In some ways, the Minnesota Twins did what they needed to do at the trade deadline. A team that entered August in the middle of the American League playoff race, the Twins resisted the urge to trade Joe Ryan or Ryan Jeffers and added three pitchers to boost their chances of winning.
The moves were met with a positive reaction from fans that could see a playoff spot in reach. But it also had critics who believed the best move was to finish the job at last year’s trade deadline and keep an eye toward the future.
A few weeks later, it appears it may have done more harm than good. According to MLB Pipeline's Jonathan Mayo, top Twins prospect Walker Jenkins is expected to join the major league team in time to be in the lineup for Friday's series opener against the Chicago White Sox.
Had the Twins sat quietly at the deadline, they could have kept the status quo and let the team decide how the season will end. But instead, they now are in a situation where they must pull every lever possible including calling up Jenkins to make one last push toward the postseason.
The Twins’ decisions at the trade deadline have aged poorly
This isn’t to say that the Twins’ trade deadline haul isn’t a success. Dean Kremer has gone 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA in four starts with the Twins and is under team control for next season. Jeff Hoffman has been a slight disappointment with a 4.50 ERA in eight appearances but is also under contract for 2027. Even A.J. Minter gave the bullpen a credible left-hander and something to think about as he approaches free agency last year, but those moves alone haven’t created a serious contender.
With that, selling on premium assets including Ryan and Jeffers would have been a great place to start and looks like an even better decision since the deadline has passed.
Ryan was named to his second straight All-Star Game, going 6-5 with a 2.85 ERA in 20 first-half starts. But he has not pitched since Aug. 4 after posting a 9.39 ERA in three second-half starts while battling through glute and back strains. While he could make his way off the injured list soon, there’s also a chance the Twins could be well out of contention when that happens.
Jeffers has been healthy but hasn’t been able to keep up his hot start. One of the top available catchers ahead of the deadline, Jeffers was hitting .295/.408/.541 with seven homers and 26 RBI when he broke his left hamate bone on May 18. Since returning on July 10, Jeffers is hitting .256/.351/.402 with three homers and 16 RBI in 33 games and the slump has gotten worse, hitting .234/.347/.328 with no homers and six RBI in 19 games since the Aug. 3 deadline.
Even Trevor Larnach, who was reportedly on his way to the Houston Astros before owner Jim Crane stepped in, has come crashing back to earth, hitting .140/.189/.200 with a home run and two RBI in 15 games since the deadline.
With Jeffers headed toward free agency, Ryan developing a reputation as a first-half pitcher and Larnach face-planting, it would have been a great move to make all three players someone else’s problem. But instead, the Twins are now in a mode of desperation, trying to follow through on the deals they did make at the deadline.
Calling up Walker Jenkins was the aggressive move the Twins needed to follow through on the trade deadline
If the Twins had sold, they wouldn’t have won any popularity contests. But they could have peacefully gone ahead with their plans with an eye on 2027.
That would make a decision like trotting out Luke Keaschall to center field easier to tolerate and making Austin Martin and Alan Roden’s weaknesses at the plate irrelevant. If the Twins wanted to burn a roster spot on a third catcher, they could do so with ease. Most importantly, they could keep Jenkins in the minors while MLB and its players association hammer out a new labor deal next spring.
Instead, fans got a little taste of what a contending ballclub should do in this situation and now they want more, which is why Jenkins is reportedly on his way to the majors.
At 21 years old, Jenkins is obliterating Triple-A pitching and hitting .411/.488/.795 with eight homers, 13 RBI and seven stolen bases in August. With every obscenity Keaschall mutters under his breath or poor at-bat from Martin and Roden, the calls for Jenkins got louder and it was almost an expectation he would make his major league debut as the Twins' playoff odds sank to a season-low 11.2 percent according to FanGraphs.
For an organization like the Twins, who praised their own aggressiveness in the build to the deadline, keeping Jenkins in the minors and watching the Twins flop would have been a quick 180 from what happened at the deadline. But with the way fans have abandoned the franchise over the past few years, the attempt to win them back was just as important now as it will be in the future, which is why Jenkins is on his way to the majors.
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