Rumors have suggested the Twins may part ways with Joe Ryan or Pablo López in a trade this offseason. If Minnesota wants to continue shedding payroll and adding young talent, it makes sense to trade one of the two. But if the team is focused on competing for a playoff spot over the next two seasons, it'd be in their best interest to keep both aces. Let's say the Twins end up moving López, who is under team control through the 2027 season. What teams would be interested?
3 teams that would happily absorb Pablo López's salary in bold Twins trade
San Francisco Giants
Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey made it clear he wants to add pitching depth this offseason. “We’re most definitely open to trying to add some arms that we think are going to help us on the starting side and the bullpen side,” Posey said to MLB.com.
The Giants ended the 2025 campaign missing the playoffs with an 81-81 win-loss record in large part due to their lack of starting pitching depth. Sure, their bullpen and offense could use some reinforcements as well, but it's hard to win a championship without starting pitching depth. Logan Webb and Robbie Ray were outstanding last season and should continue to succeed, but the rest of their rotation was lackluster in 2025. Adding López would give the team a third ace-level pitcher. The Giants have proven they are willing to take on expensive contracts, as they nearly signed Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa to huge deals in the past, and sparked a blockbuster trade for star corner infielder/designated hitter Rafael Devers during the 2025 season.
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers are on this list simply because they have proven they will continue to spend money on stars, no matter how good their roster is. Los Angeles' starting rotation dealt with numerous brutal injuries throughout this past season, but it got healthy just in time to lead the Dodgers to their second straight World Series Championship. The rotation already consists of stars like Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow, with high-potential young pitchers Emmet Sheehan and Roki Sasaski likely to be part of the rotation plans as well. Still, Los Angeles may want to have added rotation depth to deal with inevitable injuries, and López very well could be on its radar this offseason.
Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox have reportedly been interested in acquiring Ryan since last summer, but they could pivot to trying to trade for López if the Twins prefer to keep Ryan. The Red Sox want an ace-level pitcher to be the number two starter behind Garrett Crochet, and López could fill in that role. The Red Sox have an abundance of major league hitters (Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, Ceddanne Rafaela) that they might consider parting with to acquire a good starting pitcher, something that is likely on the Twins' radar.