Minnesota Twins Acquire Outfielder Manuel Margot from Dodgers in 3-Player Trade

[howeda7]

54 minutes ago, LewFordLives said:

So if the Twins are willing to pay $4 million for Margot, then what was Michael A. Taylor asking for?

Supposedly the hang-up with Taylor was that he was insisting on a 2-year deal. Which seems bold considering it's February 26th.

[gunnarthor]

Margot seems like a decent back up OF but if Buxton can't stay healthy, is a full time option? I don't like losing Miller but maybe this is trading high on him. He did struggle at A+. 

I don't like the trade and the FO still seems like it doesn't know what it wants to do next season but hopefully it works out.

[snellman]

25 minutes ago, CCHOF5yearstoolate said:

Twins got a more highly ranked prospect from the Dodgers' system and a capable 4th OF who hits right-handed and all people can talk about is "giving up on a first round pick" as if his draft position means he's more likely to turn it around in the batter's box.

Talk about getting attached to pure upside...

I was going to say the same thing. Everyone screams because the front office doesn't do anything.  They trade for a 4th outfielder and a prospect and everyone is screaming about the prospect they gave up.  (BTW, purely subjective, but Gleeman had him ranked as the #20 prospect in the Twins system.).  They basically traded prospect for prospect and got an MLB outfielder thrown in.

[jkcarew]

42 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Margot and Santana have shut down the Minneapolis-St. Paul taxi service.

Yep.

But, fwiw, the Santana signing is the one I hate way more. Had options there if Kirilloff doesn’t work out…and I think you had to get someone who is a true CF…with the possibility/likelihood that that spot could need 80+ games.

[Teflon]

50 minutes ago, roger said:

Got a feeling Twins management are going to be kicking themselves four or five years from now.

They won't need to bother as there's no shortage of Twins Daily readers who will do that for them.

[UK Twin]

24 minutes ago, LewFordLives said:

Yeah, it's odd. Maybe Duvall and Taylor wanted too much?  I don't know.  They are certainly better players than Margot. 

Nah, can't agree with that. Duvall and Taylor are very strikeout prone. Taylor may be better defensively but it looks like Buxton will be back in CF, all being well, and this move actually encourages me that it will happen. I suspect we could easily have re-signed Taylor if we wanted to and we have that gold glove CF. But why do that if Buxton's going to be there? Margot's a better hitter than Taylor or Duvall for me and he's not a bad fielder at all. More than competent back up for Buxton and will be play corner outfield against lefties. 

I'm an optimist and I see this as a completely different situation to last year. MAT was signed to play CF every day. Margot hasn't been acquired for that reason. 

[MMMordabito]

Now I think I know what's going on here.  

The Twins are trying to inject a bit of "Fear the Beard" into their roster.

Brock Stewart, Bailey Ober and Christian Vazquez all have ****** beards.  Most of the rest of the team probably still think their auditioning for a spot on the Yankees roster.

Santana and Margot were the pivots after Turner signed with the Blue Jays.

[snellman]

2 minutes ago, jkcarew said:

Yep.

But, fwiw, the Santana signing is the one I hate way more. Had options there if Kirilloff doesn’t work out…and I think you had to get someone who is a true CF…with the possibility/likelihood that that spot could need 80+ games.

It looks to me like they wanted an OF that could play all 3 spots.  If Buxton goes down (or when like in the past). I think Martin takes the larger role in CF.

 

[DJL44]

If Margot's knee is healthy he's the RH version of 2022 Max Kepler. That's a good player to have around for $5M. He's 29 and a comeback season means a slim chance they pick up his 2025 option (or find a different team that wants it).

Miller for Doncon is a push. Both of them have a projected future value near zero. Danny De Andrade has a clear path forward.

Word is Kike Hernandez is headed back to the Dodgers and that's why they wanted to move Margot. The Twins will probably cut Weiss to open their roster spot.

[DocBauer]

8 minutes ago, Bamboo Bat said:

For all the moaning about Duvall or MAT or any other free agent outfielder available, my thoughts immediately went to Martin. 

He's a kid with a lot more upside than Margot for 2024, but Margot has a track record of being a steady, mediocre MLB ballplayer. I guess that's what the front office is valuing at the moment. But it's another year of the kids being stashed in AAA without the opportunity to break camp with the big league club. 

I could understand if this was a big man they brought in. But IMHO he doesn't push the needle much from what Martin can likely contribute. I don't get it. 

You have to look at the larger picture of the team, and not just one spot, or one player, in my opinion.

I found renewed faith in Martin with a strong finish to 2022, and his breakout performance in the AFL facing what is pretty much AA level pitching. The Twins brought him to ML camp last season, but he was out after a few games with a bad elbow. Now, fast forward, and Martin had a good OB%, stole some bases, and actually showed a little more power than he had previously. But he also only played a third of the season...his first at the AAA level...and hit a rather pedestrian .263. Yes, I know AVG isn't always the most telling stat, but that number concerns me a bit.

So now the Twins give him the last spot and find room for him to play almost daily so he doesn't regress from sitting on the bench. What if he struggles and just isn't quite ready and needs more than the 1/3 of a season he got last year? Who comes up to replace him? 

Right or wrong, the FO is somewhat conservative when they build an initial roster. They want depth they feel they can count on to begin with, and understand/believe that the prospects simply will get their opportunities because the veteran ahead of them is either hurt, or just stinking up the joint. While I absolutely believe they waited way too long to bring up Wallner in 2023, it worked out just fine for Ober, Varland, and Julien. 

Agree or disagree with the general approach of the FO, there is a viable, logical plan in how they assemble the initial roster. And being 3 or 4 deep and making sure they have at least 1 veteran guy there makes more sense to them than being 2 or 3 deep. I'm much more intrigued and excited by Martin than I am Margot. But I do see the method in the madness.

[Mike Sixel]

8 minutes ago, snellman said:

I was going to say the same thing. Everyone screams because the front office doesn't do anything.  They trade for a 4th outfielder and a prospect and everyone is screaming about the prospect they gave up.  (BTW, purely subjective, but Gleeman had him ranked as the #20 prospect in the Twins system.).  They basically traded prospect for prospect and got an MLB outfielder thrown in.

I don't see many people screaming about the prospect they gave up....more about the guy they got......

The MLB player isn't a throw in, he blocks younger guys. He's on the roster.

[LastOnePicked]

Why on Earth would you weaken the farm system (including losing potentially-expendable up-the-middle talent you might actually need as a bargaining chip come the trade deadline) when you could have simply signed MAT, who offers a little pop and Gold Glove defense? My first reaction? This is not a good move.

[chpettit19]

Eh.

In terms of trade value it's nice. But in terms of 2024 Twins impact I'm not overly impressed. Solid 4th OFer with no real upside, but a reasonable enough floor. Have to assume if (when?) Buxton goes down that Margot likely stays in his 4th OF role if Martin or whoever on the farm is performing and they are the ones who take over in CF. If you're going to build your lineup around platooning as much as you can this is a solid piece to pickup assuming there's a reasonable chance at a bounce back to his normal performance against lefties. I'd just prefer they were less "all in" on the extreme platoon stuff.

[Dman]

This looks like the Dodgers needed 40 man room and the Twins needed a right handed bat. The Prospects traded seem about equal to me.  Both had trouble hitting last year, but Doncon has skills the Twins really value which is bat speed and contact. Doncon is no gold glove defender and he isn't as patient at the plate as Miller, but Millers contact has been weak to this point.  If the Dodgers can fix that they strike gold with an elite glove and solid hitter.  I think its a good trade off for them and they clear a 40 man spot.

I really don't like Margot all that much, but having an experienced backup for all three spots makes sense,  I really like Millers potential, however, if the bat isn't there the shine comes off. Given the current prospect rankings it looks like the Twins win this trade, but development\reaching potential is no sure thing.  I hope this turns out well all the way around for the Twins as they go with yet another aggressive swinging contact bat in addition to Gonzalez.  Hopefully the Twins can get those two to be patient enough to swing at pitches in the zone.

[nicksaviking]

25 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

On the plus side, nope, can't think of one. 

 

5 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

The Twins will probably cut Weiss to open their roster spot.

Well, there, it took until page 3 but someone went and found a silver lining!

Still hate the offensive roster implications.

[Whitey333]

I sure don't see how the Twins are better after this trade.  Trading another first round pick for just a so so part time outfielder seems strange.  But they obviously know what they are doing, right?  I mean the have never made a bad trade lol

[KBJ1]

I hate this trade! Not because we traded Miller, but because it sends Martin back to AAA.

Martin (although unproven at the MLB level) has the same skillset - high contact, lower power #'s, low strikeouts, but is a better defender, a base stealer & younger & cheaper.

This guy better have a career year.

[Blyleven2011]

1 hour ago, roger said:

As you would guess, Seth, this trade absolutely breaks my heart.  Kind of like when I broke up with the love of my life 60 some years ago when I went off to college.

Got a feeling Twins management are going to be kicking themselves four or five years from now.

They got Margot,  prospect and cash to pay down the margot contract for this year  , Margot has an option for next year with a 2 million buy out that Tampa Bay will pay as they traded Margot to dodgers earlier in the off season  ...

No way will twins pick up the option , they will let Tampa pay the buyout  and the trade will be Noah Miller  for prospect doncon ...

How do you like the trade now , hurts a little more doesn't it ???

[Nashvilletwin]

A decent deal overall - pick up a legit “one and done” to more reliably fill a roster need and swap two fairly similar minor league prospects.

Two thoughts:

1. This deal fits the FO’s more recent MO - adding veterans with some proven capability on “one and done” deals.  This year we have two - Magot and Santana; last year we had three - Martin, Solano, and Gallo. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t really get invested as a fan in these guys - just not worth the effort.

2. This deal should tumble Martin down our prospect board.  Barring injury, he’s looking at another full year in AAA.  Another year older with new players  coming up means it just is a lot less likely he’s in this team’s future plans. He (and Larnach) should be praying for a Steer/CES type deal. If I were his agent I’d be pushing hard for a trade. Boy, his career really hasn’t turned out for him and the Twins really haven’t done him any favors. 

[Jeff K]

1 hour ago, GNess said:

Good move. Margot is a solid MLB, proven OF and a reasonably good hitter. Miller is promising, but Twins have a number of SS options ahead of him in the system.

you've got to give to get and Miller was blocked with the Twins.  Good trade.  Low risk.

[specialiststeve]

Not sure why everyone is so broken up about losing Miller... he is a  good glove with no bat. Plenty of those out there that no one wants. Doncon is equal and probably better in terms of his bat which plays much better as they get up the ladder. Likely neither will get to the show.

Margot is a nice short term fix for the the RH of player that have been looking for - with the cash included is likely around 5 mil.. deal seems to fit. 

As far as blocking Martin... I too like Martin and thought that he should get a  shot but he needs to "prove" he is going to be a difference maker and could be a trade chip if we need to add him to something for pitching down the line. 

[CCHOF5yearstoolate]

The trade is Denard Span-approved and as far as I'm concerned, that's the end of the discussion!

 

[nicksaviking]

7 minutes ago, Blyleven2011 said:

They got Margot,  prospect and cash to pay down the margot contract for this year  , Margot has an option for next year with a 2 million buy out that Tampa Bay will pay as they traded Margot to dodgers earlier in the off season  ...

No way will twins pick up the option , they will let Tampa pay the buyout  and the trade will be Noah Miller  for prospect doncon ...

How do you like the trade now , hurts a little more doesn't it ???

Not in the way you suggest.

Miller was rated as a 2nd-3rd rounder during the draft. Is the attachment to him because he was a 1st round pick (that was a reach) or because he's a local guy from Wisconsin?

 

[Jeff K]

21 minutes ago, DocBauer said:

You have to look at the larger picture of the team, and not just one spot, or one player, in my opinion.

I found renewed faith in Martin with a strong finish to 2022, and his breakout performance in the AFL facing what is pretty much AA level pitching. The Twins brought him to ML camp last season, but he was out after a few games with a bad elbow. Now, fast forward, and Martin had a good OB%, stole some bases, and actually showed a little more power than he had previously. But he also only played a third of the season...his first at the AAA level...and hit a rather pedestrian .263. Yes, I know AVG isn't always the most telling stat, but that number concerns me a bit.

So now the Twins give him the last spot and find room for him to play almost daily so he doesn't regress from sitting on the bench. What if he struggles and just isn't quite ready and needs more than the 1/3 of a season he got last year? Who comes up to replace him? 

Right or wrong, the FO is somewhat conservative when they build an initial roster. They want depth they feel they can count on to begin with, and understand/believe that the prospects simply will get their opportunities because the veteran ahead of them is either hurt, or just stinking up the joint. While I absolutely believe they waited way too long to bring up Wallner in 2023, it worked out just fine for Ober, Varland, and Julien. 

Agree or disagree with the general approach of the FO, there is a viable, logical plan in how they assemble the initial roster. And being 3 or 4 deep and making sure they have at least 1 veteran guy there makes more sense to them than being 2 or 3 deep. I'm much more intrigued and excited by Martin than I am Margot. But I do see the method in the madness.

I feel badly for Martin too; although I do like this move.  I suspect if he plays well at St. Paul, he might be part of a future trade for a staring pitcher around the trade deadline.

[jorgenswest]

Would Margot have made the Dodger roster? Kike Hernandez gives them more flexibility as the 4th OF on the short side of the platoon.

Would DeSclafani have made the Mariners starting rotation? No.

Both the Dodgers and Mariners took on a portion of these bad contracts in order to make a deal work this winter. I don’t think either team wanted either player and they needed to find a team willing to take some of the contract burden.

[terrydactyls]

18 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

I don't see many people screaming about the prospect they gave up....more about the guy they got.....

Just read the comments above.  There are quite a few that express a lot of dissatisfaction with trading a former first round draft pick and a top-thirty prospect and only getting back a backup MLB outfielder, a top-twenty prospect and cash.  And the Dodgers' farm system is ranked much higher than the right Twins'.

[Unwinder]

34 minutes ago, sweetmusicviola16 said:

One other question I have on this trade, does this throw some doubt on the health of Buxton at all? As I recall we acquired Taylor late off season as well and he ended up being our CF. I hope Buxton is well. Always seem to use the word hope with Buxton.

I wouldn't read too much into the Twins filling one of their most obvious offseason needs.

[weitz41]

I like this trade.

Miller has a lot to like. I just don't know how you get him in Minnesota with Correa, Lee, Lewis and some might say De Andrade in front of him. The Twins traded from a minor league depth to fill a need for this season and possibly next. Also, may be a best case for Miller with a much clearer path to the big leagues now.

[sweetmusicviola16]

I'm fine with the prospect we received in Doncan. That doesn't mean that I have to think well of Margot. Imo he's a mehhh player. I for one wanted to see if we had a player in Martin and give one more shot to Larnach. Now we have those guys blocked. I hope the deal works. 

[PseudoSABR]

Obligatory.

Add in the 5.5 mil, that's at least on paper, very good value.