Should the Twins Consider Trading for Mason Miller?

You pretty much said it:

the cost in prospect capital and the inherent risks associated with relievers make this a gamble that the Twins must consider carefully.

I would so no to this idea, not only because it would cost the Twins several valuable prospects, but our history of acquiring relief pitchers is mixed to mediocre. A tempting idea, but I wouldn't be too tempted. 

Never invest a lot of trade capital in a reliever.

I agree.  We should not trade for him.  But I wouldn't be surprised if the Twins made the move.  Why?  Well because he is a pitcher with injury issues.  The Twins seem to love to trade for these types of players then whine when they go down to injury.  Plus they seem to enjoy getting hosed big time when trading prospects for questionable and injured talent.  I'm sure teams like the Reds and Orioles appreciate us lol.   No trade for this guy please.

This click bait idea only makes sense if Miller is the missing piece for a serious WORLD series run. But this team has too many lineup holes, and has star quality player like Buxton and Lewis who are injury prone. So they are not a serious playoff contender. Also the management has a history of trading for injury prone pitchers, so there is that.

31 minutes ago, Whitey333 said:

I agree.  We should not trade for him.  But I wouldn't be surprised if the Twins made the move.  Why?  Well because he is a pitcher with injury issues.  The Twins seem to love to trade for these types of players then whine when they go down to injury.  Plus they seem to enjoy getting hosed big time when trading prospects for questionable and injured talent.  I'm sure teams like the Reds and Orioles appreciate us lol.   No trade for this guy please.

The front office doesn’t whine about trading for injured pitchers. They stay VERY QUIET!

It always comes down to cost.  I will say this...Miller has a power arm that few in baseball can match.  He's not some "one hit wonder" like Javier Lopez was.  He's already pitched 26 innings this year, so he's going to blow past that 52 and 2/3 innings high he set last year.  He's also got 52 K's in 26 innings.  FIFTY TWO !!  That's 2 K's per inning.  Again, the stuff is incredible.

So what would it REALLY cost?  Kirilloff or Larnach aren't getting this deal done.  Maybe one of them could be a throw in but certainly not a centerpiece.  I don't go to Baseball Trade Values anymore because I can't see paying for a site I would visit around the Winter Meetings and MLB Trade Deadline all year long.  But this is an example where a site like that could come in handy.

Would Eddy Julien and Kirilloff/Larnach get it done?  Would Emmanuel Rodriguez straight up get it done?  Or Brooks Lee?  Mason Miller is the real deal and as a rookie,  he'd be a Twin for several years.  With the depth the Twins have in their system, a deal could be done.  At some point there will be a crossroads with Julien/Lee.  At some point, you may not be able to get enough AB's for Jenkins/E-Rod/Gonzalez/Wallner.  The Twins already have issues with Kirilloff/Larnach/Wallner.  With position players you run into log-jams like this.  With a pitcher, you don't.  We could survive a trade of Julien for example with a talent like Brooks Lee, or E-Rod with a Jenkins or Gonzalez (or a Winokour).  Would Jose Miranda be in the mix?  Mason Miller would have an immediate positive impact.  

So what would the deal be?  Julien & Wallner?  Julien & Kirilloff?  Julien & Gonzalez?  I'd do any one of those three to get an arm like Mason Miller.  And consider this:  Miller wouldn't HAVE to remain a closer.  He could be eased into the starting rotation.  Name me 5 guys that have a BETTER arm with better STUFF than this kid.  We've had all sorts of discussions about possibly moving Duran back into a starting role.  Why not Mason Miller? 

I write this more as a counterpoint than as an ironclad endorsement of making a trade.  I wouldn't just discount this idea with zero consideration.  Mason Miller is a heck of a talent.  What would be the cost to make a trade?   

Someone will over pay. Hopefully its not our FO. If its a fair deal, go for it!

It all depends on how much we'd have to give up. Keep in mind, he's already injury prone, and young guys throwing 100 plus are most likely going to need tommy John at some point, not to mention to volatility of relievers from year to year. That said ittd be nice to have a cheap closer locked in for a lot of years.

Always worth a conversation and phone call. The A's want young players? Gonzalez and Raya enough? It seems like nobody knows what the A's want in any possible trades. Asking cannot hurt.

I wouldn't do it for numerous reasons; many already stated.  I think there could be a bidding war (Orioles) and the Twins will have to overpay.  I also don't think Duran would view this as a vote of confidence.  Maybe that shouldn't matter, but you have to consider how moves play in the locker room.  Lastly, the Twins need to consider making moves to improve their hitting first.

If Oakland is trading a rookie reliever for prospects I would go so far as to trade the OF we got from Seattle, Raya, and maybe Cole Sands for Miller tops.  

We don't know the ask. Right? People on this site want to plug in Brooks Lee at second base and send down Julien. If the Twins think Lee is their future guy at the keystone, that makes Julien expendable. 

Naturally, one should avoid trading prospects like Emmanuel Rodriguez, Walker Jenkins, Brooks Lee, and David Festa. It always makes sense to find out what is the required return for a guy like Miller. The Twins missed on another Miller because of excessive caution last offseason. That's fine if the demands are beyond the ability of the Twins level of risk. Just ask and find out, which I guess we never hear even if the phone calls are made and information exchanged.

9 hours ago, TopGunn#22 said:

It always comes down to cost.  I will say this...Miller has a power arm that few in baseball can match.  He's not some "one hit wonder" like Javier Lopez was.  He's already pitched 26 innings this year, so he's going to blow past that 52 and 2/3 innings high he set last year.  He's also got 52 K's in 26 innings.  FIFTY TWO !!  That's 2 K's per inning.  Again, the stuff is incredible.

So what would it REALLY cost?  Kirilloff or Larnach aren't getting this deal done.  Maybe one of them could be a throw in but certainly not a centerpiece.  I don't go to Baseball Trade Values anymore because I can't see paying for a site I would visit around the Winter Meetings and MLB Trade Deadline all year long.  But this is an example where a site like that could come in handy.

Would Eddy Julien and Kirilloff/Larnach get it done?  Would Emmanuel Rodriguez straight up get it done?  Or Brooks Lee?  Mason Miller is the real deal and as a rookie,  he'd be a Twin for several years.  With the depth the Twins have in their system, a deal could be done.  At some point there will be a crossroads with Julien/Lee.  At some point, you may not be able to get enough AB's for Jenkins/E-Rod/Gonzalez/Wallner.  The Twins already have issues with Kirilloff/Larnach/Wallner.  With position players you run into log-jams like this.  With a pitcher, you don't.  We could survive a trade of Julien for example with a talent like Brooks Lee, or E-Rod with a Jenkins or Gonzalez (or a Winokour).  Would Jose Miranda be in the mix?  Mason Miller would have an immediate positive impact.  

So what would the deal be?  Julien & Wallner?  Julien & Kirilloff?  Julien & Gonzalez?  I'd do any one of those three to get an arm like Mason Miller.  And consider this:  Miller wouldn't HAVE to remain a closer.  He could be eased into the starting rotation.  Name me 5 guys that have a BETTER arm with better STUFF than this kid.  We've had all sorts of discussions about possibly moving Duran back into a starting role.  Why not Mason Miller? 

I write this more as a counterpoint than as an ironclad endorsement of making a trade.  I wouldn't just discount this idea with zero consideration.  Mason Miller is a heck of a talent.  What would be the cost to make a trade?   

I wouldn't do it but. It'd take a lot, for my friends here is a couple examples. Julien straight up plus a throw in according to BTV.

If OAK does sell there'll be a lot of competion so knowing OAK, they'll won't sell unless they get moon. IMO we'll be fine with Duran, Steward, Jax, Varland & Canterino

Much as I'd love to see the Twins get a top reliever, I would have to say NO to this.

Maybe a proven veteran without an injury history ( are there any these days).

Alcala has finally taken the biggest steps in his career the last two weeks. So maybe there is finally a Silver lining to one of our many failed pitching  trades.

But trading top notch Capitol for a 26 inning flash in the pan is asking for trouble, even if the fiscal pricetag is cheap.

44 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

We don't know the ask. Right? People on this site want to plug in Brooks Lee at second base and send down Julien. If the Twins think Lee is their future guy at the keystone, that makes Julien expendable. 

If Julien returns to form and Lee is ready there is space for both.

46 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

It always makes sense to find out what is the required return for a guy like Miller.

Concur.

47 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

The Twins missed on another Miller because of excessive caution last offseason.

I will bite. I can’t think of a Miller who was moved last off season that the Twins missed on and could have won the bid. Maybe you are referring to Bryce. I think the Seattle Times reported that DiPoto was not looking to trade Miller or Woo. Sometimes that is smoke but neither guy moved so I am guessing it would have taken a huge overpay.