How Are Ex-Minnesota Twins Traded in Team's Trade Deadline Fire Sale Doing With Their New Teams?

[Eric Blonigen]

Image courtesy of © Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

On Friday night, Jhoan Duran was doing normal Jhoan Duran stuff, when he took a screaming comebacker off his foot near the ankle. He was unable to put any weight on the foot in the immediate aftermath of that, and needed to be carted off the field. From a baseball standpoint, this was a brutal moment, as the Phillies' (new) best reliever seemed destined to hit the shelf for at least a while—and maybe the season. From a human standpoint, this was also a tough break, as Duran was very durable during his time in a Twins uniform and is having (arguably) his best big-league season.

Luckily for him (and Phillies and Twins fans), X-rays came back negative. He should be back in action sooner, rather than later. It’s good news, too, because he has been on fire since the trade. That prompts the question: how have the rest of the players sent away at the deadline been faring with their new clubs? Who has been hot? Has anyone been a train wreck? Let's check in on all 11 players moved at the deadline.

Jhoan Duran
It’s only fair to start with him; don’t want to bury the lede. The Twins sent him to Philly set up for success, complete with his usual entrance music and video. He has quickly shown fans how filthy he is. Since becoming a member of the Phillies, he’s come into five games. In four innings, he has four saves, has not allowed a run, hasn’t walked anyone, and has allowed just two hits. I don’t know about you, but I miss having him anchoring the bullpen. At least there's this:

Griffin Jax
Much like Duran has been doing Duran stuff, Griffin Jax has also been doing Griffin Jax stuff. That is to say: his underlying metrics look good, but man, the results haven’t been pretty. With the Rays, he has come into seven games. In 5 2/3 innings, he has struck out seven, walked two, and has given up just four hits. Despite that, he has given up four runs, taken a loss, and is sitting on a 6.35 ERA with a very mediocre 3.99 FIP. As nasty as he is, and as good as his stuff is, he may just be one of those players whose results are always worse than expected.

Brock Stewart
Like the guys before him, Beef Stew has been doing the expected with the Dodgers. In his case, that means getting injured. He’s pitched four times, to a 4.91 ERA and a marginally better 3.93 FIP. He has allowed way too many baserunners (including six hits and two walks) across 3 2/3 innings. He hit the shelf with a shoulder injury within a week. You gotta feel for a guy that has had as many injury concerns as he has.

Louis Varland
Varland has been nails since being traded to the Blue Jays. He has continued his trend of pitching basically every other day, and has struck out fully a third of the hitters he has faced. With a WHIP of 1.00, he has shown himself capable of taking on closer duties, and that just may happen before the year is over.

Danny Coulombe
Remember just how good Coulombe was for so long with the Twins? Remember when he didn’t allow a run until June? Remember when he was the ultimate fireman, often coming into jams and then wriggling out of them without damage? Well, I have a sneaking suspicion that the Rangers were hoping for that guy when they traded Garrett Horn to the Twins. Instead, since donning a Rangers uniform, Coulombe has given up four runs in 5 2/3 innings, and, well, this sort of speaks for itself:

Chris Paddack
Conversely, remember that stretch Paddack had in May, where his results were great, despite shaky underlying metrics? You know, when he wasn’t striking anyone out and sort of danced through raindrops? Well, good news. That’s the version the Tigers got. He’s striking even fewer people out for them than for the Twins, yet has pitched to a 3.45 ERA (4.64 FIP). It’s fair to assume he will come back down to Earth and look every bit the fifth starter his current talent level suggests he should pitch like. Meanwhile, Enrique Jimenez, the catcher the Tigers sent the Twins in return for Paddack, has done this:

Randy Dobnak
The Dobber is languishing in Toledo, playing for the Tigers’ Triple-A affiliate. Okay results, tons of strikeouts, but allowing tons of hits. All the best to him. It’s fair to wonder what may have been if not for the finger injuries on his throwing hand. Hopefully, he will get one more chance to carve out a major-league career for himself.

Carlos Correa
You… might want to sit down for this one. The Twins signed Correa to play like a superstar for them. In 2024, he did, for the half-season he played. Aside from that, he was just sort of average. To be sure, his time back with the Astros is the very definition of a small sample—just 12 games. But you know what he’s done so far? Played like a superstar. He’s got a .914 OPS and is hitting .340, good for a 158 wRC+. That’s right, he’s been 58% better than an average player. He’s doing it lower down the defensive spectrum, but it’s possible spending his time at the hot corner may have been what he needed. It may be fun to keep track of how he’s doing the rest of the way. Oh, and Astros fans are very excited to have him back.

Harrison Bader
As a Twins player, Bader hit way better than anyone expected, given his history as a mostly mediocre bat. The Twins signed him for his fielding, and I’m sure they were pleasantly surprised by what they got. The Phillies, on the other hand, got the Harrison Bader from the past several seasons. You know, the one that fields great but doesn’t hit his weight. Across 35 plate appearances, he’s put up a .586 OPS (31% worse than average). He has continued to be a cool vibes guy, as we all would expect.

Willi Castro
Read what I wrote about Bader, now subtract about .300 points of OPS. He hasn’t walked once, and has one extra-base hit in nine games. He will probably turn it around soon… unless, maybe, just maybe, Willi Castro was destined to only be good as a member of the Twins. He has continued to play all over the field, and I’m sure he's been plenty fun to watch.

Ty France
France, somewhat surprisingly, has hit like a first baseman since joining the Blue Jays. With an .872 OPS, he has hit for average, walked a bit, and hit for power. He’s been 49% better than average by wRC+

So there you have it. All 11 players the Twins moved. Bader, Castro, Jax, Coulombe, and Stewart have played worse in a small sample than they did for the Twins. Dobnak, Paddack, Varland, and Duran have performed about the same, and Correa and France have played much better. What do you think? Any surprises?

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[Trov]

These are all very SSS and the players that are not rentals will be measured what they do next year or years to come.  For the most part only a few of the players we got in return are expected to help us out, most are just depth guys at best.

[AceWrigley]

Kind of surprised France is even getting any playing time.

[FlyingFinn]

The Varland trade is what got fans truly irate. He's pitching great and Roden did terrible and is done for the season. This doesn't help Falvey.

[ziggy]

Nice wrap up but we need to move on and quit looking in the rear view mirror. I will miss Duran and Varland the most

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[jorgenswest]

I appreciate your effort in putting this together. Particularly for the players that came up with the Twins or found their first success with the Twins I continue to care that they do well. I read you recap with interest.

[nmcowboy]

45 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

The Varland trade is what got fans truly irate. He's pitching great and Roden did terrible and is done for the season. This doesn't help Falvey.

Of all the trades, Varland seemed to make no sense at all. Why?  Why?  Why trade him? 

[Aggies7]

Duran is already beloved in Philly. For now anyway. And some here didn’t think he was that good because he lost a mph on his fastball 

[bunsen82]

23 hours ago, Trov said:

These are all very SSS and the players that are not rentals will be measured what they do next year or years to come.  For the most part only a few of the players we got in return are expected to help us out, most are just depth guys at best.

Abel and Bradley are not depth pieces. They are #2-#5 starting pitchers. Horn and Gallagher and Rojas all have looked solid. The flyer in DSL Villoria looks like he has a chance to be very good.  Both the Catcher prospects are raking. I would like to see a the BA go up abbot with Tait but both are holding their own at A and A+ ball. The catching depth is immensely better. One or both will likely make the big leagues. Mendez has a near .900 OPS at AA.  The prospects as whole have done very well so far. Bradley had 1 clunker and Roden on the injured list, and Outman had a rough start - but otherwise the trades have added quite a few solid prospects. 

 

[LastOnePicked]

33 minutes ago, nmcowboy said:

Of all the trades, Varland seemed to make no sense at all. Why?  Why?  Why trade him? 

Because they know they're not competitive now and that they have no intention of being competitive in the future. Sell anyone you can. It's a sad, simple explanation.

[Brock O. Lee]

I know the sample size is small, so it's too soon for in depth analysis of the change, but if Correa stays hot in Houston, I wonder why that would be, and what that says about the Twins organizationally (Borgschulte, third base, vibes...)?

[bunsen82]

18 minutes ago, Brock O. Lee said:

I know the sample size is small, so it's too soon for in depth analysis of the change, but if Correa stays hot in Houston, I wonder why that would be, and what that says about the Twins organizationally (Borgschulte, third base, vibes...)?

He moved to 3rd. I’ve always said he does better as a complementary piece. If he does well in Houston it likely says more about Correa than the Twins. In either case it worked out ok not great and he is in a better situation. The Twins have a clean set of books. 

[bunsen82]

I think Paddacks ERA went up a bit 🤣

[TL]

Roden always seemed like a replacement level player, maybe slightly above. Think Larnach but for < $1mm instead of $5mm next year. Rojas is the one that needs to be a mid rotation guy and this trade will be a win for the Twins even though on a personal level I’d rather they hadn’t made it. 

[Thumbs Down Guy]

38 minutes ago, bunsen82 said:

He moved to 3rd. I’ve always said he does better as a complementary piece. If he does well in Houston it likely says more about Correa than the Twins. In either case it worked out ok not great and he is in a better situation. The Twins have a clean set of books. 

I am going to need a lot of convincing that moving a player from SS to 3B can increase batting production that much, if any at all. I do agree with your statement that this says more about Correa, or more specifically, a lot better lineup around him where he is just another good bat in the lineup.

[RpR]

5 hours ago, AceWrigley said:

Kind of surprised France is even getting any playing time.

For the Twins France was a very good fielder with a good bat, no surprise.

[Vanimal46]

4 hours ago, Aggies7 said:

Duran is already beloved in Philly. For now anyway. And some here didn’t think he was that good because he lost a mph on his fastball 

And don’t forget the chance he gets injured in the future. Our graphics department team is cooking up an epic “Dirty Deeds Tonkin Cheap” entrance as we speak 

[Brandon27]

The fire sale will  restart once again  the offseason starts 

[1985Fan]

4 hours ago, Brock O. Lee said:

I know the sample size is small, so it's too soon for in depth analysis of the change, but if Correa stays hot in Houston, I wonder why that would be, and what that says about the Twins organizationally (Borgschulte, third base, vibes...)?

I think it has to do with Twins counting on Correa as a main piece versus Astros need only complimentary production from him. He couldn’t handle the pressure of being the main guy in Minnesota. That’s it, nothing more. I’m sure moving to 3rd helps his legs, but I think it’s all about his self esteem. He views himself as an elite player and losing range at SS hurts his ego. Not being able to carry the offensive load and declining defense was too much to handle. Now he doesn’t have the burden to carry and he is mentally free and his play follows. 

[old nurse]

6 hours ago, nmcowboy said:

Of all the trades, Varland seemed to make no sense at all. Why?  Why?  Why trade him? 

The are a couple of possible answers The Twins scouting staff believe that Rojas will be a decent starter. Rolen was the return for France. The second part could be Varland is having a career year and next year there will be a drop off, so sell high. 

[TNtwins85]

6 hours ago, bunsen82 said:

Abel and Bradley are not depth pieces. They are #2-#5 starting pitchers. Horn and Gallagher and Rojas all have looked solid. The flyer in DSL Villoria looks like he has a chance to be very good.  Both the Cather prospects are raking. I would like to see a the BA go up abbot with Tait but both are holding their own at A and A+ ball. The catching depth is immensely better. One or both will likely make the big leagues. Mendez has a near .900 OPS at AA.  The prospects as whole have done very well so far. Bradley had 1 clunker and Roden on the injured list, and Outman had a rough start - but otherwise the trades have added quite a few solid prospects. 

 

I would agree! Thank you for the rational comment amongst the rabid, the world is ending comments. Other than the Stewart trade I think they brought in quite a bit of talent that was needed for this team. When the players aren’t getting it done it’s time to reload. As long as they don’t trade any of the 3 headed pitching monster or Jeffers they’ll be ok. If they trade any of those guys then they’re rebuilding. If that’s the case there’s reinforcements next year and the year after. Not the end of the world and what were the Twins to do.

[old nurse]

5 hours ago, Brock O. Lee said:

I know the sample size is small, so it's too soon for in depth analysis of the change, but if Correa stays hot in Houston, I wonder why that would be, and what that says about the Twins organizationally (Borgschulte, third base, vibes...)?

Last 5 games he has been ice cold. OPS .476. 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

6 hours ago, bunsen82 said:

. The Twins have a clean set of books. 

Not quite. $33,000,000 of C-4's salary is still due to the Astros for taking Correa from the Twins.

[jkcarew]

Comments on Correa are hilarious. He was the best player by a mile in the’23 playoffs. The playoffs that included the only Twins win in about a quarter century. In ‘24 he was brilliant until he went down. This year, he’s almost back to 100 OPS+, (and rising). He’s not suddenly done being good.

The worse trade in terms of actually putting a winning team on the field now, or in the future…was getting nothing but dollars for Correa. Unless you think the org is going to use that saved money to better the team. You don’t ACTUALLY think that, do you?

[bunsen82]

19 minutes ago, jkcarew said:

Comments on Correa are hilarious. He was the best player by a mile in the’23 playoffs. The playoffs that included the only Twins win in about a quarter century. In ‘24 he was brilliant until he went down. This year, he’s almost back to 100 OPS+, (and rising). He’s not suddenly done being good.

The worse trade in terms of actually putting a winning team on the field now, or in the future…was getting nothing but dollars for Correa. Unless you think the org is going to use that saved money to better the team. You don’t ACTUALLY think that, do you?

I think we are better off moving forward with Culpepper as our SS.  Correa has shown 2 years of declining performance. 1 good week doesn’t make him elite again. To me the body is slowing down. Some dollars will be used. 

[stringer bell]

33 minutes ago, jkcarew said:

Comments on Correa are hilarious. He was the best player by a mile in the’23 playoffs. The playoffs that included the only Twins win in about a quarter century. In ‘24 he was brilliant until he went down. This year, he’s almost back to 100 OPS+, (and rising). He’s not suddenly done being good.

The worse trade in terms of actually putting a winning team on the field now, or in the future…was getting nothing but dollars for Correa. Unless you think the org is going to use that saved money to better the team. You don’t ACTUALLY think that, do you?

Noticeable decline in CC’s defense. Good accurate arm, but his range has diminished and he made more misplays this year. I suppose he can be a good third baseman and that has value.

100 OPS+ isn’t good enough for a >$30M salary and. his “clutchness” was absent all of this year and most of his tenure with the Twins.

Correa has already had a fine career. He’s done everything he can to perform, but IMHO he’s aged rapidly and would have been a burden with his big contract in future years. 

[djm24]

Although it may seem immaterial to most of you, Dobnak is doing better at Toledo. And although it's just considered "small sample size" (3 starts), he has pitched 12 2/3 innings, giving up 4 runs, 13 hits, 5 BB, 16 K. His ERA is still high but has lowered from 7.31 to 6.38. 

 

 

 

 

[Otaknam]

Thanks for the update on the traded pieces. The team prior to the trades was not going anywhere with the injuries to Ober and Lopez, and the underperforming players like Correa, Wallner, Larnach, and Lewis. All of the trades were justifiable given the contract situation, except Varland and Jax. They are betting that two of the group of Abel, Bradley and Rojas will be mid rotation or better, so the starting pitching depth is clearly better. It’s much harder to find solid starters than relievers, so the Varland and Jax trades for SP make some sense. Catching depth is much better, too. Tait has a chance to be an impact player, though at least two years or more away. Ryan Gallagher, acquired in the Castro trade, is having an excellent year in A+ and AA, with a 1.08 WHIP over 100+ innings, a positive sign. So he’s a guy to keep an eye on as a mid rotation starter. 

[Trov]

19 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

The Varland trade is what got fans truly irate. He's pitching great and Roden did terrible and is done for the season. This doesn't help Falvey.

Pretty sure the trade was more about Rojas not Roden.  The article seems to imply that it was Varland for Roden, but it was more like Varland for Rojas and Roden for France. 

[USAFChief]

11 hours ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Not quite. $33,000,000 of C-4's salary is still due to the Astros for taking Correa from the Twins.

Not quite sure how 2 people somehow found a way to downvote this.