Minnesota Twins Offseason Trade Partner Profile: Colorado Rockies

The 2017-2018 offseason is here for the Minnesota Twins. Could the Colorado Rockies be their trade partners this offseason?

Now that the Minnesota Twins have entered the offseason, they are looking to improve the roster through trades and through free agent signings. In this series, we’ll look at how the Twins match up with teams in trade scenarios.

We will first cover the team’s 2017 and what they may be looking for this offseason and then look at whether the Twins could be a good fit for a possible trade this offseason. If there’s a fit, we’ll try to put together a feasible trade that would work for both sides. We will go alphabetically through the league, and today we have made it to the National League Wild Card Colorado Rockies.

2017 Rockies

The Rockies were part of a very strong NL West, coming in third behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks with a record of 87-75. The Rockies were fueled by some surprise pitching performances as well as some very solid offensive performances.

Nolan Arenado led the way slashing .309/.373/.586 with 37 home runs and 130 RBIs. Those numbers have garnered Arenado a lot of attention this award season including a 4th place finish in NL MVP voting.

In support of Arenado was NL Batting Champion Charlie Blackmon who added his .331/.399/.601 slash line and 37 home runs. Second basemen DJ LeMahieu hit .310 with 28 doubles and 95 runs scored. Not to mention a resurgent power surge from veteran Mark Reynolds as he hit 30 home runs.

It was a group of young starters that fueled the Rockies road to the playoffs. They were led by 25-year old Jon Gray. Gray was unable to pitch a full season due to a stress fracture early in the season but still logged 110.1 innings with a 3.67 ERA. And based on FIP, Gray was maybe even a little bit better than his ERA as he had a 3.18 FIP on the season.

A trio of rookies in Kyle Freeland, German Marquez, and Antonio Senzatela all made 20 or more starts. And while all Rockies starters outside of Gray were above 4 in their ERAs, they were able to pitch well enough to get to a good Rockie bullpen.

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Greg Holland led the way in his return from Tommy John notching 41 saves to lead the NL in that stat. Jake McGee and Chris Rusin both turned in solid seasons as part of the bridge to Holland. And mid-season the bullpen added Minnesota native Pat Neshek who was able to log 22 innings and 2.45 ERA while with the Rockies.

Possible Trade Interest

Rockies may want: With three relievers hitting the free agent market the Rockies are looking to bolster their bullpen and could ask for a major league ready relief arm.

Twins may want: The Twins need starting pitching, relief pitching, and a right-handed power bat.

Trade Proposals

The Twins and Rockies at first glance don’t line up really well, but here are a few possibilities.

Trade Proposal #1: 3B/2B/1B Ryan McMahon for RP Ryan Pressly and SP Lewis Thorpe.

This trade only truly makes sense if the Twins do not keep Eduardo Escobar, whether it is due to a trade or non-tender. McMahon could come in and man third base until Miguel Sano is ready and could also move around to second base and first base. He is left-handed which maybe isn’t ideal for this lineup but has developed a mature swing for his age.

Thorpe would give the Rockies a high upside starter for the future. As he recovers from missing 2015 and 2016, Thorpe will likely spend his time as a reliever. There would be a chance then that if Thorpe is performing well he could be considered for the MLB bullpen, but that is likely a bit of a longshot at this point.

Next: Twins trade partner profile White Sox

Trade Proposal #2: 1B Kennys Vargas for James Farris

The Rockies will lose their first base power bat in Reynolds to free agency. Since Vargas just doesn’t really seem to have a role on the Twins going forward this makes at least a little sense. It is scary to think of how far Vargas may be able to smash a home run in Coors Field.

The Twins return could really be a multitude of prospects, but Farris seems intriguing. He is old for a prospect at 25, but averaged 13.5 strikouts per nine innings this past season.

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