Twins players grapple with potential roster breakup as trade deadline looms

New York Times

5 days ago

DENVER — Ryan Jeffers is on high alert these days for several reasons.
On a personal level, the Twins catcher is prepared for the possibility of needing to immediately leave the club for the birth of his son. On a professional level, Jeffers recognizes the Twins clubhouse could very soon feature a much different look with the trade deadline looming.
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Though they're not out of the playoff picture yet, the Twins already are in a much worse spot than they were three days ago. Even with a 7-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on Sunday afternoon, the Twins remain five games back in the wild-card race with five teams to pass.
Whereas in previous years the division was still in reach, this season is markedly different in Jeffers' opinion because the first-place Detroit Tigers are running away with the American League Central. The combination of the team's disappointing play at Colorado this weekend and an ever-widening gap — the Twins are 11 games behind the Tigers — isn't lost on a group of players wondering how different the roster could look after the July 31 trade deadline.
'You never want to say you expect to sell,' Jeffers said. 'We're still going out and trying to win baseball games. We're not flipping the page to next year as players. We're trying to win baseball games no matter who's in this locker room, no matter who's here, who gets traded away. But I think we understand the reality there's a real chance we have a different locker room in 10 days.'
When it comes to trade talk and rumors, the Twins are a hot topic for pundits and scouts.
There's plenty of intrigue surrounding a roster full of helpful impending free agents and talented players with multiple seasons of team control who could bring monster returns if traded.
Beyond that, it's natural to wonder whether it's time for the Twins to break up a core of position players who — the 2023 run aside — haven't broken through to make the impact the front office hoped when it assembled the group. With the team centered around three players with extended injury histories in Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa and Royce Lewis, speculation surrounding the Twins is whether they'd consider moving Joe Ryan, Griffin Jax or Jhoan Duran to bring in a haul of fresh talent.
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As good as players are about staying focused, trade chatter is unavoidably creeping into the clubhouse, and some Twins players are in places they've never been before.
'I don't know what's going to happen,' Correa said. 'I know there's a lot of talks about the team and selling. I really don't know how that works out because I've never been part of a team that's trying to sell. It's definitely very different.'
Willi fast, Willi scored! pic.twitter.com/U6DBvXQPpD
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) July 20, 2025
Willi Castro doesn't want to wind up in a different environment.
He has thoroughly loved his time in Minnesota, where he revived his career. Given the choice, Castro forever would stay with the Twins, who signed him to a minor-league deal before the 2023 season.
But the Twins' 2024 most valuable player is likely to be the impending free agent most sought after by contending clubs, a speedy utilityman with pop from both sides of the plate.
'I want to be a Twin for the rest of my life,' Castro said. 'If they want to trade me, I guess I've got to go. You don't control that. I know there are some other teams that are fighting. But whatever happens, happens. I'm going to be sad if they trade me, of course. But I don't really think about that. I just go out there and get my job done, and that's about it.'
Among the impending free agents, the Twins are almost certain to receive strong interest in lefty reliever Danny Coulombe and outfielder Harrison Bader, who is defending like a Gold Glover and having his best season at the plate since 2021. Even though Chris Paddack is carrying a 5.14 ERA and striking out 6.4 hitters per nine innings, he should draw interest, and Ty France could, too.
Though the free agents could bring back interesting players, the biggest potential paydays would be attached to names like Ryan, Duran or Jax. The All-Star Ryan has one-plus seasons left until free agency, and Duran and Jax aren't eligible until after the 2027 campaign.
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Though Lewis offered one caveat, he believes the Twins are unlikely to do anything major.
'Unless other teams come in with some mind-blowing offers that make sense for the Twins to do,' Lewis said. 'I think everything is kind of just going to be the same. … Continue to win series and look up at the end of the year and be in the postseason and give yourself a chance.'
Correa echoed a similar sentiment. But he also noted the Twins need to quickly discover a level of play they've been unable to maintain.
'The bottom line is we gotta play better baseball, and we haven't been able to do that consistently,' Correa said. 'There's 60-some games left, and we gotta figure out a way to put ourselves in a better position. And everybody in this clubhouse, coaching staff, everybody in here, we gotta do better. We're not doing a good job.'
Facing two clocks, Jeffers recognizes time is running out.
His wife, Lexi, is nearing her July 28 due date, which prompted Mickey Gasper to be added to the taxi squad in case Jeffers needs to leave the club while the Twins are on the West Coast.
After Saturday's loss, Jeffers said the Twins need to climb an ever-steepening mountain to avoid a roster breakup. In the previous three seasons, the Twins always had a chance to win the division, which seems impossible this season.
Though he thinks the talent assembled can do the job if it gets on a roll, he knows the chances to turn things around are fading.
'There's just the realities of how big those gaps can get because there's (only) so many games,' Jeffers said. 'But at the same token, the Tigers were in the same spot we're in last year, seemingly out of the playoffs, and came back and put together a really good second half after selling. Just because you sell some players and reshuffle the organization doesn't mean you can't go out there and win a lot of baseball games and make things interesting down the stretch.'
(Photo of Ryan Jeffers: Justin Edmonds / Getty Images)