The Minnesota Twins have traded their starting second baseman in exchange for four players, including a starting pitcher.
Minnesota sent All-Star infielder Jorge Polanco, 30, to the Seattle Mariners for right-handed pitchers Anthony Desclafani, 33, Justin Topa, 32, Darren Bowen, 22, and outfielder Gabriel Gonzalez, 20, and cash considerations.
The trade mainstay was Polanco. A switch-hitting infielder from the Dominican Republic, Polanco has spent all 10 seasons with Minnesota since making his major league debut in 2014. In 832 career games, he batted .3156 (849-for-156) with 112 home runs, 447 RBIs, and a .780 OPS. His best season came in 2019, when he batted .153 (631-for-186) with 22 home runs, 79 RBIs, and an .841 OPS, and was named an All-Star.
In 2021, he exploded for a career-high 33 homers.
Last year, he was limited to 80 games due to an inflamed left knee and a strained left hamstring, but he was still productive at the plate, 토토사이트 batting .302 (77-for-57) with 14 homers, 48 RBIs and a .789 OPS.
Minnesota had plenty of depth at second base last year when rookie Eduard Julien, who was given a chance in Polanco’s absence, batted .265 (89-for-338) with 16 homers, 37 RBIs and an .840 OPS in 109 games. They sent Polanco to Seattle, a team with a weak second base, to bolster their pitching.
In bringing back veteran starter Desclafani and bullpen arm Topa, they also acquired two prospects who were Seattle’s top three prospects last year: outfielder Gonzalez and pitcher Bowen.
Desclafani, a right-hander, is a veteran with a 54-56 record with a 4.20 ERA and 830 strikeouts in 180 games (169 starts-942⅔ innings) over nine seasons with the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco after debuting with the Miami Marlins in 2014. After signing a one-year, $6 million free agent contract with San Francisco in 2021, he had his best season in 31 games (167⅔ innings), going 13-7 with a 3.17 ERA and 152 strikeouts.
Desclafani then signed a three-year
$36 million multiyear deal with San Francisco, but he was limited to five games (19 innings) in 2022 due to a right ankle injury and surgery. Last year, Desclafani went 4-8 with a 4.88 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 19 games (18 starts and 99⅔ innings) before leaving in July with a right shoulder strain and then an elbow flexor strain.
After the season, the former Cy Young Award-winning pitcher was traded to Seattle for outfielder Mitch Haniger in exchange for Robbie Ray, who was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. Less than a month later, he was traded again, this time to Minnesota.
Minnesota president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said, “We like Desclafani’s stuff. He was really good a couple years ago. He’s got the ability to pitch anywhere in our lineup,” said Falvey, who expects the team to bounce back when healthy.
Minnesota lost three starters to free agency after last season – Sonny Gray (St. Louis Cardinals), Genta Maeda (Detroit Tigers) and Tyler Mahle (Texas Rangers). Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, and Chris Paddack are more or less locked in for the first through fourth spots, but the fifth spot is less certain. The addition of Desclafani frees up the starting depth, as second-year man Louis Valand alone was unnerving.
Minnesota has been mentioned as a possible destination for Hyun-jin Ryu.
MLB Trade Rumors also mentioned Michael Lorenzen, Mike Clevinger and Hyun-Jin Ryu as mid-level free agent starters that Minnesota could be interested in.
According to MLB Network reporter John Morosi, 토토사이트 추천 Minnesota had shown interest in Lorenzen prior to the trade. The San Diego Padres and Baltimore Orioles were also interested in Lorenzen. However, Minnesota acquired Desclafani via trade, not Lorenzen, to put out the fifth starter fire. Minnesota also appears to be off Ryu’s list of potential new teams.
Meanwhile, Desclafani’s $12 million salary this year comes from three clubs. San Francisco picked up $6 million when he was traded to Seattle, and Seattle paid $2 million in exchange for trading him back to Minnesota. That leaves Minnesota to pay Desclafani the remaining $4 million in salary.