The Minnesota Twins Should Explore Trading Jhoan Durán This Offseason

Scott was traded for a slew of prospect is true. Years ago Craig Kimbrel was traded twice for prospects. I really can’t say there were gems there. The FO did well with trading for Alcala and Duran., they might do well with Henriquez some day.. Just don’t expect  a whole lot out of a trade

Should trade him from the bullpen to the starting rotation.

If the price is right.  You also need a good evaluation on what you want in return.  Don't want players you are injured or injury prone.  The Twins seem to trade starting players for reserves.  Castoffs seem to play better when they leave the Twins.

Word going around is that Jax, who you think is the next heir-apparent to Duran and the closer role, wants to go back to being a starter, If that would happen then you can't, don't, shouldn't, trade Duran. Even though it is highly unlikely they convert Jax back to a starter, something the Twins just never do, I keep Duran. If we see his performance is slipping, everyone else does too, so the big haul you think he'll bring won't be anything close to what you hope for. On top of that I don't trust Falvey to get the players, or player needed to help this team in return. 

42 minutes ago, Minderbinder said:

These let's-trade articles....  A guy's metrics slip a hair and we should explore a trade?  We're supposed to sell-high, not low, when a team could get more in return.  Explore a trade?  For whom?  [cue the comments on how many angels on the head of a pin] And then watch Duran become the next Clase for somebody else who figures out how to tweak him back to 2023 form?  How 'bout, "let's coach him up"?  

Agreed! So far we should trade our entire team per these articles...

Every player should be explored for the right deal.  I mean if a team is willing to toss a ton of good prospects for him sure it would be worth trading him.  However, there is little need to do it right now he is still under control for a couple seasons.  He is on a bit of a down year, and hopefully he bounces back next year.  You can never have too much good pitching.  

I also would never count Brock Stewert in as a reliable guy.  He had a good short stretch with us, but between injuries he has not bee good at times too. He does not have some long term history of being good either. Too often people see a hot stretch of a pen arm as something to count on for years. 

Ok. First it's trade Ober and/or Ryan. Now it's trade Duran. Who is writing this nonsense? Are we the Marlins of 2024? Do we need a complete rebuild with prospects/suspects who may never pan out? Why would we ever trade any of the players who have gotten us as far as we went in '24? Oh, I know. You're going to say how I proposed (and still do) trading Buxton this season. I believe we can get the most for him compared to the others and he still won't play more than 80-100 games for whoever gets him. 

Anyway, I will go on record as being dead set against trading either Ober, Ryan or Duran. I would tell Duran to quit throwing so many sliders which have gotten him in trouble and would not have him pitch more than an inning in relief but I wouldn't trade him. Just 1 man's opinion.

Considering the Twins aren't that good all options should be open.  The Twins have missed the playoffs 3 of the past 4 years and twice by total collapses.  Duran is slipping but is still good overall.  But 9 losses for a closer isn't good.  I think they should dump Correa and Buxton.  And do so this offseason.

 No!!!!!!

The “depth” you cite behind Jax consists of one guy - Cole Sands. Counting on the rest of that injured inconsistent bunch is how you end up with crappy bullpens. 

25 minutes ago, twinfan said:

Ok. First it's trade Ober and/or Ryan. Now it's trade Duran. Who is writing this nonsense? Are we the Marlins of 2024? Do we need a complete rebuild with prospects/suspects who may never pan out? Why would we ever trade any of the players who have gotten us as far as we went in '24? Oh, I know. You're going to say how I proposed (and still do) trading Buxton this season. I believe we can get the most for him compared to the others and he still won't play more than 80-100 games for whoever gets him. 

Anyway, I will go on record as being dead set against trading either Ober, Ryan or Duran. I would tell Duran to quit throwing so many sliders which have gotten him in trouble and would not have him pitch more than an inning in relief but I wouldn't trade him. Just 1 man's opinion.

I thought at one point in time that Duran called out the coaching staff on pitch selection.  Not sure if Duran wanted to throw more fastballs or more off speed, but I remember after a meltdown he went public that did not agree with the pitch selections he was given.  So Duran may actually agree with you on that.

Of all the potential trade candidates the Twins might discuss, trading Duran is the one I could get behind.

I am not a huge believer in the super consistency of relievers.  There are maybe 10 RPs in the league that are elite, the next level being "good to very good" depending on the year.  His stuff may be electric, but Duran has shown to be very hittable at times.  Putting the leadoff guy on base what... 35% of the time?  Not exactly the MO of a lights out reliever.

I am sure there is a team out there needing a closer that would overpay for Duran.  Moving Duran for the right pieces would be the right decision.

If the always injured Topa and Stewart are the “wealth of options” to fill a BP void after trading Duran, the team is in deep trouble. The real issue is Twins have Correa, Buxton, and Lopez on big contracts, which means they must try to compete rather than rebuild. If they continue on a fools errand to dump salary, it will come from the fringes unless someone is willing to take on the contract of Correa, Buxton, or Lopez. Lopez is the most trade worthy piece, given his age, success as a mid rotation guy, and contract. But that would destabilize the rotation even more, which at least has Ober and Ryan. Finding a way to trade Vasquez and his unearned $10 million contract would be a start. 

Twins Daily exists to put out stories concerning the Twins. Thus it makes perfect sense that a series of articles explores specific players and the possibility of trading them. A series of articles also looks at prospects from time to time along with other ideas. These articles are not demands, just food for thought.

If one does not believe that any changes should occur with the roster, that is a preference. There is nothing wrong with that position, but just ignore these articles if that is your position. I cannot understand why anyone would disparage an article that is just forwarding a thought.

Does Duran have value to another team? I would argue yes. He also has value to the Twins. A trade would work if the right name(s) returns. Arizona comes to mind as does Boston.

One thing seems clear to me - if the Twins roll out the same roster next season we can all expect a similar end result.

Pitching depth? I have seen this reasoning in the articles for trading RP and SP. Did I watch a different team collapse in 2024? Pitching was a major problem in 2024.

And what closer can they get besides using Jax in the bullpen again and sacrificing starting pitching. That and only 3 mil for a solid "closer" is a bargain. Just move Jax to starting rotation and have Stewart as a setup guy. Move on from theilbar.

Wait for the new owners.  There could be a whole different situation with the right owners.  And Duran is a generational talent.  You wouldnt trade him unless it was a very good starter, not a bunch of prospects.

10 minutes ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

Why would we want to trade a very good closer who is under control for multiple seasons and at a reasonable cost?

The only reason to trade any player is if it improves the overall roster and increases the chances of a better record next season. Thus, any player can be traded, depending on the return. The goal is not to win the trade but to create a stronger roster in order to compete.

Last season, the Twins had similar win-loss records versus teams above even (.500) as these teams: Boston, Texas, Toronto, LA Angels, Pittsburgh, Miami, and Colorado. The Twins also were above even in one run games. They crushed the AL West. 

There is work to do and I suggest some change. 

3 hours ago, Linus said:

The “depth” you cite behind Jax consists of one guy - Cole Sands. Counting on the rest of that injured inconsistent bunch is how you end up with crappy bullpens. 

Seem to remember just a year ago (actually less) that we were looking at an elite bullpen, no questions booked, for this just completed season....

20 minutes ago, LA VIkes Fan said:

Trade him for prospects? Really bad idea IMHO.

I mostly agree with you but there are prospects and there are prospects. I'm looking at what Jackson Merrill did for San Diego this year. No, San Diego is not trading Merrill but what is out there? I don't have the answer, just thoughts like others. I do want to see the Twins make some changes to what is a slow and poor defensive team. In a deal that makes the team potentially better, anyone can go.

Now we should trade away a $3M bullpen arm for financial reasons?

Good grief.  Just shut this thing down.  It’s radioactive from ownership all the way down to the media/fan base.

Maybe you trade him to get ahead of his arm expiration date (which may already be here).  But, finances entering the conversation is asinine.

Prospects aren't going to help us win in 25 or 26. We already have prospects.

What we don't have is SP and a 5 tool LF - middle of the order bat.

Jax as a starter might make sense .

Proven Bullpen performers (not injured ones) are way cheaper than SP.

The Twins tried to go the bullpen route over SP last year and it might have worked had it not been for injuries. 

They don't have $$ for SP next year either, so trading cheap bullpen options for prospects makes no sense. For a SP like Maeda in 2020, maybe.

But if Jax can become a $20M value SP, spend $10M on the bullpen. If, for once, they all stay healthy, it would be a lights out bullpen.

And I would still rather have had Ryan Pressley over Alcala & Celestino. 

52 minutes ago, Beast said:

Now we should trade away a $3M bullpen arm for financial reasons?

Good grief.  Just shut this thing down.  It’s radioactive from ownership all the way down to the media/fan base.

Maybe you trade him to get ahead of his arm expiration date (which may already be here).  But, finances entering the conversation is asinine.

 

I don't believe most people are looking at Duran's salary but rather at the possibilities that he or anyone else could be moved in a trade to improve the team. At least that is the way I see it.

However, it would be sad if the team considered Duran, Jax, Ryan, Ober, Jeffers, or Castro as expensive. I just don't think that is the view.