No Relief: Griffin Jax Goes South, as Twins Trade Him to Tampa Bay Rays

[Matthew Trueblood]

Image courtesy of © Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The whole has always been a bit less than the sum of the parts for Griffin Jax. Now, that's the problem of the team who loves great parts (and summing them) more than anyone else: the Tampa Bay Rays.

Jax, 30, was the Twins’ 3rd-round pick in the 2016 MLB Draft. He scaled the ladder of the system as a starting pitcher, but his stuff never popped in that role. After debuting as an extremely forgettable starter in 2021, he converted to the bullpen in 2022—and almost immediately, he flashed dominant stuff. His results and his situation management have been inconsistent ever since, but his combination of plus control and newfound, high-end movement has turned him into one of the game’s most exciting and (occasionally) dominant relief arms. He’s under team control through 2027, and is making $2.3 million as a first-year arbitration-eligible arm this year. As a non-closer, he’s unlikely to hit the jackpot during his arbitration-eligible years, which has made him even more appealing than his extraordinary strikeout and walk rates already did.

In exchange for their co-relief ace, the Twins acquired starting pitcher Taj Bradley, whom the Rays recently optioned to Triple-A Durham—but who has spent significant portions of the last two seasons in the rotation for Tampa.

Bradley, 24, has four more years of team control remaining after 2025, two more than Jax. He's an intriguing arm, who has shown good velocity but too often found the heart of the plate with it in his brief time in the majors. Minnesota will try to unlock an arsenal that appears to hold real promise, but which has never translated to consistent success for Bradley. They've had good luck doing this with former Rays hurlers a time or two, but getting only Bradley for the relatively accomplished and metrically beloved Jax is a surprise.

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[Nashvilletwin]

Wow, and to think this all could have been had they just fired Rocco before the All Star break……

[HerbieFan]

Ok.  WTF.  I get Castro, Bader, Stewart, even Correa.  I sort of get one of Duran or Jax...even though I don't like it.  But what the (bleep) is going on?  Pohlads cannot sell this team fast enough.  

[Aggies7]

This is insane but also cathartic. Never seen the twins torn down to the studs like this.

[NYCTK]

This was a lot of fun. Way more fun than watching the team play. 

Alright, let's rebuild it and target 2027. Buxton & Co.

Let's Go! 

[AceBee]

This is sad...I thought they would only trade one out of Jax and Duran..Losing them both sucks

[FlyingFinn]

Why trade Jax and Varland??

[IndyTwinsFan]

For those of you who wanted TC to blow it up and start over, you got your wish, as the atomic bomb has now gone off.

I think I can safely say that we are now a AA/AAA team.  It'll be interesting to see who gets brought up to essentially fill out the roster.

A new era has begun, for better or for worse.

[Glorybound]

Completely insane. Who takes the field tomorrow? 

[mluebker]

I’m trying to imagine who’s left and who plays where when the dust settles…

[big dog]

Why in the name of god do you trade Varland???

Are they trading all the guys who didn't like Rocco or something? Is this some kind of Godfather-style vengeance??

[Nashvilletwin]

Kinda inevitable after last night.  But Taj Bradley? You’ve got to be kidding me.

[Aggies7]

Why varland?

[Nshore]

What a crazy mess.  Somebody's going to show up for the wrong team.

[big dog]

Let's just bring this to the logical conclusion by burning down Target Field. This is just a huge clown show right now.

[IndyTwinsFan]

1 minute ago, mluebker said:

I’m trying to imagine who’s left and who plays where when the dust settles…

I think we're going to see a lot of kids get a chance who we never expected to see this season.  The exact players are debatable, but it has to happen. 

[shimrod]

6 minutes ago, Aggies7 said:

Why varland?

Making room to move Clemens to full time relief.

[tony&rodney]

Where is Bowie Kuhn? He would have stopped this nonsense.

[NYCTK]

Happy for Jax. If he still wants the Rays will give him another chance to start. 

And he was clearly done with Rocco (like us all). 

[Patzky]

12 minutes ago, IndyTwinsFan said:

I think we're going to see a lot of kids get a chance who we never expected to see this season.  The exact players are debatable, but it has to happen. 

Even Manfred won't let them forfeit the season.

[tony&rodney]

Just now, NYCTK said:

Happy for Jax. If he still wants the Rays will give him another chance to start. 

And he was clearly done with Rocco (like us all). 

Yes he was. That was as much hate as we have seen from a Twin in a long time.

[Patzky]

Anyone care to see if the Saints rainout makeup is on tonight?

[IndyTwinsFan]

I think it's pretty safe to say that we'll lose at least 100 games this season.  I can't see a logical way to avoid it happening. 

[Nashvilletwin]

So who are we tanking for?

[big dog]

You can send your thoughts to 

fanfeedback@twins.mlb.com

if you would like them to get a sense of how you feel about the last 48 hours.

Or hell, the last two years.

[Fire Dan Gladden]

Lots of fan emotions running rampant right now. This is not on Falvey, but on ownership. None of the major moves were made without ownership pushing hard.

I am not going jump the gun on what the Twins did or did not get. Hard to know if there were better deals to be had.

All I know is that this is arguably the worst day as a Twins fan since Bud announced the Twins would be contracted. Hard to see an owner destroy a team and fanbase.

The only possible positive from today is that it was driven by a potential buyer wanting a clean slate.

[big dog]

22 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

Happy for Jax. If he still wants the Rays will give him another chance to start. 

And he was clearly done with Rocco (like us all). 

What's the reference here- is it just walking Ohtani, or is there more to it?

[mikelink45]

This is beyond rebuild.  This is just a free-for-all and we take on a pitcher that Tampa Bay can't fix?  There is no team that maximizes pitchers more than the Rays and no team that seems incapable of maximizing talent like the Twins. 

[howeda7]

21 minutes ago, IndyTwinsFan said:

I think it's pretty safe to say that we'll lose at least 100 games this season.  I can't see a logical way to avoid it happening. 

THIS season? No. They only have to go like 12-42 to avoid it.

[Hubie29]

40 minutes ago, Nashvilletwin said:

Kinda inevitable after last night.  But Taj Bradley? You’ve got to be kidding me.

They must really miss Chris Archer.