The Minnesota Twins ace tweeted out what seemed like displeasure with a trade that sent a reliever to Philadelphia on Saturday morning.
As we sit 11 days away from the MLB trade deadline, everyone associated with the Minnesota Twins seems triggered. The fans are triggered because the front office hasn’t made a move yet. The players are triggered because they keep hearing from the fans that they’ll “blow it.” They’re also triggered because their 11 1/2 game lead over the Cleveland Indians has dwindled down to three games entering Saturday night’s game with the Oakland Athletics.
Everybody is triggered, but it seems like a simple move that was made on Saturday morning pushed many people to a breaking point.
Mike Morin, who was designated for assignment back on July 16, was sent to the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday morning in what seemed like a minor move. The Twins had 10 days to decide what to do with Morin and their options included releasing him or trading him to another team. So the Twins went the trade route, which is fine.
Unfortunately, instead of getting a low-level prospect back, the Twins made the trade with the Phillies in exchange for cash considerations. For a team that has been owned by the Pohlad family, who has been described as cheap ever since Carl Pohlad acquired the team back in 1984, any trade that is going to involve cash (or even the possibility of receiving cash) is sure to set off any fan.
While we know what the fans might think, rarely do we know what the clubhouse thinks of a move. In the case of Jose Berrios, he tweeted out what many Twins fans have thought for the past decade shortly after the trade went down.
"“They just want to get money,” Berrios said in his tweet, which was taken down on Saturday afternoon. “I wish you the best my man! Let’s get it!”"
In the grand scheme of things, this is the reaction that fans will want it to be. The Twins have been rumored to be one of the most active teams on the market, but nothing has materialized. With the Twins lead in the AL Central by the day, fans are going to point to whatever they can to say “Aha! The Pohlads are too cheap to make a move!” A reaction like this by the staff ace is certainly something that could fan the flames of that argument.
On the other hand, you have to look at it from a clubhouse perspective. Think of your group of friends and having one of them shipped off for cash. That’s exactly what the Twins clubhouse just experienced with Morin after being around him for the first three months of the season.
In any event, things are going to continue to escalate and be theorized until either the Twins make a move or the trade deadline happens on July 31. Until then, the Twins just have to do their business and try to hold off a charging Indians squad.