From a Gator to being nicknamed, “Polar Bear,” all of Pete Alonso’s stats have resided in New York, until Wednesday. Sources confirmed to ESPN’s Jeff Passan that after nine years with the New York Mets organization (six in the big leagues), Pete Alonso is jumping ship from the NL East and making his way over to a powerhouse-stacked AL East division as a member of the Baltimore Orioles on a five-year, $155 million contract.
Pete Alonso’s deal with the Orioles gives him the highest AAV ever for a first baseman. He winds up with $185 million, including his $30 million salary last year, and followed the same track Matt Chapman and Blake Snell did, taking a short-term deal and turning it into a bounty.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 10, 2025
Alonso has been in blue and orange since 2014 when he became a Gator. Over the course of his three seasons at Florida, he batted .316/.517, with a .407 on-base percentage. He hit 34 doubles, four triples, 23 home runs, driving in 124 RBIs and 102 runs scored at the University of Florida.
In the field, he had 1,030 pick-offs, 81 assists, just 13 errors, and had a fielding percentage of .988.
Pete Alonso joins Baltimore
Alonso became draft eligible in 2016 and his time as a Gator came to an end. Alonso would stay in the Blue & Orange, however, as he simply traded a Gator for the name, “Mets.” The New York Mets drafted Alonso in the second round (pick No. 64 overall) of the 2016 MLB draft.
He spent three seasons in the minor leagues, where he batted .290/.381/.560, with a .941 OPS. He worked his way up through the system quickly after crushing 70 doubles, three triples, 59 home runs, driving in 203 RBIs and 164 runs scored.
Alonso made his MLB Debut on March 28, 2019. Over the course of his seven big league seasons, the former Gator batted .253/.341/.516, with a .857 OPS. He had 183 doubles, eight triples, 264 home runs, driving in 712 RBIs and 580 runs scored in the NL East as a member of the Mets.
Alonso was a five-time All-Star and a five-time home run derby participant, winning the derby twice (2019, 2021) for the National League. He was a 2025 NL Silver Slugger award winner and came in fourth in the NL with 38 home runs and led the NL in games played at 162.
Alonso elected free agency in November and then it was announced earlier this week that he was heading to baseball’s winter meetings. As it has been revealed now, part of that trip was to meet with his new club in the Baltimore Orioles. He is a signing a five-year, $155 million deal with the club and will now add to a very deep AL East batting roster, which includes his former teammate, Brandon Nimmo who signed earlier this month with the Texas Rangers.
Alonso is the third Gator to play for the Orioles organization, joining Jud Fabian, Eric Hanhold, and Jonathan Tucker. Hanhold is the only other Gator to play for the Orioles in the big leagues.