Carlos Correa, Jhoan Duran and more: Grading the Twins’ shocking deadline trades

This week, the Twins traded:

Their most expensive player — someone who was supposed to usher in an era of championship contention; three other position players who combined for more than 1,000 plate appearances this season; arguably their five best relief pitchers; and a starting pitcher.

I have no idea what their starting lineup and bullpen alignment will look like when they resume play Friday. Nobody knows when they will be on the right side of .500 again, but it probably won’t be anytime soon.

Each of the trades they made stand on their own and as part of a collective action. Let’s try to grade them accordingly, taking into account both the trades themselves and the circumstances that led to them happening.

Houston Astros receive: SS Carlos Correa + cash

Minnesota Twins receive: Minor league P Matt Mikulski

This was basically a salary dump, with the Twins agreeing to pick up $33 million of the $104 million still owed to Correa for the rest of this season and the next three full years.

The grade: C | I don’t hate it because I was never a big Correa guy, but I hate what it symbolizes for the franchise.

Philadelphia Phillies receive: RP Jhoan Duran

Minnesota Twins receive: C Eduardo Tait and P Mick Abel

I already graded this one, thinking (foolishly) that it probably symbolized the biggest move the Twins would make. I’m going to knock the grade down a half-mark, though, because when taken in combination with all the other bullpen moves it makes far less sense.

The re-grade: B-minus | Tait and Abel are top-100 MLB prospects, but Duran is a lockdown reliever with two more years of team control.

Minnesota Twins receive: P Taj Bradley

There was considerable discussion in the weeks leading up the deadline about whether the Twins would trade Duran or Jax. Surprise! They traded both (and then some).

Also a surprise: Instead of getting a prospect package, they received Bradley, a young cost-controlled pitcher (free agency: 2030) who has already made 67 career starts for Tampa Bay. He’s averaged more than a strikeout per inning in his MLB career but has a 4.70 career ERA.

The grade: B | Bradley is still just 24 and could become a budget mid-rotation stabilizer. Jax has elite swing-and-miss stuff, but starters are harder to find than relievers. If Bradley doesn’t make it as a starter, he has the arm to become a younger version of Jax in the bullpen.

Toronto Blue Jays receive: RP Louie Varland and 1B Ty France

Baseball America had Roden as Toronto’s No. 7 prospect while Rojas was No. 11, which is a pretty good haul for what is essentially a deal for Varland (France had a competent, if underwhelming, four months in Minnesota and is a free agent at the end of the season).

The deal is puzzling, though, given the Twins emptied their bullpen with several other trades. Varland is under team control for another five seasons and is enjoying a breakout season (2.02 ERA).

Grade: B+ | It’s a good prospect haul for Varland, particularly if you consider the volatility of relief pitchers.

Los Angeles Dodgers receive: RP Brock Stewart

Minnesota Twins receive: OF James Outman

Grade: C | Outman had a very good rookie season in 2023 (23 homers, third in Rookie of the Year voting) but has been a mess in the major since then. Say this for the Twins: They do know how to stockpile underachieving lefthanded hitting outfielders.

Chicago Cubs receive: UT Willi Castro

Minnesota Twins receive: P Sam Armstrong and P Ryan Gallagher

Castro has had a very nice run with the Twins since they took a flier on him before 2023, giving them nearly 5.0 wins above replacement in that time while playing pretty much anywhere but first base and catcher. As a pending free agent who was starting to get expensive ($6.4 million this season), it was unlikely Castro would have returned in 2026.

Grade: B+ | Gallagher is a 22-year-old righty who has already advanced to Class AA and was ranked by MLB as the Cubs’ eighth-best prospect. If he pays off in the future, this move will look shrewd.

Minnesota Twins receive: OF Hendry Mendez and P Geremy Villoria

Bader was one of the Twins’ most consistent and popular players during a bounce-back 2025 season after signing a one-year deal, and his combination of pop and fielding acumen was attractive to suitors.

In dealing with the Phillies and their strong farm system again, the Twins landed Mendez, the No. 15 prospect in Philadelphia’s system per Baseball America. He’s only 21 and has an .808 OPS at Class AA this season, so there is some upside there. Villoria is just 16 and a long way from true prospect status.

The grade: B | It’s hard to get excited about deals for expiring free agents, but this was a solid trade for the Twins.

Texas Rangers receive: LRP Danny Coulombe

Coulombe was excellent in his role this season, but again as a pending free agent he was not likely to return. Horn, 22, is a marginal prospect (No. 25 in the Rangers organization per Baseball America) who hasn’t pitched above the low-Class A level.

The grade: B- | Getting some return for Coulombe is nice, even if Horn is a relative long shot.

Detroit Tigers receive: P Chris Paddack and P Randy Dobnak

Minnesota Twins receive: C Enrique Jimenez

This is the deal that started it all on Monday and seemed in line with the types of moves the Twins might make — until, that is, they traded what seemed like half their roster. Minnesota saved some money by jettisoning both Paddack and Dobnak, while they bolstered their organizational catching depth with Jimenez (and later Tait in the Duran trade).

I think most of us are still stunned the Twins went into full fire sale mode. Their 51-57 record (and 12-27 finish a year ago) either represents a total failure of player development, a catastrophic overestimation of their overall talent level or both.

Still, you have to wonder.

The Twins are 13-17 in one-run games this year. If they were 17-13 in those games, they would be right in the thick of the wild-card race.

Would any of this have happened? Is such a thin margin worthy of all those trades? Was this sell-off an overcorrection? Was it a badly needed reset? Was it a pathetic salary dump aimed at reducing costs (either for a new owner or if the Pohlad family can’t sell the team)?

Time will give us answers to those questions. While the Twins got reasonable value in most of their trades, the sum total of all this still feels like a shocking hot mess.