On Monday, MLB.com reported that free agent slugger Pete Alonso will be driving up from his residence in Tampa, FL to meet with teams in-person in Orlando at this year’s MLB Winter Meetings.

According to the report, Alonso is slated to meet with two AL East rivals:

The Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles.

While neither team’s lead baseball decision maker said anything on the record on Monday about Alonso directly, both Criag Breslow and Mike Elias made comments that all-but had Alonso’s name attached to them in sharpie.

“We still haven’t addressed some of the position-player needs that we have,” said Boston’s chief baseball officer when meeting with the media on Monday evening. “We still are going to prioritize someone who can hit in the middle of the order and kind of change the overall outlook of the offense.

“Home runs are a foolproof way to put runs on the board. Typically, that type of profile comes with a trade-off, most often contact-ability, which is another area that we feel like we need to improve, kind of the identity of the offense. But at the end of the day, we’re trying to score as many runs as possible.

“We’ve got pitching depth, based on some of the inbound calls that we’ve received over the last couple weeks. I think teams have recognized that there’s appeal to controllable starting pitching. If there are opportunities to use some of that depth in order to address other areas of the roster, we’d be willing to do it.”

I know that’s a lot of Breslow to handle at once. His quotes are best consumed in small doses. With that said, all of those words make it clear that the Red Sox have completely shifted their focus towards finding someone to bolster that 3/4/5 hitter role for a team that lacked a consistent power bat all of 2025.

Baltimore’s general manager delivered a similar sentiment when he met with the Orioles local media on Monday as well.

“We’re talking to a whole bunch of hitters, and we just view it as, ‘Do they improve the team? Do they improve the roster? Do they raise the ceiling of the team? Do they have an impact?’” said Elias. “If the player’s good enough, we can figure out ways to accommodate them. So we have a lot of conversations going on, mostly in free agency, but also some in trades, on guys that we view as impact bats.”

There’s no universe where the Red Sox should lose a bidding war to Baltimore. If it comes down to cash, Boston cannot be outspent on Alonso by their little brother on the Chesapeake Bay. And this is especially true when you read The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham from Saturday:

“Pete Alonso seems like a perfect fit for the Sox. He’s a righthanded hitting first baseman with tremendous power who thrived in a big market. His wife, Haley, is a Boston native who grew up in Quincy. The couple met when Alonso was playing in the Cape Cod League. Alonso has told friends the Sox are high on his list.”

Abraham went on to say Alonso is projected to land a four-or-five-year deal worth somewhere in the ballpark of $28 million a year. Both the contract term and the dollar amount are lower than originally anticipated, especially when compared to similar contracts given to first basemen in recent years, and neither figure comes out of thin air from a reporter of Abraham’s caliber.

Last Monday, ESPN’s Jeff Passan said this on Threads about Alonso’s free agency:

“Alex Bregman and Pete Alonso: Both were free agents last winter. Both produced well. Both opted out of deals that didn’t reach expectations. And now both are faced with trying to get contracts that better align with their numbers. With the number of teams seeking a middle-of-the-order bat, the chances are good, though both are waiting for a team to step to the forefront.”

Alonso’s projected contracts have varied, with previous reports suggesting $150-$210 million over five to seven years.

Could Alonso’s willingness to sign a shorter-term deal at a lower dollar amount signal that the 30-year-old recognizes Fenway Sports Group’s self-imposed spending limits and wants to be in Boston badly enough to leave money on the table?

If Alonso signs under these terms, could that free the front office to focus on re-signing Alex Bregman to the long-term deal he’s seeking and strengthen the team’s core?

As we all know, this ownership group can afford to spend like drunken sailors if they’d like. They just choose not to.

If Alonso is committed to Boston and values a winning roster, this could finalize the deal before spring training.

Abraham noted on Saturday that Alonso doesn’t fully align with the team-building philosophy Craig Breslow and Alex Cora have outlined, as both want the Red Sox to be stronger defensively, more athletic, and to feature a versatile lineup. They have also repeatedly emphasized the value of multiple players at DH.

Still, the team would likely find a way to utilize Alonso’s 6-foot-3 frame and 23.3 career WAR.

Appearing in all 162 games for the second consecutive season, Alonso’s league-leading 41 doubles paired beautifully with 38 homers and 126 RBI for the Mets in his seventh major league season, his fifth as an All-Star. He finished 2025 with the highest batting average of his career at .272 and the second-highest OPS at .871.

That’ll play for a lineup that ran out of gas last October at Yankee Stadium.

Alonso, a two-time Home Run Derby champion, has 11 homers, 27 hits, 31 RBI, and 23 runs in 32 career games against the Yankees.

He’s unafraid of the pinstripes.

He’s a fan of the Boston area.

His wife grew up less than 10 miles from Fenway Park.

He’s seemingly willing to take a little bit less money than originally reported.

The Red Sox are outright saying they want to invest in bats over arms.

He’s reportedly driving to meet with them in-person on Tuesday.

It’s all making too much sense.

It’s time for the “Interest Kings” to get more than interested in “Polar Bear” and get a deal done.

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Boston Red Sox Manager Alex Cora Praises Roman Anthony, Discusses Team's Needs

Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He's a senior digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.