If the Twins Have a Moonshot Trade for Controllable Star Power in Them, Who Will Be Involved?

[Matthew Trueblood]

One of the Twins' division rivals catalyzed their playoff run this summer with a trade far beyond the ordinary deadline swaps of rentals, acquiring an elite player under long-term team control. Can Minnesota mimic that this winter?

Image courtesy of © Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images

Ever since the 2024 Twins finished the season with a faceplant that cost them a chance to reach the postseason in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2009-10 (no, 2020 doesn't count), there have been at least whispers that the team is considering a meaningful shakeup of their roster, including players heretofore considered indispensable parts of the core. While there is ample and apparent talent on this roster, it proved dysfunctional for long stretches of this season, and the front office is open to resolving that by changing the personnel in place.

"Dysfunctional" might be too strong a word for the 2024 Kansas City Royals, who not only made the postseason at the Twins' expense but won their first series therein. They were far from a juggernaut, though, and even further from being one before July. That's when they went out and, unsatisfied with merely complementary or short-term additions, transformed their bullpen by acquiring Lucas Erceg from the then-Oakland Athletics. Erceg, a late-blooming converted infielder, emerged as a relief ace for the team down the stretch, striking out 32% of opposing batters and walking just 3% of them after the trade. He's under team control for five more years, too, so if he continues to dominate, he'll be a key cog for Kansas City for years to come.

That move involved some speculation, which is why the Royals were able to land Erceg at a lower price tag than his skill set might suggest in hindsight. Still, it was a huge deal. It not only vaulted them toward the playoffs for 2024, but will be a gift that keeps giving as the team tries to establish a pattern of consistently competing in the AL Central. You don't see moves this impactful every day, either at the trade deadline or during hot stove season.

Could the Twins find a similar move somewhere this winter? To do so would be a huge win for the franchise, at a crucial time. They have a lot of talented young players, but what they need isn't necessarily another passel of veteran role players. To reestablish the window they hoped was opening wide as recently as 2023, they could try to land a player with lots of remaining team control and star-caliber upside. Doing so would be hugely expensive, of course, but they'd pay for them in young talent, rather than money. At the moment, it's young talent they have, and money they lack, so perhaps the time is right for such a move.

The trick, really, is finding players good enough and with enough team control to be obvious targets, who nonetheless are available. If a given guy is so good, why does his team want to get rid of him? Here are a few studs for whom there's a plausible answer to that barb.

Lawrence Butler, OF, West Sacramento Athletics
You know what the Twins need more of? Left-handed power hitters in the outfield!

Ok, not really. But Butler might be too good an opportunity to pass up, if the A's make him available. He's a 24-year-old with recent experience in center field who hit .262/.317/.490 with 22 home runs in 451 plate appearances last year, and that undersells him. He had better numbers against lefties than against righties. He slugged .553 after the All-Star break. He's toolsy, skilled, and eminently watchable, and he's under team control through 2029.

Why, then, would the A's trade him? Look, undeniably, they would have to hear a very attractive offer. But here's the thing: they're about to spend three years playing in a dressed-up Triple A facility, with no guarantees about the ability to move to Las Vegas even then—and the move to Vegas is a bad idea even if they successfully build and open a ballpark there. It's going to be miserable to play for the Athletics for the next few years: scorching in the summers, eerily quiet in the stands, and thoroughly uncompetitive. As reductive as it sounds, everyone on that team is going to want out, and Butler will draw lots of calls. The Twins could very well conclude that he's the younger, more athletic element they need in the outfield, and send to Sacramento some players who wouldn't actually have to play there right away, since they'd be in Double or Triple A in 2025. It sounds cynical and sad, because it is. The A's should be doing this with all their good players. Which brings us to...

Mason Miller, RHP, West Sacramento
Butler's teammate and (briefly) Erceg's, Miller is another in the group of players too good to still be in Triple A, which is what the Athletics will be for the next few years. Getting him out of there is especially urgent, because his rocket launcher of an arm could yet give way in the next few years. For that very reason, one of the nastiest pitchers alive might actually be available this winter, as he theoretically was this summer. Again, the A's front office will need to get a haul in order to move him, but can you imagine the formidability of a bullpen headlined by Miller, Jhoan Durán, and Griffin Jax? Heck, at that point, the team could even move Jax back to the starting rotation, strengthening both elements of their pitching staff. Miller's 103-MPH fastball and devastating slider make him, arguably, a step up even from peak Jax or Durán in short bursts.

Curtis Mead, 3B, Tampa Bay Rays
You might be sensing a theme. As the Rays grapple with the existential threat they face from climate change and pass the 2025 season outdoors in front of minor-league crowds at a ballpark named after their archrival's longtime owner, they, too, have every reason to do some offloading. They're much better than West Sacramento, and will be better positioned to contend, but that's the great news about Mead: He really might be available, because the team doesn't necessarily need him. The position at which he provides the most obvious value is third base, but the Rays figure to insert Junior Caminero there full-time in 2025. Mead is big-league-ready, but needs to clean up his approach slightly. The Twins could seek to do so as a part of moving on from Royce Lewis, or to let Mead and Lewis—two hitters with similarly obvious offensive tools but some limitations rooted in plate discipline, pitch recognition, and fielding—challenge and complement each other. A down 2024 slightly lowered Mead's stock price. Obviously, though, the Twins would still have to give up some solid youngsters to get him.

Shane Baz, RHP, Tampa Bay
Injuries have marred the development of every major Rays hurler lately, it seems, and Baz is no exception. Nonetheless, he's an exciting arm, with four solid pitches and four years of team control remaining. His fastball sits 96 and roughly suits the Twins' style. He could be a great addition to the team's starting rotation, and they'd be able to retain him one year longer than they currently have Joe Ryan or Bailey Ober for.

Jordan Walker, RF, St. Louis Cardinals
Just for fun, let's tackle one of these that doesn't involve a team playing next year in a thoroughly toxic baseball environment. Walker is a right-handed slugging outfielder, which makes him an incrementally but importantly better fit for the Twins than, say, Butler. He's even younger than Butler, and his game is really only missing one important ingredient: pulled fly balls. The Twins, as we well know, can help a hitter fix that problem.

Any of these players would come at a high trade cost, and the Twins might ultimately retreat from whatever urge they're feeling to alter the basic makeup of their roster. If they want to make the leap to the next level for the next several years, this is the kind of longshot they might elect to try. If nothing else, more than fanciful ideas of landing expensive stars whom the team can't afford now or control later, these are the fun trades to kick around as we gather around the hot stove.

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[Fire Dan Gladden]

Thank  you for the thought process article.  If the Twins make any "big" move this offseason, it would be prospects for a cost controlled player.

That being said, I believe there are two sides of this coin:
1) Player coming in would be cheap enough prospect-wise that they would not greatly improve the team.
2) Player coming in would be expensive enough prospect-wise that the Twins would have to overpay to acquire them and not pull the trigger.

When you look at what the Twins could offer from the farm, It is pretty much:
Jenkins
Keaschall
maybe ERod
Everyone else...

The first two will not be moved right now.  Any of the top pitching prospects will not be moved because they will probably be on the roster next year at some point.  Everyone else will not move the needle enough in a trade.  The Twins are in a tough spot right now.

[Cory Engelhardt]

1 minute ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

Thank  you for the thought process article.  If the Twins make any "big" move this offseason, it would be prospects for a cost controlled player.

That being said, I believe there are two sides of this coin:
1) Player coming in would be cheap enough prospect-wise that they would not greatly improve the team.
2) Player coming in would be expensive enough prospect-wise that the Twins would have to overpay to acquire them and not pull the trigger.

When you look at what the Twins could offer from the farm, It is pretty much:
Jenkins
Keaschall
maybe ERod
Everyone else...

The first two will not be moved right now.  Any of the top pitching prospects will not be moved because they will probably be on the roster next year at some point.  Everyone else will not move the needle enough in a trade.  The Twins are in a tough spot right now.

I would argue they are very much at a point that moving at least one of their pitching prospects currently slated for AA or AAA makes a WORLD of sense too. 

[Fire Dan Gladden]

4 minutes ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

I would argue they are very much at a point that moving at least one of their pitching prospects currently slated for AA or AAA makes a WORLD of sense too. 

Considering they have a handful of RP slots to be filled and at least one SP slot to fill (along with two stashed in AAA for injury support), I would argue they are in no position to move a pitching prospect unless they get one back in return.

(Paddack is in the wind, SWR will be given the SP4 slot, but is still in prove-it mode IMO)

[tony&rodney]

Seems like a sideways move - prospects for prospects, involving teams likely out of playoff contention. Why would those teams look to trade their prospects? There may be competitive teams who see value in adding a Twins player to improve their chances for wins and return an MLB ready player who has not proven themseles yet and/or may be blocked by their current team. Conversations should be had with teams to exchange players who fit a need for both teams.

Butler, Miller, etc. should be nearly impossible to acquire without a severe overpay (say Joe Ryan and Emmanuel Rodriguez for Mason Miller). I am skeptical, although it always worth the conversation.

[Cory Engelhardt]

5 minutes ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

Considering they have a handful of RP slots to be filled and at least one SP slot to fill (along with two stashed in AAA for injury support), I would argue they are in no position to move a pitching prospect unless they get one back in return.

(Paddack is in the wind, SWR will be given the SP4 slot, but is still in prove-it mode IMO)

See, I look at pitching at AAA and AA including Lewis, Morris, Zebby, Culpepper, Raya with Festa in the majors. I don't see Paddack on the opening day roster. I also think there is a real chance that Prielipp is at AA to start teh year.

If someone LOVES one of these guys, I can see them being added into a deal. Not more than that. But this is just one move, and I can totally see adding more pitching to this grouping at AA and AAA this offseason as well.

[bean5302]

Not sure why you're calling them West Sacramento. The Athletics don't have a city in their name anymore. They're just the Athletics. Besides, it'd be like calling the Atlanta Braves the Cumberland Braves or the Los Angeles Angles the Anaheim Angels (as they were once known before backstabbing their city).

1. Lawrence Butler is not fast. While he technically played a bit of CF in 2023, he was bad there. So he's not a CF option any  more than Manny Margot was. A left handed corner outfield bat is great, but we already have 2 under team control for several years.

2. Mason Miller? He'd only cost a package of like Matt Canterino, Emmanuel Rodriguez and say... Zebby Matthews. Maybe they'd do Walker Jenkins straight up?

3. Curtis Mead. I'm not actually noticing a pattern. Mead has been utterly inept at the plate and it's potentially charitable to call his work at 2B/3B "weak." His power has been non-existent at the MLB level and it looks like he's taken a step back even in the minors. With only 1 option left, Mead is a pretty mediocre value guy. We could get him for Raya straight up, but why would we want to?

4. Baz. Sure, the Twins could get him for a group of prospects. The Rays' asking price is going to be sky high because trading high potential rotation arms with 4 years of control is not what the Rays do. Marco Raya + Luke Keaschall + Ricardo Olivar + Payton Eeles probably gets it done.

5. Jordan Walker. He's a corner OF with Matt Wallner like fielding skills (physical tools only), but he makes Wallner look like a savant reading balls off bats. Since he's only 23 headed into next year, maybe he can improve with some consistent playing time, but he's not going to be a guy the Twins trust to play CF. There's also the fact his bat has taken a major step back at the MLB level from his rookie year. That's not too uncommon, but Walker doesn't have an impressive track record in the minors, either. The Cardinals aren't going to sell low on him so he is going to be very expensive for what you get. There is some good fit here, but the Twins might as well stick Emmanuel Rodriguez into the corners out of the gate rather than bet on Walker being able to change his swing (and be more successful doing it).

Anyway, this article feels pretty hubris-filled. Insulting other teams like the Athletics and Rays while dreaming up trade targets for the Twins which the speculated other teams would be unwilling to move for fair value, and without any consideration to the trade tendencies and direction of those other franchises. The whole idea the superior Twins dictate to the market what the market is going to want to do vibe.

[terrydactyls]

There is one thing (and only one thing) that I like about the Twins' self-imposed budget cap for 2025.  It has caused the current off-season to be about as exciting as a CPA convention in Moose Jaw Saskatchewan in early February.  But that has given the staff at Twins Daily the opportunity to hone their writing skills trying to find different ways for the Twins to improve, yet stay within budget.  Nearly every day there is at least one article that attempts to do this.  Bravo!

[mickster]

35 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

Not sure why you're calling them West Sacramento. The Athletics don't have a city in their name anymore. They're just the Athletics. Besides, it'd be like calling the Atlanta Braves the Cumberland Braves or the Los Angeles Angles the Anaheim Angels (as they were once known before backstabbing their city).

1. Lawrence Butler is not fast. While he technically played a bit of CF in 2023, he was bad there. So he's not a CF option any  more than Manny Margot was. A left handed corner outfield bat is great, but we already have 2 under team control for several years.

2. Mason Miller? He'd only cost a package of like Matt Canterino, Emmanuel Rodriguez and say... Zebby Matthews. Maybe they'd do Walker Jenkins straight up?

3. Curtis Mead. I'm not actually noticing a pattern. Mead has been utterly inept at the plate and it's potentially charitable to call his work at 2B/3B "weak." His power has been non-existent at the MLB level and it looks like he's taken a step back even in the minors. With only 1 option left, Mead is a pretty mediocre value guy. We could get him for Raya straight up, but why would we want to?

4. Baz. Sure, the Twins could get him for a group of prospects. The Rays' asking price is going to be sky high because trading high potential rotation arms with 4 years of control is not what the Rays do. Marco Raya + Luke Keaschall + Ricardo Olivar + Payton Eeles probably gets it done.

5. Jordan Walker. He's a corner OF with Matt Wallner like fielding skills (physical tools only), but he makes Wallner look like a savant reading balls off bats. Since he's only 23 headed into next year, maybe he can improve with some consistent playing time, but he's not going to be a guy the Twins trust to play CF. There's also the fact his bat has taken a major step back at the MLB level from his rookie year. That's not too uncommon, but Walker doesn't have an impressive track record in the minors, either. The Cardinals aren't going to sell low on him so he is going to be very expensive for what you get. There is some good fit here, but the Twins might as well stick Emmanuel Rodriguez into the corners out of the gate rather than bet on Walker being able to change his swing (and be more successful doing it).

Anyway, this article feels pretty hubris-filled. Insulting other teams like the Athletics and Rays while dreaming up trade targets for the Twins which the speculated other teams would be unwilling to move for fair value, and without any consideration to the trade tendencies and direction of those other franchises. The whole idea the superior Twins dictate to the market what the market is going to want to do vibe.

I want them to match up with Seattle again and bring in one of their arms.    Send them Miranda and Lee - Woo, Kirby, or Gilbert; just not Castillo

[tony&rodney]

18 minutes ago, mickster said:

I want them to match up with Seattle again and bring in one of their arms.    Send them Miranda and Lee - Woo, Kirby, or Gilbert; just not Castillo

Royce Lewis, Jose Miranda, and Justin Topa for Bryce Miller and Harry Ford might get Seattle's attention.

[PatPfund]

Worth thinking along these lines, but I'm not sure why we'd target someone else's OF prospects when two of the highest of our prospects are OFs. Or a 3B if we are ready 'to move on from Royce Lewis'. (I say move on from anyone in the Twins' org that wants to move on from Lewis.)

As for the 'pen, I'd skip the suggested trade, tell Prielipp he's a reliever this year, and give him a shot to make the team (we have our own dynamic arm that might blow itself up). And if you don't trade him, add the Sheriff to the bullpen as well (where he rocked a couple years ago). Prielipp, Paddack, Jax, and Duran with Stewart, Sands, Tonkin, and Varland sounds pretty good to me.

Yeah, we need a starter too, as long as we don't overpay. There will be affordable and serviceable arms in FA if the Twins are patient, and while an ace is unlikely outside of a trade, a very big need will be someone who can deliver 150-160 competitive innings (since Ryan and others may be on innings limitations).

[Trov]

I think the big question would be what prospects guys like this will cost, and will they be better than who you need to give up.  Most likely the teams only make the moves to fill other holes, or to stockpile the farm system even more.  They would be less likely to want guys near MLB ready, else you are trading one MLB ready for another, again unless different positions to fill holes. 

If the team think they will make the team better, go for it.  Else, stick with who ya got.  It generally is that simple. 

[bean5302]

43 minutes ago, mickster said:

I want them to match up with Seattle again and bring in one of their arms.    Send them Miranda and Lee - Woo, Kirby, or Gilbert; just not Castillo

I'd love for the Twins to get Woo, but Dipoto has repeated time and again the Mariners have no interest in moving their cost controlled starters.

BTV
Woo +52.4
Kirby +103.9
Gilbert +77.3

Miranda +15.5
Lee +37

If the Twins did this move, and the Mariners accepted it (which they almost certainly wouldn't), the Twins have major holes in the infield. I'd guess Julien 1B, Lewis 2B, Correa SS, Castro 3B? Utility infielder is Payton Eeles? But the Twins are over budget by $5MM right now and I'm not sure who plays DH?

[chpettit19]

53 minutes ago, mickster said:

I want them to match up with Seattle again and bring in one of their arms.    Send them Miranda and Lee - Woo, Kirby, or Gilbert; just not Castillo

Seattle isn't trading anyone from their rotation.

[bean5302]

26 minutes ago, PatPfund said:

...As for the 'pen, I'd skip the suggested trade, tell Prielipp he's a reliever this year, and give him a shot to make the team (we have our own dynamic arm that might blow itself up). And if you don't trade him, add the Sheriff to the bullpen as well (where he rocked a couple years ago). Prielipp, Paddack, Jax, and Duran with Stewart, Sands, Tonkin, and Varland sounds pretty good to me...

What has Prielipp done to earn this shot at the MLB roster? I didn't realize the TD hype machine working overtime for him was a major qualification.

Prielipp has never pitched above A+ and he's never thrown more than 23 innings in a season. He's not a top 100 prospect and he's literally Twins prospect #20 for MLB. Moving him to the 'pen pushes Preilipp back 1 year for being available as a starter. Instead of potentially being a rotation arm in 2026, now it's going to be 2027 because he'll need another year to stretch him out, and the Twins won't know if he's even capable of being a starter at that point.

[nicksaviking]

41 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

Seattle isn't trading anyone from their rotation.

They said that last year. Then the offense tanked and they missed the playoffs. Again.

I could see them changing tactics. But as much as I'd like the Twins to get one of their pitchers, I'd guess other teams that are willing to spend money in free agency to fill their holes will be more eager to trade the prospect and pre-arbitration players needed to get them.

[Schmoeman5]

Looks to me like the A's are trying to win the West. So I doubt they're trading.  Unless they get a haul in return.

[NYCTK]

The fact of the matter is the Twins farm system isn't deep enough. The prospects they'd be trading are good enough for teams wanting to trade away payroll burdens, not cost controlled talent. 

And we all know the Twins aren't gonna take on half of a hefty salary. 

[Trov]

1 hour ago, bean5302 said:

What has Prielipp done to earn this shot at the MLB roster? I didn't realize the TD hype machine working overtime for him was a major qualification.

Prielipp has never pitched above A+ and he's never thrown more than 23 innings in a season. He's not a top 100 prospect and he's literally Twins prospect #20 for MLB. Moving him to the 'pen pushes Preilipp back 1 year for being available as a starter. Instead of potentially being a rotation arm in 2026, now it's going to be 2027 because he'll need another year to stretch him out, and the Twins won't know if he's even capable of being a starter at that point.

It is not true that having Prielipp pitch out of pen one year will mean one more year removed from a starter.  There was several relievers, for many years, turned starters this past year. The main reason guys are in pen is not because of lack of being "stretched out" but lack of a pitch mix that plays beyond a single run through line up.  

I would agree there is no reason to make Prielipp a pen guy right now though and no reason to give him a spot in the pen anytime soon as he has done nothing in minors to warrant that. 

[Seth Stohs]

Plus, Lawrence Butler and Jaylen Nowlin are high school teammates who still hangout all offseason (with Michael Harris and Marquis Grissom, Jr too). 

[gmwannabe]

T&R...if you want Ford included in your deal it will take more than Miranda and Topa. They may do Lewis for Miller straight up but I wouldn't. Lewis, Keaschall, & Raya might get it done for Miller and Ford. I'd do that.

[chpettit19]

35 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

They said that last year. Then the offense tanked and they missed the playoffs. Again.

I could see them changing tactics. But as much as I'd like the Twins to get one of their pitchers, I'd guess other teams that are willing to spend money in free agency to fill their holes will be more eager to trade the prospect and pre-arbitration players needed to get them.

I mean, there's a price for everything, but they've been awfully adamant that they aren't trading from their rotation. They don't have much behind them in terms of MLB ready pitching at all so it's not like they can move one and plug somebody in. It's always possible, but when there's no smoke and the team is saying they're not doing it I tend to think the ask is astronomical and it's effectively not going to happen.

I think it's far more likely they deal prospects for MLB offense than it is they trade MLB pitching for MLB hitting. Rumors are Philly offered Bohm for one of their arms (Gilbert or Kirby were the rumors I saw) and Seattle essentially hung up on them (as they should have). Is Ford blocked by Raleigh in their eyes? He could bring back real offense for them. They have some position player prospects who could bring back some real offensive pieces. I'd bet on them taking that path before they trade from their rotation. But they're going to be getting calls all winter about their arms. The Twins aren't getting any of them, though.

[bean5302]

36 minutes ago, Trov said:

It is not true that having Prielipp pitch out of pen one year will mean one more year removed from a starter.  There was several relievers, for many years, turned starters this past year. The main reason guys are in pen is not because of lack of being "stretched out" but lack of a pitch mix that plays beyond a single run through line up.  

I would agree there is no reason to make Prielipp a pen guy right now though and no reason to give him a spot in the pen anytime soon as he has done nothing in minors to warrant that. 

So your position is Prielipp would be viewed as a starter without major innings limits in 2026 if he were to pitch 40-60 innings this coming year or maybe 80 innings at the absolute 1%'er extreme end of things? I find it implausible to go from 60 innings, throwing 10-25 pitches on 2-3 days of rest to 150 innings throwing 80+ pitches on 5 days rest over 5-6 innings at a time when Prielipp has such a short track record. Even if successful, it's hard to imagine Prielipp getting more than say 100-120 innings in 2026 if he was deployed as a reliever during the stretch out process. Even if Prielipp was elite as a reliever, and the Twins weren't worried about dramatically increasing his workload and changing his preparation plan, the Twins wouldn't have any real idea whether or not he can go through the lineup multiple times.

If Prielipp follows the Marco Raya plan design, he'll get to 100 innings this coming year as a starter, and that is projectable to potentially 150 innings in 2026. 

 

[bean5302]

1 hour ago, nicksaviking said:

They said that last year. Then the offense tanked and they missed the playoffs. Again.

I could see them changing tactics. But as much as I'd like the Twins to get one of their pitchers, I'd guess other teams that are willing to spend money in free agency to fill their holes will be more eager to trade the prospect and pre-arbitration players needed to get them.

Find a suggestion Seattle has changed their mind. Until then, I'll go with Dipoto's strong statements they're not interested in trading their rotation pieces... just like they said (and backed up with actions) last year.
 

Quote

"On the continuum of 'A' to 'Z', that would be plan 'Z' times some denominator" Dipoto said. "That's not part of why we're (not) good. We haven't played well offensively at home during the course of this season. And our pitchers have been phenomenal. And somehow we've played very well offensively on the road, and that's not where we've been strong. We can shoot ourselves in the foot by trying to get too crafty at what we do. Our pitching is how we're built. I love our rotation. I think we have the potential for a dynamic back end of our bullpen ... months from now. So that wouldn't be plan 'A.' But we'll got into every offseason open to whatever ideas might make us better."

https://www.si.com/mlb/mariners/news/seattle-mariners-front-office-leader-jerry-dipoto-says-team-has-no-plans-to-trade-starting-pitching-luis-castillo-bryce-miller-bryan-woo-logan-gilbert-george-kirby

[Patzky]

3 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

Seems like a sideways move - prospects for prospects, involving teams likely out of playoff contention. Why would those teams look to trade their prospects? There may be competitive teams who see value in adding a Twins player to improve their chances for wins and return an MLB ready player who has not proven themseles yet and/or may be blocked by their current team. Conversations should be had with teams to exchange players who fit a need for both teams.

Butler, Miller, etc. should be nearly impossible to acquire without a severe overpay (say Joe Ryan and Emmanuel Rodriguez for Mason Miller). I am skeptical, although it always worth the conversation.

And what is Oakland (sorry I won't stop that) Really up to? They spent a small fortune today for Severino..

[Rod Carews Birthday]

Maybe I'm just not seeing it, but aside from Mason Miller -- who is actually awesome, but a relief pitcher -- and possibly Lawrence Butler -- who might be on a good path with the bat, these other guys are no better (and I would argue worse) than the guys the Twins already have on the roster.  For example, other than being right handed, what exactly are Jordan Walker's attributes (defensively he's a DH) or Curtis Meade (who has never even had a 100 OPS+?  These guys aren't altogether useless, but to call them a "moonshot" seems pretty far over the top.  They are more like "shuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic."  I get it, hyperbole gets eyeballs, but realism (even overly optimistic realism) keeps me interested and more usefully engaged in constructive conversation. 

They don't need a "moonshot" like trade for a Mariners starter or an MLB ready young catcher (which I would support wholeheartedly), but they probably need to do something to inject a little more life into this team for 2025. 

[weitz41]

Jordan Walker would be an add that I would be interested in. Not as an OFer but as a 3rd baseman. He only went to the OF because of Arenado. From what I read it sounds like was a pretty good there.

I'm not sure where all this trade Lewis stuff came from. 1/2 a season does not sour me on him. Baseball isn't instant gratification or stardom. 

Royce Lewis

25

MIN

AL

0.7

82

325

292

40

68

16

0

16

47

0

0

28

74

.233

.295

.452

.747

107

.315

99

132

5

0

0

5

2

5D/H4

.747 ops and 107 ops+ that isn't terrible

25

MIN

AL

2.9

161

744

691

80

199

29

13

4

74

21

12

41

87

.288

.330

.385

.715

92

.327

90

266

9

4

5

3

.715 ops and 92 ops+

2.5x more ab and 2x games played..Same age and their 2nd season in the bigs..and this is?

Kirby Puckett

[old nurse]

4 hours ago, Schmoeman5 said:

Looks to me like the A's are trying to win the West. So I doubt they're trading.  Unless they get a haul in return.

With a roster full of pre arbitration players they have to spend money to get revenue sharing. Last year they signed Wood and Stripling. This year they had to spend a little more. 

[Greglw3]

8 hours ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

I would argue they are very much at a point that moving at least one of their pitching prospects currently slated for AA or AAA makes a WORLD of sense too. 

I agree with that and I liked the article a lot and the Twins should make 1 or 2 of those moves.

The article shows a can-do approach that the Twins FO, Falvey seems to lack. DO at least one of those moves, bring in Hays and/or Laureano and sign Jurickson Profar and Jesse Winker.

The offense is in dire need of depth and higher quality. My Twins planner brought in both Winker and Profar for under $130 MM but shed Vasquez and Paddack’s salaries.

Almost everybody is an injury or slump risk across the OF and IF. Count me, also as one who believes DaShawn Keirsey, Jr. can be the first adequate Byron Buxton insurance the Twins have had in years, if ever.

[Schmoeman5]

1 hour ago, old nurse said:

With a roster full of pre arbitration players they have to spend money to get revenue sharing. Last year they signed Wood and Stripling. This year they had to spend a little more. 

Yes. But Severino for 67 million over 3 years. That's more than a little.