MLB trade rumors: Twins interested in controllable starters

The Twins are looking at controllable starters to possibly acquire before the non-bwaiver trade deadline, sources told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

Rosenthal said the names on the Twins may have interest in trading for are the White Sox’s Jose Quintana, the Athletics’ Sonny Gray or possibly the Marlins’ Dan Straily.

This interest comes as no surprise, as Twins general manager Thad Levine told Mark Feinsand of MLB.com that they were “probably not going to be inclined to spend lavishly on short-term assets,” but are “very open to spending aggressively on assets that we could use to propel our team forward this year and for years to come.” Within that same report, Levine and Twins said they do not want to sacrifice the team’s long-term plans for sustainable success for a few months this season, even though they appreciate being in contention. They are in second place in the AL Central at 45-43, good for 2 ¹⁄₂ games behind the defending American League champion Indians.

Quintana, Gray or Straily are names that could fit. Quintana, who had an excellent June in which he went 2-1 with a 1.78 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 30 ¹⁄₃ innings pitched, is under team control through 2020 and is owed only $37.85 million over the next four seasons. Gray, who had a pretty good June (1-2, 3.52 ERA, 38 Ks in 38 ¹⁄₃ innings pitched) after a tough May, is under control through 2019. Straily, who has gone 7-4 with a 3.31 ERA this year, is under control through 2020.

However, the Athletics and White Sox are in rebuilding phases and will probably want big-time prospects in return, something the Twins are not willing to do. And when it comes to Straily, Marlins president Michael Hill said to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports that the right-hander is a “pre-arb starting pitcher” and is consider in the club’s group of young stars that it plans to not trade.