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Dream Trade - Another Twin Killing

Some people may view a "dream trade" as a blockbuster deal that lands the Yankees an ace (Kluber perhaps) or a high profile bat (Goldschmidt anyone?), but what's sometimes even better is an under-the-radar offseason move that pays dividends at a lower price. There wasn't a lot of fanfare when the Yankees' traded John Ryan Murphy for Aaron Hicks at the 2015 GM Meetings, but here we are three years later and Hicks just posted a 4.9 WAR season and is one of the Yankees' most valuable pieces going into 2019.

Looking at the rebuilding teams around the MLB, the Twins might make for an enticing trade partner once again for the Yankees. Brian Cashman has stated that the Yankees' top three needs are "starting pitching, starting pitching, and someone to fill in for Didi Gregorius in the middle infield." Well, considering they're coming off a 78-win season, the Twins actually have some solid trade targets to fill those needs. Here are a few potential deals that the Yankees could look to make with the rebuilding Twins.

Yankees Receive: Jake Odorizzi

Twins Receive: Domingo Acevedo, Josh Breaux, Dermis Garcia

Let's start with someone the Yankees should be very familiar with. Odorizzi pitched for the Rays in the AL East from 2013-2017 and proved that he was a reliable and durable starting pitching in tough parks. He struggled a bit in Minnesota last season, posting a 4.49 ERA over 164 innings, but his peripheral stats suggested a season closer to the 2015 and 2016 seasons in Tampa Bay when he posted 3.35 and 3.69 ERA's, respectively. The Yankees will remember Odorizzi taking a no-hitter into the eight inning against them in September this past season, so they know he's very capable of dominance at times. Odorizzi has never thrown 200 innings in a season, but he's thrown 143+ innings in five straight seasons.

Now heading into his age 29 season, the right hander has one season left on his current deal and figures to pitch a lot of meaningless games for a rebuilding team. You would think the Twins would like to get some value for Odorizzi before he hits free agency in 2020 and the Yankees could do a lot worse than Odorizzi as a fifth starter, especially if they can acquire a top of the rotation starter elsewhere. He might not be in your playoff rotation, but anybody who can eat 150 innings during the regular season takes pressure off your other pitchers and Odorizzi has proven he can do it in a tough division.

Would a package of Domingo Acevedo, Josh Breaux, and Dermis Garcia buy the Yankees a season of Odorizzi and save the Twins some money as they rebuild? Acevedo gives them an exciting arm they can add to their 2019 bullpen; Breaux joins a farm system with zero catchers among their top-20 prospects (according to MLB.com), and Garcia has raw power that makes him an intriguing wildcard prospect.

Yankees Receive: Kyle Gibson

Twins Receive: Albert Abreu, Trevor Stephan, Thairo Estrada

I'm sure Gibson isn't on a lot of fan's wish lists, but look at what he did in 2018. At age 30, the former first round pick had his best season yet. Gibson put up a career-best 3.62 ERA in 196.2 innings. His 8.19 K/9 rate was a serious increase over his previous career best of 6.89 and he induced more soft contact (19.5%) than ever before. Even Gibson's velocity saw a boost in 2018. His average fastball velocity was 93.5mph, significantly faster than the career high 92.9mph he recorded in 2017.

Just like Odorizzi, Gibson will hit free agency in 2020, so the Twins might want to get some return for him sooner rather than later. Also much like Odorizzi, Gibson has pitched 147+ innings in five straight seasons. He struggled in 2016 and 2017 but the Yankees would gladly take 150+ innings of the pitcher Gibson was in 2014, 2015, and 2018.

The price tag shouldn't be too high for one year of a guy who would be viewed as a number four or five starter on a contending team, but the Twins won't give away their potential opening day starter for nothing. Albert Abreu is one of the most exciting arms in the Yankees' system, occasionally touching triple digits, and Stephan is viewed as a future big-league starter by many scouts. Estrada profiles as a solid utility player in the future.

Yankees Receive: Odorizzi, Jorge Polanco

Twins Receive: Albert Abreu, Josh Breaux, Domingo Acevedo, Erik Swanson, Thairo Estrada

This trade kills two birds with one stone for the Yankees. They add a reliable starter to the back end of their rotation and pick up Polanco to fill Didi's spot until he returns. Polanco, at 25-years old, actually reminds me a bit of a younger Gregorius, but with the added benefit of being a switch-hitter. Although he's not the high-level fielder Gregorius is, Polanco can really hit from the left side and is capable of playing the middle infield positions, as well as some third base. I could see Polanco running into double digit home runs in the first half and subsequently settling into a utility role upon his Didi's return from offseason Tommy John surgery.

In order to acquire a quality young player (Polanco won't hit free agency until 2023) from a rebuilding team, the Yankees will need to give up a solid prospect haul. Abreu gives the Twins a starter with real upside, while Acevedo and Swanson give them two pieces they can either plug and play out of the bullpen or test in their rotation during a building year. Breaux could be the Twins' catcher of the future in a system that's lacking catching depth and Estrada gives them a shortstop to potentially fill Polanco's role in a year or two.

These trades might not be the ones you dream about when you close your eyes to sleep at night. Heck, they might not even help the Yankees at all, but very few fans were dreaming of acquiring Gregorius, Hicks, or Luke Voit in recent years either. Let's see if Cashman can pull off another Twin killing that pays dividends for years to come.

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