It certainly sounds like the Nationals are “in the mix” for Pete Alonso

At long last, the Washington Nationals have signs of life in free agency. With just a few days until MLB’s annual winter meetings down in Dallas on Monday, the team’s recent dry run and general lack of news has finally come to a conclusion.

Despite me writing about Ken Rosenthal saying not even two weeks ago that the Nationals were considered out of the running for him, it looks like Pete Alonso for the Nationals has life. So who is responsible for getting the Nationals back in the headlines? That would be MLB Network insider Jon Heyman, who said earlier yesterday that the Nationals are “in the mixture” for New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso.

Now, it’s also widely rumored that the Mets and owner Steve Cohen won’t let money be the reason they won’t sign Juan Soto long-term, so they could consider adding over $800 million to the books on just 2 players if they both had to resign. I only mention both players going to the Mets since they have been considered the favorites to sign Soto for most of the offseason, but now Heyman says they are still the favorites to sign Pete Alonso as well.

Heyman suggests it’s a three-team race right now between the Mets, Nationals and Seattle Mariners, who I predicted would be the landing spot for him during our site’s free agent pick last month. Both the Nationals and Mariners need to add serious power and hitting talent to their struggling offenses from last year, while the Mets apparently won’t allow anyone to outbid them for players they want. Signing both players would be a tall order, but not quite so much for an owner who actually cares about his team.

While Alonso stands to be the most expensive option on the free agent market initially, it’s certainly for good reason, as he hasn’t hit less than 34 homers in a season outside of the covid-shortened year of 2020, and is basically a shoe-in for an OPS over .800 and over 100 RBIs. Being able to steal him away from a division rival would be key, especially preventing the Mets from hitting Francisco Lindor, Soto and Alonso back-to-back in the lineup, which would be a massive headache for the Nats 13 games into the year.

Alonso has been a staple of the New York Mets for a while now, and it’s honestly hard to imagine him playing for another team, but as we’ve talked about numerous times on this site, he’s a perfect fit for the Nationals. The team is in dire need of a first baseman with plenty of power, and that is Alonso’s specialty as a player. While the Nationals would likely have to throw a little extra up top to bring Alonso back, it will be interesting to see if the Mets’ plans to bring back their first baseman would change if they signed Soto.

Do you think the Nationals have a chance to sign Pete Alonso? As always, let me know on X, @DCBerk.