MAKE GLOVE NOT W.A.R.— Twins' Brass Shows Fans, Correa, That They're All In.

Twins

Aug 3

This wasn’t your father’s Minnesota Twins at the trade deadline. Heck, this was unlike any trade deadline in any Minnesota sport that most of us can remember.

While the results remain to be seen, the fact that Twins brass went out and got three pitchers - starter Tyler Mahle and relievers Jorge Lopez and Michael Fulmer, along with depth catcher Sandy Leon - made it clear. Anything less than a division championship will be an utter disappointment.

And as much as the fans were impressed, Derek Falvey and Thad Levine have to hope their players are, too, especially Carlos Correa, who could opt out of his contract after this season. We’ll call Correa cautiously optimistic.

“Seems like we're making the right moves to bulk up, and that's always great,” Correa told reporters. “As a player, you want to feel like the front office is putting the best product on the field to help you win a championship. And so far during this Deadline, we feel like they're doing that. They're giving us a chance, a better chance, to go out there and compete with the best of them.

And while the Twins gave up eight prospects and a minor leaguer, they didn’t touch their top five prospects. They don’t give anything away free out there.

The day began with the trade for Lopez, first mentioned as a distinct possibility for the Twins in this very column in late June. He earned his first All-Star appearance and sports an impressive 1.68 ERA while saving 19 games. If not for a brutal series against the Twins in early July, those numbers would be much better. Four of the nine earned runs Lopez has given up this season have been against his now teammates. Lopez is also under contract through 2024.

Mahle? He may not be a No. 1 starter -at least consistently -but he’s going to be a solid second or third option behind Joe Ryan. He’s only 5-7 this season -but Cy Young may be 5-7 on that Reds team. Mahle is durable -he led the majors with 33 starts last season while striking out 210, a number only Johan Santana has reached in recent memory. And, Mahle isn’t a free agent until 2024.

Of the three, Fulmer looks like more of a rental. What a career trajectory he’s had. He won AL Rookie of the Year in 2016 (and finished 10th in Cy Young voting). In 2020? Ten starts, an ERA approaching a run per inning. But he’s relished this transition to the bullpen the last twoseasons. And, it hopefully means we’ve seen the last of Emilio Pagan in innings that mean something.

Now of course, it’s up to Rocco Baldelli. The Twins still have serious outfield depth problems. How much of Byron Buxton will we see? If Jake Cave is in your lineup in October, you won’t be beating the Yankees.

How will Baldelli handle Mahle? A guy who threw 180 innings last year may just laugh when Baldelli comes to take him out with one out in the sixth because the lineup has turned around for a third time. Rocco also has two closers now, how’s that going to go?

Will this help the Twins keep Correa? That’s going to be the biggest question, obviously. They could have blown this team up and traded Correa for a haul of prospects. But that wouldn’t sell tickets, and it’s nice to see a Minnesota team go all in at a trade deadline, regardless of the ultimate result.