MLB Trade Market is Being Held Hostage By Twins, Specifically with Jose Berrios

Well, we’re officially one month from the MLB trade deadline and all is quiet around the league. In fact, it’s too quiet. Why is it so quiet? According to Jeff Passan (ESPN+), the entire league is waiting on the Minnesota Twins to start selling off players.

Why the Twins? Because we have the players everyone wants. Passan lists a bunch of sellers that buying front offices will target, including division selling rivals like Kansas City and Detroit. But, he comes back to Minnesota and all of the shiny new and used toys other teams will want to play with.

Goodbye Jose Berrios?

He really hits hard on Jose Berrios, specifically. Clearly, the Twins are shopping their young ace and it looks like they’ll get a massive haul in return. Passan calls him the best pitcher on the market, should Scherzer not come available.

The team almost every contender is waiting on: the Minnesota Twins.

The Twins?

What you want, they’ve got. Or pretty much, at least.

Barring a team like the Washington Nationals cratering and making Max Scherzer available — more on him later — the Twins’ Jose Berrios looks like the best pitcher on the market. The belief among teams is that Minnesota will entertain dealing Berrios but will necessitate a massive return. Understandably so. Berrios is 27, is under club control through 2022, as durable as it gets and in the midst of the best season of his career. He’d be perfect for the New York Mets, who are in first place in the National League East, or Atlanta, which isn’t. He’d fit in Chicago (North Side edition) and Los Angeles (Orange County edition), even if neither is a playoff team. That’s the beauty of Berrios. If he’s out there — and an increasing number of executives believe Minnesota will deal him — his market is everyone.

Jeff Passan – ESPN+

Jeff also spends a lot of time on Nelson Cruz, who could be an immediate impact to the middle of many lineups in the American League. He specifically mentions Tampa Bay, Toronto, Seattle, Chicago and Oakland. He only touches on other obvious trade candidates; including higher priced pieces like Taylor Rogers, their bargain bin options like Michael Pineda and Andrelton Simmons, and even guys in between, like Tyler Duffey and Hansel Robles.

But the MLB trade market buyers in need of starting pitchers are clearly hunting Jose Berrios the hardest. And the trade deadline buyers wouldn’t be waiting on Berrios if they didn’t believe he’ll come available. The question could be less of “if” the Twins will deal him and more about how much they’ll get in return.

Only time will tell.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan