Greggory Masterson

I think this is the biggest question across Twins baseball at this moment in time. And those two decisions will guide the direction of this team even beyond the years the two are under team control, as you alluded to. This ain’t over.

Image courtesy of © Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images I know, it’s clickbait Twins Daily at it again, selling out all of their integrity to get you to read about how it’s not that bad, actually! or three things that are Pollyanna at 1 Twins Way! or even everything is horrible and it will not get better! But no, I’m being serious. This is not a full-blow teardown—at least not yet. Yes, the Minnesota Twins had one of the biggest fire sales you’ll ever see in American professional sports. A full 40% of their active roster (and 2019 playoff legend Randy Dobnak) is now wearing another uniform. They paid the Astros to take their star shortstop off their hands, with no return to speak of. They rid themselves of the top five arms in their bullpen. Their Opening Day first baseman, second baseman, and left fielder, as well as their current third starter? All gone. It’s impossible to say that selling off that many names isn’t a shock to the system, and I won’t spit on your boots and tell you it’s raining. But I will say that it’s bordering on a half-measure. And you can take that however you will. Look at what the Twins traded. First, five rentals: Harrison Bader, Willi Castro, Chris Paddack, Danny Coulombe, and Ty France. All five of those players were headed for free agency, and none ever had a great chance to get an extension of their liking from the Twins, even if the team’s payroll was higher. Technically, all of them are eligible to return to the Twins, but I wouldn’t have put those odds high beforehand. There’s truly nothing of note in trading the last two months of these players for future value. So let’s not even consider them. What did the Twins really trade? What were the difficult decisions? Well, obviously, Carlos Correa was the biggest name. The Twins bailed out of the back half of his six guaranteed years, and they agreed to pay approximately one-third of his remaining salaries, removing about $75 million from their books in the process. Again, I’m not going to pretend that wasn’t shocking, notable, or future-altering. But I’ll come back to this. The other four players were the top four right-handed bullpen arms—Jhoan Durán, Griffin Jax, Brock Stewart, and Louis Varland. Durán, Jax, and Stewart each had two years of team control remaining, but Varland had five. Most fans expected at least one—if not two—of Durán, Jax, and Stewart to be traded, but Varland was the surprise. The bullpen represented the greatest strength for this team. And yet. If we lined up all of the possible ways to trade 40% of a team’s active roster and ordered them from least devastating to most devastating, this specific one is probably on the lower end. To start with, half of those players were not likely to return anyway. Even if you believe that any of those five should be back next year, you rarely see an extension signed this close to free agency. So, really, it’s Correa and four bullpen arms that have been erased. There’s a whole gamut of opinions on Correa, but one thing is clear: he wasn’t worth the over $30 million he made per year during the first half of his contract, and betting men (no offense to any Cleveland Guardians) wouldn’t put money on a transformative turnaround. The trade cost the team their shortstop of the present, but he was also headed to third base soon, if he and the Twins allegedly had their wishes. So, no, they didn’t trade their superstar shortstop. They traded their solid, highly-paid third baseman, who was playing shortstop for now. They got nothing of value in return, but they did free up about $20 million per year in spending money, which is more than they spent on free agents in the last two years combined. Naturally, you need to believe that the Twins won't cut an additional $40 million from the payroll for that to make a difference, but so be it. The bullpen, on the other hand, was the strength of this team, and it’s a huge blow to peel off two upper-echelon late-inning guys and two very good setup men, one with five years of control. However, making the bet year-to-year that a bullpen continues its dominance is a risky one. Obviously, it’s not a coin flip. I’m not going to tell you that there’s a 50% chance that the pen would cease to be a strength next year if held intact. But if a team is looking for a way to consistently sell high on their value that might not be there in the future, here it is. There’s going to be a lot of questions heading into 2026, and I won’t pretend that it’s easy to reconstruct a bullpen like this. But it’s a whole lot easier to reconstruct a bullpen than an infield or a pitching staff. Speaking of which, the outlook for the lineup is relatively unchanged. The Twins lost Bader and Castro, who are more valuable high-end bench players, but they’re not building blocks. They lost Correa, whose defense has been waning and has not yet reached a league-average OPS for 2025. I don't want to be too dismissive of his talent; he was an elite hitter in 2024 when healthy, but his presence and performance in the first three years of his Twins contract has been shaky enough to scare even the most optimistic of fans, and we have seen worse falloffs before. There is no great promise in this lineup as constructed, either. It’s been the greatest issue for the Twins, both defensively and offensively, but the (alleged) building block pieces are still there, and the Twins added additional options to sort through as 2025 concludes in Alan Roden and James Outman (you're free to hate the moves that brought them here, but—outside of Correa and his eighth-best OPS—the Twins did not subtract from their 2026 corps and instead added, even if only by technicality). If nothing else (and I believe that this factor has not gotten enough attention), if these hitters continue to struggle in 2026, they were always going to be a bad offense, regardless of this deadline. And in the rotation, the Twins still boast two starting pitchers who comfortably fit into the number one starter category, as well as Bailey Ober and a host of young, developing starters between the ages of 23 and 25 in Zebby Matthews, David Festa, Simeon Woods Richardson, and newcomers Taj Bradley and Mick Abel. The starting rotation is also not only still intact but deeper ahead of 2026 than it was last week. Again, your mileage may vary, but the Twins did not take a step back in the rotation, instead adding. In addition to bringing in far-off prospects, the Twins more or less stood pat in the lineup and bolstered the rotation. There are a ton of questions in the bullpen, but given where the Twins stand heading into next season, it’s hard to call this a full teardown. The thing that would make it a teardown? Breaking up the starting rotation, especially the top two. And that's my biggest point. It's not torn down, yet—whether you agree with the above assessment or not. The Twins were engaged in trade talks with Joe Ryan. That was widely reported. They maintained a high bar to acquire him, and no one met it, but he was technically available. And it’s very possible that Pablo López would have been in trade talks, especially with all the emphasis on shedding payroll at this deadline, had he been healthy. It’s possible that the Twins ran out of time. But both Ryan and López are under team control through 2027, and with two guys like that on the roster (and Byron Buxton, I suppose), you’re not really packing it in for a couple of years. Or at least you shouldn’t. Maybe in December they’ll change teams. Or perhaps in spring training, they’ll be flipped to some team that just lost their ace to Tommy John. But until then, the Twins didn’t trade either of their two most important pieces, and I refuse to call it a teardown. It’s trimmed to the bone in some places, but it’s not stripped to the studs. Not yet anyway. And for what it's worth, former Twins GM Thad Levine seems to agree. View full article

Image courtesy of © Brace Hemmelgarn-Imagn Images We love trade trees, don’t we folks? You—yes, you, the reader—already know that the Twins traded closer Jhoan Durán to the Phillies for 18-year-old catcher Eduardo Tait and Triple-A starting pitching prospect Mick Abel. All over this site, there are breakdowns of the trade. But let’s talk about how we got here instead. As you read in the title, A.J. Pierzynski is directly responsible for the Twins acquiring Tait and Abel. Well, maybe not directly. He didn’t call Derek Falvey and instruct the team to make the trade. But Durán’s (and, in effect, Tait and Abel's) presence in the organization can be traced back to Pierzynski. Let’s start at the beginning. Pierzynski was drafted in 1994 by the Minnesota Twins. He played sparingly in the big leagues from 1998 to 2000, but he was Minnesota’s starting catcher between 2001 and 2003, earning an All-Star nod in 2002 and connecting for one of the biggest Twins home runs since 1991. But, as Twins fans know, there was another catcher in the system: Joseph Patrick Mauer. Before the 2004 season, to clear room for the top prospect in baseball, Pierzynski was traded to San Francisco for three pitchers: Joe Nathan, Francisco Liriano, and Boof Bonser. Let’s start doing some counting, and compare Baseball Reference wins above replacement (bWAR). Pierzynski played one season in a Giants uniform, accruing 0.3 bWAR, before being non-tendered over the offseason. Reports are that he wore out his welcome a bit in the Bay, but he nonetheless went on to play an additional 11 years, winning a World Series in Chicago the following year and a Silver Slugger in 2012. On the Twins' side, however, things got fun. Bonser was a replacement-level backend starter and long reliever for the Twins for three years, accruing -0.2 bWAR between 2006 and 2008, picking up a playoff start along the way. In 2009, he was traded for a minor leaguer named Chris Province, who never made the majors. Bonser isn’t the name people talk about with this trade, though. Nathan emerged as Minnesota’s closer and held that spot (other than during time lost to injury) from 2004 to 2011. He’s widely regarded to be the best closer in team history, and he’s arguably the second-best closer of his era, behind Mariano Rivera. He racked up 260 saves in his Twins career with an ERA of 2.16, earning four All-Star nods in six years from 2004 to 2009. He was worth 18.4 bWAR. Finally, Liriano had one of the more memorable Twins careers in recent memory. During his 2006 rookie season, he threw 121 innings, striking out 144, to the tune of a 2.16 ERA. He may have been the best pitcher on a team that included Johan Santana, who was about to win his second Cy Young Award in three years (should have been a three-peat, you’ll pay for this Bartolo Colón). Liriano blew out his elbow in August of that year and was never the same, but during his eight-year Twins career, he was worth 9.3 bWAR. Adding those three pitchers up, the Twins netted 27.5 bWAR from the products of the Pierzynski trade, compared to the 0.3 bWAR the Giants got out of it. But the story doesn’t stop there. At the 2012 Trade Deadline, Liriano was traded to the White Sox for pitcher Pedro Hernández and infielder Eduardo Escobar. Hernández had a rough go of it, only throwing 56 2/3 innings for the Twins in 2013 before being released over the offseason. He netted -0.7 bWAR. Escobar, however, spent parts of seven seasons in a Twins uniform, initially as a utility infielder (and occasional left fielder) before settling in as an everyday player from 2014 to 2018, mostly at shortstop and third base. The fan favorite accumulated 5.6 bWAR in a Twins uniform before his trade at the 2018 deadline to Arizona, where he became their everyday third baseman. The Liriano trade brought the Twins an additional 4.9 bWAR between Escobar and Hernández, but Escobar’s trade added another couple of branches. In return for Escobar, the Twins received Gabriel Maciel, Ernie De La Trinidad, and Jhoan Durán. Maciel and De La Trinidad have washed out of affiliated ball, but, well, you already know this. Durán emerged as the best Twins closer since Nathan. Pairing a fastball that could hit 105 miles per hour, a splitter that touched 100, and a filthy curveball, Durán became many Twins fans' favorite player. Durán closed for the Twins from 2022 to 2025, saving 74 games with a 2.47 ERA. He was worth 7.3 bWAR for Minnesota, and he was in the midst of what may be his best season as a big-leaguer when he was traded on Wednesday. So, between Nathan, Liriano, Durán, Escobar, Bonser, and Hernández, the Pierzynski trade accrued a total of 39.7 bWAR, which dwarfs the Giants' 0.3 from the deal. And now, Tait and Abel are the next two branches of this trade tree. Abel might start creating value for Minnesota as early as this season, and Tait has a chance to add some serious value if he pans out as a prospect. If you’re a sicko, this is fun. It’s far more fun than the shellacking that the Twins have taken in the Delmon Young Trade Tree, at least. View full article

Heck no, let me hear your derision!

Gregg and Cody react to the Twins' trade of Chris Paddack and Randy Dobnak, remembering their time with the Twins, evaluating the return, and hypothesizing what's next. They also announced plans to livestream during the Trade Deadline on Thursday! Listen using Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-twins-off-daily-podcast/id1741266056 Listen using Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4tb78XlurcPTYYSsARdbD7 Listen using iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-twins-off-daily-podcas-167548600/ Listen using Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/nvclbt0w Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@twinsdaily View full article

Image courtesy of © Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images Put even more concisely, it's his job. It’s a common question posed by fans and commentators this trade deadline: Should Derek Falvey be trusted with potential franchise-altering trades? Our own Matthew Taylor asked that same question this weekend. He laid out the general points: Falvey’s job status beyond this season isn’t guaranteed, given the looming sale of the franchise and the team likely missing the playoffs in four of the past five seasons. There's a potential misalignment of goals (given that Falvey’s position may lead him to focus more on the short term than long-term organizational health), and many have questions about his trade record in the past. You can read Matthew’s piece for a more fleshed-out version of these factors (and my history of Falvey’s deadline deals, while you're looking for more light reading). But I’m here to tell you that answer: like it or not, he has to make those decisions at this deadline. Or at least, he has to be left alone to be open to them. To be clear, no one is arguing about whether he should be allowed to dump the expiring contracts; we’re talking about guys like Joe Ryan, Griffin Jax, or Jhoan Durán, or who knows, maybe Brock Stewart, Ryan Jeffers, or Trevor Larnach—players with at least a year remaining of team control after 2025. We just saw him deal Chris Paddack, but the real stakes lie with the longer-term moves. There, too, lie the real questions. But, again, the answer to this question is very simple. If he has the job, he has to do the job. Although it may seem like the organization is shooting itself in the foot, allowing a decision-maker to make potentially franchise-altering decisions on the way out the door, there are a few things to keep in mind here. First, the obvious: there’s no indication Falvey will not return in 2026 and beyond in a baseball decision-making position. There’s no indication he will, either, but such is the nature of a team that’s currently up for sale with no concrete news as to when a new owner will start calling shots—or what that owner’s preferences are. Given the assumption that no one knows the answer to that question (and at least publicly, that’s true, though it may be a different story behind closed doors), it’s incumbent on the organization to act as if there will not be changes to the decision-making roles. They need to act as if they will continue to be making those decisions for years to come. I mean, what’s the alternative? They take their ball and go home? Say, “I don’t know if I’ll be here next year, so I won’t do anything now?” Good luck explaining that to your new boss. Second, related to the first: making a silly, shortsighted trade of a valuable piece like Duran for some short-term gain is also not a good way to endear oneself to ownership. Doing something reckless to try to win in 2025 or sell out for 2026, like the recklessness by omission of doing nothing, isn’t good for a career, either. Third, are we all talking about the same Derek Falvey? As an executive, his public reputation is that of a notoriously hard bargainer. Making a deal on a controllable asset just to make a deal seems out of character—as an outsider, at least—which should give Twins fans comfort. By all accounts, and from watching him for eight seasons, it would be surprising to see him complete a deal that he didn’t think he won. It would, frankly, be confusing. Of course, you may have reached the end of this and maintained the opinion that you simply don’t trust him to make decisions, because you think he’s not good at his job. I’m not here to stop you from believing that. But too bad, I guess. That’s not an argument against him making these specific deals; it’s an argument that he shouldn’t have this job anymore, which, again, I won’t stop you from making. But it’s a different discussion. At that point, your stance should be that he shouldn’t be allowed to try to find deals for Harrison Bader and Willi Castro, and that a new decision-maker should replace him before we reach the deadline. But that’s not what we’re discussing. We’re talking about an executive doing the job that he’s paid to do. And if a team comes knocking, willing to overpay for one of the Twins' pricier pieces, it's incumbent on this organization to pull the trigger, regardless of the cloudy picture in 2026 and beyond. View full article

Image courtesy of © Denny Medley-Imagn Images There’s no real reason to believe that the Twins won’t sell, at least a little bit. You’ve read enough stories here detailing why, who is available, what the Twins could expect in return, yadda yadda. If you’ve been reading Twins Daily for a while, you’ll also probably know how these articles work—this is the eighth I’ve written in the last 25 months. Below, I’ve listed the 14 times the Twins have sold at the deadline since 2017, Derek Falvey’s first year controlling the team. I’ve roughly ordered them from highest quality to lowest quality, preferring trades that bring back big-league players, even if the Twins didn’t get their money’s worth. You can argue over it if you want. After getting feedback on these, I’ve slightly altered the format of the information given. I’ve listed player stats: innings pitched or plate appearances, ERA+ or OPS+, and Baseball Reference WAR. For Minnesota’s return (e.g., Joe Ryan). I listed their performance as a Twin first. For the other team’s return (e.g., Nelson Cruz), I listed their performance through whatever team control Minnesota had at that time first. I want to compare what the Twins got out of the deal against the overall value they sent out. For Twins players, mostly prospects, this excludes value they accumulated elsewhere (e.g., Zack Littell in Tampa), even if they were still on the contract they had with the Twins. For other teams’ players (e.g., Ryan Pressly), I have highlighted what they did on the contract they were on with the Twins, even if they finished the contract with another team, to note the value given up. However, I do not count anything after the player signs an extension. Complain in the comments if you don’t think it’s fair. I also attempted to add as much context as concisely possible, because stats don’t tell the whole story. 1. 7/22/21: Minnesota acquires Joe Ryan* (587 IP, 114 ERA+, 11.0 bWAR), Drew Strotman (did not reach Minnesota) from Tampa Bay for Nelson Cruz (238 PA, 101 OPS+, 0.4 bWAR), Calvin Faucher (138.2 IP, 94 ERA+, 0.3 bWAR under team control; 47 IP, 64 ERA+, -0.8 bWAR for the Rays), +10.3 bWAR for Minnesota. This one hurt, as Cruz was a fan favorite and the leader of the greatest power offense in baseball history, but it’s turned out better than most could imagine. Although Strotman washed out of the organization in 2022, Ryan has emerged as a frontline starter who continues to improve. To get Ryan, the Twins gave up two months of Cruz, who was merely league-average for the Rays, and Faucher, who struggled in Tampa but is a nice piece in Miami’s pen after being traded there ahead of the 2024 season. 2. 7/27/18: Minnesota acquires Jhoan Duran* (230.2 IP, 170 ERA+, 7.2 bWAR), Ernie De La Trinidad (did not reach Minnesota), Gabriel Maciel (did not reach Minnesota) from Arizona for Eduardo Escobar (223 PA, 102 OPS+, 0.6 bWAR under team control; 1,544 PA, 102 OPS+, 6.2 bWAR for Arizona), 6.6 bWAR for Minnesota. Escobar was a solid regular and fan favorite for the Twins on an expiring contract, and he signed a three-year extension with Arizona after the trade, continuing to be a contributor at multiple positions. De La Trinidad and Maciel are out of affiliated ball and on Oakland’s High-A team, respectively. Jhoan Duran debuted in 2022 and has been one of the more dominant closers in baseball ever since. 3. 7/30/21: Minnesota acquires Simeon Woods Richardson* (219.1 IP, 99 ERA+, 3.2 bWAR), Austin Martin* (257 PA, 89 OPS+, -1.0 bWAR) from Toronto for José Berríos* (242.1 IP, 85 ERA+, 0.9 bWAR under team control; 745.1 IP, 103 ERA+, 7.4 bWAR for the Blue Jays), +1.3 bWAR for Minnesota. We’re years away from knowing for sure who won this trade, and it could get much better or much worse, hence its middling position in this ranking. José Berríos quickly signed a seven-year, $131-million extension with Toronto, but struggled mightily in 2022 before his extension kicked in. He’s been a solid No. 2 or 3 starter from 2023 to 2025, but the Twins had no intention of extending him. Woods Richardson had a bumpy ride in the majors, but has provided meaningful innings for two years. Martin, once a top prospect in baseball, stumbled in his first year of big-league action in 2024 and has not made it back to the show in 2025. There was an opportunity cost to this trade, as it netted two top-100 prospects but meant starting over a bit in the rotation. 4. 7/30/17: Minnesota acquires Zack Littell (63.2 IP, 99 ERA+, 0.2 bWAR for Minnesota; 538.1 IP, 108 ERA+, 7.2 bWAR under team control), Dietrich Enns (4.0 IP, 71 ERA+, -0.1 bWAR for Minnesota, 42.1 IP, 116 ERA+, 0.2 bWAR under team control) from New York (AL) for Jaime Garcia (37.1 IP, 94 ERA+, -0.1 bWAR), +0.0 bWAR for Minnesota. After deciding that maybe they shouldn’t go for it, the Twins traded Jaime Garcia to New York and retained his salary. In return for 37 1/3 mediocre innings from Garcia, who retired the following year, Minnesota received Zack Littell and Dietrich Enns. Littell was a solid enough reliever for three years, until being designated for assignment after 2020, and he’s reinvented himself as a starter in Tampa. Enns has been unremarkable, pitching in 2017, 2021, and 2025 for three organizations. 5. 7/31/18: Minnesota acquires Logan Forsythe (205 PA, 81 OPS+, 0.2 bWAR), Luke Raley (did not reach Minnesota, 1,175 PA, 115 OPS+, 6.0 bWAR under team control), Devin Smeltzer (140 IP, 106 ERA+, 1.6 bWAR for the Twins; 162.1 IP, 74 ERA+, 1.4 bWAR under team control) from Los Angeles (NL) for Brian Dozier (170 PA, 77 OPS+, 0.1 bWAR), +1.7 bWAR for Minnesota. Brian Dozier was on the wrong side of 30 and in the middle of a pedestrian year, after the Twins passed on better opportunities to cash in on his talents. Forsythe was acquired to finish the year in Dozier’s spot at second base, and Luke Raley was later traded back to LA in the Kenta Maeda trade. He’s since emerged as a solid bat for a few different teams. Devin Smeltzer was a feel-good story who filled a swingman role on some good Twins teams over four years. 6. 7/30/21: Minnesota acquires John Gant (33.2 IP, 76 ERA+, -0.3 bWAR), Evan Sisk (did not reach Minnesota; 5.1 IP, 259 ERA+, 0.1 bWAR under team control) from Cincinnati for J.A. Happ (54 IP, 98 ERA+, 0.5 bWAR), -0.8 bWAR for Minnesota. This trade was a salary dump to salvage some money from Happ. Gant came over to offset some of the salary and fill a rotation slot, and he was not offered arbitration after the season. Evan Sisk was part of the trade that brought Michael A. Taylor to Minnesota for 2023. It was impressive to get anything of value in the trade, given Happ's struggles in Minnesota. 7. 7/28/18: Minnesota acquires Gilberto Celestino (409 PA, 70 OPS+, 0.2 bWAR), Jorge Alcala* (187.2 IP, 99 ERA+, 1.1 bWAR, 200.2 IP, 105 ERA+, 0.2 bWAR under team control) from Houston for Ryan Pressly* (77.2 IP, 243 ERA+, 3.0 bWAR under team control; 333 IP, 151 ERA+, 6.4 bWAR for the Astros), -1.7 bWAR for Minnesota. One that got away, Pressly has made two All-Star Games in Houston since the trade, and the Astros extended him—though it was clear the Twins had no intention of doing the same. Alcala has shown flashes as a late-inning arm, but he has failed to provide any level of consistency and was traded earlier this year. Celestino was rushed to the majors in 2021 and has not seen success in MLB; he's now in the Mets system. 8. 7/30/18: Minnesota acquires Tyler Austin (141 PA, 110 OPS+, 0.3 bWAR), Luis Rijo (did not reach Minnesota) from New York (AL) for Lance Lynn (54.1 IP, 102 ERA+, 0.3 bWAR), +0.0 bWAR for Minnesota. It was time for Lynn to go. The surly man did not perform in Minnesota, but he has been a quality, reliable pitcher outside of his four months in a Twins uniform. He just retired this spring. Rijo washed out of Minnesota's system after 2022, and Austin spent time at first base and designated hitter but was again traded in 2019, after C.J. Cron emerged as a better first baseman. It was good to get any big-league asset out of this trade. 9. 7/30/21: Minnesota acquires Alex Scherff (did not reach Minnesota) from Boston for Hansel Robles (25.0 IP, 131 ERA+, 0.5 bWAR under team control; 49.2 IP, 95 ERA+, -0.3 bWAR for Boston), -0.5 bWAR for Minnesota. Robles had a rocky half-season in Minnesota as a setup man in a poor bullpen, so the team was never likely to get much of anything in return. Scherff is currently at Wichita, but his performance has not been anything to be excited about from a minor-league reliever. 10. 7/26/23: Minnesota acquires Dylan Floro (17.0 IP, 84 ERA+, 0.0 bWAR), from Miami for Jorge López (20.2 IP, 85 ERA+, 0.3 bWAR under team control; 11.2 IP, 52 ERA+, -0.5 bWAR for Miami), -0.3 bWAR for Minnesota. After being acquired at the 2022 deadline to pair with Duran in the back of the Twins’ bullpen, López’s tenure started shaky and only got worse. By July the following year, the Twins sent him to Miami for Floro, who ate a few innings out of the pen and was cut late in the season. López was a functional reliever in 2024, but the Twins weren’t going to wait for that player to reappear. They seemed relieved to get anything for him in the first place. 11. 7/30/18: Minnesota acquires Chase De Jong (18.2 IP, 84 ERA+, 0.0 bWAR for the Twins; 181.0 IP, 78 ERA+, -0.1 bWAR under team control), Ryan Costello (did not reach Minnesota) from Seattle for Zach Duke (14.2 IP, 75 ERA+, 0.0 bWAR), +0.0 bWAR for Minnesota. Duke was having a decent year as a middle reliever. For the last two months of 2018 Duke, the Twins got 18.2 innings of Chase De Jong, who had a good 2022 in Pittsburgh but has otherwise been unremarkable. 12. 7/31/17: Minnesota acquires Tyler Watson (did not reach Minnesota) from Washington for Brandon Kintzler (26.0 IP, 131 ERA+, 0.5 bWAR under team control; 68.2 IP, 123 ERA+, 1.2 bWAR for the Nationals), -0.5 bWAR for Minnesota. Brandon Kintzler was a great story for the Twins, improbably rising to become an All-Star closer in 2017. The Twins traded him and his expiring contract for Watson, who never made the majors. Washington extended Kintzler on a two-year deal, but he was traded to the Cubs in 2018 for future Twin Jhon Romero. 13. 8/9/18: Minnesota acquires Dakota Chalmers (did not reach Minnesota), from Oakland for Fernando Rodney (20.2 IP, 108 ERA+, 0.2 bWAR under team control; 35.0 IP, 70 ERA+, -0.3 bWAR for Oakland), -0.2 bWAR for Minnesota. Stop me if you’ve heard this before: the Twins traded their closer at the deadline. Pulling an Oakland on Oakland, they got back righty Dakota Chalmers, a lottery ticket who struggled with command and is now in independent ball. 14. 7/30/21: Minnesota acquires Stevie Berman (did not reach Minnesota) from Los Angeles (NL) for Andrew Vasquez (63.2 IP, 104 ERA+, 0.6 bWAR under team control; 1.2 IP, 999 ERA+, 0.1 bWAR for the Dodgers), -0.6 bWAR for Minnesota. Despite the excitement surrounding Andrew Vasquez as a prospect, he was never able to stick with Minnesota and was flipped for a depth catcher who was waived and is now in Toronto’s system. There you have it. How do you feel about the Twins’ prospects of gaining assets in trades this season? How much confidence do you have that this front office will bring in beneficial pieces? History is one of our best guides; listen closely to what it's telling us. View full article

Sweet Lou and Ol' Gregg are joined by friend of the pod Theo Tollefson for the second annual Gripesgiving. They gripe about everything from their co-hosts, to the team's branding, to adult autograph hawks and much, much more. Listeners supply their own gripes, and we finally get a barrage of gripes from Gregg's lovely wife. Live. Laugh. Gripe. Listen using Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-twins-off-daily-podcast/id1741266056 Listen using Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4tb78XlurcPTYYSsARdbD7 Listen using iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-twins-off-daily-podcas-167548600/ Listen using Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/nvclbt0w Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@twinsdaily View full article

@Kevhenwanted to give you a shoutout I missed your name because my methodology was just looking through mailbags. Thanks for your likes on Twins Daily

Sweet Lou, Comrade Cody, and Ol Gregg spend Day 3 of the All-Star Podnanza looking ahead to the second half, identifying X-factors and Greggs-factors, predicting the trade deadline, and trying to decide if the Twins are viable. Can you name the 9 40+ year-olds to play for the Twins since 2000? Listen using Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-twins-off-daily-podcast/id1741266056 Listen using Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4tb78XlurcPTYYSsARdbD7 Listen using iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-twins-off-daily-podcas-167548600/ Listen using Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/nvclbt0w Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@twinsdaily View full article

Sweet Lou, Comrade Cody, and Ol Gregg spend Day 2 of the All-Star Podnanza reviewing the first half, identifying top and bottom performers. They also discuss the Nelly concert and Lou has a lefty reliever in mind. Can you guess him? Listen using Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-twins-off-daily-podcast/id1741266056 Listen using Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4tb78XlurcPTYYSsARdbD7 Listen using iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-twins-off-daily-podcas-167548600/ Listen using Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/nvclbt0w Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@twinsdaily View full article

Twins Off-Daily celebrates its first 50 episodes by revisiting some of the best moments of the podcast. There's thank-yous laughs, gripes, awkward silence, and a never-before-seen clip from an episode buried to the sands of time. Listen using Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-twins-off-daily-podcast/id1741266056 Listen using Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4tb78XlurcPTYYSsARdbD7 Listen using iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-twins-off-daily-podcas-167548600/ Listen using Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/nvclbt0w Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@twinsdaily View full article

Image courtesy of © Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images Twins hitting has not been good in 2025. As a team, they’re slashing .240/.309/.397, ranking 22nd in batting average, 21st in on-base percentage, and 17th in slugging. That's landed them 20th in baseball in runs per game. That the Twins could be one of the top offensive teams in MLB ahead of the season was wishful thinking, but there was some hope and belief that the Twins could rank in the top half of the league, at least. The plan seemed to be to have high-end pitching (which was going according to plan, until June) supplemented by enough hitting to win games consistently. But that hitting has not manifested. The path toward competent hitting was reasonably clear. There were a handful of high-performing bats in a top-heavy lineup that needed to perform well, and the rest of the team needed to be functional, hovering around league average. The top bats—the bell cows—were to be Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton, and Matt Wallner. The next couple hitters were probably a step down, but many anticipated a bounceback year from Royce Lewis would be necessary, and Trevor Larnach would need to repeat his quiet but solidly above-average production from 2024. If those five could carry the lineup, and the bottom four spots could find ways to contribute on a day-to-day basis, the Twins could have an acceptable offense. Unfortunately, though, the “bottom-half” bats have been carrying the offensive load for most of the year. To put into perspective how the roles have flipped, let’s thumb through the primary 12 bats in the Twins’ lineup and compare their 2025 performance to their expected role, 2024 performance, and 2025 preseason projections via FanGraphs’s ZiPS, an imperfect but useful tool for comparison to how each player was expected to perform this season. The selected hitting statistic here will be wRC+. 100 is exactly average—90 is 10% below average and 115 is 15% above average, for instance. To me, anything between 92 and 108 is average, but who cares what I think? I’ll also include OPS in case wRC+ makes you mad. They're sorted by the difference from their projected performance. Royce Lewis, wRC+: 64 (.583 OPS), projected wRC+: 113 (-49% difference), 2024 wRC+: 107 (-43% difference) Likely the hitter with the most questions ahead of 2025, Lewis finished his 2024 season about as poorly as any hitter can, especially in comparison to the first 100 or so games of his career between 2022 and the first half of 2024. The player whom the Twins most needed to have a bounceback year has spent much of the season on the injured list and has floundered—only ahead of one other regular Twins hitter in stats like wRC+ and OPS (I’m sure you can guess who, but don’t spoil the surprise for anyone else). He’s failed to come close to even his mediocre 2024 or the slightly above-average projection ZiPS had him at, let alone the hitter the team needed. Carlos Correa, wRC+: 93 (.693 OPS), projected wRC+: 127 (-34% difference), 2024 wRC+: 154 (-61% difference) Correa was an All-Star in 2024, but missed most of the second half due to plantar fasciitis that held him to only 86 (extremely productive) games. However, he was tied for the Twins’ most productive hitter on a rate basis and expected to have another very good offensive year, even if he didn’t reach the heights of 2024 again. Instead, he’s been below-average, far from the number-two hitter he was expected to be, and he’s headed toward a consistent spot in the bottom third of the lineup, which is especially disappointing given his contract situation. Ty France, wRC+: 89 (.666 OPS), projected wRC+: 113 (-24% difference), 2024 wRC+: 93 (-4% difference) Here we have the first disappointment who was in the middle range of hitters by projection. Acquired for just $1 million on a non-guaranteed contract, France has effectively replicated his paltry 2024 numbers and spent most of the year as a league-average hitter who produced mostly in clutch situations. He’s been a usable but not terribly productive bat that belongs in the back end of a lineup, but he plays first base, and many were hoping for something of a bounceback. Matt Wallner, wRC+: 107 (.748 OPS), projected wRC+: 127 (-20% difference), 2024 wRC+: 154 (-47% difference) The third of the top bats to sputter in 2025, Wallner hit well before an April hamstring strain caused him to miss a month and a half. He’s currently battling through the first prolonged slump of his career. Unlike Correa and Lewis, Wallner is still hovering around league-average, but if this cold stretch continues, he’s not far from dropping into the 90s. It’s a disappointing development for the Opening Day leadoff hitter. Trevor Larnach, wRC+: 102 (.726 OPS), projected wRC+: 111 (-9% difference), 2024 wRC+: 120 (-18% difference) Larnach is slightly underperforming his projections and 2024 performance, but a lot of that is due to his increased usage against lefties. He’s been awful versus southpaws, but has otherwise performed in line with his 2024 numbers, if not slightly better. Especially compared to the other three names from the big five we’ve looked at, it’s relieving to know he’s been at least close to expectations. Brooks Lee, wRC+: 85 (.669 OPS), projected wRC+: 92 (-7% difference), 2024 wRC+: 61 (+24% difference) Lee has been given the time to develop into a viable hitter in a utility infield role, and he’s come along well from his 2024 as he gets more time in the majors. He’s been basically what the Twins needed from him, and what ZiPS expected, though his approach is disappointingly ragged. Ryan Jeffers, wRC+: 111 (.742 OPS), projected wRC+: 111 (0% difference), 2024 wRC+: 106 (+5% difference) Jeffers has been more or less what as-expected. He can catch, and he’s been on the higher end of average, especially now that the hits have begun to fall. He’s not been the hitter he was in 2023, but he’s been useful and consistent. Byron Buxton, wRC+: 152 (.925 OPS), projected wRC+: 130 (+22% difference), 2024 wRC+: 141 (+11% difference) The only player in the top five who has lived up to his expectations, Buxton is heading for the All-Star game for the second time in his career after replicating his 2024 performance and outperforming the high expectations ZiPS had for him. He’s the only one of the big five who has clearly done what’s expected and needed from the team. I give them a 1.5/5 success rate (I’m sympathetic to Larnach). Buxton has been a treat. Harrison Bader, wRC+: 115 (.767 OPS), projected wRC+: 95 (+20% difference), 2024 wRC+: 86 (+29% difference) The three remaining overperformers on this list are guys who were expected to bat consistently in the bottom four, and their performance would be awesome complements to a robust top of the order. Instead, they’ve disproportionally carried the load. Bader has been tremendous this season, having one of his better overall seasons and performing in clutch moments, too. Not a ton of notes, other than asking where the Twins would be without Harrison Bader. Will Castro, wRC+: 124 (.791 OPS), projected wRC+: 104 (+20% difference), 2024 wRC+: 107 (+17% difference) Castro struggled out of the gate and is mostly restricted to second and third base or the corner outfield, but he’s earned his everyday designation and is hitting similarly to his first half of 2024, in which he was an All-Star. Great work from him all-around at the plate this season. Kody Clemens, wRC+: 118 (.796 OPS), projected wRC+: 92 (+26% difference), 2024 wRC+: 90 (+28% difference) Clemens has widely been held as the biggest revelation for the Twins, and comparing his performance to his past and projected numbers bears that idea out. After being acquired for cash considerations, Clemens has carried the Twins for stretches, including their 13-game win streak earlier this year. It’s unclear if he will continue to produce like he has, and his performance has dipped over the last month, but it’s important, and almost fitting to draw attention to this at the end. Mediocre hitters (as Clemens may very well be) are going to fluctuate. They can and do hit very well for stretches, and when that complements a cadre of very effective hitters, teams can reap the benefits. But if they are instead covering for those higher-ceiling, more established players, the team is in trouble. You can’t bank on players like Bader and Clemens providing offense. They need to be complementary players. Christian Vázquez, wRC+: 39 (.493 OPS), projected wRC+: 72 (-33% difference), 2024 wRC+: 59 (-20% difference I don’t care. Please don't put it in the internet that I care. View full article

Personally I would be looking to improve at a position not filled by the team’s 3rd best hitter against righties, 30% above league average. If you want to improve that spot, it’s much easier to just find him a platoon partner.

I'm gonna push back against this a little. Larnach against righties is first on the team in batting average, second in OBP, and third in slugging. His wRC+ against righties is 127 per FanGraphs. That's good performance at the plate. Yes, he's not good defensively, but he's still a fine player. I think it's possible to see him as an average player and a good, valuable bat simultaneously. He's not someone they should be actively looking to replace. He's more of a solid player for now, hopefully someone takes his place at some point, but they're not in any danger starting him 70% of games in a corner or at DH. He doesn't need to be a core player to be valuable.