In A Market With No Sellers, Twins May Trade Away MLB Players

If Max Kepler has any trade value, do you trade him now?

I'm on the fence with Gray. He seems to have regressed over the course of the season and I trust him less than Lopez, Ryan, Ober and even Maeda. With that said, I trust Gray a lot more than any internal options to backfill his spot in the rotation and unless the Twins are brining back an established starting pitcher under team control beyond 2023, I don't see why they would make a trade. 

I know people are skeptical they can move Gallo but is there a better LH outfield bat on the market? All they will want in return is a decent reliever.

I could see some team liking the idea of Gallo enough to take a flier, but I would be surprised if that flier involved anything more than a AA lottery ticket, i.e., prospect.

34 minutes ago, ToddlerHarmon said:

If Max Kepler has any trade value, do you trade him now?

The Kepler plan seems to be falling into place very nicely. See if he gets a hot streak, then trade him. His value right now is higher that it will ever be. Yes. I trade Kepler ASAP. 

The Twins have players to trade if they can get a handle on the long term approach of the team. The pitching has been improved and part of that is due to trades. There may be another risky trade to make .... with Seattle. The Mariners need bats and have pitching. Conversations need to happen and sometimes an agreement evolves from having a seat at the table. Who would Seattle want in return for Logan Gilbert or George Kirby? The Twins could really move things around by both adding pitching and trading expiring contracts. I don't have any feel for what Falvey wants however. I think the Twins stand pat in the end.

I always feel it is a little futile, even somewhat cruel considering we are referring to upsetting people's lives, to suggest trades. It is a part of the game however. One thing to consider is that the Twins do have multiple players looking for an opportunity and some prospects at lower levels who may draw interest. The post features a photo of Sonny Gray. He, Maeda, Farmer(for utility), Gallo (power), Taylor (defense & speed), and others should be in conversations. I'm willing to see how the Twins do with what they have now but also do not expect any of those players to be on the 2024 roster. 

41 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

I like this development. If there are that many buyers, then the Twins should zag the other direction. There is no other team to fear in the AL Central. 

I would call every team in the AL East and SEA/HOU/TX. See who is starving for pitching and willing to overpay for Gray or Maeda. 

No one else to fear eh, we will see how this plays out 

15 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

Maeda, Farmer(for utility), Gallo (power), Taylor (defense & speed), and others should be in conversations

Farmer has an arbitration year left, IIRC. He will probably be on the team next year unless Brooks Lee arrives. Funny how that throwaway acquisition of Castro has made Farmer and Taylor expendable.

I'd honestly be surprised if they do much of anything. I think the FO is going to pretty much stand pat and ride out this season. As much as some of us would like him gone, I can see them keeping Gallo, not trading Kepler, Larnach, or Wallner...and maybe only adding another middling arm to the pen. If they add a righty bat, I have no idea who they'd be interested in, or go after. It just looks like nothing is going to happen. We'll know in a few days. 

1 minute ago, ToddlerHarmon said:

Farmer has an arbitration year left, IIRC. He will probably be on the team next year unless Brooks Lee arrives. Funny how that throwaway acquisition of Castro has made Farmer and Taylor expendable.

Rambling. Farmer does have another year of control. The Twins should be looking to see what team is interested in Farmer though. Taylor is a better defender by quite a bit than Castro but your point is valid. Castro has real value to the Twins now and next year too. He is a little stretched as a regular. I think he would be best 4-5 times per week. While i did not think Brooks Lee would be in the picture until later in 2024, he has looked more in control of everything in the last month and i expect him to open next year with the Twins. Does this make Royce Lewis or Eddie Julien available? I don't know about that, but there may be a mutually beneficial market out there. I remain a big fan of Julien since last year. The return for either Kepler or Polanco versus their potential value in a Twins jersey doesn't seem to warrant a trade.

Maybe Baltimore would be interested in Gray for Mountcastle. I know this doesn’t help the logjam of fielders, but maybe they would take Gallo if the Twins eat some of his salary. 

I wouldn't be surprised to see a blockbuster trade, even Soto from San Diego. If teams aren't selling it makes our players that much more valuable and we have future roster crunches ahead. "Hold on to your butts".

18 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

If it was another front office, maybe. But have you known this front office to sit back and let it ride in the past few years? If anything, it feels like they sometimes make moves just for the sake of the action. 

I would add if they stand pat and end up not winning the division, their job could/should be in jeopardy.

Keep Gray for this year. He turns into 1st rd pick. 

Trade any of Buxton (yes. I am aware he has a no trade clause), Polanco, Kepler, Gallo, Larnach, Kirillof or Maeda.

Trade Correa in off season. 

1 minute ago, cmoss84 said:

Keep Gray for this year. He turns into 1st rd pick. 

Trade any of Buxton (yes. I am aware he has a no trade clause), Polanco, Kepler, Gallo, Larnach, Kirillof or Maeda.

Trade Correa in off season. 

We probably won't trade Correa and I'd keep Kiriloff.

29 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

If it was another front office, maybe. But have you known this front office to sit back and let it ride in the past few years? If anything, it feels like they sometimes make moves just for the sake of the action. 

I know what you're saying, Brock...and you're right. They've made a lot of moves the last few years, and at times it seems like they're making moves just to make moves. I'm probably wrong and they'll make a bunch of them by next week at the last minute. For some reason, I don't see it happening. I think this year might be different.  

4 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

This has me torn, actually. Kepler is hitting now so it makes him valuable to us for right now (imo, despite Brock's borderline irrational dislike.) But I don't want to move on from Wallner or Larnach, either. Gallo would be the one to move, but he won't bring back much at this point. So ... what to do? I think whatever they do might have me disappointed, especially if it doesn't work out. So maybe the best thing is to do nothing?

Is this a roster that will make a push in the post season? If we get there...

We also have a roster crunch at multiple positions. We have prospect capital. In regards to making a big splash...if not now, when?

1 hour ago, chpettit19 said:

How well is Wallner regarded in Seattle? Is there a package to be built around him that brings back one of their young arms? Seattle has arms to move in return for a bat, but they'll want a controllable bat since their arms are controllable for years still. Can a package built around Wallner, and Polanco maybe, bring back Gilbert, Kirby, or Miller? I'd certainly be calling Seattle. I'd guess we can't meet their asking price, but it's worth a call.

I believe that Seattle might be an interesting match. It really depends on how the Mariners view the Twins players. Any one of Gilbert, Kirby, or Miller would be massive additions and Brash is a guy who would really be a fine addition as well. 

Generally, my preference in position players includes guys who are smooth and athletic. Witness Tony Oliva and Rod Carew as opposed to Harmon Killebrew. although I always had great respect for HK and his value. Still, I see Julien and Wallner as players who possess some rare hitting talent and have room for improvement. I also believe that each can become average with the glove although they may never be aesthetic looking in the field. If the Twins believe in those two, there are others available to trade (Lewis, Larnach, more). 

I see San Diego and Seattle as possible positive partners for trades, but am still believing that the Twins will sit it out.

15 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

2) Kepler has value, but he is probably worth more to the Twins than any other team, so he stays.

This I don't agree with at all. The Twins have a LOT of options to replace Max Kepler. He's hot right now but there's no upside beyond how he has played in July and plenty of downside that he'll revert to his production for the previous 2 years. Move him and put Wallner in RF.