Minnesota Twins Trade Candidate: Isaac Paredes

[Ted Schwerzler]

As the Minnesota Twins look to round out their roster this offseason, it stands to reason that they’ll be active on the trade market. This front office has paired up with the Tampa Bay Rays previously and could do so again in a match for Isaac Paredes.

Image courtesy of © Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports

When the Detroit Tigers acquired Austin Meadows from the Tampa Bay Rays in 2022, they sent Isaac Paredes and a draft pick in return. About to play 2024 as a 25-year-old, Paredes has been mentioned among the many players Tampa Bay has made available. The Rays have continuously operated by moving assets before they get too expensive, and Paredes reached arbitration in 2024 as a Super 2 candidate.

Over at Twins Daily’s sister site for the Chicago Cubs, Matthew Trueblood did an excellent job breaking down what makes Paredes work as a player. There is more than enough information to understand the appeal in a piece filled with visuals. However, where and how he fits for the Twins makes his name interesting.

As a right-handed hitter, Paredes and his pull-focused profile align well with Target Field. Last season, he yanked pitches to the pull side 54.5 percent of the time. To put that into perspective, former Twins second baseman Brian Dozier pulled the ball 60 percent of the time in 2015 as a first-time All-Star who launched 28 homers. He did so 56 percent of the time in 2016, when he launched a ridiculous 42 homers. Getting around on the ball is something that Paredes does very well. Not many teams love pulling the baseball like Minnesota, and last year the Twins were fourth in baseball when it comes to yanking pitches. Philosophically, the organization is clearly rooted in driving the ball to the power side. If that's going to remain the case, finding players who already do so is a good idea.

The Rays infielder also has strong discipline skills that could boost Minnesota’s lineup. He struck out at around an 18% clip the past two seasons, and his 10% walk rate is also strong. For a Twins lineup that lacked balance between contact and power, along with missing a big right-handed bat, Paredes checks lots of boxes.

Where Paredes plays can also be something of interest for Minnesota. He primarily handled the hot corner for Tampa Bay last year, which would put Royce Lewis back into a situation of flux defensively, but he also contributed at first base. The Twins were against playing Lewis in center field last season, but another offseason of work and roster shuffling could ease those reins. If not, Paredes as the first baseman (pairing with a healthy Alex Kirilloff, if such a creature still exists) works, too. Assuming Byron Buxton isn’t the primary designated hitter again, cycling Paredes through additional starts on bat-only days has appeal.

Donovan Solano and Willi Castro both played substantially beneficial innings for the Twins last year. The latter is back on an arbitration deal, but the former became a free agent. Rather than looking to catch lightning in a bottle twice as Solano ages, Paredes represents a significant upgrade on what Solano did. The former Silver Slugger winner contributed at three infield positions while acting as the floating right-handed bat, and that's exactly what Paredes can do as well.

Even with Steamer projections suggesting a slight decline in output for 2024, a 3.6 fWAR would have led all Minnesota’s position players a year ago. Replacing the value lost from Sonny Gray or Kenta Maeda doesn’t necessarily have to come from the rotation, and adding high-quality position players could put Minnesota in situations with better opportunities to capitalize offensively. Paredes doesn't strike out much, and that is something the Twins struggled with substantially last year. By raising the water level of their lineup, departing production on the pitching side can be mitigated through additional run production.

Just because Tampa may be open to moving pieces like Paredes, that doesn’t mean they’ll want to give assets away. At a projected $3.2-million arbitration-fixed salary for 2024, Paredes is hardly a bank-breaker like, for instance, Tyler Glasnow. Even for a Rays team that looks to keep payroll down, Paredes isn’t prohibitively expensive, and it shouldn’t be seen as a hurdle for Minnesota, either. Paredes has four years of team control remaining, which will fix an awfully high price tag. The Twins must part with an actual prospect package to force the Rays into considering anything.

Rhys Hoskins remains among the biggest names on the open market when looking at Minnesota's openings and focusing on the right-handed bats. Paredes can do more defensively, though, and presents a substantially lesser price tag in terms of immediate dollars. A name like this could make a lot of sense for a franchise, noting that their TV uncertainty has provided financial constraints.

What do you think about Isaac Paredes as a trade candidate for the Twins? Who would you be willing to give up?

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[Major League Ready]

Good player but this makes very little sense to me unless Lewis is moving to the OF.  Why would we trade for someone who plays a position where we have considerable depth?  If they are giving up prime trade assets, it should be for pitching.

[Karbo]

While replacing some of Gray WAR with a hitter, I don't think that will help that much towards wins. They need help in the rotation, plain and simple. Paddack will be on an innings limit, Ober has had health issues, Varland shouldn't be counted on for a lot of innings either. Use the trade capital for a good SP!

[Blyleven2011]

Isaac Paredes  sounds like a good option  for offense and defense  , younger than Solano  , just a bit higher in salary ...

We need players that put the ball in play ...

how much would he cost is anyone's guess with still 4 years of control  ...

We need a right handed bat  , no question  ,  Taylor  and Solano are gone ...

Please get some offense that can generate  offense  ...

Sorry  we don't need a defense only player  , we had that last year , lesson learned I hope  ...

[nicksaviking]

I agree that this one wouldn't make much sense unless the Twins traded Lewis or Julien.

And honestly, if the Rays are willing to trade a 25-year-old who put up a .840 OPS in his second full season, my alarm bells are going off. Yeah, the Rays are cheap, but this is his first year of arbitration, Paredes won't break the bank for any team until year three of arbitration at the earliest and most optimistic. 

Twins need their best trade assets for a starting pitcher anyway.

[old nurse]

Mud. Wall. Nope, nothing sticking this time for reasons already mentioned 

[Doctor Gast]

Absolutely not, any transaction to move Lewis to the OF isn't worth the risk, I don't care how good  or cheap he is.

[Cory Engelhardt]

This kind of move, if we were to trade for Paraedes (and Glasnow) would have me be fine having Julien go back. Lewis, I think, can then move to 2b, and Brooks Lee is probably more of a 3b than 2b anyway. Have Parades keep 3b warm until Lee is ready, and then have 1b/3b covered.

I don’t know if the value is there though if we aren’t also bringing Glasnow in a deal like this. I can’t say I want to trade major trade assets for a hitter right now

[TwinsDr2021]

Baseball Trade Values has his value between 52 and 78, which is higher than any Twins not named Lewis so I see no chance of this happening (Wallner, Varland and ERod or Julien and Ober is what you are looking at for a trade in terms of value). But if Tampa were to sell real low, for example a couple of low A ball players (which they won't) you do it, because you can never have too many assets. You put him at first and figure out where and how to play Julien and AK.

[TwinsDr2021]

48 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

Absolutely not, any transaction to move Lewis to the OF isn't worth the risk, I don't care how good  or cheap he is.

There is only 1 third baseball that is good enough and cheap enough to move Lewis off of third and that is Henderson.

9 minutes ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

He's redundant of Lewis and Miranda at 3B and Kirilloff and Miranda at 1B.  I would not trade for him.

When it comes to good hitters I don't think there is such as thing as redundant, and at this time in their careers Miranda and AK can't be considered too good not to improve on (might not be the biggest need the Twins face but for the right deal it would be a no brainer). With no extra innings games there 1458 games that need to be played by 9 positions it doesn't take a degree in Math to figure out how to get everybody their games.

[Jocko87]

2 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

I agree that this one wouldn't make much sense unless the Twins traded Lewis or Julien.

And honestly, if the Rays are willing to trade a 25-year-old who put up a .840 OPS in his second full season, my alarm bells are going off. Yeah, the Rays are cheap, but this is his first year of arbitration, Paredes won't break the bank for any team until year three of arbitration at the earliest and most optimistic. 

Twins need their best trade assets for a starting pitcher anyway.

But RaysDaily is probably saying the same thing about our Julien.  He’s available (maybe) because he has some flaws and isn’t a complete enough player to build around at that age.  Just guessing.  Same as Arraez.  Same as Joe Ryan, of said Rays. 

I don’t see a fit for him but the Rays are hardly unassailable. Several guys from there are Twins staff now anyway.

[Brandon]

I just don’t see them trading him unless they see issues with his ability to get on base moving forward.  He did get HBP 20 times.  What’s his BABIP?  To me if Tampa has him as available it’s likely to gage his worth to other teams.  Is his defense bad?  He would be good at first base for us though and DH for some days and backing 3B.  But again why would the Rays trade him unless you overpay due to lack of options in free agency?  
 

If we are going to replace WAR through a bat we should see if we can get JD Martinez to DH and be a part time 1B.  He will not cost much more than Polanco and if we are trading him it opens a door.  Though our focus should be on finding another effective starting pitcher.  If we can get one that is low cost then …..

[Mike Sixel]

Someone explain the obsession with acquiring RH hitters?

Lewis, CC, and Jeffers all hit RH. Polanco is a switch hitter. 

Or is this just about the player, which, why are the Rays trading him? Why are the Twins giving up assets for a guy that plays the position Lewis plays (or Julien at first, or AK or Miranda)? 

Get an OF or a C or a SP. I don't know why a team with budget constraints gives up assets for a guy that plays a position they have covered, most likely has covered. 

[PatPfund]

No. Biggest need is SP, next biggest is OF depth if Byron is still gimpy in a month (assuming he will be but it is the time of miracles?). We have plenty of RH bats if Correa, Lewis, and Miranda are healthy. We can just keep Farmer if we want an RH IF.

[harmony55]

Isaac Paredes would be a better fit for Seattle if the Mariners sign hometown lefty Blake Snell and offer Stetson product Logan Gilbert to Tampa Bay. The Mariners could sweeten the deal to include Randy Arozarena.

[Riverbrian]

A rose a rayna!!!

 

[darin617]

7 hours ago, Blyleven2011 said:

Isaac Paredes  sounds like a good option  for offense and defense  , younger than Solano  , just a bit higher in salary ...

We need players that put the ball in play ...

how much would he cost is anyone's guess with still 4 years of control  ...

We need a right handed bat  , no question  ,  Taylor  and Solano are gone ...

Please get some offense that can generate  offense  ...

Sorry  we don't need a defense only player  , we had that last year , lesson learned I hope  ...

Unless Tampa is blown away why would they trade him when he still has 4 years left of team control. If they were willing to trade him I might actually be a little shy because they usually don't trade away young players this early.

[Hubie29]

17 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Someone explain the obsession with acquiring RH hitters?

Lewis, CC, and Jeffers all hit RH. Polanco is a switch hitter. 

Or is this just about the player, which, why are the Rays trading him? Why are the Twins giving up assets for a guy that plays the position Lewis plays (or Julien at first, or AK or Miranda)? 

Get an OF or a C or a SP. I don't know why a team with budget constraints gives up assets for a guy that plays a position they have covered, most likely has covered. 

I would like to see an effort on acquiring Lane Thomas. Fits the bill for everything we need.  Lead off, speed, power, OF replacement for Taylor. Pitching would obviously be nice too. Miranda and Kirilloff have "nothing" coveted. We would be a much stronger team if neither made the team due to having better replacements, which wouldn't take much upgrade. 

[Trov]

The asking price will be very high for Tampa, and they normally get the better of those types of deals.  I am always weary when Tampa starts floating out guys coming off career years for them that still have years of control. It makes me wonder, what do they know that we do not?  Maybe it is they have people in wings they can replace or maybe there is a big flaw that will get figured out, or injuries will start to set in. 

[JD-TWINS]

I understand the skepticism with Kirilloff’s availability or lack of…… he did have a .793 OPS & hit .270…….hardly anything we want to undervalue at 1B. He played 88 games and was probably healthy in 65 of those……

Gotta bet on his talent over a longer season.

Why would Tampa trade a guy at $3.2M that hit 31HR & had a .840 OPS? I don’t care if he can’t play defense - I’d DH him if I were them. Doesn’t make sense!!

That said, he’s only a couple years older than Lee & he’s “done it” in the Show……lots of value in that!! Insurance & RH alternative to Kirilloff.

Relying on Miranda v. Parades to save $2.5M over the season is crazy. His cost is same as Solano would be. Paredes is available at 3B - 1B - DH with real pop - 31HR in 500 AB’s.

Worth considering IF we think there’s an ability for Lewis to play LF. If that’s an option then it’s like trading for our OF need at the highest offensive level.

Also, if we keep Farmer, it allows Wallner to go to RF & ability to move both Kepler & Polanco for $$ flexibility. Lee & Lewis are also depth at 3B and lesser need at 2B.

I’d seriously consider this to save $$ for pitching and adds RH power, along with youth, to the line-up. Don’t believe they trade him - keep Lee & offer other players prospects (Rodriguez/Festa/etc.)

[Otaknam]

Adding pitching is the priority. Miranda is a candidate for a bounce back year. After all, he had a very good rookie year that injuries derailed in 2023. I think the team will hope that happens and he can move between first, DH, and occasionally third base to give Lewis a break. 

[TopGunn#22]

Twins

NAMEPOSITIONSURPLUS

Tyler GlasnowSP12.8

Isaac Paredes3B64.9

Total Value:

77.70

Rays

NAMEPOSITIONSURPLUS

Brooks LeeSS48.1

Matt WallnerOF23.1

Marco RayaSP6.9

Total Value:

78.10

TWINSRAYS

[TopGunn#22]

Above is what BBTV would accept as a reasonable trade with the Rays.  I don't think many people on TD would be interested in this.  We need a SP.  If we're going to go big enough to acquire someone like Paredes why not just go "all in" and get Glasnow as well?

I like Paredes, just not enough to do this trade.

[TopGunn#22]

Switching Julien in for Lee is what Twins fans would want, but the Rays would want Lee.  They already have Lowe to play 2B and with Wander Franco's MLB career in serious jeopardy at age 23 they would be looking for a SS if Junior Caminero doesn't work out in 2024.  

[Ted Schwerzler]

On 12/5/2023 at 11:36 AM, Major League Ready said:

Good player but this makes very little sense to me unless Lewis is moving to the OF.  Why would we trade for someone who plays a position where we have considerable depth?  If they are giving up prime trade assets, it should be for pitching.

He also plays first base, as a right-handed batter.

[Mike Sixel]

25 minutes ago, Ted Schwerzler said:

He also plays first base, as a right-handed batter.

Again.....Lewis, CC, Jeffers are all RH...why do we need another one? (and Polanco is a switch hitter). Oh, and Buxton....

What they need is hitters. Heck, at this point, they might have more RH hitters in the lineup, making the argument that it matters for late in the game wrong....

[KBJ1]

We need a RH 5 tool power hitter in LF,  period. If Lewis can play LF and Peredies can be had for reasonable tradewise, this works!

Cheaper financially than signing Gurriel, which I have been advocating for. I like that he doesn't strikeout much, especially for a pull hitter. 

I would prefer to keep Lewis at 3rd, but this may be an option to fill that gaping hole in LF.

[Mike Sixel]

Why do they need a RH hitter?

[tony&rodney]

Plenty of good conversation here on a worthy player. I will add to what a few others have stated .... Why would Tampa Bay be looking to trade Paredes? The article said his name was mentioned but i cannot find any links to indicate that the Rays are open to trading Paredes. I don't get it. 

[Major League Ready]

On 12/6/2023 at 6:48 PM, Mike Sixel said:

Why do they need a RH hitter?

It's nice to be able to load up against LH pitching but an OFer would be a better fit for this roster.  We also need to consider that Severino and Miranda are at AAA.  I understand neither of them is a sure thing but why trade away assets while blocking them.