The Minnesota Twins had a busy weekend.
They managed to acquire Sonny Gray from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for top pitching prospect Chase Petty.
They also sent Mitch Garver to the Texas Rangers for Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who was then flipped to the New York Yankees in the Josh Donaldson deal, a deal in which the Twins acquired Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela.
In the Donaldson deal, the Yankees agreed to pay the remaining $50 million of his salary on his contract, which cleared up some space for the Twins to spend a little, and Jon Heyman of MLB Network notes that Trevor Story could be a possibility, as they have checked in on him.
#MNTwins, back in need of a SS and with money to spend, have checked in on Trevor Story. Logical fit. Story wants to stay at SS and has turned down 9-figure deals (more than $100M) because they were fit other positions. @DanHayesMLB mentioned link
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) March 14, 2022
More To Come?
This would be a huge move for the Twins if they can do it.
It would show their fans that even after trading away Garver and Donaldson, they plan on being a contender in 2022.
The Twins had a disappointing 2021 after back-to-back division titles in 2019 and 2020, going 73-89 and finishing in last place in the AL Central, 20 games behind the Chicago White Sox.
However, if the Twins can land Story in addition to acquiring Gray, they could bounce right back into contention in 2022, and possibly even compete with the White Sox for an AL Central title, or at least a Wild Card.
The postseason is expanded to 12 teams now, with the addition of a third Wild Card in each league, so the Twins’ path to the postseason is much easier now.
We’ll see what happens next.
It’s sure to be a crazy couple of days in free agency as teams look to put the finishing touches on their 2022 rosters.
Several free agents still remain.
NEXT: Twins Made The Right Move Extending Byron Buxton