Did the Twins Trade for the Right Marlins Starter?

[ewen21]

On 8/8/2023 at 3:19 PM, IA Bean Counter said:

More than anything I think Arraez benefitted from 2 things.  The first being his work out regime with Nelson Cruz is huge.  He comes out of the start of the season like a beast. 

Cruz TRIED to rub off on a few Twins with his quiet leadership and the one who listened got traded. 

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

36 minutes ago, ewen21 said:

Cruz TRIED to rub off on a few Twins with his quiet leadership and the one who listened got traded. 

If he got traded for a potential #1 that signed an extension with us,  it was worth it.  Arraez is a wonderful player.  He is not perfect and if he could figure out a way to maintain his performance throughout the year without wearing down, he is a downright beast.  I still stand by mid summer let him take 4-6 weeks off to re-fresh and re-start his workout routine then come back for the home stretch.   

[tarheeltwinsfan]

On 8/8/2023 at 5:08 PM, jorgenswest said:

Pretty easy to make up…

Head over to Fangraphs WAR and Lopez is up 3.3 to 3.2.

Lopez ranks 8 among starting pitchers.

 I contend the Twins were in need of an "ace-like" starting pitcher more than they needed a batting champion at 2B to benefit this 2023 team. I also contend the Twins have more promising young second basemen (Julien, Lee, Lewis) than promising starting pitchers (I challenge you to name 3 who are expected to be good enough to replicate what Lopez has done this year alone) in the Twins' system. 

[JD-TWINS]

I’m a big Luis fan so looked at it pretty hard at the time.

Luzardo was the guy I was enamored with (young/lefty) - Lopez had some shoulder stuff and he wasn’t going to be under control for long………both are pitching well……..ups & downs.

Lopez has turned out to be solid once he’s settled in after the contract extension. No complaints!! Another 4 years plus to look forward to with Twins.

Great to see Luis getting notoriety nationally - glad he’s playing really well!

[Major League Ready]

On 8/9/2023 at 11:21 PM, Hosken Bombo Disco said:

I have no problem with Lopez, but instead of Arraez, maybe they should have traded Lewis or Lee. They might have gotten some better additional pieces that way. 

Julien is a great hitter in the making, but no, Julien is not on Arraez’s level. Arraez has been at this for years, while Julien hasn’t had his proverbial second trip through the league yet. 

Arraez was on fire the first couple months.  Since June 1st.  Arraez has an OPS of 865 and a wRC+ of 136.  Julien has an OPS of 895 and a wRC+ of 152.  Seems like he has been at the same level for the last 2 1/2 months.

Since 7/1 ABs Arraez has an OPS of 797 and a wRC+ of 118  where Julien has an OPS of 951 and a wRC+ of 167.  I guess we will just have to wait and see how they compare for the last couple months of the season.

I love the trade because we had enough IF depth to replace Arraez where we would be short on starting pitching without Lopez.