5 First Base Upgrades the Twins Could Target Via Trade

[killercarewoliva]

1 minute ago, MapleGroveTwinsFan said:

Would love to here you plans for the 13 active players on the roster that includes Bell and doesn't harm the progress of the young guys?

Yes, I have thought of that letting the DH position be interchangeable depending on the situation. the manager wants to put on the field for that particular day but then I think about it's also about winning the game. 96 RBIs wins a lot of games. I want to see these young guys play a number of them from AAA and Houston from AA real soon. I'm really fond of Aston Martin but once he got to play everyday his bat and average went to well. very bad he was hitting 333. Lee has become much better at third base and he's a bit of a mystery at the plate but he is hitting better also. to speak of pitching a little bit I read where Skubal could get 40 million per season. here's another one of my money. dilemmas. if you are the top starting pitcher in the league and you start 30 games, you're not going to pitch the entire game. so every five games you're going to be playing in about 15% of the team's games and yet you're going to make $40 million or even $10 million. it's only 15%. think of any business you come to work 15% of the time and you make the top salary in the corporation. it doesn't work like that but in baseball it does. you know Jim Kaat wanted to play first base when he wasn't pitching well he didn't get to. that way he'd be earning his money.

[LA Vikes Fan]

2 hours ago, Twins GFP said:

I am surprised Arraez has not come up more in this conversation, either at 1B or 2B, with Clemens filling the other role. A top of the lineup of:
R-Keaschall
L-Arraez
R-Buxton
L-Clemens
S-Lee
L-Jenkins

There is a lot of potential in that group.

P I am with you on Arraez or Lowe, or even a trade for someone like Xavier Edwards. I just don’t like the idea of Clemens hitting in the #4 hole. He’s just not good enough for that slot, and he can be a real rally stopper because of his low OBP. Don’t get me wrong, I like Clemens as a player, and I think moving him to 1B makes a whole lot more sense than trading for some of the people suggested so far. I think he is a fine #6 or #7 hitter playing pretty much every day. We just need better bats in the middle of the order.

[Cory Engelhardt]

2 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

This is a real rip off for the Cubs. One year of Ryan for multiple years of a starter, and another guy? 

This list from Nick is terrible. It also shows that it isn't so easy as.... Trade for a first baseman.

Their better bet is a minor league player target. 

The Cubs (or Red Sox, or other team) trading for Ryan certainly would push to extend him then no?

[sweetmusicviola16]

4 hours ago, Paul Walerius said:

Rays don't care about player/fans feelings.  I could see a possible trade. Don't pick up Bell's option, he can be DH then.  What does it cost then? They are probably asking for Houston right? I am ok with Lewis over there with Diaz/Clemens filling in on days off.  

Diaz  for Houston is exactly what we don't want to see. Please no. 

[MapleGroveTwinsFan]

40 minutes ago, killercarewoliva said:

Yes, I have thought of that letting the DH position be interchangeable depending on the situation. the manager wants to put on the field for that particular day but then I think about it's also about winning the game. 96 RBIs wins a lot of games. I want to see these young guys play a number of them from AAA and Houston from AA real soon. I'm really fond of Aston Martin but once he got to play everyday his bat and average went to well. very bad he was hitting 333. Lee has become much better at third base and he's a bit of a mystery at the plate but he is hitting better also. to speak of pitching a little bit I read where Skubal could get 40 million per season. here's another one of my money. dilemmas. if you are the top starting pitcher in the league and you start 30 games, you're not going to pitch the entire game. so every five games you're going to be playing in about 15% of the team's games and yet you're going to make $40 million or even $10 million. it's only 15%. think of any business you come to work 15% of the time and you make the top salary in the corporation. it doesn't work like that but in baseball it does. you know Jim Kaat wanted to play first base when he wasn't pitching well he didn't get to. that way he'd be earning his money.

So no plan on to fill the 13 active roster offensive/defensive players? Got it, 95 RBI good

[killercarewoliva]

4 minutes ago, MapleGroveTwinsFan said:

So no plan on to fill the 13 active roster offensive/defensive players? Got it, 95 RBI good

I did say a little bit. I talked about some of them. keep and Culpeper and Rodriguez and Jenkins in the outfield along with Buxton until he gets hurt again and Clemons can be moved around. I don't think he should be permanently in any position which means he'll get to play still almost everyday but no Lewis. we can't keep letting that falter got to put somebody in there. we need more of a power bat at first base in place of Lewis. there's been a review today on possible first baseman you may have seen it and it really doesn't give us a lot of good choices. there are AAA players like Gonzalez that might can handle it in a little bit or you just put Keaschell there.

[Jim H]

Clemens and Bell are decent players. But, they are capped. They won't get better and they might decline. What I think is the Twins need to do, is to figure  out which of the corner out field, first base, dh guys they want to keep, and how they want to play them. Larnarch, Wallner, Lewis, Keashall, Martin, Rodriguez, Roden, Jenkins,and Gonzalez are still all on 40 man roster. Which are you keeping, where are you playing them? A lot of these guys have some sort of upside. Probably more than what Bell or Clemens are now.

Once you know how to proceed with what might be your youngish core, it makes it easier to decide what to do with Bell and Clemens. Then you decide whether it's worth trying to trade for or perhaps sign a veteran free agent.

Also I don't believe the Twins currently have a surplus of pitching. If that somehow happens next spring, deal with it then.aa

[Sampson5]

Diaz is a dh so don't think he's a option don't think think want a strictly dh only Burleson would be a fun fit but that's about it wouldn't be excited about any other name on the list . Personally think they just sign a 1st basemen in free agency may just be bell returning or dare I saw bring back ty france 👀 could see them buying low on a bounce back from injury candidate white the idea of them being a platoon partner with Royce since twins seem to be still holding out hope he can figure it out 

[Twins GFP]

2 hours ago, LA Vikes Fan said:

P I am with you on Arraez or Lowe, or even a trade for someone like Xavier Edwards. I just don’t like the idea of Clemens hitting in the #4 hole. He’s just not good enough for that slot, and he can be a real rally stopper because of his low OBP. Don’t get me wrong, I like Clemens as a player, and I think moving him to 1B makes a whole lot more sense than trading for some of the people suggested so far. I think he is a fine #6 or #7 hitter playing pretty much every day. We just need better bats in the middle of the order.

I am not going to argue too much with your view, you always want better players batting higher. I don't see the Twins acquiring a guy good enough to bump Clemens down in the lineup I proposed.

It is very possible an Jenkins could improve enough to upend the top of the lineup. It would be a good problem to have.

The Twins offensive floor appears to be high enough that scoring runs won't be the biggest problem next year.

[Cris E]

Oh c'mon, let's get the imaginations running a little hotter. There's a pile of guys out there that saw 1B duty this season, Let's take a look around.

I like Stowers in Miami quite a bit, and they are comfortable dealing top guys before signing them to big deals. They also have Griffin Conine on the 40 man and Alderman in AAA that can step up. It could get pricey as Stowers only goes Arb 1 next year, but this is a foray into big game hunting and that's just how all these talks will go. 

Another good option is Busch in Chicago. He'll cost a ton if he can be pried away at all, but front line pitching is valued highly there if the Joe Ryan card is played. They also have BJ Murray as their #19 prospect, a decent 1B in AAA that looks like Sabato on paper but is moving from 3b to 1b so is likely a better fielder, better athlete if we want to approach from the AAA angle. 

The Rays have a history of moving on just before guys get expensive so you'd think Aranda might be available, but he only hits Arb 1 next year so it's unlikely they'd move on from him yet. It's even less likely given that the only other three names to appear at 1b last year were Caminero, Hicks and Ryan Vilade so there's little chance they open a void like that with only Royce Lewis as the replacement. But you could look at AAA brain surgery case Xavier Isaac as a project with promise.

Andrés Chaparro didn't impress for the Nationals until August, but he hit well in his short stint after that. Otherwise AAA player Yohandy Morales could be a candidate. 

I have to go get an oil change so I can;t do many more teams. (For example, let me save you some time by waving you past the Angels crash site.) But there are names out there to be looked into. This isn't just three free agents and some familiar names.  Picking up a AAA option behind Clemens could be an easy and productive option.

 

[chpettit19]

Lewis should be non-tendered. It's time to move on. If they can swap him for Casas, I'd be happy. That's an intriguing trade of change of scenery guys.

I love Diaz but am not sure what his D looks like at first anymore. Aranda is no gold glover over there, so it's probably not great if they're choosing to play Aranda over Diaz in the field. But that bat would be great in the Twins lineup. I'd much rather have a full-time DH like him than Bell.

Burleson is too expensive for what you're likely to get from him.

Very much like the idea of bringing Arraez back.

Think Keaschall should be a LF/1B moving forward and there's no reason he can't be successful at both of those positions. So, if you want to have Clemens be the most of the time 1B against righties with Keaschall playing there against lefties, I wouldn't be upset. Or, if you bring in an Arozarena or Suzuki for the OF, Keaschall can be the 1B everyday until injuries move him to LF to fill the OF.

[C-Gangster]

2 words Royce Lewis.

[bjorks]

10 hours ago, Coach said:

SI: First Team: First Base: "Matt Olson has been terrific this season, crushing 36 home runs and tallying 77 RBIs. His 4.1 fWAR leads all first basemen."

TD: "Clemens was one of the year's biggest surprises. He appeared in 145 games and provided a power boost that few could have predicted, launching 27 home runs and driving in 81 runs."  At the end of May he was leading the league at 1B in DRS (5).  2.5 fWAR 2026 for all fielding positions.

BTW: 

1B (MLB Leader) DRS

Ty France

15

1B (MLB Runner-Up) DRS

Matt Olson

11

Buxton for Olson in a heartbeat 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

10 hours ago, Coach said:

SI: First Team: First Base: "Matt Olson has been terrific this season, crushing 36 home runs and tallying 77 RBIs. His 4.1 fWAR leads all first basemen."

TD: "Clemens was one of the year's biggest surprises. He appeared in 145 games and provided a power boost that few could have predicted, launching 27 home runs and driving in 81 runs."  At the end of May he was leading the league at 1B in DRS (5).  2.5 fWAR 2026 for all fielding positions.

BTW: 

1B (MLB Leader) DRS

Ty France

15

1B (MLB Runner-Up) DRS

Matt Olson

11

Agree 100%. Clemens needs to play 1B for the Twins in 2027. He has proven himself offensively, defensively and in the clubhouse. 

[SE23]

5 minutes ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Agree 100%. Clemens needs to play 1B for the Twins in 2027. He has proven himself offensively, defensively and in the clubhouse. 

Move Clemens to 1B. Acquire a bona fide MLB 2B who can also back up SS and 3B if needed (i.e. Mauricio Dubon). Sign Carson Kelly as our primary catcher for 1/3 what Jeffers would cost. Sign Yandy Diaz as the Big RH Bat in the middle of our lineup.

I'm content with our pitching staff as it stands, but if we trade Ryan, get pitching in return.

[SE23]

2027 will be a fun year to watch the farm system. Can any of the following players take a BIG step towards The Show?

Gonzalez, Lackey, Houston, Tait, Quick, Diaw, Kendle, Mendez, Tinney, Ross, Winokur, Gallagher, Bohorquez, Raya, Jiminez, Fragoza, Olivar, Soto, (Canterino)?

[Richie the Rally Goat]

12 hours ago, Woof Bronzer said:

Is there any evidence to indicate that trading MLB talent for MLB talent is a sustainably successful approach for a middle revenue team?  

Is Royce MLB talent?

[MapleGroveTwinsFan]

12 hours ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Agree 100%. Clemens needs to play 1B for the Twins in 2027. He has proven himself offensively, defensively and in the clubhouse. 

In 2025 his Slash against lefties (.192/.264/.218.482) for an OPS+ of 40

In 2026 his slash against lefties (.233/.286/.393/.679) for an OPS+ of 90

2026 Slash against righties(.241/.303/.486/.789) for an OPS+ of 116

Career (.225/.274/.353/.627) for an OPS+ of 81

This the guy you want to start at first base? (I do agree he needs to be in the lineup against righties everyday)

For comparison this was Larnach last year

2026 Slash against lefties (.167/.259/.313/.572) for an OPS+ of 61

2026 Slash against righties(.284/.365/.454/.819)for an OPS+ of 127

Clemens is better defensively with out a doubt, have no idea about the clubhouse. In a perfect world where the roster isn't 26, you keep both and Larnach DH's and Clemens starts at 1B against right handed hitters, but that isn't the case, so Larnach goes, but I don't think giving the Clemens a full time starting job is the correct choice, because like Larnach and Wallner he can't hit lefties. 

 

 

[CoachDW]

Target Coby Mayo of Baltimore, acquire him, then pencil him in as your first baseman for the next five years. 

[MapleGroveTwinsFan]

9 minutes ago, CoachDW said:

Target Coby Mayo of Baltimore, acquire him, then pencil him in as your first baseman for the next five years. 

He is worse against right handed pitchers than Clemens is against Lefties and is pretty awesome against left handed pitchers, Would be great platoon.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

14 hours ago, SE23 said:

2027 will be a fun year to watch the farm system. Can any of the following players take a BIG step towards The Show?

Gonzalez, Lackey, Houston, Tait, Quick, Diaw, Kendle, Mendez, Tinney, Ross, Winokur, Gallagher, Bohorquez, Raya, Jiminez, Fragoza, Olivar, Soto, (Canterino)?

Houston and Lackey can.