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Baseball is a relatively simple game. Offseasons are usually just as simple, with contending teams adding to their rosters while clubs further away build for the future. The Rays are an exception to that rule. Fresh off an American League pennant in 2020, the Rays turned around and traded their frontline starter, Blake Snell, to the Padres. Snell then had the worst season of his career, furthering the Rays’ impeccable timing on pitchers (but maybe not Joe Ryan). Constantly churning their roster and trading away pricey players for elite prospects, the Rays embody the notion that no player is “untouchable.” Enter Tyler Glasnow. The six-foot-8 monster from California is a must-watch when he takes the mound. Glasnow, 28, pairs a triple-digits fastball with a wipeout hook. Glasnow has struck out 36% of hitters since 2019, the third-highest rate behind Jacob deGrom and Gerrit Cole. Glasnow’s name floated at the trade deadline, with Ken Rosenthal and Dennis Lin reporting potential possibilities. Among 114 starters who’ve pitched at least 200 innings over the last three seasons, Glasnow ranks third in ERA (2.80), xFIP (2.78), and opponent’s average (.185), fourth in FIP (2.87), and sixth in SIERA (3.03). For as dominant as he is on the mound, he’s not on it very often. Glasnow hasn’t thrown 100 innings in a season since 2018 when he threw 111 2/3. Injuries have riddled his career, and 2021 was no exception. Glasnow was rocking a 2.66 ERA and 36% strikeout rate before he got hurt last June. His season ended with Tommy John surgery in August, and he’s likely to miss all of the 2022 season. A free agent after 2023, Glasnow is projected to make $5.8 million in his third year of arbitration (2022), with a raise to $8 or $9 million in year four (2023). Trading for Glasnow would be an investment for 2023, when the Twins hope to be back in contention. Think of the first Michael Pineda contract, when he rehabbed in year one and contributed in year two. That deal went well, and there’s a “back pocket” aspect to a trade like this. A trade makes sense if the Rays are looking to shed payroll and cash in on Glasnow before he inevitably reaches free agency. There’s no telling how many starts the Twins could expect from Glasnow in 2023, who will have thrown only 206 innings the past four seasons. Like Byron Buxton, assessing Glasnow’s trade value is a tricky proposition. He’s an elite player with health a major question mark. MLB Trade Simulator says a Ryan Jeffers and Jhoan Duran package would satisfy both sides. If the Rays wanted quantity, Matt Canterino, Keoni Cavaco, Brent Rooker, Caleb Thielbar, and Matt Wallner match up well. As Rosenthal eloquently wrote, Glasnow coming off Tommy John surgery is probably a better bet than any prospect the Twins would trade for him. Additionally, the inside track to an extension is compelling and offers an attractive opportunity for more value. Whether a long-term investment in Glasnow is wise is another question. Again, when healthy, he's unquestionably an ace. The Twins haven't had one of those over a decade. Glasnow’s price in a trade would likely be less than that of Frankie Montas, Luis Castillo, or even Chris Bassitt. It’s a high-upside move that could give the Twins a weapon in 2023 and potentially beyond. What do you think? Should the Twins make a run at Tyler Glasnow? Comment below! MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Order the Offseason Handbook — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email

As a former first round pick, Musgrove is now a part of his third organization. Drafted by the Blue Jays in 2011, he was dealt to the Houston Astros prior to now having spent the bulk of his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The career 4.33 ERA doesn’t do much to jump off the page, but as a guy about to enter his age 28 season with two more years of team control, a prime before the breakout could be just the recipe for a strong organization to exploit. Since joining the Pirates in 2018 Musgrove has compiled a 4.23 ERA. In those three seasons however, he’s posted FIP’s of 3.58, 3.82, and 3.42, respectively. The strikeout rates have risen each year going from 7.8 in 2018 to 12.5 in what was a muted 2020 season. He’s generally been a guy that’s tough on free passes, middle of the road when it comes to the longball, and relatively difficult to generate base hits. Taking a look at some of the deeper dive numbers, there’s even more to like with Musgrove. He posted a career best 3.19 xFIP in 2020 while still holding onto a consistent 93 mph average fastball velocity. He gave up a career low 24% hard hit rate this past season and the 48% ground ball rate is plenty productive. Missing barrels is something he’s done often throughout his career and generating a new career high 14.4% whiff rate this season was nice to see as well. Musgrove doesn’t rely a ton on deception. In each of his five big league seasons he’s been right around a 33% chase rate. Rather than forcing batters out of the zone, he’s been able to confuse them within it. Despite the rising swinging strike rates, he hasn’t done it as a by-product of his zone profile. Opposing hitters have generated less overall contact and suffered a career worst contact within the strike zone against Musgrove this past season. Clearly some of the developments Musgrove has experienced are helping take his game to new heights. Seeing what some of his counterparts have experienced when going to more well-regarded organizations, however, begs the question if there’s not more to be unearthed. Minnesota’s brain trust, and the tutelage of Wes Johnson could be the thing that takes him to the highest level. Pitching doesn’t come cheap, and a guy with team control still in arbitration isn’t going to be had for nothing. Expecting the Pirates to continue making the same missteps on the swap front also isn’t a good plan of action. On the basis of its own merit however, finding an amicable deal for both sides is certainly a worthy venture. A lot of how Minnesota sets themselves up for 2021 will be reliant upon what internal decisions the organization makes. After all, the 2020 club was very good and simply fell short of even moderate expectations at the worst time. The turnaround in that performance needs to come from within. On the mound though, there’s now some holes and openings that need to be filled. Addressing at least one of them with an arm this good, and a possibility to be even better, would be a great place to start. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email

Pittsburgh sat with a 56-52 record on July 31, 2018. This was good enough for third in their division and they were trailing multiple teams for a Wild Card spot. Being on the outside looking in, didn’t stop them from making a franchise altering trade. The Pirates wanted right-handed pitcher Chris Archer, so they went and got him. Spoiler alert… Pittsburgh would finish fourth in their own division last season. During his last three seasons in Tampa, Archer posted a 3.77 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP while averaging 245 strikeouts and 205 innings per season. He had one top-5 finish for the AL Cy Young and he represented the Rays in the 2015 and 2017 MLB All-Star Game. He was a workhorse as he led the AL in games started in both of his All-Star campaigns. Archer had seemed to be on the trade block for multiple seasons because Tampa Bay had him signed to a team friendly deal and the two-time All-Star might not have a higher value. Because of their market, the Rays are forced to part with players as their contract costs rise. Tampa has been able to flourish through strong scouting and thinking outside of the box. Tampa certainly knew what they were doing when they dealt Archer for a package that included Austin Meadows, Tyler Glasnow and Shane Baz. Meadows was elected to his first All-Star Game this season after hitting .289/.364/.502 in the first half with 30 extra-base hits including 12 homers. He currently looks like the biggest piece of the trade for Tampa, but both pitchers could still turn out to be very good. Glasnow has an injury history including currently being on the IL with a right forearm strain. In his eight starts (48 1/3 innings) since being dealt, he has a 1.86 ERA with a 0.91 WHIP and 55 strikeouts and 9 walks. Fans might remember Baz’s name because he was one of the top prospects in the 2017 Draft, when the Twins had the first pick. He’s pitching in the Midwest League and has a 3.45 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP in 10 starts. Since being traded, Archer has not been the same pitcher that he was in Tampa. He has a brutal 4.97 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP in 143 innings. His strikeout rate has gone up from 9.7 K/9 in Tampa to 10.4 K/9 in Pittsburgh, but his walk rate has also increased (2.9 to 4.0 BB/9). He’s giving up home runs at almost twice the rate and one of the biggest concerns might be the amount of hard contact he is giving up. His 12.3 Barrel % is in the bottom 4% of the NL. So how can the Twins avoid an Archer style fleecing by another club? In all reality, it’s rarely known this quickly after a trade if one team has gained a significant advantage. Meadows was a consensus top-50 prospect for most of his professional career. In comparison, Minnesota’s closest prospect might be Alex Kirilloff. It seems likely that Kirilloff is on a short list of prospects that Minnesota wouldn’t be willing to trade unless they were floored by a deal. The Twins might not have a comparable pitcher in their farm system to Glasnow. Entering the 2017 season, he was ranked in the top-25 prospects in baseball by all three major rankings and he was big league ready at the time of the trade. Someone like Jordan Balazovic might be the closest as he continues to rise in prospect rankings. He, like Glasnow, was a fifth-round pick, but he isn’t close to being big league ready. Few saw this kind of drop-off coming for Archer and that’s what can happen with some of the big deals that will happen before next week. Back in 2016, Cubs fans saw their club deal future All-Star Gleyber Torres to the Yankees for closer Aroldis Chapman. Chapman and the Cubs went on to win the World Series and he returned to New York that winter as a free agent. My guess is Cubs fans will take the World Series flag flying over Wrigley instead of having Torres in the middle of their infield. What are your thoughts as the Twins become buyers? How can they avoid an Archer deal? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.