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  • Minnesota Twins Free Agent & Trade Rumors, Notes, & Tidbits

    The latest Minnesota Twins free agent and trade rumors, along with notes and tidbits about the team.
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    Matthew Lenz
    The Minnesota Twins depth took another hit today, but this time it comes on the offensive side of the ball.
    After missing multiple games this weekend, Mickey Gasper, has been placed on the Triple-A injured list with plantar fasciitis. An issued that has plagued All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa in previous seasons.
    With the Twins in a 3-13 funk, some speculated whether recalling Gasper from Triple-A St. Paul could help the big-league club. Gasper, 30, was dominating with the Saints slashing .318/.418/.609 with 10 home runs. His production has resulted in a 165 wRC+.
    However, the same hasn't been true in his cup of coffee with the Twins this season. In 39 plate appearances, the switch hitter has a .488 OPS with just one extra base hit - a double - good for a wRC+ of 47.
    If the Twins plan to change things up, they may have to look at getting slugger Carson McCusker some at-bats, though he doesn't answer the Twins need for help on the dirt. Ryan Fitzgerald may be the next man up to fill that need, who has also been very productive for the Saints.
    Do you think anyone currently in Triple-A could help the Twins right the ship?
    Matthew Lenz
    Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic is reporting that Minnesota Twins starting pitcher prospect, Andrew Morris, was placed on the 15-day IL with a right forearm strain.
    The news is yet another pitcher injury for the Twins, who recently lost Pablo Lopez and Zebby Matthews to injury. In addition, Bailey Ober recently mentioned a hip issue that's impacting his mechanics, though he's been able to continue pitching.
    Morris has been very up and down for Triple-A St. Paul with five starts of four earned runs or more and seven starts of two earned runs or less. In all, it had amounted to a 4.41 ERA across 63 1/3 innings.
     
    With all the injuries, Morris was on the short list of pitchers who could be next in line to head West down 94 to Target Field.  Now, we await to learn the severity of his injury but it's safe to assume he'll be shut down for awhile.
    Do you think there is something to all these injuries or is it just coincidence?
    Matthew Lenz
    As the standings currently sit, the Minnesota Twins and the Detroit Detroit Tigers are the top two teams in the American League Central.
    Major League Baseball and ESPN are rewarding them by flexing their Sunday matinee to Sunday night baseball on June 29 starting at 6 PM.
    For the Twins, this will be their first time on Sunday Night Baseball in five seasons. They last played on Sunday Night Baseball in 2020 against the Chicago Cubs. That game featured six shutout innings from then rotation ace Jose Berríos followed by three innings of dominance from the Twins bullpen. Max Kepler had himself a night going 3-for-5 with a two run blast. Also of note, Target Field has not hosted Sunday Night Baseball since its inaugural season, according to Declan Goff.
    Hopefully the Twins can play better in front of a national audience than they did in front of their own fans against he Texas Rangers. 😬
    Matthew Lenz
    After injuries to Zebby Matthews and Pablo López, we knew the Twins were going to have to figure out how to manage the pitching staff. This led to promotions of David Festa, Simeon Woods Richardson, Travis Adams, and Danny Coulombe. Adams has since been sent back to Triple-A St. Paul and Woods Richardson is coming off an abysmal outing against a below average Texas Rangers squad. Now, the Twins have transferred López to the 60-day IL and have claimed left-handed reliever, Joey Wentz, from the Pittsburgh Pirates to help eat innings out of the bullpen.
    Wentz, 28, has thrown 26 innings across 19 appearances with an ERA of 4.15 (3.77 FIP) and a 9.5% strikeout minus walk rate. He's a typical Falvey-esque pitcher with an extension in the 88th percentile and a mid-to-low 90s fastball that he counters with horizontal movement (cutter). He also has a curveball as his third offering.
    This is just a depth move by the Twins, who have relied heavily on their bullpen in the early going, but may also spell the end of the road for the struggling Jorge Alcala.
    Do you think this signals the end for Alcala? How long does Wentz last with the Twins? Join the conversation in the comments!
    Matthew Lenz
    Baseball America released their June top 100 prospect rankings and it doesn't come as a surprise to see one name fall. While Luke Keaschall  and Emmanuel Rodriguez saw their stocks jump two spots, Walker Jenkins saw his fall two spots despite two people ahead of him in the May rankings graduate.
    It's not surprising to see Jenkins drop on the list, going from #11 in May to #13 in June, as he's been out for a majority of the season. He just returned on June 3rd in the Florida Complex League. A good month could see him back in the top 10 for the July Update.
    On the other hand, Rodriguez has been his typical "on-base machine" self with the St. Paul Saints this year carrying a .400 OBP. Along with a high walk rate, he has a high strikeout rate due to his patient plate approach. He's annually towards the bottom of the Minor League leaderboard in swing and contact rates. More than most prospects, Rodriguez is a massive wild card as to whether the prospect pedigree will turn into production at the big-league level.
    Finally, Keaschall was moved to the 60-day IL and is expected to be out for the foreseeable future although should return this season.
    Matthew Lenz
    Tanner Schobel, the Minnesota Twins second round pick from the 2022 draft, was promoted to Triple-A St. Paul on Wednesday, per Dan Hayes of The Athletic.
    Schobel (who has split time at second, third, and shortstop) has a slash line of .292/.372/.465 with seven home runs in 234 plate appearances. His plate discipline has been extremely impressive with a low 14.1% strikeout rate and a high 10.7% walk rate. He's add seven stolen bases to his stat line to boot.
    Baseball America has the 24-year-old utility man as the Twins eighth rated prospect with mostly average to above-average tools, although below average power. 
    View Schobel's scouting report here:
    Do you think there is any chance we see Schobel with the Twins in 2025? Are you planning on seeing him in-person at CHS Field? Join the conversation in the comments!
    Brock Beauchamp
    In a recent roundup on MLB.com, early results on MLB television ratings were revealed. They include:
    MLB on Fox is up 10% MLB on ESPN is up 22% MLB Tuesday on TBS is up 16% Perhaps most importantly, it appears substantial gains are being made in the 18-34 age demographic, a decades-long weakness of Major League Baseball.
    This is in sharp contrast to the World Series, which has been in decline for years and is often used as a benchmark for the overall popularity of the sport. I was able to find World Series ratings dating back to 1968, and until 2007 the World Series never carried a rating under 10. That slowly spiraled until it hit its low-water mark of 4.7 in 2023 as the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks squared off.
    MLB and Commissioner Rob Manfred have aggressively pushed rules changes, largely in an attempt to capture younger demographics that have abandoned baseball in favor of football and basketball.
    Is baseball on the rebound with fans or is this just a blip on the radar?
    Matthew Lenz
    Had you noticed that Byron Buxton not only played but started in the first 11 games of the season? Either way, you've probably noticed he's been out of the lineup on back-to-back. After awkwardly crashing into the wall days prior, you may have been concerned that the Twins' centerfielder was dealing with an injury. Alas, that doesn't seem to be the case after an update from Dan Hayes on Buxton's absence yesterday and today.
    First and foremost, we hope that everything is okay with Buxton and his loved ones. We don't have any information on what the personal matter may be, and frankly it's none of our business.
    While Buxton was reportedly healthy as ever coming into the season, many were still cautiously optimistic that he could play 100+ games in back-to-back seasons for the first time in his career. Despite making ten consecutive starts for the first time since 2021, Buxton has struggled at the plate with a sub-.500 OPS, one home run, and a 16:1 K:BB ratio across 43 plate appearances. Especially when April is traditionally one of his better months, the Twins need more production out of their 31-year-old star.
    Before that, though, Buxton needs to tend to his personal matter. Our thoughts are with him and his family.
    Seth Stohs
    The Twins traveled to Tampa to play the Yankees on Wednesday afternoon. Joe Ryan tossed two scoreless innings. Zebby Matthews came in for the third inning. He gave up a couple of hits but got an inning-ending double play to end any threat. He came back out for the bottom of the fourth inning. On his second pitch to Paul Goldschmidt, the former MVP grounded a slow roller down the third base line. Matthews raced to it, fielded it and then threw to first for the out. A very nice play. 
    However, before making another throw, Ryan Jeffers slowly walked to the mound, and a trainer soon followed. Matthews moved and stretched a little as if he may have pulled a muscle near his hip or side. He didn't appear to be in pain, maybe more discomfort. Rocco Baldelli quickly removed him from the game. John Stankiewicz came in and got the final two outs of the innings. 
    Matthews, who has been very impressive all spring, throwing hard, with a good changeup and a slider. Replay showed that his right foot slid a little bit when planting. Before going to the mound, Matthews bent at the waist, stretching his back and/or side. He walked off looking fairly comfortable, but at this stage, taking him out was the right decision. Hopefully it is nothing. 
    However, a day after Justin Topa walked off the mound mid-inning, and with the news of Matt Canterino being shut down again, keeping all of the pitching depth as healthy as possible will be important. 
    And speaking of important, Matthews will play a very important role with the Twins in 2025 and beyond. 
    Matthew Lenz
    Fresh off the heels of the somewhat surprising news that the Twins are looking for a veteran back up shortstop, Dan Hayes drops this little nugget in response to a fan's question.
    Willi Castro the first basemen? Whaaaaaat? If you're wondering, Castro has seven positions throughout his career. He's never played catcher and he's never played first base in his professional career. As in he has 0.0 (or 0 0/3 if you prefer that format) innings at first.
    In the last few days, the Twins have addressed their two biggest needs. A left-handed reliever and a corner outfield who can handle left-handed pitching. Lower in the priority list has been a first basemen to back up Miranda, but I'm not sure anyone would have guessed that Castro would be a viable option. In fact, Castro grades out as a negative defender at nearly every position he plays aside from third base. I don't know about you but I'm not thrilled that the contingency plan behind Miranda looks to be Castro (or Julien) as of right now. Maybe the need for a back up first basemen is bigger than we initially thought.
    What do you make of this news?
    Matthew Lenz
    It sounds like the Pohlad's may be ripping open their pocket books!
    *Dramatic pause for audience eyeroll*
    Seriously though, Dan Hayes of The Athletic just reported that "the Twins are believed to have some financial leeway, perhaps $5 million in the 2025 payroll" in his latest report.
    While $5 million won't net them much, it's about $5 million more than we originally thought Derek Falvey had left to play with. Coincidentally, the report comes around the time of the offseason where the "Falvine" regime has tended to cook, as the kids say. In fact, that topic was just broached today here at Twins Daily.
    The timing of Hayes' report and Twins Daily speculation cannot be overlooked. Might Falvey be prepping the meal and just waiting for his moment to cook? Only time will tell.
    How do you think the Twins should spend the $5 million?
    Matthew Lenz
    Towards the end of last season, when the Minnesota Twins were in the midst of a historic collapse, Rocco Baldelli had Royce Lewis try his hand at second base. The move was partially due to Lewis' performance at the hot corner (11 errors; 10 throwing), but it was more about the lack of production coming from those at the Keystone, which was a game of mix and match all season.
    At the time, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reported that Lewis was "apprehensive" with the move across the diamond. In fact, around that same time, he said the following about moving off third: "If you take a baby out of its crib where it’s safe, it’s going to feel a little bit scared. That’s kind of where I’m at right now".
    Despite those concerns, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reiterated ($$) in November that the Twins and Royce Lewis had a "second shot" at second base this offseason. What was interesting in that update was that Hayes led off by stating that Lewis' agent, Scott Boras, thought he'd be open to the move.
    Alas, here we are two months later and the latest update from Darren Wilson via the Minnesota Sports with Mackey & Judd podcast is that he's been taking more reps at third than second this offseason. Emphasis on "more", meaning he is still taking reps at second but that seems to be part of the plan to continue mixing and matching at the position, as needed, in 2025.
    If the roster generally stays the same between now and opening day, what does your starting infield look like?
    Matthew Lenz
    Unsurprisingly, it's been a quiet offseason for the Minnesota Twins coming off an 82-win season. While pitchers and catchers report in under a month, multiple sources are indicating the Twins have been active in the trade market.
    On January 16th, Jeff Passan stated ($$) "Minnesota has entertained plenty but consummated nothing" in response to a question regarding any remaining "big trades" this offseason. Then, a day later, Dan Hayes quoted Derek Falvey ($$) who stated "...I can tell you we’ve had more active conversations in the last couple of weeks than we’ve had prior..."
    While specifics names and teams weren't mentioned, it's clear that the Twins are doing their diligence whether it's on bigger names like Carlos Correa and Pablo Lopez or salary dump candidates in Willi Castro, Chris Paddack, and Christian Vazquez.
    Are there any Twins on the current roster you'd like to see moved? Any players on other teams you'd like to see added? Let us know in the comments!
    Matthew Trueblood
    This one has nothing to do with the impending decision by Roki Sasaki, but another flamethrowing young pitcher has created another opportunity to pick up a previously committed Latin American talent—and, once again, the nimble Twins are taking advantage.
    Raudy Reyes had a major growth spurt and emerged late on the scene as the top non-Sasaki arm in this class, and the team from suburban Cobb County, Georgia pivoted to sign him, despite the major resource reallocation that required. In so doing, they vacated an informal agreement with Dencer Diaz, an infielder from the Dominican Republic, and the Twins' international scouting department (guided by, among others, Kevin Goldstein) was in position to offer a substantial bonus to snare Diaz on the rebound. This is the second late move they've made as this market opens for 2025, supplementing a class previously viewed as interesting but not exceptional. With Diaz and Teilon Serrano added to their haul, the Twins keep building upon a strong reputation in Latin America.
    Matthew Trueblood
    One of the fascinating and important knock-on effects of the Roki Sasaki sweepstakes is a miniature windfall of international amateur free agents becoming unexpectedly available at the last second, as a new window for signing such players begins Wednesday. This was foreseen. Sasaki's signing bonus with whichever team he selects (it's down to the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, and Toronto Blue Jays) will have to come from a finite, hard-capped pool of money allotted for each team to spend on these players each year, and since teams strike handshake deals with big-money prospects long before the actual opening of the signing period, whoever signs Sasaki will have to throw back a few high-profile members of their class.
    On Tuesday night, the Twins were the beneficiaries of that situation. Teilon Serrano, a Dominican shortstop-turned-outfielder with impressive tools and a mid-six-figure expected price tag, was set to sign with the Dodgers, but they released him to seek a deal with another team, and Minnesota has swooped in to scoop him up.
    The frequent metaphor for players like these is an accurate one: they're lottery tickets. Serrano is unlikely even to play in the big leagues, let alone to become a star. Still, just as you'd happily take an extra fourth-round draft pick if it were just floating out there for the taking, it's worth pursuing a player like Serrano if your scouts have done some due diligence on him and like what they've seen—and the disruptive influence of Sasaki has given the Twins just such an opportunity.
    Matthew Trueblood
    The name of the game is landing smart people to build and operate your baseball team—but as soon as you do so, the name of the game becomes keeping them. So, from time to time, you have to rename their games. The Twins promoted Josh Kalk, Alex Hassan, and Sean Johnson to assistant general manager roles Tuesday, in a move that partially backfills the promotion of Jeremy Zoll to GM in November. Zoll replaced the outgoing Thad Levine in that job, but still (of course) answers to president of baseball and business operations Derek Falvey.
    In Johnson (scouting), Kalk (data and analytics) and Hassan (player development), the team not-so-coincidentally inflated the titles of three people who had taken on chief roles within the three major departments that make up most front offices. Giving them this bump affirms the team's satisfaction with the jobs they've each done, and it shields the team a bit from the risk of losing any of them to another organization. All three were already so established and accomplished with the club, though, that it's hard to envision them leaving for anything short of a GM job elsewhere. That's still possible, but surely not imminent, and now, the three are all incrementally more prominent in their places with the team as they look toward 2025. It's not a true restructuring; it's just a good way to give some essential baseball personnel their due.
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