VIDEO: 2 Starting Pitchers, 1 Trade: Twins Offseason Blueprint

[Tom Froemming]

The Minnesota Twins need a lot of starting pitching help for the 2022 season and there aren't many arms still available on the free agent market. There also doesn't appear to be an obvious solution at shortstop among the players on the open market, but that doesn't mean the Twins are out of luck. Here are a couple of trade ideas that could address those areas of need, including one in which the team acquires a pair of rotation pieces in the same deal.

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[Major League Ready]

Snell and Odorizzi combined for 3.2 WAR last year.  They are not going to make us legit contenders unless every player on the roster has a career year.  From all appearances the FO is focused on building a pitching staff from within.  I would hope they would not abandon that plan/focus for Snell and Odorizzi.  

[wabene]

Sign me up Tom! I always liked Odo, and thought he was a gamer. He may not have liked being skipped in the playoffs, not sure I liked that either. He would have shown up in that start. Add Snell? Yes please.

[wabene]

This would legitimize our staff and still leave plenty of opportunity for the prospects.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

In all due respect Tom,  the Twins will never end up with Snell and Odo for that guy you said the Twins would give up and whose name I did not recognize.  But no harm in asking. Thanks for really emphasizing Emmanuel Rodriguez to me. I'll pay more attention to him now.   

[DocBauer]

Tom. I think your idea is a bit far-fetched only because ANY trade is hard to speculate on, much less one including 3 teams in the mix. That being said, I think your proposal very logical, well thought out, practical, and I would JUMP on a second to make this happen.

Payroll wise it fits and still allows wiggle room for a bullpen arm and a flier. Maybe even a 4th OF option so we don't have to rush Celestino. But I'm not sure there would still be room for 6th SP option such as Pineda. I think, even if this trade happened, the Twins might want to risk ML "depth" vs having a potential "hole" to be filled be Dobnak and anyone else vs another signing.

Prospect wise, giving up Rodriguez could be a big regret down the road. But the reality is you don't get something without giving up something. And Rodriguez is probably 3yrs away. Buxton is signed long term. Celestino could be an outstanding 4th OF SOON, and could force his way in to a starting role. Martin could also easily be our next LF with the ability to cover CF as well as having the ability to still play some infield. I think Larnach is going to be fine with some time/adjustments. And while his defense is not on the level of Kepler, he's OK and has the arm for RF. Long way of saying, giving up such a talented young player doesn't destroy the system in any way.

Wallner for DeJong is fine. But as solid/good as he is, he's already been replaced as a starter. And as you point out, he's too expensive as a reserve. Might he be grabbed for a little less?

What I really like about this is legitimacy at the front of the rotation without compromising the future. We're talking a pair of 2yr deals, a 1yr deal with an option for Bundy, and prospects. Beyond that, you ALWAYS need 7-10 SP over the course of a full season. With this lineup, a solid to good pen, your projection actually gives the Twins a chance to compete/win without blocking young arms from appearing/auditioning and helps mitigate the lost 2020 and limited IP in 2021. 

I see no downside other than the loss of one potentially excellent OF still a few years away.