Twins listed as 'ideal landing spot' for former St. Louis Cardinals MVP
It's early, but the Twins still have a pulse in the rumor mill which has to be good for something.
Not only does it seem like the sky is falling in Minnesota, but there doesn’t seem to be a ton of hope the Twins will figure things out.
The offense is historically bad and the decision to slash payroll rather than improve the roster has predictably created a total nightmare scenario. Minnesota is near the bottom of the league overall but are painfully just a few games better than the lowly Chicago White Sox.
As bad as things seem, though, there’s still time for the Twins to turn things around.
It might take more than a few bats waking up, though, as the front office might have to make additional moves to try and make up for what was one of the most disappointing offseasons in recent memory.
Twins listed as 'ideal landing spot' for a Paul Goldschmidt trade
Bleacher Report went over some potential early trade candidates and not only had the Twins listed among teams that could be buyers but had Minnesota as an ideal landing spot for former MVP Paul Goldschmidt.
“From an on-field perspective, the Cardinals are an old team that probably missed their window. Goldschmidt will turn 37 in September and may like the opportunity to join a World Series contender this summer if the Cardinals' season doesn't pan out how they hope,” B/R wrote.
This isn’t the first time that Goldschmidt has been linked to the Twins. When the team was looking for some offense firepower at the trade deadline last year, Goldschmidt was tossed around as a potential option in the rumor mill.
A trade never materialized, but the same logic is present now as it was then. If anything, the Twins offense is actually far worse than it was last summer and is in even more desperate need of a boost.
Goldschmidt would be a direct replacement for Carlos Santana, who was signed to provide the spark that’s currently missing. Santana has been unbelievably disappointing, hitting a putrid .123/.207/.140 which is a far cry from what Minnesota needed out of him.
To be fair, there were plenty of signs that Santana was cooked but the Twins made him their annual veteran free agent signing anyway. Trading for Goldschmidt would potentially rectify this but would also be yet another instance of the Twins making moves specifically to make up for offseason mistakes.
Minnesota’s frugal winter resulted in the team slashing payroll and refusing to adequately address some key areas of the roster. Starting pitching is getting hit the worst, but Santana being thrown big bat the Twins added instead of spending a little more on a better player is rearing its ugly head in the worst way.
Trading for Goldschmidt doesn’t fix everything, and it would mean spending prospect currency to dig the team out of a hole, which is less than ideal. Minnesota is at least being pegged as an ideal landing spot for a big name trade target, so at least there’s solace in clinging to the comfort of that relevancy — while it lasts.