The most frustrating thing about Twins fandom through the 2000s was Terry Ryan’s reluctance to do anything to push the team over the edge into playoff contention. Sure, 2002 brought Shannon Stewart over from the Blue Jays, but after that, it was interminable playoff failures that surely could have been blunted with just a little bit of support, particularly in the middle infield, added at the deadline. It never came.
The next decade seemed to bring the opposite. Johan Santana was traded to the Mets in a massive, if ultimately unsuccessful deal, but the Twins were otherwise dormant, even as their team fell apart. Denard Span and Ben Revere were traded in the offseason, but even in the worst seasons, the Twins were loathe to sell in the middle of the year.
This front office has shown itself to be quite different. They made a couple of moves at the deadline last year, both buying and selling, proving that they were capable of both. They also positioned themselves to work aggressively this offseason, acquiring more players in the span of a few weeks than it seemed like they had in a decade. Now, though, the Twins have fallen on hard times.
Derek Falvey and Thad Levine are likely untroubled by this turn of events. Why would they be? They’ve been working at paring back the payroll and setting up their minor league rosters since they arrived. If anything, last year’s success slowed down their rebuild. With little to play for left in 2018, the front office can work on both of those tasks in earnest.
Even for the worst teams in baseball, there is no reason to give up on a season until the math turns against a that team. The most recent run of good form for the Twins has staved off those numbers for a few days, but the looming Manny Machado trade is accelerating the timeline towards a sell off. Soon, the math in play will not be the games out of first place for the Twins, but rather the amount of value teams are willing to offer in exchange for the Twins’ veterans.
I expect that in the few days after Machado is traded, and by the way that’s sounding, that will be soon, teams will turn their attention to Eduardo Escobar and Brian Dozier, the most appealing names that would be left on the market in the middle infield. One could argue that those two are the heart and soul of this year’s Twins from an emotional level as well, and if either of those players go, it will be a sign that a cascade of moves is imminent.
If the Twins aren’t expecting to press forward in 2018, then there are a great many of players that could be traded without rendering a meaningful impact on their chances next year and particularly in 2020. First, there is the raft of free agents heading into this offseason, like Dozier and Escobar, but also, players with options or a year left on their deal need to be considered if the return is great enough.
On top of Dozier and Escobar, pitchers like Jake Odorizzi and Kyle Gibson will be the names to watch if you expect the Twins to get anything of true substance, though most of the bullpen and Lance Lynn will be up for grabs as well. Most of the rotation has little left on their contract, and the best performers in the bullpen, save for Trevor Hildenberger and Ryan Pressly, are veterans whose contracts expire soon.
The Twins haven’t ever been busy at the deadline, but this is the year things will change. They have a couple of names that might be near the top of the market, in terms of value, and a whole lot of guys that could help a contender, but will be no help to the Twins for the rest of the year. This is a front office that seems a bit more brash than those of the past, and we will see the new mentality in action in the next few weeks.
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