The Mariners' frustrating non-pursuit of Pete Alonso is already aging terribly

With a dramatic come-from-behind 6-5 victory in Wednesday afternoon's rubber match versus the Athletics, the Seattle Mariners have now made it nine series wins in a row.

The M's sit at the top of the AL West in large part due to a rejuvenated offense, but what if we told you the lineup could — and maybe should — have been even better?

Ahead of Thursday's slate of MLB games, the Mariners are in the heady heights of seventh in scoring thanks to ranking fifth in OPS, but the one position letting the side down is first base with a team-worst .560 OPS. It didn't have to be like this, with the team deciding to rely on the underwhelming combination of Rowdy Tellez and Donovan Solano.

During the offseason, there was little to no doubt the Mariners' main need was to strengthen the infield with at least one quality bat. And the answer seemed to be staring them in the face in the form of four-time All-Star first baseman Pete Alonso, who was still unsigned as we entered 2025.

Why could the Mariners not act on what seemed so obvious?

While not quite begging the Mariners to do the right thing and sign Alonso, we were definitely pushing for it in an effort to capatalize on the drama between him and the New York Mets. We weren't the only ones either, with USA Today's Bob Nightengale declaring the Mariners as a perfect fit, while short-term fan favorite Justin Turner believed it was slam dunk for a team with a "unicorn" of a pitching staff.

When Alonso did finally sign in mid-February, it was a bad look for the Mariners, as he agreed to a two-year, $54 million deal to return to the Mets. Even allowing for the M's front office not being allocated a lot of money to work with, signing the 2019 NL Rookie of the Year to that kind of contract would have been an absolute steal and worth the investment.

Since the 2025 season started, the Mariners have seen the decision to not actively pursue Alonso come back to haunt them. At the time of writing, he is first in the majors in RBI, while also leading the NL in doubles, OBP, OPS and OPS+.

The Pete Alonso of old has showed up in 2025

As if to highlight just how galvanized the 30-year-old is, he's currently projected to additionally finish this season with career-highs in batting average and slugging percentage. Even allowing for a slight drop-off from his current level of production for the entire season, he's clearly back to the type of form which helped him lead the majors in home runs in 2019 and the NL in RBI during 2022.

The Mariners are in an interesting position where some wonder if their success at the plate is a mirage of sorts, with fans still scarred by the offensive ineptitude displayed by the team most of last year. Can Jorge Polanco continue his red hot form? Is J.P. Crawford truly back? And will Julio Rodríguez be able to perform his usual trick of warming up as the season progresses?

While there are no guarantees that Alonso would have succeeded to the same level in Seattle, he would still have been well worth the gamble and undoubtedly a better option compared to the platoon of Tellez and Solano. And as Alonso continues to knock the cover off the ball in New York, the decision by the Mariners not to pursue him is aging worse than a glass of milk on a hot summer's day in Southern Alabama.

Recent Posts