Scott Boras' latest attempt to earn Pete Alonso some leverage is his most pathetic yet

With Spring Training rapidly approaching, most of the high-end free agents are off the board. An argument can be made that Pete Alonso - the player with the most home runs hit in the National League since his MLB debut back in 2019 - is the best player out there. Yet, for some reason, nobody seems desperate to sign him.

It isn't so hard to see why that is the case. Alonso is now 30 years old, and is as one-dimensional of a player as there is. Yes, he's got tons of power, but he doesn't get on base a ton, is a subpar defender at arguably the least valuable position in the sport, and doesn't offer value on the basepaths.

Despite that, Alonso's agent, Scott Boras, has been working overtime to try and get Alonso a massive deal in free agency. His only problem, though, is that outside of the New York Mets, it's been hard for him to find suitors.

Teams that might've been interested earlier this offseason, like the New York Yankees, Washington Nationals, and Houston Astros, have all addressed the first-base position with other players. The Mets are interested, but only at a certain price. Alonso is looking for more than what the Mets have been willing to offer, but there's no reason for New York to bid against themselves.

Boras has been trying to sell the Mets on the idea that the Toronto Blue Jays are a team that is very interested in Alonso, but moments after it was reported that the Jays were getting closer to a deal with the slugging first baseman, two different Blue Jays reporters noted that discussions between the two sides were not gaining any momentum. There appeared to have been a source-off with Boras right in the middle of it.

Now, less than 24 hours after the Jays madness, Boras has turned to another team - the Los Angeles Angels - to try and gain much-needed leverage. The only problem, though, is that the Angels feel like even less convincing of a destination than the Jays.

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Scott Boras' latest attempt to earn Pete Alonso leverage almost certainly won't work

The Jays feel like a questionable fit for Alonso. They could make it work, but it would be a strange signing for an organization that has been so fixated on fielding defense-first teams in recent years. They could use Alonso at DH or move Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to third base, but this is the kind of deal we'd have to see to believe. With how eager they are to win right now, though, the Jays cannot be ruled out.

But as strange of a fit Toronto would be, the Angels would be a whole lot weirder.

Could the Angels use Alonso's bat? Certainly. The only thing is, where exactly would he play in Anaheim? He's obviously better than Nolan Schanuel, their current first baseman, but would the Angels really want to move Schanuel to another position (he has only played first base at the MLB level) or to the bench not even two full seasons after drafting him with the No. 11 overall pick of the 2023 MLB Draft? Plus, it's not as if Schanuel was bad in his first full MLB season. He had a 101 OPS+, making him a tick above league-average offensively.

The Angels could use Alonso at DH, but they just traded for Jorge Soler, who figures to slot in there. They could move Soler to the outfield, but with Taylor Ward, Mike Trout, Jo Adell, and Mickey Moniak on their roster, that part of the team is pretty full, too.

The Angels could make things work with Alonso, obviously, but considering their roster, it's hard to envision them overpaying the 30-year-old. If anything, they'd overpay a guy like Jack Flaherty to insert into a rotation in dire need of a boost.

In addition to the questionable roster fit, the Angels aren't the most appealing organization. They've missed the playoffs in each of the last 10 years and haven't had a winning record in a single season since 2016. They went 63-99 in 2024, and have one of the worst farm systems in the Majors. Money does talk, but why would Alonso seriously entertain the Angels barring a massive offer compared to others he might have gotten from teams like the Mets and Jays?

To Boras' credit, the Angels do have an owner, Arte Moreno, who has not been shy when it comes to handing out massive contracts out of desperation. For that reason alone, the Angels can't be counted out, but it isn't hard to see why this is getting leaked. Boras is having trouble finding non-Mets suitors. Chances are, the Angels connection won't get David Stearns to increase his offer, which is what the Alonso camp is hoping for.