Where will the Minnesota Twins' rentals land before the July 31 trade deadline?
UTL Willi Castro - He’s had a pretty solid season overall, has given the Twins a lot of defensive versatility, and is having his best season at the plate of his three seasons in Minnesota, hitting .257 with a .774 OPS. Castro has also had great numbers of left-handed pitching, so far he’s slashing .284/.341/.519 against them. Castro’s ability to play everywhere other than first and catcher, as well as his bat, will make almost every contender interested in his services. I’ll say he lands with the Yankees, as they could really use another good position player.
Prediction: Castro traded to the New York Yankees
OF Harrison Bader - Out of all the Twins surefire trade candidates, Bader is definitely my favorite; he’s having his best season since 2021 when he was with the Cardinals. Bader’s been a really reliable bat in the Twins lineup; he’s hitting .251 with a very solid .765 OPS. Bader’s defense has also been among the league's best; he ranks in the 94th percentile with 6 outs above average. Bader has been the Twins' third-best player this season in terms of bWAR at 2.4. Could see him landing somewhere like Philadelphia, which could use some defensive help in the outfield.
Prediction: Bader traded to the Philadelphia Phillies
LHP Danny Coulombe - The last of the Twins' three big rentals. Coulombe has been one of the best relievers in the game this season and is possibly the best rental reliever that’s available at the deadline. Coulombe has been elite this season with an ERA of 0.93 (!!!). One potential flaw in Coulombe’s season so far is that most of his outings are very short; in 38 appearances, he’s only totaled 29 innings. The Dodgers are in desperate need of bullpen help; they would surely be interested in an arm like Coulombe.
Prediction: Coulombe traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers
RHP Chris Paddack - The Twins' asking price shouldn’t be too high for the Sheriff even after his last start against the Dodgers, which might’ve been his best of the season. Paddack could realistically be the fourth or fifth guy in a lot of teams' rotations; he's got a 4.95 ERA in 21 starts totaling 111 innings. Could see him landing with a contender like the Astros, who have had a ton of injuries in their rotation and are in desperate need of starting pitching help.
Prediction: Paddack traded to the Houston Astros
C Christian Vazquez - He’s in the final year of a three-year $30 million contract, which for the most part has been a pretty underwhelming deal, as he’s been worth a -0.5 bWAR so far over those three seasons. The Twins will take whatever they can get for Vazquez at the deadline. His defense will be appealing. He ranks in the 90th percentile in blocks above average on Baseball Savant, and he’s one of fifteen catchers to have thrown out over ten runners on the basepaths. Vazquez also has tons of postseason experience from his time in Boston and Houston. The Padres were interested in Vazquez last offseason, and they currently have one of the worst catcher groups in baseball, so they might still be interested in Vazquez.
Prediction: Vazquez traded to the San Diego Padres
1B Ty France - The Twins signed Ty France to a one-year $1 million contract last offseason, and they’ve gotten their money's worth so far. France has been a below-average bat with an 85 OPS+ so far this year, but his defense has been outstanding. He has 6 outs above average, which puts him in the 93rd percentile. The asking price with France won’t be much; I could see him landing with the Brewers, as they’ve been playing Tyler Black and Andrew Vaughn first recently, and France is likely a better option than both of those guys.