New Minnesota Front Office Executives Have An Unpopular Task To Tackle

The team which lost the most games last season has a completely different front office now, as Minnesota hired a new chief executive as well as a new general manager. The Twins made the announcement on Monday, November 7, via a news conference on the MLB channel.

General Manager Thad Levine will be taking over the Minnesota organization after a tenure working with the Colorado Rockies, and Dave Falvey will serve as the team’s chief executive baseball officer. Both men will be hoping to turn around a team that won only 59 games last year, fewest in all of baseball.

Their first order of business, if they intend to improve the future of the club, might be one that will upset the fans in the Twin Cities. They will probably need to trade All-Star second baseman Brian Dozier.

Minnesota desperately needs pitching, as indicated by the staff’s league worst 5.04 team earned run average in 2016. Other than Earvin Santana the rotation is bereft of consistent arms, and the bullpen is no better.

The Twins, unfortunately, have very few trading chips. Most of their regulars are talented but inexperienced players whom the team hopes to build around. The two most well-known veterans are found on the right side of the infield, but only one would be sought after in trades.

First baseman Joe Mauer, a former Most Valuable Player, has suffered consecutive down seasons and has a huge contract that no team would want to take on. That leaves Bran Dozier, the club leader in home runs and runs batted in, as the most valuable trade commodity.

A likely partner would be St. Louis, where Dozier would upgrade not only its defense but also its offense. Dozier hit 42 home runs with 99 RBI while batting.268, which would be a huge upgrade over the production the Cardinals got from Kolten Wong last year.

In fact, St. Louis soured so much on Wong that the second baseman was demoted to the minors for much of the season, and even after returning to the big league was sent to the outfield. He has a relative reasonable contract, but the Cardinals would likely have to take on part of it in order to deal Wong to another club.

The acquisition of Dozier would also accelerate the departure of shortstop Jhonny Perralta through a trade, opening that spot for young Aledmys Diaz and allowing Jedd Gyorko to move permanently to third base. Dozier’s power bat would also compensate for the offense of slugger Matt Holliday, whose contract has expired.

Minnesota could insist on getting in return for Dozier several of the young pitchers in the St. Louis system. Eight of the top fourteen prospects for the Cardinals are pitchers, exactly what the Twins need most.

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