Cory Engelhardt

I came up with an idea to look for some players who MIGHT be available IF the Twins were to look to trade Joe Ryan this offseason. I know some people think he will be traded for certain, but I'm not at that point. I mostly wanted to look for players who AREN'T just prospects. Players who have shown production in MLB already. The Twins do have a strong minor league system according to many metrics right now. For example, there is a topic out there for an offer for Ryan to Boston that is basically ONLY prospects (Tolle, Garcia and Arias) where to me, if you are trading Ryan, you NEED to get back someone who will help immediately in 2026 and beyond. Jhostynxyn Garcia may become a good player in time, but right now I have a hard time penciling him WAY above both what Jenkins and Rodriguez could be, let alone others. I wanted to look for players who have already shown major league success, as well as would be pre-arb in 2026 or in their first arbitration year in 2026. The players listed here may or may not be available for trade, but it is the type of player I would need to headline a package IF the Twins are trading Ryan. To reiterate, I would be disappointed if the Twins traded Ryan and didn't get back immediate help for 2026 that you can write in pen. I also focused solely on hitters for this list. And I primarily went with teams that I thought could make sense for a Joe Ryan trade. I did not include Seattle or the Dodgers on this list mostly because the type of offers they could give would be primarily ONLY prospect based. That's ok, but I wanted to focus on younger players who have already shown some sustained success. Again, I'm not saying I would do 1 for 1 trade for any of these listed players. I also don't know that any of them for sure would be available. And I'm really saying I don't know that the Twins would trade Joe Ryan. But IF they were to trade Joe Ryan this offseason, this is the type of player I would need to get back in a package. How good they are would also determine how many prospects would be attached with them. I used fangraphs for both the best WAR season the player has shown, and for their roster resource to show how much service time the player has accrued so far. Let me know what you think. Thanks! Boston Age Service Time Position Best OPS Best WAR B/T 2026 Salary Wilyer Abreu 26.3 1.041 OF 0.804 3.1 L/L Pre-Arb Tristan Casas 25.7 2.032 1B 0.856 1.8 L/L Arb 1 Mets Mark Vientos 25.8 1.102 1B 0.837 2.9 R/R Pre-Arb Brett Baty 25.9 1.088 3B 0.74 2.1 L/R Pre-Arb Cubs Michael Busch 27.9 1.045 1B 0.827 2.8 L/R Pre-Arb Giants Patrick Bailey 26.3 1.136 C 0.644 4.3 S/R Arb 1 Super 2 Heliot Ramos 26 1.103 OF 0.792 2.3 R/R Arb 1 Super 2 Angels Nolan Schanuel 23.6 1.045 1B 0.747 1.5 L/R Pre-Arb Zach Neto 24.6 1.17 SS 0.793 3.5 R/R Arb 1 Super 2 Orioles Jordan Westburg 26.6 1.098 3B 0.792 2.7 R/R Pre-Arb Colton Cowser 25.5 1.043 OF 0.768 3.8 L/R Pre-Arb Cardinals Ivan Herrera 25.3 1.034 C 0.845 2.7 R/R Pre-Arb Alec Burleson 26.8 2.029 1B 0.81 2.1 L/L Arb 1 Masyn Winn 23.5 1.045 SS 0.73 3.6 Pre-Arb

I don’t expect Prielipp to be anywhere but Saint Paul’s rotation to start next season.

And Cubs, and Dodgers, and Mariners.

Yes. Yes it was. And it'll be good to see him start again at Baltimore on 3/26/26.

Just throwing out an idea I had while sitting around doing nothing. Let’s say the cubs want Joe Ryan and offer a package centered around Michael Busch. MN native, would arguably fill the 1b/dh hole for years; and he has real pop. First, is that someone you would want as a headliner of a package? And 2, how much else would have to come with him?

Could you add birthdays to the player names? I know you mentioned the winner being one of the youngest in the league. Just curious how old I will feel mostly when I see the birthdays listed. :)

I'm hopeful there is a 2027, but I wouldn't bet on it being a full season by any means. Hopefully 2028 is a full season. I guess we'll see.

I can totally see this happening. Curious what teams would offer. It would certainly be more than what they got back for Berrios. Still would hurt for 2026.

I went off fangraphs, which is much higher than baseball reference. Should have looked at both.

Bradley certainly has had more success in his career so far overall. And I'll absolutely take Zebby over SWR. If Festa is able to pitch in 2026, I do think he has a better chance at being a good reliever than SWR would. I have trouble seeing SWR move to the bullpen and succeeding. But I am fairly certain that SWR can be a good backend starter. And yeah, I'd listen on SWR. But if he is here in 2026, then I'd imagine it is because other pitchers are also traded.

If they don't want to write in pen that SWR will be in the rotation to start the year, AND they don't think he will convert to a good bullpen option, I can VERY much see him being moved to a team for a player with similar control who could possibly be a catcher or 1B option.

Roden got hurt immediately after being here. Hard to put too much on that. Outman, yeah, we'll see. I'm not here to say that 2026 will be rainbows and bunnies and free candy for everyone. But I do think Abel and Bradley have major league quality stuff (Bradley looked really good yesterday outside of the homerun) so I know this is a lost year and they had a horrible season win loss wise, but the returns from the trade deadline aren't what I am angry about with this team.

I didn't love the Outman deal either. I was just saying I THINK that's why they made the deal. They like having a true CF option for defense to back up Buxton, and Outman can be that. To me, he is the reason they signed Michael A Taylor. That's his roster fit. Tampa Bay has made mistakes before. I mean, the Twins got Joe Ryan from them. And it's not like the Twins gave up nothing either; Jax is a high end reliever and Tampa likes him too. This deal value wise actually made quite a lot of sense to me. I didn't love the Roden addition either, but he has the makings of possibly being a 2 WAR player in the league. And Kendry Rojas has the potential to be a starting option.in a major league rotation. That's good value for a reliever, even if the reliever was born here and I personally liked cheering for Varland. Your last paragraph, I don't get it. Why did anyone have to make any impression in a lost season?

I know, but still, you and I aren't working for a pro team right? If Outman can get to a place where he is close to what Michael Taylor provides, I'm ok with that. We'll see. Bradley and Abel I do think have the opportunity to change their pitch mix a little and be good starters next year. This offseason will be good for both of them to look at their velo and their pitch mix. They have health and good stuff on their side. I don't know at all what to expect out of Roden, but he has strong AAA numbers historically. I view him as a good enough Larnach replacement and able to keep a seat warm until Rodriguez or someone else takes it. Even then, again, I'm not in mlb development, so me seeing Abel pitched once or twice has no barrier on his future success or failure.

This is too quick to make any judgments for most of the players they acquired in my opinion. And that's for good or bad.

This offseason will be interesting. Still curious on who the mystery people are that came into the ownership group. But this offseason CAN'T be just trading Larnach for anything and signing a couple of minor league deals to free agents. It doesn't mean they have to have an enormous payroll, but they need a few relievers and a couple of bats at minimum.

I kind of see him more in right field to be quite honest. I know we have Wallner, but his range/defense this year has left a LOT to be desired. Maybe Wallner will be more full time DH?

I can see Ryan get traded this offseason too, depending on the legitimacy of the return. Getting a high upside power bat would be something I could see them prioritizing. I do question Eldridge and his K rate at AAA. But the power is real. I guess we'll see.

No idea what happened. Injuries, or just baseball is really hard. Wouldnt be shocked if he signs a minor league deal next offseason with someone and he has a good year again. Wouldnt bet on it, but it wouldn’t shock me

All of 2023 it was pretty well known that Sonny was going to move on, and it almost didn't matter the salary offer that could have come that would have kept him there. I wasn't angry at the time so much at Sonny specifically leaving (players can choose where they want to play come free agency) but to drop the payroll THAT much (in the range of what Gray could have earned in 2024) was what was awful at the time. If it had been reinvested in any meaningful way at that time, I still think 2024 and into 2025 would have had better results. Ugh

When there is a lockout after the 2026 season, if there is baseball just at chs field to watch practice with the minor leaguers, at least that’ll be something. I also think Charlee Soto should be in the top 5. Probably also 2026 draftee tbd. But they do have a lot of good looking prospects otherwise

1) I don’t know what relievers will be on the team next year. I’m glad they are using this time to see if any of them should be. 2) I don’t at all agree that the level of player in the lineup points to bottom 5 talent level when everyone is healthy: 3) I think it’s ok to be excited about the draft. I’m sorry you are missing out. It’s a fun time. 4)I am not ok with tanking generally. But if you had a bad year, I’d rather have a bottom 5 record when being bad than I would a bottom 15 record. That might be a minority opinion. Now, if they truly go and trade Pablo and Joe Ryan this offseason (something as of now they are saying they won’t do, and also something I don’t see happening) then maybe the season will be worse next year. I just don’t subscribe to being so pessimistic is all before something happens. They need some additions no doubt (a few relievers, a 1b and another catcher) but there are a lot of young guys in the lineup who could take the next step, to me that’s interesting if nothing else

Do I love how they are playing right now? Of course not. But Pablo is back now, and he is certainly better than Jose Urena no? And Keaschall and Buxton are looking great. Jenkins too. So for 2026, there are pieces that should be solid. I guess I have a hard time getting all that upset after a younger starter has mostly pitched ok, they’ve scored a few runs, and then lose because some reliever who won’t be here next year is bad.

I mean, if I'm being honest, I'd much rather be either really good or really bad (with young and interesting pieces that are close) instead of stuck in the middle. Absolutely nothing gained from winning anywhere from 77-83 games right? Plus, if you KNOW you aren't making the playoffs, wouldn't you rather lose games? Or do you see it differently?

One of the better jokes I've heard is that they should market a Groundhog's Day sequel to come to theatres, but then just release the same movie again. I'd still laugh through it though. Also, don't have "I got you babe" by Sonny and Cher saved as your alarm clock. You'll never get past it :)