The Minnesota Twins were certainly in the market for pitching at the trade deadline. Unfortunately, they landed just a single reliever. With ownership-imposed payroll constraints , options were limited. And things got even more difficult when AL Central sellers weren’t interested in helping a division rival for anything near market value.
It’s not verifiable as to how quickly Derek Falvey hung up on teams around the division. Conversations couldn’t have lasted long, though. Now that we know what those teams were asking.
Minnesota Twins division rivals proposed crazy trade requests
Despite the Chicago White Sox being one of the worst teams ever assembled. And despite the Detroit Tigers fading fast, neither division rival would entertain trading their rental pitching assets to the Twins for anything less than Minnesota best three prospects, Brooks Lee, Walker Jenkins or Emmanuel Rodriguez (which they knew wouldn’t happen). The Athletic’s Dan Hayes touched on the discussions Minnesota had at the deadline.
Another issue facing the Twins, team sources said, was the lofty asks of in-division foes. The Twins engaged the Tigers for Flaherty and the White Sox on Fedde. But both rival clubs centered their demands on packages that began with one of prospects Brooks Lee, Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez , a price point that the Twins considered a non-starter.
Dan Hayes on divisional asks from Minnesota
What Houston gave up for Toronto’s Yusei Kikuchi was universally lauded as an insane haul . Had the Minnesota Twins even entertained anything proposed by Detroit or Chicago, they would have been laughed out of the league. Of course, both teams may have done better had they proposed more realistic suggestions.
White Sox and Tigers got less by avoiding Minnesota Twins
In general it makes sense to avoid trading assets to divisional opponents. However, the Minnesota Twins targeted rental arms from both Detroit and Chicago. Neither Erick Fedde or Jack Flaherty would remain around when either franchise was competitive. In fact, the prospect return for both could have been expected to burn the Twins given Derek Falvey’s track record as a buyer.
Related: We Have an Exact Number for Minnesota Twins Payroll Cuts
Instead, the White Sox sent Fedde and Tommy Pham to the St. Louis Cardinals. They received Miguel Vargas as a big league talent in return, but the three-team package was seen as a head scratcher. After the Toronto Blue Jays got a haul for Kikuchi, it was nearly as laughable seeing what the Los Angeles Dodgers had to part with in acquiring Jack Flaherty.
Related: Report: Minnesota Twins Tried to Trade for Yusei Kikuchi
Minnesota has one of the best farm systems in baseball . Rather than lean into that depth and target some serious talent, the both division rivals asked for non-starters and got laughed out of the room. For Chicago, the trade deadline was reflective of a poorly run franchise with no end in sight. Detroit did a bit better, but still could have positioned themselves for another piece by working with the Twins.
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