Joe Ryan was among the players dangled at the deadline, but ultimately the Boston Red Sox couldn’t complete the deal. He went through a whirlwind of emotions in the time since, but now is seemingly in favor of what the front office is doing.

MN Twins path forward makes sense to Joe Ryan

It was less than three weeks ago that Joe Ryan was calling out the front office and ownership for a Sonny Gray move that sparked this downturn. Now he seemingly is stepping back and singing a different tune. The Athletic’s Dan Hayes talked with him following Friday’s loss in Philadelphia.

“At the end of the day, I see the big picture and the decisions they’ve made, and I think they’re good decisions and the trajectory of the organization is positive. I think they’re doing a really good job of working with what we have and making the right decisions on the field right now and putting a little more pressure on teams. The young guys that are stepping up, obviously, there have been a couple of rocky outings here and there, but for the most part, guys like Taj (Bradley) and Mick (Abel), those guys look really good.”

Joe Ryan – The Athletic

It’s beyond plausible that Ryan was simply frustrated with what the Twins did at the trade deadline. Jhoan Duran was among the players moved, and he shared that sentiment with Hayes on Friday in Philadelphia as well. Now that he’s had time to process, it seems Ryan is a bit more well-reasoned with his take.

“I felt like I was in shock for a couple of weeks after that, and then it kind of settled in. (My future) is so far out of my control. But it seems like the team is making good decisions from the front office and coaching staff down to give ourselves a chance to win a couple more ballgames. … I think the team’s going to be in a really good spot going forward. Hopefully we’ll make a couple of other moves and see where that goes, but I’m not too worried about that.”

Joe Ryan – The Athletic

It’s on odd full-circle moment. He does acknowledge that the front office is “working with what they have” as an understanding that ownership ties one arm behind their backs. That means getting good talent in exchange for expensive players is a must. It remains to be seen if Bradley and Abel fit that mold though.

Knowing there may not be a path to make other impactful moves, Ryan dances around what his future could look like. It wasn’t long ago that it appeared as though it wouldn’t be in Minnesota. If it is, he’ll have to do plenty of the heavy lifting.

He finished this season with a career-best 3.47 ERA (3.74 FIP), but a bad stretch since mid-August (6.75 ERA in his final seven starts) wiped out a 2.72 ERA. Those sort of numbers would have been worthy of Cy Young votes. Finishing strong is something that becomes a priority for a guy needing to lead any sort of a future postseason push.

Youth provides a mixed bag for Twins

Taj Bradley has had some moments of execution for the Twins, but he finished with a 6.61 ERA (4.74 FIP) across 31 1/3 (six starts) innings. He has nearly 400 innings at the big league level, and owns a 4.86 ERA. He’s still just 24 years old, but Minnesota must develop him into something more for that move to make sense.

Taj Bradley's 3Ks in the 6th. pic.twitter.com/3UdMQ1K84y

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 25, 2025

Abel is the same age as Bradley, but has just 33 innings at the big league level. He’ll finish his season pitching against his former employer on Saturday at Citizens Bank Park. Abel has given up 14 runs (13 earned) in just eight innings for the Twins and was once demoted back to Triple-A. He’s dominated the minors but has to unlock the next level.

Hypothetically there’s an understanding of what Derek Falvey and Jeremy Zoll are doing. That doesn’t mean it’s enough to have a realistic path forward. The Twins still have just two surefire big league starters, and both Ryan and Pablo Lopez could be trade candidates this offseason.

For now Ryan is toeing the company line it seems, but at some point, it can’t be fun playing for a loser with little opportunity to have things improve.

While that may be unsurprising, as usual, the devil is in the details. It’s not the final scores that have been most frustrating. Instead, it’s how they’ve gotten to where they are.

Minnesota’s two biggest talent acquisitions at the trade deadline, starting pitchers Taj Bradley and Mick Abel, were both placed in Triple-A St. Paul, upon their arrival to the organization. Neither have fared well, but both received recent call-ups anyway.

The results have been… mostly disappointing. Bradley has a 7.20 ERA and a 1.400 WHIP in his 10 innings as a Twin, Abel a 24.75 ERA and 4.250 WHIP (4 innings).

Taj Bradley’s discovery of pregame preparation pays off for Minnesota Twins

On Saturday, however, Bradley had his best performance in a long time, tossing 5 innings (83 pitches) of 1 run, 1 hit baseball (6K/3BB). Unfortunately, Mick Abel came in for the 6th, where he proceeded to allow 6 runs on 7 hits (59 pitches) in his one inning of work. He was sent back to St. Paul afterwards.

Taj Bradley, Wicked 90mph Back Foot Cutter. 🤢 pic.twitter.com/ek3mG59Ap2

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 31, 2025

But it was the quote given by Minnesota’s other main trade acquisition after the game — when asked if he did anything different for this start, compared to prior ones this season — where Taj Bradley made a shocking admission.

He did, infact, do something different prior to this weekend’s start vs the Padres. For the first time in his big league career, the 24-year-old actually studied the opposing lineup and hitter tendencies.

On the latest paid Patreon episode of “Gleeman and the Geek” ($$$ – Patreon), Twins beat reporter Aaron Gleeman (The Athletic) recalled how Bradley’s blunt admission left him and other beat reporters in the Target Field locker room stunned.

So we’re talking to [Taj Bradley] and he’s talking about, you know, I felt good, I worked on this, all that. And then so someone asked…basically what was different, you know, something like that.

And he said, quote, “I worked on a few things in between adding some new stuff that I hadn’t done prior in my career, which is study the lineups and looking at the numbers and stuff like that.”

Aaron Gleeman – Gleeman and the Geek (Paid Patreon)

Related: Twins Ace Nearing Return; Veteran Catcher Trying

Bradley, 24, was acquired in the Griffin Jax deal, and came with more MLB experience (69 MLB starts). Abel, also 24, was the highly-touted prospect with just six big league starts at the time of the trade. He too headlined the package Minnesota received in exchange for a top reliever, 27-year-old Jhoan Duran.

Bradley’s bad study habits not as surprising as you may think?

There are a few different ways you can take all of this. Like Gleeman, my initial reaction was one of semi-shock. How could a professional pitcher not study opposing lineups, when they are making, at the very least, an upper six-figure salary?

Not only that, but how is Taj Bradley — a borderline MLB starter for five years — allowed to ignore scouting reports, when his teammates are not. Well, Gleeman asked around and what he found was also surprising. Those he knows inside of baseball didn’t gasp at Bradley’s quote, like reporters did.

Apparently, there are a lot of teams out there who, depending on the pitcher, would prefer to have their catcher call games and worry about hitter tendencies, as opposed to the guy on the mound.

.@AaronGleeman describes the moment Taj Bradley revealed to MN Twins beat reporters that he's never studied an opposing lineup during his MLB career. 🤯

– via @GleemanAndGeek (Patreon) pic.twitter.com/6F9XQ8tH8W

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) September 3, 2025

“So I asked around about this. I asked a couple people with the Rays, I asked a couple people with the Twins. Basically I said, is this plausible? Like is this just someone talking? And I don’t think it’s plausible in the sense that he wasn’t presented with all that [information] and more from the Rays.

Now, the Twins have a different approach to it. So maybe from his standpoint, it was like, ‘oh, this is a new way to do this’, but there’s no chance that the Rays didn’t try to get him to [study opposing hitters].”

“But then here was something that two different people told me, one with the Twins and one not with the Twins, who said think about this and it might change the way you view it.”

“[MLB teams] have all that information and [they] need someone to have that information for the start. But does it have to be the starting pitcher or could it be the catcher? In a lot of ways, the catcher can be like someone playing a video game where they just have the controls.”

Aaron Gleeman – Gleeman and the Geek (Paid Patreon)

Still, you have to think these teams would want pitchers to, at the least, have a base knowledge of the opposing lineups, even if they aren’t in charge of choosing the pitch sequence, right? Then, it dawned on me. This isn’t a Taj Bradley problem… it’s league-wide.

Minnesota Twins, other teams cannot force players to work hard

If the Tampa Bay Rays — who are widely seen as one of the most analytically driven organizations in baseball — had accepted that Taj Bradley wasn’t going to study up on opponents prior to his starts, then they probably have multiple pitchers on staff who prepare (or don’t) the same way he does.

Even in the world of professional sports, some people work hard, others rely on their talent to get by. And if the Rays have multiple pitchers on their staff who don’t study, then imagine how many around the entire big leagues fit into that same category.

“I just never did it at all. I was kind of out there blind the whole time. After my last outing, I had a lot of soft contact, so I figured now is the time. OK, get your head in the books. Learn a bit about the hitters you’re going up against, learn their weaknesses. And now we can be on the same page and just attack the zone.”

“I mean, they give you the numbers. They think it’s the best and they’re the best thing. And they’re probably right. It it was just me being hard, hard headed, me finally getting out of my own way. It’s like, OK, this is the game you’re playing and they’re studying you just as much as you’re studying them.

Taj Bradley – Quote via Gleeman and the Geek (Paid Patreon)

The Minnesota Twins are just trying to get through the 2025 season and trying to keep their minds from wandering out to Hawaii, maybe the Bahamas or even which of the 10,000 local frozen lakes they will be fishing this offseason.

Unfortunately for everyone involved, especially the fans, Major League Baseball does not have a mercy rule on their 162-game regular season. So god-willing, Twins players will suit up on Wednesday night and take to Target Field for game 139 of the season.

Final Taj Bradley starts worth watching for MN Twins fans

But no doubt, there are still some storylines to pay attention to. And whether or not Taj Bradley continues to pitch better, after taking pre-start mental prep more seriously, just skyrocketed to the top of my list.

It’s possible this could start as an embarrassing story, that we eventually look back on as the moment Bradley turned his career around. If he can become a viable starter for the next few seasons, the Griffin Jax trade will probably end up looking like a steal for the MN Twins

Worst WPA in baseball in 2025 among relief pitchers:

1. Tyler Alexander
2. Griffin Jax pic.twitter.com/7bugmZVMQ0

— Matthew Taylor (@MatthewTaylorMN) August 28, 2025

Related: Worst Case Scenario for Young MN Twins Starter

Tonight, however, the Twins are just trying to avoid falling down 3-0 to start their four-game home series against the lowly Chicago White Sox. After playing well on the road against the AL contender Toronto Blue Jays last week, Rocco Baldelli & Co took two of three against the NL contender San Diego Padres.

All that just to go home and lose two straight vs the only team in the American League who, at 51-88, has a worse record than you do. Suddenly, a fresh, confident-looking Twins roster is on the brink of everything falling apart yet again. That was until are 7-16 since August 9

Urena labored through five innings (90 pitches), allowing 6 earned runs on 7 hits in the worst appearance since he was brought in. The Athletics went on to win the game 8-3 to complete their three game sweep in Minneapolis, raising their record above that of the Twins.

Mick Abel to make debut for Minnesota Twins

Of course, Minnesota could have just started recently acquired pitching prospect Mick Abel, who would have been on normal rest. Instead, the Twins decided to bring him to Chicago, where his debut in a MN Twins uniform appears to be imminent.

Can confirm Mick Abel did travel with the #MNTwins to Chicago last night.

Zebby Matthews has the start tonight. But there's a TBA listed for Saturday. https://t.co/mZc18TCHWT

— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) August 22, 2025

Related: Rotation Reinforcements Incoming for Minnesota Twins

The most consequential return for any trade that the Minnesota Twins made at the deadline came from the Philadelphia Phillies, when Falvey dealt closer Jhoan Duran to the City of Brotherly Love in exchange for Eduardo Tait and Mick Abel.

While the former is a teenage catching prospect, the latter has already gotten his feet wet in the big leagues. In 89.1 total innings at Triple-A in 2025, Abel owns a 2.22 ERA and has dropped the walk rate to 3.8 BB/9. Across three starts for the St. Paul Saints (15.1 IP), since being acquired at the deadline, he owns a 1.76 ERA and 23/6 K/BB.

What a night for @mickabel13. Retired the first 12 men he faced. Goes 6.0 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 0 BB, a franchise record & career-high 11 strikeouts. He becomes the 4th pitcher in franchise history with double-digit K's & the 2nd to not walk a batter & 1st to not walk or hit a batter pic.twitter.com/KtCeuLArLD

— St. Paul Saints (@StPaulSaints) August 17, 2025

Mick Abel, 24, made his debut with the Philadelphia Phillies back in May. He made six underwhelming starts through the MLB rotation, producing a 5.04 ERA (6.28 FIP) with 21 strikeouts and 9 walks in 25 innings.

Abel was a consensus top-50 prospect across all of baseball, not that long ago, until his luster slipped following a tough 2024 Triple-A season where he finished with a 6.46 ERA and 6.5 BB/9 across 108.2 innings.

On Friday night, before Abel’s debut on Saturday, the Twins sent Jose Urena packing.

#MNTwins designated pitcher José Urena for assignment Friday to make space for Mick Abel, who will start Saturday's game.

— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) August 23, 2025

The 11-year veteran lasted just 11 games with the Twins. He allowed nine runs on 17 hits in 17 2/3 innings. Urena proved he couldn’t strike anyone out and the 4.1 BB/9 was indicative of an arm willing to issue free passes. He’ll now look for opportunity elsewhere and maybe the fifth time is the charm in 2025.

Taj Bradley on his way up for Twins debut too

The other key acquisition at the trade deadline, starting pitcher Taj Bradley, has not fared so well in triple A (7.53 ERA, 1.605 WHIP, 11.3 SO/9) since the Twins got him as part of their return package for Griffin Jax.

Nonetheless, it sounds like Bradley could be in line to start on Sunday, per Aaron Gleeman and his colleagues at The Athletic, something he revealed/discussed on Friday’s episode of Gleeman and the Geek.

“You are. You are going to see [Mick Abel and Taj Bradley] this weekend in Chicago. They’re both going to start, I believe, in Chicago…They haven’t said that but…[we] think it’s going to be Zebby Matthews Friday and then, in some order, Bradley and Abel or Abel and Bradley.”

Aaron Gleeman – Gleeman and the Geek Podcast

The Minnesota Twins don’t have much to play for down the stretch, but that means it can be a proving ground for young players. Let’s hope this weekend is just the beginning of many starts to come for both Abel and Bradley.

It left the sport and fans in awe. Maybe not surprisingly, it sent shockwaves through the clubhouse as well. While veteran Byron Buxton did what he could to provide a steadying presence, the implications will be felt for far longer.

It got so bad that players who had futures seemingly already outlined with the club started bowing out. Carlos Correa took the first opportunity to leave. Griffin Jax said enough as well.

Griffin Jax requested trade from Minnesota Twins

It always seemed possible that the Minnesota Twins would move Griffin Jax. He is among the best relievers that was made available at the deadline. That became less straightforward when Jhoan Duran went first. By the time 38% of his teammates were sent packing, Jax had already said he was ready to be out.

With a mass exodus underway, Griffin Jax requested a deal of his own Thursday, one the Minnesota Twins granted only minutes before the clock ran out.

Derek Falvey said, “In Jax’s case, a lot of the other conversations we were having weren’t quite there. … But then the conversation with Tampa bubbled into a discussion about Taj Bradley, who, a very short time ago, was one of the highest-profile young starters coming up to the big leagues in all of baseball.”

Once the teardown was underway Thursday, including the shocking deal which sent Correa back to the Astros, Jax asked his representative to put in the trade request, multiple league sources confirmed.

The Athletic

As The Athletic’s Dan Hayes reported, Jax wasn’t initially certain he would be traded. He didn’t even necessarily want to be. While he was irate with Rocco Baldelli’s usage of him in the 13-1 drubbing against the Boston Red Sox, that wasn’t enough to request a trade. With the carnage unfolding around him though, there was clearly no reason to stick around.

Despite being under team control through the 2027 season, one of the best pitching success stories in recent franchise history had seen enough. Jax put up a 4.50 ERA (2.02 FIP) with Minnesota across 46 innings this season. He has been a top-five reliever in baseball by fWAR and his sweeper is among the nastiest pitches the sport has seen.

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

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 29, 2025

Ultimately that was enough for the Tampa Bay Rays to be interested. Falvey laid on praise of Taj Bradley a bit thick, and Minnesota certainly is buying low on the starter. That said, they have shown an ability to get more from pitchers.

Related: Rival MLB Owner Talked Pohlads Into MN Twins Deadline Fire Sale

It’s sad it came to this for Jax, but it’s also hardly a result of his own doing. He was mad about a game he was used where his individual performance was cast aside amidst an otherwise laughable effort. He was mad about his individual worth being non-existent on a team that clearly does not care about winning in the present.

This is the road that all leads to.

At 51-57, the Twins still have 54 games to play in the regular season. They aren’t going to make the playoffs, but they still have to field a team (likely against the Pohlad’s better wishes).

After dealing away 11 players, ten of which were on the big league roster, the minor league system had to be shuffled. Thankfully the St. Paul Saints are in Toledo, just a two-hour drive, and a gaggle of their talent is headed to Progressive field.

Rocco Baldelli gets nine players to fill out MN Twins active roster

The Guardians are still going to take the field on Friday night against the MN Twins, and that means Baldelli needs a 26-man roster. That requires a significant amount of maneuvering, but at least the incoming Saints could carpool.

We have made the following roster moves: pic.twitter.com/2EQQgeE19V

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) August 1, 2025

Martin will be making his 2025 Twins debut. He was left off the Opening Day roster, and injuries cost him multiple opportunities for a promotion early on. In 32 games for St. Paul Martin has hit .319/.431/.398. He doesn’t hit for power, and he isn’t stealing bases, but he’s worked as a slap-hitting utility player.

The MN Twins demoted Julien after a poor start to the season. It took a while for him to get going at Triple-A. Over his last 43 games though, he is batting .320/.432/.582 with 10 homers. He’s still got a good command of the strike zone, and appears to be a bit more aggressive.

Adams and Ohl are quick returned after both were recently optioned. They are joined by veteran pitchers Erasmo Ramirez and Jose Urena making their Minnesota Twins debuts. Urena and Ramirez needed their contracts to be purchased and added to the 40-man roster.

Related: What to Make of the Craziest Trade Deadline in Minnesota Twins History

Taj Bradley was assigned to the St. Paul Saints roster. He will likely slot into the starting rotation for Minnesota at some point in the not-so-distant future. Bailey Ober should join him, and likely beat him there.

The only new face to come from outside the organization is Alan Roden. A former third round pick for Toronto, Roden has played 43 games as a rookie this season. He owns a .204/.283/.306 slash line with one home run and a 24/8 K/BB.

Having already made a plethora of moves, the Twins president of baseball operations sent two more relievers packing as the clock struck zero.

Griffin Jax and Louie Varland both have new homes. That means Minnesota sent out a whopping five of their eight relievers to new teams prior to the deadline.

Griffin Jax goes from MN Twins to Tampa Bay Rays

It was expected that Griffin Jax could be traded along with closer Jhoan Duran. The latter went first to the Philadelphia Phillies. The former was held onto until the waning seconds, but he’s now headed to the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Minnesota Twins are getting Taj Bradley in the Griffin Jax deal, per source,

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 31, 2025

Jax is 30 years old and under team control through 2027. He is making just $2.37 million this season, and despite a gaudy 4.50 ERA, he owns a 2.00 FIP and has been as dominant as ever.

With a 1.5 fWAR, Jax has the best mark among Twins relievers, and is actually above the 1.3 fWAR owned by Jhoan Duran. The tally makes him the 5th-best reliever in baseball by fWAR.

The Rays sent Taj Bradley to the Minnesota Twins. He’s a former fifth round pick (2018) and was a top 25 prospect in baseball as recently as 2023.

Taj Bradley's 7th K pic.twitter.com/EDk6q7Z559

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 12, 2025

Bradley has made 69 appearances (67 starts) across three seasons at the big league level for the Rays. The numbers haven’t worked in his favor yet, though. He owns just a 4.70 ERA (4.33 FIP) and his 9.6 K/9 has been watered down by a 3.3 BB/9 and 1.5 HR/9.

Related: Twins Move Lefty Reliever Danny Coulombe to Texas Rangers

Minnesota will look to push his development towards the player that owns a 2.90 ERA across 366 1/3 minor league innings. Bradley is not arbitration eligible until 2027 and is under team control through 2030.

Blue Jays grab Varland and France from MN Twins

It wasn’t just Jax that was traded up against the deadline. Louie Varland and Ty France both found themselves headed elsewhere, and they’ll need their passports to get there.

LHP Kendrys Rojas and OF Alan Roden are going to Minnesota, per source. #BlueJays https://t.co/7oB4MSdbli

— Mitch Bannon (@MitchBannon) July 31, 2025

The Varland inclusion is an interesting one. Toronto was in the market for a leverage bullpen arm, and after missing out on other options, they apparently approached Minnesota about the remade starter. Ty France had little value as a first baseman with an 86 OPS+, but his $1 million contract was easy to throw in.

It’s jarring to see the Minnesota-native Varland, who’s under team control through 2031, leave. He owns a 2.02 ERA (2.89 FIP) this season and has been used a ridiculous 51 times already. A true development story, that one should sting a bit.

Kendrys Rojas is a left-handed pitcher and the fifth best prospect in the Blue Jays organization per MLB Pipeline. The 22-year-old Cuban reached Triple-A this season. He has 11 appearances (10 starts) across four levels in 2025 and owns a 3.46 ERA. In 252 2/3 minor league innings he has a 3.31 ERA with a 10.6 K/9.

Related: MN Twins Shock the World: Carlos Correa Back to Astros

Alan Roden is a Wisconsin-native that made his big league debut this season. He was third-round pick out of Creighton in 2022. The left-handed outfielder has a .204/.283/.306 slash line in 43 big league games this year. In 32 games with Triple-A Buffalo he owns a .918 OPS, and he has an .866 OPS across 298 total minor league games.