Tom Pohlad Can Walk the Walk at the MLB Trade Deadline with a Frontline Starter

[DannySD]

I like Peralta as a wild card/change of scenery candidate. He's having a down year, but a former ace who could win playoff games, so not sure what he's worth... Tait? Hill? Rojas+?

[Mike Sixel]

9 minutes ago, DataNerd said:

A rental SP makes more sense than one with control.  Ryan/Bradley are under control, for next year, same with Zebby/Ober/Prielipp (question being if they are good enough to start), and we get Abel/Pablo back from injury.  Trading major assets to attempt a playoff run when you are 49-50 with a 32% chance to make the playoffs (FanGraphs) because the owner wants to make a splash is the type of thing that stupid orgs do.  If we can't afford to pay for players, we definitely can't afford to be stupid.

This is an excellent point. 

[old nurse]

57 minutes ago, LA Vikes Fan said:

I like the idea here but like many wonder about the cost. I’ll throw out three scenarios and wait  for the raft of sh&! I get in return. Before I do that,, I’m going to put anyone on the table in the right trade except Jenkins. With the emergence of Houston, Culpepper could be traded. Same for Tait with the draft of Lackey.. So here are the scenarios.

1- Trade for front line starter with 2 plus  years of control. I’m willing to give up two top 15 prospects and another at the top 30. My trade is Emma, Kendry Rojas, and Ben Ross for Reid Detmers. If they will throw in Sam Bachman or Kirby Yates, I will add another prospect in the 20–30 rage like Diaw or Amick. Best way to go.

2- Trade two mid top 30 prospects for a rental starter. Here, two of Ryan Gallagher, Sam Armstrong, Amick, or Diaw, for Robbie Ray. Kevin Gausman only gets one of the two, plus a guy not in the top 30 in A or A+ ball. 
 

3- Trade one good prospect in the top 15 plus one near the back end of the top 30 for a solid, middle of the rotation guy or erratic, but younger starter each with multi year control. Here, I trade Henry Mendez or Gallagher and Amick, Armstrong, or Ross for Jose Soriano.

By the way, I would also be willing to trade a top 10-30 prospect for Luke Weaver for the bullpen. Two if they’re 18-30.

Attack away.

 

If a prospect is traded away it is most likely the Twins do not think the player will rise to the useful player status. Spencer Steer is probably the best player they have ever traded away. Useful, but is a bat without a position and not a good enough bat to be DH. With the production he has had if he was with the Twins the people here would be screaming to trade him. See Larnach, Trevor

[DJL44]

25 minutes ago, GNess said:

What about Robbie Ray?

He is stlll an effective SP - close enough by results to the four cited. I don't think the asking price would be too high and there is no contractual commitment beyond this season.

For the younger Twins to experience a real fight for a playoff spot would have some value in their development. Ray could help this effort.

Prielipp and Rojas might learn something from Ray.

[Mike Sixel]

I think if they are around .500, the owner will have them do something I don't like., like trade legit prospects for a run that doesn't come. 

[old nurse]

18 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

You'd give up two top fifty to seventy prospects and a borderline top hundred guy? Glad you aren't the GM. 

If the team thinks that being a top 50 prospect is their peak then they should be traded. If the player has fallen a lot in the rankings, by all means they shouud be traded if you can get a good return 

[Mike Sixel]

3 minutes ago, old nurse said:

If the team thinks that being a top 50 prospect is their peak then they should be traded. If the player has fallen a lot in the rankings, by all means they shouud be traded if you can get a good return 

Sure, but do they? This is a silly argument. 

[IndianaTwin]

1 hour ago, Nshore said:

The eerie part of all this is that Tom Pohlad looks almost exactly like my brother - whose name is Tom.  There's something very strange going on here.

Are you sure your brother didn't buy the Twins without your knowing it? 

Or are you really Joe and hiding your identity? 

 

[old nurse]

1 minute ago, Mike Sixel said:

Sure, but do they? This is a silly argument. 

A lot of other teams have traded their bottom 59 type prospects . I guess that makes them silly. 

[Riverbrian]

26 minutes ago, old nurse said:

If a prospect is traded away it is most likely the Twins do not think the player will rise to the useful player status. Spencer Steer is probably the best player they have ever traded away. Useful, but is a bat without a position and not a good enough bat to be DH. With the production he has had if he was with the Twins the people here would be screaming to trade him. See Larnach, Trevor

No doubt that there would have been a contingent of TD faithful screaming to trade Spencer Steer. 

I wouldn't have been one of them. 4 straight years of 20 homers. His average performance years in 2024 and 2025 would have been better than multiple Twins players in those years. 

Wouldn't have needed France with Steer. Possible wouldn't have needed Margot. 

Not knocking the trade... If you want a starter... they come with a price tag. 

[Mike Sixel]

24 minutes ago, old nurse said:

A lot of other teams have traded their bottom 59 type prospects . I guess that makes them silly. 

It's silly to say that a fan, who doesn't have data, should ignore all the rankings. Which is the posts we are discussing. 

Obviously if they think their players suck, and can trade them, they should. Lots of teams have traded guys that turned into all stars....I really don't get your point. 

[old nurse]

1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

Sure, but do they? This is a silly argument. 

They do trade prospects lower than 50. Perhaps you ought to use your computer to look at past trades 

[LyleCole]

To the screams of other people, this is a point I have been making.  IF the Ownership is serious about increasing payroll, now is the time to demonstrate it.  While I think the current team is mediocre it has a chance to make the playoffs.  But if we had a huge influx of talent it could be a playoff contender.

If not, then why keep Ryan Jeffers?  Why keep Joe Ryan?   If you aint going to pay them, trade them before you lose the significant trade value they have right now.

 

[old nurse]

55 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

No doubt that there would have been a contingent of TD faithful screaming to trade Spencer Steer. 

I wouldn't have been one of them. 4 straight years of 20 homers. His average performance years in 2024 and 2025 would have been better than multiple Twins players in those years. 

Wouldn't have needed France with Steer. Possible wouldn't have needed Margot. 

Not knocking the trade... If you want a starter... they come with a price tag. 

In terms of HR, yes Steer was more productive, in overall play, not a difference

[old nurse]

46 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

It's silly to say that a fan, who doesn't have data, should ignore all the rankings. Which is the posts we are discussing. 

Obviously if they think their players suck, and can trade them, they should. Lots of teams have traded guys that turned into all stars....I really don't get your point. 

The meaningless of a ranking, and the reluctance to trade a player for the ranking is the point. The rarity of a 50-100 ranking player being a useful player is the point. If a team other than San Diego trades one, the assessment has been made that the ranked player is not going to develop for various reasons. You can find them in trades that become good players, but those trades that involve all star players coming back. It also means the trading team likely made a mistake in their judgement 

[Mike Sixel]

4 minutes ago, old nurse said:

The meaningless of a ranking, and the reluctance to trade a player for the ranking is the point. The rarity of a 50-100 ranking player being a useful player is the point. If a team other than San Diego trades one, the assessment has been made that the ranked player is not going to develop for various reasons. You can find them in trades that become good players, but those trades that involve all star players coming back. It also means the trading team likely made a mistake in their judgement 

I'm still not sure what you are arguing.

[HerbieFan]

If they're going to engage the Blue Jays in trade talks, maybe they can deal a high-upside LH pitcher and a "major league ready" left-handed hitting corner outfielder for Varland!  :)

[Mike Sixel]

3 minutes ago, HerbieFan said:

If they're going to engage the Blue Jays in trade talks, maybe they can deal a high-upside LH pitcher and a "major league ready" left-handed hitting corner outfielder for Varland!  :)

I'd reverse that trade all day. But I think everyone questioned that one at the time. 

[mluebker]

I love the optimism and the public reminder to Tom Pohlad of what he promised. But I have no confidence that it's going to happen.

[thelanges5]

16 minutes ago, HerbieFan said:

If they're going to engage the Blue Jays in trade talks, maybe they can deal a high-upside LH pitcher and a "major league ready" left-handed hitting corner outfielder for Varland!  :)

Miss you Louis!

[Western SD Fan]

For many of us, including me, the one thing that Tom could do that would show confidence in the team would be to sign Joe Ryan to an extension.  The remaining discussion almost doesn't matter if Tom can get this done.  We wouldn't have to worry about all the trade rumors anymore.  There would be some certainty going into the upcoming CBA negotiations.  This was not a team primed for a playoff push, and we are performing a bit above expectations.  If they solidified their core for the future this year, I'm willing to let the chips fall where they may and have this team sink or swim on what we currently have.

[DJL44]

The Reds are selling. Brady Singer, Pierce Johnson, Brock Burke and Caleb Ferguson will all be available.

[Vanimal46]

26 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

The Reds are selling. Brady Singer, Pierce Johnson, Brock Burke and Caleb Ferguson will all be available.

I’m interested in Brady Singer. Rental who shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg. Probably a borderline top 10 org prospect gets it done 

[JD-TWINS]

3 hours ago, old nurse said:

If a prospect is traded away it is most likely the Twins do not think the player will rise to the useful player status. Spencer Steer is probably the best player they have ever traded away. Useful, but is a bat without a position and not a good enough bat to be DH. With the production he has had if he was with the Twins the people here would be screaming to trade him. See Larnach, Trevor

I do not see any sound reason to trade Larnach either…….everyone wants a new shiny toy …….. bored with .289/.379OBP & 129 OPS+……. makes zero sense. He’s the perfect DH & occasional OF for ‘27, v. RH pitching. He’s 29 & in the middle of a player’s prime……although ”he’s old” here at TD. 

“Bring up Emma……bring up Roden…..” Emma is never healthy & available to play and he strikes out at a high rate……… we’ve seen Roden, he’s not bad but he doesn’t move the needle enough to justify trading Larnach either - right? Jenkins isn’t going to play more than one OF spot at a time whenever he’s ready.

To me, after drafting Lackey, the Catcher position is set for numerous years. Didn’t have Tait at this time last year ……… he can be traded w/o affecting any grand plan! Roden - Emma - Tait - Mendez ……. all can be traded for NOW help as a starter/reliever/worthwhile position player - whoever is deemed a helpful addition. I would like to hang on to Gonzalez & obviously, Jenkins, Culpepper, & Houston …… Lackey. Anyone else can be traded for some potential impact player.

Luis Arraez makes sense!

I live in Cincinnati and most times I’ve seen Speer play since ‘23 I’ve wished he was still with the TWINS. He can play 5 positions and is excellent at 1B - decent in LF & 3B - 2B & RF are seldom seen. He was voted Team’s MVP in ‘23. He’s been hot and cold for stretches since then but his flexibility is used so the Reds can get other bats in the line-up & those other bats only play 1 position - not because he doesn’t hit well enough……. he’s got a .770 OPS & 16 HR this year. …… it’ll be his 4th straight year, starting as a Rookie, that he’ll have 20 HR or more & he’s averaged about 85 RBI in his first 3 years……. he strikes out more than he should.

[Wedman13]

7 hours ago, HrbieFan said:

It isn't about the salary for me, it is the assets. I would be fine giving up a combo of Tait, Culpepper and E-Rod. Definitely not Jenkins, Houston, or any minor league pitching. 

I see the unlikes you are getting, and guessing you care less.  But I'll  be the fool that chimes in.
 

 I completely agree with your thinking, but would flip high versus low.  'If' we believe in Culpepper, Houston's value right now is sky high.  I don't have a target so it's a weak argument, but Jenkins aside, I believe Marek Houston is our greatest asset.  Do I want him traded? No.  If u want real value, he's the guy.  Just opinion 

[JD-TWINS]

Rojas at Age 23 ……..he’s in MLB and in 8 games with a 2.79 ERA to date.

 

Louis Varland at age 23 ……. in MiLB trying to develop a second pitch.

Age 24 - 5 games with TWINS and goes 1-1 with a 3.81 ERA

Age 25 - 17 games with TWINS and he goes 4-3 with a 4.83 ERA

Age 26 - 16 games he was 0-6 and had a 7.71 ERA

Age 27 - 74 games … he goes 4-3 with a 2.97 ERA …… should be noted that he pitched in 23 games for the Blue Jays and he had an ERA of 4.94. …….pitched a lot, with pretty decent results in Post Season.

Age 28 - he’s flourishing and dominant! His ERA is 1.08 over 45 games with a record of 3-3.

The detail is here to show, that even though Louie is from Minnesota, he hasn’t always been fantastic…….. at 23 he was NOT in MLB and at 26 he looked like he might wash out……. How about giving ROJAS a chance to be successful??

[TheLeviathan]

Myself and this article have very different definitions of "frontline starter".  I'm not even sure Detmers would slot in as our third guy and even if he does...it ain't by much.

Also, I'd like a dose of whatever Bob Nightengale is smoking in thinking Detmers and Skubal are going to command the same haul.

[Glorybound]

I still don’t think this is a playoff team. I think trading for rental starting pitching is  more than a bit foolish. If they can’t get Buck healthy they for sure won’t make the playoffs.

[tony&rodney]

All prospects are unknowns. The lower the level, the less that is known. Tampa Bay traded Tobias Myers in November of 2021 for a relatively unknown Junior Caminero. Stuff happens.

We cannot predict with certainty that out prospects will be regulars or even contributors at the highest level. We do know that the Twins currently have a boatload of outfielders on their 40 person roster and that does not include the best player, Walker Jenkins, or a few others who have talent. It makes sense to find out if there is a match with another team that is low on outfielders. Whether the Twins are a playoff team or not, there probably needs to be several transactions. 

[soyouresayingtheresachance]

If Sonny Gray is available from Boston, while you're on the phone, get Aroldis Chapman in the deal, too. We'd have a top 3 in the rotation for a potential trip to the playoffs and a closer with a proven track record of success.