Minnesota Twins Players Prepared for Inevitable

It began on Monday night when the Minnesota Twins traded veteran starter Chris Paddack to the Detroit Tigers. Really though, the impending selloff began when the team came out of the All-Star Break two games below .500 (47-49) and then lost series to the Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Washington Nationals.

The clubhouse indicated to the front office that it was time to get serious about selling. The front office had to grapple with the reality that they failed in roster construction, again.

Minnesota is about to miss the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons, and it has started to sink in.

Reality setting in for MN Twins prior to trade deadline

On Tuesday night against the Boston Red Sox the MN Twins set social media ablaze because closer Jhoan Duran simply gave his bullpen catcher a hug. That’s representative of the reality facing the team though. Players are going to go, and Ryan Jeffers talked with The Athletic’s Dan Hayes about just that.

“We’re still kind of in a holding pattern of seeing exactly how far down the rabbit hole we go as an organization,. I’m sure now that the ball’s rolling with making a move, stuff is going to start happening.”

Ryan Jeffers – The Athletic

Jeffers isn’t likely to be among the players that Minnesota moves. Christian Vazquez is an impending free agent (and very much available). Beyond that, the position is thin at the high minors. Danny Coulombe is an impending free agent that is having a career-year, so he could go, and echoes the sentiments of Jeffers.

“You don’t think it’s a real thing, and when one domino falls, you’re like, ‘OK, this is actually going to happen.’ It’s definite we’re looking to sell.”

Danny Coulombe – The Athletic

The rabbit hole Jeffers is talking about relates to the significance of future assets being traded. As a bad team it’s not surprising you’d move anyone that has no set contract beyond this season. That isn’t the case for names like Joe Ryan, Jhoan Duran, or Griffin Jax. On Wednesday morning it was reported that Carlos Correa could be on the table as well.

Related: Report: Houston Astros Coming for MN Twins Carlos Correa

Another impending free agent that has come to grips with the reality is Willi Castro. He is having a better year than his All-Star season in 2024, and that will make him more than valuable to a multitude of teams.

“It’s not going to take me by surprise. I’m already prepared. I wish I could stay here. … I don’t think anybody is going to be surprised by the news.”

Willi Castro – The Athletic

The closer things get to Thursday’s 5pm CDT MLB trade deadline, the more clarity the clubhouse will have. It’s going to look like a different room when the team returns Friday in Cleveland, but they have already submitted to that reality.

MN Twins moves could come fast

It seems like ages ago that Paddack was traded to Detroit, but that was just Monday evening. So far that has been the only deal Derek Falvey has done. However, he holds plenty of assets teams are coming for, and he’ll have to make decisions eventually.

Wednesday the Twins are in action against the Boston Red Sox for a matinee affair. They’ll get on a plane and head to Cleveland after that contest. It may behoove the squad not to offer plane tickets to those that won’t be with the team on Friday.

Related: Excess Demand for Pitching Empowering MN Twins’ Stubborness

Deadline day always brings a flurry of moves. You can expect plenty of the Twins pieces to be caught up in that reality. It will be worth monitoring the tea leaves Wednesday night though to see what may get done before the sun comes up again.