Pete Alonso of New York Mets reacts during game.Pete Alonso (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)
New York Mets All-Star slugger Pete Alonso is one of the biggest names who could be moved between now and the July 30 MLB trade deadline.

Though the surging Mets (48-45) find themselves right back in the playoff race after a slow start, president of baseball operations David Stearns will have to trade Pete Alonso if he gets an offer he can’t refuse.

The 29-year-old is eligible to hit free agency this winter. As such, the Mets have to decide if it’s worth the risk of losing Alonso for nothing in free agency, or if they’re better off sacrificing the present for future assets.

Jim Bowden of The Athletic proposed a massive trade idea that would see the Mets sending Pete Alonso to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for first baseman Alex Kirilloff and two of their top prospects, pitcher David Festa and second baseman Luke Keaschall:

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.”

The 6-foot-3, 245-pond Pete Alonso is having a down year for his standards, with a .241 batting average and a .772 OPS that’s well off his career OPS of .858. But he hasn’t lost the power in that bat, with 18 homers and 49 RBI on the year.

Pete Alonso Could Get Twins Over The Top

The Twins finally made postseason progress last year by sweeping the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Wild Card series. This marked Minnesota’s first postseason series win since 2002, when they defeated the Oakland Athletics.

Minnesota doesn’t usually get too aggressive at the trade deadline, but their window to win is wide open with Carlos Correa, Royce Lewis, Byron Buxton and Jose Miranda in their prime years.

The Twins still feel like a team that’s a tier below the top AL teams like the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Guardians, New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners. If the front office can add a power bat line Alonso at the trade deadline, it just might be the final move that gets this team over the top.