MLB rumors: 3 teams that probably wish they signed NY Mets slugger Pete Alonso

After the Juan Soto storyline, the biggest for the New York Mets this offseason was whether Pete Alonso would return or not. A flood of Mets rumors about their standoff with each other highlighted the bulk of the wintry days in Flushing. The two sides eventually came to an agreement on what was a fair deal. Alonso got his money now and an opportunity to prove he deserves much more.

Alonso’s return to the Mets was made a lot easier because of a lack of interest from other ball clubs. First base isn’t a premium position. Teams will gladly move a declining outfielder there or pay bottom dollar for a roving veteran. During his time with the Milwaukee Brewers, David Stearns routinely looked for bargains at the position.

His Mets return made our ball club a much better one. However, in doing so, he left a few teams questioning whether they should have gone the extra mile to cage the Polar Bear.

1) San Francisco Giants

A big time slugger seems to be on the wish list for the San Francisco Giants every offseason. Despite once employing the single season home run champion, their ballpark isn’t exactly welcoming to those who live or die by the long ball. They had an opportunity to add Alonso this offseason. Instead, they chose to upgrade at shortstop with a rather ridiculous signing of Willy Adames.

Adames was a rumored Mets free agent target and Alonso alternative. The plan was to make him a third baseman in hopes of improving the defense with Mark Vientos over at first base. Holy dodged bullet, Batman! Through 264 plate appearances, Adames is hitting .203 with 5 home runs. We know the deal with Vientos.

The Giants chose to give light-hitting LaMonte Wade Jr. the benefit of the doubt. Proven that he can hit .300 in the majors, this year has been the complete opposite. With a .167 batting average through 169 trips to the plate, the Giants decided it was time to DFA him and sign Dominic Smith.

An investment in Alonso over Adames would have left the Giants looking for a shortstop alternative. Surely, a glove-first player with even C- level offensive production would have been a better solution.