Trade talks around Minnesota Twins second baseman Brian Dozier are starting to heat up.
According to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, the Los Angeles Dodgers have inquired about Dozier and Detroit Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler recently.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that other teams would be kicking the tires on Dozier’s availability. The Twins won a franchise-worst 59 games while Dozier hit a career-best .268, with 42 home runs, 99 RBIs and scored 104 runs last season.
Those teams also know that Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey may be looking at a massive rebuilding project, and Dozier is the biggest trading chip he has in hand.
The Sporting News named Dozier one of six All-Star hitters who could be traded this offseason.
Falvey has not said much about how he plans to restore the franchise to contention, or what kind of rebuilding job he thinks it’s going to take.
But Dozier’s value will likely never be higher. He hit roughly 36 percent of his career home runs last season and batted 22 points higher than his career average.
Dodgers Trade Rumors: What Would It Take to Land Brian Dozier? https://t.co/9s4yjNpiq2 pic.twitter.com/yHpmdyJRSK
— Think Blue Planning Committee (@thinkbluepc) November 16, 2016
With just two years left on his contract, it may come down to how the Twins view Dozier’s future. Do they believe he will be worth the money it’s going to take to re-sign him in two seasons?
If not, the answer may be to trade him now, while his trade value is at its peak.
