Minnesota Twins: 3 Jose Berrios trade destinations

The Minnesota Twins entered the 2021 season with high expectations. Those expectations have not come close to being met.  The Twins are currently 11 games below .500 and are more interested in being sellers at the trade deadline rather than buyers.

Over the course of the first half of the season, the Twins have experienced injuries to some major players in their lineup including starting catcher Mitch Garver, starting center fielder Byron Buxton, as well as outfielder Kyle Garlick and utility man Willians Astudillo. On the pitching side of the team, the Twins have experienced subpar performance and injuries to starting pitcher Michael Pineda.

Starting pitcher Jose Berrios has been the anchor of the starting rotation especially with Pineda out. Coincidentally, these two pitchers are the only Twins pitchers with an ERA+ over 100. The next closest pitcher deemed to be average (100) by the ERA+ metric is Bailey Ober. In five starts, Ober is still 11 points away from being an average major league starter.

In the middle of a subpar season with some young pieces to build on, the Twins will need to be sellers at the trade deadline in order to acquire a plethora of assets to help them long term. Berrios is the best asset for the Twins to trade. He can help a contending team solidify their starting rotation at the young age of 27 and the acquiring team would have two more years of control.

In 2018 and 2019, Berrios was an All-Star and nearly reached the 200 innings pitched mark twice in a row (192.1 in 2018 and 200.1 in 2019). Further, Berrios is having his best season since 2019 when he accumulated a 122 ERA+ as well as a 195/51 K/BB ratio. The difference between 2021 and 2019 is Jose Berrios is striking out batters at a higher rate in 2021 (9.6 K/9 compared to 8.8 K/9).

Berrios has made a slight change in the last year as far as pitch selection. During the COVID-shortened 2020 season, Berrios threw his fastball 51.5 percent of the time, curveball 29.8 percent, and changeup 18.8 percent. This year, his fastball usage has increased by about five percent, curveball usage increased by almost two percent, and his changeup has experienced the biggest dip; a six percent decrease in usage.

His peripheral statistics have not changed much despite the change in pitch selection. Either way, a team trading for Berrios is picking up a young starter with the possibility to fit in to a number two or three role right away and into the playoffs.

Here are three teams that should be calling about a Berrios deal.