Mock 2025 Twins Trade Deadline - Retool

[cjm0926]

 

Although the trade deadline is less than a week away, it is still not completely known the direction that the Twins will go in. Will they buy, hold or sell? If not already decided, it will need to be decided soon, with 2 more games to play against the Nationals and 3 against the Red Sox before the Thursday deadline. If the Twins decided to sell/retool, I put together somewhat of a blueprint of what they could do to stay somewhat competitive while also not punting on the future.

 

Griffin Jax to Seattle for Harry Ford, Tyler Locklear

It has been reported that Seattle may be looking to add another bullpen arm, and there is not a whole lot better available than Griffin Jax. Jax would give Seattle a perfect setup man for Munoz for the next 2.5 seasons, but it would come at a steep price. In this deal, the Twins land MLB’s 50th overall prospect in Harry Ford, and a top 10 first base prospect in the league. This gives them 2 young, talented players who have produced in AAA and could be ready to immediately go to Minneapolis if the Twins feel comfortable with it. The Twins seem better suited to lose an elite reliever than most teams, as they have arms like Louie Varland and Brock Stewart to backfill the setup role in front of Jhoan Duran.

Christian Vazquez to Boston for lotto ticket prospect

This trade is more about clearing up space to allow Harry Ford from the trade above to get a more regular role with the big league club. He hasn’t made his debut yet, but depending on who you ask he is ready to head up to the big leagues. As for Vazquez, he isn’t the same player he was in his Boston days, but they may be willing to bring back a familiar face to back up their main guy in Carlos Narvaez. The return here would likely only be a rookie ball lotto ticket level prospect.

Ty France to ? for lotto ticket prospect

Like Vazquez, France has little to no value on the trade market. It is possible a team would take him and his cheap salary, but I am not sure. This is also more so to open up a spot to give some young guys an audition. I don’t think France is a bad player, he just has no future with Minnesota being a 1B only so I’d rather move on and give young guys such as Locklear and Sabato a chance.

Castro to New York Yankees for Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz and Brock Selvidge

This may be too much, but obviously I am not Derek Falvey discussing these trades. In this trade, the Twins add 2 pitchers that are currently the Yankees #6 and #12 overall prospects according to MLB. Castro is a fit on nearly every contender, so it could create a bidding war and drive his price up to where this is plausible. Rodriguez-Cruz is a soon to be 22 year old RHP in Double-A sporting a 2.42 ERA in 96.2 inning between A+ and AA this season. Selvidge is also a 22 year old in AA but is a LHP. He has a 3.78 ERA in 33.1 innings at AA this season. I am not very familiar with either prospect, but after a quick glance they seem they could be interesting and realistic to target for the Twins.

Paddack, Larnach to SDP for Bradgley Rodriguez and Kash Mayfield

Rodriguez is a hard throwing 21 year old in the Padres system who made his debut earlier this year. Mayfield is a 20 year old LHP who is in Single-A. This trade gives the Padres a familiar face in Paddack, who recently pitched very well against the Padres top rival, the Dodgers. It also finally gives the Padres a left fielder that could ideally stop the shuffle in the grass. Larnach is a slightly above average hitter with solid metrics, so maybe the Padres feel they could unlock some more. The time is ticking on the Padres, and with all of their big contracts their window may be closing.

Bader, Coulombe to New York Mets for Drew Gilbert

Gilbert, a Stillwater, MN native is having somewhat of a resurgence in AAA this year, batting .248 with a .796 OPS in 296 Triple-A AB’s this season. His prospect stock has fallen, but could still profile as a good big-leaguer. He has a chance to stick in center field, but would likely be a plus defender in the corners. This would replace Larnach and give the Twins a more athletic, slightly younger player while not sacrificing a ton of offense, but that would remain to be seen. In return the Twins are trading away 2 valuable players on expiring contracts. This makes sense for both sides, as Gilbert is likely not in the Mets plans with Nimmo and Soto patrolling 2 outfield spots, and other OF prospects ahead of Gilbert on their pecking order.

Julien and Miranda

I think Julien is a good change of scenery candidate, as he has kind of fallen out of the plans in Minnesota. A trade involving him could be something like Julien to the Pirates for Henry Davis or a decent reliever, although that is unnecessary if they land Ford. Some team may buy-low and think they can fix him. As for Miranda, its hard to believe he has any value, and like Julien, is out of options next year. I think the best course of action is to keep him in AAA, and maybe call him back up in September or as-needed for injuries to possibly regain some value. If he sticks around, 2026 Spring Training would be his last chance or he could turn into a surefire DFA candidate.
 

New Lineup

C - Jeffers

1B - Locklear

2B - Lee

3B - Lewis

SS - Correa

LF - Gilbert

CF - Buxton

RF - Wallner

DH - Keaschall

 

Backup C - Ford

UTIL - Martin

UTIL - Clemens

4th OF/ Pinch Runner - Keirsey Jr.

 

Rotation - Lopez, Ryan, Ober, SWR, Matthews, Festa

Bullpen - Duran, Varland, Stewart, Sands, Topa, Rodriguez, Funderburk, Tonkin/Davis

 

With all of the trades made above, this is a team that could be assembled with the new pieces. Obviously some are interchangeable and nothing would be set in stone. I would like to see Aaron Sabato get a chance with the Twins at some point, but that remains to be seen. These trades would ideally keep the big league club competitive and interesting, but gives young players an audition for a bigger role in the next year or so. You aren’t really buying, so you keep your top prospect like Jenkins, Rodriguez and Culpepper to debut in the future. I think something like this would help the Twins immensely, as they would get younger and hungrier as a team overall, and it shakes up a little bit of the core that has underperformed a bit and might light a fire under some guys.

Obviously it is uncertain what route the Twins will take, but it is likely some trades are made one way or the other. Obviously these trades are likely not going to happen, but I just thought it would be fun to mess around with and see what may match up and what may not. I’d be interested to hear your tweaks or other trade proposals in the comments. Thanks for reading!