The Minnesota Twins don’t appear to be actively shopping Brian Dozier, but they did reportedly tell one Major League team they’d have to be wowed to consider trading the 29-year-old slugger.
So what type of deal would “wow” the Twins?
The team most rumored to be interested in Dozier is the Los Angeles Dodgers. LA is in need of a cost-effective option to play second base and at only $15 million total through 2018, Dozier would certainly fit the bill.
He also would provide Dodgers with a powerful right-handed bat for the middle of their lineup.
What would the Twins get in return?
Dozier’s value is a little tougher to figure out. There are not a lot of second basemen with Dozier’s combination of power, speed and defense.
Given the Twins’ need for pitching, you’d have to think any deal for Dozier would have to help Minnesota bolster its starting rotation – a focal point for new Twins baseball chief officer Derek Falvey and GM Thad Levine as the winter meetings open.
But according to Twins Daily, don’t expect Minnesota to get a bonafide top-of-the-rotation ace in exchange for him.
Their best chance to improve the rotation long term could be by adding a young arm or two that could develop into front-line starters.
According to a Bleacher Report article, the Dodgers may have enough young pitching prospects to get the Twins attention, if they were willing to offer Minnesota three of their top five prospects.
Here are the names being mooted as possible inclusions in a Dozier trade deal.
- RHP Yadier Alvarez
- RHP Jose De Leon
- 2B Willie Calhoun
- RHP Brock Stewart
Alvarez, De Leon and Calhoun are all ranked in the top 100 prospects by MLBPipeline.com.
The website notes that De Leon projects as a No. 2 starter, while Stewart could project as a back of the rotation starter. Both Alvarez and Calhoun could also help the Twins down the road.
Is that enough to convince Falvey and Levine to move Dozier? We’ll have to wait and see.
