Buyers or Sellers: Can the Twins Be Both at the 2024 Trade Deadline?

[SotaSports in NM]

A couple users have pointed out that we might be buyers if injuries derail us, but I really don't think that's a possibility. Just like I don't think we'll be buyers outside of a medium leverage bullpen arm...MAYBE.

This front office hasn't shown that they'll make an outside move based on injuries, I mean, for goodness sake, they brought up Celestino when Buck went down and we had no better options.

[DannySD]

If management is watching the same games we are... they're sellers. No reason to waste resources on this season. 

[SwainZag]

On 6/6/2024 at 5:30 PM, Paul Walerius said:

I don't see them trading Paddock.  Outside of 3 games (2 against Yankees) he has been pretty good, coming off of injury.  Yes he only has 3 QS, however, I feel like that is more of a coaching thing than him pitching poorly.   7 of 12 starts have been 3 or less runs and only 3 have been over 4 runs.   7 games he hasn't even thrown 90 pitches and only 2 of those did he get blown out.  

I am not saying he won't be traded in the offseason (although I doubt he would), just for sure not now.  

It generally takes pitchers 2 years to fully come back from that injury.  It's been super promising that we have seen really good Paddack, but he is still in the process.  I wouldn't be surprised to see his spot in the rotation skipped at least in the coming weeks/months though.

[TopGunn#22]

I think it's possible to be both a "seller" and a "buyer" at the trade deadline.  It takes a skilled FO to do it, but there are plenty of examples where it's been done.  Is "OUR"  FO skilled enough to pull it off?  I don't really know.  But I do know that after a FO assembles the talent/roster for a given season there is a "settling in" point where things begin to go off the rails.  Players who were expected to perform at a certain level are either meeting, exceeding or falling short (some falling waaay short) of their expected level.  This is when adjustments need to be made.  

All major league sports have some form of salary cap.  Sometimes it's a hard cap like the NFL.  In the NBA there are ways to exceed the cap with financial penalties levied if you do so at various levels.  Baseball, while not having a specific salary cap doesn't mandate a salary floor either.  But MLB teams that do exceed a certain salary "level" DO pay a tax.  

As Twins fans on TD we're always talking about what the Pohlad's "would" or "wouldn't" do based on whatever their self-imposed budget constraints are.  This is ALWAYS tied to whatever TV revenue is expected.  I've never heard any discussions on the T-Wolves or Wild sites I visit that revolve around what ownership can do with payroll based on what the TV contract provides. 

Remember, the T-Wolves and Wild season are done.  They are now fully in local TV/Media LIMBO.  When the Twins are finishing THIS season, the Wolves and Wild will be just beginning their 2024-2025 seasons.  What will our local viewing options for all three be at that time?

It's hard to see the Twins as a contender this season after being swept by the Yankees and shut out by the Pirates (however, did anyone else notice that just prior to our series with the Pirates they took 2 out of 3 from the Dodgers with dominant pitching performances in the two games they won?). 

The Twins are still in a period of determining what adjustments they need to make to their roster and whether they are even viable contenders, or just pretenders.    

[Linus]

I don’t think a trade at the deadline will do any good. This lineup needs a major shakeup. We are going on multiple years of boom or bust performance scoring runs. One guy ain’t changing that.