First, I want to start out by saying thank you for reading. This is my first attempt at writing here and I hope you all enjoy this topic. 

I’m going to break down 5 possible trade targets for the Twins to upgrade the rotation. Some are better than others, but that means what you give up changes for them. I am sticking to what the front office could realistically do, so I am not going to bring up a guy like Max Scherzer or Shohei Ohtani (even though I would love for him to be a Twin). As you will see, I focused on guys with some team control because I feel this would be a better move long term than trading for a guy who only has 1 year left on his deal. I will also not include Pablo Lopez or other Marlins starters because they has been thoroughly discussed at this point as well. 

1. Cole Irvin - Oakland Athletics

2022 Stats: 9-13, 3.98 ERA, 30 GS, 181.0 IP, 128 K, 2.1 WAR

First off, Cole Irvin is controlled through 2025, so that makes him appealing, especially with other rotation pieces such as Sonny Gray, Kenta Maeda, and Tyler Mahle all being free agents after the 2023 season. The A’s are a team who often trade guys once they become arbitration eligible, which leads to reduced payrolls. Irvin is not a strikeout pitcher, with only a 16.8% K rate for his career, but he does induce ground balls at a decent rate of 37.0%. Irvin is at his best when he is avoiding hard contact, which he does a pretty decent job of throughout his career. Based on this, he is in the mold of a Twins team of yesteryear when they preached the “pitch to contact” method, which fans might not love. 

Irvin is not a clear-cut #1 starter, but he does elevate the rotation to another level. Irvin also stayed healthy and threw for 181 innings, which is a huge plus, especially with injury question marks up and down the current Twins rotation. Because of the team control, I think the Twins would have to give up a decent amount, but potentially have the players in the system that the A’s could be interested in. 

2. Mitch Keller - Pittsburgh Pirates

2022 Stats: 5-12, 3.91 ERA, 31 G, 29 GS, 159.0 IP, 138 K, 2.0 WAR

For whatever reason, I have always been fond of Mitch Keller. Keller did not have a lot of wins this past year, but one has to remember that he was on a struggling Pittsburgh team, so wins aren’t exactly a great thing to base on if a guy is a good fit. Keller did move to the bullpen toward the end of the year, which is interesting, but he also adjusted his pitch mix when he did this. It appears this was more of a move for him to work on a few things, than it was a more permanent move, but time will tell. Keller’s career 44.2% groundball rate is something that is intriguing to me, and it was as high as 49.1% this past year. 

Keller is controlled through 2026, so the amount the Twins would have to give up to get him would be substantial, so that may make it difficult to make a trade possible. Pittsburgh is not at a spot where competing now is not realistic, so they may be looking to get guys who will be more helpful to help them compete in a few years. 

Also - Keller will be playing his age 27 season in 2023, so there may be another level that Pete Maki and co. can unlock going forward. 

3. Drew Rasmussen - Tampa Bay Rays

2022 Stats: 11-7, 2.84 ERA, 28 GS, 146. IP, 125 K, 2.9 WAR

Rasmussen is controlled through 2027, so the price to acquire him would be exorbitant. He may not even be available, but I don’t think it would hurt to ask. Rasmussen is the one guy on this list that is a very clear upgrade to the rotation, but that also comes with the highest potential trade price as well. I included him on this list because Tampa Bay always seems to do some things outside the box while continuing to stay competitive. Rasmussen is not a high strikeout guy, with a career 8.3 K/9, but he does have a career 47.5% groundball rate, which is intriguing. He’ll only be in his age-27 season so there very well could be some upside still as well.

4. Jeffery Springs - Tampa Bay Rays 

2022 Stats: 9-5, 2.46 ERA, 33 G, 25 GS, 135.1 IP, 144 K, 3.6 WAR

Springs is the guy on this list that I may be most excited about, solely because he is a higher strikeout guy, with a career 10.1 K/9 rate. As I mentioned about Rasmussen, Tampa Bay historically has traded guys you may think would not be available. Springs is controlled through 2025, so his price will start to go up going forward, so it may be a time for a team with a higher payroll than the Rays to attempt to acquire a guy like Springs. Springs will be playing in his age-30 season in 2023 so there may be less upside with him compared to other guys on this list, but he is is a clear step above some of the other guys as well. 

Will Falvine team up with the Rays to pull off a trade that could benefit both clubs? I’d love if they did, but I have doubts that a trade of this magnitude will happen. 

5. Austin Gomber - Colorado Rockies 

2022 Stats: 5-7, 5.56 ERA, 33 G, 17 GS, 124.2 IP, 95 K, 0.3 WAR 

Okay, those stats are not intriguing in the slightest bit, I understand that. The Rockies would be trading him at a low value, which is something the Twins could capitalize on if they feel they can get him back to his 2021 levels, or maybe even improve on that. Gomber will be playing his age-29 season in 2023 as well. Is there upside here? I am by no means an expert in pitching development, but prior to 2022, Gomber did show he could be a productive mid-back end of the rotation starter, which is valuable to every team (4.53 ERA in 2021).  Gomber is not a high strikeout guy, so he uses soft-contact to get outs. His hard-hit rate went up in 2022, which would need to improve and come back down for him to be a productive starter going forward. His BABIP went way up this year, which one could argue is the reason he struggled to the level he did. One thing I keep coming back to is that I think Gomber is a great change of scenery candidate and moving away from Coors Field could benefit him, like it has a few other pitchers in the past. 

Looking at all of the guys on this list, which player do you feel is most realistic, or who would you want them to acquire, if the price was right? Also - if there is another topic you’d like me to write on, I’d be happy to discuss that as well!