SF Giants out of options for first base upgrade after Pete Alonso signing

It always seemed like a long shot that the SF Giants would sign first baseman slugger Pete Alonso. but that pipe dream has officially vanished as Alonso is returning to the New York Mets. The Giants are now stuck with what they have at first base.

Alonso is staying in New York on a two-year, $54 million contract. This comes after some reporting suggested that a reunion between the two sides was unlikely. Perhaps this was posturing by either the Mets or Alonso's camp to try to force a deal to get done.

Ultimately, it makes sense that Alonso returned to New York. He now has a chance to play alongside Juan Soto who signed a massive contract with the Mets earlier in the offseason. Perhaps the Giants will be forced to cheer for these Mets again if 2025 provides a rematch of last year's NLCS between the Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers.

SF Giants have no options to upgrade at first base after Alonso signing

It seems unlikely that the Giants were ever seriously involved in talks with Alonso. There was reporting that linked the Giants to Alonso, but several factors likely prevented a deal from getting done.

The first is ownership's desire to cut payroll. It is clear that ownership does not want the team to go over the luxury tax for a second straight year and signing Alonso to a big contract would have brought San Francisco close to that.

The second factor is that top prospect Bryce Eldridge could be ready for the big leagues as soon as this season, if not next season. Even though Alonso ended up signing a two-year contract, the Giants may have wanted to avoid any potential blockage of a prospect with so much promise.

The final factor is that the Giants already have two first basemen on the team in Wilmer Flores and LaMonte Wade Jr. The two figure to form a platoon in 2025 which is not the most inspiring arrangement given the struggles Flores had last season and the injury history of both players.

Some Giants fans will be upset that the Giants did not land Alonso. He is one of the premier power hitters in baseball and would have made San Francisco's lineup look much more formidable, but a confluence of factors likely prevented the Giants from ever seriously entertaining signing him.

There are other first basemen out there, but they do not constitute a real upgrade over Wade and Flores. For better or worse, the Giants are going to roll into 2025 with the same first base platoon as last season.