Rumor: Top 50 Trade Candidates - Who Interests You?

[Brock Beauchamp]

For the first time most of us can remember, the Twins are both in contention and do not need any starting rotation help at the deadline. That leaves Twins fans treading into unknown waters: if you don't need a starter at the deadline, what do you do?

Well, MLB Trade Rumors compiled their first list of top 50 trade candidates.

The Twins are a middling team that is middling largely because of veteran underperformance through the first(ish) half of the season. It's a roster that has soft spots but no gaping holes. The lowest-hanging fruit is pursuit of a high leverage reliever but past that, the door is open to improve the team around the margins.

What positions do you target first and which players do you pursue?

View full rumor

[BigMax]

Not one of the players listed interested me

[jkcarew]

Sonny Gray…

To anyone that breaks the bank (relative to rentals).

Not interested in buying (rentals). If this division means anything to anyone, it can be won by standing Pat or even selling. Last year Cleveland walked away with it after standing Pat with the youngest team in the majors ( to eventually lose to the Yankees, who got demolished by Houston).

We,re a relatively old club and we’re average. Precarious spot to be in.

If I thought the Twins were legit, I’d go after Snell (thinking playoff matchups), and Turner for 3B with Lewis moving to CF.

[Mike Sixel]

This has been my point when people say the Twins should buy....who on that list moves the needle? Candaleria likely, but only for 5 weeks, then what? And, if he might get a QO, the price is way too high for that short a time.

[RickOShea]

49 minutes ago, BigMax said:

Not one of the players listed interested me

None?  I can see at least 10 who would be an upgrade from the current Twins roster.  Mr. Hader would be close to the top of my list.

[Mike Sixel]

7 minutes ago, RickOShea said:

None?  I can see at least 10 who would be an upgrade from the current Twins roster.  Mr. Hader would be close to the top of my list.

That's a good name. 

[jkcarew]

10 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

This has been my point when people say the Twins should buy....who on that list moves the needle? Candaleria likely, but only for 5 weeks, then what? And, if he might get a QO, the price is way too high for that short a time.

Yeah…I don’t think it makes sense this year, either.

[Vanimal46]

Is there any doubt Sonny Gray would be #1 on that list? 

I’m more interested in Bellinger as a free agent target this winter than a rental trade target. 

[jkcarew]

Kep will have SOME value at the deadline. Polanco will have more (his option will not vest). What about Buxton? If (and only if 😉) FO has DECIDED that he’s no longer a center-fielder…ever…they should start shopping him hard now.

On the other side of it, does playing Solano at 2nd instead of hoping Polanco returns to form (ever) make us worse in the 2nd half? Does DH’ing Julien instead of Buxton over the next 5+ years make us worse? (Not to mention how that money could be used.). Heck, Kepler’s defense might be the biggest loss among those names with regard to 2023. Admittedly, it would crush 2023 depth. And, of course, the Polanco and Buxton moves could (and most likely would) wait until the offseason. But, fwiw, along with Gray, this is where I’d rather see the FO’s collective heads.

 

[SwainZag]

18 minutes ago, jkcarew said:

Kep will have SOME value at the deadline. Polanco will have more (his option will not vest). What about Buxton? If (and only if 😉) FO has DECIDED that he’s no longer a center-fielder…ever…they should start shopping him hard now.

On the other side of it, does playing Solano at 2nd instead of hoping Polanco returns to form (ever) make us worse in the 2nd half? Does DH’ing Julien instead of Buxton over the next 5+ years make us worse? (Not to mention how that money could be used.). Heck, Kepler’s defense might be the biggest loss among those names with regard to 2023. Admittedly, it would crush 2023 depth. And, of course, the Polanco and Buxton moves could (and most likely would) wait until the offseason. But, fwiw, along with Gray, this is where I’d rather see the FO’s collective heads.

 

Buxton has a full no trade clause and worked hard with the front office to stay in Minnesota.  He wanted to be here.   He's not going anywhere.   

[Mike Sixel]

1 minute ago, SwainZag said:

Buxton has a full no trade clause and worked hard with the front office to stay in Minnesota.  He wanted to be here.   He's not going anywhere.   

Plus, why would anyone trade for him?

[nicksaviking]

I don't tend to like players who've only had a half of a bounce back season, I think it's just as likely they revert back to a pumpkin when they uproot and change teams. Most of the offensive players are out for me, because that's how I see most.

However, Cody Bellinger's K% has somehow dropped 9% this year. I don't know how that happened, but it's back to his ROY/MVP era levels. If that's legit, I'd be interested. Possibly significantly interested.

Mark Canha is about as boring as it gets, but he's a right handed outfielder and does draw a ton of walks, so I could see the value there as well.

Justin Turner also gets on base at a high level, and he does have that name-brand cache that often elevates clubs intangibly. I don't like to rate guys based on "intangibles" but if the rest of the club buys in, that can be pretty valuable. I don't really think Boston's selling though unless the wheels completely fall off. They're only two games back.

I don't believe the Twins will trade off Gray or Maeda, BUT, depending on which one they moved, doing so in conjunction with trading FOR Jordan Montgomery would either improve the rotation or mitigate the loss. The fact that he's kept his production across two teams and two leagues makes him a guy that I'd like much more than most.

Getting a reliver is always a good idea, but I'll still never trust any single one of them.

[jkcarew]

19 minutes ago, SwainZag said:

Buxton has a full no trade clause and worked hard with the front office to stay in Minnesota.  He wanted to be here.   He's not going anywhere.   

We can’t know that he wouldn’t wave it for the right (to him) situation. Maybe, in this theoretical situation where a good team WOULD let him play CF, etc. never say never.

[LA Vikes Fan]

Hader, Barlow or David Robertson could be very interesting depending on the price. On the hitting side, Lane Thomas would be a really good get and Teoscar Hernandez or Tommy Pham could help, again depending on the price. Jurickson Profar initially sounded a little interesting but I wouldn't give up much for him. I live in LA so I've seen the Cody Bellinger show up close and personal. Can be great, can be awful, and you never know what you're going to get. Given his contract and the cost to get him he's a pass for me. Candelario might be nice for the next 4-6 weeks if we could get him NOW but where does Lewis play when he comes back? Nobody else moves the needle much for me. 

[GNess]

Robertson, Hader or Finnegan if the cost isn't too high. (I am no expert, but Chapman's cost didn't seem that high?) Strengthening and deepening the BP is a move which increases the chance of winning some in the post season. The Twins pitching gives them a chance in any short series. Why not improve those chances at a low to medium cost?

Deciding you can't win when you have proven players underperforming their career norms is misguided. If Correa, Polanco and/or Buxton get rolling like they can at times during their careers, this team can win in the post season. 

[Brandon27]

4 hours ago, BigMax said:

Not one of the players listed interested me

I be on the phone with the royals about Barlow 

[Riverbrian]

I'll take Candelario or CJ Cron. 

Cron if the Nats are asking too much. 

 

[DocBauer]

Despite not handling the pen to begin the season, no Pagan, spend the $ plus a little more to take a shot on SOMEONE who might turn out, keep Coulombe instead of Megill, and Alcala not being fully ready to come back and earn a spot, the Twins pen still hasn't been all that bad. Granted, Stewart had a lot to do with that. And now he's down for at least a couple of weeks. And even DeLeon showed promise. Now he's done for good. Meanwhile, with those injuries, the bullpen has still been about average with what they have, and fill ins in the form of Balazovic and Sands and others. POTENTIAL arms for the pen began the year with injuries, such as Winder and Henriquez and the aforementioned Balazovic. IF the Twins want to try to keep winning, they can hope for J Lopez to find a "good place" and make a difference. Maybe he can? And hopefully Stewart is back soon. And MAYBE Alcala comes back. Maybe Headrick fits a role, and I like him. Maybe Ortega surprises. Maybe Sands and Winder surprise over the next month. Whew! Too many WHAT IF's. If they believe in this team, they should look for a solid 7th-8th inning arm that can help. Either someone they can have for another year of control, or a possible re-sign. Robertson might not fit. Hader might not either. Rentals that might cost too much and might be looking at better deals in 2024 and not worth the rental. If not those arms, maybe guys like Hicks and Straton.

But since the season began the question always was, and remains, the offense. To be clear, the wonderful Arraez is NOT the reason the offense has struggled so much. I LOVE Arraez, miss him, and so do the Twins. But despite his BA, OB%, and doubles power, he is NOT the problem...though he would help. Who would knock Arrzez in if he was batting leadoff for the Tiwins right now?

And that's the problem. Not the pitching. The rotstion is amongst the best in MLB. The pen is solid, despite some issues and injuries, but could REALLY be good with a healthy Stewart and Thielbar come August. ONE MORE ARM that doesn't come at a premium cost could add a lot.

13 games lost when allowing the opposition 3 runs or less leads MLB if I'm correct. Averaging something like 3.2 runs scored in or around 40 games played despite ranking in the top 10-ish in run differential. 

I always expected the Twins offense this year was going to be built on what they had, Correa, Buxton, Polanco, and Miranda, with improvements and health and promotion from Kirilloff, Larnach, Wallner, Jeffers, and Julien, along with additions like Vazquez, Farmer, and role player Solano. AND, hopeful contributions from Gallo before turning Larnach and Wallner loose. NEVER expected Kepler to be on the Twins to begin the season. Totally grateful he's had a good 2 week stretch and has made a difference these past 2 weeks. He's also played WAY BETTER defense recently than what we saw previous to that. 

But my expectations were blown apart early. Buxton has been a warrior, running when his legs feel like they can, but has been inconsistent as hell, while dealing with his new role AND a 96mph FB to his ribs. Correa is just NOW looking like his old self mid year. Pressure, injury, who knows? Meanwhile, Julien, Lewis, and AK...despite not seeing the POWER yet...have been a few of the Twins best hitters.

I am NOT going to attempt to bring up the same sad story we've been discussing about Wallner and/or Larnach up in place of Kepler or Gallo, except to say, "when it's not working, and you have options, why aren't  you exploring those options"?

It's possible the whole team meeting and a new way to discuss hitting approach might actually make a change. MAYBE there was an overload of data. Maybe the opposition just figured out the Twins approach and the players and coaches FINALLY figured out they weren't playing to their strengths, or were relying on data the OTHER teams were counting on. Maybe Royce was right to say there is a point where I'm looking at "see ball, hit ball". But the offense has largely STUNK for most of this season, despite having the talent to be an upward third offense.

In case you haven't paid close enough attention to the ML roster, and the minors, the 2023 team was built on POWER, and OB% , with a handful of contact hitters until a little more speed and contact came up through the system. Correa, Polanco, Salono, were supposed to provide contact and bat skills until Lewis, AK, and Julien were ready. The problem is, the power hasn't been there. The "contact" of Correa and Polanco hasn't been there. At least not consistently. And while AK's power hasn't been there yet, he sure has done the rest so far. And Lewis has been doing all he could do before his abdominal injury. 

If this team could AVERAGE a little over 4 runs a game for the rest of the season, even with some question marks, they could run away with the ACL. IF talent they ALREADY had on hand was producing ANY kind of consistent run production, they'd already be 8-10 games ahead, AT LEAST. Easily, IMO, 12-15 games above .500 if they didn't "play down" to their competition at times considering their play against MOST winning teams.

I don't believe a single trade BAT acquisition will push this team over the top. I still feel what they need to do at this point is trust in the younger bats. They have to at some point, or the offense remains stagnant. Gallo is gone after this year. Kepler's hot steak is WELCOME! But we just can't ignore 3yrs of downturn vs someone who migh produce as well if not better. Do we really expect Gallo or Kepler to suddenly have outstanding 2nd halves with Buxton and Correa to match them and trade for a big bat...sacrificing more prospects...or do we keep our prospects and let said prospects get a chance to show what they can do?

Trade for a BP on the cheap with control or a rental you might want to re-sign. He might make a difference. 

But unless there is a relatively inexpensive bat, prospect wise, that you can acquire to make a difference, and maybe have control of, what are we even talking about? 

[Brock Beauchamp]

5 hours ago, jkcarew said:

Sonny Gray…

To anyone that breaks the bank (relative to rentals).

Not interested in buying (rentals). If this division means anything to anyone, it can be won by standing Pat or even selling. Last year Cleveland walked away with it after standing Pat with the youngest team in the majors ( to eventually lose to the Yankees, who got demolished by Houston).

We,re a relatively old club and we’re average. Precarious spot to be in.

If I thought the Twins were legit, I’d go after Snell (thinking playoff matchups), and Turner for 3B with Lewis moving to CF.

None of this makes a lick of sense to me.

The Twins have allowed the fewest runs in baseball. If that's not a team you try to build out for a playoff run, what is?

And the last thing this team needs (see sentence above) is Blake Snell.

Also, Lewis has stated he does not want to play center field.

[Mike Sixel]

42 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

None of this makes a lick of sense to me.

The Twins have allowed the fewest runs in baseball. If that's not a team you try to build out for a playoff run, what is?

And the last thing this team needs (see sentence above) is Blake Snell.

Also, Lewis has stated he does not want to play center field.

What's your target and who does he replace?

[Rosterman]

Could the wins get more for Sonny Gray in a now rade, or make him a qualifying offer and get a draft pick?

Wondering what Madea could bring back in a trade?

Polanco could have value, or do the Twins jsut take his extension and daHow many baseballs can the Twins egt for Gallo or Kepler. Not that they need many with all the strikeouts, lots of clean balls that never touch a bat in their storage room.ngle him in the off-season. Is Julien deserving of a return to AAA for the rest of 2023?

Any takers for Pagan? Can Lopez make himself valuable, or a keeper? Do you trade Thielbar and resign him next off-season?

If a team comes calling for a veteran catcher, do you trade away Vasquez?

 

I was surprised NONE of the Twins pedning free agents made the Top 50 list.

 

 

 

[Mike Sixel]

6 minutes ago, Rosterman said:

Could the wins get more for Sonny Gray in a now rade, or make him a qualifying offer and get a draft pick?

Wondering what Madea could bring back in a trade?

Polanco could have value, or do the Twins jsut take his extension and daHow many baseballs can the Twins egt for Gallo or Kepler. Not that they need many with all the strikeouts, lots of clean balls that never touch a bat in their storage room.ngle him in the off-season. Is Julien deserving of a return to AAA for the rest of 2023?

Any takers for Pagan? Can Lopez make himself valuable, or a keeper? Do you trade Thielbar and resign him next off-season?

If a team comes calling for a veteran catcher, do you trade away Vasquez?

 

I was surprised NONE of the Twins pedning free agents made the Top 50 list.

 

 

 

That's because the list assumes they aren't selling. Gray would be the top target on that list, easily. 

[Rik19753]

12 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

I’m more interested in Bellinger as a free agent target this winter than a rental trade target. 

I know that Bellinger is a sexy add given that he's a former MVP, but I think signing him would be a huge mistake.

The reason being that there are actually a ton of similarities between him, Gallo and Kepler. And we all know that most of us want Gallo and Kepler gone as soon as possible.

All are formerly great hitters that are struggling at the plate due to one reason or another. They are all above-average to elite defensively, which has helped them maintain value through their struggles at the plate.

And before you tell me that Bellinger has seemingly figured it out in Chicago, go look at his statcast page. It's full of blue.

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/cody-bellinger-641355?stats=statcast-r-hitting-mlb

His average exit velo this year is 86.4. That is in the 9th percentile. He's never had a exit velo under 89.3, and that's including the years where we struggled mightily.

If we sign Bellinger, we are going to be stuck with another left-handed hitting middling outfielder who is too good/expensive to sit but not good enough to actually have a positive impact. No thanks.

[Eris]

The Twins need to be sellers. This team from a position player perspective is just not very good. It is hard to see how adding 1 impact player substantially moves the bar. 

[weitz41]

If they do much at the deadline, and if they're in or close to 1st place they owe it to the players and the fans to do some moves to add. I don't expect any big moves like Goldschmidt, Snell, Hader or expensive underperforming Mets players.

I'd hope for a reliever like the White Sox Keynan Middleton and a position player like the Red Sox Justin Turner. Middleton is a rental, similar to Fulmer last season. Turner has a player opt out that sounds like an almost certainty he will take. So technically a rental. Neither should cost much in prospect capital. 

Polanco, Steward and Thielbar should be back before the deadline and Lewis a few weeks after. Which could make both of these moves unnecessary.

[specialiststeve]

Move Max and Gallo for whatever possible that may help. Addition by subtraction. 

[terrydactyls]

10 hours ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

Also, Lewis has stated he does not want to play center field.

I have not heard or read this.  Can you provide a link to this?

[Brock Beauchamp]

14 minutes ago, terrydactyls said:

I have not heard or read this.  Can you provide a link to this?

I'd have to dig it up and I'm not in a place to do so right now. I believe it came from Lewis's agent and the Twins agreed. It happened maybe spring training or early in the season?

[DJL44]

I think the Mets are a good fit. They have RH batting outfielders (Pham and Canha) and relievers (Robertson and Raley). They would probably take Gallo in return to make the money work.

[Puckett34]

If the Twins are buying, I'd like to see them shore up the bullpen as I think any bat of value will likely cost too much.  If they can't score, might as well get better at keeping opponents from scoring too.  Brad Hand and/or Joe Kelly likely should be reasonable.