MLB Trade Rumors: 10 Deals for Minnesota Twins to Hold Off White Sox and Tigers
Two months until pitchers and catchers report. Baseball can’t get here soon enough!
With the Tigers and White Sox being active in the early free agent market and loading up to chase the Twins in 2011, it is setting up to be a three-team race in the American League Central.
In this installment, we will look at some deals the Twins should look at to maintain their hold on the division and earn their third straight division title (and maybe even get into the ALCS or World Series).
The deals are based on trades with other teams or being active the last couple months in free agency going into spring training.
Vladimir Guerrero (Free Agent Signing)
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I've brought Guerrero's name up before in my articles, and as you can see, this one is no exception. Guerrero provides a right-handed power bat in the middle of the lineup or off the bench depending on the situation.
He is still a productive power hitter (29 home runs and 115 RBI) and still a solid baserunner (as seen in the ALCS). He would be a solid complement to Jason Kubel in the DH spot from the right side and would match up well with White Sox relievers Matt Thornton and Chris Sale.
His salary last year in Texas was $5.5 million, so he wouldn't break the Twins' bank.
Grant Balfour (Free Agent Signing)
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Balfour is a name that Twins fans should remember from the early 2000s. Balfour was with the Twins in 2001 and again in 2003 and 2004. His last year with the Twins he was 4-1 out of the bullpen with 42 strikeouts in 39 innings.
He had surgery on both his shoulder and elbow after the 2004 season and missed all of the 2005 and 2006 seasons.
In his four seasons in Tampa, Balfour compiled a 3.33 ERA and pitched 203 innings while striking out 234. During this time he also appeared in 203 games.
Balfour would be a key pickup for the Twins bullpen, especially in the late innings. He is capable of getting that big strikeout when needed and would be the guy to come in and face a Miguel Cabrera or Paul Konerko in a late inning situation.
His 2010 salary was $2.05 million, but with the way relievers are getting paid this offseason, he may be more in the neighborhood of $4-5 million.
Andrew McCutchen (Trade with Pittsburgh Pirates)
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Andrew McCutchen would be the perfect fit for Ron Gardenhire and the Minnesota Twins. He possesses the speed Gardenhire wants in his lineup and would be the perfect table setter for Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Michael Cuddyer.
Salary would be something that would also interest the Twins. Pittsburgh, again, is starting to put some pretty solid pieces together in hopes of breaking the string of sub-.500 finishes they've endured since the days of Barry Bonds.
McCutchen is under team control through 2016 with his three years of arbitration starting in 2013. His 2010 salary was $422,500 compared to Denard Span's five-year, $16 million contract, where he would be eligible for free agency in 2015.
McCutchen would be a nice weapon to have against the arms of A.J. Pierzynski and V-Mart. An offer of Span and/or possibly Glen Perkins or Kevin Slowey may spark the Pirates' interest.
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Fausto Carmona (Trade with Cleveland Indians)
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Rarely do division rivals trade pitching within a division, but oddly enough the Twins and Indians have done this before, as recently as 2009 with Carl Pavano. The Indians dealt Pavano to the surging Twins for a player to be named later, and the rest is history.
The reason behind the deal for Pavano was twofold: 1) The Twins needed a starter to fill the role of the then-inconsistent Francisco Liriano, and 2) Pavano had owned the Detroit Tigers, the team the Twins were chasing that season.
Here are some points that make a Carmona trade plausible. Carmona has a 7-3 record against the White Sox in his career. He has a solid sinker and nearly no-hit the Twins this past September against, ironically enough, Carl Pavano.
Carmona is the Indians' No. 1 starter, so they may not be too excited to trade him, especially within the division, but the Twins do have prospects and major league players the Indians could plug in and help both sides out. A pitcher or two would definitely have to be involved (Nick Blackburn and/or Anthony Swarzak); along with Luke Hughes and Ben Revere, that might give the Indians enough to pull the trigger on this deal.
Frank Francisco (Trade with Texas Rangers)
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Frank Francisco would be another key power arm for the Twins to look at to neutralize the upgrades in the White Sox and Tigers offense. Francisco was the Texas Rangers' closer the first part of the 2010 season for the Texas Rangers until he lost his job to Rookie of the Year Neftali Feliz.
Francisco consistently hits 93-95 on the radar gun and is primarily a two-pitch pitcher. Francisco, being a strikeout pitcher, would be a nice addition to the bullpen again in the late innings when Konerko and Cabrera are coming to the plate.
It's hard to determine what exactly Texas is doing after losing out on the Cliff Lee sweepstakes. There is talk about moving Michael Young and signing Adrian Beltre, which means figuring out a deal for Francisco to the Twins won't be easy.
A Kevin Slowey or another starter may get the job done, but that would all depend on whether or not Feliz gets moved to the starting rotation. If Feliz gets moved, all bets are off, as Francisco would by all accounts become the closer again.
Matt Garza (Trade with Tampa Bay Rays)
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In another blast from the past for Twins fans, Matt Garza, who was traded along with Jason Bartlett for Delmon Young, would be a good fit towards the top of the rotation for the 2011 Twins.
Garza has had mixed reviews as far as what type of pitcher he is. He no-hit the Tigers in July and was the 2008 ALCS Most Valuable Player for the series against the Red Sox.
The drawbacks are that his overall numbers aren't earth-shattering. In his three years with Tampa, he is 33-31 with a 3.97 ERA. The ERA is pretty solid when you consider he faces the Red Sox, Blue Jays and Yankees on a consistent basis, but that hasn't necessarily translated into wins.
Garza would be under team control for three more years but would command top dollar (not Cliff Lee money, but second tier), upwards of $8-10 million a year.
Another factor would be Garza's desire to come back to Minnesota, a team that traded him just a few short years ago, and any animosity he may have against the organization. Facing Adam Dunn and Paul Konerko or Miguel Cabrera and V-Mart is a daunting task in itself, but it surely is a better alternative than facing A-Rod, Robinson Cano, Mark Teixeira, Nick Swisher, etc. throughout the course of the year.
The Twins give Garza a great chance to get back to the playoffs—something the Rays may be without for at least a couple years. Tampa is also in savings mode, so a top prospect like Ben Revere or Anthony Swarzak and either Max Kepler or Glen Perkins may be enough to pry away the Rays' No. 3 starter.
Orlando Cabrera (Free Agent)
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I know there are some people who don't think Cabrera can help the Twins win this season, but I humbly disagree. Cabrera would be an upgrade over the inconsistent Alexi Casilla.
Cabrera is a proven winner. He has won with the Red Sox (2004), Angels (2005, 2007), White Sox (2008), Twins (2009) and most recently the Reds (2010).
Although his offensive numbers aren't what they used to be, he still would be an upgrade over Casilla, and that would allow Tsuyoshi Nishioka to get accustomed to the majors by playing his natural position of shortstop. This would give the Twins a solid duo up the middle, and the strength of your team should be up the middle.
Brian Fuentes (Free Agent)
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A big reason for the success of the Twins this past decade has been their bullpen. In order to face the likes of Adam Dunn and get Victor Martinez to the right side of the plate, Brian Fuentes would be the perfect fit.
Fuentes was acquired from the Angels last August for the stretch run and performed admirably in the setup role for the Twins. He has a closer's mentality and is capable of pitching on consecutive days, which would be vitally important in the White Sox and Tigers series.
The issue with Fuentes, though, is that he would not be the closer. The Twins have made it clear that Joe Nathan and Matt Capps will be their closers, and Fuentes would be the left-handed relief specialist in the late innings.
He is a more reliable option than Jose Mijares, but that closer title is something Fuentes still covets. This may deter Fuentes from rejoining the Twins, but he should be somebody the Twins should look long and hard at. That is, if he comes down from his $9 million salary from 2010.
Mike Napoli (Trade with Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim)
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Mike Napoli of the Angels would be the perfect backup to Joe Mauer. Napoli has had to deal with splitting time in the big leagues, as he currently does in Los Angeles with Jeff Mathis, so backing up an All-Star catcher may not be that big of deal.
Napoli has averaged 23 home runs the past three seasons, and while his .238 average last year won't win him any batting titles, the threat of the long ball will make pitchers think twice about throwing to him.
The Twins traded away arguably their best prospect in catcher Wilson Ramos in the Matt Capps deal, but it was agreed he wasn't going to get a chance with Mauer in front of him.
Drew Butera inherited the backup catching duties and did a serviceable job of handling the staff while Mauer recovered from his knee and shoulder injuries this past season. By the middle of the season, though, Butera had become Carl Pavano's "personal" catcher and played every fifth day.
For everything Butera brings to the defensive side of the game, his offense is a liability. With the White Sox and Tigers presumably putting up runs this year, the Twins need to score right along with them. Napoli would serve as the backup catcher, occasionally DH and be the right-handed hitter off the bench.
The Angels are in need of pitching, and Slowey, Perkins and Swarzak are all available. Throw in a Max Kepler and the Twins may have found their backup catcher.
Jose Reyes (Trade with New York Mets)
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There always has to be a blockbuster somewhere in a team's offseason, and this surely would classify as that.
There is a history of blockbuster deals with the Twins and Mets. In 2008, the Twins traded their Cy Young winner Johan Santana to the Mets for Carlos Gomez, Phil Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra. Mulvey and Guerra have yet to play at the major league level. Humber was released by the Twins, and Gomez traded by the Twins in 2009 for J.J. Hardy.
The Mets are in a financial crisis right now and seemingly are looking strapped for cash. They have been very quiet on the free agent market and, to be honest, haven't hit a home run with any free agents the past few years (Carlos Beltran and Jason Bay come to mind).
With that being said, it may be time to see what the Mets would want for Reyes. Reyes would bring speed and defense up the middle to the Twins and again put pressure on the likes of Victor Martinez and A.J. Pierzynski, both of whom are not solid throwing catchers.
Reyes could also hit leadoff, moving Niskioka to the No. 2 hole and setting the table for Mauer and Morneau. It would also be one of the most athletic, if not best, base-stealing threats in the majors with Reyes and Nishioka up the middle.
What would it take to pull this off? For starters, any combination of Slowey, Blackburn and Perkins and then a Ben Revere-type player may get the deal done. The Mets are in a transition phase, and it would be nice to see the Twins be buyers when this happens.
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