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Minnesota Twins Begin Sell-Off: Who's Next to Go Before July 31 Trade Deadline?
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- Minnesota Twins Begin Sell-Off: Who's Next to Go Before July 31 Trade Deadline?
Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images
The Minnesota Twins have officially gone into selling mode, trading pitchers Chris Paddack and Randy Dobnak to the Detroit Tigers for 19-year-old catching prospect Enrique Jimenez. Detroit added rotation depth in Paddack and bullpen help in Dobnak while the Twins sent out two impending free agents for the Tigers' No. 14 prospect.
This is just the beginning of Minnesota's sell-off as they have other viable trade candidates atop contenders' lists. Here's a look at the top six players who could be next to go.
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Harrison Bader
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Harrison Bader is having his best season since 2021 when he was with the St. Louis Cardinals . This year, the center fielder is slashing .255/.336/.441 with 12 home runs, a 112 OPS+ and 2.4 bWAR. He also plays solid defense and has an .809 OPS along with five home runs in 31 postseason games. Bader has a $10 million mutual option for 2026.
Willi Castro
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Willi Castro is a super utility player who can move around the diamond and outfield when needed. The 2024 All-Star has a .765 OPS with 10 home runs and 15 doubles in 83 games. Castro is also crushing southpaws this year, posting an .848 OPS in 95 plate appearances. The 28-year-old will be a free agent after the season.
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Danny Coulombe
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Left-handed reliever Danny Coulombe has had a sterling season for the Twins, posting a 1.16 ERA in 40 appearances while striking out 31 across 31 innings. Left-handed hitters have a .461 OPS against Coulombe and righties aren't doing much better at .458. He also hasn't allowed an earned run in three playoff games over the previous two seasons with the Baltimore Orioles . The 35-year-old will be a free agent at season's end.
Joe Ryan
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Now here is where things get interesting. Joe Ryan was named an All-Star for the first time in his career in 2025, going 10-5 with a 2.82 ERA, 0.923 WHIP and 137 strikeouts in 121 1/3 innings. The 29-year-old has emerged as an ace and several contenders would be willing to part with top prospects to add Ryan to their staff. Ryan is arbitration eligible the next two seasons and won't be a free agent until after 2027. If the Twins make Ryan available, the return would be significant.
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Griffin Jax
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Griffin Jax has become an elite reliever. He leads baseball in chase percentage (40.6) and is in the 99th percentile in whiff (39.1) and strikeout (36.5) percentage. Jax has struck out 70 across 45 innings. Even though he is sporting a 4.00 ERA in 48 appearances, it mainly came early when he gave up 10 earned runs in 12 innings through April. Since then, he's allowed 10 earned runs in 33 innings. The Twins would recoup plenty of assets as Jax is under control for the next two seasons.
Jhoan Duran
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Another Twins reliever teams are coveting is Jhoan Duran, whose fastball velocity leads all of baseball at 100.3 mph. The 27-year-old has a 1.86 ERA in 48 appearances with 16 saves and 52 strikeouts in 48 1/3 innings. He also tops MLB in ground ball percentage at 66.9 and is in the 98th percentile of barrel percentage at 3.1. Duran is also under control through 2027 and would require a significant return for the Twins to part with him.
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The Twins hold the keys to several teams' playoff hopes ahead of Thursday's deadline. If they want to go all-in on a rebuild, trading Ryan, Jax and Duran would be the moves to accelerate that process.
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