FORT MYERS, FLA. – Thanks to a 10-year, $325 million free-agent contract, the Twins now have a new starting shortstop.
Just not the expensive one.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa, a versatile four-year veteran who was the Rangers' starting shortstop last year but lost his job when Texas signed Corey Seager to that colossal contract in November, became a Twin on Saturday, acquired along with Class AA righthander Ronny Henriquez.
The price was still relatively high, however: Minnesota sends starting catcher Mitch Garver to Texas in the three-player trade. Garver, who won the Silver Slugger award as the AL's top hitting catcher in 2019, slugged .517 with 13 home runs for the Twins last season, albeit in only 68 games due to a series of injuries.
"You never want to trade someone like Mitch, but when you have an opportunity to add at a position of need, from an area that had some depth, we felt that was something we had to do," said Derek Falvey, the Twins president of baseball operations. The reason? Kiner-Falefa is an improving hitter, with a lifetime .265 average over four years, but an accomplished, and versatile, fielder.
"We think he's a Gold Glove-level defender," Falvey said of Kiner-Falefa, and for good reason: He actually won one, as the Rangers' starting third baseman in 2020. "[He's] a guy who comes really highly regarded on the defensive side, plays every single day and can really fit at shortstop."
The deal fills the Twins' most glaring position-player need, and continues a Minnesota tradition of acquiring (and discarding) shortstops. Kiner-Falefa will be the 14th different Opening Day starter at the position in the past 19 years, and nobody has held the position for more than two consecutive seasons since Cristian Guzman from 1999 to 2004.
The new Twin intends to change that, though.
"I was just really happy for the opportunity — to play shortstop every day, to come to a new team," said Kiner-Falefa, a Honolulu native who the Rangers temporarily moved to catcher in 2018. "The best part about this whole situation is, the Twins want me."
That's as opposed to the Rangers, he felt, who decided to spend big to upgrade their infield in November, signing Seager, a former Dodger, to play shortstop, and ex-Blue Jay Marcus Semien to play second base, at a total cost of half a billion dollars.
"Yeah, it definitely hurt," Kiner-Falefa said from Dallas, where he was trying to rebook his flights and head to Twins camp. "The thing that made it tough was, they moved me to catcher [in 2018], then they moved me to third base, then they moved me to shortstop. And I've had success every time they've moved me around. But the fact that they couldn't make a spot for me was really tough. It ended up working out with them trading me here, and I can't be happier to be here."
The Twins will miss Garver, one of the team's clubhouse leaders and, aside from an unexpected off year in 2020, one of the best hitting catchers in the American League. The team's original plan to split catching duties between Garver, who has played in 91 of a possible 222 games the past two seasons due to a series of injuries, and Ryan Jeffers, a second-year defensive specialist, has been rearranged.
Now Jeffers, who batted just .199 in 85 games as a rookie but still contributed 14 home runs, will be the primary starter, with the Twins planning to search for a veteran to back him up.
"When I spoke with Mitch, he was everything you would expect him to be. Super professional. Class act," Falvey said. "[But] stunned, I think. There's always a shock to that. I've had a few of these conversations over the years, and it was shocking, but he was very thankful and appreciative of his time here."
In addition to Kiner-Falefa — he chose to hyphenate both of his parents' names in a reflection of their common-law marriage in Hawaii — the Twins also add a highly regarded pitching prospect in Henriquez, rated by Baseball America the 29th-best prospect in the Rangers' system. The 21-year-old Dominican righthander reached Class AA last season, striking out 78 hitters in 69⅔ innings and posting a 5.04 ERA.
"This is a really exciting young kid," Falvey said. "His command of three pitches — our scouts, our personnel people, our analysis of all that information is really positive."
