With season slipping away, Twins stock up for the future

The Twins are deep into sell-off mode after slipping out of playoff contention, and they parted with nine more players Thursday.

The major deal of the day was sending shortstop Carlos Correa back to Houston after he waived his no-trade clause.

At the 5 p.m. deadline, the Twins sent reliever Griffin Jax to Tampa Bay, and reliever Louie Varland and first baseman Ty France to Toronto; this a day after trading closer Jhoan Duran to the Phillies.

Outfielder Harrison Bader is also headed to Philadelphia for two prospects; reliever Brock Stewart will return to the Los Angeles Dodgers; and reliever Danny Coulombe is going to the Texas Rangers.

Willi Castro, the team’s MVP last season as a utility player, is moving to the Chicago Cubs.

For Jax, the Twins got 24-year-old righthanded starting pitcher Taj Bradley, who is 6-6 with a 4.81 ERA this season.

For Varland and France, the Twins got minor league lefthanded pitcher Kendrys Rojas and lefthanded hitting outfielder Alan Roden, who has played 43 games for the Jays.

Mendez, a native of the Dominican Republic, was ranked as the No. 15 prospect in the Phillies farm system by Baseball America. He’s batting .290 in 85 minor league games with eight homers, 46 RBI and almost as many walks (40) as strikeouts (44) at Reading of the Class AA Eastern League.

Villoria, who turns 17 in two weeks, is in his first pro season after signing with the Phillies in January. He is with the with the Dominican Summer League Phillies Red.

Bader, 31, signed a one-year, $6.25 million contract with the Twins before the season, and he delivered his best offensive season in years. In 96 games, he hit .258 with 12 homers and 38 RBIs while posting a .339 on-base percentage. Playing left field regularly for the first time in his career, he’s played Gold Glove-caliber defense.

The Twins aren’t sending any money to the Phillies as part of the deal. Bader is owed a $500,000 assignment bonus via the trade, and there is a $1.5 million buyout on his mutual option for next season.

The return for Stewart is outfielder James Outman, 28, who is hitting .289 with 20 HR and 74 RBI for Oklahoma City in a hitter-friendly AAA league. He has played in 22 games with the Dodgers this season. Stewart was drafted by L.A. in 2014 and pitched in four big-league seasons for the club. The 33-year-old pitched in 39 games this season, with a 2.38 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 34 innings.

Outman, a strong defensive player, hit a walkoff grand slam against the Twins two years ago.

Coulombe is also a free agent at the end of the season. The Twins got minor-leaguer Garrett Horn, 22, in return. The lefthanded starter is gone 0-3 with a 2.92 ERA in nine starts between between the Arizona Complex League Rangers and Low-A Hickory. He was a sixth-round pick last year out of Liberty University.