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As a former first round pick, Musgrove is now a part of his third organization. Drafted by the Blue Jays in 2011, he was dealt to the Houston Astros prior to now having spent the bulk of his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The career 4.33 ERA doesn’t do much to jump off the page, but as a guy about to enter his age 28 season with two more years of team control, a prime before the breakout could be just the recipe for a strong organization to exploit. Since joining the Pirates in 2018 Musgrove has compiled a 4.23 ERA. In those three seasons however, he’s posted FIP’s of 3.58, 3.82, and 3.42, respectively. The strikeout rates have risen each year going from 7.8 in 2018 to 12.5 in what was a muted 2020 season. He’s generally been a guy that’s tough on free passes, middle of the road when it comes to the longball, and relatively difficult to generate base hits. Taking a look at some of the deeper dive numbers, there’s even more to like with Musgrove. He posted a career best 3.19 xFIP in 2020 while still holding onto a consistent 93 mph average fastball velocity. He gave up a career low 24% hard hit rate this past season and the 48% ground ball rate is plenty productive. Missing barrels is something he’s done often throughout his career and generating a new career high 14.4% whiff rate this season was nice to see as well. Musgrove doesn’t rely a ton on deception. In each of his five big league seasons he’s been right around a 33% chase rate. Rather than forcing batters out of the zone, he’s been able to confuse them within it. Despite the rising swinging strike rates, he hasn’t done it as a by-product of his zone profile. Opposing hitters have generated less overall contact and suffered a career worst contact within the strike zone against Musgrove this past season. Clearly some of the developments Musgrove has experienced are helping take his game to new heights. Seeing what some of his counterparts have experienced when going to more well-regarded organizations, however, begs the question if there’s not more to be unearthed. Minnesota’s brain trust, and the tutelage of Wes Johnson could be the thing that takes him to the highest level. Pitching doesn’t come cheap, and a guy with team control still in arbitration isn’t going to be had for nothing. Expecting the Pirates to continue making the same missteps on the swap front also isn’t a good plan of action. On the basis of its own merit however, finding an amicable deal for both sides is certainly a worthy venture. A lot of how Minnesota sets themselves up for 2021 will be reliant upon what internal decisions the organization makes. After all, the 2020 club was very good and simply fell short of even moderate expectations at the worst time. The turnaround in that performance needs to come from within. On the mound though, there’s now some holes and openings that need to be filled. Addressing at least one of them with an arm this good, and a possibility to be even better, would be a great place to start. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email

When Cherington sent Marte to the Arizona Diamondbacks for a pair of 19-year-olds, any questions regarding Pittsburgh’s intent were clearly answered. This team is bordering on a payroll lower than Mike Trout’s 2020 salary (sitting at roughly $43MM). In grabbing such young prospects in return, there’s a nice ceiling to dream of, but competition won’t be happening anytime soon. Still reeling from the Chris Archer deal with Tampa this is a club that Cherington needs to resurrect. So, with the major leaguer roster having more holes than a cannonballed Schooner, the former Twins bench coach might as well be given a complete rebuild to orchestrate. If that’s going to happen then names like Josh Bell, Gregory Polanco, Chris Archer, and Joe Musgrove should be on their way to the plank also. The Twins outfield is set, and first base is now covered, but those last two are guys they likely checked in on previously and could now grab as desirable booty. Chris Archer remains more name than ability at this point in his career. He hasn’t posted a sub-4.00 ERA since 2015, and while the FIP (save for 2019) was always strong, the results didn’t follow. Last year the Pirates hurler hopped back into the double-digit K/9 realm but did so while issuing a whopping 4.1 BB/9. It wasn’t there that he got burned however but instead, the longball hurt him to the tune of a 1.9 HR/9. Still sitting in the mid-90’s with his fastball velocity, Archer can remain a power pitcher at 31-years-old. He’s missing as many bats as he ever has, and his chase rates are on par with career averages. The 40% hard hit rate was a career worst, but it’s in line with an increase he’s survived in each of the previous two seasons. Where the numbers jump off the page is just how many fly balls left the yard. Generating ground balls over 44% of the time during his career, dropping all the way down to 36% last season and seeing the HR/FB rise all the way up to 20% did him in. Having an $11MM team option for 2021 and a $9MM salary in the year ahead, it’s a very comparable compensation assumption to what Arizona took on in Marte. Minnesota has some 19-year-olds of their own that could be added to the Pirates harbor. The more enticing option here however is Joe Musgrove. Just 27-years-old and not scheduled to hit free agency until 2023, the price tag will also be heftier. Pittsburgh certainly shouldn’t be overly motivated to move the former Houston Astro, but he doesn’t exactly fit into their window of competitiveness either. Nabbing some high-level prospects to cash in during the future may help make up for the loss of Austin Meadows, Tyler Glasnow, or Shane Baz. What’s there to like about Musgrove, a guy with a 4.37 career ERA and on his third organization? Well, everything. His FIP has generally outperformed his ERA, and he’s shown a strong ability to both command and control his pitchers. Although not a dominant strikeout guy, he racked up 157 in his first full year starting last season. Working in the low-to-mid-90’s Musgrove sees success predominantly as a fastball-slider guy. Last season his 12% whiff rat was a new career high, and he’s forced opposing batters to expand the zone over one-third of the time through his big-league career. Even in the juiced ball season that was, he largely avoided home run damage, and there wasn’t much of a spike in hard hit rate. https://twitter.com/Nashwalker9/status/1222184462424903680 Allowing yourself to dream on Musgrove is also betting on current infrastructure. You aren’t ponying up the pieces to get what he is today, as much as you are under the belief in what he could become. Twins Daily’s Nash Walker points out some similarities in numbers between Musgrove and Gerrit Cole over their last two seasons with the Pirates. Being of the belief that Minnesota, Wes Johnson, and the Derek Falvey brain trust could work their magic, this is some clay that could be worth molding. At the end of the day it still seems logical that the Twins make a trade for pitching. They were going to be hard pressed on the free agent market for that position anyway, and they have the assets to acquire almost anyone in the game. If Josh Kalk believes in Archer from his Tampa days, they could go that route. If Musgrove is a piece viewed as being on the cusp, he makes a good deal of sense. Maybe it’s neither and a different organization entirely. All I know is the Pirates have some booty, and you don’t even need to board the ship for them to be willing to pass it out. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email

I will be listing four starters the Twins could acquire via trade along with their age, team and free agency year. While none of them are Noah Sydergaard or Max Scherzer, the trades I listed would definitely help the team. Detroit Tigers: Matthew Boyd, 28, 2023 Free Agent 2019 statistics: 4.56 ERA, 4.32 FIP, 1.23 WHIP, 4.76 K/BB, 3.3 WAR Boyd will be very interesting to monitor over the offseason. He was being shopped at the trade deadline, but Detroit was persistent on wanting major league talent which teams in contention were obviously reluctant to part ways with. The hope is that now, after a rough second half (5.51 ERA), the price will drop enough for a team to acquire him. The Tigers southpaw is extremely talented, but his main problem was giving up the long ball (worst HR/9 in MLB at 1.89). He held an elite 11.56 K/9 while his walk rate dropped from 2018. Boyd would hold a top two or three spot in the rotation until 2023. Now it just depends on what Detroit is asking for. Colorado Rockies: Jon Gray, 27, 2022 Free Agent 2019 statistics: 3.84 ERA, 4.06 FIP, 1.35 WHIP, 2.68 K/BB, 2.9 WAR The Rockies are coming off a 91-loss season and could be looking to part ways with a starting pitcher. Gray would be a nice piece for the middle of the Twins rotation, and the Rockies could be a solid team for Eddie Rosario to potentially join because of Coors Field. A trade for Gray would likely require three players who can contribute now or very soon. Pittsburgh Pirates: Joe Musgrove, 26, 2023 Free Agent 2019 statistics: 4.44 ERA, 3.82 FIP, 1.22 WHIP, 4.03 K/BB, 3.3 WAR Musgrove is someone whom no one is really talking about, and I first heard his name from Twins Daily contributor Matt Braun on Twitter. He is coming off his best season and at 26-years-old with three years of control, he would slide right in to the long-term rotation plans. He has a fastball/sinker combo that was hit hard last season, but an excellent slider and changeup make for an interesting Wes Johnson fix. Arizona Diamondbacks: Robbie Ray. 28, 2021 Free Agent 2019 statistics: 4.34 ERA, 4.29 FIP, 1.34 WHIP, 2.4 WAR Robbie Ray is interesting because he would be a one-year rental, but if the Diamondbacks are open to selling him for a small price then it would be a solid move. Ray is someone I was really hoping the Twins would acquire at the deadline, but ultimately the price was just too high. Hopefully now that Arizona is unlikely to win in 2020, he will be easier to acquire and could slide in as an excellent number four starter.