Twins starter Ervin Santana has batters wrapped around his finger in 2017. Santana leads the MLB with an ERA of 1.45 and opponents are hitting just .140 against him.
Although the Twins are sitting in first place in the AL Central, that doesn’t mean Santana is a sure thing to be sticking around. Multiple MLB insiders have reported that the Twins are listening to offers for their ace.
“They’re hoping to cash in on his start,” said Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. With the Twins controlling their destiny in first place, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports believes the asking price should be quite high and rightfully so.
Meanwhile, David Schoenfield of ESPN.com said earlier this month he thinks the Twins shouldn’t wait at all. Instead, they should cash in immediately on Santana’s insane start to the season.
Obviously Minnesota has a good thing going with Santana and Jose Berrios at the top of their rotation. But with their minus-7 run differential, a regression could be coming and Minnesota could fall back to earth.
We’re still eight weeks from the trade deadline and the next few months will tell if the Twins will be buyers or sellers. But new front office executives Derek Falvey and Thad LaVine do have a history of going for it at the deadline.
Falvey helped bring in players like Andrew Miller and Ubaldo Jimenez during his time in Cleveland. While LaVine played a part in bringing ace Cole Hamels to Texas.
Which should provide evidence that the new bosses are not a afraid to make a splash at the deadline if they feel the team can compete for a World Series.
