Best memes and tweets from Twins fans after Luis Arraez-Pablo Lopez trade
By Josh Hill
An offseason of change continues in Minneapolis.
All-Star second baseman Luis Arraez was traded to the Miami Marlins on Friday as part of a package that sends starting pitcher Pablo Lopez to the Twins. Early returns on the trade appear to favor the Twins in terms of who won the deal, but it's hard to quantify or grade how much fans loved Arraez and how painful needing to sacrifice him as the key part of a trade to acquire Lopez was.
As far as reactions from Twins fans over the trade, it's basically the What Did It Cost? Thanos meme come to life.
The initial reaction was mixed. There was obvious celebration over the fact that Minnesota's rotation received some much-needed help but the cost of that being the fan-favorite Arraez was not taken lightly.
I JUST FELL TO MY KNEES IN THE PRODUCE SECTION OF WHOLE FOODS
— Gomer (@GomesDaLegend) January 20, 2023
LUIS ARRAEZ IS GONE????????????????????
To be clear, it’s dumb because I love Luis Arraez. Value-wise, I think the #MNTwins did a good job here.
— Matthew Taylor (@MatthewTaylorMN) January 20, 2023
First reaction is I hate this move. Luis Arraez is so fun to watch and such a fun guy to root for, and Lopez is a good but not great starter.
— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) January 20, 2023
I guess I can understand the logic to some extent, but man. I don't know. https://t.co/GsfQwA2aUo
A one for one Luis Arraez for Pablo Lopez is CRAZY.
— 𝚂𝚊𝚞𝚕 𝚁. (@saul_r26) January 20, 2023
Twins undeniably won this trade. Wow.
The Twins really traded Luis Arraez for more mid pitching pic.twitter.com/jXWFCKeOB9
— slapnick prospect (@electricsnuff) January 20, 2023
Fans within the AL Central were keeping an eye on the news too, with White Sox fans celebrating the trade -- which might not make Twins fans feel great about losing Arraez.
LUIS ARRAEZ IS OUT OF THE DIVISION AND WILL NO LONGER OWN MY FAVORITE BASEBALL TEAMpic.twitter.com/1diuRQEFXq
— Mike (@ChiSoxFanMike) January 20, 2023
A great move for the Marlins. An even better move for the White Sox considering Luis Arráez is a giant pain in the ass. https://t.co/SVOUrbbuuH
— Courtney Finnicum (@courtney883) January 20, 2023
Lopez carries a heavy burden with him to Minnesota. Not only is he being seen as a much needed savior for a rotation that was middling at best in 2022, and much worse when you dig deeper into things, but he also needs to live up to the price paid to acquire him.
Time will tell whether Lopez can have a high enough impact on the rotation to balance out losing Arraez. Some of that burden also falls on who will replace Arraez in the Twins infield, but luckily that will be secondary to the execations placed on Lopez this season.