It was a decision I didn't get when it happened, and it's a decision I still don't get now. As good as Pablo Lopez is, why trade the infielder of the future for him and then get a risk of a free agent to take his place at first?
The Twins, this season, are working with an infield that consists of Jorge Polanco [or, for the moment, Nick Gordon], Carlos Correa and Jose Miranda. Mostly homegrown, defensively-adequate, contact-hitting and very much on the same page. I think that having Luis Arraez as the 3B, or even 1B, piece would complement this infield...a hell of a lot better than Joey Gallo, who hasn't even been an infielder since, like, 2017.
And so, while it didn't surprise me in the least that Arraez had gotten off to a great start in Miami, it surprised me somewhat that Joey Gallo was off to an uproarious start in Minneapolis. I saw him in Spring Training, he wasn't hitting then, I assumed he wasn't going to magically figure out how to hit again for the first time since mid-2021. And yet in his first 4 games, Gallo has had 3 homers, 7 RBIs and is batting .308. And despite not being a natural first baseman, he has yet to give up an error.
The people I've talked to in the last few days are convinced that Gallo will even out and get back to hitting .220 with 175 strikeouts, and while I agree with them, I also think that he's at least due for something of a comeback season now that he's away from larger markets like New York or LA. Like Josh Hamilton, Gallo succeeded in Arlington, a lower-key market, and Minneapolis has a similar amount of sports pressure [even with the 30+ year sports title drought]. So I genuinely think he'll have a decent year at the plate.
But...compare him to Luis Arraez and you still come up short. Arraez is a versatile fielder, meaning he doesn't 'end up' places in the field like Gallo has. He'll do some games at 2nd, some games at third, some games at 1st. So far the Marlins are using him at 2nd, and that's his best position. Arraez is also a superior contact hitter...to Joey Gallo [it's so odd typing that out]. Arraez right now is hitting .478 [Maeda limited him a bit] and has 11 hits through 6 games. And even if the Marlins are looking relatively dire right now, Arraez is far and away the best piece of them, and I can't imagine how much he'd be aiding the Twins right now if they hadn't traded him.
It's not like the Twins will be TERRIBLY wounded without Arraez, as they look like how they'll have a decent team this year judging by how strong the pitching has been, but I just think about how shortsighted that move was, and how sneaky Kim Ng was to make a deal that the Twins thought they won when they really lost. I hope both Arraez and Gallo keep things up, even if it's highly unlikely.
Coming Tomorrow- Speaking of Marlins, a former Marlins infielder who seems to have found his stuff again in a new market.
Totally agree with your take on the Arraez trade. At least for now, I think Miami got the better end. It will take a few years to see if the other prospects the Twins got make it to the bigs.
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