The Twins have already made one notable move before Monday’s 5 p.m. CDT trade deadline, sending left-hander A.J.
Minter from the New York Mets to Minnesota on Thursday night in exchange for infield prospects Billy Amick and Bruin Agbayani. With that deal in the books, more activity could still be coming.
And while Twins fans are naturally watching their own club, there are also two familiar faces from recent Minnesota teams who look headed for new homes by deadline day.
One of them is Colorado Rockies utility man Willi Castro, whom the Twins dealt to the Chicago Cubs at last summer’s deadline. That stop in Chicago never really got going. Castro finished with -0.5 bWAR and hit .170/.245/.240 in 110 plate appearances over 34 games.
Colorado still took a shot on him anyway, signing Castro to a two-year, $12.8 million contract in the offseason. The move has paid off enough to make him a trade piece again. In 93 games with the Rockies, Castro has put up 0.5 bWAR with a .259/.330/.405 line, along with 11 home runs and 45 RBI.
The Rockies, sitting at 42-67 and owning the worst record in the National League, look like a logical seller. Castro’s ability to move around the diamond only adds to his appeal, even with the bat playing below average this season. With roughly a year and a half of team control left, he fits the profile of a player Colorado could cash in on now.
The other former Twin is San Francisco Giants second baseman Luis Arraez, who was with Minnesota from 2019-22. Arraez signed a one-year, $12 million deal with the Giants this past offseason, and unless San Francisco intends to extend him, he almost certainly won’t be staying put.
Arraez has been excellent at the plate, hitting .328/.364/.447 in 103 games. He also made a notable defensive jump at second base, posting +11 Outs Above Average in 871 2/3 innings this season. That’s a sharp turnaround from the rest of his career at the position, where he had previously logged -36 OAA at second.
There was also a clear condition attached to where Arraez would sign: he said he would only join a team that would let him play second base rather than first full-time. So far, that decision has worked out both in role and production, and it has put him squarely on the list of names to watch before the deadline passes.
In Other News...
Twins Finally Made A Bullpen Move That Changes The Deadline Mood
The Twins finally made a bullpen move ahead of the Aug. 3 deadline, and it came with the kind of practical purpose this front office has been chasing for weeks. Minnesota landed left-handed reliever A.J. Minter from the Mets, giving the late-inning mix a needed arm from the left side while parting with prospects Billy Amick and Bruin Agbayani in a deal that says as much about urgency as it does about depth.
Minter has already made 20 appearances this season and is only recently back after surgery, which gives the Twins a useful reliever with some uncertainty still attached. The return package also reflects where the organization is in the calendar, moving two prospects whose recent playing time has been limited by injury and turning them into a bullpen piece that could matter right away as the deadline pressure keeps building. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Bullpen Buzz Suddenly Comes With A Costly Family Twist
The Twins have been linked to a bullpen upgrade that would bring in one of the games more unusual relief arms, a pitcher whose low-slot delivery and knack for weak contact make him stand out in any trade discussion. For a club that can always use more late-inning stability, the appeal is obvious: this is the kind of arm that can change how a manager lines up the back end of a game, especially when the market starts thinning out.
The catch is the price tag, and it is not just about prospects. Minnesota would be taking on a contract that runs well beyond this season, with significant money attached in each of the next two years and a possible vesting option down the road. So the Twins are weighing more than bullpen help here, because a move that looks sensible on the mound could also shape how much flexibility they have to build the rest of the roster. [Read more 🡒]