Minnesota Twins owner and control person Tom Pohlad has implied the Twins will increase payroll in 2027. I'm not going to give the Pohlad family too much credit, as the team spent roughly $115.75 million on the roster this year, a far cry from the $156.10 million payroll in 2023, the year Minnesota won its first postseason series in 21 years. Still, it's exciting that ownership seems willing to spend more this offseason than in the past couple of years.
While many attractive players will hit the free-agent market five days after the World Series ends, the Twins could also improve their roster through trades. Luckily, Minnesota has one of baseball's strongest farm systems, ranking seventh in value according to FanGraphs.
The Twins should certainly keep their top prospects like Walker Jenkins, Vahn Lackey, Kaelen Culpepper and Emmanuel Rodriguez, but they still have several heralded prospects they can afford to move.
3 Twins prospects Minnesota could deal this offseason
C Eduardo Tait
Seeing Tait go would be sad, but after the Twins selected Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2026 draft, moving Tait this offseason for big-league talent might make sense.
The Twins acquired Tait from the Philadelphia Phillies in the Jhoan Duran trade. Minnesota also received right-handed starting pitcher Mick Abel in the deal.
Tait, 20, is the Twins' No. 6 overall prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. The young catcher is coming off a rough season at High-A Cedar Rapids, hitting .221/.281/.418 in 116 games. He's still young, and he had success at the Rookie and Single-A levels, but the Twins might benefit from trading him in a package for a big leaguer.
C Khadim Diaw
For the same reason the Twins might consider trading Tait, they might consider trading Diaw, a catcher. In addition to Lackey, Tait and Diaw, the Twins have three other catchers (Carson Tinney, Enrique Jimenez and Ricardo Olivar) among their top 30 prospects.
Diaw, 23, ranks below Tait, as he is Minnesota's No. 9 overall prospect. However, he had a much better season at the plate than Tait, hitting .306/.417/.452 over 107 games between High-A and Double-A.
OF Hendry Mendez
The Twins acquired Mendez, who bats and throws left-handed, from the Philadelphia Phillies on July 31, 2025, in exchange for outfielder Harrison Bader. Minnesota also received minor-league right-hander Geremy Villoria in the deal.
The Twins have a full outfield with Walker Jenkins, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Byron Buxton, Luke Keaschall, Alan Roden and others, so moving Mendez to improve other areas of the roster makes sense for Minnesota.
Mendez hit .281/.374/.430 in 102 games between Double-A (24) and Triple-A (78) this past season. He mainly played left field but also had a cup of coffee at first base this year.
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