Video: A Max Kepler Trade Idea that Fills a Twins Need

[Nash Walker]

Max Kepler had a great second half in 2023, completely flipping his season around after a brutal start to the campaign. With one year and $10 million remaining on his contract, I found a hypothetical trade within the American League that would fill a need for the Minnesota Twins.

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[Dman]

I don't love the idea of giving Houston another big bat in Kepler when we likely will be competing against them in the playoffs.

All things being equal though that looks like a good trade for the Twins.  They get an elite defender with a righty bat and four years of control for one year of Kepler.  They free up 10M to try and sign a replacement though it would likely cost more than 10M to find a comparable player with Kepler's level of defense.  Still it would set the Twins up nicely for center for years to come.  Wallner can play right if needed.

Still I don't think I see Houston doing a deal like that.  They have a high payroll and are going to be looking to resign some of their players.  Having a cost controlled centerfield backup is a nice thing to have.  Injuries to center fielders are common so I don't think they would let go of the depth and cost control for one year of Kepler IMO.

[JD-TWINS]

20 hours ago, Dman said:

I don't love the idea of giving Houston another big bat in Kepler when we likely will be competing against them in the playoffs.

All things being equal though that looks like a good trade for the Twins.  They get an elite defender with a righty bat and four years of control for one year of Kepler.  They free up 10M to try and sign a replacement though it would likely cost more than 10M to find a comparable player with Kepler's level of defense.  Still it would set the Twins up nicely for center for years to come.  Wallner can play right if needed.

Still I don't think I see Houston doing a deal like that.  They have a high payroll and are going to be looking to resign some of their players.  Having a cost controlled centerfield backup is a nice thing to have.  Injuries to center fielders are common so I don't think they would let go of the depth and cost control for one year of Kepler IMO.

I’d stick with Castro’s development as a CF with 20-30 games of Buxton & 20-30 games of Martin in 2nd half. Castro is a switch hitter that had a .750 OPS in ‘23 & hit .258. Good speed in OF & great arm!

Castro had 33 steals……with more game time he could reach 35-40 steals this year. Very valuable.

If it’s shedding Kepler’s salary, it’s not a real value exchange to me. A slightly lesser glove & a lesser hitter than Taylor is not what we need in CF. Not terribly concerned about .5-1.0 reduction in defensive WAR over a season relative to contributions regularly on offense.

[KBJ1]

No way, he can't hit. We have options in CF with Austin - who can hit, Castro & Gordon. Plug Wallner in for Kepler and lose little to nothing at 1 /10 the price.

Sign Gurriel for LF!!!!!!

Trade Kepler & Polanco to pay for it and have enough left over to pay Devin Williams for a bullpen Ace. Come on Falvey, this is a no brainer.

[nicksaviking]

I'm interested in trading Kepler, but not for a guy who can't hit. The Twins biggest problem last year, heck, most years is consistent offense, and even if Kepler is removed from the roster, the Twins just don't have enough room to add another glove first player.

If Kepler or Polanco are traded, it needs to be for pitching, and the Twins need to fill in the few remaining offensive spots on the 26-man with a good hitter.

[nicksaviking]

3 hours ago, KBJ1 said:

No way, he can't hit. We have options in CF with Austin - who can hit, Castro & Gordon. Plug Wallner in for Kepler and lose little to nothing at 1 /10 the price.

Sign Gurriel for LF!!!!!!

Trade Kepler & Polanco to pay for it and have enough left over to pay Devin Williams for a bullpen Ace. Come on Falvey, this is a no brainer.

I mean, yeah on Gurriel, but trading away the farm for a reliever is a bad idea when this team needs to use that equity to get a top end starter still.