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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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    Brock Beauchamp
    On Monday evening, the news Twins fans were waiting three months to hear finally happened: Jorge Polanco had been traded. In a five-player swap, Minnesota freed up approximately $6 million of salary, which should allow them to pursue help in other areas.
    Jon Heyman speculated today that Donovan Solano might be in the mix. Other rumors have circulated that the Twins could pursue a low-cost designated hitter, perhaps Joey Votto or Carlos Santana.
    What Heyman seems more sure about is that the Twins are looking for outfield help, probably in center field. With the oft-injured Byron Buxton perpetually a question mark, a backup center field option could be prudent.
    Are we looking at a return of Michael A. Taylor in 2024?
     
    Brock Beauchamp
    While Twins General Manager Thad Levine couched his statements with excitement about the current starting rotation, he admitted that with the loss of so many starting pitchers to free agency - Sonny Gray, Kenta Maeda, Tyler Mahle - the Twins could use some help in the rotation by Opening Day.
    There are several pitchers who have been rumored to be on the block, led by Corbin Burnes and one of the Marlins starters. Unfortunately, two of the most readily available arms (Dylan Cease, Shane Bieber) play for teams in the AL Central, which makes a trade trickier for the Twins front office to pull off.
    Listen to the clip from Levine on MLB Network Radio below:
    Brock Beauchamp
    Dan Hayes over at The Athletic (subscribe if you don't already, Hayes and Gleeman produce outstanding Twins content) wrote up the current trade situation in Minnesota.
    As always, it talks about the patience of Derek Falvey and Thad Levine and their willingness to ride right into Fort Myers with the roster they have in place if no deals materialize. What I found most interesting is that the Twins appear unwilling to move Jorge Polanco, Max Kepler, or Kyle Farmer for prospects. They are seeking trades that fill "need-for-need" with other MLB teams; in other words, swapping big-league players.
    This strategy could place significant limitations on their ability to swing a deal this offseason.
    Brock Beauchamp
    All quiet on the pitcher front.
    Mark Feinsand of MLB.com wrote this excellent write-up about both the reliever and starting pitcher winter markets. While the reliever free agent market seems to have stalled on Josh Hader, Feinsand goes on to point out that the starting pitching market hasn't fared much better with several high-profile free agents still on the market, headlined by Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery.
    In a cascading effect, this has caused the starting pitcher trade market to be equally slow, so much so that one NL executive is quoted saying "I don’t think the trade market will be very hot in the next month". That's terrible news for the Twins, who appear unable to compete on the free agent market and will need to pull off a trade to improve the 2024 squad.
    Read the piece linked above, just try not to get too depressed while doing so.
    Brock Beauchamp
    Ken Rosenthal reported today that the Seattle Mariners are still looking for an infielder to bolster their offense in 2024.
    After a quiet start to the offseason, notorious wheeler and dealer Jerry Dipoto has been active in the past week, making notable trades with both the Giants and Rays.
    Like the Twins, the Mariners are facing television uncertainty, recently taking control of their regional sports network, Root Sports. Jorge Polanco and his short-term, cost-controlled contract status should be appealing to Seattle. The 30-year-old Polanco is under contract for $10.5 million in 2024 and has a $12 million team option for 2025.
    Brock Beauchamp
    Thomas Harding of MLB.com reported today the Rockies are interested in acquiring a lefty-hitting outfielder, preferably one who can play all three outfield positions.
    Max Kepler hasn't played center field in a few years - and reportedly doesn't like playing the position - but is widely considered capable of being a spot starter up the middle. With only one year remaining on his contract, he's a relatively low-cost addition that could shore up the Rockies' lineup while also covering enormous ground in the spacious Coors Field grass.
    Additionally, the Twins also have Trevor Larnach waiting in the wings and now at 26 years old, he needs a chance to play on a consistent basis. Should the Rockies balk at Kepler's salary or prospect cost, the Twins could consider moving Larnach in his place.
    Cody Christie
    FanSided's Robert Murray is reporting that Michael A. Taylor is drawing interest from the Angels, Padres, and Pirates. Two other veteran center fielders have already signed (Kevin Kiermaier and Harrison Bader) so this leaves Taylor as one of the only legitimate centerfielders on the open market outside of Cody Bellinger. Kiermaier and Bader each signed one-year deals for $10.5 million. Murray also suggests that the Red Sox and Twins might be interested in Taylor.
    Where do you think Taylor signs?
    Brock Beauchamp
    Welcome to 2024, everyone! Can the offseason start for reals now?
    The Twins have made no moves of note thus far in the "hot stove" season and it's still expected they will trade infielder Jorge Polanco. MLB Trade Rumors wrote an excellent breakdown of Polanco's best landing spots so check it out. 
    The piece highlights the Blue Jays, Cubs, and Mariners as the best fit, as they're including Polanco as a potential third baseman in their evaluation. For example, the Cubs already have a dynamic duo up the middle in Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson but also have a gaping hole at third base.
    In the following tier - we'll call it "good fit" - the piece talks about the Brewers, Giants, and Marlins. The Brewers are of particular interest in this conversation, as they're floating the idea they will move Corbin Burnes this winter.
    Brock Beauchamp
    To say it has been a quiet offseason for the Minnesota Twins is an understatement. The front office began talking about payroll uncertainty almost the moment the World Series was complete and virtually nothing has happened in the month+ since.
    Jon Morosi tweeted today that the front office is still interested in dealing both Max Kepler (one year remaining until free agency) and Jorge Polanco (one year plus one option year until free agency) but no teams have been closely linked to either player. It's likely the Twins will also be interested in fielding offers for utility man Kyle Farmer and catcher Christian Vazquez.
    This makes sense, as many felt certain dominos needed to fall in a specific order before a trade market could emerge: Shohei Ohtani needed to sign. Yoshinobu Yamamoto needed to do the same. This will open the door for some of the position player free agents to find homes, after which teams that missed out on free agency can pursue trades.
    Long story short, don't expect anything to happen before we welcome the new year two weeks from now.
     
    Brock Beauchamp
    Jon Morosi of MLB Network tweeted today that infielder Jorge Polanco is receiving increased trade interest from other teams.
    This free agent class is considered one of the weakest in years from a position player standpoint and Polanco, were he a free agent, would be one of the most attractive pieces on the market. Polanco has two option years remaining on his contract for the 2024 and 2025 seasons for $10.5 and $12 million, respectively.
    The Twins are looking for ways to shed payroll and have a glut of infielders. While they're apparently in no rush to move on from Polanco, trading him this winter makes sense for several reasons.
     
    Cory Engelhardt

    Rhys Hoskins

    By Cory Engelhardt in Rumors,

    So Bobby Nightengale mentioned that Rhys Hoskins was connected to the Twins, as did Roy Smalley/Lavelle Neal on their chin music podcast.
    Just throwing this out, I do think getting a middle of the order bat would help transform this lineup. 
     
    Thoughts?
    Brock Beauchamp
    It shouldn't surprise anyone but both Nightengale Jr and Dan Hayes have mentioned that the Twins expect to add a starting pitcher to their rotation this offseason.
    Given the self-imposed payroll constraints the Twins face this offseason and their relative pitching depth in the upper minors, a one-year deal remains the most likely result should they opt for the free agent market. Wade Miley, 37 years old, remains a well above-average lefty when he's healthy. It's hard to expect more than 120 innings out of him in any given season but that might actually make him appealing to the Twins, who have Louie Varland waiting to step into the rotation at any time.
    Other options include reclamation projects like Frankie Montas or, if he's available on a one-year deal, Lucas Giolito.
    The Twins are equally likely to opt for a longer-term trade candidate and at that point, there are a dozen viable names who may be on the market.
    Doctor Gast

    Block buster trade

    By Doctor Gast in Rumors,

    https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/12/braves-acquire-sean-murphy.html
     
    Yes this article is history, but it's very relevant today. The Braves have been considered by many as the top organization in baseball. An organization that if we want to progress as a team, we need to study & emulate. Here we see the Braves who had an all-star hitting catcher in William Contreras concocted a complex trade to gain an elite defensive rookie who can hit. Many would question why trade away an all-star established hitting catcher? what more could you ask for? Maybe in Fantasy Baseball, defense doesn't count but in the real world it does, especially catcher and the Braves know this. The Braves had developed Contreras as much as they could defensively which made them to decide to upgrade defensively. Sean Murphy fits that bill for many years to come.
    The Twins have a slightly below average defensive catcher that is evaluated as a potential good hitting catcher, Ryan Jeffers. Jeffers had a good rookie season hitting but the following 2 yrs were not so good. Granted he had a pretty good hitting season in "23 but in '24 he's due to regress, How much? is anyone's guess. Twins have placed all their hope in Jeffers and tried their best to sell that to the fanbase. But is Jeffers the type of catcher a World Series aspiring team would want to command their playing field for years to come? By this example that have been given the answer would be no.
    I admire the way the Braves saw a real need that many would overlook & took a proactive approach. How I wish the Twins could see their deep void at catching that reaches deep down into their system & proactively make a serious decision to uprade their entire system. With Jeffers trade value being at all time high, now is a good time to trade him to help fill our present & future needs, #1 front-line SP,  #2 very good/ elite MLB ready defensive catcher that can hit, that Vazquez can mentor.
    Brock Beauchamp
    Robert Murray of FanSided has reported the Twins are aggressively shopping catcher Christian Vazquez in hopes of clearing up salary space for positions of greater need.
    The Twins will be reducing payroll in 2024, which puts the front office in a bind as they try to build in their 2023 AL Central champion squad and the franchise's first postseason wins since 2004.
    Vazquez signed a three year, $30 million contract before the 2023 season. Last season, the 33-year-old had a terrible season at the plate, posting an OPS a full 100 points lower than his career mark. The Twins might have difficulty moving $20 million of contract for a player who hit closer to Drew Butera's career mark than league average.
     
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