MLB Rumors: Cardinals and Nationals interested in Brian Dozier
If the Minnesota Twins want to trade second baseman Brian Dozier, they have a couple more National League teams as potential suitors.
As a 103-loss 2016 season went on for the Minnesota Twins, second baseman Brian Dozier was the brightest of very few bright spots. He finished with 42 home runs, 99 RBI and a .886 OPS over 155 games (615 at-bats), and with an affordable contract ($15 million over the next two seasons) Dozier has been the subject of trade rumors with a new front office regime in place for Minnesota.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have been Dozier’s top rumored suitor to this point, with the San Francisco Giants also mentioned recently. But a couple more National League teams may be kicking the tires on Dozier.
Dozier update: told LAD still very much in it. Here's the new wrinkle: STL very much in it, + Nats & Giants remain in dialogue. #MNTwins
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) December 26, 2016
Darren Wolfson of KSTP has added the Washington Nationals and St. Louis Cardinals to the list of possible suitors for Dozier. Washington looks like a poor fit, with Daniel Murphy firmly entrenched at second base and no obvious position to move him to in order to make room for Dozier. But the Cardinals have some major-league ready players (Kolten Wong, etc) they could send to the Twins as part of a deal for Dozier to unclog a possible infield log-jam.
Dozier’s trade value will never be higher than it is right now, entering his age-30 season with his past inconsistency in mind, and new Twins’ front office leaders Derek Falvey and Thad Levine are clearly open to making a deal. It really depends on what the desired return is, with the Dodgers apparently willing to part with prospects and the Cardinals seeming to have more immediately major-league ready talent to deal.
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In any case, a growing list of interested teams puts the Twins in position to get maximum value for Dozier in a trade. With a rebuilding process that needs to be ignited, that’s an enviable position to be in.