It might not be a blockbuster deal that sees impact players switching sides to better benefit the shortcomings of potential contenders on each side, but the Minnesota Twins should look across the Great Lakes to Toronto for a viable trade partner before the deadline to address a need nonetheless.
The Twins have a couple areas of need in the bullpen and at catcher. The pen can more easily be fixed by arms already within the organization. At catcher, not so much. The Blue Jays also have an area of need, that being anywhere on the pitching staff — the rotation, the bullpen or general manager Alex Anthopoulos pitching to executives why he deserves to keep his job should the Jays miss the postseason again in 2015.
Dioner Navarro is being under-utilized by Toronto. He’s a free agent at the end of this season. Kurt Suzuki is being relied upon too much by the Twins. Both could benefit from regular platoon duties. After an All-Star season in 2014, Suzuki has now reverted to his typical replacement level of play at age 31. Appearing in 71 games, Suzuki is hitting .235/.291/.313 compared to where he was at the break last year with a .309/.365/.396 slash line. He has a WAR of -0.4.
Minnesota has an influx of available pitching. Mike Pelfrey is set to be a free agent after this year, but the Blue Jays would be kidding themselves to think adding him to their staff would equate to an upgrade. Instead, the more logical move would be for teh Twins to trade someone in their bullpen with minimal club control left on their contract for Navarro. Mike Bernardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press notes that Minnesota initially made a contract offer to Navarro in the same offseason that the Jays landed him.
With Ervin Santana back, the rotation could shuffle around some and shift Pelfrey to the bullpen. Rookie Trevor May has better stuff than Pelfrey, but Santana returning from his suspension caused for his current relegation to the pen. As a starter, May actually had the best FIP of any Twins pitcher at 3.16. But if manager Paul Molitor‘s wishes are to keep May in the bullpen, then he could justifiably take the place of Blaine Boyer with setup duties. May’s tidy 4.00 K:BB ratio could slide nicely into that role, or J.R. Graham could could be looked at as another possible option on the 25-man roster.
Boyer is 34-years-old and a free agent in 2016. He would provide the Blue Jays bullpen with more stability than they currently have have now. The Twins are the horse more in the race right now of the two, so they hold more leverage in negotiations. The Blue Jays are desperate for pitching help and should be willing to part with Navarro for very little as he has no short-term or long-term value on their roster unless an injury to Russell Martin came about.
Boyer’s ERA+ of 149 would be the best mark of any Jays relief pitcher with 30-plus innings pitched in 2015 after only Roberto Osuna‘s ERA+ of 173. Boyer is right-handed, so depending on whether May or Pelfrey moves to the bullpen for good, the Twins would have an surplus of righties there as both of them are also that. So too are Graham, Glen Perkins and Casey Fien. Ryan Pressly also pitches right-handed and is expected to be ready to return to action in early September.
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A.J. Achter in Triple-A isn’t a southpaw, but he looks like a fine candidate for a call-up when rosters expand September 1. Through 40.2 relief innings pitched with Rochester, he’s 4-2 with a 2.88 ERA, a WHIP of 0.86, a K/9 of 9.3 and K:BB of 3.82. Michael Tonkin is still an option as well. He’s lighting up Triple-A, but has so far disappointed in his small Major League sample size of 41.1 IP dating back intermittently to appearances since 2013.
This trade will turn few heads, but it gives the Minnesota Twins a body where they need one behind the dish and allows for some flexibility with their rotation and relievers. If Molitor believes May, Pelfrey or anyone else can handle high leverage situations out of the bullpen in the eighth inning, then Boyer should be expendable in order to land Dioner Navarro.
Conversely, Navarro would only be useful in a trade for Toronto if he was sent to a contender. No one selling at the deadline will find value in a 31-year-old backstop set to hit free agency in 2016. Navarro suits a buyers market. The Twins fit the profile and can shore up their bullpen with arms already in the system.