Taj Bradley Holds the Key to Converting Front Office Skeptics

[Nick Nelson]

Image courtesy of Jordan Johnson-Imagn Images

I was a major critic of what the Twins did at the trade deadline last year. I didn't have a problem with selling, but selling to the overwhelming extent the front office did felt, to me, overboard and ill advised. A commitment to losing beyond 2025. Minnesota offloaded quite a bit of talent with years of team service remaining, including some of their best players.

But it wasn't even that. A big, bold shakeup amid another extremely disappointing season — that I can deal with. What my disapproval really boiled down to was a lack of trust in the people making these weighty decisions. When you're trading away as many well-liked, proven, controllable players as the Twins did last July, you have to be right more than you're wrong on the returns. Otherwise, you risk setting the franchise back significantly and further torpedoing fan morale.

It felt hard at the time to have confidence in the Twins front office to make the right calls, and for their development apparatus to follow through on the vision. This was the same baseball ops department that built the iteration of the team that they were now dismantling — one that never really experienced much success outside of a single ALWC round victory in the playoffs.

Notably, it was also a department that had consistently struggled to convert talented young players into sustainable MLB contributors, or to turn around wayward careers. This added extra room for skepticism around a strategy focused on acquiring players with clear ability but downward trend needles and clear performance issues. 

When the deadline additions almost uniformly flopped during their first impressions in the final months of 2025, it only fueled the fires of doubt. When Derek Falvey, chief architect of the sweeping shakeup, exited during the offseason, more fuel. 

I'm someone who desperately wants to buy into the direction of the Twins franchise. I want to believe in where they're going, because the alternative is (and has been) quite bleak. But there just haven't been enough success stories in the past couple years to instill a level of faith. Taj Bradley is fast turning into a case study capable of turning the tides.

The trade that sent Griffin Jax to Tampa in exchange for Bradley was among my least favorite at last year's deadline. Sure, the logic was easy enough to see: relievers are generally more volatile and less valuable than starters; Bradley was bringing with him two extra years of team control, plus untapped upside. But Jax was a proven stud, and Bradley, for all his ability and prior accolades as an up-and-coming prospect, was far from that. 

He'd failed to find much MLB success under the vaunted Rays development engine (4.70 ERA in 354 IP) — he was even demoted to Triple-A prior to being acquired — and Bradley looked as bad as ever during a late six-start stint for Minnesota following the trade (6.61 ERA in 31.1 IP).

This year has been a very different story. We're only two weeks in, but Bradley has been one of the league's best pitchers early on, posting a shiny 1.08 ERA with 22 strikeouts and four walks through 16 ⅔ innings. He's gotten better each time out, building upon an impressive spring by flashing improved command of an overpowering arsenal. I don't want to overreact to the small sample, but in his first three starts Bradley is looking like the actualized version of himself, which just never came to fruition in Tampa despite ample opportunity. It's been absolutely invigorating.

 

Jax, meanwhile, is off to a horrible start with the Rays, having allowed five earned runs on seven hits and three walks through four innings. Whereas Bradley ranks fifth in the majors among qualified pitchers in fWAR (0.7), Jax ranks sixth-worst among relievers (-0.3), and second-to-last in WPA (-0.97). I'm definitely not going to overreact to this minuscule sample of five appearances, but it does lend some credence to the volatility of relief pitching while greatly enhancing the present optics of this trade for Minnesota.

 

It’s still far too early to declare anything definitive, and one hot stretch from Bradley doesn’t suddenly validate an entire organizational reset. (He's had these before in short bursts.) But developments like this matter. They offer a tangible glimpse of what the front office envisioned when it made a series of aggressive, uncomfortable decisions last summer. 

If Bradley continues to look like this — not just effective, but transformed — it can become more than an individual success story. It's a proof of concept. If he does it while Jax continues to scuffle, it will quickly start looking like one of the better trades the Twins have made.

There are still plenty of moves from that deadline that need time to play out — Mick Abel, Eduardo Tait, Alan Roden, Kendry Rojas among them — and the ultimate judgment on this front office will depend on the full body of work. But it’s a lot easier to buy into the process when you can point to a clear, early win. For a group that has struggled to earn the benefit of the doubt, Bradley’s emergence can be a meaningful step toward restoring belief that they might actually know what they’re doing.

For a team that is direly lacking faith from its fan base, these kinds of wins are more important than any on the field right now.

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[dxpavelka]

I understand the skepticism of what happened at the deadline.  But, realistically, how many of the guys they moved would have been back this year and would have been part of any future contending version of this team?  Jax?  His current implosion was foreshadowed by his off field implosion just prior to moving him.  Timing appears right on that one.  He had to go.  The only two that are probably regrettable are Duran and Varland.  And the return for them may well prove to make those worthwhile moves.  Yes, I know, nothing is set in stone when it comes to young players.  

You know, there's a lot of talent on this club, Charlie. The veterans are starting to play back to form, and the rookies are developing faster than I thought; there's two or three potential All-Stars in there. I think we're a contender, right now.

[Whitey333]

Yes the results look great so far.  But its funny how the writers will use phrases like "its still early" or "its a small sample size"  when their favorite player is struggling.  But they seldom use those lines to describe a person when they are talking about players doing unexpectedly well.  Yes its too early and its a small sample size for Bradley.  Let's see how it goes.  Very good article Nick!

[Reptevia]

Bradley could win the Cy Young, and all it would prove is a broken lock is right twice a day. 

[IndianaTwin]

33 minutes ago, dxpavelka said:

I understand the skepticism of what happened at the deadline.  But, realistically, how many of the guys they moved would have been back this year and would have been part of any future contending version of this team?  Jax?  His current implosion was foreshadowed by his off field implosion just prior to moving him.  Timing appears right on that one.  He had to go.  The only two that are probably regrettable are Duran and Varland.  And the return for them may well prove to make those worthwhile moves.  Yes, I know, nothing is set in stone when it comes to young players.  

You know, there's a lot of talent on this club, Charlie. The veterans are starting to play back to form, and the rookies are developing faster than I thought; there's two or three potential All-Stars in there. I think we're a contender, right now.

It’s great having a guy in center who can run like Hayes and hit like Mays.

[killertwinfan]

I stopped reading. I will noT give the FO credit for a fire sale strategy to get the best “available” players.  We sold low and the buyers knew it!  We got lucky at best. 

[Linus]

If we are talking Falvey I judge him by his entire body of work, not just one trade. Falvey did some good things and some bad things. Overall he was mediocre pretty much like his teams. Taj does provide a new, positive story line to follow which is great. He’s must see TV right now. 

[DJL44]

So what is the plan? Keep selling at the deadline until they somehow get enough pitching and left handed hitting outfielders to contend?

They need to figure out how to turn their collection of assets into an actual MLB roster.

[jmlease1]

The trade I didn't love was Varland for Rojas; that was the one that was the most questionable IMHO. Considering the length of team control, the need for relievers with velocity and high-end potential...that's easily the most high-risk of the deals. We'll see how that one works out.

The Jax for Bradley deal was one that I liked better from the jump. Much as I liked Jax, I definitely despised the conversation about converting him back to a starter (I think it's pretty notable that's all died out: literally only Twins fans & Jax himself ever speculated on it and I've give you all the money in my pockets against all the money in yours if Jax ever starts a game for TB as anything other than an "opener").

And as I've noted elsewhere: Jax as a reliever had 1 great season, and 3 good seasons as a reliever. He hasn't shown that he's a dominant, consistent reliever. Yes, 2025 had some strong underlying numbers that weren't matched up with results, and the stuff still looked great, but results also tell some things too, and the reality was Jax was walking more guys and giving up more hits, even as he was ringing up more K's.

I think the use of Bradley's ERA after he came over to the Twins is factual, but not really descriptive of where he was as a pitcher? His Game Scores are a little more instructive, and show how much inconsistency hurt him. In the six starts, he's got 2 disasters, 1 that's a bit below average, 1 solid start and 2 very good ones. That's a pitcher who has talent and can find consistency. You look at a 6.61 ERA (which he absolutely had) and you might think "this guy is crap!", but the ERA doesn't really describe him effectively. Especially when the Twins almost certainly were less concerned with protecting him from a blow out and just wanted him to pitch some MLB innings. In his 6 starts he threw 80+ pitches in all of them, struggles or no.

It's too early to be sure whether Bradley has figured it out, but it's a very nice start, and he's got the potential to be a frontline starter. He's got the stuff, he's added velocity, he's kept the ball in the park, and he's limited the free passes. If he can get a little more efficient in finishing off hitters, he's going to be going deep into games consistently as well. these are all good signs.

Small samples, very early in a season. Absolutely. But also good reasons to feel positive about this trade.

[bean5302]

Derek Falvey's front office has 10 years of failure legacy. I'm done. Taj Bradley turning into a perennial Cy Young will not impact my position in the slightest. Full purge. 

I saw what Zoll did after Falvey was fired. Nothing. Falzoll needs to go, with completely new leadeship and a new philosophy born of that leadership needs to come in.

Could I eventually change my mind on Zoll? Sure. After a few years of sustained successes, but he's in a deep, deep hole in terms of my approval and confidence.

[NYCTK]

This would be like celebrating the President when the gas prices inevitably fall over the coming days. 

Anyone doing so looks like a fool. 

[Nshore]

Whenever I want to complain about dumb things the Twins do  I remember that baseball executives are in the business of trying to predict what an 18, 19, or 20 year old is going to be like when they're 25+.  Not an easy assignment to say the least.  But I still complain anyway.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

2 hours ago, Reptevia said:

Bradley could win the Cy Young, and all it would prove is a broken lock is right twice a day. 

What does that even mean?

[tarheeltwinsfan]

2 hours ago, Reptevia said:

Bradley could win the Cy Young, and all it would prove is a broken lock is right twice a day. 

A broken "Clock"

[tarheeltwinsfan]

25 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

This would be like celebrating the President when the gas prices inevitably fall over the coming days. 

Anyone doing so looks like a fool. 

Amen about the celebrating this president for anything. Fools, all of them.

[Launch Angle]

2 hours ago, dxpavelka said:

I understand the skepticism of what happened at the deadline.  But, realistically, how many of the guys they moved would have been back this year and would have been part of any future contending version of this team?  Jax?  His current implosion was foreshadowed by his off field implosion just prior to moving him.  Timing appears right on that one.  He had to go.  The only two that are probably regrettable are Duran and Varland.  And the return for them may well prove to make those worthwhile moves.  Yes, I know, nothing is set in stone when it comes to young players.  

You know, there's a lot of talent on this club, Charlie. The veterans are starting to play back to form, and the rookies are developing faster than I thought; there's two or three potential All-Stars in there. I think we're a contender, right now.

Love the Major League reference!! 

[tony&rodney]

When the trades went down last July it seemed like the primary focus was getting a strong return for Jhoan Duran and maybe Griffin Jax. I had hoped the Twins would require Painter or Miller but Tait and Abel could wind up as a fair return. The other deals seemed hurried, particularly the talks with Boston, which fell through, and sending Jax to Tampa Bay.

Sometimes people need a change of scenery that allows them to reflect and refocus their lives. It seems like Taj Bradley, for now, has made the changes needed to unleash his physical talent. I'm inclined to suggest all credit goes to Bradley for the change.

It seemed like Jax had quite a bit of value but the Twins were not listening to other teams. I had hoped Jax might return a prospect like Harry Ford plus a lesser player from Seattle. The Twins were asking for two top rated prospects, similar to what they wanted for Duran. Then came the unfortunate incident when Jax was pulled for a position player and last minute the Twins pivoted to trade Jax. Bradley was the return. The Rays weren't listening on Boyle. Things have gone well in the first three starts. That's good.

[Senior Softball Guy]

Like many on Twins Daily I've eaten my fair share of crow. I may even write a cook book on the many ways to prepare crow. Yum! The front office like other front office's take risks. Some pay off (Nellie Cruz for Joe Ryan), and some don't. Brian Sebean was responsible for a couple of SF Gants championship runs, yet he traded for A.J.! It's early in the evaluation process. Meh signings of Carafini and Bell are looking very astute for example. My newest "eat crow" statement: Brooks Lee should be sent to AAA and James Outman DFAed. If those guys turn into All-Stars, let the dining begin! Knives out!

[Mike Sixel]

I appreciate you trying to be positive. We can not like the overall body of work, and still like some of it. And do so respectfully..... Even when we disagree. 

[Nick Nelson]

30 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

When the trades went down last July it seemed like the primary focus was getting a strong return for Jhoan Duran and maybe Griffin Jax. I had hoped the Twins would require Painter or Miller but Tait and Abel could wind up as a fair return. The other deals seemed hurried, particularly the talks with Boston, which fell through, and sending Jax to Tampa Bay.

Great comment. You put your finger on the main reason I was skeptical of the Jax trade: it felt hurried, and driven more by acquiescing to the player's preference than improving the team, with Jax requesting a trade at the last minute. The Duran trade, in contrast, felt much more intentional and strategic. The Twins said all along they wanted two top 100ish prospects and they got just that.

Alas -- all's well that ends well. Keep it up Taj. 

[D.C Twins]

Watching the young players play is the main attraction for this season. 

Taj has certainly been fun so far!

[mickster]

3 hours ago, Whitey333 said:

Yes the results look great so far.  But its funny how the writers will use phrases like "its still early" or "its a small sample size"  when their favorite player is struggling.  But they seldom use those lines to describe a person when they are talking about players doing unexpectedly well.  Yes its too early and its a small sample size for Bradley.  Let's see how it goes.  Very good article Nick!

He will have some clunkers along the way - Skubal and Valdez we witnessed this week - let's just hope he has more outings like his first few then those and it will be a great thing.

[bunsen82]

What is the hardest and most expensive thing to find in baseball?  An Ace.   

Bradley has not shown the consistency.  What he has shown is improvements on his stuff+, so far no implosions,  less home runs given up (could be cold temps) and more fortitude when things get tough.  Multiple times this year getting out of jams with no damage.   This is fundamentally different,  not so much a 1 off,  he has had good games in the past,  however other than his first 4-6 starts, this is the most consistency he has had a starter.   This is also the best his stuff has looked since he was a rookie.  

So lets say Bradley does show he is an ace or a top arm in all of baseball.  It immediately gives the Twins a chance in the playoffs.   The team this year could maybe smell the playoffs, but logistically there is not enough talent on the field or in the bullpen currently.   2027-2029 is a different story as some of the young kids start coming up.  At that point we can begin to trade or spend to supplement the team to make it a more complete team.  

There are some aspects of the trade deadline I disliked.  I still stand by they should have picked a lane - did the firesale then completed it in the offseason trading Joe Ryan - or not do the firesale.  The inconsistency and lack of a clear direction has made the team and the Pohlads a bit of a laughingstock.  

In either case,  for this trade and this deadline - If Bradley lives up to the potential talent he has,  this trade deadline will obviously be fruitful and valuable for the organization no matter what occurs with the rest of the prospects and the improved draft slots (higher bonuses).   

[TheLeviathan]

I'm really happy to see the results from Taj so far.  My issues with the trade deadline were not centered on who they traded (other than Varland.  That will never make sense to me) but by the type of return they focused on.

I wanted athletic position players at positions of need.  (1B, LF, 3B, CF, SS) Instead we got a bunch of seemingly same-ish guys that we already have: limited profile as a regular, left handed corner guys, quad A types, or players a long ways off.

The deadline might prove really fruitful, I wish it seemed less forced and more surgical to build around the guys on their way up.  But who knows?  Maybe Keaschall, Jenkins, Culpepper, E-Rod will be happy to have a rotation loaded with Abel, Taj, and Rojas.

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

We'll see what happens this season, and then in 2027 and 2028. I think it will take that long to fully judge the 2025 trade deadline.

Bradley / Rojas / Abel / Tait could very well be long-term fixtures and the core of a contending team. It is just still too early to tell.

And I might be in the minority, but if you plug Lou and Duran back into this roster, I think they'd have a shot to contend in the AL Central.

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

I didn't find the Jax trade to be disappointing. He was very much up and down in 2025 and based on how he's done thus far, the Twins sold at the right time and brought back a young, controllable starting pitcher. That's the type of trade good teams make - even if the starting pitcher potentially has some warts. It is a chance you need to take.

[DJL44]

3 hours ago, Nshore said:

Whenever I want to complain about dumb things the Twins do  I remember that baseball executives are in the business of trying to predict what an 18, 19, or 20 year old is going to be like when they're 25+.  Not an easy assignment to say the least.  But I still complain anyway.

International scouts have to pick which 14 and 15 year olds will be successful at 25.

[JD-TWINS]

The benefit in the Bradley - Jax trade is two more years of control with a higher ceiling of performance. 18 1/3 innings v. 4 innings pitched so far this season. If things go right it’s 185 innings v. 75 innings for the season.

Varland pitched a bunch for Toronto after the trade but wasn’t terribly effective in the stats line. As I’ve said before, if Louie was from Kenosha, the acquisition (upside) of Rojas with the Roden throw in would be much more well respected.

Duran for Tait and Abel is a good get for the Twins if either of the two stick. Abel has been rough to start the year - this afternoon looks promising so far through 6 shutout innings. Time will tell.

Stewart pitched 3 1/3 for Dodgers and got hurt and hasn’t competed since. Moving Dobnak can’t bother anyone.

Correa being moved was smart at this point in his career - health & production limited & slowing at SS. Saved $25M/yr.

France - Castro - Bader - Coulombe - Paddack were all Free Agents at the end of ‘25.

I realize that’s 11 guys & seems dramatic. Where is the glaring issue, other than potentially taking exception to the Duran trade?……….they got two talented guys with 11 years of Team control, after Tait gets to the Big Leagues. Good risk with their credentials. We’ll see.

 

[UK Twin]

This trade was actually my favourite of last year's deadline. I said at the time I was intrigued by Bradley's stuff and he's still young. Early signs are very promising. With Abel pitching a good game today we may well have found two pieces of the rotation for the foreseeable future.

[bunsen82]

8 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

When the trades went down last July it seemed like the primary focus was getting a strong return for Jhoan Duran and maybe Griffin Jax. I had hoped the Twins would require Painter or Miller but Tait and Abel could wind up as a fair return. The other deals seemed hurried, particularly the talks with Boston, which fell through, and sending Jax to Tampa Bay.

It really did feel like the Jax trade was thrown together.  Its come out that Toronto had been trying to get Varland for 2 months prior to the deadline - which we saw more value that trade.  The Jax appears to be he got upset and we said fine we will find another home for you.  It is surprising how well for a rushed trade that appears to be working out.  The Ryan deal clearly just ran out of time.