The Minnesota Twins acquired outfielder Michael A. Taylor from the Kansas City Royals on Monday for two minor league pitchers. For the services of Taylor, seen as a strong defender, the Twins gave away Evan Sisk and Steven Cruz.
It's been a busy couple weeks for the Twins, who sat out the majority of the winter until re-signing shortstop Carlos Correa and trading away American League batting champion Luis Arraez within the last two weeks.
Acquiring Taylor, who joins a crowded Minnesota Twins outfield and provides insurance in center field should oft-injured star Byron Buxton go down again in 2023, has their fans excited.
As far as Kansas City Royals fans go, well, reactions are mixed. It's difficult to gage a trade when a team gives up a known major league player for the promise of what might be someday.
Kansas City Royals fans can be content that their team is building for the future once again. However, the trade does bring about questions as to whether the Minnesota Twins, who have every intention of competing in the American League Central this season, are done dealing.
Minnesota has a crowded outfield situation now, with Buxton, Max Kepler and either Alex Kiriloff or Joey Gallo manning the three starting spots. Taylor is certain to assume one of those spots.
Do the Twins attempt to move either Kiriloff or Gallo to the gaping hole the team has at first base, or are more deals on the way?
It's never a bad idea to acquire as much talent as a team can and then figure out how to best utilize that talent. At least one fan on the outside looking in wishes their team had been as busy as the Minnesota Twins the past couple weeks.
Taylor is an intra-division trade for Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals
It's not unheard of for teams to trade with division rivals, but the Kansas City Royals dealing with the Minnesota Twins is not common. While Taylor's hitting exploits may not come back to haunt the Royals (he's a .241 career batter), Kansas City did deal a Gold Glove-winning player to a longtime rival.
For the Twins' part, dealing two prospects to a team that they will see many times over the seasons to come also bears caution. If one of the prospects turns out to be a star, Minnesota will know it better than anyone.
What do you think? Was this a good trade?