Houston Astros AL West Rivals Predicted To Land Pete Alonso in Free Agency

The Houston Astros AL West rivals are predicted to land New York Mets star Pete Alonso in free agency.

Sep 3, 2023; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso (20) hits a solo home run in the seventh inning against the Seattle Mariners at Citi Field. / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros are in desperate need of an upgrade at first base.

The rapid decline of Jose Abreu was certainly not something they were expecting when they signed him ahead of the 2023 campaign. He was eventually released because of disastrous production and was replaced by Jon Singleton.

While Singleton's numbers were better than Abreu’s, his output was still below league average in many aspects.

As a result, the team is in the market for an upgrade at the corner.

How big of a splash they will make will be determined by how the rest of their offseason goes.

The first order of business for the franchise is figuring things out with Alex Bregman. Their star third baseman is a free agent and if he departs, the hot corner becomes a massive void in need of filling.

How things develop with him will determine their next steps, as the Astros are willing to spend similar to how they did this past season, but aren't expected to exceed that.

That could mean they won’t be in the running for players at the top of the market.

One first baseman who is looking to land a lucrative multi-year deal is Pete Alonso of the New York Mets.

One of the better power hitters in baseball, he would certainly be an upgrade for Houston given their lack of production at the position, but his contract demands are likely too high for what the franchise will be looking to spend.

That isn’t the case for one of their AL West rivals, the Seattle Mariners.

In desperate need of some offensive punch, the Mariners are a great fit for the slugging first baseman, and that is exactly where Andy McCullough of The Athletic is predicting Alonso will end up.

“Perhaps more than any other player, Alonso is waiting to see where Juan Soto lands. The Mets harbor interest in bringing back Alonso, a homegrown star. The team has a backup plan, though, in the form of infielder Mark Vientos. And the Mariners are so desperate for offense, especially from the infield corners, that the front office could ignore Alonso’s lack of on-base skills and pay a premium for his power.”

Alonso has some shortcomings as a player since he doesn’t offer much with the glove in addition to the worries McCullough mentioned, but the best attribute he brings is one the Mariners need the most.

This addition would certainly be something the Astros don't want to see.

A big reason they were able to overcome their early-season double digit deficit in the division race was because Seattle’s offense went ice cold.

Adding a hitter of Alonso's caliber would certainly make those cold spells occur less frequently.