The contrarian view to the SF Giants adding a New York Mets slugger

New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso still lingers on the free-agent market with only a few weeks before spring training. There is still time for the SF Giants to get involved even if he is an imperfect fit.

The contrarian view to the SF Giants adding a New York Mets slugger

Earlier this month, our own Michael Monreal weighed the pros and cons of adding someone like Alonso. In December, I explained why he would be an imperfect fit, concluding that the Giants already had opportunities to add at first base and passed.

Pivoting to Alonso would have a steep cost both in terms of prospect capital as well as opportunity cost. The prospect cost is easy to measure. Alonso rejected a qualifying offer from the Mets earlier this offseason. If the Giants signed him, they would lose their third-and-sixth-round pick and $1 million in international bonus pool money. For a team that needs to rebuild the organization from the bottom up, that cost is not immaterial.

The opportunity cost is a little less clear. If the Giants believe that Bryce Eldridge is their first baseman of the future, then they likely only need a stopgap at first base. Paul Goldschmidt and Carlos Santana would have better fit the description of a stopgap than Alonso. On the other hand, Josh Naylor and Nathaniel Lowe were moved at a modest cost earlier this offseason as well.

Alonso is likely looking for a multi-year deal. Perhaps, a contract in the neighborhood of three years gets the conversation started. This is not the type of deal teams hand out for stopgap options. Rather, the Giants would need to consider what to do with the veteran slugger if Eldridge proves ready in a year or sooner.

The obvious solution is moving Alonso to DH. Then again, he is likely looking for at least $20 million annually in free agency, so investing that much in a full-time DH is a steep cost for a player who is relatively one dimensional.

In a lot of ways, Alonso is an odd fit for the Giants. Financial cost, lost draft pick and signing capital, limitations defensively, and a long-term deal for a short-term need are just a few of things that the Giants need to weigh.

With all that being said, adding Alonso would be the quickest way to upgrade the lineup this late into the offseason. He has hit at least 30 home runs in every full season since he debuted with the Mets in 2019.

That is the type of power you can easily pencil into the middle of the lineup. Plus, pairing him with Willy Adames, Matt Chapman, and Heliot Ramos would give the Giants more power than they have had in recent years. It would not mirror the Barry Bonds-Jeff Kent-Ellis Burks trio from the early 2000's, but it would have some nice upside.

Importantly, Alonso would have some protection in the lineup, so he is not just someone you can pitch around.

Teams do a cost-benefit analysis with every prospective free agent. The costs are pretty well known at this point and are some of the reasons why he remains on the market. The rewards could include a lineup that is better than just middle of the pack. Plus, Alonso would be an exciting player that fans would pay to see.

Maybe the Giants just throw caution to the wind and deal with the downstream effect at a later date. Adding Alonso would be the best way to put together an interesting team in 2025.