Could One Of These National Leagues Sellers Help The Minnesota Twins?

[Matthew Lenz]

With the July 31st trade deadline looming on the horizon, urgency will begin to mount for many Major League Baseball teams. While some clubs are firmly entrenched in playoff contention and will be looking to bolster their rosters, there is a distinct group already facing the reality of a lost season. So, who are the likely sellers from the National League? What valuable assets might they put on the market, and how could the Toronto Blue Jays leverage these opportunities to their advantage? Let's delve into the teams poised to ignite the hot stove and the potential impact on the Blue Jays’  playoff aspirations.

Colorado Rockies
The Rockies are on pace for all sorts of records - and not in a good way. The Rockies don't have much in the form of rentals, with starters German Márquez (6.62 ERA) and Austin Gomber (just returned from a shoulder injury) the only expiring deals, but that's not to say they don't have trade chips. Most notably, I anticipate many teams will be calling about starter Kyle Freeland (controlled through 2026) and third baseman Ryan McMahon (controlled through 2027). Freeland’s surface numbers are heavily inflated by pitching in Coors. On the road, the lefty has a 3.64 ERA (3.31 FIP) and a 14.6% strikeout minus walk rate. Concerning McMahon, Bob Nightengale of USA Today has reported that the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs have already shown interest in the 30-year-old. Like Freeland, McMahon’s surface stats are also impacted by Coors - a .739 OPS overall drops by nearly 200 points on the road. Other less notable names that could be available are infielders Thairo Estrada and Kyle Farmer, who both have mutual options for 2026. 

Miami Marlins
The Marlins are 15 games under .500 and well outside of the playoff picture. However, they are the youngest team in Major League Baseball, which makes it a challenge to know how much they're willing to sell. Kyle Stowers, Connor Norby, and Agustín Ramírez have all been great, but they're also in their pre-arbitration years. Would the rebuilding Marlins really sell what looks to be a solid core of hitters? I doubt it. On the other hand, starting pitchers Cal Quantrill (a free agent at season's end) and Sandy Alcántara (controllable through 2026) could be attractive “buy low” options at the deadline. Quantrill has an ERA minus FIP of 1.27 and Alcántara, a former Cy Young award winner, has underperformed his ERA by 2.43 runs. However, both have well below average strikeout minus walk rates, suggesting their upside might be limited with some tweaking of their pitch profiles. The Marlins have gotten some good production out of their bullpen from guys like Ronny Henriquez, Janson Junk, and Patrick Monteverde. While these guys are controllable, it would make sense for the Marlins to listen to offers on any relievers.

Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates are in a race for second worst team in the NL with the Marlins. There's been (mostly sarcastic) speculation that they may trade starter Paul Skenes, but I don't think they will do that - for now. Instead, they have a few assets who will likely have a market over the next month and a half. There's already been rumors floating around regarding infielder Isiah Kiner-Faleda, who has a solid (but empty) .714 OPS. Other solid players on expiring deals include outfielders Andrew McCutchen and Tommy Pham, as well as starter Andrew Heaney, and reliever Ryan Burocki. Aside from Burocki, whose peripherals suggest some positive regression, all players have been more than serviceable this season. However, the most valuable realistic trade chip is current closer David Bednar, who is controlled through the 2026 season. In 20 appearances, the righty has a 3.42 ERA, 2.14 FIP, and a 29.2% strikeout minus walk rate. He may end up being the most sought after reliever on the market.

Twins' Needs
The Twins' inconsistent offense continues to drive their up-and-down performance this season, and now they're dealing with a whole lot of uncertainty from their rotation. With Royce Lewis' latest injury, a third base solution might be on the shopping list, though Luke Keaschall's return could offer an internal option and more roster flexibility. Interestingly, second base, despite lacking a clear starter, has been productive, ranking ninth in OPS across MLB. Catcher, however, remains a weakness, but a trade for a new backstop seems unlikely without moving either Jeffers or Vazquez—a tough sell. A full-time designated hitter doesn't fit the Twins' current roster design. Offensive improvement is needed, but it likely means trading a current contributor without adding to the payrolls On the pitching side, what was once a potential strength to trade for hitting has become precarious; one more injury )like a Bailey Ober hip issue) would put them in a dire situation. And of course, this all overlooks the financial implications.

All that being said, I think it's fools gold to think the Twins will make noise at the deadline. Expect them to be quiet due to financial limitations, a move they can easily justify with Pablo López's return from injury.

What is the ceiling of the Twins current roster If they stand pat? Join the conversation in the comments!

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[terrydactyls]

Once again, I must comment that beginning this question with "could" makes it a theoretical question.  And because there is no law of physics, nature, biology, or any other law that would prohibited a a trade, the answer is always "yes, it could happen".  The question really is "would" a trade help the Twins.

[Trov]

Pirates will not trade Cutch unless he asks them too.  If they did they would get every fan to hate them even more.  He never wanted to leave, but they traded him away early in his career.  He only returned under the expectation that he would not get traded. Fans loved that he came back, only thing to really love about that team over last couple years. 

[LambchoP]

Sure looks like we screwed up getting rid of Ronny Henriquez:(

[tony&rodney]

The lack of transactions by the Twins will have less to do with money than it does to how the front office views the organization. 

[old nurse]

From the story, the answer to the question is no they don’t. 

[jmlease1]

Alcantara is a guy who is likely to improve coming off a major injury, but he also looks like someone who is going to be inconsistent at best for the rest of this season, so I don't exactly see the Twins adding him when he's still owed $17M for 2026 (plus the additional costs in 2025) and a $2M buyout for 2027. There's simply no way this ownership tacks on that kind of money...and it's unclear it would even be a good idea.

I dunno, not much on these teams that's acquirable is all that exciting if the Twins are buyers to me. I mean, what do we get by re-acquiring IKF? I have more hope for Keaschall when he returns.

I don't see this ownership group authorizing a significant salary add for this season, so in order to add a real piece, we'd have to send money out (Castro, presumably, maybe Paddack?) which creates an additional hole to fill, and while I like the options in some of the younger guys to fill some things, I'm not sure we net out as better, really.

Blegh.

[Blyleven2011]

that being said, I think it is fools gold to believe the Twins would make any  noise , they didnt in the past offseason nor will they at this year's  deadline ...

[NYCTK]

This team is near top of the league in terms of being healthy, yet still they are on pace for 78 wins. They should not buy and doing so would be hilarious mismanagement. 

[AftonTwinsFan]

Was this article copied from a Blue Jays site?  "What valuable assets might they put on the market, and how could the Toronto Blue Jays leverage these opportunities to their advantage? Let's delve into the teams poised to ignite the hot stove and the potential impact on the Blue Jays’  playoff aspirations."

[NYCTK]

35 minutes ago, AftonTwinsFan said:

Was this article copied from a Blue Jays site?  "What valuable assets might they put on the market, and how could the Toronto Blue Jays leverage these opportunities to their advantage? Let's delve into the teams poised to ignite the hot stove and the potential impact on the Blue Jays’  playoff aspirations."

LOL holy ****. I always knew this site pumps out too much *content* and it turns out they're not even writing them? WTF? 

If anyone looked into it, I'm sure AI is being used to write a bunch too. 

Seriously guys, no one needs 6 Twins articles a day. If you're eschewing journalistic practices to accomplish your quotas, maybe it's time you cut back? 

[DocBauer]

I've had my eye on German Marquez for a while now as a potential breakout candidate out of Colorado. But he's 30yo now and still trying to get back to form following surgery. 

With an expiring contact and a struggling season, what good would he do?

I'm not sure what here improves the team. But I'm not expecting ownership to add payroll anyway. Maybe a little in the offseason if they are still holding the team, but not until then.

[nicksaviking]

Outside of Kyle Stowers, who is basically Trevor Larnach, all of these players range from bad to terribly bad.

Having too many below average players is how the Twins found  themselves in the situation they are currently in.

[Schmoeman5]

And for the 5th year in and row Tommy Pham will be on the market.

[jorgenswest]

5 hours ago, LambchoP said:

Sure looks like we screwed up getting rid of Ronny Henriquez:(

It would have been better to keep him over Alcala but I don’t know if it was a big mistake.

Henriquez has a good ERA. However he has allowed 11 inherited runners to score to go with his 12 earned runs allowed. Danny Coulombe has the same number of inherited runners and only allowed 3 to score. Cole Sands has allowed the most inherited runners to score with the Twins at 7.

Henriquez has taken the mound 35 times this year. He has kept the slates clean in 18 of them. In the other 17 he either had a run credited to him or an inherited runner scored leading to a 54% successful relief outing rate allowing no runners to score. Alcala who was among the best at putting up crooked runners had better successful relief outing rate. 

Henriquez has probably had some bad luck with his inherited runners anllowed and good luck with his ERA. Teams trading for him are going to notice those inherited runners allowed and wonder if he is reliever who can put out a fire.

[gbg]

2 hours ago, AftonTwinsFan said:

Was this article copied from a Blue Jays site?  "What valuable assets might they put on the market, and how could the Toronto Blue Jays leverage these opportunities to their advantage? Let's delve into the teams poised to ignite the hot stove and the potential impact on the Blue Jays’  playoff aspirations."

Yep - it is the exact same article that Matthew wrote for JaysCentre. I guess you can't plagiarize yourself, but that's really disappointing from a site that used to have strong work.

[1991]

They can make noise...  be a seller and try to get someone to take correa and buxton.  Go young with the roster.

[Doctor Gast]

3 hours ago, DocBauer said:

I've had my eye on German Marquez for a while now as a potential breakout candidate out of Colorado. But he's 30yo now and still trying to get back to form following surgery. 

With an expiring contact and a struggling season, what good would he do?

I'm not sure what here improves the team. But I'm not expecting ownership to add payroll anyway. Maybe a little in the offseason if they are still holding the team, but not until then.

So have I, ROX overpaid him, he's still owed $9.5M for the rest of the season. Don't think Twins will flip that bill.

[D.C Twins]

5 hours ago, NYCTK said:

This team is near top of the league in terms of being healthy, yet still they are on pace for 78 wins. They should not buy and doing so would be hilarious mismanagement. 

This.... this...aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand......THIS!

[D.C Twins]

3 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

Outside of Kyle Stowers, who is basically Trevor Larnach, all of these players range from bad to terribly bad.

Having too many below average players is how the Twins found  themselves in the situation they are currently in.

This....this....aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand....THIS!

[Peter]

No selling!!! Only 2.5 out of wild card-once twins are full health look out! Will make run at wild card and get last spot!

[AKTwinsFan]

With Paddack on an expiring contract we gotta go out and find his replacement for next season. Ober might get calls on. As well as other top prospects, Gabriel Gonzalez might be the one to trade unless we find room for him next season. 

[Badgolfer34]

Need to be sellers, get a couple of close to ready major leaguers for Dhoran and bring up Martin, Sabato, Miranda and Julien and let them audition to stay on the roster. This team is not going anywhere 

[Sparky55]

Just keep on picking up retreads like Wentz seems to really be working out 🙈