The Minnesota Twins have the luxury of employing several impact infielders.
They have Jose Miranda and Alex Kirilloff for the corners; and Carlos Correa, Royce Lewis, and Jorge Polanco for the middle.
They also have prospects Brooks Lee and Austin Martin on the way.
This logjam made at least one of those names expandable.
That’s why they traded current American League batting champion Luis Arraez to the Miami Marlins on Friday.
Trade news: All-Star second baseman Luis Arraez is going to the Miami Marlins and right-hander Pablo Lopez is headed to the Minnesota Twins, sources tell ESPN. Deal is done. Players are being informed right now. More are involved.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 20, 2023
That deal can benefit both teams.
The Twins have a surplus of talented infielders and can go ahead without Arraez, even though he was very good in 2023 with a 3.2 WAR output, a .316 average, a 131 wRC+ and a .795 OPS.
They needed a pitcher to strengthen their chances to compete in the AL Central, though, and Pablo Lopez is as solid as they come.
by Stuff+, Pablo Lopez has a good curve (107), average-ish cutter (98) & change (93), & below-average 4-seam (88). He locates everything well, though, & it's possible the model misses something on his changeup, batters hit .218 & slugged .370 on over 1000 of them last year. pic.twitter.com/uPXe6HBGsD
— Eno Sarris (@enosarris) January 20, 2023
As always, there were fans over Twitter who hated the trade for the Twins:
The Twins just have no idea what they’re doing lmao
— Daniel Corrigan (@Corrigan_Tweets) January 20, 2023
And others that understood the deal and liked it for Minnesota:
Twins top 2 prospects are middle infielders, Arraez who I love, is a utility guy but mostly a 1B/DH who can’t hit for power. Twins needed pitching bad
— Alan McCaulley (@AlanMcCaulley) January 20, 2023
Arraez’s 2022 season is probably his best-case scenario when it comes to OPS and wRC+.
Because he has virtually no power, he needs to hit for a high average in order to be an effective hitter.
Luckily for him, his swing is geared to be a .300 hitter but he does give the impression of that being “empty” average.
The good thing for the Marlins is that he is under team control for three more years, as opposed to Lopez who is controllable for two.
Minnesota badly needed pitching, though, and this was a deal they felt comfortable making.
In the end, it helps both teams fulfill an instant need.
NEXT: Twins Land A Key Pitcher In Trade With Marlins