BornIn91

Carlos Correa, eh? Well then... ...so last week after the Donaldson trade, I proposed a trade (contingent on the Twins signing Story to a long-term deal) getting Matt Chapman and Sean Manaea from the A's, sending away Royce Lewis, Simeon Woods-Richardson, and Gio Urshela. Obviously, a lot has changed since then. Not only is Chapman gone, but it's Correa, not Story, and he's on what is effectively a one-year deal (as long as he doesn't get hurt). Which means that basically takes Lewis out of the equation for any trade as he's presumably still viewed as the Twins SS of the future (post-Correa). And if they REALLY want to take advantage of having Correa manning short for one year, they can't dilly-dally around with pitching. Which means that any trade package with the A's *needs* to at least include Montas (as Manaea alone likely won't move the needle enough). And with no Lewis, any trade package for Montas probably STARTS with Martin. If they want to go crazy and include Manaea as well, I can't see Balazovic not being a part of that deal. And ether way, the Twins would need to add more. But since we're going crazy with Correa, why not keep going crazy? Twins get... - Frankie Montas - Sean Manaea - Minor League Flier A's get... - Austin Martin - Jordan Balazovic - Either A ) Simeon Woods Richardson B ) Josh Winder C ) Matt Canterino (my personal preference is SWR, but I'm fine with any of them) That's 2 high-quality MLB starting pitchers at a combined $16M, with one having Cy Young votes last year, for a top-40/50 prospect, a top 100 prospect, and one more high-upside arm. Who says no?

Montas has more trade value than Manaea, being younger, having more years of control, and coming off a better season. He's too good to be a part of a package. Of course, Chapman arguably is too, but he's also a little bit of a buy-low guy at the moment (he hit .210 with a 100 OPS+ last year and had a just 3.5 fWAR compared to 7.6 and 7.7 in 2018-19), so he'd get a better return in a package (and even my proposed package might be a tad bit light, only boosted mainly by the fact that one player is a former first-overall pick).

I did this too. If Winder is put in instead of SWR, it works, and I'd be good with that too. They're roughly equal in my eyes. But I went with SWR because I feel like he's a more established prospect nationally.

So we know the moves the Twins have made recently make no sense if there isn't at least one big splashy move coming (I mean, they could just be trying to cut payroll, but if so, why bother getting Gray? But I digress). We know the Twins are communicating with Story, and we also know there has been trade talks with the A's centered around either Sean Manaea or Frankie Montas. My unfounded personal feeling is that Falvine doesn't do the Donaldson trade, which basically leaves them with no SS and a 3B of questionable quality (not to mention an incomplete rotation and a notable downgrade at catcher), unless they are reasonably convinced they can deliver on said big splashy moves. Thus... Suppose the Twins get Story (as the following trade proposal is contingent on getting Story). Then they go to the A's with this offer... Twins get - Matt Chapman - Sean Manaea - Minor League flier A's get - Royce Lewis - Simeon Woods-Richardson - Gio Urshela Chapman is FA-eligible in 2024, Manaea in 2023. They combine for 20M in 2022, and with Story likely around 25M (and losing Urshela's 6.5M), that would put the Twins just about at their projected payroll max. Lewis (as a SS) no longer fits the puzzle since they have Story. SWR gets involved in his 3rd blockbuster trade as a borderline top-100 prospect. Urshela provides a live body/bridge for the A's at 3rd with Chapman gone. Who says no?