Twins Trade Candidate Breakdown: Griffin Jax

[Doctor Gast]

Which competitive team would be interested in Captain Jax? I'd hope MN. I'd consider Jax as part of the core, We have a very good core, stop trying to be "creative" & continue to compromise it. We have a very good core & a top farm system & a lot of good valued young players that are not IMO not part of the core. That spells a competitive window, take advantage of it. Stop hoarding prospects, and forget about creative trades that'll continue to compromise the core while gorging out our farm with redundant prospects. I'd be tempted to trade Jax for Teal but I'd rather trade someone else who I'd not consider part of the core.

[RLTW894]

The best move is to trade Rocco. Rocco should have used Jax as long middle relief and got 2 innings per outing if not 3. Put him on a 3-4 day rotation. That is how you get the most put of Jax.

Will someone PLEASE help Duran throw a good change up? 

[tony&rodney]

Any trade or transaction has to be toward making the 2025 team better, potentially. A big question is certainly debatable - Do pitchers have more value than position players? How does a relief pitcher fit into an equation versus a starting pitcher? 

A couple of people have rejected the idea of receiving prospects in any trade. There are prospects that are questionable and there are more solid inexperienced players. How much separation, really, is there from Twins with barely a years worth of games or less and prospects? It feels like all of Miranda, Julien, Lee, Lewis, Wallner, Keirsey Jr., and Martin are not too far from rookie or prospect status. Vazquez, Jeffers, Correa, Buxton, Larnach, and Castro are beyond the previous group, veterans.

Is it unreasonable to think that prospects such as Jeferson Quero, Kyle Teel, Dalton Rushing, Jordan Lawler or a few others are not that much different than our shaky young guys?

It sure feels like 2025 might be a time for the Twins to find a few athletes that they believe in. Playing only in a platoon doesn't seem like a genuine belief in the player. I would think the right moves can improve the team. While I don't see a good trade using Griffin Jax, that is more because of my preference for keeping him. A trade of Jax for Teel (mentioned above in the comments) plus a low lottery player seems beneficial to both teams, which is probably why that deal doesn't work.

I like to hear what ideas people have for improving the team for 2025. I do not agree that rolling it back is a plan. I do accept that many folks truly believe in the current roster, as it is.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

23 hours ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

Let's say the plan is to move Jax into the rotation. Let's say that happens.

Would that make you more open to trading one of the other starters? Specifically I'll throw out either Ober or even SWR. Just if we are being creative and looking for ideas.

I have more confidence in the Twins development of pitchers, than I have for the FO's success in trades. Having said that let's look at a few of the current Twins' pitchers the FO obtained in trades: Lopez, Ryan, SWR, Duran, Acala. Hmmmm, I need to change my original statement in this post. This FO has done pretty well with these 5 pitchers, all of which were obtained in trades.  I guess time will tell. 

[Cory Engelhardt]

4 minutes ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

I have more confidence in the Twins development of pitchers, than I have for the FO's success in trades. Having said that let's look at a few of the current Twins' pitchers the FO obtained in trades: Lopez, Ryan, SWR, Duran, Acala. Hmmmm, I need to change my original statement in this post. This FO has done pretty well with these 5 pitchers, all of which were obtained in trades.  I guess time will tell. 

They've been pretty good, I'd say, when trading a player for a younger player/prospect. The bag's been super mixed, and most likely worse, when attempting to add/buy. 

Generally I'd argue, any trades they make this offseason, remember the names of the guys that are the add-in or the young player with the main guy they get. If it is a pitcher, I'd feel pretty good that they like that player's traits.

[TopGunn#22]

Cory Englehardt asks a very good question.  "If Jax were moved to the starting rotation, would that open up a trade possibility for another SP, like Ober or SWR?"  

I would would emphatically say "YES !!"  I believe Jax could make the transition to the rotation and be a pretty good SP.  Ober probably has more value, but the guy I would explore aggressively to see what I could get in return would be SWR.

SWR did quite well last season, but I always felt like we were walking a tightrope with him.  What would he actually bring back in a trade?  I don't use BBTV's any more, but I'd be curious to see a couple of trades where SWR would be the centerpiece.  SP is always at a premium.  What is SWR's value??

Ober would certainly bring a LOT more.  The idea of Boston giving up Teel for Ober or the Dodgers giving up Rushing for Ober may not be far fetched.  Again, I'd like to see someone with BBTV's access throw out a couple deals involving Ober to see what the ceiling would be.  

I doubt I would trade Jax under any circumstance, but if the Twins moved him to the rotation and he had a solid year or two (thus raising his value considerably) and it was time to fully integrate Festa, Matthews, Morris etc...into the rotation, THEN I "might" be interested.  If you pitch well, your team is ALWAYS in the game.  

It seems to me, that the best deals the Twins could be making would be spinning SP's off in a trade when they begin to become prohibitively expensive as long as they have plenty of promising SP's waiting in the wings like Festa, Matthews, Morris etc...

You can't trade ALL your good and dependable SP's.  Core guys like Lopez, Ryan and Ober.  But if you need to patch a gaping hole, like catcher or 1B and get an infusion of good prospects, you can deal one of them occasionally.  

 

[Jim wyllie]

One value raiser not talked about is how Garrett crochet did in 2024 converting from a reliever to a starter.   If Jax is looking to do the same and with his team control, every team would be calling in hopes that Jax becomes the next crochet putting his value at peak