4 potential trade destinations for Jorge Polanco
If the Twins decide to use Jorge Polanco as a trade chip this offseason, a few teams make sense as potential landing spots.
We've officially reached the offseason, which means the hot stove is going to start heating up as the Winter Meetings approach.
Already rumors about what will happen this offseason are starting to fly, and front offices across baseball are starting to set in motion plans to hopoefully piece together a contending roster. In a season where the Texas Rangers spent their way to a World Series, more than a few teams might try to follow suit.
For the Minnesota Twins, the plan is to reinforce a roster that ended a 19-year playoff losing streak this October. It feels like the team is just a few pieces away from truly contending for a title, but that only makes this offseason even more important.
Rather than signing players, it sounds like the Twins will use positional depth to try and acquire new pieces. That's where the team picking up the option for Jorge Polanco comes into play. He's a top-tier player at his position and has another year of team control on his contract which makes him a valuable trade chip.
Both the White Sox and Tigers need help at second base, but it's very unlikely the Twins make a deal with either of those teams. Minnesota doesn't need to trade Polanco, so moving him within the division to a rival that could end up chasing the Twins over the next few years doesn't make a ton of sense.
That's the big crux here: Minnesota doesn't need to move Polanco this offseason. If he returns, he'll be a key member of the starting lineup and hopefully tap into the guy he was late in the season for longer stretches of the year. If the Twins do decide to use Polanco as a trade chip this offseason, a few teams make sense as potential landing spots.
Toronto Blue Jays
One possible destination is a team the Twins have done business with before when it comes to flipping a fan favorite. Jose Berrios was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays back in 2021, netting Minnesota Austin Martin and Simeon Woods Richardson in return.
Could the Twins look to make another deal north of the border?
It's more likely that the Blue Jays look to add a third baseman given the internal options they have at second, but you never know. Polanco did spend some time at third this year, although the results were less than impressive and Minnesota moved Royce Lewis back as soon as it could.
That doesn't rule Polanco out as dual-position for Toronto, but it doesn't make him a slam dunk candidate either.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Lots of obvious contending teams will get tossed out as potential landing spots for Polanco, but one to keep an eye on is the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Last year the Bucs were able to compete for most of the year before falling off, and they're in the market for a second baseman to help fill out the roster. The NL Central is wide open with the Brewers making a managerial change, the Cubs still rebuilding, and the Cardinals in limbo.
Adding Polanco could give Pittsburgh a solid bat in its lineup but also provide the clubhouse with veteran leadership to help usher in a new era. He might not single-handily take them over the top, but we've seen the sort of impact Polanco can have on a team with what he's done in Minnesota, and a team like the Pirates would be wise to get some of that magic to sprinkle around.
Pittsburgh also has a Top 10 farm system in the latest FanGraphs ranking, which means the Twins could get back a nice piece for the future to continue its youth movement. Part of the reason it makes sense to trade Polanco is the logjam of infielders about to hit the Majors, so adding a top prospect makes sense.
Minnesota could look to flip him for pitching depth as well, which seems to be a strategy for replacing Sonny Gray and Kenta Maeda this winter.
Boston Red Sox
Boston nearly pulled off a miracle and punched a postseason ticket this year, despite having what was generally a down year by Red Sox standards.
It was a down year by normal standards too, but this seems to be a pattern for Boston that suggests a bounce-back season is in store next year. Sonny Gray is an option for the Red Sox pitching staff this offseason, but they might be wise to double dip into the Twins roster and grab Polanco to pad the infield.
Boston has a hole at second base, with Luis Arias being leaned on as the starter there. That's not sustainable, and swapping him out for Polanco makes a ton of sense. The Red Sox also have some intriguing trade chips that could make for a win-win deal, specifically if Alex Verdugo is what Minnesota can get in return.
The Red Sox are shopping the 27-year-old, who is arbitration-eligible this offseason and won't hit free agency until 2025. He's a big fish, and it would hardly be a 1-for-1 swap, but he'd provide nice pop for the Twins offense if he were acquired.
Another guy the Red Sox might use as a trade chip is Bobb Dalbec, who makes even more sense for the Twins. He's a first baseman, which helps add depth at the position with uncertainty over Alex Kirilloff's health heading into next season. Minnesota has already been rumored to be looking at Cody Bellinger for the same reasons Dalbec makes sense.
Seattle Mariners
Another potential win-win situation is out west in Seattle. The Mariners should have made it to the postseason and appeared destined to do that to the extent that Twins fans were prepping themselves for a Wild Card matchup against them. That didn't end up happening, and now the Mariners are the third-best team in a division that sent its top two teams to the ALCS -- with the Texas Rangers winning the World Series.
There's a lot of offensive talent in Seattle, and it makes sense to add Polanco to a lineup that already has guys like Julio Rodriguez, Jarred Kelenic, and Cal Raleigh. There's a bit of a hole at second base that Polanco could fill, but his veteran leadership would be one of the biggest additions he brings to Seattle's clubhouse.
In return, the Twins should inquire about Logan Gilbert and see if there's a way to build a return package around him. Gilbert is under team control until 2027, which means Minnesota will have to send more than Polanco back, but Seattle would also be getting a guy with another year of team control so the gap isn't as large as it seems.
Seattle has a glut of young pitchers ready to make an impact, which makes Gilbert expendable even if he's a solid workhorse in the rotation. He might not be a 1-to-1 replacement for Sonny Gray, but could be an upgrade in the Kenta Maeda role and give the Twins a solid third starter behind Pablo Lopez and Joe Ryan.
More Minnesota Twins news and analysis
feed