Here is where the Orioles' signing of Pete Alonso ranks in franchise history

It's official, folks. Pete Alonso is now a member of the Baltimore Orioles, marking the first time in a long time that the franchise has made such a massive strike on the free agent market.

The move is monumental for a variety of reasons. While the five-year, $155 million deal itself is massive, it's still not the largest contract in franchise history. It is, however, the second-ever $100 milliion-plus contract ever handed out by the franchise, relieving Chris Davis of the distinction of being the only member of that club, though he is still the most infamous.

Alonso's arrival gives Baltimore's young nucleus a battle-tested veteran to serve as the offensive engine. That should pay huge dividends and put the rest of the league on notice. But it's also notable for another reason: it is the largest expenditure on an external player in franchise history.

Pete Alonso's contract isn't the largest in Orioles history, but it is the most significant

When looking at the largest contracts in Orioles history, one thing becomes readily apparent. It's been a very long time since the team spent big on a player who had not already played for the organization. The top five contracts in franchise history are as follows:

As you can see, whether they were extensions or the club simply reunited with these players in free agency, Davis, Adam Jones, and Nick Markakis were with the organization and were retained. That means that Alonso is the first true large-scale free agent signing since Miguel Tejada 22 years ago.

Honorable mention goes to Albert Belle, whose five-year, $65 million deal from 1998 now gets pushed out of the top-five largest contracts in Orioles history.

The lack of serious money being thrown around is no surprise given the tight grip Peter Angelos had on the purse strings for so long, and the Alonso deal is a prime example of David Rubenstein putting his money where his mouth is and spending big as promised. Of course, he can't just rest on his laurels now, though, as there's still work to be done in the starting rotation.

While Alonso's calling card is power, he doesn't come with the same fatal flaw that Davis did. Even before Davis lost all ability to be a productive ball player, he was regularly eclipsing a 30% strikeout rate. Alonso, on the other hand, owns a 22.8% K-rate, which in today's day and age is just a hair below league average.

Alonso is by far the best free agent the club has signed in a long time, and by keeping the deal to a manageable five years, there's a very good shot that this goes down as one of Baltimore's best free-agent signings and not just one of the richest.