MLB Rumors: 5 players the Minnesota Twins should trade

2. OF Max Kepler

Since a 36-home run breakout as part of 2019’s “Bomba Squad”, Kepler is hitting .217/.313/.412 with 12 home runs and 36 RBI over the last two seasons (75 games entering Sunday). He didn’t hit his first home run this season until May 6, after some missed time on the COVID-19 list, and all three of his homers have come in his last eight games. So have been fleeting signs of life lately.

The Twins have corner outfielders in the upper tiers of their minor league system, if not basically major league-ready/nothing left to prove in the minors (Alex Kiriloff, Trevor Larnach, Brent Rooker). So in short order, Kepler will have to start hitting more than his weight.

A point in the Twins corner, should they look to move Kepler, is a team-friendly contract. He is under team control through 2024, with salaries of $6.5 million this year, $6.75 million in 2022 and $8.5 million in 2023 before a $10 million option in 2024 (with a $1 million buyout and possible escalators). Teams will covet that cost control.

While Kepler is someone the Twins probably missed peak value on, trading him has to be on the radar.

1. DH Nelson Cruz

Cruz continues to age like a fine wine, with a .295/.347/.535 slash-line, nine home runs and 23 RBI going into Sunday. He’s not walking nearly as much as typical thus far in 2021, but the other prominent surface numbers are backed up by him squaring up and hitting the ball as hard as he ever has.

Cruz will turn 41 on June 30, and he’s on a one-year deal. So if the Twins continue to lose far more than they win, the bottom line is he’s an older player who is strictly a DH. He may eventually prefer to go to a team with a chance to win this year, and there should be suitors of that ilk.