Minnesota Twins: Kepler, Sano & the Trade Deadline
I think it goes without saying that Max Kepler had quite the game for the Minnesota Twins on Saturday.
In case you missed it, all Kepler did during Saturday’s 17-5 blowout of the Teas Rangers – the American League’s best team – was set a Minnesota Twins rookie record with seven runs batted in.
Those RBI’s were due in large part to a pair of three-run home runs. What this performance proved more than anything was that Kepler has arrived.
After a slow start following his promotion to the big leagues, Kepler hit .255 in June with three home runs and 15 RBI’s and has gotten off to a hot start in July.
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He’s beginning to look a lot more composed and confident at the plate and if he can continue to ride this wave of success, he’ll be exactly what the Twins were hoping for; a mainstay in the outfield.
With former top prospect Eddie Rosario now in the minor leagues with an uncertain future, the position is now Kepler’s for the taking.
And it should be.
Kepler’s strong point has been his ability to find the gaps in the outfield and has proven a capable defender. Now that the Miguel Sano outfield experiment looks to be over, it seems the Twins have found their right fielder of the future.
And speaking of Sano.
Saturday’s game also marked Sano’s second game since returning from the Disabled List. All he did was connect on a towering home run to the second deck in left field, scored two runs and drove in three.
It seems the Minnesota Twins are more than ready to begin the full transition to Sano becoming the full-time third baseman.
This could lead to the long-gestating Trevor Plouffe trade.
I do believe the team should be cautious moving forward with the trade deadline and would like to see them not become too extreme of sellers.
Perhaps one of the biggest trade chips for the Minnesota Twins, Plouffe has performed admirably this season but a trade involving the third baseman would open a lot of the team’s lineup issues.
Now that Oswaldo Arcia has been moved, the Twins could potentially have a future outfield consisting of Byron Buxton, Kepler and a rotation of Rosario or Robbie Grossman.
Danny Santana could become a super utility player for the Twins also allowing Eduardo Nunez to (rightfully) take over the shortstop position.
These moves may seem slight and probably won’t give the Minnesota Twins the “killer lineup” of other such successful teams but it does give the team an idea of what they might have moving forward.
I do believe the team should be cautious moving forward with the trade deadline and would like to see them not become too extreme of sellers.
If there’s a market for the likes of Plouffe, Ricky Nolasco, Ervin Santana or potentially Kevin Jepsen those are not moves that would ruin the future for the team.
But as far as veterans I’d like to see stay, I would include Nunez, Eduardo Escobar and Kurt Suzuki.
These are players who play positions where the Minnesota Twins don’t have an immediate answer and with all three performing well this season, it would be wise to keep them around to see if they can help out in the future.
The group of younger players along with the likes of Joe Mauer and Brian Dozier will more than likely make up the lineup for the foreseeable future.
And I’m fine with that, the offense doesn’t seem to be as big of an issue as the pitching woes.