The Twins and Rangers agreed to a deal to send infielder Isaiah Keener-Falef to Minnesota. according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Keener-Phalefa and the prospect will go to Minnesota in exchange for catcher Mitch Garver. John Heyman of MLB Network. Pitcher Ronnie Henriquez is a prospect in the deal. for Betsy Helfand of St. Paul Pioneer-Press.
For the Rangers, it’s another big move in what has been a very busy off-season for the club. Before the lockout, they spent a lot of money adding various players, with shortstop Corey Seeger and second baseman Marcus Semien being the two most notable names. The addition of these two outfielders, along with the upcoming arrival of prospect Josh Young, immediately led to speculation that Keener-Falefah could be a trade candidate. But when Jung underwent shoulder surgery last month, it seemed to swing the pendulum toward Texas, and Keener-Falefa remained their daily third baseman. However, this has now turned out not to be the case, as he is heading to Minnesota.
The Twins had Andrelton Simmons as their main shortstop last year. Despite demonstrating the defensive skills he’s long known for, Simmons had a dismal year at the plate, hitting .223/.283/.274, wRC+ of 56. He signed with the Cubs yesterday for a modest $4 million salary, showing that the Twins weren’t strong. interested in bringing him back into their ranks. From Keener Falef, they attracted a player with a similar profile to Simmons, but with more reason to be optimistic about his future play. Like Simmons, Keener-Falefa is a first-time gloved player, finishing third among MLB shortstops in Fielding’s Bible vote last season. So far, his batting has been below average in his career, never taking wRC+ above 94. However, he is still relatively young, turning 27 later this month, compared to 32-year-old Simmons. He also hit .271/.312/.357 last year for a wRC+85, which isn’t a lot but certainly better than Simmons. He’s also projected for an arbitrage salary of $4.9 million per MLBTR member Matt Schwartz, and on top of that, he gets an extra year of control.
But in order to make this a solid addition to their infield, the Twins had to send a valuable player the other way. Garver had an amazing breakout season in 2019, hitting .273/.365/.630, wRC+155. That would be exceptional for any player, but especially impressive for a catcher. Injuries were limited to just 23 games of anemic production in the shortened 2020 season, but he recovered well last year. Despite still dealing with injuries and playing in just 68 games, his 2021 line was .256/.358/.517, wRC+ of 137. Last year, the Rangers almost evenly split catching duties between Jose Trevino and Jonah Heim, who posted wRC+60 and 64 respectively. Garver is capable of a much higher output, but he has concerns given the past few years of injury, making him a risky and high-paying option for Texas. From a financial standpoint, however, he poses little risk, as he predicts a $3.1 million arbitration salary this year, with another year of control remaining after that.
Not all.