Twins Rumors

Twins Have Expressed Interest In Ryan Pressly

By Anthony Franco | August 4, 2025 at 11:57pm CDT

The Cubs released veteran reliever Ryan Pressly over the weekend. Chicago had designated the two-time All-Star for assignment on deadline day after acquiring Taylor Rogers. The 36-year-old is now free to explore other opportunities, which could include a return to either of his previous teams.

Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports that the Twins have reached out to Pressly’s camp to express interest. Meanwhile, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale wrote on Sunday that the Astros were thinking about trying to re-sign the righty. It’s unclear if the Astros have spoken with Pressly or were simply weighing the idea internally. In either case, there’s no guarantee the 13-year big leaguer continues pitching. Hayes writes that Pressly is considering his options, including retirement.

The decision wouldn’t be about money, at least not for the remainder of this season. Pressly is guaranteed his $14MM salary whether or not he signs elsewhere. The Astros are covering $5.5MM as part of the offseason trade that sent him to Chicago. The Cubs are on the hook for the other $8.5MM. If Pressly were to sign, his new team would pay the prorated portion of the $760K league minimum for his time in the majors — which would come off the Cubs’ books. There could be a long-term financial consideration in the sense that playing the final two months could elevate his stock before a return trip to free agency in the offseason. That’d only be relevant if he continues his career in 2026.

Before this season, Pressly had divided his MLB career between Minnesota and Houston. He pitched with the Twins between 2013-18, moving to Houston at the ’18 deadline. Pressly had been a productive reliever in the Twin Cities, but his career really took off with the Astros. He made both All-Star appearances and got his first closing opportunity in Houston. He made the postseason all seven years with the Astros, winning a ring in 2022. Pressly recorded 14 saves with a 2.78 ERA in 47 career playoff appearances.

If he were to return to one of his former clubs, one would imagine the Astros are the more desirable landing spot. They’re three games up in the AL West race and have a good shot to make the playoffs. Minnesota is eight games below .500 and decimated the bullpen at the deadline. They’re playing out the string and looking for relievers who can backfill the innings they traded away. Pressly is also a Texas native whose wife is from the Houston area — which was a consideration for the reliever in deciding whether to waive his no-trade clause to leave the Astros in the first place.

That said, a return to the Astros would presumably require pitching in lower-leverage spots. Pressly reportedly wasn’t thrilled with the Astros bumping him from the ninth inning to sign Josh Hader during the 2023-24 offseason. He didn’t force his way out of Houston — that was a team decision motivated by a desire to cut payroll — but GM Dana Brown acknowledged in January that the relationship between him and Pressly changed after the Hader signing. The Twins, who now have a bullpen comprising almost entirely journeymen and depth pickups, could promise him late-inning work. It’s also possible Pressly has fielded calls from other teams that haven’t been reported.

Pressly’s stint with the Cubs was a disappointment. He turned in a 4.35 ERA with a career-low 15% strikeout rate. He lost his hold on the closer role by the middle of April. Pressly remained an effective reliever as recently as last year, pitching to a 3.49 ERA over 56 2/3 frames with Houston.

Twins Claim Thomas Hatch

By Anthony Franco | August 4, 2025 at 5:39pm CDT

The Twins claimed righty Thomas Hatch off waivers from the Royals, reports Dan Hayes of The Athletic. Kansas City had designated him for assignment over the weekend. The Twins subsequently announced the claim and added that the corresponding active roster move will be announced when Hatch reports to the team tomorrow. Minnesota had two vacancies on the 40-man roster after last week’s sell-off.

Hatch will be hoping for a longer run in the Twin Cities than he received in Kansas City. He only made one big league appearance with the Royals, giving up two runs in one inning. He’s out of minor league options, so the Royals quickly designated him for assignment after they selected his contract earlier in the week. It was the second time this season that K.C. had designated him almost immediately after a call-up. He went unclaimed on waivers in June, but the Twins placed a claim this time around as they look for fresh arms to fill out a bullpen that they tore down at the deadline.

The 30-year-old Hatch should be able to provide length out of Rocco Baldelli’s bullpen. He has worked as a starter with Kansas City’s Triple-A affiliate for the entire season. Hatch has managed decent results, working to a 4.22 earned run average across 91 2/3 innings. His 20.1% strikeout rate is a little below average, but he’s getting grounders at a 53% clip while showing solid control. Hatch has a five-pitch mix and sits around 93 MPH with both his sinker and four-seam fastball while working as a starter. He was able to push that into the 94-95 range in his lone MLB appearance in short relief.

Hatch has now pitched in parts of five big league seasons, combining for a 5.14 ERA across 70 innings. He had a brief stint in Japan last year and would have pitched this season with the Doosan Bears in Korea had the team not flagged something in his physical. The Twins will need to keep him on the MLB roster or designate him for assignment themselves.

Griffin Jax Requested Trade From Twins

By Darragh McDonald | August 4, 2025 at 3:32pm CDT

The Twins traded right-hander Griffin Jax to the Rays in the final moments before the trade deadline last week, with right-hander Taj Bradley going the other way. Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports that Jax requested a trade once he saw the extent of the selloff in Minnesota.

Things in Minnesota have changed rapidly in a short amount of time. They hung around the playoff race for most of the year and it wasn’t even clear that they would do any selling at all as of a few weeks ago. On July 22nd, it was reported that they were warming to the idea of selling rental players, but would need to be bowled over by the offers to move controllable guys like Jax, Jhoan Durán, Joe Ryan and others.

In the end, their deadline selloff wound up being far more extensive than anticipated. In addition to trading all several rental players, they flipped Durán to the Phillies, Jax to the Rays, Louis Varland to the Blue Jays and, most surprising of all, infielder Carlos Correa to the Astros.

According to the report from Hayes, Jax got wind of the Correa situation from the infielder himself. Jax and manager Rocco Baldelli got into a dispute on July 30th, the day before the deadline, about Jax being removed from that day’s game. Correa offered to be present for a meeting between the two. After that meeting, Correa informed Jax about conversations he’d had with president of baseball operations Derek Falvey about the team’s direction.

Then on Thursday, the extent of the teardown became clear to everyone. Durán had already been traded on Wednesday but reports of the Correa deal came out about two hours prior to the deadline. The Varland deal and the Jax deal were both reported right around the deadline on Thursday. Hayes reports that Jax asked his representative to request a trade at some point on Thursday, once he saw the writing on the wall.

From the righty’s perspective, it’s an understandable request. He is controllable for two years after this one and is about to turn 31 years old. The Twins could perhaps compete again in 2026 or 2027 but the trading of controllable pieces sends a message that they also might not have high hopes about the possibility.

There’s plenty of uncertainty beyond the roster as well. The Pohlad family is actively trying to sell the club. It’s unknown exactly when a sale will be finalized. Once a sale takes place, it’s anyone’s guess who the new owners will be or what kind of plans they would have for the payroll.

While the Pohlad family is still in charge, the safe bet is on minimal investments. In the most recent offseason, the Twins spent a combined $10.25MM on one-year deals for Harrison Bader, Danny Coulombe and Ty France. Ahead of the deadline, sending out payroll commitments seemed to be a priority. The Twins included Randy Dobnak in the Paddack deal, seemingly to save a few million. Money also may have been a factor in sending France to the Jays alongside Varland. Shipping out Correa also scrubbed millions of dollars from the future books. That deal brought back one prospect but is generally viewed as a salary dump.

The Twins do still have lots of talented players on the roster but the future outlook has darkened in recent days. “Now no one wants to stay if they are selling like this,” an unidentified player said to Hayes on deadline day.

That sentiment is perhaps extra true for Jax, given his age. He presumably would rather not spend his age-31 and -32 seasons pitching for a rebuilding club. He didn’t wind up in a vastly superior situation. The Rays are 55-58 and only two games ahead of the Twins in the standings. They also don’t spend tons of money. However, they generally find ways to be in the playoff race even without big budgets. They also tend not to hold players all the way to free agency, so perhaps Jax will end up being traded again in the offseason or at next year’s deadline.

For the Twins, more clarity on their plans will still need to emerge. Time will tell when the sale of the franchise will pick up real steam. The identity of the buyer or buyers and their plans will presumably have a big impact on the near-term future of the Minnesota club.

Photo courtesy of Jay Biggerstaff, Imagn Images

Twins Select Darren McCaughan

By Steve Adams | August 4, 2025 at 1:24pm CDT

The Twins announced Monday that they’ve selected the contract of righty Darren McCaughan and placed right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson on the 15-day injured list due to an illness. No additional corresponding moves were needed, as the Twins’ 40-man roster had been sitting at 37 players following last week’s fire sale.

It’s the second big league stint of the season for McCaughan, though his surroundings this time around will be much different than they were when he was briefly summoned to the majors back in late March. He tossed 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball for a team that then harbored postseason aspirations. He’ll now return to a club that saw its roster — the pitching staff in particular — gutted ahead of last week’s deadline.

McCaughan, 29, has pitched 72 1/3 innings in Triple-A this season and been knocked around for a 5.35 ERA. The overall results aren’t particularly pretty, though they’re skewed a bit by a pair of nine-run implosions amid an otherwise serviceable year. He’s set down 20.1% of his Triple-A opponents on strikes and walked a lower-than-average 7.6% of the batters he’s faced.

McCaughan has a long track record as an innings-eating starter in the Mariners’ system, though he only ever received 14 major league frames with Seattle. He’s since pitched in Cleveland, Miami and Minnesota. In a total of 61 1/3 big league innings, he’s struggled to a 6.02 ERA. McCaughan sits 89-90 mph with both his four-seamer and sinker. He doesn’t miss many bats and has been homer-prone throughout his time in Triple-A, but he also typically avoids walks and takes the ball every five days. McCaughan has never been on the injured list in the big leagues or in the minors.

For now, McCaughan will add some length to a Twins bullpen that traded Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Danny Coulombe, Brock Stewart and Louis Varland for a combined seven younger players last week. There are plenty of innings to go around, and with Minnesota lined up for a bullpen game today, McCaughan could be in line for multiple innings behind scheduled opener Travis Adams.

AL Notes: Thornton, Buxton, Rays, Vargas

By Mark Polishuk | August 3, 2025 at 11:06pm CDT

The Mariners placed Trent Thornton on the 15-day injured list on Friday, and announced that the right-hander will miss the rest of the season due to a torn left Achilles tendon. Thornton had to be carted off the field after he suffered the injury in the ninth inning of Thursday’s 6-0 M’s win over the Rangers, as the reliever fell while leaving the mound to cover first base on an Adolis Garcia grounder. Follow-up tests revealed the unfortunate and expected news of an Achilles tear, and while a specific recovery timeline isn’t yet known, Thornton could be in jeopardy of missing some time at the start of the 2026 season.

Thornton has a 4.68 ERA over 42 1/3 innings for Seattle this season. A few particularly rough blowups have inflated his ERA, but his 17.8% strikeout rate is well below Thornton’s 26.2 K% from 2024. Owed a raise from his current $2MM salary in his final year of salary arbitration, Thornton will probably still be inexpensive enough that he won’t be non-tendered this winter, barring an unwelcome injury diagnosis. Since coming to the Mariners in a trade from the Blue Jays prior to the 2023 deadline, Thornton has been a workhorse out of Seattle’s pen, with a 3.65 ERA over 140 2/3 innings.

Astros, Twins Reportedly Discussed Christian Walker In Carlos Correa Trade

By Nick Deeds | August 3, 2025 at 5:17pm CDT

5:17PM: Nightengale clarified his earlier report, saying that it was the Twins who first floated Walker’s name and the Astros who passed on moving the first baseman.

2:56PM: The Astros and Twins pulled off a shocking move in the final hours before the deadline that brought three-time All-Star infielder Carlos Correa back home to the team that he spent the first seven seasons of his career with. The deal sent Correa to Houston in exchange for pitching prospect Matt Mikulski, with the Twins retaining $33MM of the $103.4MM remaining on Correa’s contract. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale provided additional details on the Correa negotiations this morning.

Most notably, Nightengale writes that the sides talked about including veteran first baseman Christian Walker as part of the return headed to Minnesota in exchange for Correa’s services. He adds that while the Twins “had the opportunity” to acquire Walker as part of the deal, they passed on taking the final two years and $40MM of his contract on. That’s not exactly a shocking decision. Given that Mikulski is a 26-year-old who has not yet even reached the Double-A level, it’s fair to view the Correa deal as a pure salary dump for Minnesota. Previous reporting has indicated that the Twins are more than $400MM in debt, and Nightengale writes that the club has lost $40MM this year.

That would make adding a larger contract like that of Walker counterproductive in most scenarios. Perhaps there was a version of the deal where the Twins retained less of Correa’s salary while taking on Walker’s contract, but given his mediocre 2025 campaign (96 wRC+, 0.6 fWAR) and the fact that he’s already 34 years old it’s understandable that the Twins wouldn’t be too interested in adding him at the beginning of a rebuild that might not end until Walker has already hit free agency.

There’s at least an argument to be made that he would’ve been a worthwhile addition to the club based on their lack of a long-term solution at the position, however. Kody Clemens is currently serving as the club’s first baseman and has blasted 12 homers in 65 games since landing in Minnesota, but is a career 82 wRC+ hitter in 222 big league games who seems unlikely to sustain that sort of production. Edouard Julien and Jose Miranda are both capable of playing the position and have past big league success but poor performance has relegated them to the minors for much of the year.

That could make the veteran consistency Walker could provide quite attractive in theory, especially after the loss of Correa and others from the clubhouse could leave a dearth of veteran leadership in the clubhouse outside of franchise face Byron Buxton. On the other hand, Walker lacks much upside; even his best seasons with the Diamondbacks saw him peak at a wRC+ of around 120, and the Twins could likely find a younger, cheaper alternative who has more of a chance to develop into a middle-of-the-order force if they were interested in doing so this offseason.

While the Twins may not have been a fit for Walker’s services, Nightengale suggests that the veteran might get shopped by the Astros this winter in a bid to make room for infielder Isaac Paredes as first base next year. That’s a sensible assumption based on the composition of the club’s roster. While the idea of Paredes moving to second was briefly floated last offseason, there’s been a great deal of skepticism since then about his viability as a defender at third base. Yordan Alvarez must be penciled in as the club’s DH even after a 2025 season that has been mostly lost to injury, and with a former Gold Glove shortstop in Correa who’s eager to move to third base in deference to fellow Gold Glove shortstop Jeremy Pena there isn’t room for Paredes on the left side of the infield anymore.

At the same time, Paredes’s bat is much too important to lose from the lineup. The two-time All-Star has hit an impressive .259/.359/.470 with 19 homers, 15 doubles, and triple in 96 games for the Astros this year. The third baseman is expected to miss the remainder of the 2025 season at this point, so fitting him into the lineup is not a concern in the short-term. First base seems like by far the most logical fit the slugger for the 2026 season, however. Paredes is under team control through the end of the 2027 season, so he’ll need to find a new long-term home in Houston with Correa set to take over the hot corner.

That will likely make Walker expendable this offseason. He’s certainly not had the season either side was hoping for when he signed with the Astros on a three-year, $60MM deal this past offseason. Back in June, MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk wrote about the lackluster start Walker had to his Astros career. He’s begun to turn things around since then, with a strong .288/.352/.466 (129 wRC+) slash line in 186 plate appearances since that article was published, but the concerns discussed in that piece still ring true. Walker is an aging, pricey veteran on a multi-year contract who has begun to show signs of decline.

It’s not the easiest profile to find a suitor for, but perhaps there will be a team in need of help at first base this winter with whom the club can work out a trade—particularly if they’re willing to pay down some of Walker’s remaining salary. The veteran’s play over the season’s final two months and into the postseason figures to have a major influence over how feasible an offseason trade will end up being and how much money, if any, the Astros would have to retain in order to move him.

If Houston’s front office doesn’t find an offer they deem acceptable for Walker, there are other avenues to working out the infield logjam, though each presents some issues. Perhaps Paredes could see some time at second base despite defensive questions. It’s possible that Walker could get some playing time at DH on days Alvarez plays the outfield, with Jose Altuve at second base. A trade of Paredes could even theoretically be considered, especially if a similarly well-regarded and controllable outfielder was available in return. As the Astros demonstrated for Jose Abreu, they’re also not opposed to simply cutting ties with a struggling veteran who no longer fits the club’s needs, though Walker would surely need to take an extreme turn for the worse in order for that option to be on the table.

Red Sox Notes: Ryan, Alcantara, Prospects, Mayer, Slaten

By Mark Polishuk | August 3, 2025 at 4:05pm CDT

It was a relatively quiet trade deadline for the Red Sox, as Dustin May and Steven Matz were the only additions brought onto the roster for the pennant race. However, the Sox had their eyes on plenty of bigger targets, including the team’s previously-reported pushes for the Twins’ Joe Ryan and the Marlins’ Sandy Alcantara. WEEI’s Rob Bradford provides some details on those pursuits, saying that the Red Sox were willing to dig deep into the prospect depth to try and secure a deal.

“Anybody and everybody from the Sox’s minor league system” was available to some extent, Bradford writes. Boston offered multiple packages that included two of Jhostynxon Garcia, Payton Tolle, and Franklin Arias as the headliners, with other names also involved from the top ten names on the club’s prospect rankings. Since the Marlins and Twins didn’t seem to be prioritizing the addition of big league players, Red Sox officials saw Alcantara and Ryan as particularly good fits since Boston didn’t want to trade from its Major League roster.

A match didn’t happen, of course, and Bradford characterizes the talks with the Twins as somewhat one-sided on Boston’s part. “Ultimately, Minnesota never acted, not informing the Red Sox chief decision-makers what level of offer would be needed to pull off….a move for a controllable ace starting pitcher,” Bradford writes. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported that the Twins actually did want some MLB-level talent, as Minnesota wanted either Jarren Duran or Wilyer Abreu in a Ryan trade package.

As much as the Twins’ deadline fire sale was about shedding payroll, Duran or Abreu are arbitration-controlled through the 2028 season. Obtaining a controllable starting outfielder would’ve been a sign that the Twins still want to return to competitive baseball as soon as 2026, and Thursday’s stunning set of moves wasn’t the first step of a rebuild process. The club’s other deadline moves saw multiple players with MLB experience obtained, including such names as Taj Bradley, Mick Abel, and James Outman.

Turning to the injury front, Nightengale writes that Marcelo Mayer could be facing a season-ending wrist surgery, as the rookie infielder’s “sprained wrist is more serious than the Red Sox initially envisioned.” Mayer was placed on the 10-day IL a little over a week ago and he recently received an injection in his wrist to help with the healing process.

Speaking with MassLive.com’s Sean McAdam and other reporters, Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow didn’t rule out the possibility of surgery. For now, the hope is that the injection “gives him the best chance to be back on the field this season. It’s a credit to him to try to do anything he can to get back.”

Mayer has hit .228/.272/.402 over his first 136 plate appearances in the Show. While not a standout performance, it isn’t unexpected for a player to need time to adjust to the majors, plus it helps that a healthy Mayer would be a luxury at this point for a crowded Red Sox infield. Now that Alex Bregman is back from the IL and Ceddanne Rafaela has moved into regular second-base duty, the team’s everyday lineup is pretty set, so Mayer might only be in line for a bench role if he is able to get back to action.

One player whose return seems a little more likely is Justin Slaten, though Breslow warned that “it’s hard to put a timetable on it given the topsy-turvy nature of the recovery to date.” Slaten hasn’t pitched since May 28 due to right shoulder inflammation, though as the reliever told Bradford and company, he was also dealing with a nerve issue related to his transverse bone.

That problem has now been corrected, and Slaten’s restarted throwing progression hit another checkpoint with a bullpen session on Saturday. The Sox will continue with a more gradual build-up and a minor league rehab assignment will surely be necessary given how much time Slaten has missed. If all goes well, Slaten feels he’ll be back by September, and ready to continue building on what is becoming an impressive resume. Slaten has a 3.09 ERA over 78 2/3 relief innings since making his MLB debut last season.

Twins Select Jose Urena, Erasmo Ramirez

By Steve Adams | August 1, 2025 at 1:32pm CDT

The Twins announced Friday that they’ve selected the contracts of veteran right-handers Jose Urena and Erasmo Ramirez from Triple-A St. Paul. They’ve also recalled six minor leaguers from St. Paul: infielder/outfielder Austin Martin, infielder Edouard Julien, infielder Ryan Fitzgerald, righty Pierson Ohl, righty Travis Adams and newly acquired outfielder Alan Roden.

The staggering slate of eight newly added minor leaguers is reflective of the roster-gutting fire sale on which Minnesota surprisingly embarked in the 24 hours leading up to this season’s trade deadline. As the Pohlad family looks to sell the franchise, Minnesota traded not only rentals Harrison Bader, Chris Paddack, Willi Castro, Danny Coulombe and Ty France, but also controllable pitchers Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Louis Varland, Brock Stewart and — most shockingly of all — shortstop Carlos Correa.

Urena, 33, is a veteran of 11 major league seasons. The Twins will be his fourth team of the 2025 season alone and his tenth overall. He’s pitched 18 1/3 MLB frames this year and yielded a 5.40 earned run average. Urena tossed 13 1/3 innings with the Twins’ top affiliate prior to his promotion and allowed six runs (4.05 ERA) on 13 hits and 10 walks with 13 strikeouts.

Early in his career, Urena was a solid mid-rotation arm for the Marlins. From 2017-18, he started 59 games (plus six relief outings) and totaled 343 2/3 frames with a 3.90 ERA. Though Urena throws hard, he’s never been a big strikeout arm, but he typically posts above-average ground-ball rates and has a league-average walk rate in his career.

Since that solid run with Miami, Urena has become a swingman who’s bounced all over the league. He’s posted an ERA north of 5.00 in six of his past seven major league seasons, though the lanky right-hander did turn in a sharp 3.80 ERA in 109 innings with the Rangers last year. He’ll add some length to the bullpen and give the Twins a rotation option, too, depending on how they want to shape a pitching staff that was decimated by this week’s barrage of trades.

Ramirez, 35, will head to the majors for what’ll be a 14th season. He’s previously suited up for six other clubs. Ramirez was a starter for the Rays and Mariners early in his career but has been in a swingman role since the 2019 season. He signed a minor league deal with the Twins over the winter but spent the first several months of the year on the minor league injured list due to a shoulder injury.

Ramirez was reinstated in late June and has pitched a total of 15 minor league innings. He’s sitting on an ugly 6.50 ERA in that time but has fanned 22.4% of his opponents against a 6% walk rate and 52.2% grounder rate. Ramirez posted a 4.35 ERA in 20 2/3 innings with the Nationals last year — a mark that’s a near mirror image of his career 4.37 earned run average. However, most of his best work came from 2012-17. He’s pitched 257 innings dating back to 2018 and turned in a 4.76 ERA. He’ll soak up innings as a long relief option for however long he’s with the big league club.

Astros Acquire Carlos Correa

By Tim Dierkes | July 31, 2025 at 11:17pm CDT

Carlos Correa is coming home to play third base. The Twins have agreed to trade Correa to the Astros, according to MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart, and Jon Morosi of MLB Network says he’ll man the hot corner for Houston. Pitching prospect Matt Mikulski is going to Minnesota, according to Chandler Rome of The Athletic. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the Twins are paying down $33MM of the approximate $103.4MM remaining on Correa’s deal. The trade is now official.

The idea of the Astros bringing Correa back into the fold first surfaced yesterday in a report from Nightengale. Rome and Dan Hayes of The Athletic went on to report that the Astros approached the Twins with the concept of bringing back Correa, a favorite of owner Jim Crane.

With $103.4MM remaining on Correa’s contract through 2028, reporting today suggested that the two clubs were too far apart on dollars to consummate a deal. However, as ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports, the teams bridged their financial gap, Correa waived his no-trade clause, and the deal was resuscitated. As Correa told McTaggart, “I let them know there was only one team I would allow that to happen.”

The Astros and Crane have a history of letting star players depart for longer free agent deals elsewhere. In this case, Correa left after the 2021 season. Nearly three years later third baseman Alex Bregman turned down the Astros’ overtures and landed in Boston, after the club had already landed his replacement in Isaac Paredes (acquired from the Cubs in part because the Astros knew they couldn’t win the bidding on Kyle Tucker). Paredes tore his hamstring on July 19th, which may be season-ending.

Jeremy Peña has flourished in Correa’s absence, making his first All-Star team this year after hitting the IL in late June for a fractured rib. Peña could rejoin the Astros tomorrow in Boston, playing next to his predecessor on the left side of the infield against Bregman and the Red Sox. The Astros had picked up Ramon Urias from Baltimore last night, a move that paled in comparison to the division-rival Mariners adding Eugenio Suarez. Now with Correa, Urias will be pushed into a utility role that could include time at second base.

Correa, 31 in September, owns an uninspiring 97 wRC+ in 364 plate appearances this year for the Twins. His Twins career has been up-and-down in that regard, with a stellar 136 wRC+ in 2022, a down year in ’23, and a career-best 155 mark last year.

Correa played in only 86 games for the Twins in 2024, missing time due to an intercostal strain and plantar fasciitis. He spent time on the seven-day concussion list in May this year, but has otherwise avoided the IL despite some minor injuries.

Injuries have long been part of the story for Correa, who was drafted first overall by the Astros in 2012. He played 110 or fewer games in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2024, so he had a four-year run of good health encompassing his multiple free agencies.

Despite his injury history, Correa has been worth 3.7 WAR in seven separate seasons. He won the AL Rookie of the Year in 2015, made his first All-Star team and garnered MVP votes in 2017, made another All-Star team and finished fifth in the MVP voting in 2021, and made a third All-Star game with the Twins last year. Certainly Correa’s 2017 performance and the Astros’ championship are tarnished by the sign-stealing scandal, but the star players involved have largely been able to move on with minimal effects aside from perhaps extra boos from certain fanbases.

Correa has been a regular on the pages of MLBTR, perhaps beginning with that sign-stealing scandal in late 2019. Though Correa suffered some reputational damage for cheating at the time, his first run at free agency seemed largely unaffected. Hewing to their organizational philosophy on long-term contracts, the Astros topped out at a five-year, $160MM offer, even though Correa was heading into his age-27 season.

Though some major free agents such as Corey Seager signed before the 99-day 2021-22 lockout, Correa did not. Correa switched to the Boras Corporation during the lockout, and “settled” for a three-year, $105.3MM deal with the Twins in March 2022 with opt-out clauses after each season. After an excellent debut season with the Twins, Correa opted out as expected, but his second run at free agency was anything but easy.

Correa agreed to a 13-year, $350MM deal with the Giants in December 2022, which shockingly fell apart after his physical revealed concerns over his right leg. Correa then agreed to play third base for the Mets on a 12-year, $315MM deal, only to have that deal fall apart for similar reasons. That led to a January 2023 reunion with the Twins on a six-year, $200MM deal, ending one of the wildest free agencies this website has ever seen.

As Rome and Hayes wrote recently, “Though the Twins are enamored with Correa, believing he’s a difference-maker on the field, the team’s financial picture has changed drastically in the 30 months since he signed his six-year deal. The club has been up for sale since October, which is limiting how much the team can spend on players. Correa’s salary represents 25 percent of the Twins’ current $141 million payroll.”

Now, Correa will return to Houston and play a position other than shortstop for the first time in his 11-year MLB career. He told McTaggart, “We were waiting for a shortstop to come in [with Twins] and now that I get to play third base, it will be great for me at this stage of my career.” Whether Paredes moves to the right side of the infield next year or becomes offseason trade bait remains to be seen.

Correa is owed $103.4MM through 2028, which would represent a $31.4MM CBT hit for the Astros. Given the approximate $33MM the Twins are kicking in, we estimate the Astros’ CBT hit to be around $21MM. Future reporting will surely confirm the figure. The Astros’ CBT payroll sits just below the $241MM threshold, so this trade easily vaults Houston into second-time tax payor status. The trade has echoes of one the Astros made two years ago, when they re-acquired Justin Verlander after letting him go to the Mets via free agency.

Known to be seeking a left-handed bat, the Astros nonetheless added Urias and Correa within a short span at the deadline. But shortly after landing Correa, they finally did get a lefty stick in the Marlins’ Jesus Sanchez. Clearly in go-for-it mode, GM Dana Brown pursued the Padres’ Dylan Cease as well, but that did not come to fruition.

While the Astros have added to their first-place team, the 51-57 Twins have conducted a full-on fire sale. Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey traded a whopping 10 players off his active roster in July, including both rentals and controllable players.

This post was originally published at 3:05pm central time.

Rays, Twins Swap Griffin Jax For Taj Bradley

By Anthony Franco | July 31, 2025 at 11:16pm CDT

The Rays and Twins orchestrated a fascinating one-for-one swap at the deadline. Minnesota traded setup man Griffin Jax to Tampa Bay for young starting pitcher Taj Bradley.

Jax, 30, is one of a staggering five relievers whom the Twins traded in the past two days. He followed Jhoan Duran, Brock Stewart, Danny Coulombe and Louis Varland out the door. Minnesota dismantled what had been one of the best bullpens in the game. Of course, that doesn’t even address their biggest deal of the day.

A former third-round pick out of Air Force, Jax has developed into a high-end reliever. This year’s 4.50 ERA may not reflect that, but he misses bats an elite rate. Jax has punched out 36.4% of opposing hitters while running a 19.5% swinging strike rate. He ranks comfortably among the top 10 relievers in MLB in both categories. Jax posted very similar underlying numbers across 72 appearances a year ago. Last season’s ERA reflected that dominance, as he turned in a 2.03 mark through 71 innings.

Opposing hitters have a .389 average on balls in play against Jax. That’s the highest against any pitcher in MLB with at least 40 innings. Jax had allowed a sub-.300 BABIP in each of the previous three seasons. This season’s mark is a clear outlier, and teams continue to view him as a weapon at the back of the bullpen. Jax has the ability to run his fastball to 97 MPH on average, but his best two offerings are his sweeper and changeup. It’s a plus three-pitch mix.

Jax joins Pete Fairbanks, Bryan Baker and Garrett Cleavinger towards the back of a revamped Tampa Bay bullpen. He’s likely to work in a setup role in front of Fairbanks for the remainder of the season. The Rays opted not to trade their closer despite what appeared to be significant interest. Fairbanks could be the subject of trade chatter again during the offseason. If Tampa Bay pulls the trigger on a deal at that point, Jax would have a good chance of stepping into the ninth inning.

The Rays control Jax for two seasons beyond this one. He’s playing on a $2.365MM salary in his first arbitration year. Duran kept him from accruing many saves in Minnesota that would’ve built his arbitration earnings. He’ll likely land a salary in the $4-5MM range next season and could get between $6-8MM for his final run through the process. Tampa Bay straddled the line between buying and selling this summer, but they didn’t abandon hope of erasing what is currently a three-game deficit in the Wild Card picture. Even if they don’t make the playoffs, they’ll have Jax for another couple seasons.

It’s appealing enough that the Rays were willing to move on from Bradley. A former top prospect, the 6’2″ righty has held a rotation spot in Tampa Bay for most of the past three seasons. He has never really put it all together, allowing an ERA of 4.11 or higher in each season. Home runs were the biggest culprit over the first two years, but he missed bats at plus rates with league average control. It has been a different story in 2025. Bradley’s strikeout rate has dropped to a career-low 20.2% as he’s getting fewer swinging strikes. He has upped his ground-ball rate and gotten the longball under control, but his 4.61 ERA across 21 starts is right in line with his career mark.

Around the All-Star Break, it was reported that the Rays were open to offers on Bradley. It seemed clear that he’d fallen out of favor when they optioned him to Triple-A last week after he gave up four runs without escaping the second inning against the White Sox. That didn’t mean they’d trade him for whatever they could get, of course, but there was presumably a growing frustration with Bradley’s inconsistent results. Tampa Bay traded a pair of starting pitchers in Bradley and Zack Littell, but they’re giving the former’s rotation spot to hard-throwing righty Joe Boyle. They replaced the latter by acquiring Adrian Houser from the White Sox.

Coaxing more out of Bradley now falls on the Twins. He figures to return to the rotation in Minnesota. He’ll slot behind Joe Ryan, Zebby Matthews and eventually Pablo López in the starting staff. Minnesota also landed talented rookie right-hander Mick Abel from the Phillies in the Duran return. They’re clearly looking ahead to a 2026 season that might be under new ownership and hoping to build around young starting pitching.

Bradley may not have had sustained MLB success, but it’s easy to see the appeal. Controllable starting pitching is the most difficult asset to acquire. Minnesota has Bradley under team control for four seasons after this one. He has a four-pitch mix led by a 96 MPH fastball with the command to start. If the Twins can marry this year’s batted ball results with the swing-and-miss ability he has shown in prior seasons, Bradley would be a more valuable long-term asset than a reliever — even one as good as Jax.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the Rays were acquiring Jax. Dan Hayes of The Athletic had Bradley’s return. Images courtesy of Lon Howedel and Jonathan Dyer, Imagn Images.

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