Finding themselves in need of addressing an organizational lack of young pitching, the Minnesota Twins appear to have been determined to convert their apparent excess in outfielders in order to address said need. One week ago they picked up right-hander Alex Meyer from the Washington Nationals, giving up Denard Span, and Thursday they’d add two more , acquiring Vance Worley and Trevor May from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for Ben Revere, Span’s presumptive replacement in center field.
Philadelphia may have gotten a suitable option to resolve their center field needs in Ben Revere, but they paid a high price to do so. (Image Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports)
While Meyer is not yet MLB-ready, Worley may step right into the Twins’ starting rotation this coming season. He threw 133.0 innings for the Phillies this past season, posting a 6-9 record and 4.20 ERA in 23 starts. It was a big change from his first season in the league, when he posted an 11-3 mark on his way to a 3rd place finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting. The 25 year old saw his 2012 season cut short by a bone spur in his pitching elbow, but he is expected to be fully healthy be the start of Spring Training. He doesn’t project as a top of the rotation starter in the long haul, but should prove to be more than serviceable. May, meanwhile, struggled with a promotion to Double-A this past season and likely saw his prospect status take an overall hit, but is still highly regarded within the Phillies organization.
Revere solves a significant goal for the Phillies, albeit at a high cost. The team was determined to address their center field need this offseason, only to see their preferred options continually go off the board as players landed elsewhere. Rumblings began just a few days ago that the team was considering moving Worley and/or May in the right deal, but none could have anticipated that they’d both be moved in the same deal. Separately each could have likely headlined a deal in order to acquire a reasonable solution for center field. The return would naturally depend on the quality of a package build around each arm, but a trade could certainly be feasible with the right opposing GM. Phillies’ GM Ruben Amaro wanted to address the organizaton’s center field need, for the immediate and the future, and paid a steep price to do so.
Losing Revere will surely have an impact on the Twins this coming season, as suddenly there is no experienced option to install in center field. There is a quality group of outfielder prospects in the organization, with mixed feelings on how close each is to being MLB-ready. Aaron Hicks is one internal option who could get an extended look this Spring, coming off a season in which he batted .286/.384/.460 in 472 plate appearances as a 22 year old in Double-A in 2012. He’s yet to face any competition above that classification, however, so he still may need to have an impressive Spring in order to garner any serious consideration for the job on Opening Day.
Behind Hicks the team has Oswaldo Arcia, who joined the former in Double-A mid season and hit .328/.398/.557 in 299 plate appearances. Even further back are Byron Buxton and Max Kepler, who’ll both see time in full-season leagues for the first time this year and are each further away from being a true part of this conversation.
Coping with uncertainty in center field appears to be a worthy gamble for the Twins, as the trio of pitchers received in these two deals almost certainly should outweigh the pair of options they gave up.