The Minnesota Twins find themselves in an awkward position just two weeks out from the July 31 trade deadline. At 47-49, 11.5 games back of the AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers, the division crown is out of their reach, barring a historic collapse by Detroit. At the same time, the club is just four games out of the third and final AL Wild Card spot.
While Minnesota has yet to have any serious internal conversations about selling at the deadline, they'd be wise to employ a multi-faceted approach of both buying and selling, parting with veterans on expiring deals to get back longer-term assets as the centerpieces of their deadline dealings to better position themselves to compete with the upstart Tigers for years to come.
Two players who could fetch a pretty penny if placed on the market are versatile infielder/outfielder Willi Castro, as well as underrated outfielder Harrison Bader. Fellow AL contender, the New York Yankees, could be a prime suitor for both.
The Minnesota Twins and the New York Yankees could help each other out with Willi Castro and Harrison Bader trades
The New York Yankees have a massive hole at the hot corner, a problem they've dealt with all season, which has only been exacerbated recently with the DFA of the struggling DJ LeMahieu, forcing All-Star Jazz Chisholm Jr. back to second base. Willi Castro makes a lot of sense for them as a target, as Castro's career-best .265/.356/.435 line makes him the best non-Eugenio Suarez infield option likely to hit the trade block.
As for Bader, the outfield might not seem like a prime need for the Yankees, who have reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge alongside Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham, and AL Rookie of the Year candidate Jasson Dominguez.
Here's the issue the Yankees have, though. Dominguez, a switch-hitter, has struggled mightily from the right side of the plate, posting a .195 batting average, .572 OPS, and 32.3% strikeout rate against southpaws. Bellinger and Grisham are both left-handed bats, making them poor choices to spell him.
Harrison Bader is no stranger to the Yankees, who acquired him back in 2022 in a somewhat shocking exchange with the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery. At the time, New York valued Bader's speed and defensive prowess and likely still do.
Moreover, Bader has been a solid performer with a .254/.331/.436 line with 11 homers so far this season. The righty has been solid against left-handed pitching, posting a .745 OPS against southpaws on the year.
The Yankees could offer the Twins pieces that better position them for the future. New York's minor league system is deep in pitching prospects, with some being closer to the bigs than others. Furthermore, New York has near-MLB-ready position players such as outfielder Everson Pereira and Jorbit Vivas, who could be targets to replace the outgoing Castro and Bader.
These two clubs have worked together to swing deals in the past, and are both currently well-positioned to form a symbiotic partnership again at this year's trade deadline.