5 players the Minnesota Twins should trade to complete their fire sale

The Twins fortified their infield defense by signing Simmons to a one-year deal last offseason, and his offensive production has generally gone underrated due to his elite level defensively. So far, he hasn’t done either thing particularly well this season (.592 OPS, -1.0 UZR). But he would only be a rental for a contender, and perhaps a change of scenery would benefit him.

Part of the issue for the Twins has been finding room in the lineup for Nick Gordon. Byron Buxton’s absence has opened up center field for the former first-round pick in his first taste of the big leagues, but even with that he’s only started 11 games since June 15. He’s also a middle infielder by trade.

Signing Simmons allowed the Twins to move Jorge Polanco to second base, where he’s not as much of a detriment defensively. But Polanco’s value is driven by his bat anyway, so if he were moved back to short full-time for the rest of the season it wouldn’t move the needle. When it comes down to it, the Twins should not care about marginal difference in defensive value in a losing season.

Simmons would still be a fit for the Twins if they were going anywhere this year. But at this point, he’s primarily a barrier to getting a full look at Gordon for 2022 and beyond. Trading him will be easy, if there’s any interest out there.