The Minnesota Twins are looking to the trade market to improve their team, but the high cost of pitching could entice them to take a step back by trading Pablo López.
The report comes from ESPN’s Jeff Passan, who declared that more teams are looking to make trades as teams have spent big on pitching in free agency. One of the names mentioned in the report, Passan confirms that the Twins “have listened to offers” for López and those talks could “go beyond the listening stage” if the cost of pitching continues to skyrocket.
Rising pitching costs make improvement difficult for teams like the Minnesota Twins
The root of the problem is the amount of money teams have spent on starting pitching this winter. Blake Snell was the first arm to cash in during the offseason after signing a five-year, $182 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Nov. 30 and Max Fried followed suit, signing an eight-year, $218 million deal with the New York Yankees during last week’s Winter Meetings.
The market has also been dictated by several other deals this winter that went beyond market value. Luis Severino was projected to command a three-year, $48 million contract according to FanGraphs before signing a three-year, $67 million deal with the Athletics on Dec. 6. Frankie Montas was projected for a two-year, $26 million contract by Fangraphs but wound up getting a two-year, $34 million contract from the New York Mets.
Other contracts like the three-year, $63 million contract Yusei Kikuchi received from the Los Angeles Angels and the three-year, $38 million deal Clay Holmes agreed to with the Mets have also inflated costs and Passan noted that over $2 billion have been committed to 43 major league free agents this winter.
This number may continue to rise as top starters Corbin Burnes and Jack Flaherty remain on the market and it has forced teams to wait on middle-tier starters who could collect bigger paydays than expected.
MLB’s spending on pitching could force the Twins to deal López
The amount of money spent on free-agent pitchers is bad news for teams like the Twins. After slashing $30 million worth of payroll last winter, the Twins would like to operate with a payroll of around $130 million in 2025. With the Twins sitting at $142 million, starting pitcher Chris Paddack and catcher Christian Vázquez have been labeled as “salary dump” trade candidates but those players would get a limited return due to their lack of production.
It leaves the Twins to try and get creative in a trade market that Passan believes is filled with teams balking at high free-agent prices. The Twins listened to offers for shortstop Carlos Correa at the Winter Meetings but López could be a better trade chip.
López has $65.25 million remaining over the final three years of a four-year, $73.5 million extension that kicked in at the start of the 2024 season but it could be a bargain compared to some of the other options with a 26-18 with a 3.87 ERA over the past two seasons with the Twins.
Then again, dealing López would be another public relations blow for a fan base that has already been dragged through the mud. While Justin Ishbia could be the free-spending owner Twins fans deserve, they have at least one more season under the Pohlad family unless a sale happens sooner than expected.
Will those developments cost the Twins their ace? That remains to be seen. But it appears that no player is off limits as the Twins look to improve their team in the coming weeks.