Entering the 2020-21 Major League Baseball offseason, there were two big name shortstops pinned at the top of trade blocks in both Cleveland and Colorado.

The bigger name, Francisco Lindor, was just sent to the New York Mets on Thursday, along with Carlos Carrasco, for a high-end prospect return. The other, Trevor Story, is the next free agent shortstop domino expected to fall.

The Minnesota Twins have been linked to free agent shortstops like Marcus Semien and Andrelton Simmons by Darren Wolfson of KSTP (below) and others, so they’re clearly in the mindset of upgrading the middle infield.

Full trade, per sources:

To Mets: Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco.

To Indians: Amed Rosario, Andrés Giménez, Josh Wolf, Isaiah Greene.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 7, 2021

Here’s @DWolfsonKSTP last night on Marcus Semien, Twins: pic.twitter.com/vexWC82kcT

— Nash Walker (@Nashwalker9) December 27, 2020

That Story makes sense

In the shortened 2020 season, Story hit .289 with a .874 OPS with 11 homers in 59 games. He is very productive, and in the last two 162 game seasons, Story has a WAR above 5.0, which is elite.

The Twins clearly want a top-end shortstop and they could easily find that trading for Story makes more sense than what they will have to pay the best of the free agent bunch. Trevor Story is only under contract with the Colorado Rockies for one more season, at $17.5 million.

That doesn’t mean the Twins won’t be interested. It means flexibility.

Option A: Blockbuster Trade w/Extension

We know the New York Mets plan to extend Francisco Lindor, after trading for him. They have the market and they have the money, unlike Cleveland. Because of that, the Cleveland front office can demand more than if Lindor was just a New York rental.

With that being said, let’s look at what it took for the Mets to acquire Francisco Lindor.

Amed Rosario is a relatively young (25) replacement-level shortstop, with a few years of MLB experience. Andres Gimenez is an MLB-ready shortstop prospect (92nd overall in 2019) with 100+ at-bats of big league experience in 2020. Cleveland also reeled in two recent second round picks of the Mets, which are worth their weight in gold, too.

But that return was for Lindor AND Carlos Carrasco. For the Minnesota Twins to acquire Trevor Story, it’d likely take less. Like… one MLB top-100 prospect that we don’t really have room for + a middle-infield replacement, who once had a high ceiling?

Blockbuster Trade Pieces

Let’s say, non-specifically of course, Trevor Larnach (#77 overall MLB prospect in 2020) and Nick Gordon, a former first round draft pick who doesn’t look like he’ll ever be what the old Twins regime had hoped when they drafted him, could get the job done.

Here is the equality of that trade scenario, using baseballtradevalues.com.

Trevor Larnach is an MLB-ready top prospect who the Twins just don’t have room for. He plays corner outfield and hits missiles. Minnesota already has Alex Kirilloff, who’s scarily similar prospect type (but ranked higher – #24), Byron Buxton and Max Kepler in the outfield.

Guys like Brent Rooker and Larnach are only on stand-by… but nobody knows how long they will be waiting. I don’t think any of the names above are retiring anytime soon.

If you know that Story can be had for the right long-term deal, then a blockbuster like this makes too much sense for the Twins to pass up.

Option 2: Short Story

While I write this blog about trading for a blockbuster shortstop, let’s stop and remember that the Minnesota Twins are already hoping they have their future at SS covered, with Royce Lewis.

Of course, they’re not going to wait for Lewis at SS because it’s possible he’s better suited for another position. But since the Twins have Royce Lewis, who is about a year away from the MLB, Falvine might prefer Story on his current 1-year contract.

Taking Trevor as a one-year rental would create future flexibility and cheapen the trade cost. The problem however; a cheaper and shorter (library version) Story is not what the Rockies want. They obviously want blockbuster prospects back in a trade.

Don’t know until you ask

As the offseason days creep on, could the Minnesota Twins front office convince the Colorado Rockies to take a deal that centers around Brent Rooker (for example), if it means there’s no expected long-term commitment for Story in Minnesota?

If the Twins could find a happy medium there, they could keep their very top prospects in the system.

Whether it’s in free agency or via trade, the Twins have done very little this offseason and Spring Training is already coming fast. It’s time to pay up and improve the roster. This team can win a World Series if the front office is able to bring in a couple impactful pieces. Why not start with Trevor Story?

Enjoy this Trevor Story highlight reel while you salivate at the thought of a lineup featuring Donaldson, into Cruz, into Story (or something similar).

Cooper Carlson | Minnesota Sports Fan

It has been reported all offseason that the Minnesota Twins could be looking to for a new middle infielder. If they were to make a change, the new guy would, more than likely, be a shortstop.

The plethora of MLB-ready young talent at Falvine’s disposal has other front offices blowing their phones off the hook, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. He specifically mentions Luis Arraez as a guy teams covet, who the Twins would be willing to unload.

What kind of shortstop are Thad Levine and Derek Falvey looking for, you ask? Have you heard of two major leaguers named, Francisco Lindor or Trevor Story?

Might Twins make a move at short?

The Twins, like all teams deep in young talent, are drawing trade interest in their upper-level prospects and major leaguers under long-term control. The potential to deal one of those major leaguers, second baseman Luis Arraez, creates an interesting scenario in which the Twins could move shortstop Jorge Polanco to second and either sign a free-agent shortstop or trade for a 2021-22 free agent at the position — say, the Indians’ Francisco Lindor or Rockies’ Trevor Story.

Ken Rosenthal – The Athletic

Rosenthal doesn’t just throw out big names like that without steam behind them. The best part? The Twins’ front office doesn’t have to do anything. They can sit back and watch the offers role in. They are in the ultimate power position on any trade talks.

Short-term Upgrade

Both Trevor Story and Francisco Lindor have just one year left on their contracts so they’d be short-term solutions. But as Rosenthal mentions, that’s not a negative thing for the Twins. They have a future shortstop nearly ready for the MLB, in Royce Lewis.

Would the Twins be willing to pay top dollar for one year of Lindor or Story? I can promise you this. They’re much more likely to pay 1-year, $20 million, than they are to pay 5-years, $100 million.

We’ve discussed the more than adequate amount of money the Twins still have in their budget for the 2021 season. The lack of time under contract means less the Twins have to give back in a trade too. This really could be the perfect storm for a big move.

But Ken Rosenthal didn’t stop there.

Even if the Twins can’t rope in Lindor or Story, he mentions them as major players in the top shortstop free agents too, including Marcus Semian and Didi Gregorious.

The answer to both questions might very well be no, so from the Twins’ perspective, a two-year deal for Marcus Semien might make sense. Semien and Didi Gregorius, the other top free-agent shortstop, are in almost a Catch-22 position. They probably do not want to sign for one year and then compete with Lindor, Story and company in the open market next offseason. But teams likely will be unwilling to give them multi-year commitments if they are interested in the younger, flashier members of next year’s shortstop class.

Ken Rosenthal – The Athletic

It’s fun to think about, isn’t it? Josh Donaldson and Francisco Lindor playing the left side of your infield would be truly elite on both offense and defense.

I’m not sure who will be playing shortstop for the Minnesota Twins on opening day, but I would bet it’s not Jorge Polanco.

Cooper Carlson | Minnesota Sports Fan