Minnesota Twins: 5 offseason trade targets

The Minnesota Twins seem open to making moves in free agency, but they also seem intrigued by the trade market. What five trade targets make sense for them?

The Minnesota Twins have been quiet in the early stages of the offseason, but don’t expect that to continue. With plenty of holes on a promising young team, chief baseball officer Derek Falvey and general manager Thad Levine have their work cut out for them to build upon a playoff season. Specifically, they’ll need to address the pitching staff and early reports suggest they are focusing on the starting rotation first.

Nevertheless, the Twins will look to address both this offseason, but it may not come in the way many are expecting. Popular thought has Minnesota coming away with at least a couple of arms in free agency and even Levine suggested they’ll be aggressive in their pursuit of free agents in an interview with MLB Network. That being said, top pitchers are commanding a ton on the open market right now, making the trade route a more intriguing possibility.

In reality, Minnesota may be better off trading for a pitcher or two that is under team control for at least a couple seasons. That way, the Twins aren’t forced to break the bank on the likes of 31-year-olds Yu Darvish and Jake Arrieta, who have digressed over the last couple of seasons. Additionally, they could acquire a younger player in a trade, who could be a mainstay in the rotation or bullpen for years to come.

While the Twins don’t have the greatest of farm systems, they do have a couple of top prospects in Nick Gordon, Fernando Romero, and Stephen Gonsalves that could be had for the right player. It’s also not out of the question that Minnesota looks to trade a young piece on the pro squad to acquire one of their biggest needs.

With that, let’s take a look at five players the Twins could look at making a trade for in the offseason.