The Top 20 Minnesota Twins Player Assets of 2025: Part 1 (20-16)

[Nick Nelson]

With a new year upon us, it's time to take stock and update my annual ranking of the 20 most indispensable players in the Twins organization. Today we begin with my picks for No. 16 through 20.

Image courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Jay Biggerstaff, Peter Aiken-Imagn Images

I've been creating this list for Twins Daily at the start of each new year dating back to 2018. The idea of this exercise is to take stock of the organization's talent through the scope of team-building. Our goal is to answer this question: Which current players in the organization are most indispensable to fulfilling the vision of building a champion?

We account for age, contract, controllability, upside, etc. It's not strictly a ranking of trade value, because that would be more team-agnostic, whereas this list aims to capture a very Twins-specific point of view. As such, players at areas of scarcity (i.e. catching) get elevated, while those at areas of abundance (i.e. relief pitchers) get downgraded a bit.

I always find compiling this list to be an interesting offseason pastime – one that brings to the surface unique conversations about Twins players, how we value them, and where the system's strengths and weaknesses truly lie. 

This year there is an added element of meaningfulness in player asset evaluation, with the team being up for sale. As a potential buyer sizes up the organization, what kind of talent would they be inheriting, and how does that talent makeup set the team up for success in the years ahead? This is what we aim to contextualize.

For an overview of the evolving Twins talent landscape, you can scan through the lists I've put together for the past seven years.

• Top 20 Twins Assets: 2018
• Top 20 Twins Assets: 2019
• Top 20 Twins Assets: 2020
• Top 20 Twins Assets: 2021
• Top 20 Twins Assets: 2022
• Top 20 Twins Assets: 2023 (Revised)
• Top 20 Twins Assets: 2024

Attempting to update the rankings this year proved to be an enlightening process. Most of the players from last year's top 20 remain in the organization, but by and large they lowered their standings during a tumultuous 2024 campaign. Still, as I review the overall list, I'm inspired by the overall caliber of talent in this organization, and the readiness of key players to make an impact. 

Let's kick off the list with an overview of my choices for the 16th-through-20th most valuable player assets in the Twins organization as of today. Check back daily the rest of the week for further installments.

20. Edouard Julien, 2B
Age: 25
Controlled through: 2029
2024 Ranking: 8

He's down but he's not out. Having seemingly entrenched himself as a building block with his phenomenal rookie season in 2023, Julien no longer has a case for ranking among the top 10 most valuable Twins assets, and it might be a stretch to have him in the top 20. But I'm still a believer in his bat, which had produced with stunning consistency across all levels and settings up until this past season.

He needs to bounce back and he's still got defensive question marks to sort out. But I continue to believe that Julien will be an important factor in the future of the Minnesota Twins.

 

19. Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP
Age: 24
Controlled through: 2030
2024 Ranking: NR

One of the biggest risers of 2024, Woods Richardson went from the fringes of the team's SP depth chart to being central in their rotation plans. Turning around a disturbing performance and velocity trend, the right-hander was highly effective after stepping into the big-league rotation early, delivering steady performances over 28 starts and leading the team to a 17-11 record in those outings. This made him an easy choice for Twins rookie of the year.

Woods Richardson's upside is capped by a substandard strikeout rate and the lack of a dominant pedigree. But he showed all the makings of a reliable back-of-rotation starter in 2024, and that has plenty of value when attached to a minimum price tag and six more years of team control.

 

18. Marco Raya, RHP
Age: 22
Controlled through: 2030+
2024 Ranking: 13

The former 2020 draft pick out of high school has been carefully handled and managed while rising through the ranks in the Twins system, performing well and staying healthy as his pitch counts have been kept heavily in check. This makes it difficult to get a firm grasp on his outlook as a big-leaguer.

In 2024, Raya reached new heights in terms of workload, nearly crossing 100 innings while pushing his pitch counts into the 70-80 range for the first time, and he finished the year in Triple-A. His performance over the course of the season was more good than great, but the 22-year-old still feels like something of a work in progress. His stuff and track record make him a top pitching prospect, and with his recent addition to the 40-man roster, Raya's MLB arrival could be closing in.

 

17. José Miranda, 3B/1B
Age: 26
Controlled through: 2028
2024 Ranking: NR

What to make of Miranda? That's a tricky question, and also a pivotal one for this Twins offseason. At his best he has displayed a rare hitting ability that opposing pitchers struggle to circumnavigate. Miranda's aggressive and contact-heavy approach can lead to scorching hot streaks, including his historic string of hits this past July.

But slumps and injuries have persistently plagued Miranda, preventing him from sustaining a strong (or even acceptable) level of offensive production. His highly encouraging first half in 2024 was largely offset by a second half that saw him bat .212 with a .242 on-base percentage and zero home runs. He also has yet to show he can be a reliable defender at third base or first.

The proven hitting prowess (when healthy), low cost and extended team control all keep Miranda in the mix as one of Minnesota's more critical bats. The coming year really feels make-or-break for him, as the Twins will have little choice but to lean on him significantly unless they can find a way to acquire hitting talent externally.

 

16. Carlos Correa, SS
Age: 30
Controlled through: 2028 (2032 with options)
2024 Ranking: 6

Generally a huge contract, coupled with performance or availability question marks, are major detractors in these rankings. Those things do factor with Correa, but I genuinely believe he is such a special presence on this team – on the field, as a top-tier shortstop, and beyond – that his indispensability to the franchise truly justifies the cost, and makes acceptable the opportunity loss represented by his proportionate payroll commitment.

There are some legit things working against Correa in this exercise's calculus, dropping him 10 spots from last year's No. 6 ranking: he's another year older, he suffered another significant foot injury, and his salary has become an even bigger team-building impediment given ownership's financial restrictions. But when he was on the field, Correa's team-elevating impact could not be denied. He was an All-Star and playing some of the best ball of his career when he went down. He's still only 30. 

 

Check back on Tuesday for the next installment, covering our picks for No. 11 through 15!

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[Cory Engelhardt]

With how cheap he is and how much team control he has, I really have to think that SWR is entirely too low on this list. To compare, both Julien and Miranda could be traded this offseason for little, where I’d have to imagine trading SWR would bring back more than either, and by quite a bit no?

[DJL44]

I think Julien in the top 30 assets is a stretch.

[DJL44]

10 minutes ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

With how cheap he is and how much team control he has, I really have to think that SWR is entirely too low on this list. To compare, both Julien and Miranda could be traded this offseason for little, where I’d have to imagine trading SWR would bring back more than either, and by quite a bit no?

SWR would bring back more in trade than Miranda and Julien would together. He's clearly the most valuable asset in the 5 players mentioned in this article.

[JD-TWINS]

Only been 3 comments to this point…….am pretty surprised that nobody commented on Correa dropping to 16 from 6 though. How can he be a less valuable asset than SWR? I understand cost and health are involved in the analysis.

I like SWR as a 5th starter! He’s a competitor and he performed very well for 4.5 -5 months. The fact that his ability to get through 5 innings is limited coupled with his drift in performance later in the season makes me concerned that his success was due to newness through the League. He lacks an out pitch or he needs to refine his location capabilities with his slider as that out pitch. He’s young!!! A 2.0 WAR was very solid and a 17-11 record in his games started is very encouraging.

Correa hit .310 with a 3.7 WAR and he played in only 86 games. He’s a solid shortstop that projects to play 125 - 135 games/season. He’s paid a crazy amount of money - agreed. If offered up for a trade in the market - even at his salary - I gotta think more teams are kicking the tires with real value coming back to the Twins v. trying to move SWR. His health is a concern but I would argue that this is the case for every body in the organization! Just seems to me that he is not really different than last year (better, due to ‘24 numbers) but he’s managed to drop to within 4 spots of Eddie Julien……..Julien could easily be viewed as # 38, IMO.

[Guest]

Julien has too many holes both offensively and defensively to be included in the top 50.  His game has been exposed and all of MLB understands that.

[rdehring]

Interesting, Nick.  Always enjoy this annual exercise.

Found it interesting that you did not show Julien as 2B-1B.  Really believe that if his future is longer than very short with the Twins, much of it will be as a first baseman.  Just too many better prospects here or arriving that play second.

Was shocked with the results SWR had last summer.  Totally unexpected, at least for me.  I will need another season to be convinced what we saw will be long term.  Really hope it is, BUT?

  

[Linus]

A bit confusing to me.  Julien shouldn’t be on there and Raya is ahead of SWR?  For a guy that hasn’t done that much Raya gets a lot of love from this site.

[bean5302]

The problem with these kinds of articles is how fickle the emotions of the fan base are. Here's about how things stand since well after the season ended over at BTV. I think I saw proposals for all these guy except Emmanuel Rodriguez who it seems no fanbase either wants to acquire or wants to trade away. Personally, I disagree with some of these, but that's why a site like BTV exists. To help correct fan bias.

Jenkins +58.4
Ober +54.1
Ryan +53.5
Lopez +47.8
Lewis +47.3
Rodriguez +45? Nobody is asking for him on BTV
Wallner +38.1
Lee +37.0
Jax +28.8
Correa +25.8
Duran +24.7
Keaschall +23.3
Larnach +22.6
Festa +19.5
SWR +19.1
Julien +16.5
Jeffers +16.2
Miranda +16.1
Matthews +12.9
Buxton +10.4

 

[chpettit19]

I'm with @DJL44, Julien wouldn't be anywhere near my top 20. Wouldn't be in my future plans at all. AAA to start the year and if he comes to spring with a new swing path and ability to hit breaking pitches he can fight his way back to the majors and back into my plans, but as of today he's not even in my plans. Don't know how that'd fit on my rankings, but certainly not sniffing the top 20.

When it just comes to the Twins building a championship team (what this list is supposed to be about according to the explanation) and not just simply trade value then I'd have Correa significantly higher than 16. The foot problems are a concern, but he's still in the top 10 for me when it comes to the most valuable pieces this team has when it comes to winning. If he can play 130 games and the playoffs he's in the top 5 for most valuable pieces they have. I think 16 is much too low unless you don't think he's playing more than half the games in a season moving forward. And I don't think that's the case. Maybe I'm just being too optimistic.

 

[chpettit19]

8 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

The problem with these kinds of articles is how fickle the emotions of the fan base are. Here's about how things stand since well after the season ended over at BTV. I think I saw proposals for all these guy except Emmanuel Rodriguez who it seems no fanbase either wants to acquire or wants to trade away. Personally, I disagree with some of these, but that's why a site like BTV exists. To help correct fan bias.

Jenkins +58.4
Ober +54.1
Ryan +53.5
Lopez +47.8
Lewis +47.3
Rodriguez +45? Nobody is asking for him on BTV
Wallner +38.1
Lee +37.0
Jax +28.8
Correa +25.8
Duran +24.7
Keaschall +23.3
Larnach +22.6
Festa +19.5
SWR +19.1
Julien +16.5
Jeffers +16.2
Miranda +16.1
Matthews +12.9
Buxton +10.4

 

BTV as in "Baseball Trade Values?" For an article that very clearly states it isn't about trade values? 

[DJL44]

6 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

The problem with these kinds of articles is how fickle the emotions of the fan base are. Here's about how things stand since well after the season ended over at BTV. I think I saw proposals for all these guy except Emmanuel Rodriguez who it seems no fanbase either wants to acquire or wants to trade away. Personally, I disagree with some of these, but that's why a site like BTV exists. To help correct fan bias.

Jenkins +58.4
Ober +54.1
Ryan +53.5
Lopez +47.8
Lewis +47.3
Rodriguez +45? Nobody is asking for him on BTV
Wallner +38.1
Lee +37.0
Jax +28.8
Correa +25.8
Duran +24.7
Keaschall +23.3
Larnach +22.6
Festa +19.5
SWR +19.1
Julien +16.5
Jeffers +16.2
Miranda +16.1
Matthews +12.9
Buxton +10.4

That's a decent start for a list like this. I don't think Correa has that much positive value after two injured seasons. I don't think Julien has that much positive value after a season where he wasn't worth a roster spot.

[DJL44]

1 minute ago, chpettit19 said:

BTV as in "Baseball Trade Values?" For an article that very clearly states it isn't about trade values? 

It is nearly impossible to disentangle "asset values" from "trade values". A stock only has as much value as you can sell it for cash.

[chpettit19]

Just now, DJL44 said:

It is nearly impossible to disentangle "asset values" from "trade values". A stock only has as much value as you can sell it for cash.

Strongly disagree. If the Twins don't trade Correa before he retires they never sold that stock so how much value did it have? The value it had was what he provided to the team while he played. You HAVE to disentangle "asset values" from "trade values." It's an absolute necessity of the front office's jobs. It essentially is their job. Because the majority of their stocks are never "sold for cash" through trade, they're "sold for cash" through playing. Discerning the difference between the value the player has being on your team and what value you can "sell it for" is vital, not impossible. It's everything.

[Rod Carews Birthday]

36 minutes ago, Minderbinder said:

Julien has too many holes both offensively and defensively to be included in the top 50.  His game has been exposed and all of MLB understands that.

Maybe.  But maybe not.  Have Brooks Lee and Royce Lewis been exposed too?  Lee didn’t really hit at all and Lewis hit (and stayed in) a long nasty slump the last major portion of the season.  Many are counting on them as key pieces and yet both have less plate appearances in the majors than Julien.  I’m continually surprised that many people have seemingly written off Julien completely after last year.  I think that we would find that he still has a fair amount of trade value if he were made available.  To suppose he is “exposed” implies an inability to learn and make adjustments to his game.  Last offseason, the complaint was that he was a butcher at second base, however, when 2024 started, he came in with substantially improved defense (although some will painfully argue against that point).  That tells me that he has already demonstrated an ability to learn and improve in one area.  It may take some time spent at AAA, but why not hitting next?  He’s done it every year of his career except last year.  If the over/under is Julien being “exposed” and not having any more MLB career, then I’ll take the over every time.  

[DJL44]

18 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

Strongly disagree. If the Twins don't trade Correa before he retires they never sold that stock so how much value did it have? The value it had was what he provided to the team while he played. You HAVE to disentangle "asset values" from "trade values." It's an absolute necessity of the front office's jobs. It essentially is their job. Because the majority of their stocks are never "sold for cash" through trade, they're "sold for cash" through playing. Discerning the difference between the value the player has being on your team and what value you can "sell it for" is vital, not impossible. It's everything.

How much value does Correa have each year? The value of the WAR he provided minus his salary. This is basically the same as his trade value. If a team lacks players at a particular position, then value to the team might be a little higher but not much. Same goes for a team that has a surplus at a particular position, they can devalue a player by not selling. 

If the Pohlads never sell the Twins they still have an asset value equal to what they could get if they sold them.

[chpettit19]

3 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

How much value does Correa have each year? The value of the WAR he provided minus his salary. This is basically the same as his trade value. If a team lacks players at a particular position, then value to the team might be a little higher but not much. Same goes for a team that has a surplus at a particular position, they can devalue a player by not selling. 

If the Pohlads never sell the Twins they still have an asset value equal to what they could get if they sold them.

You've already explained multiple ways how they're different right there. The Twins don't have a SS that can step in for Correa (in my opinion) so his value to them is already different than his trade value right there. That's not something I'd say is "little," but to each their own. If you're just trying to rebuild then their value to the team is directly equal to their trade value. If you are actively trying to win then there are far more variables than just WAR minus salary.

His trade value itself isn't the same for every other team. It's not a static number. His value to the As isn't the same as his value to the Dodgers which isn't the same as his value to the Mets which isn't the same as his value to the Rockies. The makeup of each individual team and their budget and their goal for that season and the ones immediately following it change that player's value to that team. The number of teams that value that player highly then changes that player's trade value. Correa's value is ever changing depending on the landscape of the team and league. Unfortunately for us, this team doesn't seem to be changing much. So, his value to the Twins, in my opinion, is incredibly high because I don't believe they can win without him (but I also think he's going to play 135+ games next year). It's Falvey's job to determine if there's ever a time when the lines cross and his value to the team is no longer higher than his trade value and they should move him. It's why it makes sense that they're always listening on every player (even if I think he needs to be much better at how he says that in the media). Because if some team decides Correa's value to them is suddenly sky high and they offer a ridiculous package that is higher than his value to the team the Twins should take it. But if he's still more valuable to their ability to win they should keep him.

That Pohlad analogy doesn't work. Correa plays (or doesn't) every year. There's no sitting on that asset. He's "sold" every year. That's my point. That's why it's literally the front office's job to disentangle the difference between his trade value and his value to the team's ability to win. The Pohlads could move to Greece and never even think about the Twins and still have that asset there to sell in 15 years for whatever it's worth. That isn't how player value works. They have 2 very separate values. And you have to be able to separate them or you won't last long in a front office job, because you're either selling them on the trade market or you're selling them to play on your team. You have to decide which one they have more value in.

[bean5302]

1 hour ago, chpettit19 said:

BTV as in "Baseball Trade Values?" For an article that very clearly states it isn't about trade values? 

It's like saying a pineapple isn't a single fruit, it's a cluster of berries (it is, technically, but it's not used that way). The article does not clearly state it's not about trade values. It opines that it's not exclusively about league-wide trade values, but then describes exactly what trade value is based on a league-wide methodology like relief pitchers being in abundance. If this was specifically a Twins-centric evaluation, Julien would be top 10 because he could find himself in 1 of the 2 most deficient positions on the club last year in 2B or DH.
 

Quote

We account for age, contract, controllability, upside, etc. It's not strictly a ranking of trade value, because that would be more team-agnostic, whereas this list aims to capture a very Twins-specific point of view. As such, players at areas of scarcity (i.e. catching) get elevated, while those at areas of abundance (i.e. relief pitchers) get downgraded a bit.

Baseballtradevalues accounts for projected production, controllability, upside, contract, and availability. There is no way to separate the Twins from the league in this regard because if the Twins need something, they can just acquire it either locally or from another organization. i.e. if there were 50 free agent 2B on the market, the Twins couldn't care less how good their 2B prospects are as they're easy to replace.

[DJL44]

2 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

If you are actively trying to win then there are far more variables than just WAR minus salary.

Except there aren't, because you can always use money to obtain players every offseason. It all boils down to dollar sign on the muscle.

If you're looking at likelihood that a player helps the team win a championship this season as their "asset value" then I'd say their asset value to the Twins is much lower than their trade value. Nearly every other MLB team is trying harder to win a championship than the Twins are this season.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Rod Carews Birthday said:

Maybe.  But maybe not.  Have Brooks Lee and Royce Lewis been exposed too?  Lee didn’t really hit at all and Lewis hit (and stayed in) a long nasty slump the last major portion of the season.  Many are counting on them as key pieces and yet both have less plate appearances in the majors than Julien.  I’m continually surprised that many people have seemingly written off Julien completely after last year.  I think that we would find that he still has a fair amount of trade value if he were made available.  To suppose he is “exposed” implies an inability to learn and make adjustments to his game.  Last offseason, the complaint was that he was a butcher at second base, however, when 2024 started, he came in with substantially improved defense (although some will painfully argue against that point).  That tells me that he has already demonstrated an ability to learn and improve in one area.  It may take some time spent at AAA, but why not hitting next?  He’s done it every year of his career except last year.  If the over/under is Julien being “exposed” and not having any more MLB career, then I’ll take the over every time.  

This article's premise is, what are the Twins' current player values.  If Julien indeed fixes his problems (see, e.g., Matt Wallner), then I expect next year's article will be different.  Today however, absent any evidence Julien has fixed last year's hitting holes (obvious to every MLB club), and become defensively adept and versatile, not just a 2B, then he has negligible trade value.  Hope isn't a strategy.

[bean5302]

1 hour ago, chpettit19 said:

Strongly disagree. If the Twins don't trade Correa before he retires they never sold that stock so how much value did it have? The value it had was what he provided to the team while he played. You HAVE to disentangle "asset values" from "trade values." It's an absolute necessity of the front office's jobs. It essentially is their job. Because the majority of their stocks are never "sold for cash" through trade, they're "sold for cash" through playing. Discerning the difference between the value the player has being on your team and what value you can "sell it for" is vital, not impossible. It's everything.

I think your argument would be more clear with an analogy. Like The Twins are not going to trade their 5 starters for 5 left fielders of equal value since the Twins don't need 5 left fielders.

I still don't agree because assets can always be acquired or distributed as the Twins could turn around and trade their acquired 5 left fielders for 5 now missing rotation arms.

[chpettit19]

2 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

It's like saying a pineapple isn't a single fruit, it's a cluster of berries (it is, technically, but it's not used that way). The article does not clearly state it's not about trade values. It opines that it's not exclusively about league-wide trade values, but then describes exactly what trade value is based on a league-wide methodology like relief pitchers being in abundance. If this was specifically a Twins-centric evaluation, Julien would be top 10 because he could find himself in 1 of the 2 most deficient positions on the club last year in 2B or DH.
 

Baseballtradevalues accounts for projected production, controllability, upside, contract, and availability. There is no way to separate the Twins from the league in this regard because if the Twins need something, they can just acquire it either locally or from another organization. i.e. if there were 50 free agent 2B on the market, the Twins couldn't care less how good their 2B prospects are as they're easy to replace.

That quote you added literally says "whereas this list aims to capture a very Twins-specific point of view." Why would you then say "If this was specifically a Twins-centric evaluation?" The abundance of relief pitchers comment directly follows the "Twins-specific point of view" comment and the lack of catching comment. Those are statements about the Twins. You disagree with Nick's opinion, so do I when it comes to Julien, but don't just change what his list is to fit your own. 

I mean you enlarged a quote that literally says it isn't a trade value ranking and ignore the rest of the sentence that says it's Twins-specific and then go on to tell me it doesn't say it's not a trade value ranking and isn't Twins-specific. What are we even talking about? You provided the very statement you claim isn't there.

[bean5302]

12 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Except there aren't, because you can always use money to obtain players every offseason...

Yep. Exactly this.

[chpettit19]

19 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Except there aren't, because you can always use money to obtain players every offseason. It all boils down to dollar sign on the muscle.

If you're looking at likelihood that a player helps the team win a championship this season as their "asset value" then I'd say their asset value to the Twins is much lower than their trade value. Nearly every other MLB team is trying harder to win a championship than the Twins are this season.

Roster construction is a pretty big variable. Simply having the player already signed and on your roster is another. Trade Correa this offseason without another SS on hand and your FA options were/are Willy Adames and Ha-Seong Kim or play musical chairs with trades. 

"Can always use money to obtain players every offseason" is all well and good until no good players want to take your money. And then suddenly Correa's value to you feels way higher after he's gone because you have Brooks Lee OPSing .600 for you at SS in 2025 and nobody else in the system even close to ready. Or maybe they bring Farmer back to be the SS in 2025. But, hey, I'm sure it'd lead to Laureano in the OF and that'd make up the difference, right? It's not a grocery store. You don't get to just take that money and pick out who you want. Having the guy on your roster already is value and a variable that matters. 

The likelihood of winning the championship doesn't change a player's value to the team. 

[mluebker]

2 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

...am pretty surprised that nobody commented on Correa dropping to 16 from 6 though. 

Any conversation about Correa’s value to the team includes a qualifier like, “when he was on the field.” So I think it makes sense that he and a streaky guy like Miranda are side-by-side in these rankings. If a guy isn’t out there consistently or able to perform consistently, it’s gonna negatively effect his value to the team, even with peaks considered.

[chpettit19]

32 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

I think your argument would be more clear with an analogy. Like The Twins are not going to trade their 5 starters for 5 left fielders of equal value since the Twins don't need 5 left fielders.

I still don't agree because assets can always be acquired or distributed as the Twins could turn around and trade their acquired 5 left fielders for 5 now missing rotation arms.

I would not use that analogy because that wasn't the point I was making in that post. Or any of the subsequent posts. My point is that there's 2 types of values. Value to the team's ability to win and trade value. 

They aren't the same thing. You've said many times that the Nationals are the only team you can see that would want/need Correa. That effects his trade value. His WAR projection hasn't changed. His salary hasn't changed. So, according to you and DJL his asset value hasn't changed. He's the same guy. But, according to you, there's only 1 team that would want/need his services, thus there would be no bidding war and the Twins would have to take or leave whatever Washington would offer. Now if the Mets or Yankees (for examples sake) were to jump in as well that would change his trade value because now that team would have to offer more than the Nats if they wanted him and the Nats would have to offer more than that still if they wanted him. So his trade value has changed but his WAR and salary still hasn't. He's the same player/asset but his trade value has changed. 

BTV is a fun little tool. They even change their numbers frequently to try to keep up with things. But the market changes. Players sign or get traded which changes the landscape of the league which changes what the trade value for individual players may be. But what Correa means to the Twins doesn't change until/unless the Twins change their roster. Those are 2 separate values. What you mean to the individual team you're on (the value Nick is ranking guys on on this list) and what your trade value is are different things.

[Nick Nelson]

3 hours ago, DJL44 said:

SWR would bring back more in trade than Miranda and Julien would together. He's clearly the most valuable asset in the 5 players mentioned in this article.

Would he? SWR posted a 99 ERA+ in 130 innings with a below-average strikeout rate. Benefited from some favorable periphs. His track record prior to last year was rough. Commenters seem quite a bit higher on him than I am.

[DJL44]

9 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

The likelihood of winning the championship doesn't change a player's value to the team. 

This is false. Teams routinely sell off expensive veterans with little team control when they aren't trying to win in the near-term. Value to this team specifically is related to WHEN they are trying to build their championship caliber team. 

[Nick Nelson]

3 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

Only been 3 comments to this point…….am pretty surprised that nobody commented on Correa dropping to 16 from 6 though. How can he be a less valuable asset than SWR? I understand cost and health are involved in the analysis.

I struggled so hard with where to place Correa. If this exercise was strictly about assigning value for the 2025 season, he'd have been much higher. But when you zoom out and look at him being owed $140M over his age 30-33 seasons, with the increasingly significant health questions he now faces, that changes the arithmetic. (For the record, I do view him as more valuable than SWR - he's 3 spots higher. The rankings count down, not up.)

[DJL44]

2 minutes ago, Nick Nelson said:

Would he? SWR posted a 99 ERA+ in 130 innings with a below-average strikeout rate. Benefited from some favorable periphs. His track record prior to last year was rough. Commenters seem quite a bit higher on him than I am.

Starting pitchers are the scarcest commodity in MLB. Objectively bad starting pitchers are getting $12-$15M a season in free agency. Mediocre bats with below average defense are freely available every offseason.