The Minnesota Twins saw a big name go off the trade market on Friday night but with three-plus days remaining until the MLB trade deadline, they appear to be heavily involved in trying to upgrade their pitching staff.
MLB Network’s Mark Feinsand reported Thursday that the Twins were one of the most aggressive teams on the pitching trade market, but it wasn’t enough to land Cincinnati Reds pitcher Luis Castillo.
The right-hander was traded to the Seattle Mariners on Friday night in exchange for minor leaguers Noelvi Marte, Levi Stoudt, Edwin Arroyo and Andrew Moore. The haul included three of the top-five prospects in Seattle’s system, according to MLB.com, and could set the price for some of the other top arms on the market.
That includes Oakland Athletics right-hander Frankie Montas, who has been connected to the Twins since March. There has been no evidence that the Twins have made progress on a deal since then and MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale and others have reported that Montas is now the No. 1 trade target for the New York Yankees.
This is bad news for the Twins considering the Yankees have five prospects in MLB.com’s Top 100 list while the Twins have one, and that’s injured shortstop Royce Lewis.
The Twins do have some other names they could target, however, including Reds right-hander Tyler Mahle.
KSTP’s Darren Wolfson suggested on SKOR North that Mahle is the likeliest name to land in Minnesota prior to Tuesday’s deadline. Mahle has gone 4-7 with a 4.48 ERA this season but it remains to be seen what the cost is to acquire him.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported earlier this week that the Reds are “prospect hoarding” but would also be open to throwing in the contract of Mike Moustakas to reduce the cost. Moustakas is owed $25 million on the final two years of a four-year, $64 million contract signed prior to the 2020 season and is hitting .210/.298/.346 with six homers in 67 games this season.
Wolfson hinted that the Twins could be in on Miami right-hander Pablo Lopez. The asking price for the 26-year-old could be steep, however, as he’s under team control through the 2025 season.
Lopez has gone 7-5 with a 3.03 ERA and has already eclipsed his career-high with 116 innings.
