The Angels are reportedly “weighing” a pursuit of free agent first baseman Pete Alonso as they search for another bat to add to their lineup, according to a report from Jon Heyman of the New York Post.
Alonso, 30, is the top free agent available at first base this winter but hasn’t found the market he was surely hoping for to this point in the winter. While plenty of clubs entered the winter with needs at first base, a number of feasible landing spots for Alonso have subsequently addressed the position in other ways: the Yankees added Paul Goldschmidt, the Astros signed Christian Walker, the Nationals traded for Nathaniel Lowe, and the Tigers shifted Colt Keith to first base after signing Gleyber Torres. Meanwhile, many of the teams that could potentially be in the market for first base/DH such as the Mariners, Padres, and Twins are facing payroll constraints that make a pursuit of Alonso quite unlikely.
That’s led to a feeling in recent weeks that a return to Queens may be inevitable for the slugger. The Mets have not yet filled their hole at first base, and while they’ve replaced Alonso’s bat in the lineup with Juan Soto it’s hard to deny that the club could benefit from adding another slugger to the mix, particularly a right-handed hitter like Alonso who can help balance out Soto and Brandon Nimmo’s left-handed bats alongside switch-hitter Francisco Lindor. In recent weeks, however, it appears that Alonso’s market has begun to expand a bit. The Giants were connected to the slugger last week, and now the Angels have seemingly entered the fray as well. While both clubs would face a bit of a tight roster fit given the presence of incumbent first basemen on the roster, either club would surely benefit from adding Alonso’s bat to the middle of their lineup.
In Anaheim’s case, youngster Nolan Schanuel appears to hold the keys to first base for the time being. The club’s first-round pick in 2023, Schanuel rocketed through the minors to reach the majors shortly after being drafted and since then has slashed a respectable .255/.354/.357 in 176 games at the big league level. While the 22-year-old hasn’t developed the necessary power to be more than an average bat in the majors to this point, his phenomenal plate discipline suggests a bright future is ahead for the youngster. That makes it hard to believe that the Angels would kick Schanuel from the lineup to sign Alonso, but Heyman reports that both could coexist in the Anaheim lineup even with Jorge Soler entrenched as the club’s regular DH by moving Schanuel to left field.
It’s a novel solution to the problem given that Schanuel has not played the outfield before as a professional, but it’s not completely impossible to imagine him being able to handle the position defensively. After all, Schanuel got occasional reps in the outfield as an amateur and those days aren’t nearly as far behind him as they are for more established big leaguers or even fellow youngsters who spent more time in the minor leagues. That defensive risk could be worth taking if it means adding a hitter of Alonso’s caliber to the lineup, replacing the likely platoon of Jo Adell and Mickey Moniak the club currently seems poised to utilize in the outfield alongside Taylor Ward.
With that being said, it’s hard to imagine the Angels preferring an arrangement with Alonso that pushed Schanuel into the outfield to simply signing a big bat for their outfield mix and keeping their young hitter at his natural position. The Halos have also been connected to Anthony Santander on the free agent market recently, and Heyman concedes that the Angels landing Santander is “more likely” than the club ultimately ending up with Alonso due in part to the cleaner positional fit. With that being said, Santander’s market isn’t limited to the Angels. If he winds up signing somewhere else such as Detroit or Toronto, it suddenly becomes easier to imagine Angels brass being more willing to move things around to accommodate the addition of Alonso at first base given that the only other impact free agent available in the outfield would be Jurickson Profar, who lacks the lengthy track record of success that Alonso offers.
They might as well. They’re a terrible but expensive team, so they might as well add an expensive player with limited value, to maintain consistency.
An Arte move
Where careers go to die…
It also moves Schanuel to left field. Messing up their prospects is also important to the Angels.
The Yankees needed a CURRENT alls star caliber 1B. But of course the didn’t spend. Again. And went with a bottom of the barrel old timey 1st basemen on his decline that hasn’t been all star quality in years.
he was mvp in 2022.
Even with his decline, Goldshmidt is an improvement of what they had in 2024..i’m happy with the signing.
That Fried contract was quite lucrative. Maybe they prioritize front-line starters more than overrated sluggers with crappy attitudes.
Yes, shame on the Yankees for not spending. Chronic issue in the Bronx.
Schanuel was a bad pick. What made it almost respectable was his ability to let the ball travel, which allowed him to control the strike zone and get on base.
Now he doesn’t let the ball travel, doesn’t control the strike zone, doesn’t get on base and doesn’t hit for power.
Schanuel personifies everything wrong with this team.
Schanuel isn’t your ideal 1B since he lacks power. He didn’t have anyone hitting behind him last year. He got off to a slow start, but in the 2nd half he hit .270 with a .373 OBP with a 113 OPS. Those are decent numbers, not great, but not horrible. He also showed a bit more power in 2024 than in 2023. He is only 22, if he can continue to increase power production, he can be serviceable player. Schanuel is more middle of the pack.. If you want a better personification of the Angels, look to Rendon, Drury, or Canning.
I don’t believe the Angels should sign Alonso. Alonso is a better player than Schanuel at this point. Angels are already have a right handed heavy lineup. The Angels don’t need another righty or another bloated contract. They should stand pat and hold on to their 2nd round pick.
. . .
Google, they drafted Schanuel above slot and gave him the biggest signing bonus in Angel history.
They must have liked his approach…right? But no. They promote him early and then completely change him at the major league level?
That just flat out stupid. Either let him be him, or alter him in the minor leagues, IF he figures it out at AAA, you get six years and do not lose years in the major leagues as he tries to figure it out.
It’s just dumb. It’s just a dumb organization.
If he figures it out, they just wasted a year.
30 year old on a decline but has a big name so Boras can manipulate the market for a large bag of cash. Yep, the Angels are interested.
This is the most Angels move I’ve ever heard of lol
Alonso is literally going to be the next Josh Hamilton in Anaheim
It would be a win if it was a 1 year opt out deal and trade him mid season but this is Anaheim we are talking about, of course they’ll give 7 years 180 mil
Not literally. Figuratively.
You misspelled Rendon.
Except Alonso was never half as good as Hamilton at his best
Apples and Oranges. Hamilton was a drug user and needed his support group to survive, That support group wasn’t around him in Anaheim.
Alonzo is Red White and Blue and has tremendous character.
That said, Alonzo is a good, not great player, and doesn’t deserve a big paycheck. Paul Konerko type players have value, but they need a team around them.
You mean that one year Hamilton was good?
Yes, that one year out of his entire career where Hamilton finished in the top ten in WAR.
This and the previous report about the Giants reek of Boras trying to drum up a ghost market via Heyman. Seen it before folks. We shall see if the Mets take the bait.
Mets have an offer out there. I don’t see them taking any bait.
I was just thinking the same thing.
As a Mets fan, I hope he signs with the Angels.
@Trillionaire Somehow I’m surprised every year they don’t go all in for pitching upgrades but at this point it’s been so many years that’s kind of on me
It’s kind of like a retirement community.
Good boy Jonny good boy keep getting those belly pats
Get on the scale Pete. You are weighed
The average weight of a pursuit is usually about 179 lbs. if anyone was wondering.
@oldgfan. They weighed him, and can’t fit him on the team bus.
Indeed.
Polar Bear pursuits weigh the most.
@oldgfan I’d only be interested if Pete showed up in ST down 15 lbs from his reputed weight of 245 (probably low), after an offseason of super-LASIK, a high protein diet, a mile a day in the pool six days a week, and agility and reflex training.
Unfortunately he seems like the last guy in the world to do that. He wasn’t smart enough to jump on the Mets 7/158m offer (a 6/137m extension) prior to the 2024 season, though, AND he paid extra to hire Boras, so I wouldn’t expect him to have the brains to figure out how best to prolong his career.
Boras Co trying to drum up a market
Trying to get Uncle Steve to pay what Pete wants.
…or Alonso disappears and makes Uncle Steve’s few upgrades being moving Vientos from 3B to 1B and signing Bregman, a Boras client.
Stealing from Peter to pay Alex (would be great if his middle name was Paul, but it’s David, dang). Scott still gets his cut.
Why pay Bregman the same money Pete wants. The Mets know Pete can play in NYC, we don’t know that about Bregman. Bregman had 77 RBIs with Alvarez hitting behind him and Pete on a bad year had 88 RBIs with no one batting behind him. Pete needs to dump Boris. Boris messed up Bellinger, Snell, Montgomery and now Pete. Wake up Pete, Boris is banging you.
Messed up Snell? Same guy that just got 5/182M after a 1/32M with SF? So he basically just got him a 6/214M. Belli also had a prove it deal and didn’t. I’m not trying to defend Boras, but there are a lot of reasons he’s failed and those are not any of them. But if you’re going to say his name, you need to also say Soto, who helped get, by far, the largest deal.
The main Astros players repeatedly knocked out the NYY in playoffs and at least reached ALCS several consecutive years.
What makes you think guys like Bregman can’t handle NYC? Seems pretty self-absorbed.
If you were a player would you not want Boras as your agent? He might have overplayed his hand a few times but did very good for many more players.
The client has the first and last say. You can give up total control to Scott. You can say you want to sit in and give input on final contract. If you don’t like something get rid of it. If Scott won’t go along fire him and get a new agent. Not great but it is your money. He will get the most money for you.
If Herman is his mouthpiece not ethical if it gets you more money you can act like you don’t know. Or you could say you don’t want anything to do with it and don’t use him. The player has all the say so. Agent has a name but little else compared to player.
Is that Boris the Spider or Scott Boras?
RBIs? Dear god.
@RunDMC Well said, though Bellinger had a prove it deal, didn’t, and STILL will get paid at the least a $26.67m AAV in the overall—significantly more than he’s worth.
Among many old school and newer stats, RBI’s have a strong correlation with winning. Someone posted link to an unbiased study last week.
@cws — It’s a fair question, as NYC has played The Cooler to plenty of stars, with Sonny Gray being the most recent example. It’s been awhile ago, but I remember him being one of the most stubborn and unapologetic during the whole scandal, so if that same person (youtube.com/watch?v=IgbEbz4cjco&t=67s) addresses the NYC media monster the same way during a slump, it won’t end the same way. There’s a level of humility and accountability needed to survive that market, IMHO.
When you are a key part of the best baseball team of past decade that has played and won way more meaningful games than NYY/NYM have, it would be fine to give it back to a potential blowhard big city media member. Accomplished winning pros used to pressure where it matters most on the field know when they can pick spots to be gruff and not care.
I could’ve represented Soto and got him a record deal! Let’s not pretend that was a chore for Boras! That was the easiest $70M he EVER made!
@ Dtownwarrior78 — You missed your calling, if that’s the case. No, I don’t think that’s the best example of Boras winning, but he’s got the record, which says something. And considering Soto is a unicorn but not a five-tool player or having a gift on both sides of the ball (like Ohtani) nor the international marketability of Ohtani — it says something else.
Because a lot of players before couldn’t and they don’t realize that till it too late.. The Big Unit/Chapmen as an ex. Reporters are up their butt and their family’s butt 24/7. NYC people are pushy to the point of rude and I grew up in the Bronx. 170th St baby and Stankee fans more then Mets-lol.. Players don’t really realize that till it’s too late. deGrom did not playing in NYC but at that time he had no say, the Mets drafted him. I Like Bregman but for the same money I’d sign a player I know-Pete
Proton, no I would not. I wouldn’t want an “go for broke” agent that could cost me big time and could hurt the team I’m going to.
Like a broker. I don’t need to take the high risk investments.
You missed the point. Snell had to sell his talents 2 years in a row.
Perfect fit for an imperfect team.
Ahh yes, Arte gonna Arte. This franchise is doomed until he sells.
Is this the Dan Snyder of the west for the MLB?
No one ever accused Moreno of fostering a culture of abuse or stealing money from his League.
I mean terrible owner but at least a decent human.
Unpaid observer
Moreno’s team was associated with unproven government corruption charges that resulted in investigation of a couple of public officials and also an investigation from a player overdose.
So, I am not confident in saying Moreno is or is not a decent human given what occurred during his ownership – I agree that he may have known nothing about the misdeeds, but with what I read in the media, I can’t be sure one way or the other. I have no knowledge other than the mainstream news stories that have been published.
Arte must feel incomplete without 3 or more albatross contracts on the roster.
John Heyman trying to create a market for his boss Boras.
I can see the Giants swooping in late with a pillow contract like they did Snell and Chapman and getting Pete for a year or two. I’d like that, actually.
Heyman has less self respect than a politician.
Next Pedro Alonso is going to be signing with the Giants after he gets off that plane to Toronto.
Exactly. You’ll notice that all of the Pete rumors come from Heyman, who is Boras’s mouthpiece.
@HalosHeavenJJ,
Heyman isn’t trying to create a market for Boras. It’s just you projecting a narrative that suits what you want to believe.
Heyman breaks all of Boras signings.
Heyman floats rumors about Boras clients
Whether Jon is a willing accomplice in Scott’s plots or simply so happy to have an inside source he merely publishes whatever that source at Boras Corp. tells him is unknown.
But the pattern of Jon being a mouthpiece for Boras goes back decades and continues.
@LongTimeFan1: If you think they’re projecting a narrative, you’re not paying attention. Heyman has been doing this for years. For example, if you type in “Mystery Team” on this site, there are plenty of articles where the rumor is emanating from Heyman and the player in question is a Boras client.
Looks like we all figured out Boras’ burner account.
One would think Alonso would prefer a lower value long term deal than a pillow, at his age. He probably doesn’t want to re-enter the market at age 33 or whatever.
True but he wouldn’t be the first Boras guy to overplay his hand and end up with a contract like Snell or Chapman, who were both Boras guys.
Once he got signed to the first 3 year deal in San Francisco Chapman said that he had not considered signing with any other teams, so the Giants were bidding against themselves. He still got huge dollars, just a few months late. He got a 6/151 extension after making $20 million in 2024. Fans are complaining about his deal, but he is really happy judging from his interviews.
Snell is complaining either. He gushed about how happy he was with Boras getting him $32 million for his one year with the Giants and then $182 million more with the Dodgers.
It would be a what’s offered to Pete situation rather than what he preferred if that comes to pass.
There’s no bigger a “yes man” in baseball operations than Perry Minasian to Arte Moreno. Years and years of operational ineptitude and ill-advised free agent signings have taught them nothing about how far behind they are in scouting, drafting, and player development.
A full rebuild is coming soon once Perry Minasian is fired and ownership realizes they have no pipeline because they are only drafting college players to fuel a hopeless Major League product.
Arte is running out of GMs he can bully. Just sell the team, already and get someone serious in there. Pete will not do well in Anaheim. They should sign Profar. He’s underrated.
If they are being honest, a rebuild is already in place. And getting the 2nd overall draft slot this year then drafting again at 45 should improve that rebuild.
Unless, of course, Arte goes full Arte and signs an Alonso or Santander and gives up both that 45th draft selection and some needed international signing money.
Anything for Arte Moreno to get on the sports section of the LA times.
Interesting Heyman reporting on an expanded market for a Boras client. It MUST be True
@justkidding
Are you then stating it MUST be false?
There’s no logical reason why it couldn’t be true. Until we hear something to the contrary from the Angels, or from multiple insiders, then it should be treated as true. Moreno’s history makes the interest very plausible.
Mets fans view it as a threat.
The real question is whether Alonso would choose to sign with the Angels long term. Alonso doesn’t want to DH and wants to play for a contender. Angels would have to clear first base which they’re reportedly willing to do. I can only see Alonso signing with the Angels on very short term deal, and even so, he’s surely risking a year or more of playoff free baseball.
That doesn’t however eliminate the possibility he signs with the Angels short term or long but it means putting up with ownership no one seems to like which is another step back for him. But if he was satisfied with the market for him to this point, he’d probably already be signed somewhere. So as long as he remains unsigned, the Angels and others are threats to sign him away from Mets and Mets fans.
“There’s no logical reason why it couldn’t be true. Until we hear something to the contrary from the Angels, or from multiple insiders, then it should be treated as true. Moreno’s history makes the interest very plausible.”
By this very same logic, there’s no logical reason why it could be true. Until we hear something confirmatory from the Angels, or from multiple insiders, then it should be treated as false. Heyman’s history of drumming up interest for Boras clients makes the interest not very plausible.
I can say that a bout most players and most teams. It’s possible that any team could sign any player.
I prefer to see evidence-supported conjecture. Such as, would the Angels sign Alonso when they have no positions open for him to play?
While anything is possible, it is very unlikely.
Met fan here. Hoping Alonso signs somewhere else unless it’s a contract that doesn’t take them out of the running for Vlad Jr.
Schanuel isn’t athletic enough to play left. Ward would be in left, he’d be in right. But either way, no thx. Alonso is overrated and will be overpaid.
As soon as I saw Jon Heyman reported it..I called bs, boras is getting desperate to create a market for Alonso/
@Simm
BS – because Heyman reported it? I buy into that narrative. I think the narrative is BS..
No reason why Moreno with his history wouldn’t have interest.
1B=Schnuel
DH-Soler
I think that qualifies as a reason.
LOL!! The Angels don’t learn do they?!?
Whatever happened to that whole plan of DH’ing Trout to save on the wear and tear on his legs”?
@poisoned. Trout doesn’t like DH’ing. The plan is to have him play left field. Moving on from schanuel doesn’t make sense it was his rookie year, and he wasn’t terrible.
Trout will be playing LF instead of CF.
Take less money, Pete, stay with the Mets. The Angels? “Just say no.”
As an employee, seeing your boss delve out huge contracts to other players, why the hell would take a paycut? I don’t think Alonso’s talents will age well, but he’s on pace to crush every Mets slugging record there is. He’s a homegrown talent and Cohen and co. lowballed him. I’d be offended.
At the same time, I think the Mets are playing this smart.
“Take less money” – said nothing about a pay cut. I’m suggesting Pete Alonso should “take less money” to stay with the Mets as opposed to getting lost in the abyss of the Angels.
Pete was offered a very reasonable 7 years 158MM that would have put it right up there with Freeman and Olson for highest paid 1b. He bet on himself and lost so he shouldn’t be offended at all.
@Von
Did the Mets lowball Alonso? The 2023 offer of 7/156M was in line with Freeman and Olson contracts.
They paid him 20.5M in 2024 and offered him 3/90. If he takes the 3/90M, he is a FA at 33 needing to average 16M per season over those next three years to exceed the 7/156M he was offered in the first place.
I don’t see it as the Mets lowballing him. I see it as Pete trying to overplay the hand of a power hitting first baseman at age 30.
The 3/90 is the “lowball” offer I’m referring to. 7 years $158 was more than fair, but everybody wants to go to FA at least once. And again, I’m only talking lowball from Cohen’s standards.
I don’t necessarily think the Mets should give Alonso a huge deal. I’m just saying from Alonso’s perspective, I totally understand why he would want something more than 3/90.
I don’t think that 7 year/$156 million rumor is real. Stearns and Alonso’s previous agent said that the Mets never made that offer. Stearns said recently that they are far apart on years. He never said anything about dollar figures.
This makes sense to me. I’d want a lot more than 3 if I were Alonso. Power numbers decline with age. Soto just got a lot of years. Alonso is looking to get 4-5 at least. I don’t blame him.
@outinleft
Stearns was still with Brewers when Mets made this offer also it was at a time when Mets were locking down their core guys, i.e Nimmo, McNeil, Diaz.
I don’t blame him for wanting it, but I blame teams even less for not wanting to give it.
Are you saying that the POBO doesn’t know about offers made to players in the recent past by the team and own he now represents when he will be the one negotiating with that player now? Really?
No I’m saying you using Stearns who had no hand in the negotiations to back up your theory is ridiculous. Stearns or Adam Karon never said there was no offer from the Mets, if that was true it would have been widely reported by now. Pete wanted a bigger deal than the ones Mets offered, bet on himself and lost.
Only way Alonso gets $158m is if he learns the Roger Beshens Football Slider and becomes a 2 way player. Then we can have some real Ruth comparisons… Weight comparisons.
@Sunday Lasagna The 3/90m for Alonso is mere rumor, and it’s an absurd rumor at that, so ridiculous that it is even alleged to include opt outs to a player with a 2.1 fWAR in 2024.
Why would you offer opt outs to a 1D slugger who ‘slugged’ .459? It’s his only calling card and he’s nowhere near the top of his league—and they give him every incentive to hang around on your dime through the entirety of his decline phase.
Pete has an excellent chance of fishing for a 1/4m deal in 2028, to DH for the Royals ‘to see if he can get it going again.’ This is not a guy you give player opt-outs to.
The Mets didn’t lowball Alonso, they said “go away,” but since Stearns isn’t a slug, instead of “are you kidding?” Stearns said, “we want to give Pete every change to explore his market. He’s earned that.”
The 3/90m is a float by a desperate player and his desperate agent, hoping some team is fool enough to come to their rescue and offer 3/93m. Anything, really, more than the 3/60m Alonso probably merits in this market. A 2 win player in steep decline who might have one more good (never mind elite) season left before the HR go 27, 22, 17… and the OBP goes .305, .297, .274….
You are trying to say that Stearns doesn’t know what the Mets offered before he came on board. That is f’ing stupid. Of course he knows exactly what happened since he has to negotiate now.
Stearns said last season that the Mets had not made any previous offers. There is only one guy that reported that the Mets supposedly made that offer during 2023 and a whole bunch of people repeating the lie.
Obviously you can’t read well, I said and try to keep up that using Stearns as a source that wasn’t himself responsible for any of Pete negotiations in 2023 is ridiculous. I can’t find anywhere Stearns even said what you are claiming in the first place neither from his former agent either. It also makes no sense that they lock down their main core guys and just leave Alonso a fan favorite out of the mix.
I don’t think anyone will meet the NYM’s offer. The offer was too high.
3/90 for a guy who usually hits 35-40 homers a season? I don’t think that’s too high, unless you’re looking at AAV specifically. I think a 5-year deal with lower AAV is pretty realistic. He’s exactly 30.
Alonso will be 30 all of the 2025 season. A 5 year deal would be through his age 34 season. I doubt he takes that.
When you have players going into their age 34 season like Walker getting deals through their age 36 season, Alonso and Boras will be asking for a deal through that age for him.
He will probably get less than $30 million as an AAV.. It was reported that he was asking for 8 years and $200 million but not verified. With that in mind, 7 years and $170-175 million is probably at the low end of what he will accept.
This is very clearly yet another Heyman assist to a Boras client. I’m sure it’ll be just a coincidence when Heyman is the first to report Alonso resigning with the Mets…
He has a “relationship” with Boras. Much like I have “relationships” with strippers
@J,H.
This is clearly your projection about Heyman Boras assist. I ‘m not buying this concocted group think narrative created here.
You’re right, I made the whole thing up!
This is clearly very concerning to you, given that you’ve commented on it on almost every post.
In what the heck kind of reality is this going to happen?
Just like Arte to wait until they’re desperate then overwhelm them.
Yup nothing like overpaying the guy that will take peanuts!
Inching towards “who cares” territory if you are an informed NYM fan.
I believe the Angels should sign Alonso pair him with Rendon.
Arte looking at his roster and seeing Trout and Rendon and thinking Albatrosses are better in three’s?
I see Heyman back doing what he does best: passing on unreliable info fed to him by Borss to help a client with only one interested team.
every article this guy writes…. with that being said… and in same paragraph. sorry bud, but it using too many filler words. gotta work on that. otherwise, interesting article
@jmaggio76,
I noticed that too. Annoying, The writing on MLTR in general I think is too wordy, They could probably cut out a third of each article and say the same thing they want.
It may have to do with Google search results. For anything to show up as a top result you have to write a book nowadays. Try looking up a recipe. They are all pages of filler stories about how grandma used to make it blah blah blah. Have to scroll down for a week to find the actual recipe. Google is broken and it is breaking the internet.
Their free trial to Grammarly must have expired
10 years $200 million. Do it Arte!
I wonder if any teams are considering Jurickson Profar as a primary 1b?
This isn’t true. Jon Heyman is a joke for breaking rumors and news. He’s a NY guy being fed fake info to get the Mets to compete against themselves. He recently even implicated the Mariners, which we all know would never happen.
The Mariners ARE keeping an eye on Alonso, in case his price drops to 1 year @ 8-10 million
Of course, I actually heard they were hoping Alonso pays them and they’ll consider it
Q: Do you know how copper wire was invented?
A: From John Stanton pulling pennies from Jerry Dipoto’s hands.
Unfortunately Pete won’t be pulling a single penny from Dipoto or the cheapskate owners!
The Angels should pursue a trade for Masataka Yoshida. He’d be a great addition to their team 🙂
Yoshi contract is reason why Boras and Pete looking for way more money! Guy had ZERO MLB ABs and got a $90M/5yr deal.
Alonso proven MLB Power hitter slugger.
Cmon Stearns and Cohen!
Get Alonso back ASAP!
LFGM
Hard pass on Alonso if I’m the Angels because Nolan Schanuel is the real deal.
I’d be willing to pony up for Alonso if he took initiative to learn the Roger Beshens football slider. That pitch could single handedly reverse years of ineptitude in Anaheim
lmao
Rendon is gonna bounce back this year. Check out his workout videos
Just make sure he doesn’t have to make playing baseball his top priority
Angels aren’t giving Pete what he wants and definitely not gonna give Pete a chance at a ring anytime soon. Boras just trying to stoke the fire cause the flame is just about out for Pete.
Lol
The only thing acurate in this post is that Schanuel does not have the power and production capabilities that a first baseman should have. Especially a first baseman in a terrible offensive lineup like the Angels throw out there. But this is a typical Arte type move. Chicks love the long ball.
Low IQ is correct. Schaneul’s OPS in college was only 1.215 with a .698 SLG.
Minors? .365/.505/.497. Clearly the power isn’t there. Sigh.
/
You forgot his major league performance of .350 slug and under 2% HR rate. LMAO. If you look up “Punch and Judy” in dictionary, there is only a photo of Schanuel. He is Casey Kotchman with less power.
Heyman just lost the remaining respect that I had for him as a reporter. This is pure nonsense. To artificially drum up a market for Alonso like this shows that Heyman has zero integrity
Have you seen the angels FA signings of the past? I believe him lol
Signing with the Angels would assure Alonso he would NEVER go to another World Series.
He can easily go to a World Series as an Angel, since Dodger Stadium is nearby and he can afford any seat in the house.
@deepseamonster32
There was a whole lot of laughter when Degrom signed with the Rangers and said he signed with them to win a championship.
Or the playoffs
“Another”?
Once again, the Angels are spending without a plan. Instead of building something, they try to throw money at the problem to appease an impatient owner who has no idea what he’s doing and won’t stay out of the way.
Somebody tell Arte that it’s pitching and defense that wins games. He never got that, always went for the big bombers. This sounds like another mistake.
Sign Flaherty instead.
Arte is doing what he does best, marketing his team by adding a big splashy free agent to the roster. And Heyman gets compensation from his overlord for peddling his wares.
Not yet. The report is that they are THINKING about pursuing Alonso.
Like everybody says, this is just Boras’ PR guy trying to drum up a bigger offer from the Mets for Alonso. The longer the charade goes on, the more likely that Alonso gets a short-term deal with opt-outs.
@caseyabell. Not everyone here. Why did they FastTrack a 22 yr old schanuel to replace him after his rookie yr. This rumor is easy too sniff out as bs. If anything they could just move ward to 1st. Santander might make more sense.
Santander makes no sense. LF is Trout, RF is Ward/Adell and CF is where there is a need. Santander cannot play RF well, let alone CF. Santander is not a big enough name to make a splash to bring fans to the ballpark. He is not an Arte type signing.
Alonso would be an Arte type signing, but I really hope he doesn’t do it.
I really hope he does. It just feels right you know?
@out. Realistically either one doesn’t make sense. If they were going to get a outfielder it would’ve been bellinger. Why move on from Schanuel after one year? I think think signing one of the Kim’s makes more sense.
I agree about both. Bellinger would have been a perfect fit. Could play CF and fill in at corners if needed. The prospect cost of trading for him was reasonable.
Schanuel was up a bit in 2023 and then all of 2024. He has a .350 OBP. Let that kid play. If the power comes, so be it. If not, get power at another position. It doesn’t have to come from 1B.
No one with a brain is giving Alonso opt outs.
Giants are a better fit; better franchise than Arte.
Schanuel to St Louis for Arenado.
This is Arte’s “Blaze of Glory” season!
Teams look at Alonso as the poster boy for a quick and ugly decline phase. A sluggish slugger, not particularly athletic, numbers already going in the wrong direction. Does Boras really expect to get a massive long-term deal from somebody?
Well, he can always try a pump and dump by floating fantasies with his faithful employee Heyman.
Potential poster boy. Everyone wants next year on their own terms
Boras already blew it. Pete should have accepted the first offer the Mets made, it’s not going to get any better. Pete wants to be a Met. The Mets need him to get to the playoffs. It will happen.
Can’t imagine it weighs more than a couple of ounces, how many pages can a contact proposal be?
Nicely done
As much as I want the angels to go back to contention this is not it…
As i said, the question is at what price alonsos market expands
Betcha anything the Mets have made their final offer to Alonso and it’s not what he wants, and so Boras is pivoting to manufacture a different market. Expect Bregman to the Mets in the next few days.
Silly bet. Most likely mets asked boras to show some other team final offer before he signs elsewhere
Boras gave his marching orders to heyman
Can I ask how some y’all come up with your Heyman opinions? Because I see them as nothing more than baseless claims.
He’s a baseball reporter that makes his bones mostly in free agency and trade reporting. The Hot Stove is his hugest moneymaking season and he’s going to write about any little nugget that might come his way.
And you really don’t believe that ART FN MORENO wouldn’t make a big signing like this? It’s completely in his wheelhouse. No one cares about Nolan Schanuel, lol.
Go forth, young Polar Bear, follow the money, sign up with the Angels. Make these Mets fans who claim they don’t want him back cry.
Heyman has a LONG, LONG history of being “first” on rumors involving Boras clients …. and no one else. It’s very obvious that he is the choice for the agency when they need to move a rumor for some reason. Obviously the teams know that, so he functions more or less as a read on those clients’ markets, without having to bother making phone calls. In this case if I’m a non-NYM, non-LAA team that has some interest, I now know that the Mets are likely to not sign him and he’s genuinely available for a price that isn’t exorbitant, which is exactly what Boras wants out there. Expect him to sign with a 3rd team within the week.
Boras has 15% of MLB players as his clients. Chances are you are going to hear rumors about them.
This!
This is a bigger accusation than a lot of you realize and I HIGHLY doubt Heyman would jeopardize his career for that.
Also, being in the NY market I’ve followed Heyman a loooong time. You’re giving the guy a lot less credit than he’s earned. He’s not best, but he’s by far not the worst.
Also please tell me a reporter in this line of work that doesn’t do the same style of reporting? I mean, jeez, THIS IS THE JOB. The littlest of leads makes a story. Stories sell. Boras clients all the more! Period.
Seamaholic for the win. If no other team jumps in it will be Mets. Or a team like the Giants on a short term opt out deal.
Unlikely, given everyone suspects this of Heynman.
A plant by Boras. No way do they sign him.
Arte give out a bad contract orchestrated by Boras, giving the middle finger to Cohen…never!
I notice the use of the terms weighted and expand in the headline and article. Does that suggest Pete will not be in the best shape of his life this spring training?
I like Pete, I think he’s a fun and interesting player however any team that ponies up like 8/160 will be overpaying big time. The Mets are looking really solid right now and if they can grab Pete for a reasonable 5/100 type of thing, then they should do that. He’s a 3 WAR 1B who isn’t getting better with age. If you can squeeze 2-3 seasons of 3 WAR out of him, alongside with the other assets the Mets have, then they should go well for the next few years.
@casualfan Pete hasn’t been a 3 fWAR 1Bman since 2022, and he’s currently down to 2.1 fWAR.
If you can squeeze a couple of 3 WAR seasons out of him, you’re a miracle worker.
Maybe Pete and his famous agent are once again too greedy and waiting for a stupid GM to sign him too late in the year
Reference Jordan montgomery please
That is the kind of big name signing that their owner likes to make. I don’t think Polar Bear would become the next Rendon either.
I was just thinking about the Angels as a potential fit for Pete Alonso the other day. With how unreliable Anthony Rendon has been and how banged up Mike Trout has been the last few seasons, he could give LA a major boost
He doesn’t play 3B or CF.
No, he couldn’t. Pete is well past the “major boost” phase of his career.
Pete has gotten a taste for winning, he won’t dumb down his career to join that mess in Anaheim.
3/90 is more than a generous offer it thats true. If he’s so set on himself being great for that much longer he can prove himself and get more with the opt out. I’m a Mets fan and would like to have him stay but won’t be heartbroken if he goes elsewhere. He didn’t do anything until post season and even than other than the big home run wasn’t all that much. Batted .212 in post season.
@rjtfd Nope. 12 for 44 in the 2024 postseason, .272 average with 4HR, 12 BB + 1 HBP, and a .429 OBP in 58 PA.
I’m not a fan of Pete’s future, but he had a terrific postseason
Jon Heyman is a hack.
Trout needs at-bats at DH and the genius trade for a DH relieving the Braves many millions. Then wants to sign a 1B/DH.
Angel Michael, strike a lightening at the Angels office building, please!
Noooooo. The two things the Angels don’t need this season are a 1B and a DH. Schanuel is doing just fine and Soler is locked in at DH.
schanuel’s swing got messed up by coaching. Typical Angels thing.
I hate that it’s true, but it is. Just need to let him play.
Ok. I listened to the actual interview and I feel better. Just Heyman spouting BS. He is trying to say that Santander is more likely when Angels have no need or space on roster for him and he is the opposite of a typical Arte signing.
Another way you know this is BS from Heyman is he is saying Schanuel would move to LF when Minasian has already said that Trout will start the season there. Angels are not stupid enough to take Schanuel out of the starting lineup completely.
Did you just challenge Arte? Arte: “hold my beer”
Stupid enough? They certainly are. However, taking a .350 slug first baseman out of the lineup for a productive hitter wouldn’t be stupid. So yeah, they will likely keep the kid that can’t hit at first base.
He had a 104 wRC+ which means he was an above average hitter in his first full season in the majors after getting just 22 games in the minors. He is still learning but he has proven he can hit. He had 13 HR in his 1st full season in the majors. 1B don’t have to hit 30-40HRs to have value. There is not some requirement for that in the handbook.
The Angels were very upfront in saying they asked Schanuel to get on base. That was his job. He has done that well. .347 OBP is 5th among 1B.
His slg was .367 as a 1B which ranked 13th.
Yes, they should keep the kid that has proven he can hit and get on base at a high clip in his first full season in the majors in the lineup going forward.
He also is above average at 1B on defense with a 1 DRS this season. His sprint speed is in the top half of MLB 1B at 26.4 mph. He is not supposed to be a base stealing machine.
The one who is low IQ is staring you in the mirror. Keep on showing us just how little knowledge of baseball you have.
Schanuel is doing fine at what, hitting 6 hop grounders to 3rd base? Yes, a slow, unathletic player that has zero power. That’s what playoff teams have manning first base.
Oh, John Heyman reported it, eh? Sounds like Boras sent his mouthpiece out with a little something to get the Mets to up their offer.
There’s an awful lot of hate on the part of MLBTR readers for Pete Alonzo, who plays every day and is a near lock for 40 homers every year. He would be a great addition to the Angels. I’ve watched Schanuel bat 30 or 40 times and if you like two-hoppers to second he’s definitely your guy. Schanuel couldn’t carry Alonzo’s jock.
S not Z
1996 called
OMG. You’ve watched 10 games featuring a Schanuel and in less than 10% of a seasons at bat you were able to make the scouting decision.
What team do you contract with and what other players have you successfully scouted?
and Alonso will end up a boondoggle for any team that signs him to a contract longer that 3 years.
If you can sit through more than 10 games of that crap team more power to you. But if you’re passing on Alonzo to give more ABs to Schanuel there’s a reason you’re losing 98 games.
Correct-a-mundo
All teams have garbage eras. It’s easy to watch any baseball team when you dont have expectations and let the season play out.
It’s even easier when you’ve had the Autrys and Disney as your previous owners.
The fact that you think a 22 yo player who put up positive WAR in his 1st full season of pro ball is a finished product and was part of the problem with the team makes the rest of your opinions laughable at best.
You must be that guy that said these same things about Brandon Wood too. And let me guess, Schanuel will hit 30 HRs next year and Adelle will have a batting average above his body weight. If you can’t see how bad these guys are then you are as delusional as Arte Moreno and Perry Menasian. They think these guys are good too. They also think the Angels have a playoff roster! You’re all deranged.
@draker It’s contemptible to describe reasoned disbelief wrt Alonso’s post-29 playing career as “hate.”
Why do you hate reasoned disbelief, son?
I wouldn’t call fat-shaming and Anthony Rendon comparisons “reasoned disbelief”, but that’s just me.
A 30-year-old 1B with one tool who isn’t very good at playing 1B and whose one tool is already in decline.
That’s exactly the kind of player I expect the Angels to sign.
I doubt floating a rumor that any good player such as Alonso is being considered by the Angels or any team like them is going to kick start the market for him. You want to go play there, sure go ahead and ride your career out. Ask Kris Bryant and the Rockies how that’s worked out for them. A polar bear wouldn’t do well in Anaheim
Adding Alonso for 2025 would be awesome
Will it happen
Will, if , when, what if
The only thing I really feel is that in 2025, the angels will make the playoffs regardless of injuries
I still would sign Carlos estevez, before I did anything else
I love the team
Love the late bloomers, former first round picks
I thought kieboom was going to be huge
I like kingery, his dad played
The angels signed two good unhurt starting pitchers
Wow
Right now, one quality reliever short
They blew so many games over the years
Lots of highlights coming in 2025
The first thing is there won’t be the bad base running from the first month of the last season
Remember the 02 angels
Every other night a new hero
Based on what I’ve seen the past few seasons you’re clearly delusional.
Heyman has no credibility, he’s just a shill for Boras to try to develop a non-existent market for Alonso. There’s only one team that wants him, and it’s going to be at David Stearns’ price, not Boras’. He’s a one dimensional player that isn’t worth giving up the QO draft picks.
Geez – Heyman is a shill for Boras?!?! I’ve only read that about 60 times from the commenters on MLBTR. Thanks for the original contribution.
@CaseyAbell,
It isn’t like everybody says. That’s the problem with group think reinforcement of false narrative.
makes sense. Arte Moreno has done much worse….
Let’s Go Angels ! Pull that trigger. Maybe another starting P too.
So there is a rumor that the Angels are thinking about talking to Alonso, but they haven’t pursued him let alone made him an offer? Why is everyone up in arms about something they haven’t even done yet?
Looks like an Angels move. They’ll regret it sometime next season.
Angles are simply trolling the Blue Jays at this point.
They never learn.
Always thought the angels would be a good fit for Alonso; Alonso and Soler in the same line up could have a lot of homers.
Also always felt that the Mets not re-signing Alonso would be a big miss for them. As currently 01/02/2025 the Mets even with Soto signing have missing pieces from being a solid powerful team
Alonso and Solar in the same lineup = Rob Deer and Pete Incaviglia in the same lineup. 18,000 strike outs.
In the grand tradition of the monster contracts given to Pujols, Rendon and Trout, who better than the Angels to lavish nine figures on a declining one dimensional slugger?
What a weird thing to report. People ‘weigh’ things all the time. Weighing signing a player feels like 6 steps before anything even meaningful happens.
Mariners should jump into the Alonso sweepstakes just to drive up his price. I mean, Juan Soto is an insanely overpaid Alonso.
…Soto is 10 times the player Alonso is by every metric and is 4 years younger. This is not an accurate comparison.
List the teams that need a 1B.
@Garry,
That’s easy….All 30 teams need a first baseman.
Like I said, no one wants to play for the Angels. No one wants to play for Arte Moreno they won’t be successful until Arte Moreno sells the team and get someone who understands build a successful franchise
Just go to the damned Blue Jays and get it over with Polar Bear.
You’d be half of the offense there. And you’re just a big polar bear. A perfect marriage of marketing and perpetual need for one like I’ve never seen and they have the deepest pockets on earth right now. They would pay you 6 years and too much goddamned money just to fart around in a nice warm dome.
They have been weighing and kicking tires for too long.