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Earlier on Saturday, I learned that the Twins have had preliminary dialogue with the Baltimore Orioles about addressing both the catching need and - although not a “power arm” - getting some help in the bullpen.
The players of interest are pending free agents Matt Wieters and Darren O’Day.
Matt Wieters, a 29-year-old catcher, is represented by Scott Boras. Boras clients are well-known for playing out their contracts and testing free agency. Wieters recently returned from Tommy John surgery and has only played 32 games so far this year. Though he’s hitting nearly his career batting average of .256 (.243), his on-base percentage is a career-low .272. Wieters, a switch-hitter, performs better from the right side of the plate, so he wouldn’t form a great platoon partner with Suzuki. In fact, Wieters has only caught back-to-back games once this year (against the Twins), so his presence would only reduce Suzuki’s playing time.
Wieters would be a step-up in countering the running game. Even with a recovering elbow, Wieters has caught 30% of would-be base-stealers, a step up from Suzuki’s 19%. Neither Wieters nor Suzuki do much in the pitch-framing category (as least not recently), though Wieters had scored better there in his earlier years. He also was a two-time Gold Glove winner.
Darren O’Day, a 32-year-old right-handed reliever, represented the Orioles as a first-time All-Star this year in Cincinnati. After joining Baltimore as a waiver claim in late 2011, O’Day cashed in on a multi-year deal and in 242 career games for Baltimore has a 1.97 ERA, a 0.939 WHIP and a K/9 of 9.6, including a career high of 11.9 this season (47 whiffs in 35.2 innings pitched).
O’Day has been serving as Baltimore’s eighth inning guy, a role which appears unsettled for the Twins at this time, as Trevor May served as that bridge on Saturday night. O’Day is unique is that he throws side-armed so, despite the 86 mph fastball and 78 mph slider, there is plenty of deception. His slider is nasty. In his career, O’Day has eaten up right-handed batters to the tune of .189/.257/.534. He has been much more susceptible to left-handed hitters.
Neither seem like perfect fits for the Twins as they look to patch some holes before the deadline, but - as I mentioned earlier in the week - the Twins are doing their due diligence with potential sellers. (And I cannot emphasize that enough. The Twins are having hundreds of conversations with teams around the league.)
No article about a trade would be complete without the second part… “Who would the Twins have to give up?” Well, there is a very good chance that Oswaldo Arcia’s name was brought up. There also appears to be a desire for the Orioles to add to their pitching corps as two of their young studs - Hunter Harvey and Dylan Bundy - were shut down for the year.
Would a package of Arcia, who will be out of options next season but still four years from free agency, and a pitching prospect - like Kohl Stewart - be too much to give up for a couple of rentals?
Conventional wisdom probably says yes.
But having Darren O’Day at Target Field on Saturday sure would have helped. Twelve times Alex Rodriguez has faced him. One single. Six strikeouts. An OPS of .258.
The Twins do go to New York in the middle of August and maybe a couple of Orioles could help shut those Yankees fans up. Finally.
(But, really, I'm not picky... I'll take anyone who can help shut Yankee fans up.)
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