The franchise in Minnesota has been for sale since last fall.
This week, the Twins sold the roster.
With nine trades, including seven over the final five hours before the deadline, the Twins stunningly jettisoned nearly 40% of their team — including Carlos Correa and four high-leverage relievers who all were at least two years from free agency.
“It’s hard, but it’s about making sure that you’re constantly trying to find a way to not just sit on your heels, hope that it all goes better, and keep you fingers crossed,” president Derek Falvey said. “It’s a way to actually go invest in the future of the team, hopefully the short-term and the long-term.”
Starting pitcher Chris Paddack, one of six impending free agents, was the first to go. He was sent with right-hander Randy Dobnak, who has spent the majority of the last four seasons in Triple-A, to the Detroit Tigers for rookie league catcher Enrique Jimenez.
Closer Jhoan Duran, who had a .216 opponent batting average and a 2.47 ERA with 292 strikeouts over 233 2/3 innings in four seasons, was dealt to the Philadelphia Phillies in the first sign that the Twins were serious about selling. Duran fetched Triple-A starting pitcher Mick Abel and High-A catcher Eduardo Tait.
Then came the dizzying parade of trades all across the major leagues, with the Twins uncharacteristically at the heart of the activity.
Outfielder Harrison Bader followed Duran to the Phillies for Double-A outfielder Hendry Mendez and rookie league starting pitcher Geremy Villoria. Reliever Brock Stewart was sent to the Los Angeles Dodgers for outfielder James Outman, who’d been in Triple-A most of this season but has logged 230 major league games. Reliever Danny Coulombe went to the Texas Rangers for Low-A starting pitcher Garrett Horn.
First baseman Ty France and reliever Louis Varland were packaged to the Toronto Blue Jays for Triple-A outfielder Alan Roden and Triple-A starting pitcher Kendry Rojas. Popular multiposition player Willi Castro went to the Chicago Cubs for Double-A starting pitchers Sam Armstrong and Ryan Gallagher. Reliever Griffin Jax was sent to the Tampa Bay Rays for starting pitcher Taj Bradley, who recently been sent to Triple-A but has shown flashes of dominance over 67 major league starts.
Then came the headliner. Correa went back to his original team, the Houston Astros, in what amounted to a salary dump while also bringing back High-A starting pitcher Matt Mikulski.
Whew.
“While painful and difficult at times to trade away players who have been with us for a while, we felt we added a lot of talent to our group and our organization that will continue to build out the next great core of players coming up and contributing at the major league level,” Falvey said. “I think we felt like we added players that not only are great prospects, and guys who are maybe part of a longer term future, but we were able to actually access a lot of players who are going to find their ways up to help this team really soon.”
After languishing in the standings all summer, following a 12-27 collapse down the stretch last year that kept them out of the postseason, Twins players found themselves in an increasingly uncomfortable clubhouse after the All-Star break as trade speculation intensified.
Their most recent home game grew tense, even chaotic, when manager Rocco Baldelli removed the popular Castro in the ninth inning of a 13-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox to recognize his effort, a move that ignited immediate speculation he’d been dealt. Turned out he was, just not then. Jax also was upset by his removal from the game, leading to an apology to Baldelli afterward.
Less than 22 months ago, the Twins were celebrating at a packed Target Field after Duran closed out a two-game sweep of the Blue Jays in the wild-card round for their first series win in 21 years and the end of their record 18-game postseason losing streak.
Since then, they’ve been in ownership-ordered payroll purgatory in light of the hefty hit they took in regional television revenue after the Diamond Sports Group bankruptcy that affected several other clubs from midsized and small markets.
The front office, Falvey said, was not directed to make such a deep spending cut by executive chair Joe Pohlad and his family that has seeking a buyer for the club his grandfather, Carl Pohlad, purchased in 1984.
Paddack, Bader, Coulombe, France and Castro were impending free agents unlikely to be re-signed. Though Duran and Jax made a frequently dominant late-inning duo, Stewart had been solid, and Varland won’t be eligible for free agency for five more years, hard-throwing relievers were in high demand across the game and fetching high prices with so many clubs in contention for wild-card spots if not division titles.
“It’s pretty well-established historically in baseball that the deadline premium so to speak that you get by trading when there’s a known playoff cycle for teams, compared to the offseason, is different,” Falvey said. “In many cases I didn’t think that we were going to be able to access the same level of talent that we did this cycle for those guys.”
Even the most aggressive scenarios the Twins envisioned prior to the deadline didn’t include Correa, who signed the richest contract in club history as a free agent after the 2022 season. But the Astros wanted him back and were willing to eat most of the roughly $103 million remaining on his deal through 2028, and Correa was willing to waive his no-trade clause to return to the team that drafted him. The Twins agreed to cover $33 million, due in four installments each Dec. 15.
“I’ll always be a Carlos Correa fan at heart,” Falvey said. “He’s made a significant impact in this organization that will last beyond him leaving.”
Falvey was adamant that the Twins aren’t trying to bottom out with this rebuild like some other clubs have done with varying degrees of success. They kept both of their All-Stars, center fielder Byron Buxton and starting pitcher Joe Ryan, who had plenty of suitors. They’re still confident in third baseman Royce Lewis, who has followed a series of injuries with inconsistency at the plate this season. Starting pitcher Pablo López, whose shoulder injury preceded a skid in June the Twins never corrected, will be back sooner than later.
They also fetched quite a haul. Tait and Abel are top-100 prospects, per MLB’s most recent rankings. Outman was a regular for the Dodgers in 2023. Bradley has 378 strikeouts in 354 career innings.
“We just got deals we felt we had to say yes to,” Falvey said, “for part of the future.”
