Twins’ Lynn likely to leave Minnesota before trade deadline
Second place is not a bad place to be when July starts, since the season is halfway there. Now that there are two Wild Card clubs to qualify for the postseason, you’d think no team in that position would want to part with some of the players who helped them to second place.
Well, this year there’s at least one runner-up who needs to wave the white flag, even though the calendar reads early July. Because they’re eleven games behind first-place Cleveland, the Twins have no chance of winning the AL Central.
Optimistic fans at Target Field might refute the above statement, remembering that last year the Twins finished second to the Indians and still made the playoffs as a wild card team. The difference, of course, is that Minnesota was playing .500 last July, a pace that was enough to qualify for the second wild card.
The 2018 Twins, on the other hand, are currently ten games under .500 and possess the 10th-worst record in the league. Three of the four teams that have played worse than Minnesota are in the same division, which is the only reason the Twins are in second place.
Given the poor track record and the huge gap between them and the Indians, the Twins need to make a trade that will benefit them in the future. His best trading chip would be veteran starter Lance Lynn, who is signed only this season.
His departure wouldn’t hurt Minnesota, as All Star ace Ervin Santana is expected to return from the disabled list this month. His presence will more than make up for the loss of Lynn, who is in the crosshairs of several contenders.
One of those potential trading partners, and the most practical, is the closest geographically to Minnesota. In fact, the two teams share a broadcast network, the Fox Sports North cable station.
Milwaukee is currently atop the NL Central, but the defending champion Chicago Cubs are just a game behind. To avoid a breakdown like last year, the Brewers could be looking for a veteran starter like Lance Lynn, especially since Brent Suter had to be pulled from his last start due to injury.
Lynn could bring in a Top Twenty prospect, maybe even number seven, Lucas Erceg. Selected in the second round in 2016, Erceg is a promising third baseman expected to reach the majors next year.
People in Minnesota might wonder why the Twins would look to a third baseman, considering that the most feared slugger on their roster was an All-Star at that position last year. The answer, of course, is that Miguel Sano has no future at hot corner, even if he overcomes his current offensive woes while playing at Single A Fort Myers.
He will most likely take over early in 2019, leaving the hot corner a question mark. Certainly, utility infielder Eduardo Escobar has performed nobly in Sanó’s absence this year, but the Twins need a long-term solution to that position.
Milwaukee is well-placed at third with Travis Shaw, a left-handed hitter with plenty of power to solidify the middle of the batting order. Even if the Brewers refuse to trade Erceg, they do have a couple of promising catchers and pitchers among their top two dozen prospects. The Twins could certainly use a young catcher or a young arm that is close to the big leagues.