Could 2025 Twins Execute a 2018-Style MLB Trade Deadline Re-Tool?

There's no need to beat around the bush: the Twins stink. And they’re injured. The team is on pace to miss the playoffs for the fourth time in five years, and now that the AL Central possesses a legitimately dominant team, the front office should go back to the drawing boards in multiple facets.

The main issue for the franchise is that a full-on rebuild is off the table. They’re stuck. Bailing on the Carlos Correa/Byron Buxton nucleus isn't an option. There seemed to be a plan when the team handed out large contracts to Buxton, Correa, Christian Vázquez, and Pablo López, before ownership kneecapped their purchasing power and put the team up for sale. Building a competitive team on the cheap isn’t impossible—just ask the Brewers or Guardians—but building one when four guys take up about half the payroll? That’s a different beast. At least Vázquez’s deal is set to expire after the season. 

What they could do is re-tool, or refuel—whichever description strikes your fancy. This is something the team did in 2018. 

Mired in a muck of mediocrity similar to the one the 2025 group appears incapable of escaping, the front office decided to detonate, dealing fan favorites (Eduardo Escobar and Brian Dozier), one-year rentals (Zach Duke and Lance Lynn), and a team-controlled reliever with great potential (Ryan Pressly).

Honestly, the return the Twins received was simply ok. Player-wise, it was probably barely a net positive. Receiving Jhoan Duran for Escobar was a clear win, but that’s the only deal in which they inarguably came out on top. The next-best players were ancillary contributors like Devin Smeltzer and Jorge Alcala. In that respect, following the ethos of that deadline may seem like a questionable move. Yet, the deals opened up opportunities. Miguel Sanó took over third base full-time after Escobar left, and had his best hitting season as a pro. Jonathan Schoop enjoyed a solid year as Dozier’s replacement while Luis Arráez snuck into the fold before becoming a mainstay for the next few years. Minnesota eschewed the inessential. The team made the playoffs in 2019 and 2020. 

With that in mind, let’s look at the levels of trades the team could make.

Level 1: Ty France, Harrison Bader, and Chris Paddack
These are the easiest players to imagine trading. France’s Statcast page speaks to him being a legitimate bat to lengthen a playoff lineup, while Bader is the prototypical fourth outfielder, with Gold Glove corner defense; an ability to play center; and a bat good enough to stick in a lineup without feeling sick about it. Paddack is healthy and available. Considering pitching is often a war of attrition, that could be valuable to a contender. Yet—given all three are on one-year-deals—the return for any player will be minimal, likely an organizational depth piece blocked in their previous franchise. This level is just a start. 

Level 2: Willi Castro
I love Willi Castro. You probably love Willi Castro. Who doesn’t love Willi Castro? Switch-hitters who can play everywhere and hit—like, really hit, at times—do not grow on trees. Yet, they are a luxury. Can the Twins afford luxuries? I don’t think so. This is his final season before hitting free agency, so if Minnesota wants anything beyond a comp pick, they will need to pounce on a trade. Fortunately, his market should be robust, and he could bring back a Duran-esque prospect.

Level 2.5: Trevor Larnach
Let’s throw a surprise in here. Larnach, yet again, has proven to be talented, moderately useful, and a disappointment, relative to his potential. His penchant for grounders makes his dreadful defense hard to stomach, and, well, at some point a player hits the Oswaldo Arcia threshold. He is what he is—at least for the Twins. I could see someone like the Rays taking a chance on trying to unlock him. This would be an “opportunities” trade, as mentioned before.

Level 3: Griffin Jax and/or Jhoan Duran
If you want to compete with the big boys, you need to make big-boy decisions. Jax and Duran are two of the best relievers in franchise history; they’re both top 15 in career fWAR for Twins bullpen arms. And they’re luxuries—volatile ones, at that. Having two fire-breathing dragons in the back end of a bullpen means nothing when the starting pitching crumbles, as it has in recent weeks. At that point, you’re just paying incredible athletes to sit on their ass and watch a game. The good news is that the two are team-controlled for two more seasons after 2025, and bullpen arms are consistently the hottest commodity at the trade deadline. Remember the incredible return Tampa Bay received for Jason Adam last year? Imagine upping that a little, and then imagine doubling it.

Level 4: Joe Ryan and/or Bailey Ober
Ok, I think this step loses the plot. “Re-tooling” and “rebuilding” can be nebulous terms, but I don’t think it’s crazy to say that dealing reliable starting pitchers leans toward the latter. On the other hand, the Rays traded away Tyler Glasnow and got Ryan Pepiot in return, who has been a very good starting pitcher for them. I don’t know. The Rays are weird.

In any case, this is murky territory. Critically, despite interest from other franchises, the team in 2018 did not deal Jake Odorizzi or José Berríos; both starters became All-Stars in 2019. We’ve seen that young hurlers—while intriguing and occasionally brilliant—often take time to adjust at the major-league level. How much do you trust David Festa and Zebby Matthews to be quality big-leaguers in 2026? Would you risk burning a year of Buxton and Correa’s shrinking prime? 

On top of that, you would be selling low on Ober, which is a strategy the current regime has avoided.

This cannot be another year of mild, tepid action. “Business as usual” has resulted in a team behind the 8-ball, in a division now led by a terrific team in Detroit. We saw bold moves pay off for the team seven years ago. Now may be the time to execute a similar plan.