The Baltimore Orioles are willing to listen on almost anyone this offseason — with exactly one exception: Pete Alonso. According to a report from @afkostka, cited by @Punchoutpitch on November 2, Baltimore is actively shopping its roster to address two clear needs — outfield help and starting pitching — but Alonso’s name is explicitly off the table.
Why Alonso Isn’t Going Anywhere
The Orioles don’t have a long list of untouchables. They have one. That alone says something about how the organization views what Alonso delivered in 2026: 43 home runs, 113 RBI, and an .885 OPS across 161 games and 700 plate appearances. That’s not a hot streak — that’s six months of consistent, elite production.
The Statcast numbers add context the box score doesn’t capture. Alonso posted an average exit velocity of 93.9 mph (98th percentile) and a barrel rate of 15.3% (96th percentile). That means roughly one in six of his batted balls carries the perfect combination of speed and launch angle to become extra bases or a home run. That kind of hitter doesn’t grow on trees, and he certainly doesn’t come cheap on the trade market.
What Baltimore Needs — and What They’re Willing to Give
The Orioles have identified two areas to fix heading into 2027: the outfield and the starting rotation. Both are legitimate needs that any attentive GM would have flagged by August. The challenge — and the opportunity — is that filling those gaps requires giving up real value, and the report makes clear that almost any other piece of the current roster is available.
The offseason is still in its earliest hours — the 2026 World Series only just ended — so the market hasn’t taken shape yet. But a public declaration of openness like this, with Alonso explicitly named as the exception, sends a clear signal to the rest of the league: Baltimore is in active-build mode, not rebuild mode. They want to win now.
There’s a second message buried in that decision too. By protecting Alonso from any conversation, the Orioles are telling you who they’re building around. A hitter who drew 81 walks (82nd percentile in BB%) and makes the kind of contact his Statcast profile shows isn’t someone a contending team gives away without getting a full roster back in return.
Pete Alonso’s 2026 Numbers at a Glance
- Plate appearances: 700
- Home runs: 43
- RBI: 113
- AVG: .267
- OPS: .885
- xwOBA: .402 — 99th percentile
- Exit velocity: 93.9 mph — 98th percentile
- Barrel rate: 15.3% — 96th percentile
- Hard-hit rate: 56.2% — 98th percentile
- Bat speed: 74.7 mph — 80th percentile
- Sprint speed: 5th percentile (yes, he’s slow)
Everything above the waist is elite. The legs are what they are. Baltimore clearly decided that’s a trade-off they can live with — indefinitely.
