than flowers, most notably home runs. In the month of May, Alonso slashed .277/.331/.509 with an .840 OPS, much closer to what the Orioles gave him the big bucks for. This stretch included 7 homers and 23 RBIs, the main reasons the Orioles brought the Polar Bear in, for his ability to use the long ball to offer another layer of diversity to the Birds lineup, and the ability to drive in runners. While the May stats were an improvement, Alonso has taken his game to another level in June, slashing a season high .273/.372./.561 with an OPS approaching the games best at .932. This is what the Orioles opened the bank up for, with another 6 homers and 13 RBIs just a little over halfway through June. With this recent surge Alonso moved into the top 15 in the MLB in both home runs and RBI, two categories he is used to dominating.
A Different Approach
The most notable difference for Alonso from seasons past and early season struggles? His ability to use the opposite field, driving 10 of his 17 home runs to the opposite field, the highest percentage of oppo-pop of his career. His average exit velocity is the best it’s ever been, at 94.6, good for the 99th percentile among all qualified hitters, one of the biggest reasons he is poking homers out over the right field wall. Alonso also ranks very highly in xwOBA (87th percentile), xSLG (91st), and Hard-Hit % (98th).
While Pete is on pace to hit around 35 home runs and drive in a little over 100 runs, his recent surge suggests that he may get even more out of these two categories, with a chance to come close to matching his efforts last season in a Mets uniform. With the Orioles still sitting six games below .500, the Orioles are going to need a prime Polar Bear and then some if they want to find themselves playing into October.
Main Photo: Johnathan Hui- Imagn Images
