Baltimore Orioles Slugger Named Silver Slugger Finalist In First Season

After what was a stellar first season with the Baltimore Orioles, first baseman and slugger Pete Alonso may be on the verge of hardware for being the best hitter on the team in 2026.

On Thursday morning, Alonso was named an American League Silver Slugger finalist at first base, along with Willson Contreras of the Boston Red Sox.

Alonso is the Orioles’ lone finalist for the award. He won the honor for the first time in his career last year with the New York Mets, but he is now a finalist for a fifth season in a row. Should he win the award, he would be the first Orioles first baseman to win a Silver Slugger since Chris Davis did so in 2013. 

Though the 2026 season was an overall down year for the Orioles, it was the opposite for Alonso at the dish. Fresh off of a five-year, $155 million contract that he signed with Baltimore last offseason, the 31-year-old gave the team one of his best offensive seasons yet in his decorated career.

Alonso posted a slashline of .267/.363/.522 at the plate and totaled 43 home runs and 113 RBI, while accumulating a 5.0 fWAR. He was the American League leader in both home runs and RBI, while hitting at least 40 homers for the fourth time in his career. 

Correspondingly, Alonso was named the unanimous winner of the Most Valuable Oriole Award for his stellar first season in Baltimore. If he were to win the Silver Slugger, he would be the Orioles’ first recipient of one since outfielder Anthony Santander won one in 2024. 

Alonso also has the opportunity to be on the unique side of history. He has an opportunity to become the ninth player to win a Silver Slugger in both leagues in back-to-back seasons, as he won his Silver Slugger last year in the National League with the Mets. 

The odds that Alonso comes out on top are rather strong, as his opponent in the running for the award, Contreras, did not accumulate numbers as strong as Alonso. Contreras did own a higher batting average with a .275 tally, but his 27 home runs and 81 RBI do not come close to Alonso’s totals. He also played 31 less games than Alonso did in 2026.

In his first year with the Orioles, Alonso showcased that his bat remains among the league’s best, while establishing himself as a veteran leader in Baltimore’s clubhouse. Though the Orioles fell short of their contention goals, Alonso’s highly positive addition to the organization was a massive bright spot of the 2026 season.

The MLB will announce the winners of the award on Tuesday, Nov. 17.