Add through a Trade
The one type of move that we have been waiting for the Twins to make this offseason is to swing a trade. The past two deadlines we have seen the Twins trade away several players and add to their pool of minor league talent which could become very valuable as trade chips soon. A trade may become more likely as the trade deadline approaches if the Twins are in contention, but there are a few possibilities for a trade right now that should at least be considered.
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I have said many times before and will say it again, the Twins better be on the phone with the Atlanta Braves. It just makes too much sense as the Twins have a whole bunch of pitching talent which the Twins need. And the Twins have a whole bunch of outfield talent which the Braves need.
Not that the Braves need to clear a ton of payroll, but if they wanted to in order to redirect some money to maybe making a run at both A.J. Pollock and Manny Machado or other free agents, Julio Teheran makes a lot of sense for the Twins.
Another team to be in contact with is the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Twins have made deals with the Diamondbacks in the recent past and could absorb Zack Greinke‘s remaining contract that pays him over $30 million for the remaining 3 years. Greinke still has plenty to provide an MLB team even at 35-years-old. That is if Greinke would waive his no-trade clause to Minnesota.
The Twins could also make a run at Madison Bumgarner who is in the final year of his deal. This isn’t a trade that seems smart for the Twins as it sounds like the Giants are asking for the moon for Bumgarner so it may be best to steer clear of that deal.
Lastly, the Twins could always join the race for J.T. Realmuto. Based on where the Twins seem to sit competitively in relation to the rest of the American League it may be a hard price to pay at this point for a starting catcher, but worth continued consideration. Of course, there are likely other trades out there. These are just a few scenarios that stand out to this writer mid-January.
The Twins are in one of those unique places as a baseball team. They have lots of young talent and a lot of perceived payroll space. They also still have a number of questions across the roster so it will be interesting to see what else the front office does before the team reports to Spring Training.