The Minnesota Twins have to pick a direction.
Can they afford to continue building their starting rotation around Pablo López? Or has he already gotten too expensive to work with their unfortunate payroll situation?
Just one season after he signed a four-year, $73 million extension with the Twins, López’s name is already being thrown around in trade rumors. Most of that stems from ESPN’s Jeff Passan reporting in December that the Twins hadved interest in the All-Star righty.
He may have had a 4.08 ERA this season, but he still ate innings and racked up strikeouts like a team would want from an ace. There are plenty of teams out there who would love to have López near the top of their rotation, and the deep-pocketed New York Mets could be at the top of the list.
Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer recently that would package López and catcher Christian Vázquez to the Mets in exchange for starting pitcher David Peterson, shortstop prospect Jett Williams, and outfield prospect Drew Gilbert.
“The most notable thing the Twins did this year was cut payroll,” Rymer said. “And with the team up for sale and payroll set to rise again in 2025, López and his $21.8 million salary seem ripe for cutting.”
“The Mets are so rich that the Twins could try to pair López with another player for maximum payroll relief. And yet, he should have enough surplus value on his own to bring a legit package back to the Twin Cities.”
If the Twins are serious about trading López, this is precisely the kind of package they need to secure. Peterson has two years of remaining team control and could even be flipped for more prospects in another trade. Meanwhile, Williams and Gilbert could be impact players at the big-league level.
Packaging Vázquez would be ideal, but the Twins gain so much prospect value here that it’s worth considering even if the Mets say no to the slumping catcher. If Minnesota is going to operate as a low-budget team, they have to start stockpiling young talent.
