It’s time for the Twins to get what they can get for Max Kepler

Max Kepler is the longest-tenured Twin. He’s a very good right fielder. He is capable of heating up at the plate and carrying a team for a couple of weeks. He was part of that noteworthy international signing class of 2009 that included Jorge Polanco and Miguel Sano.

He also is in the final year of his contract, which is important as the July 30 trade deadline approaches.

President of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey is not calibrated to stand pat at the deadline. He’s been willing to add or subtract, depending on the situation. This season, the Twins are firmly in the playoff picture and must strengthen their roster. After Tuesday’s 5-3 victory over Detroit at Target Field, they are six games back of Cleveland for the AL Central lead and in the second wild-card spot.

So look for Falvey to do something. I mean, it’s become obvious that the Twins will never have a completely healthy bullpen this season, so that’s an area that should be addressed. The Twins offense was robust in June but currently is righthanded dominant. They could use a lefthanded bat.

You read that right. I’m advocating for the Twins to trade Kepler, a lefthanded hitter, from a team that needs punch from that side.

Kepler is in the final year of a five-year, $35 million deal plus a club option for $10 million that the Twins picked up for this season. He’s headed to free agency and the Twins should move him for whatever they can instead of letting him run out his contract and walk away. It’s doubtful the Twins will make a qualifying offer to Kepler in hopes of him rejecting it so they could receive a compensation pick when he signs with another club. The qualifying offer was $20.3 million last season. It’s hard to see the Twins doing that with Kepler.

This is the month to be compensated for Kepler.

Kepler won’t be a top player on the market, far from it. He entered Tuesday batting .245 with a .703 on base-plus-slugging percentage. This comes after a torrid finish to last season in which he batted .260 with 24 home runs and 66 RBI.

There are better lefthanded-hitting outfield targets than Kepler, but the Twins should see what the trade market brings. Deals don’t always work out. In March of 2018, the Twins sent a minor league pitcher named Luis Gil to the Yankees because they needed a backup outfielder who could play center. Gil currently is 9-3 with a 3.15 ERA for the Yankees. Jake Cave is long gone.

This will be tricky because Kepler isn’t tearing it up at the plate, entering Tuesday in a 6-for-37 skid and going 0-for-2 against the Tigers. And there’s that lefthanded problem. The Twins are ranked in the bottom third in the league in several lefty hitting categories. That the Twins hit .282 as a team in June is more impressive because their righthanded boppers and switch-hitting Willi Castro led the way.

Edouard Julien, Alex Kirilloff and Matt Wallner, lefty hitters expected to contribute their fair share, all hit their way to Class AAA St. Paul. Wallner is trying to get back in the Twins’ plans, batting .324 with 12 home runs for the Saints in June.

But there are in-house solutions that should make moving Kepler easier to stomach. Wallner, if he’s not dealt, is one. Another is switch-hitting infield prospect Brooks Lee, who was named to the All-Star Futures Games on Tuesday. He is batting .357 as a lefthanded hitter. A third is Saints outfielder DaShawn Keirsey Jr., a fourth-round pick in 2018, batting .314 with 10 homers as of Monday. He can steal bases and has played all three outfield spots for the Saints.

The Twins have been spoiled having Kepler patrol right field for 10 seasons. It’s not easy out there, as batted balls can carom off the padded wall, the marine grade plywood above it or the Kasota stone above that. He’s done it with aplomb while becoming Target Field’s career home run leader this season. But with his deal expiring, the business side of baseball takes precedent.

It would be prudent for the Twins to move Kepler.