The Minnesota Twins lowered their payroll from $177 million in 2023 to about $160 million in 2024. The reason was a reduction in TV rights fees with a resulting decrease in revenue. For 2025, as I noted in this article last November, they’ll be part of what’s now being called “MLB Local Media,” which is likely to give them even less revenue for 2025.

Thus, the Twins have been discussing trading some of their higher-paid players to try to reduce payroll. One of those players is righthanded starter Pablo López, who is scheduled to make $21.75 million each of the next three seasons.

López was acquired by the Twins before the 2023 season for Luis Arráez. Including the 2022 season, he’s made 32 starts each of the last three years, 100 percent healthy and productive. He turns 29 in March and averages about 3 bWAR per season. That’s a perfectly reasonable salary for that sort of production. In 2023, López was an AL All-Star and finished seventh in Cy Young voting. He’s got a good K rate and just doesn’t walk guys. Over the last three seasons, López has a 6.1 percent walk rate, which is excellent.

Three years of salary at that AAV for a pitcher of his age and health seems like a very good deal. For comparison’s sake, López is about four and a half years younger than Jameson Taillon, who is signed for the next two years at $18 million per year.

He’d make a perfect addition to the Cubs rotation and, with the money saved by trading Cody Bellinger, should be eminently affordable for the 2025 Cubs, even if they insist on staying under the first luxury tax level. In the payroll analysis article Dep and I did last month, we show the Cubs at least $40 million under the tax, possibly more.

So if the Cubs gave the Twins this sort of payroll relief, what would they have to trade to get López? In general, when making deals of this sort, the more money the acquiring team takes on, the less the prospect(s) they will have to give.

I’m just going to throw a couple of names out there and see if you agree. I’d think perhaps something like James Triantos, Brandon Birdsell and Caleb Kilian might do it.

Would you agree? Or, perhaps you have a different idea. But I do think the Cubs should move on López. He’d be an excellent fit for the Cubs rotation.