Twins Trade Candidate: Gio Urshela

[jorgenswest]

His projection next year will likely be slightly above his salary. He won’t have prospect trade value. He does have value. They need to find a match of a team and veteran player with a similar contract that fits the Twins need better. I just don’t see a team with that need and that player to match. Alternatively they might trade him for a failed top prospect that will now be out of options.

They might be better off letting him go and shifting the dollars and 40 man spot to another position.

[stringer bell]

Gio had a nice year last year, no question. He has modest power, doesn't walk much and is another slow guy who grounds into a ton of double plays. From my eye test, he was a solid fielder at third, probably limited range, but the position is mostly "step and dive" and will be more so with shifts being outlawed next year. It would be great to have a Gio Urshela in the lineup and hitting seventh in 120-140 games next year. 

He provides value for the Twins, is there another team that believes they will contend who would take Gio on at $9M as an upgrade? That is a $9M dollar question. I do say keep him unless you get fair value for him, but don't think about extending him. 

[Rosterman]

I would go ahead and sign Urshela. He can rotate with any number of guys on the field and into the DH slot, if you don't get a solid DH. And I would rather see the Twins sign a right-handed hitting powergouse outfielder who can also DH than, say, someone like Cruz again.

Urshela will be trade bait thru spring training, considering his fine 2022 season. As long as he isn't a total washout and stays healthy, he is also a trade chip into July.

The bigger question is: who's on first, where does Arraez play, and what is the status of Kirilloff!?

 

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[PatPfund]

You sign him, and unless there is more trade value than you suggest, you keep him. He not only was better offensively than Donaldson, he was FAR superior defensively in large part, because he could actually play defensively (36 more games in the field this year than JD).

And down the stretch, he was one of the few healthy MLB-caliber bats in our lineup (and another, Correa, will be gone soon). Don't dig the hole deeper, and keep Gio.

[Fire Dan Gladden]

Bottom line is you only trade Gio if you are 100% giving the position to Miranda.  You have a league avg 3B under a 1 year contract for a reasonable amount of money.  Sign him, check the box, move on to bigger issues.  

[gman]

I think most of the team will be unsettled (at best) to start the year due to inexperience and injuries. Urshela, if someone beats him out for a starting role, can easily be a veteran back up or provide trade value. I see a similar position for Kepler next year. The Twins could certainly use capable veteran depth when they get ready to make any kind of run.