5 Offensive Trade Targets On Expiring Contracts

[Cody Christie]

One need for the Twins at the trade deadline is a solid right-handed bat to help the club’s struggles against left-handed pitching. Here are five names the front office can consider, especially since they are on expiring contracts.

Image courtesy of Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Some potential big names on the trade market include Shohei Ohtani, Paul Goldschmidt, Juan Soto, and Pete Alonso. However, there is no guarantee teams will move those players before the trade deadline. Here are five players on expiring contracts with teams out of contention. They will likely come with a lower acquisition cost while helping the team in the final two months. 

Tommy Pham, OF
Pham is a 35-year-old veteran with ten years of big-league experience, including 15 postseason games. He’s in the midst of a career year on an underperforming Mets club. In 73 games, he has hit .274/.359/.479 (.838) with 15 doubles, nine home runs, and a 132 OPS+. He’s posted an OPS above .800 against righties and lefties this season, but he mashes southpaws with an .889 OPS. He has an .847 OPS against lefties for his career, so this isn’t something unique to this season. Pham is a unique personality famously known for punching Joc Pederson over a fantasy football dispute. The Twins might not want someone with his personality upsetting the clubhouse vibe.  

Hunter Renfroe, OF
The Angels must decide if they are buyers or sellers before the end of the month. Renfroe is a likely trade candidate if they sell because of his expiring contract. During the 2023 season, he has hit .244/.301/.441 (.741) with 21 doubles and 15 home runs in 89 games. His OPS this season is 15 points higher against righties than lefties, but that doesn’t follow his career trend. He has an .878 OPS for his career in over 800 at-bats against southpaws. His 2023 season hasn’t been outstanding, but the Twins might be able to utilize him in a platoon role down the stretch. 

Andrew McCutchen, OF
During the winter, some speculation swirled about McCutchen being a good fit for the Twins. McCutchen decided to return to Pittsburgh on a discounted one-year, $5 million deal to finish his career where it began. In 77 games, he has posted a 118 OPS+ with a .782 OPS against lefties. There are a few issues with trying to acquire McCutchen. First, he has been playing nearly all his games as a DH, a position usually occupied by Byron Buxton for the Twins. Second, he might want to avoid being traded at this point in his career. He has never made it past the Division Series round, so a long playoff run might be something he wants to experience before he retires. 

C.J. Cron, 1B
Cron is a familiar name to Twins fans, having played 125 games for the team in 2019 with a 104 OPS+. Since leaving Minnesota, he has hit .263/.336/.493 (.829) with a 115 OPS+ in 357 games. His OPS has dropped over 20 points this season compared to last year, but it has been a decrease in walks with the same slugging percentage. He has an .814 OPS against left-handed pitchers for his career, but this season, that total has dropped by over 70 points. Also, Cron can’t play in the outfield, so the Twins would need to move Kirilloff to a corner outfield spot when CJ Cron was in the lineup at first base. 

Jeimer Candelario, 3B/1B
Candelario might not be a household name, but he could be one of the most sought-after players at the trade deadline. MLB Trade Rumors ranks him as the number two player on their top 50 deadline trade candidates, ranking behind Lucas Giolito. Candelario was non-tendered by the Tigers and signed a one-year, $5 million contract with the Nationals. In 89 games, he has hit .259/.334/.485 (.819) with 27 doubles, 15 home runs, and a 127 OPS+. He will come with the highest cost of any player on this list, so the Twins might stay away for that reason. He also is a better hitter from the left side, which isn’t currently a need for the Twins. 

Which player is the best fit for the Twins before the deadline? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. 

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[MplsFan]

 I don’t really want any of these guys.  Royce and Polanco are on their way back.  Outfield is crowded as-is.  Buxton might be heating up?  Solano’s a professional right handed hitter…

[FlyingFinn]

With Lewis and Polanco coming back and Julien now a lock to stay, who exactly are the Twins removing from the roster for this RH bat, as we don't seem to have any inkling that Gallo or Kepler are going to be gone?

[mnfireman]

Offensive - causing displeasure or resentment.... 

[dxpavelka]

17 minutes ago, MplsFan said:

 I don’t really want any of these guys.  Royce and Polanco are on their way back.  Outfield is crowded as-is.  Buxton might be heating up?  Solano’s a professional right handed hitter…

Either we're on our way to getting healthy enough to win the World Series or we need help.  Not sure what we've seen thus far to make us believe it will be the former rather than the latter.  AND, another funny thing about guys getting healthy:  Injuries CAN also occur between now and the end of October.  Nice to have more options available should that happen.

[Linus]

Seattle needs a left handed hitting outfielder   Gallo or Kepler or both for Teoscar Hernandez. We maybe would have to throw in a prospect and or eat some salary. 

[GNess]

Not sure any of these players are going to move the needle much. (Renfroe as a rental maybe?) But the Twins should definitely be looking to add a piece or two. RH bat and RP are the two areas to add most mentioned on TD. (I'd be good with either or both.)

[LA Vikes Fan]

I am not a huge fan of the Teoscar Hernandez, but I do think it would be a good deal if we could move Gallo plus a mid or low level prospect for him. Doubt that will do it though. He is a butcher in the outfield, so wouldn’t make sense to trade Kepler for him.

[Craig Arko]

34 minutes ago, mnfireman said:

Offensive - causing displeasure or resentment.... 

The peasants are revolting. 

[Dave The Dastardly]

7 minutes ago, Craig Arko said:

The peasants are revolting. 

If only they'd take a bath, maybe comb their hair...

[MGX]

I know the focus has been on improving the offense & justifiably so. We have seen some improvement with the players we have over the past few weeks. With that said if we can make a deal for Lane Thomas I'd be all for it since he isn't a rental, is good enough to be a starter going forward & has hammered LHP throughout his career & even more so this year. 

My main focus would be adding some bullpen help & two pitchers I hope the Twins look at are Jason Foley on Detroit & Carlos Hernandez on KC. Foley is having very nice year & his numbers show it so he may cost a bit more. Hernandez on the other hand has decent numbers, but has shown dramatic improvement in the area that had been his main issue - Walk rate. Hernandez is also controllable beyond this year so maybe the Royals don't deal him, but I'm sure they're listening.

[Brett]

Is it better to acquire one of these guys and hope they hit something close to their career norms, or to hold serve with Correa and Buxton and hope they start hitting like theirs? Does the front office play this probability game every day? This kind of pressure must be immense.

[terrydactyls]

Buxton goes 0-30, has a game with two hits, and "Buxton is heating up" comments start popping up.  Then he goes on another hitless streak and it's rinse, wash, repeat.  If Buck goes 8-10 games getting a hit or two in each,  then I would call it heating up.

[USAFChief]

Hunter Renfroe would be a nice fit and wouldn't cost a lot. 

Career .263/.345/.533 against LHers.

[rv78]

It's not good when players hitting in the .240's or .250's is an improvement over what you have. McCutchen isn't going anywhere as I'm sure he'll finish his career in Pittsburgh. Pham may be the best fit of the guys you mention, as the other 3 don't improve Twins hitting enough to get my attention. I wouldn't consider them at all unless it is to competely replace Gallo, which I highly doubt this FO will do. They have $11M invested in him and will give him every at bat they can until the end of the season to prove they made the right decision signing him, even though to this point he has proved them wrong.

[Doctor Wu]

Not much on that list that would, as people say "move the needle." We'd do just as well to bring up a bat like Larnach or Williams from AAA. But of the players on this list, I think that Candelario would have the most upside and actually help us. Renfroe looks good at times, and totally useless at others. I remember when he was traded to Tampa Bay a few years back and he couldn't even get his average over .200.

[JD-TWINS]

21 hours ago, Linus said:

Seattle needs a left handed hitting outfielder   Gallo or Kepler or both for Teoscar Hernandez. We maybe would have to throw in a prospect and or eat some salary. 

Strikeout exchange between him & Gallo. Teoscar is more productive when he makes contact.

[Otaknam]

Cron or none.