Roughly a week after Joe Pohlad threw cold water on Minnesota Twins fans hoping to see the team make some more moves, the front office ended up pulling off a trade.
Minnesota acquired outfielder Manuel Margot from the Los Angeles Dodgers, a move that was part of a larger deal that involved Kiké Hernández returning to his old team. The Twins were listed as a finalist for Hernández over the weekend -- alongside the Angels and Giants -- but he'll be returning to the Dodgers after Minnesota acquiring Margot opened up a spot on the roster.
It was an unexpected reunion that came together pretty fast, which means it was part of the Dodgers' plan all along. On the flip-side, the Twins adding Margot helps solve some immediate depth issues but also likely take a reunion of their own off the table.
Twins probably aren't re-signing Michael A. Taylor after trading for Manuel Margot
Before trading to Margot, one of the top needs the Twins were pursuing was finding a right-handed hitter to help platoon somewhere in the outfield. The corners were most vulnerable, as there isn't much depth behind Max Kepler and Matt Wallner, but no one needs support more than Byron Buxton.
He has stated numerous times that he's expecting to return to full-health, which is music to the ears of Twins fans who want to see him tap back into the All-Star level we're used to seeing him at. That's a lot easer said than done, though, which is a lesson we all learned the hard way last season.
Buxton didn't play a single inning in the field, instead ceding the everyday role to Michael A. Taylor. It ended up working out better than anyone had hoped, especially given the circumstances, and seemed to be a way for Taylor to parlay his success into a nice free agent deal.
That didn't happen, and the longer he went without finding a deal the higher the likelihood became that he'd return to the Twins. After trading for Margot, though, a reunion with the Twins seems to be out of the question.
Margot does everything Minnesota would have needed Taylor to do, expect slightly better. It's not that he wouldn't have fit well, it's that things like Margot being a career .281/.341/.420 hitter against left-handed pitching for a .761 OPS that gives him the edge.
Taylor's defense was also highly touted, and remains elite, but the Twins are getting a guy who has ranked third in outs above average among all qualified outfielders since 2020. The margin seems to be slim, but Margot brings just enough more that trading for him was the route Minnesota wanted to go in order to add outfield depth.
Anything can still happen, but the chances of Taylor reuniting with the Twins drops close to near-zero after the trade Minnesota made on Monday.