Minnesota Twins Trade Two Relievers at Last Minute

Yahoo

4 days ago

In case the 2025 Major League Baseball trade deadline wasn't insane enough, Derek Falvey decided to get a tip in at the buzzer. Of course the most shocking news was deciding to move Carlos Correa and his contract back to the Houston Astros.
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.
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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 headed to the Tampa Bay Rays.
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.
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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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