With the trade deadline closing in, the Twins are staring at a familiar question: buy, sell, or somehow thread the needle in between.
Right now, after three straight ugly losses, they look more like a club leaning toward selling. But there are still 12 games left before the Aug. 3 deadline, and if Minnesota can go 8-4 in that stretch, it would be sitting a game over .500 and in a much better position to add.
What the Twins need is pretty clear. This isn’t a shopping list with a dozen items on it.
It’s pitching, pitching, and more pitching. Relief help sits at the top of the board, and with Mick Abel and David Festa expected to be out for the rest of the season, Minnesota may also need another starter if it wants to stay in the postseason conversation.
That kind of need narrows the market, but it also opens the door for teams willing to make a retooling move rather than a full teardown. Here are three pitchers who could make sense for the Twins without forcing them to gut the future.
Jason Adam, RHP, San Diego Padres
Adam’s name carries a little Twins history, even if it never turned into actual Twins innings. Minnesota once acquired him in the 2014 Josh Willingham trade with the Royals, but he reached free agency and wound up with San Diego before ever pitching for the club.
Since 2022, Adam has been one of the steadiest relievers in the sport. He’s made the 11th most relief appearances in that span, 298, while posting the lowest ERA, 2.12, and WHIP, 0.96, among active pitchers.
This season, he’s been solid over 36 appearances: a 2.51 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 35.6% chase rate, 16.4% strikeout rate, and 6% walk rate. The strikeouts aren’t what they once were, but the control has been better than ever, with that 6% walk rate standing as the best of his career.
Adam is set to hit free agency after the season. San Diego has gone 5-5 over its last 10 games, and if the next two weeks go sideways, he could become one of the most attractive relievers on the market.
Minnesota may have a path here because of roster fit. The Padres have thinned out their supply of MLB-ready or near-MLB-ready outfielders at Triple-A, while the Twins have plenty of outfield depth between the majors and Triple-A St.
Paul. That could make them a useful trade partner.
And because Adam is 34 and under contract only through next year, the Twins wouldn’t need to empty the vault for him. Emmanuel Rodriguez probably wouldn’t be the starting point. Hendry Mendez, Gabriel Gonzalez, and even Kala’i Rosario could be the kind of outfield pieces that appeal to a Padres club looking for left field help in 2026 and beyond.
Luke Weaver, RHP, New York Mets
Weaver is the one pitcher on this list who comes from a team that’s clearly headed toward selling. The Mets have had a season full of injuries, bad breaks, and a 42-59 record to show for it.
Even in that mess, Weaver has stood out. Across 38 relief appearances, he has a career-low 2.03 ERA, a .157 opponents’ average, a 0.83 WHIP, a 34.2% chase rate, a 7.1% walk rate, and a 27.9% strikeout rate.
He’d be on a lot of teams’ radar because the Mets are going nowhere. The catch is the price.
New York signed him to a two-year, $22 million deal through 2027, and it still owes $12.5 million of that money next season. If Minnesota went after him, he would become the highest-paid reliever in franchise history.
That’s a big number, but Weaver would also give the Twins exactly what they need: a late-inning arm who can stabilize the bullpen now and next season. He’d cost more than Adam, but he fits the kind of swing-for-it target that can reshape a relief corps.
And that matters because adding Weaver would mean less pressure on rookie Andrew Morris and breakout candidate Yoendrys Gomez to handle the eighth and ninth innings.
Casey Mize, RHP, Detroit Tigers
The Twins’ rotation need makes Mize the most interesting name of the bunch, even if the division angle complicates things.
Detroit already dealt with Minnesota on a starter at last year’s deadline, and Chris Paddack didn’t exactly reward that gamble. He finished with a 6.32 ERA in 12 games for the Tigers, who eventually pushed him out of the rotation and into the bullpen. That history could make Detroit hesitant to do business again with a division rival.
If the Tigers decide not to move Tarik Skubal before his free agency season, Mize becomes their top trade chip. The former No. 1 overall pick is having the best season of his career, with a 2.79 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, .213 opponents’ average, 25.6% strikeout rate, and 5.9% walk rate over 15 starts.
Like Skubal, Mize is heading toward free agency next season. For Minnesota, that makes him a clean fit for the back end of the rotation alongside Joe Ryan, Taj Bradley, and Bailey Ober, especially after Zebby Matthews turned in his worst start of the year against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday.
Mize would also give the Twins more room to manage Connor Prielipp’s workload so his arm health doesn’t become a problem later. He’d cost a strong package, just not the kind of haul Skubal would command if he stays on the market, or if Mize had another year of team control.
The Twins are only a game and a half ahead of Detroit in the AL Central, so this is not a deal that feels simple. The Tigers could pass them soon. But if Minnesota catches fire and Detroit cools off, Mize could become a real deadline possibility.
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