Yesterday I wrote about how it is time for the Twins to start spending money on starting pitching, and while I still believe that to be true, they should also explore adding pitching via trade and get even more creative then they did last offseason when they moved essentially the only 2 major league centerfielders they had.
The Twins have a pretty deep farm system when it comes to position players and the Rays have a really deep farm system when it comes to pitching so they seem like ideal partners for a deal similar to the one they made with the Royals for James Shields this past offseason.
The Twins target would be 2012 Cy Young Award winner in David Price (Pictured above). Why would the Rays trade Price you say? Well he was rumored to be on the move last season at the deadline and will be moved at some point by the Rays because his next contract is going to be worth way more than what the Rays will be able to afford. He is going to be a free agent after the 2015 season, so now would be the ideal time to trade for him. You trade for him and offer him an extension at some point before the 2015 season, and if he declines you move him at the deadline in 2015 for a similar package that the Cubs got for Garza a couple of weeks ago. Or if you are contending you keep him and offer him a qualifying offer and get comp picks back, so no matter what you will get something back for him for what you had to give up to get him.
Now no pun intended the price won't be cheap to get him. I've come up with a swap where the Twins send 6 players to the Rays for him, but I'll explain why we are able to move that many and not have to worry about giving up the entire farm for what could be just a year and a half of Price.
The first player in the trade would be second base prospect Jorge Polanco. Most don't know about him because of all the hype around Eddie Rosario, but outside of power Polanco can hit for just as high of average as Rosario and field the position much better than Rosario. The Rays don't have a second base prospect anywhere near Polanco's potential, and because of Eddie Rosario the Twins can afford to move Polanco.
The second player in the trade would be outfield prospect Max Kepler. Max has all 5 tools, with raw power that will only get better as he matures. The Rays also don't have an outfield prospect with all the tools Kepler has and the ability to be an everyday centerfielder. The Twins are deepest in the outfield throughout the farm system, and thanks to outfield prospects Buxton, Arcia, Hicks, Walker, and many more the Twins could move Kepler and still have probably the deepest outfield farm system in the majors.
The third player in the trade would be first base prospect D.J. Hicks. Hicks has put himself on the map this season when he tore it up at Cedar Rapids and has continued to hit well since being promoted to Fort Myers. Now the Twins aren't exactly deep at first base, but they do still have options to allow them to move Hicks. Vargas who has been at Fort Myers all season and is nicknamed "Little Papi" has torn that league up and I am surprised he hasn't been called up to New Britain yet. He has better numbers than Hicks thus far at Fort Myers and has a little bit of a higher upside power wise than Hicks, but won't be as good defensively. The Twins also have third base prospect Travis Harrison at Cedar Rapids, who if he stays in the organization will more than likely have to move over to first base to reach the majors. He has hit very well at Cedar Rapids as well.
The fourth player in this deal would be pitching prospect Mason Melotakis. Mason has pitched very well at Cedar Rapids this year and already has an above average fastball that can only get better. He is a lefty, and still needs work on his breaking stuff but has a high upside, with his floor being a closer. The reason he would be open to move is that even though he has such a high upside the Twins still have 4 or 5 pitchers with an even higher upside then he does including another lefty.
The last two players in the deal will be able to help the Rays at the major league level immediately. The first of the two is catcher Chris Herrmann. Herrmann has shown potential to be a very solid catcher in this league, something the Rays have been lacking for years. The reason the Twins can afford to move him is because they still have both Mauer and Doumit slated to be on the roster next season and catching prospect Pinto has higher upside offensively then Herrmann and he should be ready this September. The Twins also drafted Stuart Turner out of Ole Miss in the 3rd round and should be a fast riser in this organization.
The last player of this deal will be a choice between 2B Dozier, UTIL Plouffe, C Doumit, and OF Willingham. Dozier has been really good of late but doesn't have the upside of Rosario and at best would become a utility infielder here. Plouffe is eventually going to be moved off third by Sano. Doumit is going to struggle seeing playing time thanks to Pinto and Mauer seeing a majority of the catching/DH duty, and Willingham is going to be moved at some point thanks to the crowded outfield we will have soon due to all the prospects.
So to conclude the deal the Twins would get David Price and send 2B Polanco, OF Kepler, 1B Hicks, P Melotakis, C Herrmann, and I'll say OF Willingham. This allows the Twins to keep their top 3 some of Rosario, Sano, and Buxton and their top pitching prospect in Meyer while still adding one of the better pitchers in the game.
Now, I'm not saying they have to do this trade or that this trade would be okay'd by the Rays, but if they aren't going to spend too much this offseason, they will have to get creative in a trade like this to get good quality pitching back.
If the Twins aren't spending this offseason, they should be using some of their depth in the minors to get creative and bring back better pitching options than a Vance Worley.
Written by Nick Calo, follow me on Twitter for more updates and sports thoughts @PRH1987
The Twins have a pretty deep farm system when it comes to position players and the Rays have a really deep farm system when it comes to pitching so they seem like ideal partners for a deal similar to the one they made with the Royals for James Shields this past offseason.
The Twins target would be 2012 Cy Young Award winner in David Price (Pictured above). Why would the Rays trade Price you say? Well he was rumored to be on the move last season at the deadline and will be moved at some point by the Rays because his next contract is going to be worth way more than what the Rays will be able to afford. He is going to be a free agent after the 2015 season, so now would be the ideal time to trade for him. You trade for him and offer him an extension at some point before the 2015 season, and if he declines you move him at the deadline in 2015 for a similar package that the Cubs got for Garza a couple of weeks ago. Or if you are contending you keep him and offer him a qualifying offer and get comp picks back, so no matter what you will get something back for him for what you had to give up to get him.
Now no pun intended the price won't be cheap to get him. I've come up with a swap where the Twins send 6 players to the Rays for him, but I'll explain why we are able to move that many and not have to worry about giving up the entire farm for what could be just a year and a half of Price.
The first player in the trade would be second base prospect Jorge Polanco. Most don't know about him because of all the hype around Eddie Rosario, but outside of power Polanco can hit for just as high of average as Rosario and field the position much better than Rosario. The Rays don't have a second base prospect anywhere near Polanco's potential, and because of Eddie Rosario the Twins can afford to move Polanco.
The second player in the trade would be outfield prospect Max Kepler. Max has all 5 tools, with raw power that will only get better as he matures. The Rays also don't have an outfield prospect with all the tools Kepler has and the ability to be an everyday centerfielder. The Twins are deepest in the outfield throughout the farm system, and thanks to outfield prospects Buxton, Arcia, Hicks, Walker, and many more the Twins could move Kepler and still have probably the deepest outfield farm system in the majors.
The third player in the trade would be first base prospect D.J. Hicks. Hicks has put himself on the map this season when he tore it up at Cedar Rapids and has continued to hit well since being promoted to Fort Myers. Now the Twins aren't exactly deep at first base, but they do still have options to allow them to move Hicks. Vargas who has been at Fort Myers all season and is nicknamed "Little Papi" has torn that league up and I am surprised he hasn't been called up to New Britain yet. He has better numbers than Hicks thus far at Fort Myers and has a little bit of a higher upside power wise than Hicks, but won't be as good defensively. The Twins also have third base prospect Travis Harrison at Cedar Rapids, who if he stays in the organization will more than likely have to move over to first base to reach the majors. He has hit very well at Cedar Rapids as well.
The fourth player in this deal would be pitching prospect Mason Melotakis. Mason has pitched very well at Cedar Rapids this year and already has an above average fastball that can only get better. He is a lefty, and still needs work on his breaking stuff but has a high upside, with his floor being a closer. The reason he would be open to move is that even though he has such a high upside the Twins still have 4 or 5 pitchers with an even higher upside then he does including another lefty.
The last two players in the deal will be able to help the Rays at the major league level immediately. The first of the two is catcher Chris Herrmann. Herrmann has shown potential to be a very solid catcher in this league, something the Rays have been lacking for years. The reason the Twins can afford to move him is because they still have both Mauer and Doumit slated to be on the roster next season and catching prospect Pinto has higher upside offensively then Herrmann and he should be ready this September. The Twins also drafted Stuart Turner out of Ole Miss in the 3rd round and should be a fast riser in this organization.
The last player of this deal will be a choice between 2B Dozier, UTIL Plouffe, C Doumit, and OF Willingham. Dozier has been really good of late but doesn't have the upside of Rosario and at best would become a utility infielder here. Plouffe is eventually going to be moved off third by Sano. Doumit is going to struggle seeing playing time thanks to Pinto and Mauer seeing a majority of the catching/DH duty, and Willingham is going to be moved at some point thanks to the crowded outfield we will have soon due to all the prospects.
So to conclude the deal the Twins would get David Price and send 2B Polanco, OF Kepler, 1B Hicks, P Melotakis, C Herrmann, and I'll say OF Willingham. This allows the Twins to keep their top 3 some of Rosario, Sano, and Buxton and their top pitching prospect in Meyer while still adding one of the better pitchers in the game.
Now, I'm not saying they have to do this trade or that this trade would be okay'd by the Rays, but if they aren't going to spend too much this offseason, they will have to get creative in a trade like this to get good quality pitching back.
If the Twins aren't spending this offseason, they should be using some of their depth in the minors to get creative and bring back better pitching options than a Vance Worley.
Written by Nick Calo, follow me on Twitter for more updates and sports thoughts @PRH1987