Minnesota Twins Daily Dish: Plouffe and trades

Welcome to your daily dose of Minnesota Twins news, recapping the last 24 hours on the Hot Stove.

Orange County Register’s Jeff Fletcher says the Angels could be in on Trevor Plouffe if the third baseman is, in fact, on the market, and their third base hole remains open. The incumbent in L.A., David Freese, is a free agent.

Fletcher goes on to name Cam Bedrosian, a power bullpen arm, as part of the possible return for Plouffe, which fits the market for the third baseman if dealt outside a package deal.

The Brewers, Angels, Indians and White Sox were among the original teams I had in mind for Plouffe as a full-time third baseman, with the Padres, Rockies and Orioles open to him a first base, and the Mets and Pirates as a backup or platoon option at both positions.

The Brewers, Padres, Braves and White Sox were recently mentioned by Twins Daily as possible teams involved, though I wonder more about the Brewers if the Twins are unwilling to take Adam Lind with Byung-ho Park possibly in the fold.

Other Twins notes:

Backup catcher Chris Herrmann was traded to Arizona for outfielder/first baseman Daniel Palka. Palka was a top-30 prospect in the Diamondbacks’ system and projects a future first baseman. He had 29 home runs and 24 steals in Class A-Advanced last year with a .280/.352/.532 triple slash.

Herrmann was set to be the Twins’ best option to spell Kurt Suzuki if they were unable to bring on an upgrade behind the plate.

High-end relief options are becoming available as the Cincinnati Reds are now open for business. Closer Alrodis Chapman could draw some inquiries from Minnesota. Nationals closer Drew Storen is also circulating trade talks.

Darren Wolfson says the Twins have already made calls on a few relievers, including Joakim Soria.

Peter Gammons writes Oakland is confident it won’t be trading Sonny Gray this off season. I listed Gray as a potential trade target for the Twins and their deep farm system.