Answering Twins FAQs (Fans’ Anguished Questions) ahead of Major League Baseball’s trade deadline at 5 p.m. Central time Tuesday.
Answering questions about what Twins should do at MLB trade deadline
It’s easy to get caught up in the drama and view the trade deadline as a competition, but what teams really need to do is look for deals that make sense.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
July 30, 2024 at 12:21AM
Q: Don’t the Twins have to make a big move at the deadline?
A: It’s easy to get caught up in the drama of the moment and view the trade deadline as a competition, but what teams really need to do is look for deals that make sense.
Most deadline deals fail. The acquired player has two months, and maybe a postseason, to justify the cost of a top prospect or prospects. One injury or slump, or a failure by the team, will make such a trade look foolish in the future.
Q: Isn’t this the right time for the Twins to take that chance?
A: Well, yes. By this weekend, they could have Royce Lewis, Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton all healthy and in the same lineup for a stretch run for a franchise that won a playoff series last year. They have recent All-Stars as their ace, closer, shortstop, center fielder and super-utilityman. Their lineup is one of the most productive in baseball.
If you’re ever going to risk prospects, this would be the right time to do it.
Q: Can the Twins take on payroll? In other words, are the Pohlads being cheap?
A: Probably not, and yes. I’ve been told that the Twins can’t significantly increase their payroll, which makes a deadline deal more difficult. That’s on the Pohlads.
Joe Pohlad said he wants to win a World Series, then he (and his family) drastically cut the payroll by $35 million, and their payroll restriction will make a quality deadline deal harder to consummate.
Q: What kind of deal should the Twins pursue?
A: The Twins have a surplus of good hitters in their system, and they could use one or two more pitchers. Add a reliable starter and a lefthanded reliever to this roster and the Twins’ chances of winning the division and a playoff series or two would increase.
Twins lefthander Caleb Thielbar has looked better this month and has pitched effectively in his last two outings. If the Twins believe they can count on him, they could prioritize adding a starting pitcher.
The Colorado Rockies’ Cal Quantrill would make sense because he’s reliable and would cost the Twins a little more than $2 million in salary the rest of the way. He’s also under control for next season, so the Twins could trade him this winter if they didn’t want to pay him in 2025.
Q: Is there an argument for not making a trade?
A: Yes — recent Twins history. They’ve wound up giving away good prospects for pitchers who either haven’t performed or have gotten hurt.
Q: Doesn’t the front office have to prove to the current players that it believes in them and is trying to win now?
A: This is the most overplayed idea in sports. Do you think that when Correa and Lewis get into the batter’s box in August that the quality of their performance will be affected by whether the Twins made a trade in late July?
Because so many baseball analysts are former players, the emotions of the game are highlighted far too often.
For every player who might be angered by inactivity, there will be two who are relieved, either because they (or their best friend on the roster) didn’t get traded.
Q: Is there someone on the current big league roster who could be traded?
A: Derek Falvey, the Twins’ president of baseball operations, refused to trade right fielder Max Kepler last year, even against the advice of some of his key advisors. He was proved right by Kepler’s fielding and second-half hitting.
Kepler remains the Twins’ best-fielding right fielder, but Matt Wallner and Trevor Larnach are outhitting him and trading Kepler (who is making $10 million this year) would allow the Twins to take on salary in a trade.
Also, Kepler is batting .146 with a .220 slugging percentage in 12 postseason games, and he looked helpless against the Houston Astros in last year’s American League Division Series, so you can’t make the argument that he would be missed in October.
Q: Do you expect the Twins to make a deal?
A: Yes. I believe the front office will try to do something to capitalize on having a deep, healthy roster and a chance to win the division. Something, but probably not something thrilling.
Kepler was the longest-tenured Twins player after signing at 16 in 2009.
