Minnesota Twins: 5 Players the Twins Should Consider in a Trade
With the Minnesota Twins still looking very much like contenders. Here are 5 Players the Twins should considering in a trade.
Feel free to pinch yourself if you need to. It is actually June and the Minnesota Twins are actually still contending. Some of that first place position can be attributed to an awful AL Central, as well as a really pretty awful American League altogether.
No matter how the Twins got into first place, they are there. Which means the playoffs are a reality. The other side of reality is that this Twins’ roster needs help in several key places. Spoiler alert: The pitching staff needs improvement.
The rest of this article will be devoted to identifying 5 players the Twins should be calling other teams about. To help identify some of these players I used the “Top 30 Trade Deadline Candidates for 2017” written over at MLB Trade Rumors. Take a look at my picks and I would also love to hear how you might act as Twins General Manager if you were in that seat.
RP Pat Neshek, Phillies
This choice may look purely nostalgic, but Pat Neshek is one of the better options for a reliever on the trade market. He is eighth on the list of trade deadline candidates and is there for good reason. In 20 appearances over 18.1 innings Neshek is sporting a 0.82 ERA. Pair that with a WHIP of 0.773 and it becomes apparent quickly why teams will be asking the Phillies for Neshek.
Other stats to pay attention to, and noted reason why Neshek is eighth on the trade deadline list, are his splits against lefties and righties. As expected in the past he has shown more success against right handed hitters, but this year he is showing considerable improvement against left handers as he is holding them to a .147 batting average.
Now as the Twins approach the deadline, if they fall out of contention this is not a trade they should look to make. Neshek would be a rental as he is only signed through the end of this season. If in contention, Neshek would add a quality arm to a weak bullpen.
RP Brad Hand, Padres
Another reliever that the Twins should check in on is left hander Brad Hand. He takes the 9th spot, right behind Neshek on the trade deadline candidate list. Hand is having a successful 2017, appearing in 25 games and holding a 2.18 ERA over 33.0 innings pitched.
Noted stats for Hands ranking on this list is his strikeouts per nine innings rate which currently sits at 11.7 Hand also has a good 15% whiff rate. Both would be welcomed traits to add to a soft looking Twins bullpen.
Like Neshek, Hand is a player the Twins go after only if the team is still in playoff contention. He would also be rental player as his contract expires at the end of this season. Having Hand come out of the bullpen, instead of Craig Breslow, would be a welcomed sight.
SP Alex Cobb, Rays
Third player on this list, third pitcher, but this time a starter. Alex Cobb may not initially make your mouth water, but he would be a huge upgrade over several pieces of the current Twins rotation. This season Cobb has started 12 games and is holding a 4.52 ERA in 73.2 innings.
I can’t overstate that the Twins’ rotation would love that right now. At number 22 on the trade candidate list, it is highlighted that Cobb is just in his second season after Tommy John surgery. Cobb is showing signs that he is still progressing towards his pre-surgery self, where his strikeouts per 9 innings was north of 8.
Cobb is another rental player for a contending team. If the Twins decide they are contenders going into the postseason, it would be much more stabilizing to put Cobb behind Ervin Santana and Jose Berrios than the other options the Twins currently have.
SP Sonny Gray, Athletics
Sonny Gray comes in at number 25 on the trade deadline candidate list and is another pitcher the Twins should pursue. Gray’s numbers do not look great this season as he sits at a 4.57 ERA in 41.3 innings pitched. That ERA is up considerably from his 3.49 career mark.
What is positive about Gray (and alluded to in the trade deadline article) is his swinging-strike rate is looking very good. Currently sitting at 10.3% and has translated now to a 8.1 strikeouts per 9 innings.
Gray is the kind of player that the Twins should look at regardless of where they sit in the standings. He will not be a free agent until 2020 and gives the Twins another rotation piece for several years.
SP Chris Archer, Rays
Chris Archer is not officially on the top 30 trade deadline list. Rather, he finds himself at the bottom of the list as an “also considered” player. The Twins were able to see first hand the quality of pitcher that Archer is as he went 7.2 innings and 11 strikeouts, holding the Twins to two runs over that appearance.
This season Archer has a 3.65 ERA and is striking out 11.1 batters per 9 innings. His performance would put him at the top of the Twins rotation and give the team a look at a playoff rotation of Archer, Santana, and Berrios.
The other great thing about this trade is Archer would be around for several years as the team tries to return to being a regular contender. His contract runs through the 2019 season. Archer is maybe the only player on this list that is worth giving up a significant prospect such, as Nick Gordon, to acquire.