Twins Could Trade One of Fanbase’s Least-Liked Players

There’s no telling what the Minnesota Twins will do ahead of the July 30 MLB trade deadline. As usual, most signs point to the front office doing next to nothing. Ownership spending constraints don’t help.

It also doesn’t help that so many teams are stuck in the middle of the pack, trying to determine whether they’ll be buyers or sellers. That’s not the Twins. Although they’re still chasing the Cleveland Guardians, their chances of making the playoffs are very strong .

In a perfect world, the Twins would emerge as one of the biggest buyers at the deadline. Yet, it’s never that simple. Parting with high-upside prospects just to solve a couple small needs carries a lot of risk, especially if they can’t hang with the best teams in MLB .

But there’s always the chance that the Twins will surprise everyone and actually make an impact addition at the deadline. Sometimes, the best addition is by subtraction.

Could the Twins trade Manuel Margot?

If there’s one player the Twins could likely afford to trade, especially if they found another upgrade, is outfielder Manuel Margot. Sure, he’s excellent against left-handed pitchers, but the Twins also have Trevor Larnach and Matt Wallner itching for more opportunities, even if they aren’t right-handed hitters.

Yet, would the Twins really trade Margot? Maybe not, but The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman believes it’s possible if the Twins could find a replacement who could be a regular starter against lefties.

“Minnesota is clearly in buyer mode, so trading a veteran is unlikely, but the Twins could look to upgrade Margot’s role as a backup outfielder and platoon bat versus left-handed pitching. He’s hit lefties pretty well, batting .289 with a .780 OPS, but Margot has gone 0-for-22 as a pinch hitter and his defense has been shaky. If they add more power in the role, they could look to find a taker for Margot.” — Aaron Gleeman on Twins

Margot currently has the worst dWAR (defensive wins above replacement) among position players on the Twins roster, at -0.9. He also has the second-worst OPS on the team, only ahead of Christian Vazquez, who provides value as a plus-defender. In other words, Margot’s contributions to the Twins are rare.

• Manuel Margot stats against righties: .184/.246/.248/.494, 0 HR, 11 RBI, 118 PA
• Manuel Margue stats against lefties: .298/.352/.436/.789, 3 HR, 14 RBI, 105 PA

While Margot has a respectable batting line against lefties, he’s hit just .184 against righties. That’s hard to stomach for a 29-year-old player who holds zero upside. Margot may only have a base salary of $4 million , but finding a replacement for a similar cost shouldn’t be difficult. We’ll see whether the Twins can pull off such a heist with less than a week to spare.

Related: Falvey Confirms Minnesota Twins’ Plans at Trade Deadline

More must-reads:

• Passan: Money Issues Continue to Hinder Twins in Trade Talks
• Pohlads Unlikely to Approve ANY Increase in Twins Payroll at MLB Trade Deadline
• Another Starting Pitcher the Minnesota Twins Must be Calling On

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