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Several interesting names figure to be available on the trade deadline, names that will be covered extensively by Twins Daily throughout the month of July. But the player who would make the biggest impact to this Twins team is first baseman Paul Goldschmidt.
The Minnesota Twins have struggled at the plate all season. They rank 20th in baseball in both OPS and runs scored. With a pitching staff that has been outstanding all season, it has been their hitting that has kept the Twins from running away with the American League Central.
Enter Paul Goldschmidt.
Paul Goldschmidt is quietly having yet another outstanding season at first base for the St. Louis Cardinals. Through 329 plate appearances, Goldy is slashing .287/.377/.493 with 13 home runs and 38 RBI. Goldschmidt ranks in the 95th percentile in both average exit velocity and hard hit percentage. Additionally, the right-hander is great at handling the strike zone, with a K% of just 21.6 and an excellent chase rate of just 24.3%.
Goldschmidt’s bat would fit perfect with the Twins for a few reasons. First of all, as a right-handed hitter the reigning NL MVP would help the Twins immensely with their struggles against left-handed pitchers. On the season, the Twins rank second-to-last in all of baseball against southpaws. While Goldschmidt has actually hit better against right handers this year, over the course of his career he has proven that he is much better against southpaws. Over his 13-year career, Goldy owns a 1.032 OPS against left-handed pitchers. Adding that right-handed bat into this lineup, especially against lefties, would be a total game changer.
Another reason that Goldschmidt would be the best possible addition for the Twins at the trade deadline is that he would fit perfectly into the Twins’ lineup. With Goldschmidt playing first base, the Twins would be able to move Alex Kirilloff to left field (or right field depending on what the Twins do with Max Kepler). Left field has been the worst position for the Minnesota Twins this season, receiving a lowly .596 OPS from the position this season, worst in the majors. By adding Goldy, the Twins would upgrade their first base position as well as left field, and would be able to move on from a struggling Joey Gallo.
Finally, Paul Goldschmidt would be an excellent addition to the Minnesota Twins because he is a darn good baseball player. The slugger has produced an above average OPS+ in every single season of his career and never posted an OPS lower than .821 in a full season. While Goldy is already 35-years-old, he is showing no signs of slowing down as he is coming off of an MVP season in 2022 and is continuing to hit at his career rates.
With the St. Louis Cardinals mired in a season-long slump, they just might consider trading away their all-star first baseman. Currently, the Cardinals are last in the National League Central with a 31-45 record and stand more than 11 games back of a playoff spot. Goldy is owed $22M this year and next year before becoming a free agent in 2024 and the Cardinals may be looking to recoup whatever assets they can get as they begin a new rebuild.
The question that the Minnesota Twins will be asking themselves over the next handful of weeks is “should we be trading away future assets for a team that may or may not be destined for greatness?” The answer to that might be no, but there’s also a decent argument that if you can make the playoffs (no matter how poor your division), you should construct the best roster possible because anything can happen in the postseason. And for the Twins to construct the best possible roster, a trade for Paul Goldschmidt would be a great first step.
Do you agree that Paul Goldschmidt would be the best addition that the Twins could make at the trade deadline? Leave a comment below and start the conversation.
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June 26, 2023 at 08:14PM
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The Best Player the Twins Could Acquire at the Trade Deadline - Twins Daily
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