Yankees should explore this offseason trade with the Twins to address bullpen

The Yankees should call the Twins for some bullpen help.

Though there are options in free agency, the Yankees don’t seem keen on spending big or dishing out multi-year contracts, which makes a trade more likely for general manager Brian Cashman to address the bullpen. He’s usually good for one smart deal per offseason, so why not address the bullpen with one?

The fact of the matter is that New York needs a lefty reliever and the only real suitable one on the open market is Brad Hand, but you’d have to think he’s going to command a multi-year deal closer to the $10 million range annually. Unfortunately for the Yankees, they have other spending to take care of, so such a purchase likely isn’t in the cards.

Perhaps the Minnesota Twins can help. If they’re realistic about their 2021 outlook, they certainly won’t be World Series contenders, so holding onto left-hander Taylor Rogers hardly makes sense (unless they plan on moving him at the trade deadline, but that’ll mean they have to bank on a strong first half from him).

Rogers, 30, is a free agent after next season and he’ll make $6 million in his final year of arbitration eligibility. At this point, he’s more of an asset in a trade for Minnesota than he is one on the pitching staff. Yes, he’s their closer, but it’s not like there’s a premium bridge that leads to him.

Tyler Duffey, Jorge Alcala, Caleb Thielbar and Cody Stashak are the only other relievers on the depth chart, so there’s a lot more work for Minnesota to do this offseason if they want to upgrade in that department. And during this uncertain offseason in which teams are hesitant to spend, why would we bank on the Twins to throw around cash? It’s probably not going to happen.

Once again, if the Twins are going to be honest with themselves, they’re closer to a mini re-tool than they are to contention, and Rogers likely isn’t in their long-term plans. If he was, an extension probably would’ve been in the works after his 2019 campaign, which was stellar. Now with Nelson Cruz, Trevor May, Jake Odorizzi, Marwin Gonzalez, Eddie Rosario, Sergio Romo and Matt Wisler all likely leaving in free agency, it’s an uphill battle, and it’s time to turn to the homegrown talent.

So why not get some value for Rogers and expedite this re-tool? Maybe the Yankees can offer either No. 8 prospect Alexander Vizcaino or No. 9 prospect Yoendrys Gomez and maybe one of Albert Abreu, Luis Cessa or Jonathan Loaisiga? Rogers did have a down 2020, but who didn’t? His previous three seasons are exactly what the Yankees looking for, and he’d be great as a reliable arm who can come in anywhere between innings 6-9.

It’s at least worth a phone call. And if Rogers works out in New York, a contract extension would be nice. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. First, the Yankees will have to see if the Twins are even open to making this move.

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