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\u2019ll be part of what\u2019s now being called \u201cMLB Local Media,\u201d which is likely to give them even less revenue for 2025.<\/p>\n
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 L\u00f3pez, who is scheduled to make $21.75 million each of the next three seasons.<\/p>\n
L\u00f3pez was acquired by the Twins before the 2023 season for Luis Arr\u00e1ez. Including the 2022 season, he\u2019s 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\u2019s a perfectly reasonable salary for that sort of production. In 2023, L\u00f3pez was an AL All-Star and finished seventh in Cy Young voting. He\u2019s got a good K rate and just doesn\u2019t walk guys. Over the last three seasons, L\u00f3pez has a 6.1 percent walk rate, which is excellent.<\/p>\n
Three years of salary at that AAV for a pitcher of his age and health seems like a very good deal. For comparison\u2019s sake, L\u00f3pez is about four and a half years younger than Jameson Taillon, who is signed for the next two years at $18 million per year.<\/p>\n
He\u2019d 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.<\/p>\n
So if the Cubs gave the Twins this sort of payroll relief, what would they have to trade to get L\u00f3pez? 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.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m just going to throw a couple of names out there and see if you agree. I\u2019d think perhaps something like James Triantos, Brandon Birdsell and Caleb Kilian might do it.<\/p>\n
Would you agree? Or, perhaps you have a different idea. But I do think the Cubs should move on L\u00f3pez. He\u2019d be an excellent fit for the Cubs rotation.<\/p>\n
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0 votes total Vote Now<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
What would it take to bring the Twins righthander to Chicago?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":23354,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n