Your (hypothetical) trade deadline moves?

[Mill1634]

With the trade deadline under a month away and the bullpen being as bad as it's been, it's time to start putting the GM cap on and put yourself in charge of the Twins trade deadline. What's your plan? Aggressive, or stand pat and keep the prospects you believe in? Who are you targeting? I would expect to see a few moves during the ASB and a steady flow leading up to the trade deadline.

I recently wrote about it here, and would love to hear what the other poster's of TD would do if they were in the room making decisions. 

[Vanimal46]

I think we trade for at least 1 rental reliever and 1 reliever with 1.5+ years of control left. 

David Robertson is my top choice out of the rentals. Falvey and Levine have a trade history with Washington, so Carl Edwards Jr. is another option. Both shouldn’t cost more than a low level lottery ticket. 

David Bednar will likely be the most coveted reliever at the deadline. He’ll cost quite a bit in prospects, and I don’t know if we’ll pony up the capital to do so. Instead, I think they’ll go after someone else like Diego Castillo from Seattle. Left handed, won’t  be as expensive, 1.5 years of control left, and his peripherals under the hood look good for a bounce back. 

[tony&rodney]

I'm good with Robertson, Castillo, and Bednar. The first two should only cost someone in the #11-30 range and Bednar may cost a guy like SWR or A. Martin. I'm willin'.

[ICTwin25]

18 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

I'm good with Robertson, Castillo, and Bednar. The first two should only cost someone in the #11-30 range and Bednar may cost a guy like SWR or A. Martin. I'm willin'.

I'd also be willing if the big leaguer was Kepler. In June his slash line was .210/.316/.333. So far in July it is .100/.280/.250. Max wasnt anything special in 2021 and was bad in 2020. I'd be alright with parting with him to get a quality arm.

[Steve71]

I don't think Martin gets you Bednar, who is also my first choice in relief pitcher trade targets.  I am thinking you will need to pony up something like Miranda, and that may not be enough....but I really want him on the Twins, the sooner the better.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

1 hour ago, Steve71 said:

I don't think Martin gets you Bednar, who is also my first choice in relief pitcher trade targets.  I am thinking you will need to pony up something like Miranda, and that may not be enough....but I really want him on the Twins, the sooner the better.

Please no. Not Miranda.

[tony&rodney]

Pittsburgh has a 3B in Hayes so maybe a milb pitcher like Enlow with Martin. 

[Trov]

On 7/7/2022 at 8:47 PM, Vanimal46 said:

I think we trade for at least 1 rental reliever and 1 reliever with 1.5+ years of control left. 

David Robertson is my top choice out of the rentals. Falvey and Levine have a trade history with Washington, so Carl Edwards Jr. is another option. Both shouldn’t cost more than a low level lottery ticket. 

David Bednar will likely be the most coveted reliever at the deadline. He’ll cost quite a bit in prospects, and I don’t know if we’ll pony up the capital to do so. Instead, I think they’ll go after someone else like Diego Castillo from Seattle. Left handed, won’t  be as expensive, 1.5 years of control left, and his peripherals under the hood look good for a bounce back. 

Right now Seattle is hot and looking like they may compete for wild card, I doubt they dump a pen arm, unless it is for something they feel they need more to help in their push. 

[Trov]

On 7/8/2022 at 5:28 PM, ICTwin25 said:

I'd also be willing if the big leaguer was Kepler. In June his slash line was .210/.316/.333. So far in July it is .100/.280/.250. Max wasnt anything special in 2021 and was bad in 2020. I'd be alright with parting with him to get a quality arm.

What rebuilding team is going to trade for Max?  Maybe a team making a push and looking for OF would want him, but they are unlikely to deal their MLB talent, so unless they have major depth in the pen, they are not trading them away.  Also, his hitting may not be tops, but his defense is still one of the better in RF.  We could part with Max but as you point out he is not elite, he is aging, and nearing end of contract.  His market is very limited and will not net much. 

[ICTwin25]

1 minute ago, Trov said:

What rebuilding team is going to trade for Max?  Maybe a team making a push and looking for OF would want him, but they are unlikely to deal their MLB talent, so unless they have major depth in the pen, they are not trading them away.  Also, his hitting may not be tops, but his defense is still one of the better in RF.  We could part with Max but as you point out he is not elite, he is aging, and nearing end of contract.  His market is very limited and will not net much. 

Good point. I was definitely thinking about a team needing another bat and quality defense in the outfield. I wont lie, I have zero clue if any team in baseball that has a chance to make the playoffs is looking for a guy like him, but the Rays wanted Nelson Cruz so there's certainly a chance.

[tony&rodney]

Max is the best runner on the team, plays excellent defense, will take a walk, and although confounding as a batter he still produces at a fair level. The Twins should not entertain thoughts of trading Kepler or Polanco. 

For those who want to build for the future, that can wait until Buxton, Polanco, and Kepler are gone.

[RJA]

If the plan is to just make the playoffs, then I would look for two rental relievers--2 of Robertson (best), Bard, Fulmer, etc.--as I think the Twins will win the division if they add two lockdown type relievers to Duran and Jax for the late innings.  I would not pay the price in prospects that Bednar or similar relievers with a lot of years would require.  But, the rotation has started going south a bit in the last few weeks/month, and I don't think Gray, Ryan, and the rest are going to match up well in the playoffs against the pitchers the Yankees, Toronto or the Rays will be starting even if the bullpen is improved.  If the plan is to make noise in the playoffs, then I think we need a 1/2 starter in the ilk of Castillo, Montas or one of the Miami's starters.  But, the total cost of three players (two relievers on expiring contracts and a starter) like that will likely be a couple or more of Larnach, Wallner, Balazovic, Canterino, Steer, Winder, Miranda, or others in the lower level of the minors.  It will be a steep price I think.  I think the Twins have enough depth in position players to make it work but I would only do it if it helps next year as well.  For example, if we have Castillo, Gray, Ryan, Ober, Maeda, and Smeltzer to form the rotation and Canterino, Balazovic, or Winder ready next year, I would think next year could play out well with Arraez, Polanco, Buxton, Kirilloff, Lewis and whoever is left out of Miranda and Larnach forming a core even if Correa departs.  Plus, if Larnach goes and Kirilloff goes to first, picking up a good corner outfielder is not all that expensive in free agency assuming that becomes a need.  Frankly, it all depends on the cost of the acquisitions IMHO.

[chpettit19]

I'll honestly be surprised if Pit trades Bednar. He's under team control through the 2026 season. They have to think they'll be competitive by then. If not they should be trading ONeil Cruz and Ke'Bryan Hayes as well, and really loading up the farm. If they do trade Bednar it's going to be because they got some team to overpay for him in prospects, and, while I have no problem moving prospects, overpaying is not good team building. They should call the Pirates and see what the asking price is, but there shouldn't be a second call on him after Pit names 3 top 10 system prospects they'd demand in return.

I'd like Robertson as he's got playoff experience and is having a good year. He'll probably cost a little more than desired since he'll be a hot commodity, but should still be just 1 prospect so you should be able to live with it just fine.

Daniel Bard seems like a decent target as well. I'd think he costs just 1 prospect as well, but the Rockies are the least predictable team out there. I wouldn't be surprised if they demanded Royce Lewis in return or if they just asked for MN to pay his contract and didn't take any player in return. They're a terribly run wild card.

Noah Syndergaard is an interesting possibility to me. The Angels are doing their annual "we employee the 2 best players on the planet, but still completely suck" show and I'd expect they'd be willing to move him. His velo is way down, but with how the Twins use pitchers he'd be an interesting target for a bulk inning role where maybe he cranks it back up a little. The Twins will have far better data and a far better idea if he still has 100 MPH in his arm, but he's an interesting target.

Mike Clevinger is another interesting target. I wonder what they'd think about a Jake Cave return. He's lighting up AAA and SD could use a player like 2018/19 Cave in a corner. He's far cheaper than Clevinger and the Padres may just be happy to get some luxury tax relief. I'd make the call and see what he'll cost at least.

And my last, and most important, target would be Alex Colome from the Rockies. I'm just kidding, settle down. Although, a Pagan for Colome trade would make the evil side of me laugh while Twins' fans heads exploded.

[jorgenswest]

I am not advocating for trading Kepler because I don’t think he is easily replaced. The road to trading him would probably be a three team deal. The Dodgers are rumored for Benintendi as are the Yankees. Maybe the one that loses out would want Kepler and then send prospects to a third team like the Orioles who would send pitching help to the Twins.

[TwinsDr2021]

1 hour ago, chpettit19 said:

I'll honestly be surprised if Pit trades Bednar. He's under team control through the 2026 season. They have to think they'll be competitive by then. If not they should be trading ONeil Cruz and Ke'Bryan Hayes as well, and really loading up the farm. If they do trade Bednar it's going to be because they got some team to overpay for him in prospects, and, while I have no problem moving prospects, overpaying is not good team building. They should call the Pirates and see what the asking price is, but there shouldn't be a second call on him after Pit names 3 top 10 system prospects they'd demand in return.

I agree if I am Pitt my starting position would Winder, AK and Canterino.

And I would settle for Ober, Larnach and Canterino and nothing less. Two major league players and a lottery ticket.

If people think that is too high, what would you want for Duran right now and he has nothing in his career compared to Bednar

[Steve71]

But relief pitchers are not valued as highly as starters.  Still, Bednar will be quite costly.

Interesting that Atlanta solved their 40-man crunch by trading 3 minor league prospects for KC's 35th overall comp pick.  Seems like the type of move the Twins should be exploring, too.

[nicksaviking]

I can't imagine Pittsburgh would trade Bednar. He's controlled for 4.5 years, they'll be able to get a huge haul for him any time between now and three years from now.

Chase Petty's looking pretty decent for the Reds, so I'll go back to that well since the Reds probably don't have any reason to hold a grudge. I'll say the Twins do swing big and get Luis Castillo and also Jeff Hoffman. With the addition of Hoffman and Chris Archer in the pen, the Twins would look a lot better, particularly when it comes to multi inning guys.

[Trov]

21 hours ago, ICTwin25 said:

Good point. I was definitely thinking about a team needing another bat and quality defense in the outfield. I wont lie, I have zero clue if any team in baseball that has a chance to make the playoffs is looking for a guy like him, but the Rays wanted Nelson Cruz so there's certainly a chance.

Yes, teams would want someone like Max, but they are unlikely to give up MLB players for him, and that is what we are looking for, MLB pitchers.  Now, there has been trades in the past by competing teams, namely Cleveland, who have dealt MLB pitching for OF help, but that is rare.  

I would still hesitate to trade Max as he is one of our better defenders and he is putting up a 2.1 WAR through half the season.  He may not be putting up 2019 HR numbers but he is having a solid season and unless Larnach is back healthy Max is hard to replace in my opinion. 

[TopGunn#22]

I would do this deal:

Twins Get:  Castillo SP 38.5 and Diaz RP 2.9   41.40 value

Reds Get:  Larnach OF  28.5 and Ober SP  15.1  43.7 value

I would look at Bard and possibly Jorge Lopez or Tate from Baltimore.  Getting Castillo would allow the Twins to either move Archer to the pen or piggyback Archer with Winder.  That combo would be very effective and with Castillo at the front of the rotation, could take some of the pressure off the pen on a day to day basis.  The Twins give up a lot to get a lot with Castillo & Diaz.  The other RP COULD be a rental like Robertson but I prefer getting someone with a little lesser cost.  But of course, it all depends on what the Cubs would want in return for someone like Robertson.  Lopez might be a little too pricey from the Orioles, especially after what we would have given up for Castillo/Diaz.  But maybe Tate would be more affordable.  I just think Baltimore may hold on to all their guys now that they've gotten hot and have entered the wildcard race.  

Kepler is in play only if Larnach isn't traded and Kepler would be interesting to a team like San Diego, but I'd prefer to go big with a Castillo/Diaz deal and that would require Larnach.

[CRF]

I'd like to see them make a deal for Sean Murphy from the A's. Even before Jeffers got hurt, I think this would be a good move. Murphy is an excellent defensive catcher, and has a decent bat. He's not going to hit for a high avg, but he can give you 15-20 homers and 60-70 ribbys. Oak might be dumping more guys, so this would probably be doable. 

[cmoss84]

Let's give up the farm for Soto.

Wallner, Larnach, Balazovic, Sano, Sands...sign him to a 10 year 400 million deal. Yee haw.

[cmoss84]

10 hours ago, CRF said:

I'd like to see them make a deal for Sean Murphy from the A's. Even before Jeffers got hurt, I think this would be a good move. Murphy is an excellent defensive catcher, and has a decent bat. He's not going to hit for a high avg, but he can give you 15-20 homers and 60-70 ribbys. Oak might be dumping more guys, so this would probably be doable. 

I'd be happy with Murphy. But I would prefer Carson Kelly. Sneaky great trade could be for Kelly and Marte. Would cost a lot. But great value.

[strumdatjag]

The Twins have been in the hunt to land Noah Syndegaard for years.  He’s lost a bit over the years, but he looks like a reasonable trade target for the Twins (without having to give up much).  Once a starter is added, the bullpen gets stronger as Archer, Maeda and Smeltzer become options out there.