Which Twins Regular is More Untouchable?

Last week, I looked at what the Twins well has in it. The reality is this farm system checks in somewhere between 12-18 across the league. There’s depth, but with graduations, many of the high-level performers aren’t there. Royce Lewis is hurt. Austin Martin is underperforming. Matt Canterino is a reliever. Brooks Lee and Connor Prielipp aren’t being moved this quickly, probably. 

There’s no doubt Minnesota would hope that teams are interested in hitters Spencer Steer and Matt Wallner, but I think it’s safe to say their ceilings are somewhat muted. Any GM worth their salt is starting high-return discussions with the likes of Alex Kirilloff and Jose Miranda. Both of them are at the major-league level, and removing them would hurt, but it’s a decision that the Twins may need to weigh.

On Kirilloff, Minnesota finally has a player that’s found out how to deal with his wrist issues. Whether he’s got a clean bill of health or not, he’s making things work. Kirilloff is an asset in both left field and at first base defensively, but it’s his bat that’s always been the carrying tool. Over his last 30 games since returning from Triple-A, Kirilloff is slashing .301/.339/.456 with seven doubles and three homers. Though the home run potential is nowhere near where it will likely be, Kirilloff has continued to drive the ball to all fields. He’s a middle-of-the-order hitter and still just 24 years old.

Despite a horrid start, Kirilloff has rebounded well and is under team control through 2027. Baseball Trade Values puts Kirilloff’s median value at 24.3 which ranks him as the 6th most valuable Twins asset. There’s no denying that moving him would hurt, but if Minnesota did choose to do so, they’d be looking for a substantial haul.

On the other side of the infield, or sometimes sharing the same position, Jose Miranda has established himself as a legitimate big-league talent. He put up a ridiculous .973 OPS across Double and Triple-A last season to really break out and put himself on the national scene. Things started extremely slow for him this season, and on May 29th he was optioned in favor of Royce Lewis. Miranda owned a .183/.216/.338 line through his first 20 games but things turned when he never actually made it to St. Paul.

Immediately returned to the Twins, Miranda was again in the lineup on May 30. Since that point he’s played in 40 games and owns a .313/.358/.531 slash line. Miranda has seven doubles and seven homers in that span, and while the K/BB ratio isn’t great, he looks every bit the competent power hitter on a corner that he appeared to be during his breakout.

There’s no denying that Minnesota has Miranda penciled as a long-term fit at the hot corner, considering his deficiencies at first base, but teams will be trying to acquire his services in any blockbuster type of deal. Miranda is just 24-years-old, still has three options remaining, and still has his rookie status intact. Seen slightly less valuable by Baseball Trade Values, Miranda’s 20.3 median value is 8th amongst Twins players.

So, with the real answer being neither, which of these two untouchables are you willing to allow an opposing team to acquire if the return is everything you want?