Minnesota Twins: Five potential bullpen targets at the MLB trade deadline

The Minnesota Twins will be looking for bullpen help at the MLB trade deadline, but who could help the Twins ahead of July 31?

Odds are if you have watched a Minnesota Twins game this season, you’ve probably said some bad things about their bullpen. Entering Tuesday, the Twins ‘pen ranks sixth in the American League with an ERA of 4.27, but those numbers don’t tell the complete story.

Over the past couple of months, the Twins bullpen has shown cracks as relievers who were solid at the beginning of the season such as Blake Parker and Matt Magill have taken a turn for the worse. In addition, other relievers such as Trevor May and Tyler Duffey, don’t inspire complete confidence heading into the offseason.

This is an issue because in previous seasons, the bullpen has been key to allowing teams to ride  to deep playoff runs. In 2015, the Kansas City Royals rode their pen to a World Series title and the following year, Andrew Miller nearly took the Cleveland Indians to their first championship since 1948. Even last year, the Milwaukee Brewers almost exclusively used their bullpen to nearly head to the World Series for the first time since 1982.

Although history has been littered with strong pitching performances, the bullpen matters and the Twins will be on the lookout for help in the coming weeks.

Will Smith – San Francisco Giants

Rumors have swirled about the Twins being on the trail of Madison Bumgarner, but Minnesota could also be making a call to the San Francisco Giants to inquire about Will Smith. After being traded from the Milwaukee Brewers to San Francisco in 2016, Smith has been rock solid at the back end of the bullpen compiling a 2.49 ERA and racking up 35 saves since being installed as the Giants closer in 2018.

While he’s been great since arriving in San Francisco, the 2019 season has been what’s sent Smith’s trade value through the roof. While his standard stats of of a 2.16 ERA and 21 saves are good, a deeper dive shows that Smith is having a career year in K/9 (13.77) and holding opposing batters to a .164 average according to Fangraphs.

Those numbers have any team looking to upgrade their bullpen salivating, but the Twins should be ready to throw everything they can to make this happen. Adding Smith could relegate Taylor Rogers, May and Parker to set-up roles, which could also pave the way to having a more reliable end game in using Smith.

If the Twins are also interested in acquiring Bumgarner, there could be a blockbuster deal on the horizon, but getting Smith would be a huge boost to their bullpen.

Kirby Yates – San Diego Padres

While Giles and Smith are the more popular trade targets among casual baseball fans, many might not know of the name of Kirby Yates. The 32-year old has been twirling in obscurity in San Diego this season, but has put together a season that helped him earn his first All-Star appearance.

In 35 games this season, Yates has put together a 1.27 ERA and a National League-leading 27 saves. Perhaps the best part of his game is that he strikes out 14.3 batters per nine innings, but also limits damage on the base paths with a 1.69 ERA and 0.84 WHIP via Fangraphs. This is also not a one-time occurrence as Yates put together a solid season in 2018 twirling a 2.14 ERA as the Padres’ set-up man.

The bad news for the Twins (in terms of potential cost) is that Yates is under arbitration control for 2020, which makes sense that the Padres want to be overwhelmed in any potential offer. That may be tough to do in a market that is crowded with several solid relievers, but the Twins would be wise to at least take a swing.

Shane Greene – Detroit Tigers

In-division trades continue to become more popular, which is good for the Twins because it should open up more options. In the American League Central, there have been few relievers that have been as dominant as Detroit Tigers reliever Shane Greene has been this season.

Unlike the previous names on this list, Greene doesn’t profile as a big time closer for the Tigers despite 22 saves. He doesn’t strike batters out at a high rate with 32 strikeouts in 31 innings in 2019. What he does do is provide a nice bridge thanks to his ability to get opposing hitters to pound the ball into the turf at a 52.5% ratio via Fangraphs.

Like Yates, Greene is under team control through 2020, but the Tigers are also in a different spot than the Padres are. Detroit is a team that’s in a full rebuild and will be looking to bolster their farm system in any way possible. That should make the 30-year old expendable and a potential longer term option for the Twins.

Tony Watson – San Francisco Giants

If the Twins make a trade between now and the trade deadline, the most likely partner will be the Giants. As previously mentioned, they have a strong starter with postseason experience in Bumgarner and the top relief option on the market in Smith. However, the Twins may be interested in enhancing the path to the end of the game, which makes Tony Watson make sense.

Watson has put together a strong season for the Giants compiling a 2.48 ERA, but his strikeout numbers of 24 in 32 2/3 innings is quite deceiving. Thanks to his control, which has seen him walk just four batters this season, he’s had a 42.9% chase rate in 2019 which has helped him get out of clutch situations.

As with most of these targets, the one set back could be the cost, which has Watson making $6.5 million thanks to an appearance clause that the left-hander reached last season. The deal could also have him making up to $9 million if he hits said clauses this season.

At this point, the Twins should not be backing away from a deal financially, so if the price is right, Watson could make a nice upgrade in the seventh and eighth innings.