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Coming off a successful 2023 season and showing plenty of hope for the future, could the Twins push all the chips to the middle of the table and swing a trade for an ace this offseason? Image courtesy of Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports After a successful 2023 season, the Twins have plenty to be optimistic about going forward. The emergence of talented rookies such as Edouard Julien, Matt Wallner, and Royce Lewis has given the Twins valuable flexibility and depth. On a team that doesn’t have many glaring holes heading into the offseason, the Twins could package some of that depth prospect capital to fill the team’s most significant needs: a top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher. The Twins’ infield is crowded and will only get more crowded in 2024. With Carlos Correa, Jorge Polanco, Alex Kirilloff, Royce Lewis, and Edouard Julien all set to return, and top prospects like Brooks Lee, Austin Martin, and Yunior Severino all pushing to potentially debut in 2024, the Twins face an excellent problem of too many mouths to feed in the infield. With some big-name starting pitchers rumored to be on the trade market, could the Twins swing a deal like last offseason when they added Pablo Lopez for Luis Arraez? Although the offseason is just beginning, three star starting pitchers have already been rumored to be available on the trade market. Tampa Bay’s Tyler Glasnow, Milwaukee’s Corbin Burnes, and Cleveland’s Shane Bieber are all entering the last year of team control and are set to become free agents in 2025. All three teams mentioned above have been reluctant to sign star players to big extensions, and many believe the same will hold true when it comes to Glasnow, Burnes, and Bieber. From the Twins’ standpoint, trading for one of these guys makes sense for three reasons: The players are likely available. They would fill a need. The Twins have the trade capital and flexibility to get a deal done. With stars like Correa, Buxton, and Lopez all on long-term deals and young stars beginning to make waves, the Twins have shown an ability to win right now. So why not add another horse to the stable and go all in in 2024? To get a deal done, just like the Arraez deal, the Twins will likely have to part with some names that will disappoint some fans. Jorge Polanco would make a lot of sense to part with in a trade for a starting pitcher because he is a quality major league bat that will draw interest from other teams, and the Twins have more than enough bodies to replace his production. On top of Polanco, the Twins must part with some minor league talent. They have plenty of assets in the high minors that could be used to sweeten the deal. Burnes will likely come with the highest price tag, as he has shown to be a consistent ace who has been able to stay healthy and pitch nearly 200 innings yearly. Glasnow and Bieber may come at a reduced price as they have both struggled with injury lately, and Bieber struggled to find success of any kind in 2023. While more trade targets may emerge before the dust settles, the market is already starting to reveal itself. The Twins can capitalize on the depth they have accumulated at both the major league and minor league levels and acquire a top-tier arm. There’s a chance it may be a one-year rental if they cannot pull off an extension as they did with Pablo Lopez, but the thought of adding one of those arms to the Twins’ starting rotation is certainly intriguing. What are your thoughts? Should the Twins go all in on a trade for 2024 or explore other avenues to fill out their rotation? Let me know your thoughts in the comments! Go, Twins! View full article

This offseason, the Minnesota Twins will again find themselves in the pitching market. They'll need to replace a pair of departures to establish depth that had them owning one of the best rotations in baseball. Could they do it through the trade market? Image courtesy of © Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports While the headliner leaving Rocco Baldelli’s pitching staff is Sonny Gray, it should be noted that Kenta Maeda is on his way out as well. Derek Falvey will need to restock the group that now includes Pablo Lopez and Chris Paddack, but finding a higher-caliber arm to join them seems like a must. Playing in the free agency market may not be the most straightforward way to reduce payroll. That could bode well for a Twins organization that has done well with pitching trades, and when Gray turns into a compensatory draft pick, they’ll have seen their best work come full circle. Here are five options Minnesota could consider: Alek Manoah - Toronto Blue Jays Toronto has some serious soul-searching to do when it comes to Manoah. He was a Rookie of the Year candidate in 2021 and finished third in the Cy Young voting in 2022 while also being an All-Star. Then, last season, everything fell apart. He made just 19 starts at the major league level, most of which were bad. He didn’t show up to the minors when demoted initially and was sent on a journey that had him pitching in Single-A. Maybe the relationship is tarnished with the Blue Jays, or maybe Toronto doesn’t think they can fix him. Either way, plenty was going on mentally and physically with Manoah. A change of scenery could be a good opportunity for him. Minnesota previously matched up with this front office when sending Jose Berrios to Canada for Austin Martin and Simeon Woods Richardson. Max Kepler could join him to play with George Springer and Daulton Varsho in the outfield. Manoah is under team control through 2027, so the ask will be steep even if his stock is down. Proposed trade - Manoah for Kepler and David Festa (Trade Value Simulator says: Slight advantage TOR) Logan Gilbert - Seattle Mariners One of the most talked about names this offseason has been the 14th overall pick from the 2018 draft. Seattle has pitching coming out their ears with Robbie Ray, Luis Castillo, and George Kirby. Maybe they will move Gilbert to address some other issues on their roster. He has posted numbers similar to Pablo Lopez at this point, and with the Twins making some tweaks, unlocking another level for the 27-year-old could turn him into a frontline starter. With Seattle exploring options for a second baseman, this would be a match where Minnesota may find Jerry Dipoto looking fondly at Jorge Polanco. That won’t be near enough to headline a deal for a guy who doesn’t hit free agency until 2028, but the Twins may be inclined to build a package around him. Gilbert could immediately slot in as a top-three starter for Baldelli, which would do wonders to replace Gray. Proposed trade - Gilbert for Polanco, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Trevor Larnach, and Connor Prielipp (TVS says: Significant disadvantage SEA) Paul Blackburn - Oakland Athletics Having been in Oakland for seven years, it only seems fair that Blackburn deserves saving. He will be 30 years old in 2024 and is a free agent following the 2025 season. He should be in line for only modest raises each of the next two years, which is enticing to a team not keen on writing checks like Oakland. The Athletics would certainly want prospects in return for Blackburn, and Minnesota’s depth could play beneficial there. Named as a token All-Star in 2022, Blackburn actually had a better season last year. His 4.43 ERA was nothing to write home about, but the 3.96 FIP suggests there is something to work with. He isn’t a durable arm and is not someone who will rewrite who he has been thus far in his career at this stage. Still, if the Twins want to lengthen their rotation and do it without a substantial cost, Blackburn should be available for a back-end top-30 prospect. Proposed trade - Blackburn for Jovani Moran and Josh Winder (TVS says: Advantage OAK) Mitch Keller - Pittsburgh Pirates A former second-round pick, Keller has Twins Territory ties in that he’s the pride of Cedar Rapids. Taken out of high school, he debuted at 23 and will be 28 in 2024. He’ll make a bit more money in the next two seasons, but he is still plenty cost-effective and doesn’t hit free agency until 2026. Keller’s secondary numbers are better than his ERA in the past two seasons, and his 3.84 FIP is something to dream on with a better developmental staff. He posted a career-best 9.7 K/9 last year and was just shy of 200 innings. Named an All-Star, his addition to the Twins staff would be no worse than their third-best arm. Keller would definitely come with a higher cost than Blackburn, but probably less than Manoah and Gilbert. Maybe Derek Shelton and Baldelli can team up for a deal here. Proposed trade - Keller for Matt Wallner and Yasser Mercedes (TCS says: Neutral) Corbin Burnes - Milwaukee Brewers There’s no denying that the Brewers are looking for less ways to spend. That has been the case for years, and they may now enter a period of transition with manager Craig Counsell leaving for Chicago. Burnes is in the final year of team control and’ll be north of $11 million after arbitration. Milwaukee isn’t going to want an expensive asset back, but a prospect trade could work. Burnes isn’t the same pitcher he was in 2021 when winning a Cy Young, but he’s still exceptionally talented. The Brewers will try and hope someone pays a king’s ransom, and while Minnesota needs to avoid that, a top-10 prospect package doesn’t seem ridiculous when you could be getting a true ace out of the deal. Putting Burnes at the top of a rotation with Lopez gives Minnesota a one-two punch anyone in the league should envy. Proposed trade - Burnes for Marco Raya, Kody Funderburk, and Jose Miranda (TVS says: Slight disadvantage MIL) Which of these starters are you most inclined to trade for? Does the expected cost turn you off for one more than another? View full article

We asked Twins Daily users and writers to submit their ideas for realistic offseason trades. We ended up with a list of 35 submissions. While each was unique, there were definitely some noticeable trends and commonalities. Image courtesy of Michael McLoone and Jeff Curry-USA TODAY SportsMichael McLoone and Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports If you haven't yet, you can download the (FREE!) big list of trade ideas, which is a PDF compiling submissions from our community. Each proposal was explained, vetted, and analyzed. Anyone can access this installment of our 2024 Offseason Handbook, whether you are a Caretaker or not. This call for imaginative yet considered trade ideas yielded a wide range of theoretical swaps, involving many different players. Some were off the wall; others seemed downright plausible. One person submitted a three-team deal involving six players. I encourage everyone to read through all of the many ideas unpacked in the PDF, but here I'm going to pull out some themes and takeaways that struck us as we went through all your submissions. Corbin Burnes is a good trade fit for the Twins Clearly the rumors of Burnes' availability, with reports that the Brewers are willing to trade "virtually any player" following Craig Counsell's exit, have piqued the interest of Twins fans, and for obvious reasons. Burnes is a frontline starter capable of offsetting the loss of Sonny Gray like few others could. Multiple different trade submissions targeted Burnes, including a really well thought out and explained framework from Matthew Trueblood, who has unique dual insight as editor for both a Twins and Brewers website. If Milwaukee would be down to deal Burnes and his one remaining year of control for Jorge Polanco and David Festa, as Matthew suggests, I think I'd take that in a second. Payroll could be an impediment in making a big splash The pesky knowledge of a looming Twins payroll decrease threw some cold water on a few otherwise intriguing trade ideas. Multiple people took a shot at acquiring Juan Soto from San Diego, but even if the Twins could muster a worthy package, it's hard to see how another $30 million salary fits on the books. The same is true to a lesser extent with Pete Alonso, another known trade candidate. One popular name whose pursuit could be stymied by payroll implications is Tyler Glasnow. He's an appealing fit for the Twins as a frontline talent with one remaining year of control, but the same reason Tampa is looking to unload Glasnow is the same reason Minnesota may struggle to accommodate his addition; the righty is owed $25 million in 2024. David Festa is a popular trade chip In trying to conceptualize trades that would be considered realistic, many respondents included pitching prospects, which tells us they were taking the assignment seriously. Festa was named in six different Twins trade packages, and Marco Raya was in a few others. Twins Daily has these two ranked as the top two pitching prospects in the organization, fourth and fifth overall. Minnesota's front office might prefer to trade exclusively from its position-player depth, but young arms are the currency of baseball. As I wrote in an earlier Handbook chapter, "If the Twins front office is big-game hunting this winter, these are names they’ll need to make themselves comfortable including." People are eyeing Mitch Keller as the next Pablo Lopez The Lopez trade worked out extremely well, so it's unsurprising that many fans are eager to try and replicate it. Pittsburgh's Keller was called out in multiple submissions as a target with similar traits: he's pretty young (27) with good-not-great performance and upside to potentially be tapped. Like Lopez a year ago, Keller has two remaining years of team control, and they don't figure to be that expensive. Of course, for these reasons, the Pirates won't be giving him away. Players dangled in various hypothetical Keller trades included Edouard Julien, Matt Wallner, and both of the top two pitching prospects mentioned above. Unloading salary for prospects looks like a realistic path It's no surprise that there were a lot of different deals in the book involving Max Kepler and/or Jorge Polanco, given that both are logical candidates to be shopped this winter. Several of these proposals brought back immediate impact talent, but if the Twins are truly motivated to move one or both for salary reasons, a trade that brings back prospects might be most likely -- particularly if the Twins are using this step-back in spending as an opportunity to reload their longer-term pipeline. One trade suggestion from user Cory had the Twins swapping Polanco for RHP Tom Harrington, the No. 6 prospect in Pittsburgh's system. Another submission, from "harmony," sent both Polanco and Kepler to Seattle for their top pitching prospect Emerson Hancock. If you haven't yet, we encourage you to explore the Big List of Twins Trade Ideas and share your own thoughts, or any ideas for offseason trades that might've been inspired by others. View full article

Corbin Burnes is down over $700,000 and is not happy. A feisty arbitration case between the ace and his employer, the Milwaukee Brewers, has morphed into a debacle, a spectacle rarely publicly available as the details regarding the hearing tell a strange, piddling tale. Image courtesy of Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports Hurt feelings over arbitration are not a new phenomena; they are the byproduct of a system that pits the player’s capitalizing desires against a team’s inherent payroll conservatism, revealing the gross reality when neither player nor team owns sole control over one’s salary. It's a messy beast. While team and player can kiss and make up—indeed, bridges don’t always burn—it seems inevitable that grudges, minor and major, can brew resentment. There’s a reason why both parties dread the process. Burnes’ arbitration case stands out as one of the messiest in recent memory. Milwaukee remained steadfast in their offer, forcing a day in court over a less than $750,000 difference in pay. While the Brewers technically offered a deal to avoid the meeting—a two-year pact that Burnes described as “pretty poor”— their arguments in the case revealed their intent. “I mean, there’s no denying that the relationship was definitely hurt from what (transpired) over the last couple of weeks,” said the 2021 Cy Young winner following the decision. “There’s really no way to get around that.” “You work hard for seven years in the organization and five years with the big-league team, and you get in there and basically they value you much different than what you thought you’d contributed to the organization.” Professionalism will keep Burnes from mutiny or internal sabotage, but his words tinge with hurt feelings and sourness. After all, Milwaukee apparently placed him in the forefront of reasons why they missed the playoffs. With two years of team control remaining, and a healthy PECOTA projection placing Milwaukee as the class of a weird NL Central, the Brewers have no reason to deal their starter. Burnes may be pissy, but athletes have been crabby for years; an upset star only matters when you start losing. But time can fritter and waste in an offhand way. Two years melt away, losses can pile up, and a team can suddenly find themselves staring at an extensive re-evaluation process as their assets’ years dwindle. It would not be a shock to see Christian Yelich and His Merry Men flail early, perhaps placing Milwaukee—a team always conscious about their stars—in a tough spot. Conversations may need to occur; tough decisions made. Could they afford to hold tight, banking that they reverse course in 2024 with enough vigor to make Burnes’ place on the team worthwhile? The Twins must have their radar up. Aces—always such a rarity these days—almost never become available, especially for a team that lacks the monetary fortitude to pay for one in free agency. Trades are the great savior. When the market evolves, potentially offering a chance for the team to snag their guy, they must react. But the timing must be right. The opportunity, perfect. Spring training is not the appropriate venue for such a deal to go down, but if the team holds their own through July, the trade deadline could be the time to strike. Other teams are thinking as well, wondering whether they can pull the same maneuver to swipe Burnes for themselves. Every team in baseball can use him; the only thing holding them back is themselves. They’ll battle with wondering if they have the gumption to bypass their desire to avoid risk and embrace owning the services of a unique starter. With an unambiguous stud in Burnes, that question becomes a lot easier. For Minnesota, their offer may not touch other teams; their prospect pool is ok, but acquiring Burnes’ services requires the best, not a heap pile of castaways. A combo likely requires Brooks Lee, Marco Raya, and more. It’ll hurt—especially after a plethora of prior trades drained their farm system—but it may be the most crucial step towards the glorious playoff run Derek Falvey and co have worked towards since taking over in 2016. It’s unlikely to happen, but so was signing Carlos Correa, and sometimes you need a little luck, or a grumpy ace, to put your team over the top. View full article