I think many fans and probably the players were in a bit of denial after the Twins came off of their 4 game winning streak, about how out of it the Twins actually are. Even after the 4 game winning streak, they only needed one loss to end up at just .500 since the break, and they are still 8 games out of first place. It’s time for the Twins start thinking about 2019.
Of course, any forward thinking organization can’t stop thinking only about the next year, but subsequent years as well. That explains why Eduardo Escobar was parted with. Looking at the return for Ryan Pressly, it’s easy to believe that the Twins had eyes further into the future.
The Twins squeezed quantity out of the Diamondbacks, as their farm system wasn’t necessarily replete with quality. That said, the Twins leaned heavily on very young, lottery ticket type players, particularly in Jhoan Duran and Gabriel Maciel, who are 19 and in Single A. Ernie De La Trinidad was a college player, and therefore a bit older, but has been tearing it up in the low A level. It’s not out of line to think that any of these guys could one day be playing in Minneapolis.
Pressly extracted quality from the Astros. Astros fans aren’t happy with the price that was paid for him either, with Crawfish Boxes suggesting that either Gilberto Celestino or Jorge Alcala would be significant returns for Pressly, and the Twins ended up with both. Celestino is a toolsy centerfielder, who will be a very good compliment to Byron Buxton someday. Alcala might only ever be a reliever, though he has started in the Astros organization. The reason he might be a reliever is simply because he regularly pegs the upper 90s with his fastball.
According to MLB Pipeline’s updated prospect ratings for the Twins, Alcala is #11, Celestino is #14, Maciel is #17 and Duran is #22. Not bad for a rental and a reliever that never really got the respect he deserved while he was here.
With those moves in mind, it seems evient that the Twins are going to be interested n moving their rental pieces. Nearly every player they signed late in the offseason qualified, but also perhaps more painfully for fans, second baseman Brian Dozier, is a candidate to be traded in the coming days. The Pressly trade also signals that the Twins would be inclined to trade away players with more time left on their contract, but only if they get a significant return.
The Twins, even if they make all these moves, will be compelling for the rest of this season, as they have a wealth of young players that could conceivably fill in the gaps on the current roster. Consider that it was once top prospect Miguel Sano that had the Twins will replace Escobar with, and dominant minor league reliver Gabriel Moya that moves into the bullpen. There are a wealth of players in Rochester that have MLB experience, or are probably ready to give it a shot. Some starters, like Fernando Romero, Stephen Gonsalves, Zach Littel, Adalberto Mejia and Aaron Slegers could certainly benefit from starts for the rest of the year. Nick Gordon will be with the roster as soon as Dozier gets traded, and he is likely the shortstop of the near future, in any event.
These trades are painful in the short term, certainly, and it’s tough to watch your team throw in the towel on any year. It’s tough especially in Minnesota where we’ve never really seen a front office with the stones to have an aggressive trade deadline, but I promise you, there is a plan that will work towards the greater good. The Twins aren’t tearing everything down, it’s just a remodel.
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