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    Trade and free agent rumors posted here.

    202 rumors in this category

      Nick Nelson

      A new article from C. Trent Rosecrans in The Athletic offers 9 different trade scenarios for frontline starter Luis Castillo, as provided by writers from the respective teams, vetted by Keith Law for realisticness. 

      Here's the hypothetical Twins deal: "The trade: Twins send Spencer Steer, Josh Winder and Simeon Woods Richardson to the Reds for Luis Castillo."

      Law didn't view this package as nearly as implausible as some others. What do you think? Would you do it?

      AlwaysinModeration

      Could the Minnesota Twins wind up with Correa after all? The Giants deal fell through, then the Mets deal was agreed to weeks ago, but hasn’t been finalized due to medical concerns. And now today is a Jon Heyman report that “Boras engaged at least one other team regarding Correa this afternoon.”

      The Twins are mentioned in the report as having tried to reengage, and as an obvious landing spot, having employed Correa (healthy) last year, and having a vacancy and payroll space to accommodate him.

      The likelihood of Correa coming back to the Twins has to have crept up. Maybe 25%?

       

       

      Richard

      While reading “3 Third Baseman Trades that Could Provide the Twins a Productive Bat” posted by Nate Palmer, I got a very interesting idea.  The first trade he proposed is one for Rafael Devers, which got me thinking…

      The Minnesota Twins are in a unique place where depth isn’t quite a concern anymore.  If healthy, the Twins have six or so guys on the 40 man roster that could compete for the fifth spot in the rotation, and a crowded outfield littered with guys vying for the corner outfield and bench spots.  

      The looming issue now is trying to wade through the marshes and finding the guys that can be impactful.  It is make or break years for guys like Alex Kirloff, Trevor Larnach, and Gilberto Celestino, all of which are entering arbitration soon.  If you take a step down, you’re welcomed by the likes of Matt Wallner and maybe Royce Lewis, who should be given an opportunity.  Then there’s also the question that arose when the Twins handed out a one year, 11 million dollar contract to Joey Gallo.  It almost feels certain that the Gallo deal will force Max Kepler out of Minnesota.  Kepler and Gallo are defensive difference makers but both are offensive liabilities.  Keeping both will pry valuable innings away from the aforementioned players, and the plus defense Byron Buxton offers in centerfield mitigates the necessity for strong corner outfield defense.  

      One name that has been floating around trade rumors is Luis Arraez.  Although reports are connecting him to being involved in a deal for starting pitching, I believe one wouldn’t be too far fetched to think that he could be involved in a deal for a big name hitter.  The 2022 American League Batting Champion might have reached his peak value.  There’s no question about what kind of hitter he is.  Arraez will slap the ball all around the field, and he will get on base frequently.  However 2022 unveiled a flaw in his game.  When not being the designated hitter, Arraez was primarily penciled in at first and second base with an occasional appearance at third base.  The Minnesota Twins have a second baseman, Jorge Polanco.  The Minnesota Twins also might have their guy in first base, that being Alex Kirloff, who might be forced out of the outfield. So where would Arraez play?  Since the departure of Nelson Cruz in 2021 as part of the Joe Ryan trade, Rocco Baldeli has utilized the designated hitter role as a way for guys to get at bats without being in the field, almost acting as a mini rest day of sorts.  The designated hitter role could also be reserved for Byron Buxton, who hit there in 35 games in 2022.  

      Arraez has entered his arbitration years and also has some concern about his ability to stay healthy.  He has been placed on the injured list five times since 2020.  A growing concern is his knees, which has caused 2 of his five trips to the injured list, with Covid-19, a concussion, and a right shoulder strain rounding out the other three.  With La Regadera only getting older, his knees will continue to get worse, trust me.

      With Max Kepler and Luis Arraez on the “chopping block,” we can start to look for trades.  One name that has been floating around recently has been Rafael Devers of the Boston Red Sox (thanks to Nate Palmer for the idea).

      The Red Sox do not have the best track record recently when it comes to retaining talent.  They traded Mookie Betts and David Price to the Dodgers in 2020.  They traded Andrew Benitendi exactly a year later to the Royals in 2021.  Then in 2022 they lost Xander Bogaerts to free agency and ultimately to the Padres.  One similarity that can be drawn from all three moves is that they got paid once they left Boston.  Betts signed a 12 year, 365 million dollar contract with the Dodgers.  Benintendi received 8.5 million dollars in 2022 from the Royals.  Bogaerts just signed a 11 year, 285 million dollar deal with the Padres.  Rafael Devers will probably be the next homegrown talent to walk beyond the Green Monster, seeing as he will garner a contract somewhere in the twenty plus million dollar range.

      The Proposal:

      The Twins receive: Rafael Devers

      The Red Sox Receive: Luis Arraez, Max Kepler, A Player to be Named Later  

      Why It Works for the Twins

      Getting rid of Arraez and Kepler would be beneficial to the Twins long term.  Devers would become the starting third baseman which would force Miranda to slide over to first base, where he played 77 games in 2022.  First base would probably become Miranda’s long term home anyway, with reports stating the Twins front office has questions with his defense.  

      Why it Works for the Red Sox

      Unlike the Twins, the Red Sox do have some questions when it comes to outfield depth.  Enrique Hernandez has centerfield tied down, while Alex Verdugo (who was acquired in the Mookie Betts trade) will start in left.  Max Kepler would replace, funnily enough, former Twin Rob Refsnyder in defending Pesky's Pole.  Kepler’s plus defense would bode well in Fenway Park’s spacious and tricky right field.  Kepler might also see an increase in offensive production playing in the American League East, which is very left-handed hitter friendly.  

      The Red Sox were plagued with a -52 runs differential in 2022.  They would benefit highly from a guy by the likes of Luis Arraez.  Heck, any team would.  Arraez would give the Red Sox a great presence in the designated hitter role and could allow Trevor Story to return to short while Arraez splits time at second with Christian Arroyo.  

      If the Twins do make this trade, a 300 plus million dollar contract might make more sense.

      Would y’all take this trade? What would you change?

      Sorry for the long post.

      joey-gallo.jpg

      Brock Beauchamp

      This has been an interesting question to pose over the past month as the Pittsburgh Pirates - who started the season strong but then stumbled badly - approached the trade deadline: what are they going to do with veteran outfielder and feel-good story Andrew McCutchen?

      It was reported that during last offseason, McCutchen turned down an equal offer from the Twins and a superior offer from the New York Mets to return to PIttsburgh, the city he became a star player an won an MVP award.

      The 36-year-old is having a revival season with the Pirates, posting a 117 OPS+ and fills the exact need the Twins have on the roster right now: a capable corner player who hits right-handed and is strongest against left-handed pitching.

      But it appears McCutchen may not be available at all. 

       

      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

      Well, it's happening. The Angels, fringe contenders for an American League Wild Card berth who saw Mike Trout go down with an injury a couple of weeks ago, are now reportedly considering trading Shohei "The Best Baseball Player on the Planet" Ohtani.

      This isn't terribly surprising, as the Angels' postseason hopes largely rode on the health of Ohtani and Trout as a duo. And the Angels will be loathe to let Ohtani walk into free agency without getting something in return... or at least that should be their mindset right now.

      It's unlikely the Twins will enter this mix, as they likely have neither the prospect horses nor the intestinal fortitude to pay the price of acquiring a couple of months of Shohei Ohtani.

      But merely putting Ohtani on the market up-ends it like no other player. This will have far-reaching ramifications across the trade market should Shohei end up being traded.

      sun

      It's no wonder Arraez was traded. A Star tribune article in MSN News states that.

      Luis was said to have turned down a contract offer from the Twins before last season. And he wound up as their only player among eight eligible for arbitration this go-round to file for a hearing.

      Bottom line: Arraez felt he was more valuable to the Twins than they did for at least the past two seasons.

       

      https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/reusse-trade-of-batting-craftsman-arraez-doesn-t-set-well/ar-AA16A8Im?fbclid=IwAR1JOjXOFjQZ3vY2oOVaNxCr_vxaD9OCRfMIMKlURkwRXV_Df-7cIH7pCU0

       

      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?

      Matthew Lenz

      Towards the end of last season, when the Minnesota Twins were in the midst of a historic collapse, Rocco Baldelli had Royce Lewis try his hand at second base. The move was partially due to Lewis' performance at the hot corner (11 errors; 10 throwing), but it was more about the lack of production coming from those at the Keystone, which was a game of mix and match all season.

      At the time, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reported that Lewis was "apprehensive" with the move across the diamond. In fact, around that same time, he said the following about moving off third: "If you take a baby out of its crib where it’s safe, it’s going to feel a little bit scared. That’s kind of where I’m at right now".

      Despite those concerns, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reiterated ($$) in November that the Twins and Royce Lewis had a "second shot" at second base this offseason. What was interesting in that update was that Hayes led off by stating that Lewis' agent, Scott Boras, thought he'd be open to the move.

      Alas, here we are two months later and the latest update from Darren Wilson via the Minnesota Sports with Mackey & Judd podcast is that he's been taking more reps at third than second this offseason. Emphasis on "more", meaning he is still taking reps at second but that seems to be part of the plan to continue mixing and matching at the position, as needed, in 2025.

      If the roster generally stays the same between now and opening day, what does your starting infield look like?

      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

      According to Mark Feinsand's latest MLB.com report, the Blue Jays are telling teams they are willing to trade any players on expiring contracts, though they are not yet willing to part with players with team control beyond 2024.

      The Blue Jays have a slew of players who will be free agents at the end of the season: center fielder Kevin Kiermaier, DH Justin Turner, relievers Trevor Richards & Yimi Garcia, and most interestingly to the Twins, Yusei Kikuchi.

      Kikuchi is having a solid season with 101.1 innings pitched, a 101 ERA+, and is making only $10 million this season. Relievers Richards and Garcia might also be of interest to the Twins depending on the healthy return of Brock Stewart in the next couple of weeks.

      Brock Beauchamp

      Jon Morosi tweeted today that embattled Blue Jays starter Alek Manoah will not be traded, as the Jays expect him to be in their 2024 rotation.

      Manoah, only 26 years old with several years of team control remaining, was phenomenal in his first two years with Toronto before collapsing in 2023, pitching to a 5.87 ERA in 19 starts.

      It has been rumored the Twins are still interested in playoff-caliber starting pitchers, particularly with the recent news that it's likely they will stay with Bally Sports this season, giving them a last-minute influx of cash to spend on payroll.

      It appears we can now cross Manoah off the possible list of acquisition targets.

       

      Matthew Trueblood

      Carlos Correa's contract is team-friendly. That's an important thing to keep in mind. The salaries might be too high to accommodate for many teams, but the structure of the deal—front-loaded, with team options of diminishing values beginning in 2029—makes the terms favorable to the team. That's why the Twins were willing to jump back in and sign Correa, after he nearly agreed to deals with the Giants and Mets in the winter of 2022-23.

      Keep that in mind today, because Bob Nightengale of USA Today has a report this morning that the Astros are pondering a reunion with Correa, via trade. Correa has a full no-trade clause in there, too, but Nightengale says that he would waive it to go back to Houston. The other key detail of the report is that the Astros would demand that the Twins pay a significant portion of the remaining money on Correa's deal. Therein lies the rub, it seems.

      There's a case to be made for that position, but if the Twins aren't getting either huge savings or a significant prospect in return for Correa, it would seem like a massive mistake to trade him this summer, at a nadir in his value. We'll see what (if anything) comes of this.

      Cody Christie

      The Boston Red Sox have hovered around Joe Ryan trade rumors for more than a year, but the conversation appears to be cooling. At last season’s trade deadline, Boston was one of several clubs connected to Minnesota’s All Star right hander as the Twins shipped out 10 players, including multiple relievers with years of team control. The speculation even reached the point where a false social media report briefly had Ryan headed to Fenway Park.

      This winter brought more of the same chatter, though Derek Falvey has repeatedly emphasized that Minnesota intends to build around a core of Ryan, Byron Buxton and Pablo Lopez. Any trade discussion involving those players was always going to require an overwhelming offer, and it seems the Red Sox have decided not to press forward.

      Rob Bradford of WEEI is reporting that the Red Sox have “drawn back on their pursuit of Joe Ryan.” He also notes, “Connelly Early was never introduced by the Red Sox as part of the trade deadline talks last season." Bradford added a follow up that said that this could still change. 

      Early would have been a huge pick up for the Twins if he was the trade centerpiece. He is ranked as Boston’s number four prospect by MLB Pipeline after posting a 2.60 ERA with a 31.9 K% and a 9.7 BB% across 100 minor league innings last season. He also made his major league debut and performed well in a small sample size (four starts), raising his value even further.

      While Boston is not the only club with interest in Ryan, their strong farm system made them a logical suitor capable of offering multiple top 100 prospects. For now, though, it appears the Red Sox are stepping aside as the Twins remain committed to keeping their rotation anchored by one of their most dependable arms.

      Seth Stohs

      Atlanta's bullpen has been solid much of the season, but they are looking to bolster it with a couple of fairly minor moves on Monday. Do these moves tell us anything about the trade market for relievers? 

      They received RHP Pierce Johnson from the Rockies in exchange for RHPs Victor Vodnik and Tanner Gordon. Johnson was terrible after being named the Rockies closer, but he's been pretty solid since moving out of that role. He was good for a few years in San Diego previously. The cost? A Double-A reliever (Vodnik) and a AA/AAA starter (Gordon). Vodnik is 23 and has 25 walks and 56 strikeouts in 40 2/3 innings at AA. Gordon is 25 and has split the season between AA and AAA. At AA, he's 4-5 with a 4.61 ERA. He has 15 walks to go with 55 strikeouts in 56 2/3 innings. In 6 games (5 starts) in AAA, he's 1-4 with a 8.28 ERA. He has 10 walks and 21 strikeouts in 29 1/3 innings. 

      In the second deal, the Braves acquired lefty Taylor Hearn (former Twins draft pick) from the Texas Rangers in exchange for cash considerations. Hearn is 28 and was in his 5th season with the Rangers. He has just four appearances with Texas this year and has been pitching at Triple-A. He has shown some glimpses at times of some pretty good stuff, but he's walked over 4 batters per nine innings in his career. 

      This comes the day after the Braves claimed RHP Yonny Chirinos off of waivers from the Rays. He's been a starter and a reliever for Tampa this season and can be solid. 

      These are both pretty minor deals, but it shows that teams are looking to create depth on the mound and in the bullpen. What does this mean for the Twins? Probably nothing, but who knows?  Dereck Rodriguez was DFAd by Atlanta to make room for Hearn, so they could bring him back again. 

      I think the return on Johnson is more indicative of what the Twins might be willing to give up for a decent set up man. The Hearn deal just says that there are some intriguing arms out there who have had their flaws that you can try to get for little and then have depth. 

      Brock Beauchamp

      MLBTR did a really nice dive on the possible and likely landing spots for shortstop Dansby Swanson with the Cubs, Twins, and Braves leading the way.

      The Cubs have seemingly been high on Swanson from day one but their continued reluctance to spend to their market size could prevent them from nabbing the shortstop whose bat broke out in 2022 (but also lacks the track record to make a 6+ year contract a no-brainer decision).

      The Twins... well, I don't think any of us know what to expect from them and I remain unconvinced Swanson is worth a six-year risk, much less the seven or more years he may receive in this wild offseason.

      It's also hard to imagine the Braves not making at least a cursory attempt to retain their starting shortstop, especially given their financial flexibility after locking up half their roster at bargain basement prices.

      Doctor Gast

      Byran Reynolds has requested to be traded from Pittsburgh. his news has really shocked the MLB world. Many teams have salivated on the aspect of retaining Reynolds only to be denied by PIT. I'm sure PIT is reeling because Reynolds was their hope to finally begin to grasp the thought of competing. Now the flood gates have been opened. PIT organization is full of great prospects it'll be interesting how PIT will pivot.

      I really doubt that the Twins are serious about retaining Reynolds services. But depending how PIT will react, I'm hoping some how an avenue to Endy Rodriguese could open up.

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