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The Twins traded for Pablo Lopez this winter to add rotational depth. Luis Arraez has flourished in Miami, so how much value has each player provided to their new team? Image courtesy of Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports Minnesota and Miami seemed like ideal trade partners this winter. The Twins wanted more starting pitching depth, an area of surplus for Miami. The Marlins wanted hitters, an area of surplus for the Twins. Rumors swirled for weeks leading up to the trade, but it seemed like Pablo Lopez and Luis Arraez would be swapping teams before the season began. Pablo Lopez's 2023 Value Lopez started strongly in the season's first month. He built off a strong spring training, and the Twins named him the team's Opening Day starter. He posted a 4.00 ERA in six starts with a 1.11 WHIP and 11.5 K/9. The Twins liked what they saw from Lopez and announced they signed him to a four-year, $73.5 million extension. He will be part of Minnesota's rotation for the foreseeable future, but that future value wasn't part of the initial trade. The first two years of Lopez's team control were part of the equation, and his performance has struggled in recent weeks. Things have gone less smoothly for Lopez after the calendar turned to May. Over his last six starts, he has posted a 5.09 ERA while allowing seven home runs in 35 1/3 innings. Baseball-Reference pegs him at 0.7 WAR, while FanGraphs values him at 1.2 WAR. Those totals are adequate, but they don't paint a complete picture of the value Lopez has provided the Twins. He currently ranks ninth among Twins pitchers with a 0.05 WPA. His ERA+ is below 100 for the first time since 2019, and he has the highest home run rate of his career. Luis Arraez's 2023 Value The Twins knew what kind of player Arraez was when they traded him away. He is an elite contact hitter with limited defensive skills. Arraez has also missed time in recent years because of knee injuries. He was coming off an All-Star season where he won the AL batting title. The Twins saw plenty of value in Arraez, but it might have been hard to predict his 2023 totals. Through 57 games, he is hitting .401/.451/.495 (.946) with 17 extra-base hits and an 11-to-19 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He leads the NL in multiple categories including batting average, OBP, hits, and OPB+. Baseball-Reference values him at a 2.9 WAR, and FanGraphs pegs him at 2.0 WAR with a 0.25 WPA. Only four NL players rank higher than him in rWAR, and he's over 70 points up in the batting race. As expected, he's been worth negative value defensively, but his offensive value has been off the charts. Other Value from Trade Pieces Arraez had one more year of team control than Lopez at the time of the trade, so Miami included two prospects to balance the trade value. Jose Salas was one of the top-ranked position players in the Marlins organization, but he had yet to play a game above High-A. Byron Chourio was 17 at the time of the deal and had minimal professional experience since the Marlins signed him. Both players are a long way from Target Field, and it will be multiple seasons before the Twins will know what kind of value they will provide to the organization. Salas played 48 games in the Midwest League during the 2022 season when he was 19 years old. The Twins sent him back to the same league for the 2023 campaign, and he has struggled out of the gate. In 43 games, he has hit .160/.237/.220 (.457) with six doubles and one home run. Salas has yet to face a pitcher younger than himself this season, so some struggles are expected for a young player. Chourio played the 2022 season in the Dominican Summer League (.838 OPS in 53 games) and has made his stateside debut in the Twins system earlier this week.. Arraez is under team control for two more seasons, and plenty of Twins fans will look back on the trade with regret. He is a throwback-style hitter to a bygone era that all fans can find reasons to support. The Twins and Lopez are tied together for the long term, and both sides need to figure out a way to get him back on track. Both players have a chance to provide tremendous value to their clubs, but the early months of the trade don't look great from the Twins' perspective. Which player will provide more value to their club in the long term? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. View full article

The Twins traded away Luis Arraez on Friday, trading him to the Miami Marlins in exchange for Pablo López, Jose Salas, and Byron Chourio. Here's what you need to know about the two prospects involved in the deal. Image courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, USA Today Sports In a move sure to spark heated debated, fan favorite Luis Arraez was traded to the Miami Marlins on Friday for a package that includes right-handed pitcher Pablo López, infielder Jose Salas, and outfielder Byron Chourio. Let’s get to know the two prospects in the deal. Just as it emerged that the trade talks between the Twins and Marlins were at a standstill, a deal was completed in the early afternoon hours on Friday. Dan Hayes had recently reported that the Twins weren’t willing to trade Arraez for López straight up. So it proved to be, with the Twins also acquiring significant prospect capital in exchange for the 2022 AL batting champion. What do we know about the prospects involved in this deal? Let’s dig in. Jose Salas Grades (courtesy of BA) Hit: 55 Power: 50 Run: 45 Arm: 55 Field: 50 Let’s get clear, Salas is a legitimately excellent prospect. In Baseball Prospectus’ Top 101 (released this morning) he was ranked 93rd, he was 83rd in Fangraphs most recent Top 100 at the end of the 2022 season. Although not a consensus Top 100 prospect (not in MLB or Baseball America lists), he can be seen as a fringy top 100 player and one of four excellent Marlins prospects (Perez, Max Meyer, Berry), likely, the one you haven’t heard of. In Salas, the Twins have acquired an infielder who has good projectability left. He is just 19 years old and stands at 6’2. He has strong tools across the board. Salas was born in Florida, but split his time between Orlando and Venezuela growing up. Salas was signed by the Marlins during the 2019 International Free Agency period, receiving a hefty $2.8 million bonus. Salas crushed when he debuted, boasting a .578 SLG in 28 games of rookie ball before getting a debut in Low-A ball at 18 years old. After an initial drop off in his offensive output at the tail end of 2021, he began 2022 in Jupiter and adjusted nicely, increasing his Slugging Percentage from .315 to .421 before spending the second half of the season at High-A. Salas is a switch hitter who hits well from both sides of the plate. He projects to have above average power as he continues to fill out (20-25 home runs). Salas has a low-effort swing that has been ground ball prone early in his career. If he can work towards contacting the ball earlier in the strike zone, he should have a good hit tool. Salas success on the base paths are more a reflection of outstanding baserunning than great speed. In two minor league season, he's stolen 47 bases. Salas’ defensive home remains uncertain. He has a strong arm but may slow as he fills out meaning a transition to another infield position. A member of an NL operations department said of Salas: 'His tools are pretty damn impressive. He will probably be a bottom of the scale runner, hurting his chances to keep playing shortstop of even second base'. Salas’ work ethic and drive have been praised by coaches he has worked with. Bottom Line: Salas is an exciting prospect with strong tools across the board. The Twins have added another fringy top 100 prospect to their system (in addition to Royce Lewis, Brooks Lee, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Marco Raya, and Edouard Julien) and helped replenish the hit they took at the 2022 trade deadline. Salas is an exciting addition to a talented system. Byron Chourio At first glance, Chourio may seem like the lottery ticket acquisition in the Luis Arraez/Pablo Lopez trade. A Venezuelan outfielder signed by the Marlins in 2022, Chourio is just 17 years old. At 6’2, and 171 pounds, there’s plenty of room for him to add some mass as he grows and develops. The Twins seem to like what they have acquired in Chourio. Assigned to the DSL Marlins, Chourio debuted last season, hitting .344/.429/.410 (.838) with nine doubles and one home run, 23 runs batted in, and 19 stolen bases in 51 games in his first professional season in the Dominican Summer League. We’ll continue to add more information about Chourio as we get it. What are you impressions of the Twins return for Arraez? What do you think of Salas? What’s your evaluation of the trade? Join the discussion below. View full article

The Twins traded a fan-favorite... but seem to have done very well for themselves. View full video