If MLB needs an All-Star replacement, Orioles’ Pete Alonso has a worthy case

CINCINNATI — As Craig Albernaz commended catcher Adley Rutschman for earning a place on the American League All-Star team, the Orioles manager added an aside: He thinks there are more Baltimore players deserving of an invitation to the Midsummer Classic.

With Saturday’s 8-5 win against the Cincinnati Reds, the Orioles are six games below .500 (42-48). They don’t have a roster overflowing with highly performing players — if they did, they would be in a better position than they are. But, if there’s one player who has a worthy case as a replacement player, it’s first baseman Pete Alonso.

He may well find his way into the game. Shortly after rosters were announced Saturday night, Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. told the media he will not participate in the All-Star Game so he can use the break to recuperate from lower-back issues.

That opens a spot. More may open in the coming week if there are more injuries. And while Alonso is not alone in being a worthy replacement — Boston Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras is another strong option — the trickle-down over the next week may lead to another appearance.

Alonso, who joined the Orioles on a five-year, $155 million contract, made the All-Star Game four straight years with the New York Mets. If he’s not selected, it will be the first All-Star Game without him since 2021.

Alonso was not actively campaigning for that open spot Saturday night, but his performance made a strong case anyway. In fact, after the game, Alonso said he might not be deserving of a spot, given how slowly his began the season.

“I’m just calling a spade a spade. There’re more deserving first basemen, I think,” said Alonso, who has produced an .898 OPS since May. “I didn’t come off to a great start. I had a pretty bad April. Granted, the past two months have been great. I’m very happy with how things have been going, but my April, if I’m not an All-Star, again, I don’t necessarily deserve it from those four weeks. From a complete season, big picture, I would say I’m in a good spot. Always room for improvement. But if I’m ultimately not, listen, I didn’t play well enough.”

On Saturday, though, Alonso continued a superb stretch that spans more than two months. He reached base five times, including an RBI single that was part of a five-run fourth inning. Alonso walked twice, recorded another single and drove a double to round out his offensive performance.

The first of Alonso’s walks helped changed the game. He worked right-hander Hunter Greene for nine pitches, with five foul balls, before he took his base. That set up for Samuel Basallo’s three-run home run in the first inning.

“I was making great pitches,” Greene told reporters. “I was getting to the inside. I was getting to his hands. He doesn’t like the ball inside. So I was obviously pitching to my strengths and his weakness, a great hitter, but I was definitely beating him, and I just wasn’t able to put him away.”

Alonso can give pitchers fits when he battles like that.

And in the field, where Alonso has made his greatest strides from early in his career, he picked a short-hopped throw from third baseman Blaze Alexander. After falling to the dirt, Alonso pumped his fist and yelled. The play at first ended the fourth and helped right-hander Brandon Young through another inning after he struggled early.

Young allowed four runs in the first two innings, matching his season high in what has been a standout year. But he completed five innings, holding the Reds to four runs, and the Orioles’ offense blitzed Greene in the Reds starter’s first game back from the injured list.

Basallo began it with a three-run home run in the first inning. Greene fired a 100 mph fastball on the inner half of the plate, and Basallo didn’t miss it. He belted his second long ball of the series to put the Orioles on the board immediately.

“He has a really special chance, with his talent, to do a lot of incredible things in this game as a catcher,” Alonso said of Basallo. “I mean, he’s got the runway of eight years, and it’s going to be really special.”

Then the Orioles retook the lead in the fourth when Alexander drove a two-run single and Rutschman followed with a two-run double. That was Rutschman’s second double of the game, giving him 18 this season — two more than he managed in 2025.

Alonso strode to the plate against left-hander Sam Moll, then, and he plated Rutschman with a single. In the ninth, Alonso capped an all-around strong day by ripping a double.

“That’s what Pete does, man,” Albernaz said. “He’s a professional hitter.”

It took Alonso time to get going. At the end of April, he had a .668 OPS. But, over the last two months, he has been his usual force at the plate.

He leads the Orioles with an .819 OPS. And if Major League Baseball needs a replacement for the All-Star Game, it could watch back this game and see a worthy candidate.

Alonso pointed to Young, with his 3.38 ERA, and right-hander Rico Garcia as All-Star replacement candidates from the Orioles. He praised the job Rutschman does and said he hopes the catcher will have company in Philadelphia on July 14.

“To go with more guys, I think, is more fulfilling and way more fun,” Alonso said. “It just adds to the experience.”

But, despite distancing himself from the conversation of becoming an All-Star replacement, his performances do enough talking for him.

This article has been updated.