Three Potential Moves for the Twins to Lower Payroll to $130 Million

[Cody Christie]

Current projections have the Twins sitting over $140 million in payroll for the 2025 season. How can the team cut enough off the edges to get closer to ownership’s reported payroll limit?

 

Image courtesy of © Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Twins face a financial conundrum heading into the 2025 season. FanGraphs projects the team's payroll at $142 million, but internal reports suggest the front office needs to bring that figure closer to $130 million. Finding $12 million in savings won’t be easy, especially with fans expecting the team to remain competitive. However, three potential moves could help the Twins hit their target while maintaining roster flexibility.  

1. Trade Christian Vázquez   
Savings: $5 million  
Vázquez remains a solid veteran presence and the pitching staff has raved about his work behind the plate. Minnesota must trust that Ryan Jeffers and Jaír Camargo are ready to step into more prominent roles. However, having this duo share catching duties would be a defensive downgrade that the Twins might not be able to afford. The front office is likely weighing the pros and cons of shaking up their catching corps. 

Based on what free-agent catchers are getting this winter, the Twins could trade him while agreeing to pay half his $10 million salary. The free-agent catching market is always thin, and some names have already been signed this winter. Vázquez’s defensive reputation and experience would appeal to teams looking for a dependable backstop. Saving $5 million would give the Twins some breathing room in their payroll while handing more playing time to Jeffers and younger options.  

Key Considerations: 
- Losing Vázquez would shift more responsibility to Jeffers, who has been solid but has flaws.
- Camargo could join the catching rotation, but the team may need another veteran catcher as insurance. 

2. Trade Chris Paddack   
Savings: $7.5 million
Paddack’s return from Tommy John surgery in 2024 saw an inconsistent performance. In 17 starts, he posted a 4.99 ERA with a 1.39 WHIP and 8.0 K/9. On paper, the Twins have a surplus of starting pitchers and could use their depth to shed his $7.5 million salary. Young arms like David Festa and Zebby Matthews are projected to start the year in the minors, but they could provide affordable alternatives for the big-league roster.

Paddack’s one-year deal makes him an attractive trade target for teams needing starting pitching. So far this winter, the pitching market has been “through the roof,” and this will force contending teams to get creative for veteran arms. His salary might be the most significant piece the team can move this winter, so trading Paddack should be a top priority.   

Key Considerations:
- Trading Paddack could backfire if injuries hit the rotation.  
- Festa and Matthews will need to prove they’re ready for consistent big-league innings.  

3. Trade Willi Castro
Savings: $6 million
Castro was a revelation for the Twins in 2024, offering record-breaking versatility and earning his first All-Star selection. However, his projected $6.2 million arbitration figure might be a luxury the team can’t afford. The Twins have internal options like Austin Martin and Edouard Julien , both of whom had disappointing 2024 seasons but possess the talent to rebound.  

Castro’s ability to play nearly every position makes him a valuable trade chip, especially for teams looking to add utility players. Last season, he hit .266/.352/.422 (.774) with 34 extra-base hits in 96 first-half games. His OPS dropped by nearly 150 points in the second half, which might scare off some potential buyers. Trading him would clear significant payroll space while allowing Martin and Julien the opportunity to reclaim their promise.  

Key Considerations:
- Castro’s departure would put pressure on Martin and Julien to step up.  
- The Twins would need to address potential depth concerns if injuries arise.

These moves would save $18.7 million, allowing the Twins to drop well below the $130 million threshold with room to make more minor additions or absorb unexpected costs. Trading Vázquez, Paddack, and Castro comes with risks, but the Twins' organizational depth makes these decisions feasible.  Hitting a lower payroll target while remaining competitive is a delicate balancing act, but smart, forward-looking moves like these can keep the team in contention without compromising its financial health.  

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What do you think? Are these moves worth the potential savings, or should the Twins explore other options? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

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[NYCTK]

The fact that the Minnesota Twins have fans asking if they should trade a fairly valuable player that makes a relatively modest $6 Million salary and is in no way hindering anyone behind him or is in anyway an excess, well, that's Stockholm Syndrome baby. 

[Brandon]

You would save more than 5 million by trading Velazquez.  2 subpar Cs have signed 1 year 8.5 million contracts.  Would you rather have Vazquez or Gary Sanchez?  Danny Jansen with a .658 OPS last year was the other.  I would think that 8 million or so would be Vazquez value too.  
 

here is a better idea or concept.  I just think we are stuck with Vazquez based on the Twins way of operating and the intangibles he seems to bring to the pitching staff.  
 

package both Paddack and Dobnak with a prospect and trade to Oakland for a prospect back.  Since this is a salary dump the two main objectives for the A’s is getting a prospect who will be up when they move to Las Vegas plus they spend more money to stay eligible for revenue sharing.  We get savings and a lower level prospect to work on.  Savings 10.5 million.  I can see the Twins living with being a million over budget going into the season.  

 

[jorgenswest]

Shouldn’t savings calculations factor in the replacement cost? They would need to pay the new back up catcher at least the minimum.

[Doctor Gast]

1. Vazquez- to start with we'd have to eat $4M of his salary if someone wants him. If we are proactive we can find a team that'd take player capital in trade. Jeffers isn't a starting catcher & Camargo isn't a 3rd string catcher. So if we don't want to crash & burn like '22 then we'll need to be proactive to find a replacement for Vazquez- Caratini would be a replacement type, he's worth $6M for 1 yr. So we save 0 $ & we'll have the same problem the following year & beyond. If we want to go the FA route we end up losing money & with an inferior product,

Trade Jeffers we save $4.7M actually over $3M after getting 2 young promising catchers. We not only solve this year's problem but also for years to come.

2. Paddack- Sit back & wait for the best deal we save $7.5M. IMO we need another SP even if we don't trade Paddack. We absolutely need a cheap Paddack replacement.

3. Castro- trade him & we can take $6M off the books but we lose an Edman-type value. Julien is a liability at 2B, Julien greatly benefitted from the all-or-nothing approach. Now that that advantage has been taken away from him he'll have to adjust & IF he adjusts, his power will be drastically affected.  So IMO he'll be a liability offensively. Julien isn't a solution, he'll be a liability that needs to be traded. I'm looking forward to Margot free '25 where Martin can be used properly & be that spark plug that we desperately need. But Martin is no Castro. Castro is part of the core, we have a great core but if we continue to compromise the core, affecting the talent & chemistry. If we continue on Falvey's creative thinking of putting up a Fire Sale sign sitting back & waiting, getting crappy offers & picking the best, trading needed players to afford not needed players, expect a worse season than last. 

4. Dobnak- save $4M. What we need is this FO finally be proactive. There's a market for Jeffers, there's a market for Paddack, there's a market for Julien, others that we can trade to fill our needs & even Dobnak. TB pawned off Margot to LAD & LAD pawned off Margot to MN. If there's a will there is a way. MN doesn't need Dobnak but a team like CO could especially given some incentive. Take down that Fire Sale sign, get your team together to put together trades that's beneficial to both parties, make them earn their money! FO go out there & earn your money & sell the trades. Quit sitting back & wait. & quit your habit of dabbling in FA.

[bean5302]

1 hour ago, Brandon said:

You would save more than 5 million by trading Velazquez.  2 subpar Cs have signed 1 year 8.5 million contracts.  Would you rather have Vazquez or Gary Sanchez?...

 

Gary Sanchez 10/10 times. Stallings signed with Colorado for $2.5MM.

Grandal, and McCann are both likely going under $5MM and I'd rather have either one than Vazquez.

[Twodogs]

I know the Twins are trying to sell the team.  I was just wondering if they are going about it wrong?  I mean if the Dodgers were to sell.  Would they be worth more now, with the Ohtani, Yamamoto, Glasnow, Edman, Snell contracts?  Or would they have been worth more without those guys?  

[tony&rodney]

42 minutes ago, Twodogs said:

I know the Twins are trying to sell the team.  I was just wondering if they are going about it wrong?  I mean if the Dodgers were to sell.  Would they be worth more now, with the Ohtani, Yamamoto, Glasnow, Edman, Snell contracts?  Or would they have been worth more without those guys?  

This has been a thought in the past. One must be careful to remember that Minnesota and Los Angeles exist in different stratospheres financially, which means it is best to stay far away from examples that use the Dodgers practices when attempting to examine or suggest a plan for the Twins. Wish it were different.

[tony&rodney]

The Twins will not have any difficulty whatsoever in reducing payroll to $130M or less. The challenge will be in creating deals that improve the team.

[High heat]

I think Paddack and Larnach get packaged together for a bullpen piece and a prospect. 
 

I think Castro gets moved for a prospect package.  
 

A cheap 1B and COF signed for cheap.  
 

LF becomes a rotation of Martin, Helman Kersey and addition until Erod is ready. 

[GM-WannaB]

We would have to package minor prospects to get these players out of here and still opens our roster up for needs that are not ready to be filled by fringe prospects.

[mnfireman]

Of all moves discussed on TD about shedding payroll to get to the supposed $130 MM level, moving Paddack is the only realistic move. Moving Vazquez and Castro would return pennies on the dollar, not to mention that there are no clear cut replacements to trust in those roles.

Larnach may get a return, but there also is no clear cut trustworthy replacement to start the season. Julien, Miranda, Lee, Martin, and even Lewis, amongst others, all have question marks and haven't shown that they are ready to be long-term contributors/leaders for this team.

ERod, Walker, and Keaschall, amongst others, may be the future, but have ZERO MLB experience and could flame out just as easy as they could become stars. 

Accept the roster as configured, pray for health and development and accept that todays roster is probably the opening day roster.

[Reptevia]

I don’t think Vasquez will be traded. Paddock would be fine. Martin and Julien are not replacements for Castro. Big step down. 

[old nurse]

So the trade Vazquez bandwagon rolls on. Caratini is signed for 2 years with Houston. Houston signed him because they needed a catcher. They do have an emergency catcher but if they really liked him as a catcher they would not have signed Caratini.   Grandal was mentioned. Last season he was a part time player, the 2 years before that he did not hit well nor was that great behind the plate. McCann has hit better than Vazquez but has not been a half time catcher in a long time.  Without an adequate replacement there wouldn’t be a trading of Vazquez unless there is a blockbuster of a deal. The top catching prospects haven’t played a half season at AAA, So they might not be ready for major league quite yet. Rushing is blocked as a catcher in LA. You have to give something to get something.  Keashall is a similarly ranked prospect. 

If the team is not going to sign Castro to an extension his value might not get any higher by waiting. Thet might could find a team that undervalues a pitcher that the Twins like. 

[bean5302]

5 hours ago, Twodogs said:

I know the Twins are trying to sell the team.  I was just wondering if they are going about it wrong?  I mean if the Dodgers were to sell.  Would they be worth more now, with the Ohtani, Yamamoto, Glasnow, Edman, Snell contracts?  Or would they have been worth more without those guys?  

No, the Twins would be worth a heck of a lot less with a billion dollars in future guaranteed contracts on the books. Billionaires will care way more about protecting their investment and potential growth of their assets than the likelihood the team is already a World Series competitor.

Look at the Timberwolves as an example. The value of that franchise skyrocketed by 25% last year because they were suddenly competitive. As a result, Glen Taylor decided he didn't want to sell at the price point he agreed to, and he's tried to kill the deal to make more money.

Any prospective buyer would want the Twins to have the potential to become far better under new ownership because there's a huge potential growth in franchise value and fan interest they could tap into.

[terrydactyls]

Same story.  Same comments.

[djm24]

11 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

1. Vazquez- to start with we'd have to eat $4M of his salary if someone wants him. If we are proactive we can find a team that'd take player capital in trade. Jeffers isn't a starting catcher & Camargo isn't a 3rd string catcher. So if we don't want to crash & burn like '22 then we'll need to be proactive to find a replacement for Vazquez- Caratini would be a replacement type, he's worth $6M for 1 yr. So we save 0 $ & we'll have the same problem the following year & beyond. If we want to go the FA route we end up losing money & with an inferior product,

Trade Jeffers we save $4.7M actually over $3M after getting 2 young promising catchers. We not only solve this year's problem but also for years to come.

2. Paddack- Sit back & wait for the best deal we save $7.5M. IMO we need another SP even if we don't trade Paddack. We absolutely need a cheap Paddack replacement.

3. Castro- trade him & we can take $6M off the books but we lose an Edman-type value. Julien is a liability at 2B, Julien greatly benefitted from the all-or-nothing approach. Now that that advantage has been taken away from him he'll have to adjust & IF he adjusts, his power will be drastically affected.  So IMO he'll be a liability offensively. Julien isn't a solution, he'll be a liability that needs to be traded. I'm looking forward to Margot free '25 where Martin can be used properly & be that spark plug that we desperately need. But Martin is no Castro. Castro is part of the core, we have a great core but if we continue to compromise the core, affecting the talent & chemistry. If we continue on Falvey's creative thinking of putting up a Fire Sale sign sitting back & waiting, getting crappy offers & picking the best, trading needed players to afford not needed players, expect a worse season than last. 

4. Dobnak- save $4M. What we need is this FO finally be proactive. There's a market for Jeffers, there's a market for Paddack, there's a market for Julien, others that we can trade to fill our needs & even Dobnak. TB pawned off Margot to LAD & LAD pawned off Margot to MN. If there's a will there is a way. MN doesn't need Dobnak but a team like CO could especially given some incentive. Take down that Fire Sale sign, get your team together to put together trades that's beneficial to both parties, make them earn their money! FO go out there & earn your money & sell the trades. Quit sitting back & wait. & quit your habit of dabbling in FA.

 

[djm24]

Just now, djm24 said:

 

Staunch Dobnak fan here. I would really love to see Dobnak sign with another team and given the chance that he's not going to get with the Twins. The small sample size he was given this past season as well as his jerking on and off the 40 man roster was ridiculous. At least with a change of scenery  with another team would, hopefully eliminate the negative comments from the Dobnak haters. It's a shame that some posters can easily criticize a player who is not performing up to expectations and who is paid a relatively small contract (Dobs' contact is not huge IMO but I'm sure I'll get some negative feedback on that). On the other hand those posters withhold criticism for a player who is paid a huge contract, is often injured and whose performance is less than stellar. There are some players who fit this bill.. So, when Dobs leaves, who will be the next "punching bag"?

[dxpavelka]

19 hours ago, NYCTK said:

The fact that the Minnesota Twins have fans asking if they should trade a fairly valuable player that makes a relatively modest $6 Million salary and is in no way hindering anyone behind him or is in anyway an excess, well, that's Stockholm Syndrome baby. 

Kind of reminds me of when we moved on from a certain LF rather than pay him $8 million.  And the guys he was "hindering" have still not made an impact.

[Major League Ready]

55 minutes ago, dxpavelka said:

Kind of reminds me of when we moved on from a certain LF rather than pay him $8 million.  And the guys he was "hindering" have still not made an impact.

The Castro scenario does not even remotely remind me of Rosario.  Castro has the 2nd most WAR (5.6) for the Twins over the last two seasons.  Only Correa has produced better than Castro.  Rosario was 9th among position players with a cumulative WAR of 1.9 for his last two seasons with the Twins.  

We could argue that the Twins have not done an adequate job of finding a new LFer but to argue we somehow lost out by not keeping a player that has produced at replacement level since leaving makes absolutely no sense, especially when the replacement level player costs 8X as much as the players that have replaced him.  
 

[JD-TWINS]

Is trying to extend Vazquez another year crazy? What if they offered another year and leveled the salary to $7.25M per year? Crazy for both sides?

I think trading Jeffers & Castro or Paddack along with a real arm (i.e. Matthews or Duran) could net a decent young Catcher back in trade.

Gotta be a way to trade for more than a Catching “prospect” & actually net back someone that can play now & into the future.

 

[old nurse]

30 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

The Castro scenario does not even remotely remind me of Rosario.  Castro has the 2nd most WAR (5.6) for the Twins over the last two seasons.  Only Correa has produced better than Castro.  Rosario was 9th among position players with a cumulative WAR of 1.9 for his last two seasons with the Twins.  

We could argue that the Twins have not done an adequate job of finding a new LFer but to argue we somehow lost out by not keeping a player that has produced at replacement level since leaving makes absolutely no sense, especially when the replacement level player costs 8X as much as the players that have replaced him.  
 

One good week in the playoffs wipes out years of replacement level play. 

[JD-TWINS]

To me, going into age 28 season, Trevor Larnach is the principal left fielder. He had a 116 OPS+ …….with 450 AB’s (355 in ‘24) he projects to 20HR & 75 RBI ………while taking a WAR knockdown while DHing in ‘24, he still had 1.3 WAR for the year. IF, he can stay healthy…..he could be a solid 2.5 WAR guy in LF for another 3-4 years with a probable path to DH with additional steady production.

I saw a couple comments about putting him into a potential trade with Paddack or another - don’t understand the desire or thought to move a guy who seems to have matured as a hitter into what the Team hoped for the previous 2-3 seasons??

[Twodogs]

16 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

This has been a thought in the past. One must be careful to remember that Minnesota and Los Angeles exist in different stratospheres financially, which means it is best to stay far away from examples that use the Dodgers practices when attempting to examine or suggest a plan for the Twins. Wish it were different.

For sure, I'm not trying to say go out and sign Ohtani or Soto.  I'm just saying that, if for some reason, because of cost cutting measures the Twins become a bad baseball team, do they become worth more money or less money at that point in time.  I mean we are talking billions of dollars here.  But in a smaller analogy, if you are trying to sell me a car, and I can't quite make up my mind on it.  One day the engine works fine and the next day it's not quite running right I might still want the car but I'm not going to pay top dollar for it since it has become a little depleted with the engine problems.  So if the young guys and a shaky back end of a starting rotation can put the Twins in an annual hunt for a division championship.  Then they will be fine.  But if they mis calculate and they end up as a 4th or 5th place team what does that say to prospective buyers, who probably will rely more on gate and ticket sales than say the Dodgers and the Yankees need to?  I mean if the Twins are worth 4 billion right now, could a bad season drop them to 3 billion?

[Richard Kittelson]

The idea of shedding the salaries of Vasquez  and Paddock is certainly appealing providing that the Twins could acquire a catcher in a deal or the free agent market!
My question is why would they want to dump Willie Castro who has been their most valuable player over the last two years Because of a $6m salary? That is what they paid Kyle Farmer to do nothing last year! Castro has been more than a bench player for the Twins. They do not have anyone else to replace his ability to play 5 positions well and steal bases! Throw in Julien or other prospects if need be to shed salary but keep Willie!!!!

[Major League Ready]

59 minutes ago, Twodogs said:

For sure, I'm not trying to say go out and sign Ohtani or Soto.  I'm just saying that, if for some reason, because of cost cutting measures the Twins become a bad baseball team, do they become worth more money or less money at that point in time.  I mean we are talking billions of dollars here.  But in a smaller analogy, if you are trying to sell me a car, and I can't quite make up my mind on it.  One day the engine works fine and the next day it's not quite running right I might still want the car but I'm not going to pay top dollar for it since it has become a little depleted with the engine problems.  So if the young guys and a shaky back end of a starting rotation can put the Twins in an annual hunt for a division championship.  Then they will be fine.  But if they mis calculate and they end up as a 4th or 5th place team what does that say to prospective buyers, who probably will rely more on gate and ticket sales than say the Dodgers and the Yankees need to?  I mean if the Twins are worth 4 billion right now, could a bad season drop them to 3 billion?

In a word, no.  Potential buyers are going to value the revenue potential while considering industry trends and the perception of risk.  How they view the potential to rebuild local TV revenues and the impact of the revenue gap on small and mid market teams is going to have far more influence on value than one good or bad season.  I would bet that their perception of the Twins farm system and specifically the ability of that farm system to sustain a good product on the field over the next several years will have far more impact than a single season result.

[Major League Ready]

1 hour ago, old nurse said:

One good week in the playoffs wipes out years of replacement level play. 

In your opinion, I would bet there is not a GM in all of baseball that would share that opinion. I certainly do not but I guess this difference in opinion explains why some people are still complaining that we cut a player who went on to perform very poorly.

[old nurse]

16 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

In your opinion, I would bet there is not a GM in all of baseball that would share that opinion. I certainly do not but I guess this difference in opinion explains why some people are still complaining that we cut a player who went on to perform very poorly.

The sarcasm was not aimed at you 

[High heat]

3 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

To me, going into age 28 season, Trevor Larnach is the principal left fielder. He had a 116 OPS+ …….with 450 AB’s (355 in ‘24) he projects to 20HR & 75 RBI ………while taking a WAR knockdown while DHing in ‘24, he still had 1.3 WAR for the year. IF, he can stay healthy…..he could be a solid 2.5 WAR guy in LF for another 3-4 years with a probable path to DH with additional steady production.

I saw a couple comments about putting him into a potential trade with Paddack or another - don’t understand the desire or thought to move a guy who seems to have matured as a hitter into what the Team hoped for the previous 2-3 seasons??

I am an advocate of moving Larnach only because he should have value.  He also has not been able to stay healthy or productive for long stretches in his career. he is entering arbitration so if he put up good numbers as he did in ‘24 he gets expensive quickly and he can only play LF/DH.  

[Major League Ready]

2 hours ago, old nurse said:

The sarcasm was not aimed at you 

Sorry!  With the arguments that have been made after his departure, I did not recognize the sarcasm even though it should have been evident.