After an embarrassing weekend sweep to the last placed Royals, Twins fans now turn their attention to the front office to see if a deadline trade can help jumpstart the team down the stretch.
According to The Athletic’s Dan Hayes, the Twins are listening to offers for starting pitchers Kenta Maeda and Sonny Gray but would “need to be blown away to make a deal that potentially harms their own postseason chances.”
If the Twins do find a trade partner for either Gray or Maeda they have former Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel ready to be called up. Keuchel has a 1.13 ERA in six starts for the St. Paul Saints, but will most likely opt out of his deal if he is not called up by the deadline.
After trading Jorge Lopez for Dylan Floro last week, the Twins are still in the market for bullpen help.
Fangraphs recently predicted the Twins landing Padres closer Josh Hader at the deadline, but after the Padres swept the first place Rangers over the weekend it appears less likely the 52-54 Padres will be sellers. “At this point, it will probably take a lot to pry Snell and Hader from the Padres,” wrote ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez.
Minnesota is also still in the market for right-handed bats after the Royals’ left-handed pitching exposed one of the Twins’ biggest weaknesses all weekend long.
Hayes reports the Twins’ left-handed outfielders are drawing interest, “namely Max Kepler, Trevor Larnach and Matt Wallner. Larnach is drawing interest from multiple teams, including the San Diego Padres and New York Mets.”
In an article looking at potential trades for every Major League team, The Athletic’s Steven J. Nesbitt predicted the Twins to acquire Mariners outfielder Teoscar Hernandez and Mets reliever Brooks Raley.
Hernandez would fill the right-handed batting need and shore up the Twins’ woes against left-handed pitching. The 30-year old outfielder is slashing .296/.315/.568 against lefties this season.
Overall, it’s been a down season for the career .258-hitter but, as Nesbitt notes: “Hernández could pay big dividends over the next few months. He has 30-homer power and his strikeout rate should recede to some degree.”
