Minnesota Twins: 5 Things that need to go right for 2018 success
By Nate Palmer
One trade deadline deal
The reality is that as a season progresses in baseball something is always going to happen to that original 25-man roster from Opening Day. When July comes around the Twins will have likely discovered a weakness about their club. That is when they need to turn to the trade market.
The good thing about this past offseason is that the Twins haven’t had to significantly tap into their minor league resources. That has the team poised with the ability to pull off not just a trade, but a potentially blockbuster level trade.
If the Twins end up with an injury or simply someone isn’t performing well they have the assets to go get someone. If say Santana struggles off of this hand issue the Twins could look to go trade for someone like Patrick Corbin or even revisit the Chris Archer possibilities. If the Twins need bullpen help there are always arms available at the trade deadline. They could possibly even try to go for a long-term solution and target someone like Kyle Barraclough of the Miami Marlins.
One of the last moves could be a move for a shortstop if Ehire Adrianza and Eduardo Escobar aren’t able to fill in well for Jorge Polanco. A name that keeps surfacing is Jurickson Profar as a player the Twins could trade for. The names could change on who the Twins pursue, but the point is the Twins will need to look to improve by completing some deal this summer.
Next: Opening Day Roster taking shape
Overall, the Twins are poised very well for the 2018 season. They as a team will still need some things to break just right if they want to push for a third World Series championship for the franchise.