Orioles Post Viral Polar Bear Meme to Announce Pete Alonso's $155M Contract

The Baltimore Orioles have officially signed Pete Alonso away from the New York Mets.

The Orioles acknowledged Alonso's signing for the first time Thursday with a meme referencing his "Polar Bear" nickname.

The club then officially confirmed Alonso has been signed to a five-year contract running through the 2030 season and revealed he'll wear No. 25:

ESPN's Jeff Passan first reported Wednesday that Alonso had signed a five-year, $155 million deal with the Orioles following seven seasons with the Mets.

Since he made MLB debut with the Mets in 2019, no player has batted in more runs than Alonso (712 career RBI).

Alonso also ranks third only to Aaron Judge and Kyle Schwarber for the MLB lead with 264 home runs over that span.

Last season he led the Mets with 126 RBI and ranked second with 38 homers while pacing the NL with 41 doubles.

The Mets reportedly made Alonso a long-term extension offer in 2023, which was when the New York Post's Joel Sherman reported the first baseman turned down a seven-year, $158 million deal.

Alonso instead played the 2024 and 2025 seasons on one-year deals before testing free agency this offseason.

This time, the Mets reportedly didn't make a formal bid to keep Alonso. According to Sherman, the club "never made an offer as it became clear to them that Alonso was getting bids for more dollars and years than in their comfort zone."

Alonso is now set to join Jackson Holliday and Gunnar Henderson at the top of the Orioles' batting order.

After going winless in two postseason appearances in 2023 and 2024, the Orioles fell short of the playoffs in 2025.

Baltimore will hope the addition of a veteran slugger to the lineup will help their young core take a step closer to a postseason win in 2026, while potentially drawing in more fans to a ballpark that ranked 23rd in average attendance last season.