As the Minnesota Twins enter a new era following the retirement of Joe Mauer, they may be open to moving a certain reliever that underperformed last season.
Prior to the 2018 season, Addison Reed signed a two-year contract worth roughly $16.7 million. After consecutive seasons of impressive performances, this contract seemed like a bargain for the Twins. However, after a mediocre season, the Twins may be interested in moving on from Reed.
Through 55 relief appearances, Reed compiled an unimpressive 4.50 ERA, a 5.11 FIP, and a 1.429 WHIP. Despite this poor showing, he could very well be a top bounce back candidate next season.
This is due to his past performance from 2016-2017 in which he compiled a very impressive 2.40 ERA, a 2.81 FIP, and a 0.996 WHIP through 157 relief appearances. During this time, he also compiled 167 strikeouts compared to only 28 walks through 153.2 innings pitched.
Reed also has prior experience as a full-time closer on the Chicago White Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Boston Red Sox. Between his solid experience as a closer and his solid middle relief experience, Reed could be a valuable piece for the Cubs bullpen next season.
As the Twins will likely want to remove his $8.5 million salary for 2019 from their payroll, the Cubs should not have to trade high level prospects to acquire the former closer. Due to this, the Cubs front office should take a risk and attempt to acquire Reed from the Twins to help further bolster their bullpen ahead of next season.