Twins Reportedly Inquired About Trading for Michael A. Taylor
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Intra-division trades in Major League Baseball aren't extremely common, and they're oftentimes more difficult to work out than swaps between clubs that don't see each other as often. For the Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins, this process reportedly unfolded at least a little bit as of late.
Per Dan Hayes of The Athletic, Minnesota recently inquired about Royals outfielder Michael A. Taylor. MLB Trade Rumors adds that nothing indicates that those discussions are still happening as the month of February draws near. Taylor garnered trade interest at the 2022 trade deadline but was ultimately kept in town, and Kansas City clearly doesn't want to part ways with him for anything less than the club's ideal asking price despite making him available. That price may be higher than initially thought, as one of the main reasons why talks with the Twins didn't progress was that the Royals wanted pitcher Josh Winder. From Hayes' report:
As the free-agent market for right-handed-hitting outfielders is drained, the Twins also inquired about the availability of veteran Michael Taylor as a potential backup center fielder, but were discouraged when Kansas City asked for young pitcher Josh Winder in return.
Winder, a seventh-round draft pick back in 2018, turned 26 back in October. He rose through the Twins' minor league ranks thanks to a stellar 2021 stint at Double-A and then some solid production at the Triple-A level early in 2022. Minnesota used him sporadically throughout the season, as his games played spanned all the way from April to October when he wasn't in St. Paul. In 15 big-league appearances (11 starts), the right-hander didn't perform quite as expected. His 4.70 ERA was accompanied by a 4.87 FIP, 5.21 xERA and a mediocre 6.31 K/9.
With all of that said, Winder did limit his walks to 2.42 per nine innings and still flashed some of the potential he has as a rotation arm. His fastball-slider combination is his bread and butter, but he also possesses a changeup and curveball that he went to 14% and 12% of the time, respectively, as a true rookie. Winder is more of a command-based pitcher than an overpowering one, and the fact that he didn't accumulate a full year of service time in 2022 makes him even more valuable to Minnesota moving forward. It can be viewed as unsurprising that the Twins turned their nose up at the Royals' request for him.
Taylor, while only making $4.5 million in 2023 and still being one of the better defenders among all outfielders, is only under club control for one season and will be a free agent following the conclusion of this coming campaign. Additionally, despite his improved wRC+ (76 in 2021 to 90 in 2022), he remains a relatively low-patience hitter with very little power and subpar on-base ability. On a contending team, he's likely a fourth outfielder at best. The Royals can only get so much back for him in a potential trade, so their ask for Winder would almost surely be too steep for just about any club to agree to.
