Prior to the 2023 Major League Baseball season Derek Falvey and the MN Twins found common ground with the Miami Marlins in a deal that landed Pablo Lopez and shipped out fan favorite, Luis Arraez.

Now, with just over a month until the MLB trade deadline, it sounds like the Twins once again are hunting the trade market for a starting pitcher. Yet again, the Marlins have multiple available, including a former Gophers standout and Minnesota native, Max Meyer.

What would Max Meyer cost the Minnesota Twins?

A consensus top-100 prospect, Woodbury’s Max Meyer was taken third overall during the 2020 Major League Baseball amateur draft. He debuted with the Marlins back in 2022 but missed all of last season as he underwent Tommy John surgery.

After three really impressive starts in April (17 IP, 2.12 ERA, 0.824 WHIP), Miami demoted the 25-year-old in attempt to manipulate his service time. He made it known at that point that he wasn’t happy and he’s expected to be dangled at the trade deadline, for teams who might be interested.

"Welcome back, Max!"

No. 3 @Marlins prospect Max Meyer strikes out Mike Trout in his return from Tommy John surgery. pic.twitter.com/LShVAYPHjy

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 1, 2024

Max Meyer, Nasty 88mph Slider. 😨 pic.twitter.com/WqlBJcQ4EX

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 13, 2024

According to Charley Walters of the Pioneer Press, the price for Minnesota to bring back their golden boy is pretty clear… and it isn’t cheap: “the pitcher-needy Twins probably could have former Woodbury-Gophers ace Max Meyer, 25, from the Marlins, who are desperate for hitters if they were to give up Brooks Lee and either of Trevor Larnach or Edouard Julien.”

Related: Charley Walters Pleads for Twins to Save Former Gopher Max Meyer from Marlins

Lee seems like a logical trade piece this summer for Minnesota, if there is a belief in Julien’s ability to rebound from a disastrous slump that landed him back in Triple-A. Pairing those two together seems unlikely, and how Larnach is handled may depend on what the future of Matt Wallner looks like, or if he is dealt before the deadline.

Does trading Brooks Lee for Max Meyer make sense for the Minnesota Twins?

Meyer is certainly seen as a promising arm, but it remains uncertain what his immediate impact would be. Yes, he had a hot start to the 2024 season, but since being stashed at Triple-A, he owns a 6.46 ERA while walking 3.9 per nine and allowing nearly two homers per nine innings.

Giving up Brooks Lee for a young, unproven pitching prospect seems like way too big of a risk for a team that needs a blockbuster like this to help them win games immediately. If Minnesota is dangling Lee, you have to think they could get a more reliable arm back than Max Meyer.

Related: The Jorge Polanco Trade is Falling Apart from All Ends

But clearly, Max did not appreciate being sent down after such a great start this season, which is why Charley Walters has been incessantly writing about the Twins trade for him the last couple months.

Meyer is under team control through 2028, and would represent a serious upgrade to the pitching depth and sustainability long term, but he may not be an option that represents a higher water level than either Simeon Woods Richardson or Chris Paddack currently.

Why are the Twins in this situation? Because last offseason, they let Sonny Gray and Kenta Maeda walk, and created a major hole in their playoff rotation. Instead of going out and finding a less expensive version of Sonny Gray, someone who could plug in as a legitimate third playoff-caliber starter, they signed Anthony DeSlafani.

He quickly landed on the IR during spring training and is unlikely to ever step foot on a mound for the Minnesota Twins. It’s the sort of thing that happens when you are more concerned about shedding payroll than you are about winning games.

Once selected in the 34th round of the 2017 MLB Draft, Meyer opted to attend the U of M, after dominating the pitching mounds at Woodbury High School. Meyer’s decision paid off in a big way, where he’d later become a first-round pick, selected third overall by the Miami Marlins in 2020.

Max Meyer’s HOT start gets him sent down by Miami Marlins

Predictably, the highest draft pick in Gophers baseball history (tied with Paul Molitor) has quickly risen up the ranks in Miami’s minor leagues, even after dealing with Tommy John surgery sidelining him for a full season after making his 2022 MLB debut. Now 25, Meyer started this season in the big leagues, where he immediately started mowing down the best hitters in the world.

"He's going to be a really special pitcher."

No. 3 @Marlins prospect Max Meyer struck out a career-high 7 batters Saturday and earned high praise from his own manager … and the opposition's: https://t.co/hXerbr84ZM pic.twitter.com/Ady0ijlHzI

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 14, 2024

In 17 innings, Meyer held opposing hitters to a puny .180 average. He struckout 14 and boasted an impressive 2.12 ERA. Unfortunately, that didn’t prevent the Marlins from demoting Meyer down to Triple-A last week.

Related: Twins Worth $70M More in Latest Valuation; Made $20M in 2023 Operating Revenue

Keep in mind, this is a terrible Marlins team that is just 6-17 this year, with even Luis Arraez hitting a pedestrian (for him) .277 on the season. Demoting Meyer when he was in the zone, with the best ERA+ among Marlins pitchers with multiple starts, doesn’t makes sense, except for on reason. Service time.

Could Minnesota Twins step in and save Max Meyer?

With the Marlins headed nowhere fast, and the Twins still having a need for pitching, former Minnesota Twins pitcher, turned longtime local insider and columnist, (and former Gopher) Charley Walters of the Pioneer Press is calling for his former ballclub to trade for Meyer, his fellow U of M alum.

“If he didn’t already know how cold a business major league baseball can be, former Gopher Max Meyer from Woodbury last week found out when the Miami Marlins, for which Meyer had pitched two of their three victories, dispatched him to Triple-A Jacksonville in order to slow his free agency by a year. The demotion was blatantly unfair for the 25-year-old right-hander, for whom the faltering Twins should be in hot pursuit of a trade.”

Charley Walters – Pioneer Press

On the surface, trading for Meyer seems like a genius idea for the Twins. But if you’re the Marlins, why trade who MLB.com ranks as the third-best prospect in the organization before he can even have a chance to reach his potential?

Sure, the Marlins typically don’t hand out massive contracts, but Meyer won’t hit free agency until 2029, and Miami surely values the ‘cheap’ production they can get out of the hard-throwing righty.

Meyer may not like being back in the minors, after showing he’s capable of performing at a high level in the MLB, but that’s often the life of even the best baseball prospects.

Related: Even Rocco Baldelli is Losing Patience with Twins

Top prospects are held back for ‘service time’ purposes every season, allowing organizations to have club control for an extra year of a player’s prime, before they are allowed to test free agency. But Max Meyer pitching in the minors isn’t just stunting his growth, it’s bad for the psyches of minor league players across the country.

Max Meyer picks up at Triple-A where he left off in the bigs.

The @Marlins' No. 3 prospect (MLB No. 100) strikes out five batters over three innings for the @JaxShrimp: pic.twitter.com/cyI91SHFSd

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 21, 2024

And who knows, maybe Shooter is conveying, not his own frustration with Max’s situation, but frustration that’s being pushed on him from people inside of Meyer’s camp. The Marlins may not want to trade him, but they’d be more apt to trade him if he’s openly disgruntled.

Any potential trade would forced the Twins to part with some of their top prospects and or key veterans such as Max Kepler, but securing a Minnesota native in Meyer may be worth it in the long run. But first, the Marlins would have to be willing to listen.

Former Minnesota Golden Gopher, Max Meyer’s career in Major League Baseball couldn’t be off to a better start (outside of the whole Coronavirus thing). Not only was he selected third overall by the Miami Marlins earlier this month, in the MLB Draft, but he is also expected to make their 60-player “spring” training list when camps begin on July 1, per a report from MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.

Marlins are strongly considering and even likely to include No. 3 overall pick Max Meyer, flame-throwing U. of Minnesota RHP, in their 60-player pool at camp. assuming he signs. He is very close to a deal. They believe he could be quick to the majors.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) June 26, 2020

Meyer was projected to be a top-10 pick in the draft, but hearing his name called at #3 overall was still a bit of a shock. There won’t be a minor league season so could Max see time in the MLB before ever gracing the MiLB? That would be even crazier.

However, this is clearly a strange year for everyone. Not only will the minor leaguers not get to play, but with only 60 games on the MLB schedule, the normal “marathon” season will now be a sprint.

CAN HE MAKE A 2020 APPEARANCE?

An invite to a specialized spring training, when other minor league games won’t be played is one thing… but, could we really see Meyer on the Marlins taxi-squad, or even their 26-man roster, in 2020?

Some believe so! Meyer is unlikely to see innings as a starter, like he projects to be eventually, but he could eat up innings in relief. It’s an early opportunity to cement himself as the future in Miami and one of the up and coming faces of Major League Baseball.

I touched on this earlier today. Max Meyer could very well be part of the 2020 season. Even if not as a starter (this year), throwing some innings relief. Many established starters pitched at least a few innings of relief as rookies. https://t.co/2ZKJEoPK8F

— Joe Frisaro (@JoeFrisaro) June 26, 2020

TIME TO SHINE

Yet if you think about it, this move makes sense. The Marlins are a struggling franchise. Having gone 57-105 in 2019 and with a 40-man roster who’s average age is 27.8, which is below league average. Meyer fits right in at 21 years old. At least he can have a beer if he struggles. Max isn’t expected to be the only youngster in camp, either.

But with a flame-thrower like Meyer, the Marlins likely want to see what the kid can do against “big league” talent. Even if in a controlled environment like this secondary spring training.

At six feet tall and 200 pounds, Max Meyer is loaded with a 70-rated (out of 80) fastball that touches 100 MPH and a slider that usually sits in the mid-90s. This kid has the goods.

Just gonna leave this three-pitch strikeout from @Marlins first-round pick Max Meyer here.

And point out he's now in our Top ?: https://t.co/ulLqloPgF1 pic.twitter.com/RMwYpHdN0E

— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) June 26, 2020

This is especially true, when looking at who his competition is. You have a bunch of young and struggling starters on one side, and washed up relievers that average an ERA over 4.75, on the other. His chances of being called up in 2020 are likely the highest of any 2020 draft pick.

HARD WORK PAYS OFF

As we wrote earlier this month, Meyer has been training for this day since he was kid. Having been the youngest sibling in his family, he understands what it takes to rise above and the work it takes to do it. Hell, if adding 40 pounds of muscle over the offseason doesn’t prove that, I don’t know what does!

The kid has potential and everyone in Minnesota, and the league, should be excited to see what he can do at the next level!

Jack Kewitsch | Minnesota Sports Fan

In a Draft Day shocker, the Miami Marlins just drafted Minnesota Golden Gopher, Max Meyer with the THIRD OVERALL PICK in tonight’s MLB Draft! That makes him the highest drafted Gopher Baseball player since Paul Molitor was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers with the #3 pick in the 1977 MLB Draft.

This is something that Max Meyer has been wanting and working for, since he was a kid. In an interview with Justin Gaard on the Golden Gopher Podcast, Meyer tells JG, “This will be the first day all that work pays off”.

The @Marlins select Minnesota RHP Max Meyer with the 3rd overall pick in the #MLBDraft. pic.twitter.com/yyeZN0Kxxo

— MLB (@MLB) June 10, 2020

Miami will be getting a hard worker and someone with natural talent. Meyer spent the last 8 weeks prepping for the draft and getting ready for the bigs. His focus though has not been his pitching it has been his lower body and putting on muscle. He went into the 2019 season at 160, and says he now weighs 200 pounds!

The Woodbury native has been prepping for this day since he was a kid. As the youngest brother he’s been battling uphill since the day he was born. Being young with big expectations, shouldn’t bother him.

Meyer played multiple sports, growing up, one of those being hockey. His athleticism and ability to adapt is something that will obviously help the Marlins and Max, with any obstacles he might face, as he climbs to the MLB.

THE PICK IS IN, THE PARTY'S ON.

With our first pick in the 2020 #MLBDraft – at No. 3 – the Miami Marlins select …

[#305OnTheRise] pic.twitter.com/MKJidZPXiC

— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) June 10, 2020

Sherry Cerny | Minnesota Sports Fan

The sports world suffered a huge sucker punch in the middle of March when it received news that it would be shutting down for what we all ‘thought’ would be a two-week hiatus, but here we are. Sports-less and what’s more, looking for the promise, the hope, the flicker.

We aren’t the only ones who feel this way, athletes all over the world are grappling with whether they return to their field in what remains of 2020. Even the baseball draft has been cut down to five rounds. The dream of being drafted isn’t dead for all players, though. One in particular, has a very bright future and is expected to go in the top ten, of said draft.

With the June 10th 1st round of the MLB Draft inching closer, signs point to #Gophers pitcher Max Meyer (Woodbury HS) not falling past the #Rockies at 9. He surely could go higher too. He’s tracking toward being the highest Minnesotan drafted since Joe Mauer went 1:1 in 2001.

— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) May 20, 2020

Minnesota’s own Max Meyer is that player. The young star has caught the eye of many scouts, but that’s not a new thing, Max has been a star on the rise since his attendance at Woodbury High School. Of his four years spent in St. Paul’s eastern suburb, he was a starter for three of them.

His arm was on fire and at 16 and 17 years old, his fastball was clocked at 92 MPH and his change-up, at just 78-80 MPH. His arm, hard work and tenacity back then let people in the baseball world know that he was going to be something special.

He was ranked No. 2 locally and No. 114 by Prep Baseball Report in 2017. That year, he would be drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 34^th Round of the Amateur Draft and even when that monumental event happened – he wasn’t at home waiting patiently… he was at the mall with his friends and informed by his parents when he got home. His humility is one that is second to none. 

When he entered the U of M as a freshman, he weighed 165 pounds. He built that up to 180 by his Sophomore year and the 15 pounds of additional muscle showed immediately By 2020, his velocity would hit triple digits at 100 and 101 MPH.

His fastball tickles 100 mph ?

His slider may be the best in the country.

He’s a two-way preseason All-American.

And currently has MLB scouts buzzing.

Meet @GopherBaseball star Max Meyer: https://t.co/ajJDto6Yea pic.twitter.com/u6g0LRFcg5

— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) February 28, 2020

With the 2020 baseball year cut short, he was already on his way up to beat all the records he had previously set not only for himself, but for the team as well.  He has accomplished every goal possible while playing for the Gophers. While his senior year did not end the way he wanted it to, he certainly has a lot to look forward to. 

When you look up Max Meyer in Google, his name populates with no less than 5 articles naming him in a mock draft in the top ten. The Gophers haven’t had a player drafted in the first round since 1990 when Dan Wilson would go to the Cincinnati Reds 7^th overall.

The last time we had a Minnesota native go in the first round, was 2001 when the Twins grabbed Joe Mauer was with the #1 pick overall. Don’t get too excited though, Meyer has too much potential to even last until the Twins selection at 27 and honestly, shouldn’t be stuck here. We have a homer problem and it was evident in this past football draft. Even I am guilty of thinking we need to “keep the Gophers home”. We love our kids, so why let them go? Because there are other teams, other programs that need the craft of our players.

We are single handedly, in 2020, putting the University of Minnesota on the MAP! From Rowing the Boat to major bowl games and throwing heat on the baseball field…. The University of Minnesota has a LOT to offer athletes, even beyond athletics!

via GIPHY

Our programs are shaped by people who care not only about the athlete on the field, but off the field as well. John Anderson, the head coach of the baseball team puts the academic priority of his students far above the needs of the field. His philosophy has been that he is preparing students for the, “next 50 years of their lives”…sound familiar?

We aren’t just building athletes, we are building men, we are building future productive members of society and people are starting to see it. It may not be as flashy, or as spendy as the SEC, or the ACC, but what we don’t have in flash or fancy, we have in academia, pride and morality.

Just another day in the great state of Minnesota. We wish Max all the best in the June draft, and look forward to seeing him chase his MLB dream.

Sherry Cerny | Minnesota Sports Fan