Excess Demand for Pitching Empowering MN Twins’ Stubborness

We are quickly closing in on the 2025 Major League Baseball trade deadline and the Minnesota Twins are expected to be among the most active teams. They have already traded starter Chris Paddack to the Detroit Tigers. A recent report put them in position to make a massive move regarding Carlos Correa.

Minnesota has assets all over the place for contending teams. Among the most coveted may be their pitchers. Joe Ryan, Jhoan Duran, and Griffin Jax are all available for differing levels of returns. The haul for each should be substantial and Derek Falvey knows what he has.

Every team looking at the postseason could use some of Minnesota’s talent, and that puts them in the driver’s seat.

Minnesota Twins have what everyone wants

From the jump, the controllable assets most assumed to draw attention from the Minnesota Twins were Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax. Each are a high-leverage reliever, and among the best in the game. They are also under team control and cost very little. ESPN insider Jeff Passan reports the demand for those types of players certainly outweighs the supply.

“The number of teams that want high-leverage relief pitchers — and the relative paucity of them on the market. St. Louis’ Ryan Helsley is the top rental option. And then there is the group of controllable arms who could move but don’t have to: Pittsburgh’s David Bednar, Minnesota’s Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax, and Tampa Bay’s Pete Fairbanks.

Considering the number of teams that desire impact relief help — the Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, both New York teams and the Los Angeles Dodgers — the ones that have it are understandably holding out for a strong return. There are second- and third-tier relievers, sure, but there isn’t enough elite supply for the demand that exists.”

Jeff Passan – ESPN

Of the names out there, it’s hard not to consider Duran and Jax near the top. The former owns a 2.01 ERA (2.49 FIP) and the latter checks in with a 3.91 ERA (2.01 FIP). Jax has compiled 1.5 fWAR this season with Duran generating 1.3 on his own.

Among relievers across all of baseball, Jax’s fWAR checks in 5th with Duran at 13th. To acquire that sort of talent with just a couple of months left in the season and the postseason on your mind, a new team would be adding a substantial piece.

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

With the market being relatively dry when it comes to top-tier relief pitching, Derek Falvey can work through different scenarios with potential suitors. He should have more possible buyers than he knows what to do with, and capitalizing on the market makes a good deal of sense.

Do both MN Twins relievers go?

At times it has seemed unlikely that Minnesota would trade both Duran and Jax. Each is under team control through the 2027 season, and neither should become all that costly. That said, if the market is really that barren on options, then the returns might be too good to pass up.

Unfortunately the Minnesota Twins are not currently a good baseball team. At 51-56 they are rudderless without a direction the rest of the way. A team like that doesn’t need high-leverage relief arms. They could contend again in 2026, but there is so much uncertainty regarding ownership of the team.

Griffin Jax, Wicked Sweepers…and Sword. ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/MEteME6Hkm

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 29, 2025

If Falvey can find peak value for his high-leverage arms, it makes a good amount of sense that both of them would be traded. Minnesota has developed both Duran and Jax into what they are today. It would be sad to see them leave, but the play of the team as a whole has the front office in this position.

Thursday’s MLB trade deadline could be among the most wild in Twins franchise history.