Going into 2026, the Yankees have a few holes to fill and one of them should not be first base, no matter who is on the market.
The Yankees last offseason signed the veteran Paul Goldschmidt to hold down first base for multiple reasons. Goldschmidt has always been a solid first basemen, both offensively and defensively, something that was an issue in 2023 and 2024 for the Yankees, but also to mentor young Ben Rice. The experiment seemed to be successful as Rice ended up getting majority of the first base reps by the end of the season and looks to be the starter out of spring training.
A rumor surfaced yesterday from the New York Post, that Hal Steinbrenner, owner of the Yankees “likes” free agent first basemen Pete Alonso. This makes absolutely no sense for the Yankees. For years now, the Yankees have always tried to keep first base at a glove-first position, and according to Alonso’s Baseball Savant page, he grades out as a negative defender. The Yankees have been clowned all over baseball over the past 2 years about their awful defense and adding Alonso to the mix would make things worse, as Yankees fans have seen first hand Alonso’s poor defense cost the Mets games.
Alonso is known for his power, and those numbers would likely go down playing 81 games at Yankee Stadium because of how deep left-center field is for righty hitters. While Savant has his home runs grade out the same the past two season, which could be a good sign, if you look at some years prior, Alonso would lose numerous home runs playing in The Bronx.
Part of the story that needs to be mentioned is where Alonso is coming from. Last offseason, the Mets signed superstar Juan Soto away from the Yankees, where he had some memorable and defining moments, ripping the hearts out of the fanbase. While it would not be smart, this could be seen as a get back tactic for the Yankees to poach the Mets franchise player away from them.
Alonso was also a free agent after the 2024 season, and while Brian Cashman told the media last offseason that he did his due diligence with agent Scott Boras on Alonso, talks did not go far between the two sides. I just can’t see how things would be different this time around, considering Alonso is one year older and seeking a seven-year contact, that will likley age poorly.
The Yankees also have a first baseman — Ben Rice. While Rice is still learning the position defensively, there is potential with some practice. As for the bat, Rice ranked top 15 in all of Baseball in Hard Hit Percentage, according to Baseball Savant.
Ben Rice was drafted as a catcher, and did not grade out very well defensively behind the plate, so he would not be the best option back there. A lot of Yankee fans were speculating of a potential trade of Austin Wells this offseason, but a source indicated that while teams will make calls, the Yankees likely won’t act on trading the backstop as they see he has potential to be a big time offensive threat, and is a top five defender behind the plate.
With the other big needs the Yankees need to fill on their roster, adding big money in a bat-first first basemen, like Pete Alonso, would be a move made out of spite, and not as a pure baseball move. The Yankees have a bat-first first baseman in house, with a seemingly higher upside than Alonso on a much more cost effective deal.
Why Alonso is not a fit for the Yankees was originally published in FanZone Report on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.