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Minnesota Twins Offseason Trade Partner Profile: Oakland Athletics

By Benjamin Chase

OAKLAND, CA - APRIL 04: A fan walks to his seat before the Oakland Athletics game against the Chicago White Sox on Opening Day at The Coliseum on April 4, 2016 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - APRIL 04: A fan walks to his seat before the Oakland Athletics game against the Chicago White Sox on Opening Day at The Coliseum on April 4, 2016 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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The 2017-2018 offseason is here for the Minnesota Twins. Who could 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 will look at one of the teams with an emerging farm system, the Oakland Athletics.

A’s 2017

The Athletics went 75-87 in 2017, finishing last in the AL West, but in many ways finishing better than a number of people expected the team to do. The team was playing a host of young players in 2017, and manager Bob Melvin did an excellent job of mixing and matching his young players to avoid 90 losses.

Billy Beane and the rest of the front office made some excellent deals at the trade deadline to acquire prospects. The Athletics now sport one of the best farm systems in the entire game.

The bat leading the offense throughout the season was outfielder Khris Davis. The big swinger hit .247/.336/.528 with 43 home runs, but he also struck out 195 times. If you combine the first base position, he had an excellent partner from the left side. In the first half, Yonder Alonso had a breakout season, hitting .266/.369/.527 with 22 home runs before he was traded after 100 games. When he was dealt, Matt Olson took over, and in 59 games, he hit .259/.352/.651 with 24 home runs.

Matthew Joyce and Ryon Healy each knocked out 25 home runs on the season. Matt Chapman showed himself to be arguably the best defensive third baseman in the game in just his rookie season, and he added a decent amount offensively as well, hitting .234/.313/.472 with 14 home runs over 84 games.

The pitching staff didn’t get great innings from their young pitchers, but in the time he was healthy, Sean Manaea showed himself to be a solid piece of the future rotation for the A’s, making 29 starts, throwing 158 2/3 innings, with a 4.37 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, and a 55/140 BB/K.

The bullpen got excellent performances from Ryan Madson before he was dealt, as he threw 39 1/3 innings for the A’s with a 2.06 ERA. The pitcher the A’s acquired in the Madson deal with the Nationals, Blake Treinen, put up a 2.13 ERA over 38 innings with 42 strikeouts.

Possible Trade Interest

A’s may want: Prospects, moving salary, consistent starting pitching. The A’s continue to build up their farm system, but they have an eye to protect their young starters as they come up by picking up a guy like Yusmeiro Petit for the bullpen and would like to find an inning-eater type of arm.

Twins may want: A power bat for the DH position, starting pitching, relief pitching

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Trade proposals

With those needs how could the Twins and Athletics match up? Here are three ideas:

Trade proposal #1: Minnesota Twins trade Fernando Romero, Jermaine Palacios, and Nick Anderson to the Oakland Athletics for OF Khris Davis. This deal would give the A’s two of the Twins top 10 prospects along with an excellent relief prospect that should be ready by the end of 2018.

Romero makes sense to headline a deal, but the other two pieces could adjust, though getting one of the highly-regarded relief arms that populate the Twins system and a second top 10 Twins prospect with Romero seems the price for Davis when asked around. While he has plenty of swing and miss, Davis would fit tremendously well in the DH spot with big righty power.

Trade proposal #2: Minnesota Twins trade RHP Kohl Stewart to the Oakland Athletics for IF Jed Lowrie. The A’s are looking to get infielder Franklin Barreto consistent 2017 plate appearances, and moving Lowrie would help in that endeavor. Lowrie would give the Twins an additional bench piece that can handle second and third (and short in a real pinch). Stewart has the type of arm that could find success in another org, but he’s struggled with the Twins to this point.

Next: Twins make minors coaching changes

Trade proposal #3: Minnesota Twins trade RHP Kyle Gibson to the Oakland Athletics for OF Greg Deichmann. The Twins front office has made no issue with targeting 2017 draftees in their deals this winter. Deichmann is one player that I’m aware of the Twins’ strong scouting on this season. Another player that the team could target is catcher Santis Sanchez, the A’s 5th round selection out of Puerto Rico, an area that the Twins are very connected to.

This would give the A’s an arm that would give them consistent innings at a fairly cheap price, help the Twins clear some salary and to clear a rotation spot if they’re able to turn a couple of the deals they have in the air right now in the free agent and trade market.

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