So far, Alonso's strongest suit is his availability. Hasn't missed many games at all in his career.
That's worth a lot of money to any team right there...as long as he generally keeps up what he is doing offensively.
I'd like to see him cut down on the strikeouts and up the walks a bit...but I don't see a lot of players improving in those categories once they reach their late 20's.
They are what they are at this point, and that hole in their swings usually just gets bigger as they age.
Apparently he's a much better 1st baseman then Dunn, because it's stunning how much his defense kills Dunn's WAR numbers, looking at his baseball reference page.
I never saw Dunn play 1st base, but I saw Jason Giambi play 1st base for years...and Dunn's defensive metrics make Giambi look like a Don Mattingly or Keith Hernandez in comparison....and Giambi was a baaaaaad 1st baseman. Maybe he just looked awful to me after years of being spoiled by Don Mattingly and Tino Martinez...but he's the one who made me think that a good 1st baseman in under-rated in both defensive metrics and fans always claiming the worst fielders get put there because it's such an easy position....which I call bullshit on.
I grew up playing baseball, and the only two positions that scared me to play were catcher and 1st baseman. Maybe because I was a little kid, but I wanted no part of either one.