Large contingent of arbitration-eligible Twins weigh trade possibilities: ‘Emotionally torn'

New York Times

4 days ago

LOS ANGELES — He's on a small-market club with a long list of arbitration-eligible players about to receive significant pay raises. Seeing as the club appears to be a seller, Twins reliever Griffin Jax almost expects he'll be traded before the July 31 trade deadline.
Along with All-Star starting pitcher Joe Ryan and closer Jhoan Duran, Jax, who has two-plus seasons of team control remaining, promises to be one of the most discussed Twins over the next week and would certainly bring a windfall if he were traded. Even though the front office intends to listen to offers on the trio, as well as any of the team's eight other arb-eligible players, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reports uncertainty surrounding the sale of the team could result in the group staying put.
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Either way, Jax and some of his fellow arb-eligible teammates aren't sure a long-term future with the Twins is in the cards. Jax cited the Twins' 2022 trade of Taylor Rogers and similar deals made by the Milwaukee Brewers, who surrendered Josh Hader and Devin Williams, as reasons he thinks his time in Twins Territory is limited.
'Odds are I'm not going to finish my career here,' Jax said. 'That's just kind of like the trajectory of a lot of high-end relievers. That's typically the path. I'm emotionally torn because a huge part of me wants nothing to do but to spend the rest of my career here. This is basically all they've known. But at the same time, it's exciting to see.'
Unless their fortunes turn around quickly, the Twins are likely to deal most of a group of six impending free agents before July 31. Those players earn approximately $34.5 million combined this season.
But even with that money coming off the books, the budget will be tight because of an estimated $50 million owed to an arb-eligible group, which includes: Bailey Ober, Ryan Jeffers, Cole Sands, Trevor Larnach, Royce Lewis, Brock Stewart, Justin Topa and Michael Tonkin.
'It's gonna get interesting,' Jeffers said.
The internal belief is a large group of suitors would pursue Duran, who was the American League reliever of the month for May, and Jax. Ryan should be extremely popular, too.
But Twins are unlikely to move any of the trio unless the return makes a meaningful impact in quick order. Whether pitching-hungry contenders would meet the Twins' excessive price remains to be seen.
Of course, none of this would be necessary if the Twins simply played better.
'If we're winning, I think they're going to figure out how to keep all of us in place,' Jeffers said. 'If we are not winning, then maybe they look at ways to reshuffle what's in the locker room. When you're a team that is kind of in a spot to potentially start selling, (trade talk) creeps on your mind more.'
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Twins president Derek Falvey rarely tells opposing teams he won't listen to offers. Listening provides information on players who may be available and can lead to trades down the road. Falvey always notes how the Pablo López trade was the result of talks with the Miami Marlins which occurred ahead of the January 2023 deal.
'We're open to being creative,' Falvey said in December. 'We can't rule anything out before we hear it, no matter who the player is. We'll just be respectful of their process, what they are going through and trying to kick some creative ideas around.'
Knowing the realities facing the Twins, Jax is open to entertaining the idea of being traded. Not only would he like to receive a long-term deal, Jax wants to win. Hard as being traded from his only organization would be, securing multiple desires wouldn't bother Jax.
'We know that there's going to be a lot of pieces moved at different times,' Jax said. 'They add and subtract at all times to help boost the major-league roster. … It's a compliment to know that there's other teams out there that really think that I could help push them forward. It's sad, but at the same time, it's exciting.'
Three big innings from the offense and an all-out effort by the pitching staff propelled the Twins to a big victory on Tuesday.
Christian Vázquez and Royce Lewis each drove in three runs, Carlos Correa scored four times and the Twins received enough from seven pitchers to top the Los Angeles Dodgers 10-7 at Dodger Stadium. Ty France also scored three runs for the Twins, who gained a game in the wild-card race and leap frogged one team in the standings.
With the victory, the Twins moved back to within four games of the third-place Boston Red Sox, one of five teams ahead of them for the final wild-card spot.
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'That's the type of quality winning baseball we need,' pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson said. 'Sometimes it takes everybody to grab an oar and get in the boat together and paddle. Great team win.'
Working lengthy, patient plate appearances, the Twins jumped on All-Star pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the second inning. Correa singled and France walked, which led to an RBI fielder's choice by Lewis. One out later, Vázquez hit a booming double to drive in two runs and make it 3-0.
Though they didn't score again versus Yamamoto, the Twins drove up his pitch count and he exited after five innings. The Twins then took advantage of a wild and beat-up Dodgers bullpen, scoring seven runs over the final four innings. They tagged Los Angeles relievers Ben Casparius and Will Klein for three runs each after each walked three batters.
Lewis forced in a run with a walk in the sixth inning and Vázquez singled in another as the Twins grabbed a 6-3 lead. They stretched the lead to 9-5 in the seventh when Edgardo Henriquez fielded Lewis's bases-loaded nubber and threw it away, which cleared the bases.
TWINS CAPITALIZE!!! pic.twitter.com/ep86Y9KH2i
— Twins.TV (@twinstv) July 23, 2025
Correa and France each doubled in the ninth inning, which led to another run.
'We stayed very disciplined,' Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. 'We tried to just force them into the zone. I think our guys were watching the game, paying attention to other guys' at-bats, and then taking those thoughts to the plate themselves. And when we did get some pitches, we hit pitches good too. … There was a lot of nodding and approval in the dugout.'
The sixth of seven Twins pitchers, reliever Anthony Misiewicz tweaked his pectoral muscle in the eighth inning. Working with a four-run lead, Misiewicz walked the first batter he faced and was removed after Baldelli spotted him react poorly to a warmup pitch during an instant replay challenge.
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The injury resulted in Jhoan Duran closing out the contest with two innings pitched. Duran surrendered a homer to Shohei Ohtani, the first he'd yielded since June 21, 2024.
Luke Keaschall started at designated hitter for a fourth straight game, finishing 1-for-4 on Tuesday in Triple-A St. Paul's loss. Keaschall is 4-for-16 with three walks during his rehab assignment. … Ober threw a bullpen session Tuesday and will make another rehab start with St. Paul on Friday.
(Photo of Griffin Jax: Stephen Maturen / Getty Images)