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The Minnesota Twins are at a crossroads ahead of the MLB trade deadline. The decisions they make in the coming days could shape the franchise’s future. While they’re open to trading key players, uncertainty surrounding the team’s pending ownership change has complicated those plans. As a result, the Twins front office are focusing on potential free agents like Willi Castro, Chris Paddack, Harrison Bader, and Ty France. These are players they can move without long-term consequences.
It’s no surprise that a sub-.500 team is fielding trade calls. But the real twist isn’t in the standings, it’s in the owner’s suite. With the team officially for sale and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred confirming “there will be a transaction,” the Twins’ front office is navigating an unusual layer of uncertainty.
That looming ownership change has cast a shadow over Twins' strategy heading into the MLB trade deadline. They’re listening to offers on controllable stars like Joe Ryan, Jhoan Duran, and Griffin Jax. But any blockbuster deal could prove shortsighted without knowing what the next regime wants, or is willing to spend.
Ryan, Duran, and Jax are all under club control through 2026, which makes them highly valuable to contenders, and just as valuable to a potential new owner. If payroll flexibility expands under new ownership, dealing away any of those arms now might haunt the Twins later.
Still, the Twins are active on another front. According to New York Post insider Jon Heyman, Minnesota is shopping its expiring contracts: Paddack, Castro, Bader, and France. These low-risk rentals are the kind of assets mid-tier teams typically move at the deadline. Twins infielder Willi Castro, in particular, has drawn interest from Mariners as a fallback for Arizona’s Eugenio Suarez.
Still, don’t expect a full-blown fire sale, at least not yet. The uncertainty surrounding the franchise’s future is likely to keep the Twins from pulling the trigger on major moves without absolute clarity.
The Twins might be listening, but they’re not shouting into the phones just yet. Until ownership is settled, every deal, no matter how enticing, comes with a heavy dose of hesitation. Will Minnesota cash in on its top arms now, or wait for a new owner to reset the vision?
