Minnesota Twins Rumors: Trading Trevor Plouffe Would Be Bad Idea

With the signing of Korean first baseman Byung Ho Park becoming official this week, the Minnesota Twins now appear to be overloaded with options for few spots in the lineup. Joe Mauer remains entrenched (relatively) as the primary first baseman, and ideally Miguel Sano will find a position after serving mostly as the team’s designated hitter upon his arrival in the big leagues last season. There’s talk of trying Sano in left field, but he came through the minors as a third baseman and Trevor Plouffe’s presence there has been thought to be a short-term answer.

Plouffe has become a productive regular over the last few seasons, and he posted a .244/.307/.435 slash-line in 2015 with 22 home runs and a career-high 86 RBI over a career-high 632 plate appearances. He has also become a solid defensive player at the hot corner, with advanced statistics backing that up (1.6 defensive WAR combined in 2014 and 2015-Baseball Reference).

Since the announcement that Minnesota won the negotiating rights for Park in November, trade speculation surfaced and the Los Angeles Angels were quickly mentioned as a team that would have interest in Plouffe if he was available.

Expect Twins to make Trevor Plouffe available if they sign Korean IB Byung Ho Park. Angels would be interested, if hole still unfilled

— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) November 10, 2015

The Angels may bring David Freese back as their third baseman, but Plouffe would be an upgrade for sure. There is a possible financial angle for the Twins to consider a trade, since Plouffe made $4.8 million last season and would be in line for a significant raise in arbitration this winter ($7.7 million, projected by MLB Trade Rumors.com). But with Park far from a proven commodity in American baseball, it should take a substantial offer that general manager Terry Ryan simply can’t refuse, by the Angels or any other team, for Plouffe to be traded this offseason.

Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported that the Twins “will listen, but are not actively seeking to move” Plouffe. That is absolutely the proper course to take, even if it comes off as general manager-speak given to a beat writer, and Plouffe should not be traded due to a false perception of surplus.

Brad Berreman is a Senior Writer at Rant Sports.com. Follow him on Twitter.