Is the Cubs' Next Relief Ace One of These Twins Trade Candidates?

[Paul Niemiec]

Image courtesy of © Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Twins are, technically, still in the playoff hunt. While the division is out of reach, they sit 5 games behind the Red Sox for the final Wild Card spot. At 50-55, it is increasingly likely that they do decide to sell, but how much they want to sell is up in the air. A lot of the ambiguity is coming from the potential sale of the team. The Pohlad family has been in a lengthy pursuit to find a buyer for the team that they have owned for the last 40-plus years. When a franchise is going through an ownership change or a dispute among controlling members, there is usually a pause in any large trades or free agent deals. A very recent example of this is the offseason the Padres had, where they mostly made fringe deals amid an ownership dispute.

With an impending ownership change, the direction of the team is cloudy. They can go the retooling route, and only move impending free agents like Ty France, Harrison Bader, Willi Castro, Danny Coulombe and Chris Paddack. All of those players are having average to slightly above-average seasons, but none will fetch any top prospects in a deal.

The existing top prospects in a deep Minnesota farm system—infielder Luke Keaschall, who looked like a budding star when he made his debut this spring before breaking his forearm; and outfielders Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez—are expected to reach the majors later this season or early next season. If these prospects produce as hoped, they could help a roster in 2026 that still has Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton and pitchers Pablo López, Joe Ryan, Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran. That roster could have no issue rebounding next season and competing with the Tigers for the head of the division.

The problem, for the Twins, is that they have aging superstars, compared to the Tigers and Royals, who have budding stars in their mid-20s. This is a great opportunity for the team to better their long-term outlook. Reports are that they are “listening” on All-Star-caliber controllable pitchers Ryan, Jax and Duran, but they are not in an “everything must go” mindset. 

If they do decide to trade at least one of Jax or Duran, they should be asking for a significant haul. Jax will cost less than Duran, so it depends how much the Cubs want to give up. They are going to have to outbid another team who needs relievers even more than they do, though: the Dodgers. The Twins and Dodgers have completed a handful of trades over the past half-decade, so these two know how to work together. You don’t have to dig deep to find writers hypothesizing about a potential trade for this year’s deadline, too.

Imagine that the Cubs and Dodgers are in competition for Duran or Jax. If that be the case, it's likely to come down to which (if either) is willing to include their top-tier, big league-ready catching prospect. Right now, the Twins’ top catching prospect is either Khadim Diaw (No. 17 on the top prospects list at our sister site, Twins Daily) or Ricardo Olivar (No. 20). Ryan Jeffers has been a fine offensive catcher with a little bit of pop, but he's regressed defensively this year. He's also due to hit free agency after 2026. This is not to say Ballesteros is a future Gold Glove catcher, but the Twins would love to get ahold of a good backstop like Ballesteros or the Dodgers' Dalton Rushing.

Ballesteros could make for an attractive centerpiece in a deal for Jax, with another lower-ranked prospect or two thrown in. Duran is going to be tougher. Many of the mock trades for Duran have included a top-three organizational prospect, another top-10 prospect, and one sitting just outside the top 10. Does a trade of Ballesteros, Pedro Ramirez, and Christian Hernandez get the wheels spinning? Javier Assad is set to make a rehab start this week. Is he someone the Twins would value? If they move Joe Ryan, Assad (or Ben Brown) could be a great fit there. Ballesteros and a guy like Jonathon Long could make an interesting package, with a lower-tier arm mixed in.

Chicago prefers Duran, but Jax might be the one on whom the price is right. With roughly 77 hours left to the trade deadline, all things remain possible.

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