Yankees reportedly asked Twins about a Max Kepler trade

It was a quiet trade deadline for the Minnesota Twins, something that unfortunately echoes what happen this offseason. 

The Twins refuse to meaningfully upgrade the roster, largely due to financial constraints that are being brushed off by the team but have infuriated the fan base. We all know the story: Minnesota slashed its payroll by $30 million despite being in what appears to be a championship window.

While the money side of things is frustrating, it wasn’t the only thing that dictated Minnesota’s deadline approach. The market was insanely overpriced, with Houston giving up three prospects for half a season of Yusei Kikichi and the Padres unloading a haul of five prospects for Tanner Scott. Trevor Rogers, another Twins target, went for a pair of great Orioles prospects while Erick Fedde was dealt in a three-team blockbuster. 

Minnesota’s lack of action wasn’t for a lack of effort, but the front office wisely chose to not give into pressure and force a deal just to make one.

Nothing highlights that more than a report that the New York Yankees tried to pry Max Kepler away at the deadline.  

Yankees reportedly asked Twins about a Max Kepler trade before the deadline

Twins insider Declan Goff noted on the SKOR North Twins Show that he had heard the Yankees floated Max Kepler’s name in trade talks with the Twins, but nothing ended up coming of it. 

Apparently it all centered on the Yankees landing Jack Flaherty thus making Nestor Cortes expendable.

"I did hear that if the Yankees were able to obtain someone like [Jack Flaherty] or someone of that equal nature that they'd be willing to part with Nestor Cortes," Declan Goff said. “I had heard earlier this afternoon that Max Kepler's name did come up from the Yankees. I heard that from a couple sources that his name did come up. I don't know if it would've been necessarily a direct swap of Nestor Cortes for Max Kepler, but the Yankees have expressed interested in Kepler before and his name did come up today."

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard Kepler’s name pop up in trade rumors, as he was a popular candidate over the winter to get dealt. 

Minnesota sold some snake oil to fans about flipping Kepler and/or Jorge Polanco to acquire a front line starter, which never happened. Kepler wasn’t traded — which ended up being a good decision — and Polanco was moved as part of a salary dump. The Twins inactivity over the winter created a situation where they needed to make a move at the deadline, but the team refused to budge both times.

As much as it’s worth burying the Twins being deeply unserious about improving the roster, not moving Kepler is again the right move. Minnesota didn’t get better at the deadline but it didn’t get worse, which would have been the case if Kepler had been traded. 

It unfortunately lines up with a report before the deadline that the Twins weren’t going to add salary without dumping some. Kepler is a free agent at the end of the season, so it’s not like Minnesota would be mortgaging the future, but trading one of the team’s best and most important players would have been so transparently waving the white flag that fans might have rioted.

They still might given how poorly things have gone as far as adding meaningful pieces to the roster, but at least the Twins didn’t completely go belly up — and for the Yankees, of all teams.

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