Everybody wants starting pitching. A good, young, and proven rotation piece is among the most valuable commodities in today’s game. The Minnesota Twins know this, and they could be holding a high-value card right now in right-handed Pablo Lopez.
Pablo Lopez could be a valuable trade piece for the Minnesota Twins
Right now, in early January, teams are vying for Japanese starting pitcher Roki Sasaki. He is good (2.10 ERA in Japan, 2023 World Baseball Classic champ), young (23 years old), and dirt cheap (available for international bonus pool money) so clubs are making their best efforts to sign him. A decision is expected between January 15 and 23.
There will only be one winner in the Sasaki sweepstakes. Those who lose might have to turn to the trade market to fill their pitching holes. That’s when the Twins could come in and offer Lopez, a reliable guy capable of pitching 180-200 innings of an ERA in the threes plus more than 200 strikeouts, for a substantial package.
For the Twins, however, coming to the decision to flip Lopez could be hard. After all, they came close to the postseason last year before an ugly debacle in September and have a quality roster in place. But truth be told, the top free agent starters have mostly signed by now, and Lopez might be the best starter (potentially) available for trade.
Will the Twins move Lopez?
The folks at MLB Network Radio analyzed the situation and implied Lopez could potentially be on the move. It all depends on the Twins, though.
“Who wouldn’t want Pablo Lopez?” they ask, and compare his situation with that of Dylan Cease of the San Diego Padres.
Cease at his best might have a higher ceiling than Lopez, but given their status as a playoff team, the Padres are less likely to trade Cease than the Twins are to flip Lopez.
Lopez, who has three years left on his deal at $21.7 million per season, has a career 3.91 ERA and posted a 4.08 mark in 2024. His 25 percent strikeout rate makes him a high-upside play, though, and he could be a nice second starter in a postseason-caliber squad.
