3 Twins moves that could be next after the Jorge Polanco trade
With the Twins trading Jorge Polanco late Monday night, how they follow the move up is going to be fascinating.
Fans of the Minnesota Twins got a surprise on Monday night when it was revealed that the team was going to be trading Jorge Polanco to Seattle in exchange for four players, including top 100 prospect Gabriel Gonzalez. Polanco has been a cornerstone of the Twins' roster for so long, it is hard to imagine that Minnesota will take the field this season without him.
There is no denying that Polanco played a crucial role in the Twins' success in recent years, but the reality is that injuries the last couple of years had turned him into a shadow of his former self. He was only able to play in 184 games combined in 2022 and 2023, and while his offensive production was still there when he did play, he clearly had lost a step defensively. Given all of the infield talent Minnesota has both in the big leagues and coming from the minors, it was just time.
What matters now is how the Twins follow up the move. Spring training is just a couple weeks away, and while this offseason has moved at the speed of smell, time is running out to make moves, especially with free agent options dwindling with each passing day.
Here are the moves we could see the Twins make following the Polanco trade
As much as Twins faithful may hope that the Polanco trade is going to signal a massive shift and the team is going to go out and make a big splash right before the season, that is very unlikely. Most of the big names left on the free agent market are Boras clients looking to get obscene paydays and the Twins just don't have the payroll to make a move like that happen even if they thought those guys were worth it.
What the Twins CAN do, however, is set themselves up for the future as well as bring in some stop-gap solutions to the holes in their roster. The return for Polanco, especially Gabriel Gonzalez, helps Minnesota's long-term outlook a lot, but there is still work to be done to make trading away an icon like Polanco worthwhile.
It is time for the Twins to call up Brooks Lee
With Polanco headed to Seattle, the Twins' infield situation has become a bit more clear. Carlos Correa will almost assuredly be the team's shortstop, Royce Lewis will probably be at the hot corner, and Edouard Julien is going to be in the mix somewhere. One easy way to take the sting out of losing Polanco would be to rip the band-aid off and call up top prospect Brooks Lee.
Ever since the Twins picked Lee with the eighth overall selection in the 2022 draft, he has made the Twins look smart to snatch him up when they did. Lee posted an .839 OPS in his pro debut and quickly made his way to Triple-A last season, thanks to his excellent bat-to-ball skills from both sides of the plate. Given his rapid rise through the minor leagues, many already expected him to make his major league debut sometime in 2024 even before the Polanco trade.
Curiously, general manager Thad Levine gave an update on the Twins' plans regarding Lee just a couple of days ago. The original plan was for Lee to start him in Triple-A this season and essentially let him tell the team when he was ready for a call-up. With Polanco gone now, Minnesota can bring Lee up immediately to play second or third, move one of Lewis or Julien over to first base, and field one of the most talented infields in baseball in 2024. All of this is contingent on Lee having a good spring training, but bringing him up makes too much sense now.
The Twins need to try to sign Adam Duvall
One of the big questions in the aftermath of the trade is what do the Twins do with the rest of their offseason regarding their outfield. They did get an high-end outfield prospect in Gabriel Gonzalez in the deal, but he hasn't played above High-A yet and is going to need at least another year or two before he is in the conversation. Given that the Twins really could use at least one right-handed bat who could also play center field, targeting Adam Duvall feels very logical.
While Duvall has battled injuries the last couple of years, he fits Minnesota's needs almost too well. He is a fantastic defender at all three outfield spots (which would provide some flexibility), has consistently been a well above-average hitter over the last five seasons, and he has stretches where he looks like Babe Ruth and can carry an offense. Combine that package with a strong likelihood that he would accept a one- or two-year deal that won't break the bank, and you have a player that is right in the Twins' wheelhouse.
It is pretty remarkable that Duvall is still available in free agency at this point in the offseason. The most recent reporting is that he is currently choosing between the Red Sox and the Angels, but the Twins should make a push for him. Given that the Twins have already said that the cash Seattle sent over in the Polanco deal is going to be re-invested in the 2024 roster, Minnesota could easily make a competitive offer and sell Duvall on the fact that the AL Central is incredibly weak, with the Twins as pretty clear favorites.
If the Twins can pull that off, the pressure is largely off this offseason. If they want to pursue another right-handed bat, they could still do so, with Tommy Pham being the most intriguing option (assuming that he isn't allowed to play fantasy football with anyone else on the roster). If not, they can hope that Byron Buxton can stay healthy and play in the field without having to hang too many of their hopes on him.
Trading Max Kepler is the next logical step for the Twins
Speaking of the Twins outfield, Max Kepler is in a pretty awkward spot going into the 2024 season. The team is very publicly looking for outfield help that can hit, which calls into question how much the team truly believes that Kepler's rising costs should factor into their plans next season. Given that this is the last season he is under contract and the potential return Minnesota could get in a trade for Kepler, now is the time to trade him.
Kepler is a fine player, albeit a flawed one. He can hit for power, draw walks, and has very consistently been a plus defender, especially in right field. The issue is that the limitations of his hit tool (he has hit just .236 in his career) puts a pretty firm cap on how much value he can provide offensively.
For a team that is looking to win the division next year and try to build on the playoff success they finally found last year, moving Kepler is the logical choice. The other Twins name in the trade market, Kyle Farmer, just became a lot more valuable to Minnesota after losing Polanco due to his defensive versatility, and Kepler could be more valuable to another team that could use an experienced outfielder who can defend. Ever since the rumor mill was set in motion, it's always kind of felt like Polanco and Kepler would be a package deal, out the door together.
To make such a trade to make sense, Minnesota would probably have to at least get a pitching prospect that is pretty close to big-league ready. Kepler only has the one year of team control left, so targeting top-100 guys is probably off the table, but he is still a consistent 2-2.5 win player making just $10 million in 2024. The Twins should be able to find a team willing to part with a package they would be happy with, and given where the team is right now, they should definitely try.