Minnesota Twins: 4 potential trade fits for OF Max Kepler
By Nate Palmer
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks have seen their starting center fielder A.J. Pollock hit free agency. That leaves the Diamondbacks with the trio of David Peralta, Steven Souza Jr., and Jarrod Dyson. Peralta is an outfielder worth building around as he hit .293/.352/.516 with 30 home runs in 2018.
Souza and Dyson could certainly be improved upon if the Diamondbacks feel they have any shot at all to compete in the near future. Souza was once a prospect with all the promise in the world but only saw action in 72 games due to injury and hit .220/.309/.369 this past season. As a 4th infielder Dyson only hit .189/.282/.257.
The big trade chip for the Diamondback would be starting pitcher Zack Greinke. The obvious hurdle the Twins would need to get over is that they are reportedly on Greinke’s no-trade list. Exploring Greinke is still certainly worth it even with his big over $30 million AAV contract as he would quickly slot in right next to Jose Berrios in the rotation. Berrios and maybe Kyle Gibson are the only starters who can even stand close to Greinke’s 207.2 innings, 3.21 ERA, and 8.6 K/9 from 2018 in the Twins current rotation.
Another player worth having a conversation about is fellow starter Robbie Ray who is reportedly available. Ray would be under team control through 2020 in his final years of arbitration. The Diamondbacks don’t have quite the same wide range of players like the Braves to strike a deal with the Twins, but still, two strong candidates to start having trade package conversations around.