It’s been another painfully quiet offseason for the Minnesota Twins, as most of the attention has been focused on what other teams are doing rather than what is happening at home. This is nothing new, as the frugal ownership of the Pohlad‘s has forced fans to look at other people’s paper for years, but this offseason has been particularly frustrating.
Unlike last year, when the Twins spent more time lifting couch cushions looking for spare change, this winter has been filled with tracking former fan favorites signing with other teams. Max Kepler left to sign with the Phillies, Kyle Farmer signed with the Rockies, and Jorge Polanco has been linked to the Astros.
All of this is wrapped up in endless trade speculation around Carlos Correa and Pablo Lopez, which is such loser mentality by a team that should be trying to find ways to win over saving money. One team not doing that is the New York Yankees, which isn’t a surprise but it’s a situation that could lead them to dipping into the pool of former Twins players.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, one player the Yankees could fill their Juan Soto void with is former Twins All-Star Luis Arraez.
Yankees trading for Luis Arraez would be a nightmare for Twins fans
This is terrible for a number of reasons, none of which are actually bad for the Yankees. In fact, one of the primary reasons Twins fans wold hate this is because it works so well for New York as it would give a hated rival a former fan favorite to likely break their hearts with.
He’s not the only name that Passan links to the Yankees, as Gavin Lux is also someone on New York’s radar. It’s unclear who the team would prefer to get given the price needed to pull off a trade, but the right move is probably snagging Arraez from the Padres.
Twins fans know what Arraez can do, as he’s a three-time batting champion whose bat was sorely missed after Minnesota traded him to Miami. The Twins are still trying to fill the void left by trading him away, as the situation at first base remains a mess of uncertainty.
While the Twins offense has managed to be mostly fine, it’s hard to believe that having him in the lineup over the last two years wouldn’t have been impactful. It’s been patchwork replacing him, as the Twins signed Donovan Solano and Carlos Santana to play first, with the latter at least winning a Gold Glove for his work in Minnesota. Alex Kirilloff’s bad injury luck and eventual retirement complicated things too, but it all seemingly goes back to the Twisn trading Arraez and creating the hole in the first place.
He puts the ball in play, which is great for a Yankees lineup full of powerful hitters who can turn a home run into a little more, and he can offer up some defensive flexibility. It would be tough to watch him in New York, but it’s also impossible to root against him — which is perhaps his most valuable quality in terms of being a clubhouse fit.
We’ll see what the Yankees end up doing, but Twins fans could be in for a rough 2025 in more ways than one.
More Minnesota Twins news and rumors