Can the Twins Poach a Big Contract?

Through trading, the Twins can avoid convincing players to sign with them and instead use forced employment to remove consent from the equation. Does Javier Báez actually want to play in Minnesota? Too bad! The Tigers wanted some prospects, so off you go. Remember to pack some blankets.

Let’s look at a few potential targets. This author would like to remind the readers that he did predict the Kyle Farmer trade, so either he’s more clairvoyant than previously understood, or the Twins front office solicits advice from a baseball fan site. For all our sake, let’s hope it’s the former. 

Javier Báez

The Rudy Gobert of baseball, Báez remains a slick shortstop whose offensive methods lead to existentially draining whiffs but ultimately competent batting results. Báez secretly lopped a few points off his strikeout rate in 2022, but his famous power disappeared as well, and the Tigers’ sudden free-fall from a decent 2021 leaves them holding a piece they may prefer to trade. How convenient.

Báez is likely to age poorly—have you ever heard of a free swinger who remained in the game well into their 30s—so swallowing five more seasons with a $120 million price tag is an overly aggressive attempt at a rebound. Still, he’ll probably be available, and the list of potential employees for the Twins shrinks daily.

Carlos Carrasco

In their efforts to sign every baseball player under the sun, Lex Luthor Steve Cohen’s Mets created an expensive, crowded starting rotation that may leave Carlos Carrasco out of the equation. This isn’t just speculation: the Mets are entertaining potential trades for their righty.

Carrasco joining the Twins would be a fun reunion of sorts; Derek Falvey oversaw Carrasco’s growth into an excellent yet oddly underrated starter during his extended, fruitful peak in Cleveland. Carrasco has remained effective, shedding a handful of injuries (along with a frightening bout of leukemia in 2019) on his way to a good campaign with enviable peripherals (3.45 xFIP, 20th best amongst starters with 150 innings pitches.) The soon-to-be 36-year-old will receive $14 million next season before hitting the free-agent market.

Usually, this author would fulfill the rule of threes and write about another fantastic third option that the Twins could acquire in a trade. That isn’t happening. Looking through the remaining “big” contracts yields a cruel reality: Minnesota has few options.

Teams have become wiser these days; George Steinbrenner handing out millions like Costco handing out free samples doesn’t happen anymore, and franchises are less likely to anchor themselves to a truly brutal contract. For the Twins, this isn’t great, as the remaining contracts are albatrosses that no one should touch—Anthony Rendon and Stephen Strasburg —while the middle tier consists of reasonable deals that teams can afford to keep on their books. The pickings are slim. There's a difference between wisely absorbing a contract a team in a different situation would prefer to rid themselves of and tying an anvil to your ankle before taking a dip in the ocean.

There are a few deals, mainly Rockies players, but predicting anything with Colorado is like arguing with a cat. You aren’t going to win and everyone will think you look silly.

You could trade for Chris Sale and hope this is the year he rebounds, but it's best to leave headaches to your opponents.

Minnesota remains in an awkward position; if they desire to inflate its payroll through trades, its choices are a Russian Roulette of old, injured, or old-and-inured players whose glory days last existed before the pandemic. Any useful deal would be complex or non-sensical. It’s a tragic grave, but it’s one that they dug for themselves by focusing their energy on Carlos Correa.

Of course, they could always trade for Josh Donaldson.

See some overpriced players that the Twins should consider? Share them below.