Should The Twins Trade For This Veteran Player? – Opinion

According to reports, the Twins intend to reduce payroll to between $125 and 140 million, which is less than the roughly $154 million they had when they began the 2023 season. Naturally, that has sparked trade rumors concerning a few of the team’s more experienced players.

The two most desired plausible trade options for Minnesota are probably Max Kepler and Jorge Polanco. They are both above-average regulars with contracts of $10MM and $10.5MM, respectively, and would undoubtedly be of interest to other teams. Even though they are both good options, the front office might find it simpler to let go of Kyle Farmer. Compared to Polanco and Kepler, who have been with the team for over ten years, he is not as productive offensively and has only been in the Twin Cities for a single year.

The fact that Farmer is still in the lineup is shocking in a way. In his final season of arbitration, MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz forecasts the utility infielder will earn a salary of $6.6MM. He was therefore not a competitive candidate. Two weeks ago, Dan Hayes of the Athletic reported that Minnesota was looking into trade possibilities for Farmer. This seemed to imply that if they couldn’t arrange a trade before this Friday’s non-tender deadline, they could just let him go.

That proved not to be the case in the end. Now that Farmer has received a contract offer from Minnesota, his expected salary might be between $6 and $7 million. That doesn’t mean the front office can stop looking into trade possibilities. The depth of Minnesota’s infield raises concerns about their next move.

In the last few months, Edouard Julien and Royce Lewis both performed admirably. As long as he’s healthy, Lewis has undoubtedly taken over as the starting third baseman. Although Julien’s defensive position at second base is limited, he has hit.263/.381/.459 in his first 408 MLB plate appearances. Polanco is among the league’s best middle infielders who bats first. The Twins might still see major benefits from having Alex Kirilloff, Polanco, Carlos Correa, and Lewis in the starting lineup, even if they preferred to give Julien more at-bats as the designated hitter.

With the exception of Julien, every member of the group has a history of noteworthy injuries. If a utility player of Farmer’s caliber supports it, the front office will undoubtedly feel better about it. There’s a debate going on at the same time about the Twins’ greater needs. To go along with Kirilloff and Julien’s left-handed swing, they might try to find a right-handed first baseman or designated hitter. The probable departure of Sonny Gray as a free agent thins the rotation. Given the possibility that they’ll have to control Byron Buxton’s playing time in center field, they might have to resign Michael A. Taylor or find a replacement.

Farmer had a good season after being acquired from the Reds in the summer. Throughout 369 plate appearances, his batting performance of.256,.317, and.408 was league average. With the platoon advantage, the right-handed Farmer hit.289/.352/.430, which was a huge boost for a Minnesota squad that was generally much superior versus right-handed pitching. Farmer started more than 20 games at shortstop, third base, and second base.

Flip-flopping Willi Castro is similarly versatile on defense. Despite having neutral platoon splits throughout his career, he was much more effective this past season versus right-handers. Castro might be useful, but he’s probably Farmer’s offensive downgrade, especially when facing southpaws.

The fact that Farmer wasn’t non-tender by the Twins suggests they won’t just throw him away. There seems to be some excess value, according to the front office. Trade bids for a 33-year-old utility player who is expected to earn close to $7 million a season won’t be very compelling. Though it limits the options available to needy teams, a terrible class of free agents for middle infielders doesn’t help Minnesota much in terms of prospects returned. From the Twins’ perspective, reallocating salary would still be the main driver of a deal.

Is that worth Minnesota doing? Should they trade Farmer to free up some capital and get back a mid-level prospect?