Deep Breath, an honest conversation now that the dust has settled. Did we get anything good back?

[Louie]

On 8/1/2025 at 1:15 PM, Obsvr said:

This might be an unpopular opinion but i'm fine with all of it.  I'm guessing that regarding Varland, who they know way better than we do, that there was some kind of issue.  With Jax...he's in his 30's and thats when guys start breaking down.  I think they know that with new ownership coming in that they have a strong minor league system and this creates even more depth. 

I HIGHLY doubt a new ownership group is going to come in and be cheap...at least not initially.  New owners are more likely to come in and spend a bunch of money to bring in high end talent...which when combined with whats coming from the farm (particularly pitching) and you have a recipe for sustained success.

I'm not that worried about all this.  It might sting the rest of this year and next year, but I'm happy to see what should be a quick rebuild. 

Hope they don't win a game the rest of the year and hit it in the draft lotto.

So if new ownership is going to come in and spend big, wouldn't it make sense to keep good players and pay them vs getting some prospects that hit 250 in the minors?  Batting 250 in the minors translates to the majors as swinging for the seats, striking out a bunch, and once in a while getting on base.  I'm 57 and quite certain I will never see the Twins in the playoffs again, absolute joke. 

[Mike Sixel]

All the prospects 

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/ranking-the-mlb-prospects-traded-at-the-2025-deadline/

 

[Doctor Wu]

The only trade that truly annoyed me was the Varland trade (okay, I suppose France was part of that package too, but still). I would have also preferred to have kept Jax to fortify the bullpen, but I really like the fact that we got Taj Bradley from the Rays. I think he will end up being a very good starter if he develops more consistently. He's shown flashes of excellence the past two seasons, so don't sleep on his potential. As for the rest of the players/prospects that we received there seem to be a handful of interesting players that could end up being helpful to us, but most of these acquisitions don't seem exciting at all. All that said, I don't think we gutted our team too badly. Other than the dearth of good arms in the bullpen, I think we will still end up being competitive next season. 

[Chembry]

Since the deadline, it has come out that:

1. Jax requested the trade

2. Twins asked for Christian Walker in return for Correa, but Houston said no.

 

A few thoughts.  I am actually ok trading Jax.  I am in the minority, but I do think Taj Bradley has a bigger upside if he can become more consistent with his mechanics.  I do think the Twins take some of this starting pitcher depth (Raya, Zebby, Festa, Bradley, Morris) and move a few of them into high leverage reliever/closer roles.  There are several examples of this transition (Duran, Jax, Varland, Perkins, Mason Miller, etc...).  Personally I really like the thought of moving Zebby into the closer role.  He has the fire you want as a closer, great secondary pitches, and could really air it out.  Whether it happens or not is a different story,

If the Astros would have agreed to Christian Walker, my guess is that both Varland and Jax would still be here. Nevertheless, here we are.  I don't think our everyday lineup is any worse.  In fact, when Buxton and Keaschall come back, I think our lineup will  be better than before the deadline.  Obviously the question is still the bullpen.  In my opinion, we should save our best bull pen arm to close out games, right now that is Sands.  Maybe the bullpen transition of Raya should start now?  He doesn't have great overall numbers as a starter in AAA, but has several good starts in a row and does have very good stuff.      

[The Great Hambino]

I understand the big picture approach, but several aspects of this bother me.  One of those is the position-player portion of the returns on these trades. 

100% of the position players brought back are either a teenaged C or a LH hitting outfielder.  The catching part makes sense given their refusal to spend meaningful draft capital at the position and the absolute dearth of meaningful catching prospects throughout the organization.

But how many unproven and/or lower-ceiling LH hitting outfielders can an organization have?  Before the trades, they already had former prospects not reaching their former ceilings (Larnach, Wallner) or never really possessing a meaningful ceiling in the first place (Keirsey) at the big league club with multiple years of control.  Their top two current prospects (Jenkins, ERod) are LH hitting outfielders.  And then they go and add three more (Roden, Outman, Mendez) at the deadline.  I believe all but Jenkins either are already on the 40 man or need to be added this winter.  That's a lot of LH hitting outfielders

They keep telling us that this is all necessary to be in a position to contend in the short-term.  The lineup needs some immediate upgrades for short-term contention to even be possible.  Unless they plan on expoiting some extreme market inefficiency on LH outfielders this winter, I don't see how anything they've done accomplishes that goal.

I realize that the whole point of this rebuild is a more long-term contention window, regardless of the corporate slop Falvey's been peddling.  I guess I just wish they'd quit peeing on my leg and telling me it's raining

[Mike Sixel]

9 minutes ago, The Great Hambino said:

I understand the big picture approach, but several aspects of this bother me.  One of those is the position-player portion of the returns on these trades. 

100% of the position players brought back are either a teenaged C or a LH hitting outfielder.  The catching part makes sense given their refusal to spend meaningful draft capital at the position and the absolute dearth of meaningful catching prospects throughout the organization.

But how many unproven and/or lower-ceiling LH hitting outfielders can an organization have?  Before the trades, they already had former prospects not reaching their former ceilings (Larnach, Wallner) or never really possessing a meaningful ceiling in the first place (Keirsey) at the big league club with multiple years of control.  Their top two current prospects (Jenkins, ERod) are LH hitting outfielders.  And then they go and add three more (Roden, Outman, Mendez) at the deadline.  I believe all but Jenkins either are already on the 40 man or need to be added this winter.  That's a lot of LH hitting outfielders

They keep telling us that this is all necessary to be in a position to contend in the short-term.  The lineup needs some immediate upgrades for short-term contention to even be possible.  Unless they plan on expoiting some extreme market inefficiency on LH outfielders this winter, I don't see how anything they've done accomplishes that goal.

I realize that the whole point of this rebuild is a more long-term contention window, regardless of the corporate slop Falvey's been peddling.  I guess I just wish they'd quit peeing on my leg and telling me it's raining

Adding this many LH OF that need to be on the 40 man was definitely confusing. But, Outman will be DFA, so that won't take a spot. I'd consider moving Mendez to 1B right now, given what we've read, and what else this team has in the minors. I'm guessing Larnach is dealt in the off season. 

[LakesPibble]

14 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

All the prospects 

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/ranking-the-mlb-prospects-traded-at-the-2025-deadline/

 

FV	Rank	Player	Pos	Age	To	From	Trade
45	11	Kendry Rojas	SP	22.8	MIN	TOR	Varland
Well-built lefty with riding mid-90s fastball. Control-over-command type with fringe secondary stuff, no. 4/5 starter on track for a 2026 debut.

 

The Twins certainly do not lack for end of rotation starters already.

I'm fine with folks trying to be optimistic, but I don't see any way the team isn't bottom of the division for a few years, barring significant off season trades or FA signings.

[Obsvr]

On 8/3/2025 at 7:24 PM, Louie said:

So if new ownership is going to come in and spend big, wouldn't it make sense to keep good players and pay them vs getting some prospects that hit 250 in the minors?  Batting 250 in the minors translates to the majors as swinging for the seats, striking out a bunch, and once in a while getting on base.  I'm 57 and quite certain I will never see the Twins in the playoffs again, absolute joke. 

If i'm the front office and I know the new ownership is going to spend out of the gate, i'm creating organizational depth.  Relievers break down and are not the most reliable group so trading from that strength is smart.  If you add 2-3 bats and maybe a starter under new ownership, all of a sudden you have a very deep system to plug holes with.  

The Pohlads completely hamstrung the front office this year and I can't blame them for tearing it down before new ownership arrives.  

People hate that they gave up Varland, but I think Roden looks like he's got a chance to be a player and i'd happily trade a reliever for a potential impact bat everyday  every day of the week. 

I think by this time next year people will look back on how they sold this deadline as a slick move. 

Maybe i'll be wrong...I dunno.