Trade for an inning-eater arm
For the Minnesota Twins, Santana represents a consistent inning-eater arm. Part of what they would look for in the trade market would certainly be a guy who could give those innings, though after seeing the Pirates have to make tough decisions to trade off players after their recent competitive runs, the Twins certainly would be wise to jump at a chance to get both an inning-eater and an upside guy.
Rays
Certainly, the first team and player that every fan will bring to mind will be the Tampa Bay Rays and Chris Archer. I covered earlier in the offseason the overvaluing of Archer in the trade market, and unless the team could use Gerrit Cole‘s trade as a basis for a deal with the Rays, he is not the guy to target with Tampa Bay.
While he’s had a few dings, Jake Odorizzi is coming off of a season with just 143 1/3 innings. However, over the last four seasons, Odorizzi has averaged 30 starts and 167 innings, with a 3.81 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. Odorizzi is in arbitration, and is controlled through 2019 before he becomes a free agent.
The Rays have a host of pitchers in their minor leagues ready to jump to the majors as well, which could make a move for a young starter feasible as well. I don’t think you’ll see Blake Snell or Brent Honeywell as part of the deal, but perhaps Jake Faria, Jose De Leon, or Matt Andriese could also be part of the deal to add to the rotation.
Braves
The Atlanta Braves have been working to make a move with Julio Teheran for a few years at the right price, and the Twins could pounce on that opportunity this offseason as spring is about to break.
Teheran is not an elite “ace” type of pitcher, but he’s averaged 32 starts and 197 innings over the last 5 seasons. Teheran carries a 3.59 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP for his career, and though his numbers were rough in 2017, he was very impressive on the road (3.14 ERA, 1.25 WHIP) while he was blown up at the new home park for the Braves (5.86 ERA, 1.50 WHIP).
The Braves also have a number of excellent young arms that are major league ready that could be put into a deal. Very likely the Twins would have to give up a premium package to acquire both Teheran and another arm, but targeting someone like Mike Foltynewicz or Sean Newcomb would be ideal while former top prospects Aaron Blair or Matt Wisler could end up as “throw-in” players in a Teheran deal that could use a change of scenery.
This may end up being a deal that would cost major prospects – guys like Nick Gordon, Brusdar Graterol, Wander Javier, etc. I believe the Twins would not include Royce Lewis, using the Gerrit Cole deal as a way to set their price with the Braves, but the Braves also need to ensure they have a major league team for 2018 as well, so they’re not just going to hand over players for nothing as well.
Royals
The Royals really have two veteran arms that could be a quality option, but the guy that the team will most likely be very interested in (especially if they don’t sign another free agent) would be lefty Danny Duffy. Duffy is under control until 2021, and he’s at a very good rate.
While the Royals don’t really have young arms that would be better than those near the majors for the Twins, Duffy is an elite talent with the ability to be a true ace from the left side, and pairing he and Berrios at the top of the rotation going forward would be a very intriguing 1-2 option for the Twins, even though the cost would likely be as high or higher than any of these other deals.
So, the Twins just get one arm or they don’t get an additional arm at all – could they handle this with what they have on hand?
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