MAKE GLOVE NOT W.A.R.— The Time is Now, Not August 2 Trade Deadline, for Twins to Improve.

Twins

Jun 29

No one thinks the Twins are a player away from a World Series title. But they’re leading the division and don’t seem likely to fall out of the race anytime soon.

It’s time for the Pohlad family and their front office braintrust to do the unthinkable–pull off an early trade (or two) to prove to this starved fanbase, their potential free agent shortstop, their ailing centerfielder, heck even their departed pitching coach, that they’re in it to win it. Just because the trade deadline is August 2 (late this year) doesn’t mean you can’t get a jump on the competition.

**The Twins lost pitching coach Wes Johnson this week, as he went back to the college ranks at LSU to the tune of a possible half million dollars.**

The Rotation

This starting rotation has completely outperformed what pundits said in April. Joe Ryan is a legitimate front of the rotation guy. There aren’t too many baseball players easier to root for than Chris Archer, who has battled through injuries for most of a decade and recently defended his manager for those saying the innings-limited pitcher needs to be stretched out. Did you expect Sonny Gray to have a 2.17 ERA through 10 starts?

The issue, of course, is that only two current members of the Twins rotation are averaging more than five innings per start. Dylan Bundy, who has the highest ERA of the group (4.80) and Devin Smeltzer. With Smeltzer, do you trust a pitcher with more starts this year (eight) than in the rest of his career (seven) to win an important game in September?

**Would you want to see Devin Smeltzer in a dodgeball game?**

This lack of distance among the starting staff crushes the bullpen (more on that shortly).

So do the Twins go out and get someone like Reds starter Luis Castilo? They’ve been linked to him. It might seem strange that one of the top starters on the market led the majors in losses (16) last season, but he also led the majors in starts (33). He’s a durable ground ball pitcher. Castillo is 2-4 this year with a 3.71 ERA, and honestly the Twins just need someone they can count on to take the ball every five days and give them six innings. Not five, six! Castilo is a bit wild but was an All-Star in 2019 with a 15-8 record.

**The Twins certainly aren’t the only team after Luis Castillo. The hated Yankees are in the mix too.**

The Bullpen

It’s quite remarkable the hometown nine is in the position they’re in when you consider their bullpen. Only three of their regulars Griffin Jax, Joe Smith (on injured list) and budding star Jhoan Duran are anything near reliable. Emilio Pagán, who started the season as the closer, allowed Cleveland five runs over 24 hours last week and didn’t see the mound again for four days. Pagán then blew a 2-1 eighth-inning lead against the Guardians Tuesday and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him soon behind Tyler Duffy in the reliability chart.

**It’s safe to say that flamethrowing Jhoan Duran won’t be going back to his former role of starting pitcher anytime soon.**

Now the Twins aren’t going to sell the farm (nor should they in 2022) to get someone like the Cubs’ David Robertson, but even outside closer Jorge Lopez, the Orioles have some good bullpen arms like Dillon Tate and Félix Bautista that could be pillaged.

The Centerfielder

There’s no end in sight to the 3-4 games a week, if that, that the Twins plan to play Byron Buxton while he nurses his knee injury. And it’s even more unfortunate because of the difference of the buzz at Target Field when Buck is in the lineup versus when he’s not.

Nick Gordon is many things, but a top-of-the-line defensive center fielder isn’t one of them. Last week, he badly misplayed a ball in center and the next night, sat back on a sharply hit ball on a hit-and-run and allowed the runner to take third. And now, with Trevor Larnach out for six weeks, Gordon will be needed more in left. It would behoove the Twins to pick up a veteran backup center fielder who can also pinch-hit and pinch-run.

What’s it Going to Take?

This is where Royce Lewis’ second ACL tear really hurts (beyond the obvious reason). There’s the lingering potential of Carlos Correa leaving after this season–although he’s shown no signs of that happening. So, do the Twins pull the plug on underperforming 23-year-old Austin Martin, who can play short, third base and the outfield? It’s a big risk to trade a youngster like Martin, the fifth overall pick in the 2020 draft and a part of the José Berríos trade. But Martin is batting shy of .250 with just a single home run this season.

The Twins aren’t likely to move Max Kepler but he could get back something significant in return. The, ahem, “analytics people” love him. But he’s also a beloved fixture in the clubhouse. The emergence of Alex Kirilloff may make that move easier, even with Larnach out but returning around the time of the deadline.

The Bottom Line

Aren’t you just sick of this team giving away wins, like it did Tuesday, because of its pitching staff–most notably its bullpen? Make a move come August 2 and it may be too late. Rest assured the Pohlads are watching attendance numbers–the Twins haven’t drawn 28,000 fans since Opening Day. The weather is nice, that place should be rocking. And it could be with a move or two.