Re-Grading All 9 of the Twins' 2025 Trade Deadline Deals One Year Later

One year ago, the Minnesota Twins reshaped the organization with one of the biggest trade deadline selloffs in franchise history, making nine separate deals before the deadline passed. Immediately afterward, I graded each trade based on the information available at the time.

A year later, we have a much better picture. Some of the prospects the Twins acquired have taken significant steps forward, while others have struggled or battled injuries. Meanwhile, several of the veterans the Twins traded away have continued to build their value elsewhere.

With the 2026 trade deadline now behind us (and with Jhoan Duran coming home to Target Field later this week), it's time to revisit all nine trades and see which ones have aged the best and which ones look worse than they did a year ago.

1. (Last Year's Rank: 7) Griffin Jax to the Rays
Return: RHP Taj Bradley
2025 Grade: C-
2026 Grade: A-

I wasn't a big fan of the Griffin Jax trade at last year's trade deadline for a few reasons. The biggest was that the Twins didn't need to make the trade. Jax still had 2.5 years of team control remaining, and it felt like a rushed move when they could have let the market develop over the winter.

At the time, Taj Bradley also didn't feel like an exciting return after posting a 4.70 ERA across 354 career innings with Tampa Bay.

This trade has completely flipped. Bradley has emerged as one of the Twins' most valuable starters, posting a 3.69 ERA while leading the club in innings pitched. He's still in his pre-arbitration years, giving Minnesota a young, affordable starter for years to come. Griffin Jax has reinvented himself as a starter with the Rays, but landing a controllable rotation piece with upside has made this look like one of the Twins' best moves.

2. (Last Year's Rank: 1) Harrison Bader to the Phillies
Return: OF Hendry Mendez, RHP Geremy Villoria
2025 Grade: A-
2026 Grade: A-

Last year, I graded the Harrison Bader trade as the best move the Twins made at the deadline, and it still ranks near the top.

Bader was playing on an expiring contract and had little long-term value to a selling club. Minnesota turned him into an intriguing left-handed hitting outfield prospect in Hendry Mendez, who owned an .808 OPS at Double-A at the time of the trade.

Since joining the organization, Mendez posted a .912 OPS with Wichita before earning a promotion to Triple-A, where he has continued producing with an .844 OPS. He looks like someone who will factor into the Twins' big league plans in the near future, making this an excellent return for a pending free agent. The Twins also got 17-year-old Geremy Villoria as a lottery ticket; we won't learn whether it was a winner for several more years.

3. (Last Year's Rank: 4) Chris Paddack and Randy Dobnak to the Tigers
Return: C Enrique Jimenez
2025 Grade: B-
2026 Grade: B+

Chris Paddack was struggling on an expiring contract when the Twins dealt him, so the fact that Minnesota was able to receive a legitimate prospect at all was impressive.

Jimenez rewarded that gamble almost immediately, posting a .983 OPS in A-ball after joining the organization. This season he earned a promotion to High-A as a 20-year-old before suffering a significant left hamstring strain in late July that is expected to end his season.

The injury is unfortunate, but the upside remains intriguing, and this trade looks better today than it did a year ago.

4. (Last Year's Rank: 3) Carlos Correa to the Astros
Return: RHP Matt Mikulski and roughly $70 million in salary relief
2025 Grade: B
2026 Grade: B

This was always more about financial flexibility than prospect value.

Matt Mikulski has since been released, eliminating any player value from the return. However, shedding the remainder of Correa's contract gave the Twins significantly more payroll flexibility, something that showed up at this year's trade deadline when they were willing to absorb more than $8 million in salary.

Correa is also out for the remainder of the 2026 season with an injury, making it difficult to argue the Twins should regret moving on. Still, because this was primarily a salary dump, it's difficult to rank it much higher.

5. (Last Year's Rank: 5) Willi Castro to the Cubs
Return: RHP Ryan Gallagher, RHP Sam Armstrong
2025 Grade: C+
2026 Grade: C

While Castro was an impending free agent, he was enjoying another productive season when Minnesota moved him. Ryan Gallagher had generated some excitement after posting a 3.43 ERA in the Cubs' system and earning a promotion to Double-A before the trade.

Since arriving in the Twins organization, however, Gallagher has struggled. He posted a 6.69 ERA after the trade last season and owns a 5.50 ERA in 91 innings this year. However, the strikeout numbers and raw stuff remain intriguing, and he has had a successful run of good starts lately, making him look like he could still become a piece for the Twins rotation of the future.

6. (Last Year's Rank: 2) Jhoan Duran to the Phillies
Return: C Eduardo Tait, RHP Mick Abel
2025 Grade: B+
2026 Grade: C-

Much like Griffin Jax, the Twins weren't under any pressure to trade Jhoan Duran. He still had multiple years of club control remaining.

At the time, receiving two Top 100 prospects looked like a strong return. Unfortunately, both players have lost momentum.

Tait has yet to truly break out at High-A, though he has shown signs of life recently. Abel flashed his upside during three major league starts this season before injuries derailed his year. He has since undergone elbow surgery and likely won't pitch again this season.

Meanwhile, Duran has continued establishing himself as one of baseball's elite relievers. Looking back, it's difficult not to wonder what this Twins bullpen would look like with him still anchoring the ninth inning.

There's still time for Tait to realize his prospect potential, and if Abel can stay healthy, he could be a #2 or #3 pitcher for the Twins, but early returns aren't looking great for the biggest swing the Twins made at the trade deadline last season.

7. (Last Year's Rank: 6) Danny Coulombe to the Rangers
Return: LHP Garrett Horn
2025 Grade: C
2026 Grade: C-

Trading a left-handed specialist on an expiring contract was never expected to produce a significant return.

Unfortunately, Garrett Horn hasn't done much to change that perception. Shoulder issues have limited him to just 16 innings this season, and at 23 years old, he doesn't appear to be a significant part of the organization's long-term plans.

It's hard to see this trade moving much higher as time goes on.

8. (Last Year's Rank: 8) Brock Stewart to the Dodgers
Return: OF James Outman
2025 Grade: D+
2026 Grade: D

This trade didn't make much sense when it happened, and it didn't exactly age great.

The Twins already had an abundance of left-handed hitting outfielders, yet they acquired James Outman, another left-handed outfielder whose major league production had fallen off dramatically after his rookie season.

That concern proved valid. Across two seasons with Minnesota, Outman posted just a .526 OPS in 174 plate appearances. The coaching staff never seemed comfortable using him in center field, and his defense in the corners wasn't impactful enough to justify his bat. He has since been designated for assignment and is no longer with the organization.

The only thing keeping this trade from ranking last is Brock Stewart's health. Stewart was already dealing with complicated medical concerns when the Twins traded him, and he has thrown only 17 innings over the past calendar year while spending much of that time on the injured list. It seems likely those medical questions significantly limited the Twins' leverage and made Outman about as much as they could realistically receive.

9. (Last Year's Rank: 9) Louis Varland and Ty France to the Blue Jays
Return: LHP Kendry Rojas , OF Alan Roden
2025 Grade: D+
2026 Grade: D

This was already my lowest-ranked trade immediately after the deadline, and it looks even worse a year later.

Since joining Toronto, Louis Varland has developed into one of the best relievers in baseball. He earned his first All-Star selection this season while posting a 1.09 ERA across 57 innings, while striking out 11.5 batters per nine innings. Even more importantly, he's still making the league minimum and remains under team control through the 2030 season.

On the Twins' side, Kendry Rojas remains an intriguing arm, though he increasingly looks more like a future reliever than a starter. Alan Roden has struggled throughout his time in the organization and has done little to change the outlook of the trade.

What makes this deal even more painful is how perfectly Varland would fit on the current roster. Minnesota's bullpen has been one of the club's biggest weaknesses this season, and Varland has somehow become an even better reliever than anyone could have realistically projected a year ago. Watching him dominate elsewhere while the Twins have searched for reliable late-inning options, needing to dip into the prospect pool to acquire those options at this year's trade deadline, makes this trade look even more lopsided than it did last summer.

Overall, the 2025 trade deadline class hasn't aged particularly well, although it's still early in the development process for many of these prospects. Player development is rarely linear, and several of these young players still have plenty of time to change the narrative.

Still, one year later, it's fair to say some of the Twins' biggest bets have lost value, while only a handful have clearly moved in the right direction. Given how monumental that deadline was in shaping the franchise's direction, these trades will continue to be worth revisiting for years to come.

Do you agree with these updated rankings and grades? Which trade would you take back if you could only redo one? Leave a comment below and start the conversation!