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Earlier this offseason, the Minnesota Twins were reported to be in contact with the Miami Marlins regarding pitching help. Those talks have since cooled, but a pivot to another arm from South Beach may make sense as they look for starting pitching talent. Image courtesy of © Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports In December, reports suggested the Twins were in talks with the Miami Marlins regarding Pablo Lopez. The package discussed could have included American League batting champion Luis Arraez, but developments following the signing of catcher Christian Vazquez changed the course for the front office. Per a source, López’s camp would have been ecstatic for an opportunity to win with the Twins, but that has not come to fruition thus far. At that time, the Marlins were listening on basically everyone in their rotation not named Sandy Alcantara. Reports over the weekend suggest that remains the case, and Minnesota could benefit from targeting one of the other three. Trevor Rogers A former first-round pick, Rogers was an All-Star and came up just short in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2021. He posted a 2.64 ERA across 133 innings while striking out 10.6 per nine. Adjustments were made against him last season, and Rogers didn’t see the same success. His 4.35 FIP was better than the 5.47 ERA, but he was routinely knocked out of games early and the strikeout rate dropped by nearly two per nine. Rogers’ biggest bugaboo last year was the long ball, paired with more traffic on the basepaths. He is still young, there is a lot to like here, and he will be under team control through 2026. Jesus Luzardo Acquired by the Marlins in exchange for outfielder Starling Marte, Luzardo was once a consensus top-10 prospect across Major League Baseball. He struggled through his first three Major League seasons but turned a corner last year. His 3.32 ERA across 100 1/3 innings was nice, and the strikeouts reached double-digits per nine for the first time in his career. His FIP suggested the numbers weren’t fluky, and he did a great job limiting damage allowing just a 1.037 WHIP. Also under team control through 2026, Luzardo could get expensive quickly with a higher ceiling and is subject to Super 2 status. It would be the third time he has been traded by age 25, but there should be no reason the Marlins couldn’t net a solid return. Edward Cabrera The most intriguing youth option here, Cabrera, would command the most. He is not a free agent until after the 2028 season, and he was a top 50 prospect coming into 2022. Cabrera posted a 3.01 ERA across 14 starts, tallying 71 2/3 innings. The strikeout stuff is electric, and the movement he generates on pitches makes him look untouchable at times. He walked too many batters last year and was prone to the home run, but neither of those things is shocking for such a young talent. Cabrera will be 25 this season, but if the Twins feel they can work with him and get more as he develops, this is probably the cream of Miami’s crop of young hurlers. Without knowing the degree of desired return for Miami’s latter assets, it’s hard to know what path forward could serve Minnesota best. It would hurt losing Arráez to Miami, but he’s also a perfect fit for the openings they currently have on their 26-man roster. The Twins don’t have a substantial amount of top-end prospect capital that they would be willing to trade, but there are a few major league assets they could part with. It is likely that Minnesota will be active on the trade market, and bringing in an arm is the most logical move. There was nearly a fit here before, and it wouldn’t be shocking to see that opportunity present itself again. View full article