mazeville

That Gyorko trade is weird. Cards have one of the better young second basemen in the league in Kolton Wong and then trade for Gyorko? Don't get that one at all.

I think trading for a pitcher or two out of the bullpen still seems the most likely bet. They could trade Nolasco and eat a chunk of his salary. They could trade Plouffe. They could trade some minor league talent. Relief help on the free agent market has gotten too expensive. Terry Ryan typically likes to build cheap bullpens. But he can't do that anymore, especially after Kansas City won a world series on the back of a shutdown bullpen.

On the bullpen, I'd rather the Twins focus on promoting some of their minor league power arms, rather than go out and spend big bucks or big prospects on a trade. Get someone like Clippard, perhaps, but I think they have enough power in the minors to put together a potentially strong bullpen. Maybe I'm naive there. But there are enough strong prospects in the list Seth just mentioned to fill out a bullpen. That said, they could get some pen help with a Plouffe trade ...

I still don't understand why Plouffe is considered this untouchable asset. He is a mid-level third baseman. Average to above average fielder. Decent power. Little in the way of average. The Twins have a strong third base prospect who was their best hitter last year. They have a new power hitting DH. They have MULTIPLE players who could step in and DH if Park doesn't work out. Putting Sano into the outfield is a dumb idea. The Twins are coming off of multiple years in which their outfield defense hurt them ... badly. We already have power hitting corner outfielders who can barely field. And Sano isn't even playing the position in Winter League! If this isn't posturing, the Twins are making a mistake. Again, I don't have anything against Trevor Plouffe. But the idea that the Twins would rather screw up their outfield just to keep a mid-level third baseman because they "couldn't get equal value in return" is just ridiculous.

The idea that there is a lot of interest in Plouffe is not surprising. He's an above average third baseman and a middle order bat to boot. I'd imagine that anything coming back to the Twins would have to include relief help AND something else, like a prospect. I like Trevor Plouffe. But the fact is the Twins have a really good third base prospect and they have needs in other areas. Like the Aaron Hicks trade, you take from an area of surplus and you fill a need. That's why a Plouffe trade needs to happen, so long as the return is good enough.

Huh. So we have one high-priced catcher who had to transition out of the position after injuries and now we're considering another high-priced catcher with an injury history? AND it would cost a draft pick. I'd rather not. I'd rather look at trading Plouffe or one of our pitchers and/or a prospect in exchange for a youngish starting catcher. Or signing AJ for a year.

Nope. I think it'd be too expensive. And the concept of an "ace" is not easily defined. Cueto was mediocre with the Royals until the playoffs. The Mets developed their young pitchers. And the Dodgers have more money than they know what to do with. The Twins have a lot of pitching. A lot of it is mediocre. But someone like Phil Hughes could conceivably pitch well enough to qualify. Santana could pitch well enough to qualify. And the Twins could develop someone like Berrios. I'd much rather the Twins focus on their bullpen and on catching as well as eliminating the ridiculous logjam at the corner infield spots and DH.

I'd totally consider trading Dozier to fill a need. But given his second half struggles in each of the past two years, I think you'd have a tough time getting comparable value for him. To be honest, the Twins should consider trading ANYBODY as long as they get comparable value. That includes Buxton and Sano. The real question is whether they'd receive that value in return. I tend to think the Twins would be more likely to get comparable value for Plouffe than they would Dozier because Dozier is an all-star second baseman when he's playing well, but has had real struggles in the second half of each of the past two seasons. I don't think any team would give up the prospects/players worthy of an all-star second baseman for Dozier.

No. I do not think the Twins should chase an "ace." I certainly don't think the Twins should go out and sign a free agent. The Twins' track record on free agent signings is ugly. And they owe a ton of money to too many guys. If there is a lesson to be learned from the past couple of years, it's that the Twins are basically terrible when it comes to signing free agents to multi-year deals. And I don't like the Sonny Gray trade idea, either. I'm not above trading prospects. But I think there's enough potential in Berrios that he could be just as good as Gray soon enough. Or at least close. The Twins are always better when they develop aces from within. Santana and an improved Phil Hughes could both potentially fill that "ace" role if need be. But I think that "ace" factor is terribly overrated. The other element here is that the Twins suddenly have a surplus of starting pitchers to the point it's a problem. We've got Hughes and Santana who aren't going anywhere. Kyle Gibson has earned a spot. Tyler Duffy has earned a spot. Tommy Milone has earned a spot. And Trevor May was probably the best pitcher on the staff last year. That's six pitchers. And then there is Berrios and of course, Ricky Nolasco. By my math that's eight starters. Even if the Twins traded for an ace, they'd still need to deal with this surplus. That surplus alone means that May will stay in the bullpen next year. It also means Berrios will be in AAA unless the Twins trade someone like Tommy Milone or Kyle Gibson. Oh, and that's assuming the Twins trade Nolasco. And if they trade Berrios for an ace they would have to trade another pitcher because none of those guys are going to AAA. On the bright side, it does mean the Twins have the potential of a decent to good rotation next year, especially if Hughes improves and Santana pitches like he did late in the summer. Tyler Duffy should be able to improve. Maybe Berrios forces the issue and barges his way on the staff. Or one of the other guys steps up. But it means no free agent starters.

"Let them compete for the position in spring training." No. Both of those players are good enough that they should not have to compete for anything. Trevor Plouffe is a solid big league regular who deserves a starting 3B job. Miguel Sano is your future, who had an amazing rookie year. You should honestly trade one of them to shore up an area where you're deficient -- like catcher. "If Sano moves from DH, then we have a (hole) at DH." No we don't. THAT'S where you have competition. You have Vargas, Arcia and Pinto compete for the DH spot. Plouffe isn't blocking Sano, per se. The reality is that Mauer is the one blocking some of these other players from getting playing time. But you can't trade Mauer. And the Twins should have traded Mauer a couple of years ago when the Boston Red Sox were willing to take on that contract. You can't trade the young guys because they have potential but won't get anything in return. So you trade Plouffe, who can fetch a return. You insert Sano at third. And that frees up the DH spot for these can't-field guys.

I don't get the comments regarding, "It's all about return," or "I'm not sure you can get much for him." For one thing, you always try to generate as much return as you can get for a player. For another, with a player like Plouffe, if other teams don't value his play as much as you do, you have to ask yourself whether you should keep playing the guy. Again, he is largely in his prime now. Plouffe is what he is, a low average, moderate power, good fielding third baseman. That should be worth something. But if you can't get much for him, then you have to wonder whether he's all you're saying he is. It's not like it is with a young player like Arcia or Vargas, who couldn't fetch much now based on their performances last year. In those cases, you keep them if you can because they still have potential and are relatively cheap But you know what you have in Plouffe. He's getting more expensive. And he's effectively blocking a much better option in Sano. Now, if the Twins' scouts don't think Sano can play third base long term, that's one thing. Then you sort of have to keep Plouffe because he's your only third baseman, a Mauer move not withstanding. But the Twins clearly think he can stick at third. He's been at that position (and improving, apparently) throughout his career in the minors. Regardless, he should have some value to a team in need of a third baseman. Would he fetch a massive return? Probably not. Could you use him in a trade for a catcher like, say, Derek Norris? Perhaps. As several commenters have noted, this is what Terry Ryan specializes in. He'll get something for Plouffe.

There's plenty of speculation, here and elsewhere, that Trevor Plouffe will be traded in the offseason to make way for Miguel Sano. Not surprisingly, this has led to something of a backlash among some who insist Trevor Plouffe shouldn't be traded. He's a productive third baseman and an "above average defender." Ugh. I'll agree Plouffe is reasonably productive and an above average defender. In no way does this make him an untradeable. But Plouffe is hardly a world-beater with the bat. He was 14th among league third basemen in OPS at .742. That's decidedly average. And he's 29, so it's not like his prime years are ahead of him. Granted, he led the Twins at 2.5 WAR, but that was more a fault of the Twins' lack of real top-flight players outside of Sano. The Twins have a logjam of corner infielders and designated hitters. Joe Mauer is more or less stuck at first for three more years, regardless of what Souhan wants. Some platoon option does nobody any favors. It certainly doesn't help a player like Sano get better at fielding grounders at third or first. You're not going to put Sano in the outfield, not when we have like 57 of them. The Twins would have to trade multiple outfielders to make room for him there. Maybe they could do that, and maybe they should. But you're still much better off in Target Field with an outfield of Rosario-Buxton-Hicks-Kepler. That leaves Plouffe the best option for a potential trade to break this logjam. And, because he is an apparent competent third baseman, and under team control for two more seasons, he should be able to get something in the trade market. Maybe it's a young pitcher. Maybe it's a catcher. This is how trades work. You trade from an area of plenty -- in this case third -- to shore up an area of need. And to get quality, you have to give up quality. Yet it drives me nuts when people insist that anybody good cannot be traded. Of course he can be traded! And once you trade Plouffe, you open things up. Sano can fit at third. If you're that scared of his defense, make Mauer play there and put Sano at first. (Mauer should have been the third baseman years ago). And then you open up DH for one of your can't-field bats, like Arcia or Josmil Pinto or Kennys Vargas. One of those guys has to be able to break through. And remember that Arcia hit 20-plus homers just one season ago. I like Trevor Plouffe. I don't like him enough that he has to be chained to his Twins uniform for life.