Why the Baltimore Orioles Shelled Out $155 Million for Pete Alonso, Gave Up on Grayson Rodriguez

Baltimore Orioles beat reporter Matt Weyrich from The Baltimore Sun visits the Jack Vita Show to chat about the O's highly active offseason. The Orioles are making quick work of the offseason. The club signed former New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso to a five-year, $155 million contract, the richest free agent deal in franchise history. The O's patched up their bullpen, inking closer Ryan Helsley to a two-year, $28 million deal. Baltimore has also been very active in the trade market. Last month, the club dealt promising young pitcher Grayson Rodriguez to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for outfielder Taylor Ward, in a rare, one-for-one trade. Then, the club turned around and acquired pitching, trading prospects Slater de Brun, Caden Bodine, Michael Forret, Austin Overn, and a Competitive Balance Round A draft pick to the Tampa Bay Rays for starting pitcher Shane Baz. Matt is here to break it all down with Jack, discussing how the Alonso deal came to fruition, and how the O's lineup stacks up with him and Taylor Ward in it. Full transparency, this episode was taped before the Orioles acquired Baz, so Jack and Matt discuss how they expect the O's to address their starting pitching needs this winter. Can Orioles fans expect their team to add another high-profile starting pitcher before Spring Training? Later, Matt celebrates his James Madison Dukes' playoff berth. Matt is a 2019 graduate of JMU and never thought he'd see the day that his school would be participating in the College Football Playoff. Matt and Jack talk about the College Football Playoff system, and discuss how things shook out this year. All this, and so much more, only on the Jack Vita Show! You can follow Matt on Twitter, @ByMattWeyrich!