It looked like the Toronto Blue Jays had dodged a bullet when super star slugger Kyle Schwarber turned down an offer from the Baltimore Orioles and re-signed with the Philadelphia Phillies. But about 24 hours later, the Blue Jays were put on high alert again, as the Orioles apparent back up plan was a player that is just as capable of putting the ball over the wall as Schwarber.
Pete Alonso, is reportedly in agreement with the Orioles, giving the Blue Jays another major player they have to contend with in the always daunting AL East.
Blue Jays have another beast to tame in the AL East after massive Pete Alonso signing
ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported that the Orioles and Alonso were finalizing a five-year $155 million contract on Wednesday afternoon (Dec. 10). It’s five million more than the deal that the Orioles reportedly offered Schwarber, before he signed with the Phillies for the same length and term.
What shouldn’t be regarded as a surprise is the fact that Alonso ended up in the AL East. The Blue Jays pursued him heavily last offseason, and the Boston Red Sox were linked to him this offseason. The major surprise is the team that got him. The Orioles, who were 75-87 in 2025, and finished last in the AL East, were expected to at least try to get better this winter, but many expected them to be more aggressive on the pitching side rather than going after a big free agent hitter.
Alonso fits in well with an Orioles lineup that has lots of potential and high upside players, who maybe fell short of reaching some of those expectations last year. This move gives the Orioles a powerful anchor in the middle of their lineup and will not only help in their power production (tied for 11th in MLB with 191 home runs), but could make the hitters around him better as is often the “spin-off effect” of having pitchers who need to attack certain hitters in order to avoid Alonso getting into those big, run producing at-bats.
For the Blue Jays, it’s just another big time player they have to contend with 13 times a season. They already have to game plan for Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees by virtue of playing in the AL East, and now Alonso enters the picture. It will be interesting to see if the Blue Jays give Alonso the “Judge” treatment. In 2025 Judge hit .325/.518/.600 with 13 hits, three home runs and 15 walks in 13 games against the Blue Jays. Several of those 15 walks ended up being intentional in bigger moments.
Alonso, meantime, has had limited success in his career against the Blue Jays, playing in 15 games and accumulating a .200/.286/.473 slash line with five home runs – three of those came during the 2021 season. But that doesn’t mean that he won’t be ineffective against the Blue Jays all year, especially if he gets to see the same pitching staff multiple times.
Life is never easy in the AL East and the Orioles have made the biggest offensive splash of the offseason so far by bringing in a true slugging talent, as Alonso has the fourth most home runs in the league since 2021 with 195, trailing only Judge, Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber.
