Insider names Twins' Correa, Castro, Vazquez, Ober, Duran, Jax as trade candidates

Joe Nelson | Dec 9, 2024

Jul 2, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins shortstop Carlos Correa (4) points to right fielder Manuel Margot (13) as he crosses home plate after hitting a solo home run against the Detroit Tigers in the fifth inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images / Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

Major League Baseball's annual winter meetings are happening this week in Dallas and the word from an insider is that the Minnesota Twins are more likely to be trading current players than spending money on free agents.

According to Dan Hayes of The Athletic, the Twins want to keep the 2025 payroll around $130 million, just like it was last year after they sliced $30 million from the 2022 roster budget. Hayes hasn't connected the Twins to any free agents, but he did write about the Twins possibly trading key players from recent seasons to build a competitive roster in 2025.

Players Hayes mentioned as trade candidates include shortstop Carlos Correa, utility player Willi Castro, catcher Christian Vazquez and pitchers Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Bailey Ober and Chris Paddack.

Correa could be an attractive fallback plan for one of those big-spending teams and change the Twins’ outlook.

While Hayes said a trade involving Correa might be "far fetched," the idea of unloading him and the remaining $128 million on his contract makes sesnse because the Twins have young players like Royce Lewis, Brooks Lee and Castro readily available to play shortstop.

Castro was an All-Star in 2024 and provides the positional flexibility that any contender would adore. He's also a switch hitter and only has one year remaining on his contract.

Trading Duran or Jax would put a dent in the back of Minnesota's bullpen. Duran is one of the most dominant closers in the game and Jax was legitimately one of the best relievers in baseball last season when he posted a 2.03 ERA with 95 strikeouts in 71 innings.

Why did Hayes mention Ober? That one is interesting considering he had a 3.98 ERA and was legitimately rising in the conversation of the best pitchers in baseball during a dominant stretch from mid-June late August.

If the Twins trade Ober and Paddack the starting rotation in 2025 would be some mix of Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, Simeon Woods Richards, David Festa and Zebby Matthews.

"If they move any of these players, the Twins would be primarily looking for help at first base and in the corner-outfield spots in return," Hayes wrote.

We'll see what happens, but there aren't any big names outside of the organization being connected to the Twins at this point of the offseason.