The Minnesota Twins haven’t had a great offseason. They entered with the main goal being to find a way to re-sign Carlos Correa after he opted out of his deal, but ended up watching him sign with the San Francisco Giants, before going back on that deal and joining the New York Mets instead . By the time that all took place, most of the top free agents on the market had already been signed.
The problem for the Twins is that they couldn’t afford to miss out on Correa given all the attention they gave him in free agency. Minnesota had several big holes on their roster entering free agency, and now they have another huge one at shortstop that they have to deal with. Simply put, this is about as bad as things could have gone for the Twins early on this offseason.
There’s still time for Minnesota to fix their roster, but they may have to accomplish that on the trade market rather than in free agency. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the perfect trade that the Twins should look to make this offseason, and see why it would end up benefiting the team in a big way.
Twins Perfect Offseason Trade
Acquire Willy Adames from the Brewers
As previously mentioned, the Twins missing out on Correa has left them with a huge hole to fill on their roster. Not only did they miss out on Correa, but they also missed out on Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts, and Dansby Swanson, who were all free agent shortstops on the market alongside Correa. They have all signed elsewhere now, leaving the Twins stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Luckily, there’s a potential trade target on the market in Willy Adames who could come in and solve the Twins problems. The Milwaukee Brewers have been rumored to be exploring potentially trading away some of their big name players this offseason, and Adames would seemingly be a prime trade candidate for the Brewers if they do decide to take that course of action.
Adames has quietly established himself as a solid all-around player at the shortstop position who can play strong defense and make his mark at the bat. In a sense, that is what the top four shortstops that just hit the free agent market can all do. Adames isn’t on their level by any stretch of the imagination, but he’s better than the options the Twins currently have at their disposal.
Adames is coming off a bit of an interesting 2022 campaign with the Brewers. His overall numbers are good (.238 BA, 31 HR, 98 RBI, .756 OPS) but Adames seemed to trade some of his solid contact numbers for more power. Adames’ .238 batting average was the lowest of his career, but conversely the 31 home runs he hit were the most in any season of his career.
If Adames could get his average back up to around the .250-.260 mark, he would become an All-Star caliber player. The question is whether or not that is attainable. Either way, it seems like the Brewers could be exploring potentially moving on from Adames, and if they do, it would make a lot of sense for the Twins to become a top suitor.
The Twins already swung a trade that gave them Kyle Farmer at shortstop, but he’s basically a league average player. Adames has the ability to come in and make the Twins a much better team. With Correa gone, they need another bat to help Byron Buxton lead the lineup when he’s actually healthy enough to play. Adames can do that, and play a position of need in the process.
Minnesota doesn’t necessarily have a ton of trade assets after their big trade deadline moves, but they have enough to pull off a deal for Adames, especially if the Brewers are indeed looking to move him. A couple of prospects would be able to get the job done most likely, as the Brewers appear to be on the verge of blowing things up and completely rebuilding.
Adames obviously isn’t Correa, but considering the other options available on both the trade market and in free agency, there likely isn’t a better move the Twins could make here. They need a shortstop and another hitter who can do some damage in their lineup, and that’s precisely what Adames does. If Adames becomes available, the Twins should do whatever it takes to land him, as he could end up being the difference between a winning season and a losing season in Minnesota.
.