Among those formerly employed within their respective sports by The Athletic, its former MLB general manager Jim Bowden, who is often penning his thoughts as to which teams should shuffle around which players. Who should buy, who should sell, etc.

This certainly lends itself into the mind of someone that once had a job intended to do just that, but his latest suggestion for the Minnesota Twins probably lands him in the role he currently has, rather than the one his X (formerly Twitter) handle is tied to.

Jim Bowden REALLY wants Minnesota Twins to trade for Pete Alonso

Multiple times over the past few weeks, Bowden has connected the New York Mets in a deal that would send home run king Pete Alonso to the Minnesota Twins. Monday, in a ‘5 deals teams should make at the trade deadline’ piece, he went there again.

In this trade proposal, I have Alonso going to the Twins, who could put him in the middle of their lineup between Carlos Correa and Royce Lewis. Acquiring Polar Bear Pete would give Minnesota (40-32), which currently sits in the American League’s third wild-card spot, a much better shot of overtaking the Guardians and Royals and prevailing in the AL Central.

Jim Bowden – The Athletic

That all sounds great, in theory. But there’s a problem. Well… a couple of problems. First, Pete Alonso is having one of the worst seasons of his career, slashing just .232/.310/.461. His .771 OPS is by far the worst of his career, currently outpacing his .817 from the shortened 2020 season by nearly .50 points.

Pete Alonso CRUSHES a three-run homer to make it 4-1 Mets! pic.twitter.com/RdHFCnqgPN

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 16, 2024

Bowden, however, is undeterred. Jim wants the Twins to give up the farm for Alonso. Not only does he have them trading away Alex Kirilloff, but also top pitching prospect David Festa AND 21-year-old top hitting prospect, Luke Keaschall, who has absolutely destroyed high-A and Double-A pitching this season (.335 BA, .447 OBP, 8 HR, 17 SB).

Related: Alex Kirilloff Demoted; Minnesota Twins Call Up Another 1st Round Pick

In return, the Mets would get first baseman Alex Kirilloff, who has dealt with wrist and other nagging injuries during his career but still has a sweet swing and upside. Last year he slashed .270/.348/.445 with 11 home runs and 41 RBIs over 88 games and 319 plate appearances.

This year he’s struggled, hitting .201 with five home runs before a recent demotion to Triple A. However, he’s still only 26 years old. David Festa would be the key component of the trade for New York. The 24-year-old righty has posted a 3.50 ERA over 13 starts this year at Triple A, striking out a staggering 81 batters in 54 innings. The final piece of this deal would be infielder Luke Keaschall, who can play second, shortstop and third.

Jim Bowden – The Athletic

It makes sense for Steve Cohen’s pet franchise to sell off some assets before the deadline, given they have failed to meet expectations yet again. With that said, it makes no sense for Derek Falvey to pay a king’s ransom for Alonso, when the Twins would only have him for a few months this season, before he hits free agency this fall.

Kirilloff has been a frustrating first round pick that has had his development stunted by injury. Minnesota would be selling low on his services, but it could be determined that he has been overtaken by both Trevor Larnach and Alex Kirilloff.

Throwing in the organization’s top pitching prospect, and a player in Keaschall that could be considered top five, would get a quick dead tone on the line, from me, and hopefully Derek Falvey too. Three months of mashing and an outside chance at a World Series run isn’t worth that.

Luke Keaschall now has the longest active on-base streak in all of @MLB and @MiLB at 36 consecutive games📈

He went 4-5 with a HR (105 mph) and a 2B (102 mph) yesterday

In 16 games since getting promoted to Double-A, he is slashing .344/.444/.492 (.936 OPS)‼️#MNTwins pic.twitter.com/epDuYcHqbP

— Twins Player Development (@TwinsPlayerDev) June 14, 2024

Starting pitching over Pete Alonso makes more sense for the Minnesota Twins

It would be great for the Twins to add Alonso to their lineup, and even Vladimir Guerrero Jr. would be a good fit. That said, Carlos Santana has produced an .895 OPS over his last 46 games for Minnesota, and is a better defender than both. Either could slot into the designated hitter role, but Baldelli has left that as a rotating spot in his lineup.

Related: Matt Wallner to Twins: Promote Me, or Trade Me

Ultimately the Twins are far more likely to pay a king’s ransom for a starting pitcher that helps them in the sprint that is Major League Baseball’s postseason. The lineup is in a good spot, and someone like Matt Wallner, Emmanuel Rodriguez, or Brooks Lee could be inserted if they aren’t part of a package for a pitcher.

That’s probably why the only Twins player who made former MLB GM turned MLB insider, Jim Bowden’s (The Athletic) newly dropped MLB All-Star Game projected roster was Ryan Jeffers. And he barely limped onto the theoretical AL squad as Bowden’s fourth catcher and one of the last spots filled.

Ryan Jeffers, Twins
(1.8 WAR, 12 HR, 36 RBI, 143 OPS+)

He has been the Twins’ best offensive player this season, leading the team in slugging percentage, home runs and RBIs. Jeffers is deserving and serves as the Twins’ lone representative in this projection, edging out the A’s Brent Rooker and the Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton for this roster spot.

Jim Bowden’s projected 2024 AL All-Star Team – The Athletic

Ryan Jeffers being the only Twin picked to Bowden’s AL All-Star team is not a surprise. The Twins’ star players (Carlos Correa, Pablo Lopez, Byron Buxton, Royce Lewis) have either been injured or not performed at All-Star levels during the first half of 2024.

What was more noteworthy in Bowden’s piece, regarding the Minnesota Twins, was hidden further down in the article. Underneath Jim’s American League projections, were his National League participants.

Jim Bowden links Minnesota Twins to Pete Alonso (again)

One of the names listed for the NL is New York Mets 1st baseman, Pete Alonso. That’s not the surprising part, being that Pete plays in the New York market and he absolutely rakes. But the (26-35) Mets are a trainwreck and ready to sell at the deadline. Thus, Pete is on their trade block and VERY available for the taking.

Pete Alonso goes deep for his 11th homer of the year! 🐻‍❄️ pic.twitter.com/jaI3Nc7D9J

— MLB (@MLB) May 22, 2024

So in his little excerpt on Alonso, Bowden dove into the slugger’s trade market. And guess who he mentioned as a likely suitor, when trade talks start to get heated in the next month or two? That’s right, your Minnesota Twins.

Alonso leads the Mets in home runs and RBIs, like he did last year. In all likelihood he will get traded at the deadline for a package of prospects and then the Mets will do everything they can to re-sign him in the offseason. He loves New York and New York loves him. The Mariners, Astros, Yankees, Twins and Giants are among the teams that could use him.

Jim Bowden links Pete Alonso to Minnesota Twins, among others – The Athletic

The 29-year-old Alonso is a former Rookie of the Year winner, a 3-time All-Star and 2-time Home Run Derby winner. He has a career .862 OPS (136 OPS+) and he’s hit 40 or more nukes and driven in over 115 runs in each of the past two seasons.

WHAT A SHOT from Pete Alonso! 446 feet deep into the night! pic.twitter.com/2cVE2JrHEE

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 5, 2024

In other words, Pete Alonso is exactly what the Minnesota Twins lineup needs. And as we get closer to the trade deadline, it appears that Derek Falvey & Co might realize it too. And this isn’t the first time we’ve seen the Twins linked to the Mets’ home run champ.

Today’s mention by Bowden comes just a couple weeks after he did the same thing in another piece for The Athletic. Of note, this updated list of teams does not include the Guardians, as his last one did. This one, instead, includes the Giants. Clearly, if the Mets move to trade Alonso, Bowden expect the Twins to be interested.

Will a move get done, in the end? Before I’d consider saying yes, you’d have to convince me that the Pohlads would be willing to eat any salary at the Trade Deadline. Alonso is making $20.5 million this season, which means the Twins would have to cover about $8 million, if they were to make a deal right before the deadline. He is a rental, so it’s highly unlikely he would return for 2025.