Nine Deals, One Clear Win: Revisiting the Twins' 2025 Trade Deadline

[Cody Christie]

Image courtesy of © John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Twins spent last summer’s trade deadline walking a fine line between cutting payroll, reshaping the roster, and trying to remain competitive in the future. Now that the 2026 season is underway, it is much easier to evaluate those deals based on their actual impact rather than on deadline-day reactions.

To evaluate the overall impact, it's not enough to look at what the Twins gained; we also have to look at the roster impact had no trade been made. Some have barely registered on the current roster. Others have already altered the team's trajectory in meaningful ways. Here is a look back at the most impactful deadline moves from the perspective of the impact on the 2026 roster.

Trades That Seem Unlikely to Impact the 2026 Roster
A few deals simply have not mattered much in the grand scheme of the current season. Enrique Jimenez for Chris Paddack and Randy Dobnak has not produced any noticeable effect on the major league club. Paddack and Dobnak were moved largely to clear innings and payroll flexibility, while Jimenez remains far from contributing in Minnesota.

Ryan Gallagher and Sam Armstrong for Willi Castro also fall into that category. Castro was a free agent at the end of the year. So far, the return has not impacted the current roster in any meaningful way either, though Gallagher was recently promoted to AAA-St. Paul. 

Garrett Horn for Danny Coulombe was another low-level move that has not significantly changed the outlook of the 2026 club. Coulombe provided bullpen depth, but neither side of the trade has created lasting ripple effects.

6. Hendry Mendez and Geremy Villoria for Harrison Bader
This move always looked like a short-term rental for Philadelphia, and that is exactly what it became. Bader was heading toward free agency, so there was never a realistic scenario where he would still be patrolling the outfield for Minnesota this season. The interesting part of the trade now revolves around Hendry Mendez.

Mendez earned a spot on the 40-man roster this winter and recently reached Triple-A. There are still several left-handed hitting corner outfielders ahead of him on the organizational depth chart, but injuries have a way of opening doors quickly. A major league debut sometime this season feels possible if Minnesota needs offensive reinforcements.

2026 Impact: Mendez has a chance to debut, so this trade still feels relatively low impact for 2026.

5. Matt Mikulski and $70 Million in Salary Relief for Carlos Correa
This trade still feels surreal. The Twins moved Correa and attached it to a massive amount of salary relief, only to largely pocket the financial flexibility rather than reinvest it in the roster. Before his recent season-ending ankle injury, Correa was actually playing well and could have helped stabilize Minnesota’s lineup during the first month of the season.

At the same time, the injury also reinforces why some in the organization were willing to move on from the long-term commitment. Correa’s absence likely would have become a major issue for Minnesota regardless of where he played.

Mikulski has been released from the organization, leaving the biggest takeaway from this deal centered on ownership’s financial decisions rather than the actual baseball return.

2026 Impact: The Twins cleared Correa’s contract but failed to meaningfully reinvest the savings into improving the current roster.

4. Eduardo Tait and Mick Abel for Jhoan Duran
This one has become complicated quickly. Tait remains years away from the major leagues, making him difficult to evaluate in the context of the current roster. Abel has spent much of the year dealing with injuries after suffering a setback in his recovery from right elbow inflammation. His recent tricep impingement and cortisone shot pushed his timeline back even further.

Meanwhile, Duran looked dominant before suffering a strained left oblique. Prior to the injury, he posted a 1.35 ERA with five saves in 6 2/3 innings before recently returning to action. The frustrating part for Minnesota is obvious. A healthy Duran could be helping hold together one of the worst bullpens in baseball right now. Even if Abel eventually becomes a useful arm, the Twins desperately miss the stability Duran brought to the late innings.

2026 Impact: Minnesota badly misses Duran’s late-inning dominance, while Abel’s injury issues have delayed any return value.

3. James Outman for Brock Stewart
Few moves have aged worse in the short term. Outman entered the season out of options, which essentially forced Minnesota to keep him on the active roster. Unfortunately, his production has been almost nonexistent. Through his first 28 games, Outman has produced a staggering -0.4 rWAR while occupying a roster spot that could be going to a younger or more productive player. The bigger issue is roster flexibility. Keeping Outman on the bench has prevented the Twins from cycling through alternative options that may provide more offensive upside.

Stewart opened the season injured, but recently returned and made his first appearance over the last week. Even limited bullpen help would have been valuable for this roster, considering how disastrous the relief corps has looked for much of the year.

2026 Impact: Outman has negatively impacted the roster, while Stewart’s return to health could have helped stabilize Minnesota’s bullpen.

2. Kendry Rojas and Alan Roden for Louis Varland and Ty France
This trade keeps looking worse by the week for Minnesota. The Twins bullpen has completely unraveled at times during the opening stretch of the season, and Varland has emerged as one of the best relievers in the American League. After stepping into Toronto’s closer role, Varland captured AL Reliever of the Month honors and has given the Blue Jays legitimacy at the back end of games. Minnesota’s roster could desperately use that exact presence right now.

Roden has battled injuries at Triple-A and has not impacted the major league roster, while Rojas continues flashing electric stuff that may ultimately fit best in a bullpen role long term. The evaluation overwhelmingly centers on Varland. Right now, it is difficult to look at the Twins' bullpen struggles and not wonder how different games might feel with Varland handling the ninth inning.

2026 Impact: Varland’s breakout as Toronto’s closer has magnified how much the Twins need reliable bullpen arms right now.

1. Taj Bradley for Griffin Jax
This is a clear win for Minnesota. While several other deadline moves have created frustration, the acquisition of Taj Bradley has been one of the few unquestioned bright spots on the roster. Bradley has emerged as the team’s most valuable pitcher, leading the club with a 1.7 rWAR while posting a 154 ERA+ through his first eight starts.

Provided he gets past this recent pectoral injury, Bradley gives the Twins a legitimate chance to win every fifth day. Meanwhile, Jax has struggled since arriving in Tampa Bay as the Rays attempt to transition him into a starting role. The raw material remains intriguing, but the results have not been consistent.

For a team searching for rotation stability after injuries and inconsistency, Bradley’s emergence has been enormous. Unlike some of the other deadline moves that created long-term questions, this trade already looks like one of the few decisions that is actively helping Minnesota compete in 2026.

2026 Impact: Bradley has emerged as Minnesota’s best starter and one of the few clear positives from the 2025 trade deadline.

Trade deadlines are always judged too quickly. Some deals that looked smart in the moment now appear disastrous because of injuries, roster construction problems, or lack of reinvestment from ownership. Others that drew skepticism initially are beginning to show real value.

What stands out most from the Twins’ 2025 deadline activity is how uneven the results have become. Minnesota clearly weakened parts of the bullpen and sacrificed valuable depth, and the consequences are showing up almost nightly this season. At the same time, Bradley’s emergence gives the organization at least one foundational piece to point toward as evidence that not every move was designed strictly to cut costs.

Unfortunately for the Twins, one successful trade does not erase the growing list of questions surrounding the rest of the roster.

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Do you agree with the rankings above? Leave a comment and start the discussion.

 

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[thelanges5]

I don’t hate the individual trades so much as the number of total trades (except Varland) The lack of meaningful moves/signings in the offseason makes it even worse. Of course the architect (Falvey) is gone, but what was the plan here?

[LewFordLives]

The Varland trade was bad the moment it was made. It made no sense. Falvey clearly puts zero value in relievers. He always thought he was smart enough to piece together a bullpen. 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

The Twins didn't fully  "clear Correa's contract" by giving him to Houston. There remains the "small" matter of $33,000,000 still owed by the Twins to Carlos. This whole Correa matter did not turn out well for the Twins organization financially. It just kept getting worse and the Twins are still paying.

[Over The Hill Again]

Said it then, still feel it now: the Varland trade not only made no tactical sense but also came across as a big middle finger to the fanbase. 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

The Twins did not need Roden, even at his best. He is another  AAAA left-handed hitting corner OF and France was leaving any way. So it was basically Rojas for a team-controlled, fan favorite, Varland. It would have been an inexpensive benefit to have had Varland on today's ( and for years to come) Twins team. Last time I checked, the game of baseball is still 9 innings. Relief pitching wins and loses games, particularly when even the best starters only go 5-7 innings. Outman for Stewart was a predictable mistake. I'll give Falvey credit for trading a disgruntled Jax for Bradley. But all the other "deals" must have been learned from a flawed book, entitled. "The Art of the Deal".  

[Jack Pine]

In Outman's case (no options left) a good poker player  knows it's time to fold when you don't have the cards.

[Wedman13]

28 minutes ago, LewFordLives said:

The Varland trade was bad the moment it was made. It made no sense. Falvey clearly puts zero value in relievers. He always thought he was smart enough to piece together a bullpen. 

.... which in all fairness, he did.  So why wouldn't he think he could again?

regarding Correa.... he is out.  He is not helping the twins, or the Astros.  Rather than paying full price for nothing, Houston took a good deal of the burden.  To me, that's a win.  Now the reinvestment of that saving, maybe not so much....

[Wedman13]

53 minutes ago, LewFordLives said:

The Varland trade was bad the moment it was made. It made no sense. Falvey clearly puts zero value in relievers. He always thought he was smart enough to piece together a bullpen. 

I cannot stand the 'he's one of us bias'.... but I'm probably being obtuse.  There probably is value to bringing your kid to a game and saying 'if Louis, or Matt can do it, so can you.'

i like prospects so i like Rojas.  And we weren't winning this year anyway.  So why not go young.  But I 💯 get your point on Varland.

 

[IndianaTwin]

I don't get the "Twins pocketed the money after trading Correa" narrative.

They freed up about $21.5M:

• Bell: $7M
• Caratini: $7M
• Larnach: $4.475M (because after all, everyone on TD knew they weren't going tender Larnach and then thought it was the dumbest move ever when they did. /s)
• Rogers: $2M

That totals $21.475M, so either:

• The Twins did spend the money they saved on Correa; OR
• The Twins were going to make those signings anyway, which goes against the "cheap Pohlad" narrative.

Also, trading Correa also freed up future opportunities for redeploying Correa's money AND opened the opportunity to play Lee every day.

That's a clear win in my book. 

[Woof Bronzer]

1 hour ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

The Twins didn't fully  "clear Correa's contract" by giving him to Houston. There remains the "small" matter of $33,000,000 still owed by the Twins to Carlos. This whole Correa matter did not turn out well for the Twins organization financially. It just kept getting worse and the Twins are still paying.

Yep Correa is the 2nd highest paid position player on our roster.  

[tony&rodney]

To some extent the July trades may have hinted at a lack of confidence in the Twins young pitchers (Woods Richardson, Matthews, Festa, Morris). If your reputation was supposedly connected to building a strong pitching cohort it seemed odd to go to extreme lengths to add pitching prospects (Abel, Rojas,etc.), while jettisoning established and controlled relief pitchers (Duran, Jax, Varland, Stewart). The trade of the out of favor Griffin Jax for Taj Bradley, at least, brought back an interesting albeit struggling pitcher. 

I tend to never think of trades in terms of wins and losses but prefer to see how a transaction improves the roster, whether that is to improve balance or talent. I'm not sure Falvey (or whomever was in charge) had all of their wits about them last July.

Thing is .... the Twins did gain a few players who could help the team (Bradley, Abel, Rojas) and I'll just hope these players progress quickly and become important for the Twins. What is gone ain't coming back.

[HeresWaldo]

The Bradley trade is definitely looking like the best of the bunch at this early date, but even that one I'm not sure we can safely call a win yet. Bradley looked absolutely spectacular to start the year and Jax was horrendous in late innings for the Rays in April. However, the Rays are now stretching Jax out as a starter and he's looking pretty dang good and Bradley is hurt. Additionally, while it's possible Jax regresses as a starter, I think we need to acknowledge that pitching models see an element of smoke and mirrors to Bradley's dominance. Pitching+ rates Bradley as essentially an average starting pitcher (99 rating so 1% below league average but well within the margin of error to just say he's average). I'm not saying this is a bad trade by any means. If they both turn out to be mid rotation starters the Twins won in terms of age and team control. If Bradley sustains his strong start the Twins win by default regardless of what Jax does. But there's still a real path here where Jax turns out to be a pretty good starter and Bradley either has nagging health injuries all season or just regresses in the ways models expect, so it feels too soon to say the Twins definitely won this one.