4 Minnesota Twins players who should be on trade block before Opening Day
The Twins have more than a few guys who could be shopped before Opening Day rolls around.
Somewhere there's a wind chime in Minnetonka making more noise than the Minnesota Twins did this offseason. Despite ending a postseason curse that has hung over the team for 19-years, the Twins folded like a cheap poker table when it came to spending money against the potential of lost future revenue due to an uncertain TV deal.
Diamond Sports Group going bankrupt meant the Twins didn't have known television revenue to account for, which means the payroll shrunk. As such, trade chips became the team's most valuable offseason currency but even that didn't start to get spent until the end of January.
Even with a TV deal in place for 2024 -- one that still makes it nearly impossible for fans to watch games -- the Twins are reluctant to spend money. That doesn't mean Minnesota isn't still in possession of some interesting trade chips that should be placed on the table to see if any other teams want to make a deal before Opening Day rolls around.
Twins players who should be on trade block before Opening Day
Jose Miranda, 1B/3B
One of the underrated questions that need to be answered at Spring Training is what the Twins will do with José Miranda.
When he was healthy back in 2022, Miranda slashed .268/.325/.426 and batted in 66 runs in 125 games. If he can bounce back to that level of production he could have value in the Twins lineup, but the problem is that he seems to have been boxed out of a meaningful role in Minnesota.
Injuries ruined his season last year, and knocked him out of what seemed to be a pretty clear path to becoming the team's everyday third baseman. The Twins moved him over from first base the year before, but after he both got hurt and slumped offensively, Royce Lewis took his place and now firmly controls that corner of the infield.
To be fair, the team was always going to have to find a home for Lewis and how easily he fit in at third ended up answering a potentially complicated question. The flip side of that is what to do with Miranda now, and trading him might be the best solution. There's a chance he fits in at first base, but the Twins signed Carlos Santana to platoon with Alex Kirilloff, and both Kyle Farmer and Edouard Julien are expected to spend time there if needed.
So that boxes Miranda out of another potential position.
The sales pitch on him is what he did the year he was healthy and played almost the entire season. He won't return much on his own, but his best value to the Twins might be if he gets packaged with another piece to help improve the roster in some meaningful way.
Kyle Farmer, UT
There was a period of time this winter where Kyle Farmer looked like a sure-fire trade candidate. He was tendered back in November, but the potential price tag on him, reflected against an anemic budget, seemed to suggest that he'd be flipped for either pitching or positional depth before Opening Day.
Instead, the Twins settled Farmer's arbitration case and will pay him just over $6M this season. With the lack of free agent additions, it seems this move was viewed as a de facto signing that offset the need to bring in any outside help. Even though Farmer has a clear role with Minnesota next season, it shouldn't take him off the trade block and out of a potential deal if a team were to ask about his services.
Farmer was a prototypical do-it-all utility player for the Twins last year, the kind that the franchise has made its bread and butter the last two decades. He slashed .256/.317/.408 last year but played in 120 games despite having missing time after taking a Lucas Giolito pitch directly to his face early in the season.
Not only was he reliable, but he played all over the place as the lead utility man in the clubhouse. Everything that Nick Gordon and Willi Castro could do, Farmer was asked to do it first which is the type of thing that could prove valuable on the trade market.
To be absolutely clear, of all the potential trade candidates the Twins have Farmer is someone the team can hang onto and feel great about. He does not need to be traded, nor should he be shopped. That speaks to his value, though, as it's been a depleted and slow market for infielders and Farmer has the sort of upside that could net a decent return.
If the Twins hang onto him they should feel great about what he can do for the lineup. If a team offers a decent return package for him, Minnesota can also feel good offloading his contract while potentially using all he can do as a way to bring help elsewhere on the roster.
Christian Vázquez, C
For all that was made about Jorge Polanco and Max Kepler as trade candidates this winer, Christian Vázquez's value on the trade block got overlooked.
The tricky part in shopping Vázquez is his contract. He's still owed $20 million over the next two seasons, which could scare some teams off considering his relative down year last season. Vázquez is still an elite defensive catcher, but his offense leaves a lot to be desired, which might result in a scenario where the Twins have to eat some of his salary if he's traded away.
Considering how much the team has been pinching pennies lately, that's not an ideal scenario.
Moving Vázquez might be more about its impact internally than what he'd bring back in a trade package. He's talented, so there would be at least some sort of decent return package -- although don't expect anything that will knock you out of your chair. Instead, the upside is handing the everyday catching duties over to Ryan Jeffers and making room for Jair Camargo to move up behind him.
Jeffers is expected to continue splitting time behind the plate with Vázquez, which worked out alright last year. It's starting to become clear, though, that Jeffers is the catcher of the future in Minnesota and the sooner he assumes that role the better. Camargo, on the other hand, was protected in this year's Rule 5 Draft and is already on the 40-man roster. He showed a lot of promise at St. Paul last season, slashing .259/.323/.503 with 21 home runs and 63 RBI in 90 games at Triple-A.
Camargo would make for a nice pairing with Jeffers, and he'd would be a lot cheaper on the books than Vázquez -- who is still a productive player who teams would absolutely be interested in.
Trevor Larnach, LF
Here's another guy who has seemingly been boxed out of a spot in the lineup due to circumstance more than anything else.
There was a brief time when Trevor Larnach looked like he had the inside track on earning an important spot on the Twins MLB roster. However the same way he seemingly edged out Kyle Garlick, Larnach has been bumped from future plans by Matt Wallner.
Last year Larnach made the Opening Day roster thanks to Joey Gallo needing to play first base for the injured Alex Kirilloff, but it wasn't long before Wallner was called up and started to push him out of a role.
By the time the postseason rolled around, Larnach was a depth piece (who was left off the roster) while Wallner had developed into the Twins' everyday left fielder. That's the way things look to remain heading into 2024, as Wallner is firmly in the team's starting lineup and is part of the youth movement being led by fellow former rookies like Royce Lewis and Edouard Julien.
That's the class that Wallner is in, not Larnach and it's hard to see him making the Opening Day roster again this season.
One thing working in his favor is the lack of corner outfield depth, but the problem is there's not a ton of obvious room on the 26-man roster for him. The Twins are expected to carry another outfielder into the season but it'll likely be Austin Martin, not Larnach. Minnesota is also rumored to be looking at the free agent market to add more depth, with guys like Adam Duvall, Tommy Pham, and Michael A. Taylor being tossed around as candidates.
None of those guys is Larnach.
He's still only 26 years old and could be a useful piece of another lineup, but the there seems to be no place for him now in the lineup and it's only a matter of time before prospects like Emmanuel Rodriguez come up and further force him out of the picture.
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