3 Teams Luis Arraez Could've Been Traded To

[renabanena]

All hailed the king, Andrelton “Simba” Simmons, when his signing was announced earlier this week. However, amid the celebrations, the question of Luis Arraez’ future role lingered on fans’ minds.To our collective relief, ESPN’s Jeff Passan announced that Arraez will move into a utility role for the club. However, you can’t but wonder what could’ve been if Arraez was on the trade market. What could the Twins have received in return? Which other clubs could he have been a perfect piece for? Why not take a perfectly reasonable solution for him with the team and bring chaos into the picture? Here are three potential teams that Arraez could’ve landed with had the Twins decided to move on with their breakout star.

 

*** Disclaimer: I do not necessarily condone or recommend the trade of Luis Arraez. Let’s try and have fun here. F. U. N.

 

Oakland Athletics

 

Billy Beane’s squad lost their brightest star in Marcus Semien to free agency. Despite this, the most understated team in baseball may still be the favorite to win the AL West. Adding Luis Arraez to their roster could’ve significantly helped with those chances. Oakland will likely utilize both Tony Kemp and Chad Pinder at second base, both utility players with below league average offensive metrics. While Arraez will not replace the home run production lost with Semien’s exit, his OBP and low strikeout rate would make him an ideal candidate to hit ahead of Khris Davis or Matt Olson.

 

The return: Despite their lack of big ticket pitchers, Oakland has one of the best bullpens in baseball with Lou Trivino leading the pack. After losing several members of its stable bullpen to free agency, the Twins could use one of Oakland’s stable arms to further increase its depth. Outside of the bullpen, Sean Manaea is another interesting trade target as a fourth starter behind Michael Pineda. Last season, Manaea introduced the cutter and curveball into his pitch repertoire. If he continues to work on his control of both pitches and can work into later innings, the Twins could have an ace on their hands.

 

San Francisco Giants

 

Every student in America has experienced a group project where one member does all the work (and it’s usually you). For this team, that group member is Mike Yastrzemski. Yastrzemski plays all three positions in the outfield and produces the most offense on the team. Outside of starting pitching, the Giants could use an additional bat. Arraez would fit in perfectly with the Giant’s formula of utilizing numerous utility players across their roster, such as the previously mentioned Yastrzemski as well as Donovan Solano and Mauricio Dubon. Like the Athletics, utilizing Arraez to hit ahead of Yastrzemski seems like the perfect formula.

 

The return: Again, in the name of fun, the most reasonable thing here is to trade for Tyler Rogers. Because what isn’t fun about twin brothers playing for the Twins? Someone ping the analytics department STAT about the last time this historical event has occurred. If you disagree with this, you hate fun.

 

Cleveland

 

If the Red Sox and Yankees can make a trade, the sky's the limit. It’s widely agreed upon that while Cleveland will still be a competitive team in the AL Central, the loss of Francisco Lindor cements their status as a third place team. It’s also likely that the spring cleaning has just begun. There are rumors swirling of potential trades of Jose Ramirez and Shane Bieber. A trade with Cleveland is less about filling a need for Cleveland but can more about fulfilling a need for the Twins.

 

The return: Even without Shane Bieber, Cleveland still has one of the best rotations in baseball. Triston McKenzie, Aaron Civale, and Zach Plesac have done a phenomenal job of making us forget about the Kluber/Bauer era. If the Twins want to make a blockbuster deal akin to last season for starting pitching, it’s the 216 area code that they should be dialing. If Cleveland doesn’t extend Bieber, the Twins need to take advantage of Cleveland’s plans to clean house and make a play for the best pitcher in baseball. If Bieber is unavailable, any of the three other rookie pitchers mentioned above would be a great fit with the Twins. It’s a reasonable move to try and obtain a piece of one of the best rotations in baseball when this rare opportunity presents itself.

 

In the name of fun, what other transactions do you think Arraez could be a good bargaining chip for? Comment below!

 

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[tarheeltwinsfan]

I appreciate this article, however, none of those trades would spell F.U.N. for me. I want to watch Arraez hit .400 as a Twin. 

[specialiststeve]

To our collective relief, ESPN’s Jeff Passan announced that Arraez will move into a utility role for the club. However, you can’t but wonder what could’ve been if Arraez was on the trade market. What could the Twins have received in return?

 

 

Umm... not sure why you would say "could have been"? I would think that there is still every reason to believe that he behind closed doors is on the block. 

 

I do believe also that there is zero shot they send him somewhere for relief pitching. Those pitchers are a dime a dozen. Why move a solid asset for something we can get on the FA market for very little... not a good choice. 

 

ZERO chance Cleveland trades interdivision and sends and ace... maybe a prospect but no way an ace... 

 

So teams that are needing a 2nd baseman that is a hit machine... 

 

Baltimore.... really no player at 2nd on their depth chart.... 

 

Chicago Cubs ...... right now they have David Bote there... they are in a selling mode so.... 

 

Milwaukee... have Huira there but most believe he would be better at 1B... they have some pitching pieces that may look good in our rotation.... 

 

NY Mets.... has McNeil there but there is talk he is going to 3B leaving that spot open... Luchessi has a pretty good pedigree ...  pleny of upside... 

 

Oakland .... actually is a good fit - but would want starting pitching and they have some decent depth and prospects... 

 

Pittsburg .... could use him but don't see any assets that would fit .... 

 

St. Louis .... needs a 2B but with his limited defense am guessing they would pass.. they value defense much more than most....

 

Those are the teams that seem to me to have a need .... but unless the Twins see a good pitcher or a prospect that is darn good  I see him staying here.. Our starters are a bit brittle and it is likely he will get a good run somewhere in the infield. 

[Trov]

I do not think too many teams value Arraez that high.  I think he has great value for his bat, but his defense is overall poor and he has no power.  I think we as fans like him because he puts the ball in play and gets a good amount of hits.  I think he has value, but it is not right in your face, at least based on current MLB evaluation of players.  

 

2nd basemen never have that much value to other teams, unless they produce offense at a huge clip and provides above average defense, else they are pretty easy to replace.  They are on par with LF, easy to replace unless their numbers and defense are off the charts. 

[Doctor Gast]

It's too bad that CLE is in our division because we miss out on pitchers that CLE discard. It's like playing cards when we're not behind the player that we want their discards and not able to pick up.

To some this is a pretty sensitive subject.

[Brandon]

I would hate to trade a .300+ hitting batting title contender bench player with a .400 OBP making near league minimum.

 

That is a high value component for our team. As long as he gets 500 plate appearances.

[tony&rodney]

Let's have fun. Twins trade Luis Arraez, Miguel Sano, and Michael Pineda to Colorado for German Marquez, Trevor Story, and Nolan Arrenado plus $20 million. LOL. Wait ...

.... those are three of my favorite players to watch: Arraez with his twirls, head shakes, and slashing style; Sano as he squeezes the bat like a sponge and drives the ball so hard and then lumbers around the bases; and Pineda with all of his gyrations that caused another team's announcer, who was unfamiliar with Michael, to repeatedly question why the Twins pitching coach and trainer were not coming out to the mound and checking on him until three batters later someone slipped the dull announcer a note clueing him in to Pineda antics. I would never make that trade and besides now we have a new shortstop with bad ankles and quirks to watch. 

[twinfan]

You do not trade someone who has hit .300 at every level - period. Would the Twins have ever traded Tony Oliva? Just the thought of trading Arraez is stupid at this point.

[Nine of twelve]

Any proposed major trade with Cleveland will almost certainly not happen. A prime directive of trading within your division is to have no doubt that you are coming out ahead. And of course that means the other team would come out behind and therefore decline the offer.