Jorge Polanco

After trading from strength to shore up the major league roster and graduating Jose Miranda, this system looks thinner than usual. Royce Lewis brings a nice big name to the top, but he s kind of a prospect in name only at this point. Would have graduated long ago if healthy. I like a lot of the guys they have. It s just: they ve missed a lot in the first round. Keoni Cavaco, Aaron Sabato, and I kind of want to throw Austin Martin in here, too, because if you re missing on your big evaluations, you re not likely to thrive for long. To their credit and savior, Minnesota has made some shrewd plays on the market, flipping a couple months of Nelson Cruz for Joe Ryan chief among them, and have built an impressive core group of under-the-radar, homegrown talents like Jorge Polanco, Luis Arraez, Max Kepler, Jose Miranda and of course, Byron Buxton. They re not all good all the time, but they re pretty great when they re good, especially for cost-controlled (gag me with a sock full of dimes for using the lingo) young veterans. The club has a knack for zeroing in on the hit tool to unearth the Astudillos of the baseball world, and while not every Astudillio is an Arraez or a Miranda, some of them can be, and godspeed to the Twins for trying to find them. I love the player type. Hardest thing in the world is to barrel up a big-league-level pitch. Could do much worse on the scouting front than separating guys who can do that someday from guys who can t.

The Minnesota Twins have renewed exploring a trade for utility man Luis Arraez after retaining Carlos Correa via free agency, multiple sources told Dan Hayes of The Athletic.While no deal is imminent, the Miami Marlins are reportedly among the teams in discussions to acquire Arraez.Hayes notes that the Marlins have been shopping starting pitchers this winter and could potentially make Pablo Lopez available in an Arraez deal.A first-time All-Star in 2022, Arraez enjoyed a breakout campaign last year, winning the AL batting title with a .316 average and claiming Silver Slugger under the newly minted utility classification.While Arraez broke into the majors as a second baseman, defensive woes have forced the 25-year-old contact hitter to move to first base. Last year, he played 65 games at first, 41 at the keystone, and seven at third.The Twins were reportedly first interested in shopping Arraez back in early December, but nothing materialized. However, now that the Twins eventually lured Correa back on a six-year, $200-million deal, Arraez's path to playing time is less clear. With Correa at short, Jorge Polanco becomes the team's everyday second baseman, limiting Arraez to first base only, which could also be manned by Alex Kirilloff.The Marlins do have a bit of an infield logjam, recently adding Jean Segura via free agency to play third base - a position he hasn't often played. Jazz Chisholm Jr. has second base, Garrett Cooper is stationed at first, and Joey Wendle is the likely shortstop now that Miguel Rojas has been traded. Jon Berti and Jordan Groshans will also vie for playing time in the infield.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.