Right Now Is (Unfortunately) the Right Time to Trade Trevor Larnach

Or, now seems like the right time to DFA Gallo, trade Kepler for a bucket o' balls and give the corner outfield spots to Wallner and Larnach and let them become the next TWO Brent Rooker's for the Twins.

Just now, silverslugger said:

Or, now seems like the right time to DFA Gallo, trade Kepler for a bucket o' balls and give the corner outfield spots to Wallner and Larnach and let them become the next TWO Brent Rooker's for the Twins.

Exactly.  Would we rather have Kepler for 1/3rd of a season or four more years of Larnach?  It’s not even close.

Before we jettison Larnach and/or Wallner, we need to keep in mind that Kepler, Gallo, and possibly Castro, Taylor and/or Gordon will not be here next year.  At the moment Larnach and Wallner are part of our corner outfield solution, even if neither or just one of them are an everyday starter.

It’s not time to sell Larnach. Rather, it’s the opposite: it’s time to invest in Larnach.

Once again, every player who does not have a no-trade clause in his contract should always be on the market and traded if the transaction improves the organization. Every. Player.

12 minutes ago, Nine of twelve said:

Once again, every player who does not have a no-trade clause in his contract should always be on the market and traded if the transaction improves the organization. Every. Player.

This should be true. The exceptions are those with no trade clauses which they will not drop. 

I like Larnach and believe he will do well if given plenty of time. The Yankees have been giving Volpe a ton of playing time and he has his average up over .200 now. 

San Diego might be interested in Larnach. Would Preller send Hader for Larnach, Winder, and a lower level pitcher? 

I don't see Kepler going anywhere and he still has skills. Gallo has reached the end. Even if Gallo goes, Larnach still doesn't have a path to playing time. Both Larnach and Wallner need playing time. One of them should be traded.

I quit reading one he brought up Brent Rooker and touting his All Star status. So from that I would gather that the Twins should trade Larnach to as horrible of team as possible because somebody has to be the team representative. 

I am not advocating buying this year. They can try to make a parallel move and trade Larnach for a player with similar age/control that is a better roster fit. This year is not the time to trade him for a player on an expiring contract or in decline,

26 minutes ago, jorgenswest said:

This year is not the time to trade him for a player on an expiring contract or in decline,

What about for Hader? San Diego would want more too (Winder or Varland or Balazovic).

I'm not ready to give up on larnach yet , yes He has  some flaws to work on with the off speed pitches ...

He not over the hill yet so the young dog should  learn new tricks , he just needs to identify the pitches better  , his defense looks better this year but the off speed pitches are his worst enemy  , larnach should go to driveline this winter  to work on his hitting  , a fresh approach with a different voice just might be the key to unlock him into a pretty good player , if he fails from driveline and with the Twins next year , then it is time to move on ....

Are you listening Trevor  , driveline is almost on your backyard  ...

The timing issue with Larnach is the one that rears it's head when he tries to put his bat on a breaking pitch.

Well David Robertson got traded to the Marlins so that isn’t happening now.

I’m very interested to see how the Twins handle the outfield scenario this week and in the coming years, the only real long-term Outfield prospect in this Organization is Emmanuel Rodriguez, who won’t debut until likely 2025. Larnach isn’t putting up consistent-enough numbers to be an every day starter and is near the bottom of the depth chart because of it. I don’t think he’ll garner a huge return but could get back a decent package.

As for the rest of the outfield, it’s puzzling. Kep has put together solid numbers recently but maybe you get something with that, I really want Gallo to break out and I see the possibility but don’t like the risk, trade him if you can. Wallner is beginning to prove to be a reliable middle-order bat, and must be kept in the majors, so a corner outfield spot is locked down. Taylor’s a 4th outfielder, and should be used as such. Buxton should start getting Reps in Center, his value has cratered so low that at this point you risk it. Castro is a nice 13th man Utility player/bench bat, but not a starter. So a left fielder and centerfielder would do. Hopefully 2 controllable players, because next year’s outfield of Wallner/Buxton/Gordon/Castro/Kirilloff doesn’t look very promising.

4 hours ago, Brandon said:

Well David Robertson got traded to the Marlins so that isn’t happening now.

Check back in 9 years to see if the Mets won the trade

I wouldn't lose any sleep if the Twins traded Larnach. But realistically, what could they get for him? Basically, I'm sitting on the fence as far as to what value he might have for the Twins, but right now it's a case of too many cooks in the kitchen for the Twins, so if we can get a decent player with some potential for him, go ahead and do it. 

I'm not opposed to Larnach being traded, but I'd much rather dump Gallo and trade Kepler. Everyone knows Larnach struggles with off speed stuff, but there aren't many young(er) players that don't. He's been up and down many times, and I don't think he's really had enough time up here to develop. Maybe he never gets it...maybe he does. I'd take him over Gallo in a heartbeat. I'd give Larnach and Wallner shots at the two corners and move on from Kepler. 

7 hours ago, Minderbinder said:

Coach him up.  Larnach often looks lost up there without a clue in the world.

He can't hit breaking pitches.  Not sure how much you can coach that up.

Rooker?  How bad is he?  He had a hot streak and pitchers again found his holes, and he's terrible.  Might he become competent?  Potentially, and I expect Larnach to have a year or two where he's competent.

When you trade someone there has to be hope for that player or nobody would want him.  They've actually waited far too long to trade Larnach, and now they're going to get a pile of sticks for him, but it's a pile that might be useful for a couple of months.

My take is that there is a good chance he is an average MLB player or better.  Trading away players with 4 or more years of control for a rental, especially given this team's mediocre profile is a good way to remain mediocre.  Apparently, last year's debacle has not made this clear.  Before anyone says they should have traded for other players, part of the point is these veterans are not the guarantee many make them out to be.  Perhaps more importantly, it would not have made a difference if Mahle and Lopez had performed to expectations.  Investing significant assets in rentals is simply desperate unless the team is a true contender. 

A trade something like LA Vikes Fan lays out is a different story.  If they can trade for young talent that fits our roster better, great.