How One Twins Reliever Is Under-the-Radar Before the MLB Trade Deadline

Brock Stewart is inexpensive, under team control for two more years, and effective out of the bullpen. He also has a risky injury profile. Thus, if no team will offer a substantial player for him in a transaction, the better gamble is to keep him. If a large deal that had a solid chance of improving the talent for the Twins while simultaneously pushing a contending team forward was put together and that team required one addition to seal the transaction .... fine.

Like the idea of keeping Jax, Duran and Varland.  Then re-sign Coloumbe for another year and the bullpen is set for the next few years.  That would make Stewart available for a decent return.  With two more years of control, can they get some teams #6-#10 prospect? Not a MLB top 100 prospect, but maybe somewhere in the #200-#300 range?

16 minutes ago, Patzky said:

I agree. I'm not sure the return in a Beef trade would be worth the loss, especially if Coulombe Duran and/or Jax are gone. Varland and Topa isn't much to lean on.. 

It makes sense to trade Coulombe because his contract is up, but I have wondered what he would seek for an extension. Would he sign a 2/$6 deal? Again, considering the return it might be worth asking. 

I'm in the pile of people who have zero idea what Falvey values or thinks. I'm lost there. He states repeatedly that the current roster is a playoff group. Of course, I don't expect him to make negative comments but his phrasing suggests he believes something can change if only the players would perform to their talents. 

I maybe like Stewart a little too much and don't believe the return will be worthwhile.  However, if another team believes in his health and value over the next 2 1/2 years, cash in that chip.  The return for that type of RP has been very high in recent years.  It's going to be an interest next few days.  Let's hope the future looks better 5 days from now.

29 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

It makes sense to trade Coulombe because his contract is up, but I have wondered what he would seek for an extension. Would he sign a 2/$6 deal? Again, considering the return it might be worth asking. 

I'm in the pile of people who have zero idea what Falvey values or thinks. I'm lost there. He states repeatedly that the current roster is a playoff group. Of course, I don't expect him to make negative comments but his phrasing suggests he believes something can change if only the players would perform to their talents. 

It certainly makes sense to trade Coulombe, but seeing all this team’s other lefty relief pitching in comparison to how he’s pitched this year is jarring. Assuming they do trade him, hopefully one of the other trades made this month brings the next reliable LH reliever back in return.

Two years of additional team control aren't worth much for Stewart. He's 33 and has an extensive injury history. I'm not confident he makes it through the rest of this season without another trip to the IL. Like everyone else on the team, he has zero value for the Twins for the remainder of 2025. Stewart is also the worst on the team at controlling the running game, which makes his pitching stats less valuable than they appear on paper. I think they're better off finding a trade partner. It will be quite disappointing if Stewart is still a Twin on August 1st.

6 minutes ago, Patzky said:

KC did an interesting thing last night.. they think they still have a chance.

KC has a better team than Minnesota. The outfield is really poor on offense. Jac Caglianone hasn't transitioned to MLB as hoped (think Nick Kurtz) and is currently on the IL. I cannot imagine the Royals making much noise in the playoffs if they get into the party, but they have a better chance than our Twins.

1 hour ago, Patzky said:

one could use Paddack-Festa in the pen for the remainder of the year but Funderburk is not worth the splinters in the bench 

What happens the rest of this season is irrelevant. They're not a contender. The rest of this season should be about developing players for the 2026 team.

49 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

I'm in the pile of people who have zero idea what Falvey values or thinks. I'm lost there. He states repeatedly that the current roster is a playoff group. Of course, I don't expect him to make negative comments but his phrasing suggests he believes something can change if only the players would perform to their talents. 

Which is weird. If he sincerely believes the players are underperfoming to the point where a 90 win team is playing at a 78 win pace, then he should fire Rocco.

1 minute ago, DJL44 said:

Which is weird.

It is. Does anyone have an idea what Falvey sees?

1 minute ago, Patzky said:

Grichuk is a curious move. It'd be like us nabbing Luis Robert. Why?

Not really. KC has the worst production in baseball from their outfield. Grichuk isn't much but he is something with less than a million still left on his contract. Robert isn't doing anything and has money left. The Royals are still looking too.

41 minutes ago, gman said:

I'm open for trades that would make us better next year and the year(s) after. This team hasn't been going anywhere for awhile, even if they lucked into the playoffs. Just making a wild card is simply not good enough. Stewart is a good 25 inning per year reliever. But you can't really build your pen around that. You'd need 3 of him for that spot.

I think any team trading for Stewart is thinking more of winning in the post season than getting innings.  I also doubt they see a 25 IP pitcher given he is on pace for 50 IP.   

3 hours ago, rdehring said:

Like the idea of keeping Jax, Duran and Varland.  Then re-sign Coloumbe for another year and the bullpen is set for the next few years.  That would make Stewart available for a decent return.  With two more years of control, can they get some teams #6-#10 prospect? Not a MLB top 100 prospect, but maybe somewhere in the #200-#300 range?

Me too. I was listening to a LAD deadline discussion. LAD didn't want to be involved in the deadline at all, to begin the season. But their BP has been very disappointing so they're looking for some help. But they're not going to make a big splash as some of us thought they might. 2 top names were Stewart & Coulombe, not Jax or Duran. Like I've been saying all this time, I'm not interested in lotto tickets. I'd be interested in LAD's 3rd catcher Hunter Feducci &  promising young MLB LHP Justin Wrobleski as the base & maybe a wild card low-level pitching prospect (LHP Jakob Wright). They could bolster our catching & rotation right now.

6 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Two years of additional team control aren't worth much for Stewart. He's 33 and has an extensive injury history. I'm not confident he makes it through the rest of this season without another trip to the IL. Like everyone else on the team, he has zero value for the Twins for the remainder of 2025. Stewart is also the worst on the team at controlling the running game, which makes his pitching stats less valuable than they appear on paper. I think they're better off finding a trade partner. It will be quite disappointing if Stewart is still a Twin on August 1st.

I see Stewart as the 6th or 7th guy in the bullpen. His salary is not an issue. For some of the reasons you mention I don't see a contending team offering anything useful for him. The Twins don't need to trade just to get players off the team. They need talent. I do think there is a team that likes Stewart as a final piece add-on in a larger deal  Philadelphia seems like a team that could work with the Twins.

4 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

I see Stewart as the 6th or 7th guy in the bullpen. His salary is not an issue. For some of the reasons you mention I don't see a contending team offering anything useful for him. The Twins don't need to trade just to get players off the team. They need talent. I do think there is a team that likes Stewart as a final piece add-on in a larger deal  Philadelphia seems like a team that could work with the Twins.

A contending team will want him because this tear he gets people out. Most trades it requires diligence by the sellers to get as useful of player as possible. The trades involving the Baders, Coulombes and Stewarts the team has to see a delopble skill the others missed 

22 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

It makes sense to trade Coulombe because his contract is up, but I have wondered what he would seek for an extension. Would he sign a 2/$6 deal? Again, considering the return it might be worth asking. 

With relievers like Coulombe and Stewart or even Topa that truly is a good question. Just because they are about to be free agents and the Twins aren't going anywhere this season, that should not preclude us from thinking about keeping those pitchers around for another season or two. Unlike the top tier arms like Duran and Jax, who also won't be free agents for a few more years, I don't think these other relievers on expiring contracts are going to get us much in return via trades. 

21 minutes ago, Doctor Wu said:

With relievers like Coulombe and Stewart or even Topa that truly is a good question. Just because they are about to be free agents and the Twins aren't going anywhere this season, that should not preclude us from thinking about keeping those pitchers around for another season or two. Unlike the top tier arms like Duran and Jax, who also won't be free agents for a few more years, I don't think these other relievers on expiring contracts are going to get us much in return via trades. 

Stewart and Topa are under team control next year.  Why not trade Coulombe, get value, and then sign them like the Tigers did with Flaherty.   

Everybody in the bullpen should be fair game, keeping one of Duran/Jax and probably Varland.

The Twins have had success over the years finding RP from the heap and getting quality out of them.  Let that process continue, get teams in the mix that need RP help to overpay, especially now that Clase is out of the picture.