With the second half of the MLB season ready to begin on Friday, the Minnesota Twins are one of several teams stuck in the murky middle, not 100 percent sure whether to buy or sell as the July 31 trade deadline nears.
At 47-49, the Twins are 11.5 games behind Detroit and seem unlikely to challenge for the American League Central title, but they are 4.0 games back in the AL Wild Card chase, which could stoke hopes for a late-season push. However, FanGraphs gives Minnesota just a 22.7-percent chance to make the playoffs, and from a pragmatic viewpoint, it would probably be wise for the Twins to start planning for 2026.
Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey seemed to acknowledge this reality during a Tuesday appearance on the New York Post podcast “The Show” with Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman. Asked about the potential for Minnesota to trade off some of its valuable pieces, Falvey said the phone lines at Target Field will be open.
Twins President Says Phone Lines are Open for Trade Discussion
“Our job is to listen to everything,” Falvey said. “The goal is to make the Minnesota Twins better, right? And ultimately, whether that means short term, long term, depends on where you are sometimes at the deadline.”
And the realities of the business often call for making difficult decisions.
“It’s never about how we feel about [the players],” Falvey said. “We love every player we have in the clubhouse. We love every guy we’ve added, whether it’s the guys we just added this year or guys we’ve had for a long time.
“So I think we need to stay open to creativity, think about all the players that are on our roster and then try and make the best decisions we can going into the deadline to try and put ourselves in the best spot, whether it’s for this year, but certainly for this year and beyond.”
If the New York Mets are listening, a creative approach with a few of Minnesota’s pending free agents might help them fill a few glaring holes in the roster.
The Mets are 55-42, a half-game behind Philadelphia for first place in the National League East, and they are currently in the second NL Wild Card spot. Like most contending teams, New York could use help in the bullpen, and the team has long been dealing with issues in center field since losing Jose Siri to a left tibia fracture. The Mets have also had difficulty finding consistent production at both third base and second base.
With a package of infielder Willi Castro, outfielder Harrison Bader, and left-handed reliever Danny Coulombe, the Mets might find an answer to all of those problems.
Mets Should Inquire About Package of Willi Castro, Harrison Bader, Danny Coulombe
Castro would give the Mets a live bat and a jolt of versatility. He entered the All-Star break with an OPS+ well above league average and a sturdy slash line of .265/.356/.435, production that could finally wake up a back half of New York’s lineup that has stayed stubbornly quiet for 97 games. Castro has played every position on the field except catcher and first base — he’s even pitched an inning this year — and for a Mets team losing patience, he’s the kind of plug-and-play upgrade that makes sense.
A 31-year-old Bronx native, Bader played 143 games for the Mets in 2024, and although he didn’t exactly light it up, hitting just .657 OPS with 12 homers, he became a fan favorite. A fresh start in Minnesota has sparked a turnaround, as Bader has already matched last season’s power output with 11 home runs and a .767 OPS before the break, while still providing his stellar defense.
At 35, Coulombe is having a career renaissance: a sub-0.70 ERA, no home runs surrendered, and just two earned runs allowed over nearly 27 innings. He’s proof that age can be an asset, not a liability, having piled up more than half his career WAR since turning 33. For the Mets, whose bullpen has badly missed a reliable lefty since A.J. Minter and Danny Young went down, Coulombe’s dominance could be exactly what they need.
Castro and Coulombe will both be free agents after this season, while Bader signed a one-year contract for the 2025 season with a mutual option for 2026. Trading each of them individually likely would not generate too much, but as a package, the Twins could demand a more significant return.
A pair of prospects from the Mets’ top 30 pool, such as Triple-A pitcher Blade Tidwell and High-A outfielder Eli Serrano III might be enough to bring in a trio of players that could put the Mets over the top.
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