Minnesota Twins fans are eagerly awaiting the team’s next move now that their heads have stopped spinning from the flurry of trades over the weekend. After trading for a front-line starter, Sonny Gray, and acquiring and immediately parting with Isiah Kiner-Falefa to get Josh Donaldson’s contract off the books, the Twins are now on the hunt for further improvements. They have the payroll, prospect capital, and desperate need for another major addition or two, especially if it fills their holes at shortstop and staff ace.
While it’s fun to speculate on the addition of Trevor Story to the infield mix, the real talking point should be a trade for Oakland A’s starting pitcher, Frankie Montas. He’s coming off of a brilliant year where he pitched to the tune of a 3.37 ERA across 187 innings, picking up Cy Young votes along the way. Better yet, he’s under team control for the next two seasons.
The trade package that will be necessary to acquire such a valuable commodity will undoubtedly be a tough pill for any fan base to swallow. But based on the discourse in the Twittersphere, Twins fans are ready to swallow just about anything for a bonafide Ace. However, they’re going to have to outbid their two biggest rivals in the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees, among others.
With that said, here are three packages that could theoretically work for a trade that brings Montas to Minnesota.
Trade 1
Twins get: Montas and RP Lou Trivino
A’s get: IF Luis Arraez, RHP Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP Cole Sands and OF Emmanuel Rodriguez
This blockbuster sees fan favorite Arraez head to the Bay Area, along with a package of prospects headlined by Woods Richardson (No.4 prospect in the Twins system according to MLB Pipeline). While Sands (No. 18) and Rodriguez (No. 20) are complementary pieces, the A’s could see value in trading for a near MLB-ready starter and a young outfielder that was one of the premier signings from the 2019 international class.
The A’s could be interested in this move due in large part to the four years of team control with Arraez, who has already emerged as an MLB regular with great on-base skills and hasn’t reached his 25th birthday. Woods Richardson is the kind of high-end pitching prospect that Oakland has targeted in their recent moves, as that was their big return in their trades of third baseman Matt Chapman and pitcher Chris Bassitt. The Twins just got him from the Toronto Blue Jays, but if he was part of the package that landed Montas, it would be worth it.
Aside from Montas, the Twins would also get veteran reliever Trivino to slide alongside Tyler Duffey as solid set-up roles. He’d be under team control for three more seasons, which is huge considering Duffey and closer Taylor Rogers are entering contract years, making their future with the Twins uncertain. Trivino had an excellent year as a rookie in 2018 when he had a 2.92 ERA in 74 innings pitched, but he followed it up with an ugly 5.25 ERA in 2019. Ever since then, he has had mostly above-average results, with a 3.34 ERA and a healthy 8.6 strikeouts per nine innings. While his walk rate in that time is worrisome (4.1 BB/9), the Twins would gladly take a flier on him.
Trade 2
Twins get: Montas and SS Elvis Andrus
A’s get: IF Jose Miranda, RHP Josh Winder, SS Noah Miller
This trade is heavier on the prospect load, as the Twins would be able to keep Arraez. At that expense, they would have to say goodbye to Miranda (No. 7), who is coming off one of the most outstanding minor league seasons this franchise has ever seen. He hit a combined .344/.401/.572 between Double-A and Triple-A last year, and should be ready to take hold of an infield spot in the near future. He was a tremendous story last season, and his breakout campaign propelled him up prospect rankings substantially.
Sure, the Twins front office is probably ecstatic with his development, but are they excited about his potential as a trade chip? Imagine telling Derek Falvey a year ago that he could trade for an ace pitcher that’s under team control for multiple seasons without having to give up any of the top prospects ranked ahead of Miranda. There’s no doubt that they’d be intrigued.
In this hypothetical trade, they’d also send out Winder (No. 8) and Miller (No.12), who are certainly exciting in their own right. Winder had his minor league season canceled in 2020, but his behind-the-scenes work impressed the development staff, and it translated to great results in 2021. He finished the year with a 2.63 ERA across 14 starts between Double-A and Triple-A and was named to his first Futures Game thanks to his stellar results. He is probably destined to start the year in Triple-A again, but he’ll be making his major league debut before long.
Miller was taken with the 36th overall pick in last year’s draft. Coming out of high school, he enticed the Twins with his pure hitting tool, which projects to be above-average. They hope that he can develop more power as he matures and fills out, and they think he has a chance to stick around at shortstop for the foreseeable future. If that sounds familiar, it’s because it’s pretty much the same scouting report that every high school shortstop gets when they’re drafted. Nevertheless, he could be an intriguing throw-in for a fairly top-heavy trade.
Andrus would come back to the Twins as a salary dump for the A’s. He doesn’t hold a ton of on-field value, but he could hold down shortstop in case they can’t land anything better, and GM Thad Levine has familiarity with him from their time with the Texas Rangers.
Trade 3
Twins get: Montas, LHP Sean Manaea, and RHP Ryan Cusick
A’s get: IF Royce Lewis, OF Trevor Larnach, and RHP Bailey Ober
Gulp. This one would certainly be hard to believe, but the Twins are going to need to offer something that Oakland can’t refuse. The Twins would be getting Montas and Manaea, who has had great results with the A’s in recent years and is in a contract year. In 2021, he had a 3.91 ERA in 32 starts, and his strikeout rate was the best of his career (9.4 K/9). He has a deceptive arm slot from the left side and features a good changeup and a plus slider. He would slot alongside Montas and Sonny Gray to form a strong top of the rotation.
The Twins would also get Cusick (No. 7 prospect in Oakland’s system), a pitching prospect currently projected to start the year in High-A. He has a great fastball that currently tops out at 97 MPH and has plus marks in regards to spin rate. He’s a few years away from being a real factor for the big league club. But with the amount of talent that the Twins would be giving up in this trade, he would bring a little more balance to the deal.
This trade would see the Twins send Lewis (No. 1) away before he could ever play an inning at Target Field. Fans have been waiting patiently for the prodigal son of the Falvey/Levine regime for almost five years, and many would hate the thought of giving up on him. But the fact remains that Lewis has lost a lot of hype surrounding his name after missing the last two years. Sure, he still has plenty of promise. That’s why he’s the centerpiece in the return for two high-caliber starters.
The A’s could see this as an opportunity to really lean into their rebuild and make Lewis a cornerstone to their club. Larnach would be another major piece to this. While he has graduated out of being a prospect, he still holds a ton of value as an MLB-ready outfielder with a plus bat. He struggled down the stretch last year due to nagging injuries, but his minor league career and a solid stretch in the bigs pre-injury would indicate he can be expected to perform better going forward.
Ober impressed in his rookie season last year and could be highly-coveted to an A’s team that will have dealt three starters away after this trade. He could immediately step into their rotation and the club would have five years of club control. Again, this would be a lot to give up, but fans are hungry for this club to trade for more frontline starters. Losing Lewis, Larnach and Ober would be hard to swallow, but maybe a playoff-caliber rotation would help wash it down.
