Pete Alonso rumors are perfect example of grim state of Twins

A year ago, you couldn't find a Pete Alonso rumor that didn't at least mention the Twins.

Sep 9, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso (20) hits a solo home run against the Minnesota Twins in the eighth inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images / Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

How good are the Minnesota Twins going to be in 2025? The easy answer is that they'll go as far as the current roster takes them. They have talent, who when healthy, can contend for a spot in the playoffs. But with ownership change coming and the team suggesting that payroll won't budge this winter, it's become evident that there won't be any exciting roster moves this offseason.

Locally, apathy has set in. It was clear with a downward trend in attendance while two months of the 2024 season was blacked out to Comcast and Xfiniity customers due to contract strife with Diamond Sports Group and Bally Sports North, which is now known was FanDuel Sports Network.

Minnesota was literally the last team to make a move before the July 31 MLB trade deadline and the move they made did nothing to improve the quality of a club that collapsed over the final six weeks of the regular season and missed the playoffs with an 82-80 record.

Perhaps the best indication of the national media acknowledging how little chance there is for the Twins to make a splash this winter comes from MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, who completely ignored the Twins when opining about seven teams that are the "best fits" for free agent first baseman Pete Alonso.

You literally could not find a national baseball publication that excluded the Twins when discussing Pete Alonso's fate last offseason, nor when chatting about teams the Mets could strike a trade with involving Alonso before this past season's summer deadline.

The seven teams Feinsand says are best fits for Alonso are the Mets, Yankees, Giants, Mariners, Astros, Blue Jays and Nationals.

Without boosting payroll, the Twins simply have no shot to go after a guy like Alonso, who, according to Feinsand, could wind up with a contract similar to those signed recently by Dodgers World Series MVP Freddie Freeman (eight years, $168 million) and Braves star first baseman Matt Olson (six years, $162 million).

The Twins are for sale. The team's long-standing president (Dave St. Peter) has stepped down. The former general manager (Thad Levine) exited. The TV situation will be more available in 2025, but with a roster that seems destined for very little improvements, the excitement level about the 2025 Twins couldn't be lower than it is right now.

That should change if the Pohlads sell the franchise and fresh blood promises better returns and a more competitive approach to contending with the likes of the Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers, but until then the Twins are swimming on the bottom with hopes of rising to the top.