What the Jorge Polanco Trade Can Teach Us About the Minnesota Twins’ Upcoming Offseason

[Cody Christie]

Image courtesy of © Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

When the Minnesota Twins traded Jorge Polanco to the Seattle Mariners before the 2024 season, it felt like more than a typical baseball move. It was a signal about the organization’s financial direction and how the front office would be forced to operate in the coming years. Now, as the team enters another uncertain offseason, that trade may once again serve as a blueprint for what is to come.

The Ownership Caused Payroll Problem
Heading into the 2026 season, the Twins find themselves in a familiar financial position. The organization has just under $100 million tied to next year’s roster if all arbitration-eligible players are brought back. That number alone might seem unreasonable for a team with postseason aspirations, and it provides a challenge in what it represents. There is speculation that ownership may aim to keep payroll lower than last season’s $120-140 million after a disappointing 2025 season saw revenues and attendance both drop sharply.

The connection between attendance and spending is hard to ignore. Fans were slow to return to Target Field after the team flopped at the end of 2024, leading to the lowest attended season in Target Field history. For many, the enthusiasm and optimism that followed the 2023 Wild Card Series win over Toronto have faded. That playoff run was supposed to be the start of something bigger, and the $160 million payroll that year reflected a commitment to winning. But the Pohlads chose to “right-size” spending the following winter, trimming roughly $30 million from the budget.

That shift in philosophy continues to define how the Twins operate. Rather than expanding payroll to maintain a competitive roster, the front office has had to find ways to retool within financial limits. This makes every dollar and every trade critical to sustaining competitiveness.

Revisiting the Jorge Polanco Trade
The decision to trade Jorge Polanco was both financially and strategically motivated. Polanco was set to make $10.5 million in 2024 with a club option for 2025, making him one of the Twins’ more expensive players. When the team sent him to Seattle, it not only saved about $6 million in salary but also reshaped the roster in several subtle ways.

In return, the Twins received right-handed reliever Justin Topa, veteran starter Anthony DeSclafani, and prospects Gabriel Gonzalez and Darren Bowen. DeSclafani’s injury-shortened season limited his impact, but Topa provided a solid bullpen performance in 2025. The real long-term value from the deal came from Gonzalez, a young outfielder who quickly emerged as one of the organization’s most exciting prospects. He finished 2025 as one of the top hitters in the entire system and could debut in Minnesota as early as 2026.

While the trade did not immediately transform the major league roster, it reflected a pattern the Twins may follow again: saving short-term payroll while acquiring controllable talent and upside for the future. The move allowed the front office to bring in Carlos Santana as a stopgap at first base, but it also highlighted the team's limitations when it cannot spend freely to fill gaps.

What It Means for the 2026 Offseason
The lessons from the Polanco trade may be more relevant than ever as the Twins prepare for another critical winter. The front office will need to find creative solutions to improve the roster without increasing payroll. The most significant needs are clear: a consistent first baseman, more power from the designated hitter spot, and reinforcements for a bullpen that saw five players depart at last year’s trade deadline.

With ownership likely lowering payroll, trades may once again become the primary tool for roster improvement. Players like Ryan Jeffers, Joe Ryan, and Pablo Lopez could become candidates to be moved in exchange for lower-cost options with upside. The front office has shown it can find value in unexpected places, but it will need to do so again if the team hopes to stay competitive in the American League Central.

The Polanco trade showed that the Twins can find future assets even while cutting costs, but it also came at a price. The excitement that followed 2023 has faded, and fan patience is wearing thin. If the front office can blend financial restraint with on-field results, they may yet steer the team back toward contention. But if the upcoming offseason feels like another exercise in cost-cutting, the echoes of that Polanco trade will only grow louder in Twins Territory.

Will the Twins follow the Polanco trade route this winter? Leave a comment and start the discussion. 

 

 

 

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[farmerguychris]

I believe this is quite likely the route they would love to duplicate this off season.  While I wouldn't expect anyone coming back who is making more than the minimum salary - other than that, I expect they (Front Office) would consider this a huge trade win.

[Sjoski]

Isn't Seattle considering it a huge trade win? Guess it comes down to what you consider a win? 

Winning ball games = Seattle's POV

Saving $$$ = Twins POV

[Nshore]

What it teaches us is that the Twins will always be the among the second tier teams that trade away the professional hitters like Polanco, while the fans perpetually wait in excited anticipation for the (giggle, snort, chortle) superstars of tomorrow like Gonzalez.

[RpR]

26 minutes ago, Nshore said:

What it teaches us is that the Twins will always be the among the second tier teams that trade away the professional hitters like Polanco, while the fans perpetually wait in excited anticipation for the (giggle, snort, chortle) superstars of tomorrow like Gonzalez.

AT least many TD gents anticipate their boys in AAA to be so FAR, FAR better than the veteran pros, they are poor replacements for. 🤩

Some times it seems some do not care how the Twins do , all they want is their rookie boys to play , regardless of how far below what they are bragged to be, they actually are.

All they need it more time to learn, improve, be given a chance. -- The Chambers Bros. spoke the truth about their time:

Now the time has come 
There's no place to run 
I might get burned up by the sun 
But I had my fun 
I've been loved and put aside 
I've been crushed by a tumbling tide 
And my soul has been psychedelicized (Time)

[Trov]

Part the issue though this time around, unlike when they flipped Polanco, they do not have clear prospects ready to jump in and fill the rolls he vacated. Going back to end of 2023 what did we have, well we had Lewis ready to take over the face of the team as Mr. Grand Slam himself ready to be third base for several years.  CC was there long term.  Polanco was not going to move to 1st.  So that left second base, but who was expect to take off an run with that?  Julien was fresh off his rookie year where the oppo taco king was ready to be the 2nd baseman for years, if he was not going to move to 1st.  But we had in the wings top prospect Lee, Martin still showed some promise.  

Point was, he was not going to leave some huge void if he was traded.  He cost was too high for his output he was doing as well. So the trade made a ton of sense. However, if we sell Jeffers without any plan at catcher or Lopez and or Ryan without a clear top of rotation guy(s) ready to go we will run into huge holes. 

I am not saying FO will not be forced to make moves and get creative and hope that some young unproven guy can take the lead and at least be replacement level, but who would be catcher right now, no one, we would need to make follow up trades, or signing FA catcher.  The FA right now are J.T. Realmuto, he will make too much money for us to seek most likely signing a 2 to 3 year deal somewhere.  Everyone else is average catcher. Not that Jeffers has been super.  

In terms of trading your top pitchers, you can, and sometimes should, if you feel you have sufficient replacements and can reload your system with a move.  It paid off plenty over the years with Cleveland trading away guys at or near prime for prospects.  Most of the time the guy did not pitch anywhere near what they did with Cleveland. 

I do not feel we have the depth in starting pitching to replace either, if you are trying to compete, let alone both. 

[LA Vikes Fan]

While I wouldn't discount this kind of a trade of someone like Ober or even Jeffers or Lewis, let's not get too snide in our comments on the Polanco trade. When Polanco was traded, he was a broken down 29 year old making $10.5M, He physically could not even play 2B any more, much less a taxing position. He had very little value despite our fond memories of him when he could actually move. He then went to Seattle and became a DH with a .651 OPS in 2024. Posters here would have wanted him run out of town and Seattle only kept him because they couldn't get anyone else. He did rebound this year at age 31 and hit well for Seattle while still not being able to run or field a lick (89 games as DH, 38 at 2B, 5 at SS, 1 at 1B), -3 OAA, 37th percentile sprint speed. In return we got a competent/average reliever in Topa and the best hitting prospect in the Twins organization in Gabriel Gonzalez. GG is 21 and hit .329/.395/.513(.909) over 3 MiLB levels in 2025, including .316/.358/.504(.862) in 150 AAA PAs. He's likely our RF/DH by mid-season 2026 and out performed Emma AND Walker Jenkins at both AAA AND AAA last year. I know folks don't like to let the facts get in the way of a good "the FA is incompetent" rant but this isn't the hill to die on for that. It actually looks like a win/win trade so far if Gonzalez is even an average MLB player. Looks like he could be more. I love me some Jorge Polanco and I hope he is the World Series MVP but this was a smart trade. 

I could get behind a trade of a guy like Ober for a decent reliever and a high upside AA ball SS, or a solid AAA 1B prospect blocked in an organization. Ober might not be worth that much, but it's exactly the kind of trade we should be thinking about. I think the Polanco trade as a blueprint - fading MLB player for a reliever and high upside MiLB guy a year or two away - makes a whole bunch of sense for dealing with a replaceable guys like Ober. 

[Major League Ready]

49 minutes ago, Trov said:

I do not feel we have the depth in starting pitching to replace either, if you are trying to compete, let alone both. 

I would suggest the word is contend because you could say a 72-win team can compete but personally, I find no difference between 72 vs 75 wins or 78 wins.    In order to contend, this teams needs at least 4 BP arms.  We need significant improvements at 1B/SS and to a slightly lesser degree 3B, and one of the corner OF spots, and BU catcher.   Is it realistic to believe that can be done even if the spend an additional $50M?  That's about 6 wins.  Is this team 6 wins away from contending.  My guess is much closer to 16 to get a playoff spot and more than that to be a legit contender for a playoff run.

They have two distinct paths they can go down, they can replace these weaknesses through free agency and trade or they can replace them with prospects.  IT makes zero sense to replace these players and then later in the season replace the replacements with prospects.  They would get a little better very fast but slow down the process of actually building a contender, IMO. 

[Mike Sixel]

1 hour ago, Sjoski said:

Isn't Seattle considering it a huge trade win? Guess it comes down to what you consider a win? 

Winning ball games = Seattle's POV

Saving $$$ = Twins POV

Polanco was bad last year, and they didn't win many games. He was a FA, and got less money this year than last......Anyone could have signed him for what he made the previous year, and no one did. Gonzalez tore up the minors this year, and is what, 22? This trade wasn't about the short term at all. I fail to see how we can say MN got nothing but money at this point?

[JADBP]

1 hour ago, RpR said:

AT least many TD gents anticipate their boys in AAA to be so FAR, FAR better than the veteran pros, they are poor replacements for. 🤩

Some times it seems some do not care how the Twins do , all they want is their rookie boys to play , regardless of how far below what they are bragged to be, they actually are.

All they need it more time to learn, improve, be given a chance. -- The Chambers Bros. spoke the truth about their time:

Now the time has come 
There's no place to run 
I might get burned up by the sun 
But I had my fun 
I've been loved and put aside 
I've been crushed by a tumbling tide 
And my soul has been psychedelicized (Time)

Love that song!!!!

[Nshore]

7 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Polanco was bad last year, and they didn't win many games. He was a FA, and got less money this year than last......Anyone could have signed him for what he made the previous year, and no one did. Gonzalez tore up the minors this year, and is what, 22? This trade wasn't about the short term at all. I fail to see how we can say MN got nothing but money at this point?

Gabriel is only 22 years old and already looks like he needs to mix in a salad more often.

[tony&rodney]

1 hour ago, RpR said:

AT least many TD gents anticipate their boys in AAA to be so FAR, FAR better than the veteran pros, they are poor replacements for. 🤩

Some times it seems some do not care how the Twins do , all they want is their rookie boys to play , regardless of how far below what they are bragged to be, they actually are.

All they need it more time to learn, improve, be given a chance. -- The Chambers Bros. spoke the truth about their time:

Now the time has come 
There's no place to run 
I might get burned up by the sun 
But I had my fun 
I've been loved and put aside 
I've been crushed by a tumbling tide 
And my soul has been psychedelicized (Time)

The experienced player often has knowledge to give them an edge on younger players. Veterans are important in any job. This is a truism.

You might feel better about young, inexperienced players/rookies if you reminded yourself that guys like Tony Oliva and Rod Carew were once rookies as were Mike Trout and Albert Pujols. Lest you think those days are gone, you might consider that Nick Kurtz was a rookie this year and Paul Skenes last year. The Guardians are a very young team. The Brewers rode a couple of guys who came up in the middle of the year. Don't close your mind to rookies or young players.

[mluebker]

This kind of trade is the Twins’ bread and butter. As soon as a guy’s performance means they’ll have to pay him a decent salary, it’s time to put him on the market for a package of iffy prospects. Fans are stuck with rooting for the former Twins guy to fail with his new team so we can say we got the best of the deal. 

[chpettit19]

22 minutes ago, mluebker said:

This kind of trade is the Twins’ bread and butter. As soon as a guy’s performance means they’ll have to pay him a decent salary, it’s time to put him on the market for a package of iffy prospects. Fans are stuck with rooting for the former Twins guy to fail with his new team so we can say we got the best of the deal. 

They had already extended Polanco. He played here longer than his original team control. There are plenty of times that the Twins trade guys because they don't want to extend them, but Jorge Polanco isn't one of them. He got traded because they thought they'd have 160 mil to spend and the owners changed their mind and cut that by 20 to 30 mil (depending on your payroll source). Jorge Polanco is absolutely not an example of "a guy's performance means they'll have to pay him a decent salary" so they traded him.

[rv78]

2 hours ago, RpR said:

AT least many TD gents anticipate their boys in AAA to be so FAR, FAR better than the veteran pros, they are poor replacements for. 🤩

Some times it seems some do not care how the Twins do , all they want is their rookie boys to play , regardless of how far below what they are bragged to be, they actually are.

All they need it more time to learn, improve, be given a chance. -- The Chambers Bros. spoke the truth about their time:

Now the time has come 
There's no place to run 
I might get burned up by the sun 
But I had my fun 
I've been loved and put aside 
I've been crushed by a tumbling tide 
And my soul has been psychedelicized (Time)

You can have your Joey Gallo or Manuel Margot.

I'd rather try a full season of Larnach or Wallner over them any day.

Next year you can have your Roden and Outman.

I'll try a full season of Martin or Jenkins over them any day.

 

[tony&rodney]

I'm not sure we are all ever going to agree on the Polanco trade. Seattle had openly asked for options to acquire Polanco on numerous occasions. The Twins were enamored by Julien and Lewis. Minnesota also wanted to add an experienced pitcher. They really didn't save any money. I'm not sure anything was learned.

Gabriel Gonzalez was highly thought of because of his bat to ball skills. Seattle didn't much care if he was moved because he was unplayable in the field. I was very curious about GG and watched quite a few of his games. I was perplexed because I had never seen a worse fielder in professional baseball. Last offseason we were informed that Gonzalez played hurt most of 2024. So I put him down as a kid to watch.

I'm not sure one can adequately state what an enormous leap Gonzalez took in 2025. Yes, his bat was wonderful and he even displayed some decent home run cuts. The leap was on defense. I'm certain I have never seen such a massive improvement. Gabby is still below average but he is playable and one must wonder if he can get to average or plus with more hard work with the glove. I must seen him (via milb.com) play at least 25-50 times this year and I was very impressed by his improvement. I think he is a year away but the Twins have a good guy in Gabriel Gonzalez. The improvements made by Gabby and his development might have been more unexpected than Jorge Polanco's 2025 season. People had some reason to believe that a severely hobbled player might heal up and return to some semblance of his former skill set. Seattle did. Nothing wrong with both teams finding success with these two players.

[USAFChief]

The Polanco trade was, and remains, one of the worst in team history.

Instantly made the team weaker, with zero short term and only minor, if any, long term help. DeSclafani. LOL. 

Just a horrible idea.

 

 

[Sjoski]

43 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Polanco was bad last year, and they didn't win many games. He was a FA, and got less money this year than last......Anyone could have signed him for what he made the previous year, and no one did. Gonzalez tore up the minors this year, and is what, 22? This trade wasn't about the short term at all. I fail to see how we can say MN got nothing but money at this point?

Bottom line: Seattle’s thrilled to have Polanco in the fold — doesn’t matter how he got there.

The Twins? Still hoping at least one prospect pans out. Production in the minors is just noise until it translates to the next level. What — maybe 10–15% of minor leaguers ever become everyday MLB players?

Jury still out on this trade. Right now, it's heavily in favor of a Seattle win.

[Mike Sixel]

11 minutes ago, Sjoski said:

Bottom line: Seattle’s thrilled to have Polanco in the fold — doesn’t matter how he got there.

The Twins? Still hoping at least one prospect pans out. Production in the minors is just noise until it translates to the next level. What — maybe 10–15% of minor leaguers ever become everyday MLB players?

Jury still out on this trade. Right now, it's heavily in favor of a Seattle win.

How do you expect any team to build a roster other than prospects? I'm truly baffled by the prospect hate on this site. 

[RpR]

56 minutes ago, rv78 said:

You can have your Joey Gallo or Manuel Margot.

I'd rather try a full season of Larnach or Wallner over them any day.

Next year you can have your Roden and Outman.

I'll try a full season of Martin or Jenkins over them any day.

 

Ah, Wallner, Joey Gallo with Julien's glove! 😆

;BUT, what about Keirsey Jr.and McCusker, they were some of your wonder boys.

[Blyleven2011]

👎 Cody once again im sorry , but you continue to drink the pohlads , falvey kool-aid  ...

 

A writer writes , write for the fans not the organization , please stop using the words of falvey and pohlads  , creative ( until they actually can show us they're creative , then write an article if it was creative ) and right sizing  , ( change it to purged the payroll ) ...

all this is is a guessing game on the off season what they will start doing after the world series is over , GM meetings  , winter meetings , Will they actually share anything with us , probably not , look what they did at the deadline , they purged the payroll , we expected a modest trade deadline and they slapped us in the face with a total rebuild  ...

There going to purged some more , realize it now so your not surprised and disappointed when it dies happen  ...

I know you love your twins cody and so do I since the 60's , I know I'm being harsh today on your articles but I don't believe a word from this organization and I'm just tired of it being repeated ...

 

 

[tony&rodney]

50 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

How do you expect any team to build a roster other than prospects? I'm truly baffled by the prospect hate on this site. 

I love prospects. Read my comments and you know that. Others are huge prospect fans as well.

Still, as the Seattle announcer just stated after his 3 run HR a few minutes ago, "Playoff Polanco is my favorite Polanco."

His performance this postseason is amazing.

[mikelink45]

I'm sorry that Polanco is busy in the playoffs so he can't tell you that he loves the trade!

[Sjoski]

Just delivered the game winning hit for the 3rd straight game.

[Sjoski]

3 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

I'm truly baffled by the prospect hate on this site. 

Hate? How you extract that is baffling. 

What people on this site hate is:

● wasted trades,

● wasted draft picks,

● wasted millions on the Gallos, Correas and Donaldsons on Falvey’s radar.

 

[mluebker]

3 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

Jorge Polanco is absolutely not an example of "a guy's performance means they'll have to pay him a decent salary" so they traded him.

Of course he is. A salary dump has the same result as, “Oops, he’s due for a raise. Get him on the ejection seat!” Maybe they do him a favor by giving him an extension, but as soon as they do, the countdown clock starts ticking. He’s gone.

[tony&rodney]

What a crazy double play in Milwaukee. The umpires got everything correct. The players, coaches, and manager were all totally confused.

 

[Randy Griffith]

Jorge Polanco to the Minnesota Twins management:  "How do you like me now?"  (He was my favorite Twin when he got traded.  I'm happy for Jorge!)

[palmspringstwinsfan]

The only lesson to be learned from the Polanco trade is that it should not have happened. Falvey is incompetent and TD writers rarely say it. Cleveland sure hasn’t missed him. The reality is that he was a cheap hire based on his potential, not performance. He’s just another Twins prospect who didn’t develop. 

[Doctor Gast]

Polanco was an All-Star SS in '19. But his ankles couldn't take it. Falvey was determined to keep him there in spite of it. When it was very obvious that he could no longer play there, Falvey reluctantly moved him to 2B. One of Falvey's biggest faults is that when he gets something in his head, he hates to change it. Polanco's bat played at SS (that's where Falvey wanted him to stay). He had already had Arraez & Julien penciled in at 2B, How dare Polanco change his plans, even though Arraez & Julien were terrible at 2B (but that's where their bat played). If Polanco couldn't play SS, he was then expendable. So they physically abused him by playing him, obviously injured, over long periods of time. That greatly affected his stats & playing time. The neglect of Polanco & the results from missing time, poor offense & defense performance greatly cost the Twins, But the greatest costs were his intangible abilities & clutch hitting.

I don't get the Falvey's praise for trading Polanco? They chewed him up then spit him out. A MVP potential player, where is the praise-worthiness in that? For what? A terrible salary dump (Desclvani) who I knew wasn't going to amount to anything (good thing he couldn't pitch because Falvey would have him out there no matter how bad he was), a RP who contributed nothing in '24, a hyped up prospect & another bad salary dump (Margot). Falvey was free to put his Julien at 2B, which was a terrible liability that Correa & Santana couldn't make up for. 

Topa was a solid low/mid leverage RP in '25 but who would you rather have, Polanco or Topa in '25? Many hype-up Gonzalez. Gonzalez is another example of Falvey's warped evaluation, where defense has no bearing. Gonzalez's bat plays at LF, but he is a great liability there. You could possibly hide him at RF, but he doesn't hit enough HRs to profile there. Gonzales is a free swinger who plays well in the MiLB, but I don't see him play well on the MLB level. Will Gonzalez make it to the MLB? Falvey will give him every opportunity to show something, no matter how hopeless he is. Will Gonzalez ever replace the MVP potential player he was traded for? Never, not even close. I'm happy for Polanco that he no longer has to suffer under the Falvey regime. Where he can smell the sweet aroma of success, instead of the stench of incompetence.

The sell-off of proven talent for redundant, AAA, undeveloped & unproven players that did nothing to fill pre-trade needs. All this said to say we cannot trust Falvey to trade away any more of our proven players no matter how hopeless it is to win with Falvey.