It’s not the question most people thought we might be asking about the Twins by the time June rolled towards July. After so many moves in the offseason to patch some holes with low cost free agents, it seemed like Minnesota would be angling for a playoff spot. Instead, they are 8.5 games out, and people are wondering how hard they are going to be selling.
The question always goes deeper for an organization than it does for the fans. Many fans look at a team like the White Sox who gut their team for prospects and want to see the Twins do that. More specifically, they want to trade away underperforming players and acquire a bounty of prospects in return.
That entire paragraph should be a red flag for anyone thinking the Twins will have an active trade deadline. The front office needs to consider where the team is at this year, and where they expect to be next year, and in order to glean any value on the trade market, they need to have something of value to trade.
The first thing to consider from the Twins standpoint is that they still feel that they are a team that is in its ascendance. They aren’t going to trade any of their young players because there are simply too many good core players on the roster. They expect to compete next year, and they don’t want to handicap a bright near term future because they had a chance at a prospect in the long distance future.
There are a few players approaching free agency by the end of this year. One could reasonably expect that they would be on the trade block, but unfortunately, most of the players who would be available aren’t going to bring back much value in return. The pending free agent who has actually had a good season, Eduardo Escobar, might actually be an extension candidate instead, especially if his clubhouse presence is valued.
The Twins aren’t ready to start another rebuild, otherwise Jose Berrios, Eddie Rosario and Byron Buxton would be on the block, because they are the most valuable players on the roster. They also recognize that this season has been a disappointing step back in what should be a continued string of improvement. They don’t want to give up or disappoint fans when they will have every reason to come back next year.
I think some players will be traded. Lance Lynn, Fernando Rodney, and Zach Duke are strong candidates to move, but I would be pretty surprised if anyone of the core players or some of the long term favorites (Joe Mauer, Brian Dozier, for example) get traded, or the Twins really wave the white flag.
But there is more than a month until the deadline. Maybe nobody will get traded.
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