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  • Minnesota Twins Free Agent & Trade Rumors, Notes, & Tidbits

    The latest Minnesota Twins free agent and trade rumors, along with notes and tidbits about the team.
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    Mike Sixel
    They have permission to talk...
    Thad Levine joined the Twins as General Manager, second in command to President of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey, in 2016. During his tenure in Minnesota, Levine has helped the Twins win three division championships in seven seasons, alongside one Wild Card appearance in 2017.
    Levine was born (Virginia) and raised (went to Haverford College in Pennsylvania) so a move to Boston would bring him closer to his roots. It has long been speculated that Levine wants a shot at the big chair for a MLB team and after the departure of Chaim Bloom, the Red Sox may come calling.
    Brock Beauchamp
    Well, this doesn't make me cry. The Yankees, currently in last place in the American League East, are now listening to offers on players that will become free agents at season's end.
    Most of the names don't interest the Twins; they're expensive, injured, starting pitchers, or all of the above.
    But Harrison Bader might be a name of interest to the Twins after several right-handed bats went off the market yesterday. Bader is oft-injured the past two seasons but can play center field and was an above-average bat as recently as the 2021 season (114 OPS+).
    What do you think? Out of the remaining names on the market, is Bader one that interests you?
    Brock Beauchamp
    Mark Polishuk of MLB Trade Rumors rounded up the latest Twins trade deadline rumors
    . Give that a click for more details but here are the major talking points:
    The Twins are willing to listen to offers on pending free agents Sonny Gray and Kenta Maeda but the price is steep, as it will do serious damage to their postseason hopes Dallas Keuchel is dealing in AAA St Paul and can opt out on August 1st, trade interest in him has been minimal The Twins are receiving interest on their stockpile of left-handed corner outfielders A deal with the Mets may make sense, as the Mets are selling hard and have a few right-handed options that should interest the Twins What are your thoughts? Sell, buy, or both?
    Seth Stohs
    I thought this was an interesting one. It has to be relatively close. It sounds like the Mets just have to get Scherzer to waive his no-trade clause. 
    A few minutes before the news broke that the Rangers and Mets were close, Rangers beat writer Evan Grant tweeted the following: 
     Someone else tweeted that if Scherzer's getting dealt, then the White Sox aren't doing a service to themselves if they don't make Dylan Cease available. And, maybe it should mean that the Twins consider dealing a starter?
    Brock Beauchamp
    Congratulations, you've unlocked trade deadline weekend! Up to this point, the deadline has been rather quiet, as there are many teams still on the fence about selling and few selling teams have have clear upgrades at positions. MLBTR's Anthony Franco runs through the best remaining trade targets heading into the final 72 hours before the trade deadline.
    Of particular interest to the Twins:
    Mark Canha: RH OF, New York Mets Tommy Pham: RH OF, New York Mets Jordan Hicks: RP, St Louis Cardinals Josh Hader: RP, San Diego Padres Who are your favorite trade targets and why?
    Brock Beauchamp
    As most of you probably identified over the past few weeks, the Mariners and Twins share many traits: they pitch pretty well and don't hit nearly enough.
    Combine that with the dearth of true, wholesale sellers on the trade market this year and it leads to a situation where the Mariners are open to dealing their excellent closer with 1.5 years of control remaining, Paul Sewald.
    Sewald, 33 years old, has saved 52 games over the past three seasons, carrying a 137 ERA+ and over 12 strikeouts per nine innings during that time. He has some of the same allure (and dangers) of Jorge Lopez last season but has a much longer track record of success in MLB.
    The Twins have a slew of left-handed hitting corner players, at least one of which could be packaged into a deal to acquire Sewald... but should the Twins try to acquire another controllable closer after what happened at the last deadline?
    Seth Stohs
    Ken Rosenthal tweeted that the Dodgers and White Sox are nearing a deal that would send Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly to the Dodgers. If that deal would happen, it would be the second such deal where they traded one of their starters and a triple-digit reliever. They dealt Lucas Giolito and Renaldo Lopez to the Angels last week. 
    The White Sox doing their part for the Los Angeles baseball market. 
    Also, for those interested, it presumably means no need to worry about a Joe Kelly/Carlos Correa issue! (Presumably because obviously a deal is not yet complete and may or may not be imminent as Jon Heyman tweeted.)
    Who else do you think the White Sox will deal?
    Brock Beauchamp
    Well, this is an interesting development. In Ken Rosenthal's latest roundup, he mentions the Twins have a roster crunch coming up when Jorge Polanco returns to the 26-man roster. This may lead the Minnesota front office to trade away at least one of their left-handed outfield bats, though it's hard to predict which one. Trevor Larnach was recently demoted to AAA St Paul while both Matt Wallner and Max Kepler are hitting quite well for an offense that has struggled to score runs in 2023.
    That leaves Joey Gallo and it's hard to envision his trade return being significant, or even existing at all.
    The most interesting development of this trade deadline is that it's... not really happening. Nobody is trading anyone. Sure, we've seen relievers move around and some complementary players be traded but none of the larger names have come off the board. That's because so few teams have dedicated to selling. The Angels took Ohtani off the market. The Cubs can't stop winning so it's becoming less likely they will trade either Marcus Stroman or Cody Bellinger.
    As a result, teams are calling on the Twins starters, including Sonny Gray. And with a front office that somehow pivoted from Mitch Garver to Isiah Kiner-Falefa to Carlos Correa in the blink of an eye, we can't rule out this front office doing, well, pretty much anything if they think it improves the team.
    Vanimal46
    Arte Moreno can’t help himself by going for it this season. Ohtani has been taken off the trade market, and the Angels will try to make the playoffs for the first time since 2014. To bolster their postseason hopes - they're currently four games out of the final Wild Card spot - they've added Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez from the White Sox.
    On the other hand, the White Sox begin their fire sale. Who else could leave their organization in the coming days?
    This changes the dynamic of the trade deadline considerably. Many executives and insiders mentioned how Ohtani was holding up lower-octane trades and decisions. Now that the best baseball player has been taken off the market, expect to see the floodgates open in the coming days.
     
     
     
    Brock Beauchamp
    Darren Wolfson tweeted that the Twins have spoken with the Nationals and that Washington has been scouting AAA St Paul.
    The Nationals are not only obvious sellers but they have enticing trade targets for the Twins. Washington has the typical stable of decent right-handed relievers that sellers have ready to trade at every deadline but more interestingly, they have Lane Thomas, an arbitration-eligible right-handed outfielder.
    Thomas will not be eligible for free agency until after the 2025 season so his price will be considerably more than another rental target like Hunter Renfroe, Teoscar Hernandez, or Andrew McCutchen. Thomas is paid only $2.2 million this season and is having a something of a breakout, posting a 130 OPS+.
    More ideally, his 1.016 OPS against left-handed pitching is exactly what this Twins lineup needs right now.
    Brock Beauchamp
    The Padres' 2023 season has been an immense disappointment, rivaling only that of the New York Mets. They had aspirations to finally win the National League West but, despite their positive run differential, sit in fourth place, ten games back of the division lead.
    So it makes sense to sell, right? Especially their duo of left-handed pitchers with expiring contracts. Right?
    Nope.
    While Blake Snell doesn't fit that well with the Twins needs over the next two months, Josh Hader would be the best possible addition to a bullpen that is lacking in quality depth. Hader would immediately slot into a dual-closer role with Jhoan Duran, pushing every else up an inning. It would be one of the key pieces the Twins need to go from mediocre to good down the stretch.
    Brock Beauchamp
    Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com has reported that Derek Falvey mentioned the Twins have received calls on their glut of left-handed outfielders.
    It's not terribly surprising, as the Twins have more lefties than they can possibly use while other teams are looking to shore up that side of the plate, either with a full-time or part-time bench player.
    Among the Twins corner left-handers are Max Kepler, Joey Gallo, Alex Kirilloff, Trevor Larnach, and Matt Wallner. That's not even including another bat currently on the 60-day injured list, Nick Gordon.
     
    Seth Stohs
    The Red Sox aren't going anywhere this season. On Tuesday afternoon, reports came out that Boston has traded the veteran SS/2B/CF to the Dodgers. At this time, there was no mention of what the return would be. It won't be much. Hernandez has a sub-.300 OBP. 
    I do admit that I was starting to wonder if the Twins might have interest in Hernandez. While players like Dylan Carlson would have more upside, and he's got multiple years of pre-free agency remaining, so the price would be high. Hernandez, a native of Puerto Rico, might fit well with the Twins with his ability to play several positions. Is he better than Willi Castro? Honestly, he may not be. 
    Are there other similar players that might be available at the deadline? 
    Update: The Red Sox receive: RHP Nick Robertson and RHP Justin Hagenman. 
    Robertson just turned 25. He is on their 40 man roster. He was a 7th round pick in 2019. Made his MLB debut on June 7. He pitched 10 1/3 innings over nine games. He has a 6.10 ERA, a 2.03 WHIP. Four walks, 13 strikeouts. In 27 Triple-A games, he has a 2.54 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP in 28 1/3 innings. Nine walks, 42 strikeouts. 
    Hagenman is 26, a 23rd round pick in 2018 out of Penn State. In 25 games (5 games) this season, he is 4-0 with a 2.78 ERA. In 55 innings, he has given up 48 hits, walked 11 and struck out 60 batters. 
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