The Winter Meetings came and went without the Boston Red Sox signing Pete Alonso. Despite his fit at first base and his power hitting prowess, Boston let him fall into the hands of the division rival Baltimore Orioles for an extremely beatable five years at $155 million.
The Red Sox's offer to Alonso was reportedly pitiful in comparison. According to Tim Healey of The Boston Globe, they offered him "fewer years and significantly less money" (subscription required). If they don't think he'd be a good fit, they should've just said so, because their real excuse for letting him sign with a division rival is borderline unbelievable.
Healey later reported that the Red Sox were hesitant about signing Alonso because of his age. The first baseman turned 31 on December 7, the start date of the Winter Meetings, and his five-year deal with Baltimore will run through his age-35 season.
This excuse is laughable for a few reasons, one of them being that Alonso hasn't shown signs of age as his career has progressed. The veteran batted .272/.347/.524 with an .871 OPS, led the National League with 41 doubles and clobbered 38 home runs last season. He's also posted a full 162 games in the last two years, something no Red Sox player did in 2025.
Red Sox's excuse for not signing Pete Alonso should be the final straw
Many of the Red Sox's potential targets are also older and have declined faster than Alonso. Re-singing Alex Bregman is reportedly Boston's top priority, but he'll be 32 by Opening Day and he's demanded more time and money than Alonso recieved from the Orioles. Bregman posted 161 games in 2023 and his playing time has declined over the last two seasons from 145 to 114 games. The Red Sox have also been linked to Eugenio Suárez to reinforce their infield and he's 34.
Craig Breslow also traded for a 36-year-old Sonny Gray from the Cardinals, who were itching to get rid of him. Gray is still an elite strike thrower in MLB, but Alonso is an elite home run hitter, another severe need for the Red Sox. If age matters for one player, why doesn't it matter for others?
Alonso profiles as a designated hitter later in his career, which could be part of the Sox's hesitance to take him on long-term, but losing out on an ideal candidate to a small market division rival is embarrassing, to put it bluntly. The most famous player in recent Red Sox history was a full-time DH, and they absolutely could've accommodated Alonso there after Masataka Yoshida's contract runs out, but they'd rather make ridiculous excuses about his age.
Boston needs more adults in the room, another curious reason for passing on Alonso. Bregman was one of the only position player veterans on the team last year, and Alonso could be an ideal player for younger ones to model their game after — he hits consistently and for power and his durability is unmatched by anyone on the Sox's roster.
The Alonso whiff has revealed that Red Sox Nation has had it with the front office's excuses. Regardless of their reasoning, their refusal to spend on Alonso reflects more as a lack of desire to compete.