The 2025 Minnesota Twins Need to Trade for a Big Bat. What Assets Could They Deal?

[Eric Blonigen]

Image courtesy of © William Glasheen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It’s no secret that the Twins offense has been on life support recently. The lineup took another hit Friday night, when Royce Lewis pulled up lame running to first. With the pitching regressing and two of their top six starters out for at least the next several weeks, the Twins simply must do something to ensure they are playing competitive baseball on a nightly basis. The fact that Jonah Bride, Kody Clemens, and DaShawn Keirsey Jr. are all on the Twins roster says it all: internal reinforcements are not on the way.

Matthew Taylor broke down the hitters’ struggles and advocated for calling up Mickey Gasper. This community wasn’t a fan of that, and I get it: he has struggled during limited action in the majors. Here’s the thing, though: the cupboards are bare when it comes to impact hitting, as most promising options (such as Luke Keaschall and Emmanuel Rodriguez) are on the shelf with injuries, and won’t be realistic options in the short term. Edouard Julien and Jose Miranda continue to languish in St. Paul, where they have continued to struggle at the plate even in a hitting-friendly league. The Twins don’t seem interested in giving Carson McCusker a legitimate shot at regular playing time. With that in mind, Gasper is probably the best internal option.

So, the offense can really only be bolstered by trade. While it’s still a few weeks early for the sort of significant swaps the Twins may need, the Red Sox's surprising trade of Rafael Devers to the Giants has broken the seal. Matthew Lenz did a nice job breaking down some potential targets, so I will explore which trade assets could bring a slugger back.

The Top Prospects
Despite graduating a number of top prospects over the past season, the Twins' farm system is still stocked with high-end talent, featuring Walker Jenkins, Rodriguez, and Kaelen Culpepper all on Keith Law’s top-50 list. Connor Prielipp just missed the cutoff, and Keaschall is a top-100 guy. Now, the Twins probably aren’t going to trade the injured guys, as their market would almost certainly be depressed, but Culpepper and Prielipp could be real options.

Culpepper has seen his prospect status rise tremendously, based on his defense being better than expected. The Twins' first-round pick in 2024, he’s about ready for a promotion to Double-A Wichita. On pace for a 25-homer, 40-steal season, he’s shown a well-rounded approach that could get him to the majors late next season, if he continues to thrive in the high minors. He could be the headliner in a deal for a legit hitter.

Prielipp has been a bit of an enigma. Limited to 21 total games since being drafted in 2022, he’s got elite swing-and-miss stuff. Both his walk and strikeout rates portend a bright future. The question, really, is whether he will stay healthy enough to be a starter. The Twins have limited his pitch count as he has worked to recover from arm injuries. His worst-case scenario is becoming a back-of-the-bullpen weapon, but he could also be at least a mid-rotation starter if health allows it. It’s tough to project how other teams might see his value, but at least some teams may see him as a prize.

The Intriguing Fast Risers
Guys like Dasan Hill or Kyle DeBarge could be intriguing secondary pieces for a selling team, depending on what they might prioritize. Hill, a lefty starting pitcher, boasts great stuff, and the Twins have (as usual) found ways to increase his velocity. Through nine starts with Fort Myers in 2025, he has struck out nearly 15 guys per nine innings and has a shiny 1.65 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. He’s about due for a callup to High-A Cedar Rapids, and it wouldn’t be shocking if he’s a top-100 guy headed into 2026. Selling teams could dream on the possibility of an elite lefty fronting their rotation a few years from now. Jamie Cameron did a nice writeup of him if you want to learn more.

DeBarge, the Twins' compensatory pick for losing Sonny Gray, was picked in the 2024 draft. He’s a middle infielder who plays a decent shortstop, but can also play second or third. He does a bit of everything, having stolen 35 bags, walked 45 times, and added 21 extra-base hits through his first 57 games of the 2025 season with Cedar Rapids. A year from now, he could be knocking on the door of the bigs and projects to be at least a utility infielder, with the possibility of being a good regular. Here’s Jamie’s writeup on DeBarge.

The Major-Leaguers
On the major-league side of things, they could also look at shopping Jhoan Duran or Griffin Jax. This would be a bit counterproductive, as moving either would undoubtedly make the back of the bullpen weaker. But, both guys would have significant trade value, and would be appealing to other buying teams, which could broaden the trade market. So, it’s possible some sort of challenge trade could come to fruition, with a team that has a blocked top hitting prospect, or a surplus of hitting in general. It’s also quite likely the Twins front office is cash-strapped, so trading away at least a bit of 2025 salary may be necessary. It’s also probable the Twins would need a selling team to absorb the salaries of any hitters coming the Twins' way.

The key, whichever option the Twins may choose, is to move quickly to add a piece that can prevent the 2025 season from repeating the freefall of 2024.

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[Blyleven2011]

Sorry can't resist ...

Do we even have any assets to trade  and who might want them ...

I'll go back and read what you posted and see if there are any reasonable trades that could work  ...

I don't think we are in a position to trade before or at the deadline , we aren't a consistent team and we need more than one hitter that can play defense to ....

Thanks 

Read it all , every team needs pitching and at the deadline , teams usually add good bullpen arms ...

Pitching is the premium go getter at the deadline ,  I could see trading Duran,  Sands , SWR or maybe even Stewart  , we need elite hitters to turn this around and if we have to sacrifice pitching I guess that is the way it's got to be ...

I don't think we will trade to upgrade for this year , at the deadline if this free fall continues they should trade away salary relief on expiring contracts and get something in return  ...

[thelanges5]

I don’t think one batter is enough to make a difference. Since the winning streak, only Buck, Lee, and Castro have been hitting well consistently. This offense won’t go anywhere unless Correa, Jeffers, Wallner, Larnach (the list goes on) start to hit at or preferably above league average consistently.

[LA Vikes Fan]

Do you really think this team is good enough to trade a quality prospect or two for a hitter? One would only do that if we thought adding the hitter would make us a potential contender. I just don't see that as a realistic assessment of where this team is or is likely to be in the second half. The idea of trading someone like Culpepper or Prielipp for another teams "blocked prospect" or "hitting surplus" would be bad enough, but trading Duran or Jax makes little sense unless we are getting back established MLB hitting with multiple years of control. That just doesn't seem likely. 

So what should we do at the trade deadline? I think the answer is pretty simple - nothing or at least very little. Realistically, the Twins are an 80 to 87 win team that needs a solid starting pitcher, a bat that can really hit in the middle of the order, and another relief pitcher to become a 90 win team. The farm system has some decent prospects but it's not like we are training from a huge surplus of talent. We trade those prospects away now and this team is going to be hurting in another couple of years. I would trade that for a realistic chance of the championship, but adding a bat doesn't give this team a realistic chance for a championship.

I think the right move is to play this out with what we have. Give guys like Lee, Wallner, and Larnach , and, when ready, Lewis and Keaschall, as many ABs as possible and throw Festa and SWR out there every 5th day, with Matthews joining them in August. I could see trading for decent relief pitcher although our track record of picking up relief help at the deadline is been pretty bad. This team just isn't good enough to be a real contender by adding a bat or two. Let's not deplete the future when it's unlikely to do much for the present.

[nicksaviking]

They've needed a big bat for two years now. Didn't get one last off season, didn't get one at last year's trade deadline, didn't get one the prior offseason. So basically ever since the Pohald's publicly said they are 'right sizing'. But now they're going to pay for a contract of a big bat? No team is trading a young controllable super star.

[Rufus]

Watching the Reds game, both their corner infielders came to them in a deadline trade with the Twins.  The Twins got Mahle.  The Reds also got some other top prospects.  The same year the Twins got  Jorge Lopez from the Orioles for Yennier Cano and others.   Both trades were complete bust from the Twins perspective.  Deadline deals allow the selling team to commit highway robbery.  If a team is truly in the race and lacks that one key piece to put them over the top, a deadline deal may work.  For a team like the Twins that has multiple holes, Deadline deals only drain them of prospects.  So tired of media and writers that keep pushing teams to make stupid deals just to get ratings and sell papers.  Of course when the trade blows up like they did for the Twins in '23, these same media and writers are the first to jump on the team for making a bad deal.

[Rufus]

1 hour ago, LA VIkes Fan said:

Do you really think this team is good enough to trade a quality prospect or two for a hitter? One would only do that if we thought adding the hitter would make us a potential contender. I just don't see that as a realistic assessment of where this team is or is likely to be in the second half. The idea of trading someone like Culpepper or Prielipp for another teams "blocked prospect" or "hitting surplus" would be bad enough, but trading Duran or Jax makes little sense unless we are getting back established MLB hitting with multiple years of control. That just doesn't seem likely. 

So what should we do at the trade deadline? I think the answer is pretty simple - nothing or at least very little. Realistically, the Twins are an 80 to 87 win team that needs a solid starting pitcher, a bat that can really hit in the middle of the order, and another relief pitcher to become a 90 win team. The farm system has some decent prospects but it's not like we are training from a huge surplus of talent. We trade those prospects away now and this team is going to be hurting in another couple of years. I would trade that for a realistic chance of the championship, but adding a bat doesn't give this team a realistic chance for a championship.

I think the right move is to play this out with what we have. Give guys like Lee, Wallner, and Larnach , and, when ready, Lewis and Keaschall, as many ABs as possible and throw Festa and SWR out there every 5th day, with Matthews joining them in August. I could see trading for decent relief pitcher although our track record of picking up relief help at the deadline is been pretty bad. This team just isn't good enough to be a real contender by adding a bat or two. Let's not deplete the future when it's unlikely to do much for the present.

Maybe a decent left-handed relief pitcher, if the Twins don't need to sell the farm to get him.

[olerud]

DO NOT TRADE Jenkins Culpepper or prielipp that would be incredibly dumb!!!!!

[DJL44]

Which big bat are they trading for and what position do they play?

[Whitey333]

Every year we hear about how great many of our prospects are. Hype, hype, and over hype.  Yes a couple have worked out but most of them have been busts.  Just like our front office.  Very unlikely twins do much at trade deadline to improve the team.  It is possible they could dump salary if team is not in contention.

[Mike Sixel]

2 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Which big bat are they trading for and what position do they play?

Right? Who are you replacing? 

This team should be blown up. It's the same players that have failed for several years now. No way they should sell the future for this present group. 

[Mike Sixel]

1 minute ago, Whitey333 said:

Every year we hear about how great many of our prospects are. Hype, hype, and over hype.  Yes a couple have worked out but most of them have been busts.  Just like our front office.  Very unlikely twins do much at trade deadline to improve the team.  It is possible they could dump salary if team is not in contention.

Most prospects on every team are not great. 

[DJL44]

3 hours ago, Rufus said:

Watching the Reds game, both their corner infielders came to them in a deadline trade with the Twins.  

Both Steer and Encarnacion-Strand have been lousy this season. Are you really wishing they were on the Twins?

[Rufus]

2 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Both Steer and Encarnacion-Strand have been lousy this season. Are you really wishing they were on the Twins?

How long did Mahle last with the Twins?  They may not HOFers, bur the Reds got a couple of useful years out of their end and they are still on the team.   Deadline deals have gotten trendy and every team that has a winning record at the break is now supposed to do a deal to appease writers and fans.  The sellers are robbing them blind.  It's a joke.  

[Vanimal46]

6 minutes ago, Rufus said:

The sellers are robbing them blind.  It's a joke.

If that’s the case, that’s exactly what the Twins should be. I would accept the next Fernando Tatis Jr for Paddack 

[Major League Ready]

The only way to get a meaningful player is to trade away very good prospects.  Doing so for this team is a good way to insure continued mediocrity.  What I always notice about the many articles on this topic is that no examples are ever given of teams (low revenue teams) that have built success through trading prospects for short-term assets?  If anyone bothers to look at the impact of players acquired as prospects, there are many examples.  Most of the Cleveland teams were built by acquiring prospects.  The Twins got Duran, Ryan on deadline deals.  What did those trades do for Arizona and Tampa?  There are many more examples and the biggest part that is overlooked is that Duran / Ryan or the Cleveland players is that that they impact the team for 6+ years.

[Doctor Wu]

I'll pass on this idea. We have plenty of "big bats" on the team or in our system; we just need to find a way for them to produce better or more consistently. Sure, another big bat would look good in the lineup as it stands now, but no way do I want to trade ANY of our best prospects for a player that may not even make a difference in our playoff quest. 

[TwinsDr2021]

Why not just fast track Culpepper? He is 22 playing in A+ if he stays on the pace of being in the minors, he won't be up for another 2 years, making him just another 24 year old dude (which is fine, but if this the Twins plan you could trade him) Get him to AA let him finish the month there and bring him up, it is not against the rules to bring up 22 year old players.

Then trade some of the the dead weight on the 40 man, (Miranda, Julien, Gasper, Fitzgerald, Martin, McCusker) 

Start pushing these younger guys to be something instead of what they have been doing. 

I am sick of hearing about how these mid 20 and older guys are going to help the Twins out and be full time major league players. How many times do you have to be fooled before coming to the realization that these type of guys (a high percentage of the time) are just fillers?

[Doctor Gast]

13 hours ago, thelanges5 said:

I don’t think one batter is enough to make a difference. Since the winning streak, only Buck, Lee, and Castro have been hitting well consistently. This offense won’t go anywhere unless Correa, Jeffers, Wallner, Larnach (the list goes on) start to hit at or preferably above league average consistently.

Great point. IMO, we have the offense, but it seems we don't have the fire. Get the fire going we have plenty of offense. A big bat can be very expensive, especially at the deadline. IMO, it's not worth it.

IMO, our greater need is pitching & how to manage them. I was expecting more innings from our SPs' leader Lopez. W/o him, that'll put a lot of strain on the rest of the pitching. We desperately need long relief (we should have internally) & get another veteran SP immediately, at least an inning-eater (Kyle Gibson would be cheap & great for the clubhouse).

Another greater need is a promising young MLB-ready catcher. Twins have been very fortunate these last 2 1/2 years with the health of our catchers which is very valuable. Any injury to either would be disastrous. Jeffers has a contusion on his hand & he needs the rest but there is no one to relieve them.

 

Our secon

[DJL44]

8 hours ago, Rufus said:

Deadline deals have gotten trendy and every team that has a winning record at the break is now supposed to do a deal to appease writers and fans.  The sellers are robbing them blind.  It's a joke.  

Deadline deals are "trendy" and they're only done to make baseball writers happy. You have a very odd view of the world.

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

Then trade some of the the dead weight on the 40 man, (Miranda, Julien, Gasper, Fitzgerald, Martin, McCusker) 

Which MLB organization do you believe is looking to add "dead weight" to their 40-man roster?

[old nurse]

3 hours ago, Major League Ready said:

The only way to get a meaningful player is to trade away very good prospects.  Doing so for this team is a good way to insure continued mediocrity.  What I always notice about the many articles on this topic is that no examples are ever given of teams (low revenue teams) that have built success through trading prospects for short-term assets?  If anyone bothers to look at the impact of players acquired as prospects, there are many examples.  Most of the Cleveland teams were built by acquiring prospects.  The Twins got Duran, Ryan on deadline deals.  What did those trades do for Arizona and Tampa?  There are many more examples and the biggest part that is overlooked is that Duran / Ryan or the Cleveland players is that that they impact the team for 6+ years.

There are how many other players from trades that did not impact the team for 6+ years?  Nelson Cruz was an All Star at the time of the trade, Escobar was having a career year. What players could the Twins trade that are at that level?  

[LambchoP]

They are not a playoff team this year. They should hold on to our prospects and get what they can for expiring contracts. Guys like Bader, Castro, France and Vasquez. Recoup something for these guys rather than lose them for nothing in the off-season.

[TwinsDr2021]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

Which MLB organization do you believe is looking to add "dead weight" to their 40-man roster?

Trade them to a team that isn't trying for a non prospect that doesn't need to be on the Twins 40 man. If they have no value to those teams what value to do they have for a team trying to win? 

The problem the Twins seem to have is they pretty much are a team of role players. Role players are need to supplement a team, but the idea you can win consistently with a roster full of them is a fools errand. I get why Miranda, Julien and Keirsay are on the 40 man still is for depth, but depth behind guys that aren't very good generally doesn't seem like a good plan. 

Having guys in the minors until they are 24, 25 or older is a great way to save money, you never really have to pay them real money, but it also means you have guys that not likely to be full time players.The Twins seem to have Buxton, CC and Jeffers as full time players and then 10 other guys filling in. Maybe Lee can ascend to be one. 

They had lost 4 and a row and supposedly their 2nd or 3rd best hitter was on the bench. Sure Wallner has been terrible in June but he probably still give you the best chance of running into a bad pitch. 

[DJL44]

7 minutes ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

Trade them to a team that isn't trying

Which one? They can't make a deal with a hypothetical team. What team wants to add Miranda or Julien to their 40-man roster?

[Jeff K]

I think the Twins should sink or swim with what they have.  Any trade, even a successful one, is not going to make the Twins a true world series threat.  I would like to see a focus on our younger players rather than retreads or guys who are never going to be everyday players.  Let's see what these guys have.  Keaschall is an obvious choice to play every day.  I hope he is back soon.  The twins certainly have a number of players on the 40 man roster who are not worthy. 

[saviking]

15 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

They've needed a big bat for two years now. Didn't get one last off season, didn't get one at last year's trade deadline, didn't get one the prior offseason. So basically ever since the Pohald's publicly said they are 'right sizing'. But now they're going to pay for a contract of a big bat? No team is trading a young controllable super star.

That's because all their money is locked up in a savings account paying 3% interest. Even at 36 million that's not much in the way of dividends. And that dividens is going to decrease as the CD matures.

[AKTwinsFan]

We should have obliged Jax and gave him a shot at starter. We still could but Baldelli doesn't think winning. 

[S Bart]

I just do not see them making the playoffs. They have some tough competition prior to the ùpcoming break. I think my biggest disappointment is Correa and the salary that he is earning not equaling his performance.  

[Major League Ready]

3 hours ago, old nurse said:

There are how many other players from trades that did not impact the team for 6+ years?  Nelson Cruz was an All Star at the time of the trade, Escobar was having a career year. What players could the Twins trade that are at that level?  

Some of every type of acquisition succeed and some fail.  The point that many will fail has absolutely no probative value.  If one strategy fails 70% of the time and another fails 90% of the time.  Is the 70% failure rate relevant without a comparison?  Which type of transaction most frequently contributes to winning.