#AskBW (8.2.22): Trade Deadline Edition
#AskBW (8.2.22): Trade Deadline Edition
Welcome back to a weekly edition of Q&A at Access Twins called “#AskBW.”
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Should be pretty easy, right? Let’s talk to it:
He’s a Yankee, sadly. Today, we memorialize the end of a very good meme. Yankee Montas would have been a great addition for the Twins, but I’m still holding out hope they add a starter of that caliber or close to it.
I think the strategy, to this point, was to try tread water until the pitching prospects this front office culvitated were ready to be harvested, to force a painful metaphor.
But there is a lot of risk in that approach. Covid canceled a season. Guys have gotten hurt, stagnated or both. It’s worth noting that Simeon Woods Richardson, Louie Varland, Steve Hajjar and a few others have popped up this season amidst the struggles of Jordan Balazovic, Blayne Enlow and others.
In the meantime, the Twins probably have to take a more broad approach, trading for pretty good starters with more club control by thinning out the herd, so to speak, from their cadre of offensive prospects. From my perspective, the Twins are well stocked with shortstop-ish prospects and guys who can mash but only really fake it defensively at a corner.
Trade those guys while they have value. Is Matt Wallner more likely to be Daniel Palka or Joey Gallo? I don’t know the answer to that, but I suspect the former.
Wasn’t expecting this question. Hmm.
There was a little Peruvian place near where I lived about 10 years ago that had an incredible seafood paella. That’s on the list.
I also had a really excellent burger at Pickwick in Duluth that I keep coming back to.
Other than that, I’m wracking my brain. I’m a pretty simple guy to please food-wise. I like well-cooked meat — as in quality, not a steak cooked like a puck — with potato salad and a good drink. That’s an awesome meal for me.
So we’ve already seen the Twins land Lopez, which sort of takes this question and flushes it a bit. But let’s talk about No. 2 starters. I really do think the Twins land a Mahle or Rodon. It just doesn’t make sense to me to bolster the bullpen the way they did with the aforementioned Lopez without going a step further in the rotation, where the Twins are arguably as vulnerable.
Good question — one I covered here in depth with the exact same words.
Now is the time to push the chips into the middle of the table. What the Twins lack in high-end prospects, they have in guys who can really hit which I also think will appeal to teams. The trade return on Lopez wasn’t that bad either, so I think the market is somehow favoring buyers right now which is strange to say.
My theory with the Gobert trade was that it’s really hard to lose an NBA deal where you get the best player. Quality will always trump quantity (like we saw with the Kevin Garnett deal).
But with that said, I think you could be onto something. I don’t think it’s quite to the level of Tom Thibodeau preferring to fail his way rather than succeed someone else’s, but more like Joe Mauer not swinging at first pitches even if they’re grooved fastballs.
Does that mean they can’t be successful? Mauer is — at least in my estimation — going to be a Hall of Famer despite this perceived flaw. Can the Twins win a World Series with Falvey and Levine as head men? I do believe so. But I also think there have been stops along the way that have made people (rightfully) question the direction.
Ever? Is it Rick Reed for Matt Lawton? I’m going to have to wrack my brain. Shannon Stewart for Bobby Kielty? Orlando Cabrera for Tyler Ladendorf?
I think there’s a very good chance they blow that away sometime before this deadline. *fingers crossed*
It’s a valid question, though I don’t think they’d be boxed into anything like that. They have needs — and they are vast. Chances are they’re very familiar with the Twins’ system from that negotiation. I like the chances of the Twins being in the mix to land Mahle before the deadline, and the prospects you’re talking about should be near the front of the line.
You should be very disappointed if nothing else besides Lopez happens. The Twins still have needs — and big ones. The Lopez deal is excellent, but not enough by itself.
I’ll take a stab.
Nathan Eovaldi (hoping for Mahle/Rodon)
Jorge Lopez (gimme)
Mychal Givens (prefer Fulmer or Gregory Soto)
Kurt Suzuki
Joey Gallo (I would be OK with Nelson Cruz, Yadiel Hernandez or someone of that caliber here)
I said it above and will say it again, but I think they do value pitching. It’s just a matter of creating a pipeline that can sustainably produce Nos. 2-3 starters — like Cleveland has. Every now and then, an ace will pop up. The team also has to supplement the group with outside free agents — something Cleveland hasn’t done and won’t do — but they’ve been spurned by some pretty big ones in recent seasons (like Zack Wheeler).
I think the Twins’ pitching pipeline has been stunted in ways both foreseeable and unforeseeable, but I think they’re at least on the right track. There’s always going to be attrition. But I think they’re taking enough stabs in that respect that they can figure this out within the next year.