MLB Trade Deadline Rumors: 5 trades Twins should make

4. Trade for Francisco Liriano and Joe Smith

A pair of rental starters pitchers that fits Minnesota’s needs might be available from the Toronto Blue Jays – familiar face Francisco Liriano and Marco Estrada – both of whom will be free agents at the end of the season, and both of whom have struggled this year, a pair of factors that should make them relatively cheap to acquire.

If the Twins were able to pick only one of the two veteran starters, they should go for Liriano. An All-Star with the Twins in 2006, Liriano has battled wildness and ineffectiveness off and on throughout his 12-year major league career, with stretches of complete dominance sprinkled in. The first half of 2016 (much like 2017), Liriano was ineffective. The second half of 2016, he was dominant.

Liriano is 5-5 with a 6.04 ERA and slightly better 4.92 FIP this season. He has 64 strikeouts in 70 innings across 15 starts, and has issued an ugly 39 walks (5.0 per nine innings). However, after he joined the Blue Jays at the trade deadline last season, he posted a 2.92 ERA with 52 strikeouts and just 16 walks (2.9 per nine innings) in 49.1 innings.

Toronto would love to get rid of Liriano, and the Blue Jays may also be willing to part with a middle reliever like veteran Joe Smith, who has a 3.41 ERA but 2.25 FIP with 47 strikeouts in 31.2 innings this year. Smith, a free agent after the season, has been on the disabled list since mid July with shoulder inflammation, but is expected to return to the mound any day now.