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Latest On Twins’ Deadline Plans

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The Twins have already moved Chris Paddack and Jhoan Duran, but they’re expected to remain active on the selling front right up until this afternoon’s deadline. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that as of last night, Minnesota was far more focused on negotiations pertaining to relievers Danny Coulombe and Brock Stewart than on anything involving top starter Joe Ryan, who still seems like a long shot to move. Meanwhile, Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that the Twins have had about six clubs looking into utilityman Willi Castro and haven’t ruled out trading righty Griffin Jax even after moving Duran — but the price remains extremely high.

Coulombe is one of the most straightforward trade candidates on the market. He’s a rental reliever on a clear seller who’s having a terrific season while playing on a low-cost contract. He signed a one-year, $3MM deal to return to the Twins in the offseason and has rewarded that investment with a 1.16 ERA, 25.4% strikeout rate and 7.4% walk rate in 31 innings. He’s thrived versus lefties and righties alike. It’d be a surprise if Coulombe somehow wasn’t traded before today’s deadline.

Stewart, 33, isn’t necessarily as likely to go but could have some sneaky value. He’s 33 years old and has had plenty of injury concerns in his career, including Tommy John surgery while with the Dodgers and shoulder surgery with the Twins just last year.

That said, when Stewart has been healthy in Minnesota, he’s been excellent. He’s pitched 77 1/3 innings since landing with the Twins on a minor league deal in the 2022-23 offseason, and in that time he’s posted a 2.33 ERA with a huge 31.7% strikeout rate and a 9.5% walk rate. Stewart is sitting 96.1 mph on his four-seamer this year and has run his heater up to 100 mph at times. He’s sporting an outstanding 15.1% swinging-strike rate and has a massive 16.5% mark over the past three seasons combined.

The Twins don’t need to move Stewart, who’s earning just $870K this year and has two seasons of club control remaining. However, as a reliever in his mid-30s who was originally added on a minor league deal, there’s a bit of a “found money” aspect to the hard-throwing righty. His lengthy history of arm troubles also surely has to tempt the Twins to sell high right now, while he’s performing well. Stewart isn’t going to garner headlines like Duran, Jax and other controllable arms on the relief market (e.g. David Bednar, Mason Miller), but he’s quietly posted high-end results at near league-minimum salary.

Castro feels like another surefire trade candidate today. Like Coulombe and Stewart, he was originally signed by the Twins on a minor league deal before revitalizing his career in Minnesota. He’s hitting .245/.335/.407 with 10 homers and nine steals in 344 plate appearances on the season and has slashed .250/.335/.398 in his three years as a Twin.

The switch-hitting Castro is earning $6.4MM in 2025 and is a free agent at season’s end. He’s a 28-year-old with average power and above-average speed who can handle just about any position on the field. He’s played second base, third base, shortstop and all three outfield spots in 2025, though he’s stretched defensively at shortstop or in center field and is more of a backup option than a candidate for regular playing time at those positions. Given his versatility, Castro would deepen any contending club’s bench, and he’d be a starting option for several playoff contenders. The Mariners, Yankees and Astros have all shown interest this month, though the first two of those teams have obviously added some new infield options already, which could impact their current level of interest in Castro.

With Duran out the door and Coulombe and Stewart possibly following him, a trade of Jax would really deplete the Twins’ bullpen. The Twins will remain open to the idea, it seems, but they’re not likely to deviate from their asking price. They’ve been seeking multiple top-100 prospects for both Duran and Jax. They secured a strong return for Duran (catching prospect Eduardo Tait and MLB-ready starter Mick Abel) and will hold out for the same with regard to Jax.

The 31-year-old Jax is a former third-round pick. A look at his 4.50 ERA isn’t going to turn any heads, but the right-hander posted a 2.03 ERA last season and misses bats more than nearly any pitcher in the game. His 36.4% strikeout rate is fifth in all of baseball among the 293 pitchers (starter and relievers alike) with at least 40 innings pitched this season. His 19.5% swinging-strike rate sits third, trailing only Josh Hader and Aroldis Chapman. Jax’s 1.97 SIERA ranks second in baseball, trailing only the 1.96 mark of breakout Giants reliever Randy Rodriguez.

Jax is under club control for two more years beyond the current season. He had a brutal outing yesterday — three runs without recording an out — but even including that tough day has a 3.08 ERA and 1.49 FIP in 38 innings dating back to late April. He’s the clear favorite to close games for the Twins moving forward. The Yankees are among the clubs looking into Jax, Jon Heyman of the New York Post suggests, and the Mariners have been in the mix as well.

Padres, Twins Among Teams Interested In J.C. Escarra

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Reports earlier in July indicated that J.C. Escarra was drawing trade interest, and Francys Romero writes that the Padres and Twins are two of the clubs most recently asking about the Yankees catcher.  Escarra was optioned to Triple-A just today, leaving Austin Wells and Ben Rice as the catching options on New York’s active roster, and underlining the team’s depth at the position.

Escarra earned his first taste of MLB playing time by making the team out of Spring Training, and acting as Wells’ primary backup while Rice has seen more time at DH and first base than behind the plate.  The backstop’s chief calling card has been his outstanding framing ability, even if his blocking and caught-stealing numbers leave much to be desired.

Escarra’s first 97 career plate appearances in the Show have seen him hit .205/.299/.337, with a .217 BABIP that is perhaps obscuring some better production.  Though Escarra isn’t making much hard contact, he is making a lot of contact period, as he has almost as many walks (11) as strikeouts (14).  His hitting record beyond the majors is inconsistent, but Escarrra hit well at the Triple-A level in 2024, and he got himself on the Yankees’ radar after crushing the ball in 2022-23 during stints in the independent leagues and in the Mexican League.

Given this journeyman background, Escarra is basically found money for the Yankees, so he may be expendable given the team’s other available catchers at both the MLB and minor league levels.  Wells, Rice, and Escarra are the only catchers with any big league experience in the organization, though another veteran could be signed to a minors contract to provide some depth if Escarra did get moved.

The appeal is obvious for the Padres, whose cumulative -0.7 bWAR from the catching position is the lowest in the majors.  With Elias Diaz and Martin Maldonado providing almost nothing, the Padres would have little to lose in seeing what Escarra can do with some regular playing time.  San Diego has one of the lowest strikeout rates of any team in baseball, so Escarra’s high-contact ways are a fit with the Padres’ approach.

Diaz and Maldonado are both free agents after the season.  The Twins have Ryan Jeffers arbitration-controlled through 2026 but Christian Vazquez is an impending free agent.  Like with San Diego, Minnesota’s catching position has also been a weak link, with Jeffers, Vazquez, and (for one game) Mickey Gasper combining for 0.3 bWAR.

At age 30, Escarra may not exactly be a long-term prospect, but he is controllable through the 2030 season.  Either the Padres or Twins could see the catcher as a fairly inexpensive upgrade to their needs behind the plate both this year and in the future.  The Twins are in seller mode, and such players as Willi Castro, Harrison Bader, Griffin Jax, and Danny Coulombe have been linked to New York in recent rumors.  It isn’t known if these Minnesota players could still be on the radar or not, as the Yankees’ acquisitions of Amed Rosario and Austin Slater specifically might’ve made Castro or Bader redundant.

Phillies Acquire Jhoan Duran

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The Phillies have acquired closer Jhoan Duran from the Twins in exchange for catching prospect Eduardo Tait and right-handed pitcher Mick Abel. Both teams have officially announced the deal.

Duran was one of the biggest names on this summer’s trade market. He came in at no. 34 on MLBTR’s list of the top 50 trade candidates, but he surely would have ranked higher if it seemed more likely that he’d be dealt. The flamethrowing right-hander is one of the undisputed best closers in the game, with a career 2.47 ERA, 2.48 SIERA, and 74 saves in 83 chances over the past four seasons. Dating back to his rookie season in 2022, he has thrown 233 2/3 innings in 223 games, racking up 292 strikeouts (seventh-most among relievers) with an elite 63.2% groundball rate. His 9.10 Win Probability Added (WPA) ranks third in that same span, trailing only Devin Williams and Félix Bautista. The 1,284 pitches he’s thrown at or above 100 miles an hour (per Statcast) are easily the most in the majors; Mason Miller ranks second with 819. Only 27 years old and arguably pitching better than ever – he’s on pace for career-highs in both the FanGraphs and Baseball Reference versions of WAR – Duran remains under team control via arbitration through the 2027 campaign.

The possibility of the Twins trading Duran began to seem more and more realistic over the past couple of days, with the 51-57 Twins looking to take advantage of a seller’s market and a bevy of contending teams seeking late-inning bullpen help. It was no secret the Phillies were one such club. A few weeks ago, The Athletic’s Matt Gelb reported that Duran (and teammate Griffin Jax) would be “prized targets” for Philadelphia, noting that, in contrast to past deadlines, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was prioritizing “controllable big leaguers” and, in particular, a controllable “shutdown, late-inning reliever.” Since Gelb’s initial report, several more sources linked the Phillies to Duran, including Nightengale and the New York Post’s Jon Heyman, but the most recent reporting indicated that their refusal to part with top prospect Andrew Painter would ultimately prevent them from landing Duran, with both Nightengale and Rosenthal and Gelb suggesting as much. Evidently, the Twins softened their demands, although there is no doubt the Phillies still paid a high price to acquire their new bullpen ace.

Tait is widely considered a top-100 prospect, ranked 50th by Baseball America, 51st by Baseball Prospectus, and 56th by MLB Pipeline. As BA notes, he is their first top-100 prospect to be traded ahead of the deadline since 2023, and the highest ranked since 2022. Whether or not the Twins achieved their reported goal of landing two top-100 prospects in exchange for Duran depends on which lists you’re looking at; Abel is currently no. 92 on MLB Pipeline’s list, but he dropped off BA’s most recent post-draft rankings and fell off BP’s list after 2023. For what it’s worth, neither Tait nor Abel was included on FanGraphs’ latest top 100 update.

Looking beyond the arbitrary “top 100” cutoff, however, what matters is that the Twins received a pair of highly talented young players, of a caliber rarely seen moved in deadline deals. Tait is a bat-first catcher with big power and a strong throwing arm, but the rest of his defensive game needs significant work. Still, the bat has enough potential that he could succeed in the majors (presumably at first base or DH) even if he doesn’t stick behind the plate. He lit up the competition in the Dominican Summer League and the Florida Complex League in his first two professional seasons, but he hasn’t looked quite as powerful in Single-A and High-A this year. That said, he’s only 18 years old, which is young for his level, and scouting reports matter far more than his numbers right now. Dan Hayes of The Athletic notes that the Twins have “very good” internal grades on Tait.

Abel might not have quite as much upside as he once did, but he has looked much better this year than he did in 2023 or ’24. He has a 2.31 ERA and 3.56 FIP in 13 Triple-A starts, both his best numbers at any level in any year of his professional career. While he looked overmatched at times in his first six MLB starts for the Phillies, his mediocre overall numbers are the combination of three strong starts and three disappointing outings. He’s not there quite yet, but he showed signs that he could soon become a capable big league starting pitcher. Whether that’s a mid-rotation or back-end starter remains is now up to the Twins, but he has good raw stuff and a deep arsenal for their development and coaching staffs to work with.

Heading into play today, the Phillies ranked 24th in MLB with a 4.33 bullpen ERA and 15th with a 3.82 bullpen SIERA. Their strong starting rotation has helped to limit the bullpen’s workload (their bullpen ranks last in innings pitched), but still, it’s not hard to understand why Dombrowski was looking for a significant upgrade. Philadelphia’s longest tenured reliever, hard-throwing lefty José Alvarado, will be out until mid-August serving a PED suspension, and he won’t be eligible to pitch in the playoffs. Jordan Romano, the team’s primary bullpen acquisition of the offseason, has struggled to a 6.81 ERA. No one knows what to expect from David Robertson, who did not sign with a team until earlier this month. He remained one of the best relievers in baseball at age 39 in 2024, but he essentially started his spring training last week. Orion Kerkering and Matt Strahm have provided manager Rob Thomson with a couple of reliable back-end options, but as the Phillies battle with the Mets for the NL East crown and look to contend for a World Series, it’s clear to see why they identified Duran as a major difference-maker.

As for the Twins, there is now no question they are in full sell mode, having dealt Duran and Chris Paddack, whom they sent to the Tigers on Monday. This makes it seem all the more likely that they will soon trade Willi Castro, Harrison Bader, and Danny Coulombe, all of whom are set to hit free agency at the end of the season. However, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand notes that Minnesota is now far more likely to hold on to Jax, their other controllable relief ace. Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune echoed Feinsand’s statement, writing that the Twins have not “ruled out” trading Jax, but their asking price could now be astronomical – perhaps too high for anyone to meet.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic was the first to report that the two sides were closing in on a trade, while Bob Nightengale of USA Today was the first to report that the Twins would receive Tait and Abel in exchange for Duran. ESPN’s Jeff Passan was the first to confirm the agreement.

Photo in article courtesy of Isaiah J. Downing, Imagn Images.

Jhoan Duran Trade Market Picking Up

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3:39pm: The Mariners are also making a run at Duran today, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman, like Nightengale, adds that there is now an expectation that Duran will be moved at some point today.

2:16pm: USA Today’s Bob Nightengale also writes that there’s a good chance of Duran being moved before the end of the day. Nightengale adds that the Twins have held out for top pitching prospect Andrew Painter in conversations with the Phillies. Philadelphia has been steadfast in not wanting to move Painter in prior trade discussions. It’s a big ask on Minnesota’s part, but that reflects Duran’s affordable control window. Passan had reported last week that the Twins wanted multiple top 100 caliber prospects for either Duran or Jax.

2:07pm: The likelihood of a Jhoan Duran trade seems to be rising. Jon Heyman of The New York Post suggested this afternoon that Minnesota’s talks with other teams on the star closer are “heating up.” Mark Feinsand of MLB.com hears similarly and adds that the Twins could have an agreement on a Duran deal later today.

The Mariners and Yankees have been loosely tied to his market in recent days. Heyman reports that the Phillies and Red Sox are strongly involved and adds the Mets as another team that has at least shown some interest. Jon Morosi of MLB Network adds that the Twins have had conversations with the Dodgers concerning each of Duran, Griffin Jax and Louis Varland. The Blue Jays, Rangers and Padres are among the teams also known to be exploring the market for high-leverage bullpen help — though none has been linked to Duran specifically.

Duran is probably the prize of the reliever market, particularly with Emmanuel Clase no longer an option. The 27-year-old righty throws harder than anyone else in baseball aside from Mason Miller. His four-seam fastball sits in the triple digits, and he averages 97.5 MPH on his absurd sinker/splitter hybrid. Duran’s upper 80s knuckle-curve is an elite pitch in its own right. He has a 2.47 earned run average in parts of four big league seasons. That includes a 2.01 mark through 49 1/3 frames this season. He’s 16-18 in save chances, has struck out more than a quarter of opponents, and is second among relievers (minimum 40 innings) with a monster 65.4% ground-ball percentage.

The Twins are going to move a handful of impending free agents, including lefty reliever Danny Coulombe. The bigger question is whether they’ll trade any of their key controllable pieces. Duran is making $4.125MM and under arbitration control through 2027. Jax, a setup man with even bigger strikeout stuff, is also controllable for two seasons. Varland is still a season away from arbitration and comes with five years of club control, so it’d be very surprising if the Twins trade him.

Minnesota is also getting calls on right-hander Brock Stewart, writes ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The 33-year-old Stewart is playing for barely above the league minimum and has two additional seasons of arbitration control. He has punched out 30% of batters faced en route to a 2.38 ERA across 34 innings. Stewart’s age and notable injury history (elbow discomfort in 2023, arthroscopic shoulder surgery last summer) mean the Twins should be looking to sell high despite the affordable control window.

MLBTR Podcast: Megapod Trade Deadline Preview

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams and Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss various trade deadline topics, including…

Check out our past episodes!

  • David Robertson, Trade Chips For The O’s and A’s, And What The Rangers Could Do – listen here
  • Rays’ Ownership, The Phillies Target Bullpen Help, And Bubble Teams – listen here
  • Firings in Washington, Bad Braves, And An AL East Shake-Up – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Geoff Burke, Imagn Images

Twins Place Byron Buxton On 10-Day IL With Ribcage Inflammation

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The Twins announced today that they have placed outfielder Byron Buxton on the 10-day injured list with left ribcage inflammation. Catcher Ryan Jeffers, who was activated from the paternity list, will take Buxton’s spot on the active roster. In an additional transaction, the Twins officially selected right-hander Pierson Ohl’s contract from Triple-A. He will take the roster spot left vacant after yesterday’s Chris Paddack trade.

Buxton left Saturday’s game early with what the team then deemed left side soreness (per Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic). His MRI revealed he had suffered rib cartilage irritation, which manager Rocco Baldelli described as positive news on Sunday (per Gleeman). At the time, the team believed Buxton to be day-to-day. Evidently, they have now decided he’ll need more than a couple of days off to recover. He is now eligible to return next Wednesday, though it’s not yet clear how long he’ll be out.

The All-Star center fielder is in the midst of a phenomenal season that’s shaping up to be the best of his career. He is slashing .282/.343/.561 with 23 home runs, 17 stolen bases, and 4 OAA. His 3.9 FanGraphs WAR ranks him among the top 10 players in the American League. Of course, playing at a superstar level has never been a problem for Buxton. Rather, his problem has always been staying on the field. He has dealt with injury issues in every season of his career. Only once has he qualified for the batting title, and even then, he just barely reached the cutoff, taking 511 plate appearances over 140 games in 2017. Since then, he has yet to even surpass 400 plate appearances in a season, and only once has he surpassed 100 games (102 games played in 2024). This is already his second IL stint of 2025; he previously spent two weeks on the concussion IL. The Twins and Buxton will hope his rib injury is not much more serious than they initially thought, allowing him to get back on the field in time to set new career highs in plate appearances and games played.

While Buxton is out, the Twins have an excellent backup plan in Harrison Bader – as long as he isn’t traded in the next two days. Bader is a Gold Glove-winning center fielder, and he also happens to be enjoying the best offensive season of his career. He has played most of his games in left field this year (marking the first time in his career he’s spent more time in a corner than in center), but he was one of the game’s premier defensive center fielders over the previous seven years. When the Twins signed Bader over the offseason, they were presumably hoping he’d spend as much time in a corner spot as possible, but they surely knew he might eventually have to fill in for Buxton in center.

Things will become more complicated for Baldelli if the Twins trade Bader ahead of the deadline, especially if they also part with utility man Willi Castro. That would likely leave rookie DaShawn Keirsey Jr. as Minnesota’s starting center fielder in Buxton’s absence. Keirsey’s speed should help him hold his own in center, but he is batting .120 with a .354 OPS this year in 78 plate appearances. That’s a big drop-off from Bader’s production and a massive drop-off from Buxton’s production. Regardless, if the Twins are planning to continue selling before the deadline, it seems unlikely that Buxton’s injury would prevent them from parting with Bader or Castro.

Yankees Interested In Andrew Heaney

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The Yankees have interest in Pirates left-hander Andrew Heaney, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Heyman adds that the Yankees, and the Mets, have checked in on Joe Ryan of the Twins and MacKenzie Gore of the Nationals. However, he downplays the likelihood of anything coming from those pursuits. Similarly, Heyman mentions that the Yankees reached out to the Pirates about Oneil Cruz but says nothing is likely to come from that either.

The Yankees have been connected to plenty of starting pitchers recently. That includes some potentially notable upgrades like Dylan Cease or Mitch Keller, as well as more back-end types like Chris Paddack, who was traded from the Twins to the Tigers yesterday.

Heaney is more in the latter category at this stage of his career. He’s had some tantalizing strikeout stuff in the past but that’s not the case this year. In 107 innings for the Pirates, he has a 4.79 earned run average and a subpar 17.2% strikeout rate.

His season got off to a strong start but he’s been in a rough slide lately. Through his first 14 starts, he had a 3.33 ERA, though with a subpar 18.5% strikeout rate. He was getting a bit of help from his .234 batting average on balls in play and 81.8% strand rate. His FIP and SIERA were both 4.44 for that span, suggesting those metrics thought it was a mirage. They were proven correct when Heaney posted an 8.79 ERA over his next six starts.

It’s not the most exciting set of numbers but the Yanks might just want a veteran to take the ball every five days. As mentioned, they were interested in Paddack, who has similar numbers to Heaney this year. Paddack posted a 4.95 ERA with a 17.6% strikeout rate before his trade.

The Yankees have lost Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt to Tommy John surgery but still have a strong one-two atop the rotation in Max Fried and Carlos Rodón. They have been without Luis Gil all year so far but he’s on the cusp of a return. Will Warren is having a good season on the whole. Adding a vet would allow the Yanks to perhaps move Cam Schlittler back to Triple-A or bump Marcus Stroman to long relief or off the roster.

It’s been a rough stretch for the Yankees, as they have fallen into a tight Wild Card race. Entering today, they are only a game and a half ahead of the Rangers, who are the top team not currently in possession of a playoff spot. Heaney wouldn’t be in the club’s planned playoff rotation but he could upgrade the staff for the stretch run. Schlittler has just two big league outings under his belt while Stroman has a 6.08 ERA in his eight starts this year.

Heaney shouldn’t cost much in terms of prospect capital and is also making just $5.25MM this year. There’s now less than $1.75MM of that still to be paid out. Since the Yankees are a third-time competitive balance tax payor and are over the top tier, they face a 110% tax on any additional spending.

The Yankees could pursue a more impactful upgrade and it seems like they have looked into the possibility. However, all reports have suggested that a trade of either Gore or Ryan would be a long shot. Both pitchers are affordably controlled for two years after this season, making them very valuable to their respective clubs. It would likely take a massive prospect haul to pry either player loose. It’s basically the same story with Cruz, who is controlled for three seasons after this one.

Photo courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski, Imagn Images

Mariners Showing Interest In Willi Castro, Twins’ Relievers

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The Mariners have already upgraded the right side of their infield with last week’s addition of Josh Naylor, and as they continue to look around the league for help at the other corner and in the bullpen, they’ve increasingly focused in on the Twins, reports Daniel Kramer of MLB.com. Seattle had interest in Willi Castro this past offseason and has again been in touch with Minnesota about the possibility of a Castro swap.

Castro, 28, would give the Mariners an option at third base while still leaving the door open for a potential addition of a prominent slugger like Eugenio Suárez. The switch-hitting Castro is versatile enough to handle second base, shortstop or any of the three outfield spots — though he’s best used as an emergency option at short or in center. He’s primarily played second base and the outfield corners for the Twins this season but has 74 innings at third base (532 in his career) and 26 innings at short (1213 career innings).

The versatile Castro is in his final season of club control and earning $6.4MM. He’s hitting .252/.343/.418 with 10 homers, 15 doubles, a pair of triples and nine steals (in 12 tries). It’s Castro’s third straight productive season since being non-tendered by the Tigers and signing a minor league deal in Minnesota. In two-plus years with the Twins, he’s slashed .251/.336/.401 while playing all over the diamond.

Castro has been solid enough at the plate that even absent a more notable acquisition at the hot corner, he’d still be a marked improvement over in-house options on his own. Rookie Ben Williamson has been playing third base for much of the season in Seattle. He’s turned in sharp defense but carries an anemic .256/.293/.315 batting line in 289 turns at the plate. The hope had been that Jorge Polanco could play third base for the M’s after re-signing this past offseason, but he’s been limited to DH work for much of the season after undergoing knee surgery following the 2024 campaign and playing through a side/oblique issue for much of the early portion of the current season.

On top of their need in the infield, the Mariners have been canvassing the trade market for high-leverage relief help. Kramer notes that hard-throwing righties Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax stand out as on-paper fits and the type of arms Seattle has been seeking. Both are in their first arbitration season and controlled through 2027. Duran is earning $4.125MM this season. Jax is being paid $2.365MM.

While Duran is the more famous of the pair given his status as Minnesota’s closer and his possession of one of MLB’s hardest fastballs, both pitchers are viewed within the industry as elite bullpen options. Duran carries a career 2.47 ERA and 30.6% strikeout rate, though this year’s 25.7% mark (while still strong) is a career low. He’s averaging 100.2 mph on his four-seamer and complementing that blistering offering with a splitter/sinker hybrid (“splinker”) that sits 97.5 mph.

Duran may be more well-known, but Jax is arguably even more appealing. Beyond his lower salary, he boasts superior strikeout and walk rates, sitting at 36.9% and 6.7%, respectively. He’s been dogged by a .371 average on balls in play, which has helped to inflate Jax’s ERA to 3.91, but metrics like FIP (2.00) and SIERA (1.94) rank him among the game’s very best relievers. Among the 651 pitchers (starters and relievers alike) to throw even five innings in the majors this year, Jax is tied with Aroldis Chapman for the fourth-best swinging-strike rate (19.8%). Josh Hader, Mason Miller and Fernando Cruz are the only pitchers with higher marks.

Adam Jude of the Seattle Times writes that while the Mariners indeed covet Duran and/or Jax — as well as Castro — there’s very little chance the M’s could pry away both Castro and one of the Twins’ top bullpen arms in the same trade. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported last week that the Twins were seeking multiple top-100 prospects for either Duran or Jax individually. Jude hears similarly. Adding Castro, one of the more appealing rental players on the market, would only drive the asking price up even further.

Jude suggests left-hander Danny Coulombe as one viable alternative in the Minnesota bullpen. He’s pitched 31 innings this year and logged a pristine 1.16 ERA with a 25.4% strikeout rate and 7.4% walk rate. The 35-year-old southpaw signed a one-year, $3MM deal with the Twins over the winter — his second stint in Minnesota — and is a free agent at season’s end.

Speculatively, the Mariners could also look into righty Brock Stewart. The 33-year-old is making just $870K this season and, like Duran and Jax, is controlled through 2027. He’s been excellent since signing a minor league deal with the Twins three years ago but has also missed considerable time due to injury. Stewart touts a 2.33 ERA, 31.7% strikeout rate and 9.5% walk rate in 77 1/3 innings dating back to Opening Day 2023. Stewart is averaging 96.1 mph on his four-seamer, and while his 15.1% swinging-strike rate isn’t quite at Jax’s elite level, it’s tied with San Diego’s Jason Adam for 28th among 373 big league pitchers who’ve pitched at least 30 innings this year.

The Mariners are well-positioned to land virtually any trade target they covet — it’s just a matter of how much they’re willing to thin out what’s regarded as one of baseball’s top farm systems. Seattle has eight of Baseball America’s top-100 prospects. Minnesota isn’t embarking on a full rebuild but rather aiming to retool and contend again in 2026, so they’d probably prefer prospects closer to big league readiness for their top trade chips (though they did settle on a 19-year-old catching prospect in yesterday’s Chris Paddack trade).

Mets, Yankees Have Shown Interest In Harrison Bader

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The Dodgers, Mets and Yankees have all shown interested in Twins outfielder Harrison Bader, reports Jorge Castillo of ESPN. The interest from the Dodgers was reported by Bob Nightengale of USA Today yesterday.

Bader, 31, has long been a useful big leaguer on account of his speed and defense. His offense has been more mercurial but he’s currently in the midst of what could be his best season at the plate. In 298 plate appearances, he already has 12 home runs. Only once in his career has he hit more than that, which was the 16 he hit in 2021. His 26.2% strikeout rate is a bit high but his 8.7% walk rate is his best mark in years.

On the whole, he has a .255/.336/.441 line this year. His 118 wRC+, a career high, indicates he has been 18% better than league average at the plate this year. Thanks to nine stolen bases and some quality glovework, he’s already been worth 2.0 wins above replacement on the year, in the eyes of FanGraphs.

The Twins seem to be pivoting to sell mode, at least in terms of guys who aren’t core pieces. They are 50-55, a record which puts them 5.5 games back of a playoff spot in the American League. It was reported last week that they were leaning towards making their rental players available. They flipped Chris Paddack to the Tigers earlier today. It’s likely that Bader, Christian Vázquez, Danny Coulombe, Ty France and Willi Castro will follow in the coming days.

Bader signed a one-year, $6.25MM deal with the Twins in the offseason. That guarantee came in the form of a $750K signing bonus, a $4MM salary, and a $1.5MM buyout on a mutual option. Mutual options are essentially never picked up by both sides, which is why Bader will be viewed as a rental. His buyout can also increase via plate appearance incentives. He would add $200K at 400, 425 and 450 plate appearances, then $450K at 475 and 500. He came into tonight’s game with 298 trips to the plate. His deal also has a $500K assignment bonus if he’s traded.

Though he has mostly been playing left field this year, that has been out of deference to Byron Buxton. Suitors calling the Twins will likely view Bader as a center fielder, since he’s perfectly capable of sliding back to that spot.

Even with the little extra bits in his contract, Bader’s price is still attractive. Some of the other notable center field options on the market are Cedric Mullins and Luis Robert Jr. Mullins is making $8.725MM and has been in a rough slump since April. Robert is making $15MM this year and is also owed at least a $2MM buyout on his $20MM club option for next year. He’s been hitting better lately but is having a bad season overall.

The Mets and Yankees would both be logical landing spots for Bader. He has already played for both New York clubs, so there’s already familiarity there. The Mets have already been connected to Robert and Mullins. They came into the year with Jose Siri and Tyrone Taylor as their center field options. Siri suffered a fractured shin a couple of weeks into the season and has been on the IL since. He still hasn’t started a rehab assignment. Taylor has a dismal .204/.260/.298 line at the plate this year.

Lately, Jeff McNeil has taken over the center field job. If the Mets were to acquire a center fielder, McNeil could move back to the infield. The Mets have a cluttered infield mix with Mark Vientos, Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acuña. They are reportedly open to trading from that group of younger players, however, so it’s possible the roster gets shaken up in a few different ways this week.

For the Yankees, they just lost Aaron Judge to the injured list with a flexor strain. They now have a regular outfield alignment of Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham and Jasson Domínguez. Bellinger and Grisham are both lefties while Domínguez is a switch-hitter who is far better against right-handed pitchers. Bringing in a righty bat like Bader to complement that group makes a lot of sense. Bader has fairly neutral splits in 2025 but has been better against lefties in his career. He has hit .248/.315/.461 against lefties for a 110 wRC+ overall, with a career .241/.307/.374 slash and 87 wRC+ against righties.

Both the Mets and the Yankees are third-time payors of the competitive balance tax. Both clubs are also above the top CBT threshold this year. That means each club faces a 110% tax bill for any spending they add to the ledger for the rest of the season. Bader’s relatively modest salary should therefore be appealing to both clubs for the same reason.

Photo courtesy of Matt Blewett, Imagn Images

Twins To Select Pierson Ohl

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The Twins are calling up right-hander Pierson Ohl, per Chase Ford of MiLB Central. The Twins will have to select him to the roster but they opened space by trading Chris Paddack to the Tigers earlier today.

Ohl, 25, was a 14th-round pick of the Twins in 2021. Since then, he has been climbing the minor league ladder, demonstrating excellent control. In 389 minor league innings, he has only given out a walk to 3.6% of batters faced. For reference, league average is usually in the 8-9% range. Among qualified pitchers this year, only Zack Littell has a better walk rate than 3.6%.

He hasn’t always shown strong strikeout stuff but has been trending positively in that department lately. From 2021 to 2024, he punched out 21.6% of batters he faced. Here in 2025, he has pumped that up to 30%, while keeping his walks down at an excellent 3.8% rate.

Last month, FanGraphs ranked Ohl the #22 prospect in the Twins’ system. The report notes that his arm slot and changeup grip are different this year, which has seemingly helped him unlock more strikeouts.

The improved results will get Ohl up to the majors, though it’s unclear what kind of role the Twins have in mind for him. He was largely a starter prior to 2025 but has been in a sort of swing role this year. He has made five starts and 17 relief appearances this season, logging 66 1/3 innings. All his outings this year have been from 1 2/3 innings on the short end to four innings on the high end.

As mentioned, the Twins have already traded Paddack. Danny Coulombe is another impending free agent and therefore likely to be moved before Thursday’s deadline. It’s less likely but somewhat possible that they trade someone like Joe Ryan, Jhoan Durán or Griffin Jax. Other guys like Brock Stewart, Justin Topa or Michael Tonkin could also go.

Regardless of the eventual extent of their sell-off, the Twins will have some innings available. Whether he’s working as a spot starter or long reliever, Ohl will get a chance to absorb some of them. He’ll be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game. Since this is his first call to the show, he has a full slate of options and can be retained until he reaches six years of big league service time.

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