Angels reportedly ‘weighing’ pursuit of four-time All-Star

The Angels are reportedly “weighing” a pursuit of free agent first baseman Pete Alonso as they search for another bat to add to their lineup, according to a report from Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

Alonso, 30, is the top free agent available at first base this winter but hasn’t found the market he was hoping for to this point. While plenty of clubs entered the winter with needs at first base, several feasible landing spots for Alonso have subsequently addressed the position in other ways. For example, the Yankees added Paul Goldschmidt, the Astros signed Christian Walker, the Nationals traded for Nathaniel Lowe and the Tigers shifted Colt Keith to first base after signing Gleyber Torres. Meanwhile, many teams that could potentially be in the market for first base/DH, such as the Mariners, Padres and Twins, face payroll constraints that make a pursuit of Alonso quite unlikely.

In recent weeks, that’s led to a feeling that a return to Queens may be inevitable for the slugger. The Mets have not yet filled their hole at first base. While they’ve replaced Alonso’s bat in the lineup with Juan Soto, it’s hard to deny that the club could benefit from adding another slugger to the mix, particularly a right-handed hitter like Alonso, who can help balance out Soto and Brandon Nimmo’s left-handed bats alongside switch-hitter Francisco Lindor. In recent weeks, however, it appears that Alonso’s market has begun to expand a bit. The Giants were connected to the slugger last week, and now the Angels have seemingly entered the fray. While both clubs would face a bit of a tight roster fit given the presence of incumbent first basemen on the roster, either club would surely benefit from adding Alonso’s bat to the middle of their lineup.

In Anaheim, youngster Nolan Schanuel appears to hold the keys to first base. The club’s first-round pick in 2023, Schanuel, rocketed through the minors to reach the majors shortly after being drafted and since then has slashed a respectable .255/.354/.357 in 176 games at the big league level. While the 22-year-old hasn’t developed the necessary power to be more than an average bat in the majors, his phenomenal plate discipline suggests a bright future for the youngster. That makes it hard to believe that the Angels would kick Schanuel from the lineup to sign Alonso. Heyman reports that both could coexist in the Anaheim lineup even with Jorge Soler entrenched as the club’s regular DH by moving Schanuel to left field.

It’s a novel solution to the problem, given that Schanuel has not played the outfield before as a professional. Still, it’s not entirely impossible to imagine him being able to handle the position defensively. After all, Schanuel got occasional reps in the outfield as an amateur. Those days aren’t nearly as far behind him as they are for more established big leaguers or even fellow youngsters who spent more time in the minor leagues. That defensive risk could be worth taking if it means adding a hitter of Alonso’s caliber to the lineup, replacing the likely platoon of Jo Adell and Mickey Moniak, which the club currently seems poised to utilize in the outfield alongside Taylor Ward.

That said, it’s hard to imagine the Angels preferring an arrangement with Alonso that pushed Schanuel into the outfield to simply signing a big bat for their outfield mix and keeping their young hitter at his natural position. The Halos have also been connected to Anthony Santander on the free agent market recently. Heyman concedes that the Angels landing Santander is “more likely” than the club ultimately ended up with Alonso due partly to the cleaner positional fit.

Santander’s market isn’t limited to the Angels. Suppose he winds up signing somewhere else, such as Detroit or Toronto. In that case, it suddenly becomes easier to imagine Angels brass being more willing to move things around to accommodate the addition of Alonso at first base, given that the only other impact free agent available in the outfield would be Jurickson Profar, who lacks the lengthy track record of success that Alonso offers.