The Minnesota Twins have found themselves at the center of the trade deadline this year. Before the Padres blew everyone out of the water with their trade for Mason Miller and Eugenio Suarez got sent to Seattle, the Twins had the biggest trade of the season when they traded Jhoan Duran to Philly. The return for Duran was seen as decent by most experts, but the early reviews on their trade for Harrison Bader are much less kind.
Bader getting traded was not a surprise as he was seen as widely available. The only question was where he was going and how much Minnesota would get back for one of the few decent outfield bats on the trade market. Well, the Twins struck another trade with the Phillies for Bader and the return package...is not particularly well liked by many including MLB insider Bob Nightengale.
The Twins will receive two lightly-regarded prospects. https://t.co/HVX4ZGO3Dz
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) July 31, 2025
MLB insider Bob Nightengale's description of trade return package as "lightly-regarded" cuts Twins fans deep
According to the Bobby Nightengale Jr., the Twins are getting Hendry Mendez and Geremy Villoria back in exchange for Bader. Bader can be a free agent after the season, but even if he is priced as a pending free agent, it feels like the Twins should have been able to get more than this for him.
Mendez ranks in the teens of the Phillies' farm system (how high or low in the teens depends on the list) and while the young outfielder can hit a bit, he doesn't have much power and lacks a standout tool. Villoria is a talented arm, but he is 16 years old, is years away from helping Minnesota in the big leagues, and is currently an unranked prospect in the Phillies system.
Could this trade work out in the long run for Minnesota? Of course it could as minor moves like these birth stars out of nowhere all the time. However, with the lack of bats on the market and having a trade chip like Bader, getting a return package this early in the day that is already being called "lightly-regarded" feels like a miscalculation.