KScott

Relief prospects rarely get a whole lot of hype, which may be why Jovani Moran seemed to come out of nowhere in 2021 when he dominated AA and AAA by limiting homers and striking out everyone in sight. As the Twins approach the trade deadline that hopefully brings several acquisitions to their MLB bullpen, Moran has proven to be one of the only current relievers that has proven he needs to stick around for the long haul.
Moran is something of a unicorn. Throwing left-handed and averaging around 93 mph with the fastball, he’s not exactly Aroldis Chapman blowing smoke by batters en route to his current 37% K rate. Nor does he attack hitters with a lights-out breaking pitch to take advantage of lefty on lefty matchups. Instead, he just pairs his modest fastball with a changeup of all pitches and has absolutely dominated the majors so far this season.
Moran has translated this dominance into a 0.96 ERA. He’s been lucky, although just to a small extent. His xERA is 2.40 and FIP is 1.88, both numbers would be much preferred to any other option in the bullpen aside from Jhoan Duran. His track record of high strikeouts and limiting homers has shone brightly with a 13.50 K/9 and having not allowed a single long ball in 18.2 innings.
The common knock on Moran is obviously his walk rate. His 14.7% mark in the MLB thus far is actually one of his better jobs of limiting free passes in recent years. It’s hard to deny that this can be a significant issue. Unlike pitchers such as Emilio Pagan however, Moran doesn’t allow historically high home run rates to pair with it which can only result in disaster. In fact, Moran has allowed less than 4.0 hits per 9 innings so far this season which is why despite the walks, his WHIP is still a fantastic 1.02. Many great relievers get by allowing high home run rates while avoiding free passes to get by. While unusual, it appears Moran is capable of dominating by doing the opposite.
In short, Jovani Moran has essentially duplicated what he’s been able to do in most of his MiLB career on the biggest stage. Despite a glaring flaw in his skillset, the rest of his abilities appear to outweigh his deficiency. He was a high-leverage, back-end of games type reliever in AA and AAA, and although it remains to be seen whether he can fill that role against the game's best hitters, it appears he can be an effective and dominant reliever in some fashion as is.
In a time where praise is hard to come by in the Twins bullpen, Jovani Moran deserves some attention. Not just for being flat out dominant, but for doing so in such an interesting way. Despite his limited and scattered opportunities, he’s been worth the same amount of Wins Above Replacement (0.4) as Griffin Jax and Caleb Thielbar. He’s been more valuable than several starting pitchers who have thrown many more innings such as Devin Smeltzer, Chris Archer and Josh Winder.
This isn’t necessarily a call for Moran to be moved into the 7th or 8th inning. Fill those spots at the deadline with proven options. Instead, it’s worth recognizing him for what he is: One of the few middle relievers who has actually done their job for the Twins this season. If he can stay right where he is and continue his absolute dominance, the Twins just may hold on to win some games in the second half. And that would be pretty cool.
 

When looking into what teams have assets, and what assets could be moved, the categorization was left entirely evaluated upon two factors: what players are good, and do they also play on a bad team. At this time, it’s fair to estimate there are something like ten bad teams and these are their players that fit the bill. From a Minnesota perspective, it’s largely unrealistic to consider offensive options anything more than an unnecessary luxury, so we’ll dive into the arms that make sense.
Oakland Athletics - Ramon Laureano, Frankie Montas, Paul Blackburn, Lou Trivino, A.J. Puk

Yes, where’s Frankie right? Ok, so you know he’s legit. Montas is among the best arms to be considered on the market and he will command an absolute haul. I don’t know that the Twins have what it takes to land him, and I’m also not sure they need him. Blackburn is under team control through 2025 and is just 28 years old. He’s not a big strikeout guy, but the ERA, xERA, and xFIP are all good. He’s finally healthy and looks like a legit rotation arm. Trivino is the prize of this pen and the peripherals suggest he’s a solid talent. The K/9 has never been better and his advanced numbers are more enticing than anything on the surface. More than Montas, 30 years oldars-old even with team control, he may be the best arm moved at the deadline. Puk is a former top prospect and someone that will come with a price tag due to control, but he’s now an aging relief arm with Minnesota ties. Health is the reason he’s in the bullpen, but if you want to add him to a group you can build around this makes sense.
Detroit Tigers - Michael Fulmer, Andrew Chafin

A.J. Hinch is managing a dumpster fire and that’s not how this was expected to go. Fulmer is a former top prospect and first round pick, but at this stage he’s become expendable. As an impending free agent he’s all but certain to be moved and his 2.00 ERA has him near the top of this relief class. He walks too many and the 3.06 FIP suggests a bit of regression, but he’s got closing experience and has avoided the longball. Fulmer also has the 8th lowest barrel rate in baseball. Chafin is a journeyman having pitched for four teams in nine Major League seasons, but he’s flying under the radar in 2022. He’s on a two-year deal with Detroit, but his 2.10 FIP makes the 3.26 ERA even more exciting. He’s punching out more than 11 per nine innings while being stingy on homers and walks. This is another arm that should be among the most coveted during trade season.
Kansas City Royals - Andrew Benintendi, Joel Payamps, Scott Barlow

If you want Payamps you’ll probably need to pay up, even with as bad as the Royals are. He’s not arbitration eligible until 2024, and is only 28-years-old. Claimed by Kansas City a season ago, Payamps has posted a 2.42 ERA this season and backed it with a 3.17 FIP. He doesn’t strike out many and gives up too many walks, but he’s kept the ball in the yard and seems like a guy who could be a former waiver candidate parlayed into value. If you’re looking to extract value from the Royals, Barlow is probably the better bet. He’s under team control until 2024, and possesses a bit better upside. The velocity has dropped a bit this season, but there’s strikeout stuff to be had with a WHIP that’s never previously been touched. He may be at his worst, but unleashing his best could make him scary for the future.
Miami Marlins - Jon Berti, Joey Wendle, Garrett Cooper, Miguel Rojas, Brian Anderson, Anthony Bass, Tanner Scott, Sandy Alcantara, Pablo Lopez
Maybe the Marlins won’t sell off. They aren’t good and won’t win the division, but they’re hardly a dumpster fire. That likely takes Alcantara and Lopez off the table. Both of them should be seen as future pieces rather than something that be had at the deadline. In the bullpen though, there’s some intriguing talent. Bass is producing career best numbers and carries just a $3 million team option for next year. His FIP is strong even with his xFIP being a bit more inflated. Cole Sulser would be in the same camp age wise, but being on the injured list with a lat strain should bring pause. Maybe Scott is seen along similar future lines as the starters, and he’s under team control through 2024 so he’ll have an added price tag, but the peripherals are exciting. Scott has produced massive strikeout numbers, even with a bloated amount of walks, and both the FIP and xFIP suggest he could be an asset.
Washington Nationals - Josh Bell, Tanner Rainey, Kyle Finnegan, C.J. Edwards Jr.

Bell always seemed like a perfect bat for the Nationals to rent. At $10 million he never cost much, and he should net them something nice at the deadline. That’s not where Minnesota is looking though with Alex Kirilloff entrenched at first base. Both Rainey and Finnegan have somewhat competing numbers for Washington. The former has a shiny ERA with lesser peripherals while the latter has a higher ERA but an xFIP that’s wonderful. Neither should be seen as off limits, and both would be a nice upgrade in the pen. Edwards Jr. has seen past success when he was with the Cubs, but he had just 27 1/3 big league innings before this year since 2019, and that was spread between five different teams. He’s not the big strikeout guy he once was, but the walk rate is a career low and he’s given up just 12 hits across 27 innings this season.
Pittsburgh Pirates - Jose Quintana, David Bednar

It’s basically a yearly tradition that the Pirates will be bad and need to sell at the deadline, and 2022 is no different. If you want a rotation arm you could do worse than a former staff ace. Quintana has a mid-three ERA and a FIP to back it up. He’s more of a finesse starter at this point in his career, but he can still generate strikeouts and has pitched on good teams. Another option for best relief arm to be moved may be Bednar. Pittsburgh doesn’t need to piece him out, but he doesn’t really help a team this bad either. He strikes a ton of guys out, walks very few, and is great at stranding runners. Bednar would immediately be the best pitcher not named Jhoan Duran in the Twins bullpen.
Chicago Cubs - Willson Contreras, David Robertson, Chris Martin, Ian Happ, Patrick Wisdom, Rafael Ortega, Scott Efross

It’s anyone’s guess as to what the Cubs were doing this offseason. They spent on Marcus Stroman but weren’t going to be good on the dirt, and they parted with some big names in the year prior. At any rate, this club has hitters to deal. Contreras will be coveted, and Happ could probably be had too. I’m not a believer in Wisdom or Ortega but there’s a level of production you could desire. It seems like Robertson is a hired gun quite often and he finds himself there again. He’s 37, but the numbers are great even if peripherals suggest a slight bit of regression. Martin is also up there at 36, and his numbers aren’t quite as good, but you can dream on the 2.51 xFIP and hope the command and strikeouts remain. Effross might be the best name here, but he could also be someone Chicago decides to hang onto. He made his big-league debut last season and looks like a great relief arm. As good as the ERA is, his peripherals suggest he may even be better.
Cincinnati Reds - Tyler Mahle, Luis Castillo, Brandon Drury, Tommy Pham, Kyle Farmer, Jeff Hoffman

You could start with the man that slapped Joc Pederson, but Pham has no fit with the Twins. He’ll probably be moved and that story will then likely resurface again. Instead this is where the best starters come from in Mahle and Castillo. Mahle’s ERA isn’t good, but don’t let that sway anything, he’s been very solid this year. Castillo doesn’t fit the Twins typical mold as a changeup guy, but he’s as good as it gets. Both of them will command a Montas-like haul and will have virtually the same top teams vying for their services. Hoffman is a failed starter that has actually thrived in a full-time bullpen role. He doesn’t have the shine he did as a former top prospect or 9th overall pick, but the strikeout stuff is there. He does still walk too many, but he’s dropped the home run problems that plagued him previously.
Arizona Diamondbacks - Christian Walker, Zac Gallen, David Peralta, Merrill Kelly, Joe Mantiply

Needing an extra outfielder or a big bat could land you looking at the Diamondbacks, but the arms are also of note. Kelly and Gallen are the starters you want, though it’s Gallen’s combination of stuff and youth that make him the most appealing. These are the types of starting arms I could see as realistic consideration for Minnesota. Mantiply may wind up being my favorite reliever moved, however. He’s 31 and just finally broke through with the Diamondbacks last season. His stuff this year has been amazing, and he’s one of three pitchers at this moment yet to allow a barrel baseball.
Colorado Rockies - C.J. Cron, Chad Kuhl, Daniel Bard, Connor Joe, Charlie Blackmon, Jose Iglesias

Who knows what the Rockies will do given they don’t have a plan half of the time. Blackmon would seem a good bet to be moved but they also paid for Kris Bryant while allowing Jon Gray and Trevor Story to walk. Kuhl and Bard are pitchers worth prying from them. Kuhl’s xFIP is a bit scary, but his numbers have been good otherwise and he’s a guy who has flown under the radar for quite a bit. Bard has been one of the better late-inning arms this season and bounced back nicely from an ugly 2021. He’s a fantastic story that has reinvigorated his career but will be looking to close this chapter in the next couple of years.
Who are some of your favorites from this list? Anyone that got missed and you’re hoping is moved?
 

Jose Miranda was brought aboard the Twins organization as a shortstop/second/third base type player years ago. Despite that fact, he's played first base almost exclusively since making his debut, and basically only plays a couple days per week against left handed pitching. Not only has his usage directly contradicted the Twins handling of top prospects in the past, but it's also crippled his ability to show that he belongs in the MLB. Jose Miranda is deserving of so much more.
Defensive Ability
Miranda has come to develop the reputation as a terrible defender among fans already, which is true if you're talking about first base. Many are quick to judge his ability at third base as surely if he can't handle what's considered the easiest infield position he can't play anywhere else. Unfortunately for Miranda, he was thrust into the role he has now as the Twins lack any other right handed hitters capable of playing first base. 
Miranda played some first the last few years in the minors, though his innings there were insignificant compared to his time at second and third. We've seen him mess up all kinds of in between plays on defense, which makes sense considering he's been forced to debut at what is not his primary position. In his limited time at 3rd base with the big league club, he's made one error and there isn't close to enough of a sample size yet to deem him a bad defender.
Offensive Ability
Despite the Twins unwillingness to budge from their current platooning of Miranda, his bat has been good enough to warrant more of a look. While players such as Sanchez, Kepler and Larnach are limping through June, Miranda has posted a .314/.340/.510 line which almost directly coincides with his recall from AAA at the end of May.
Any hitter can go on a hot stretch, but Miranda's numbers since returning to Target Field are showing off what made him the 2021 minor league hitter of the year. He has contact skills, he has plate discipline, he has power. We saw a defensively inept Luis Arraez make himself expendable in 2019 based solely on his bat and look at him now. What else does Miranda have to do at the plate?
The Twins Can Make Room
The Twins don't have quite the log jam it appears they do in the lineup. It's understandable why Miranda is on the short end of a platoon at first base when they have Kirilloff and Arraez to mash right handed pitching. Across the rest of the lineup however, opportunity should exist. The Twins just continue to write out lineup cards that include both Gary Sanchez and Ryan Jeffers. Not only does this open them up for disaster if the starting catcher gets injured, it's just plain ineffective. Both catchers are capable of going on a run offensively for short periods, Jeffers is on one now. Both however are below league average hitters at the moment, and going an extra mile to get a second catcher in your lineup regardless of the name seems like getting too cute. MI'd argue it's worth getting Miranda some DH at bats instead of one of the catchers that we expect little offensive value from.
In addition to DH, Gio Urshela just does not need to be the 7 days per week starting third baseman. The best day at the plate he's had all season on Wednesday elevated him from a below average hitter to slightly above. He was worth 0 fWAR coming into that game making him exactly a replacement level player. His increase by 0.2 in one game is impressive, but his total value on the season still isn't anything special and I don't think we expect such performances from him regularly.
In addition, Urshela's defense appears to be overrated by many, mainly because he can make some incredible plays at the hot corner while also booting plays that should be routine.
It's a very interesting skillset for Urshela who definitely holds his own but doesn't have a gold glove like defensive skill to keep him in the lineup regardless of his bat. Mixing Miranda in every once in awhile just to evaluate him at his primary position just shouldn't be difficult.
The Twins usage of Miranda has been perplexing. We've heard them say it a million times, most recently with Royce Lewis. They don't want him on the big league club if he can't play everyday. Miranda isn't the high profile prospect Lewis is, but they're treating him like they don't care about his development at all. They're DHing below league average catchers and awarding 100% playing time to players who don't deserve it while Miranda, one of the team's hottest hitters in June, plays a couple days per week.
It's possible the Twins don't see Miranda as a future regular, an odd conclusion to already be drawing. Perhaps they see him as a trade piece as many have suggested, although I'd argue playing him solely at a foreign position on very rare occasions isn't the best way to showcase his skills.
At any rate, Jose Miranda needs more of a look. After one of the single greatest minor league seasons in Twins history, Miranda has earned more than pinch hit and weak side platoon duty on a big league club that hasn't exactly been steamrolling the competition recently.
Would you like to see more Jose Miranda in the Twins lineup? Let us know below!