Report: Alonso market heating up, Blue Jays engaged
Published
The Pete Alonso sweepstakes are heating up and the Toronto Blue Jays are engaged in discussions with his camp, according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon.
Rosenthal and Sammon write the Jays are one of three teams in the mix as Alonso's free agency reaches a "critical juncture."
According to The Athletic, if the Jays were to land Alonso, they would still prefer to keep star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. On Wednesday, SNY's Andy Martino reported the New York Mets had "checked in" on Guerrero's availability but added he believed it would be unlikely for the Jays to trade him. The Mets later signed outfielder Jesse Winker to a one-year, $8 million deal on Thursday, according to multiple reports.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported Thursday the Mets are looking more seriously at other options and a return to Queens seems seems less likely now for Alonso.
Heyman said Wednesday he also believes a Guerrero trade this winter won't happen since the Blue Jays' front office aspires to be competitive in 2025. Guerrero is scheduled to become a free agent after the 2025 season and has told his team he does not want to negotiate a potential extension once spring training begins.
Rosenthal and Sammon point out that Guerrero played 12 games at third base last season and could potentially split time at designated hitter with Alonso if signed. The Mets reportedly still want to bring back Alonso, who has spent his entire six-year MLB career in New York, but a financial hurdle continues to exist between the two sides.
Alonso is the No. 5 player on TSN's Top 75 MLB Free Agents list released in November. The 30-year-old slashed .240/.329/.459 with 34 home runs and 88 RBIs in 162 games played.
Alonso isn't the only name the Blue Jays are currently tied so. According to multiple reports, free agent starter Roki Sasaki is considering Toronto as one of his three finalists as he continues to mull which MLB team to join prior to the end of his posting on Jan. 23. Sasaki is also considering the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, who have been looking to beef up their international signing bonus pool allotment to potentially use to sign Sasaki, according to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand.
Sasaki is the No. 2 player on TSN's Top 75 and had a 2.35 ERA and 129 strikeouts in 111.0 innings last season for the Chiba Lotte Mariners in Japan.