{"id":106843,"date":"2025-10-14T01:40:52","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T01:40:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=106843"},"modified":"2025-10-14T01:40:52","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T01:40:52","slug":"big-question-what-would-a-true-blow-it-up-offseason-look-like-for-the-minnesota-twins-as-fans-imagine-trades-rebuilds-and-shocking-roster-moves-ahead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=106843","title":{"rendered":"BIG QUESTION: What would a true \u201cblow it up\u201d offseason look like for the Minnesota Twins as fans imagine trades, rebuilds, and shocking roster moves ahead"},"content":{"rendered":"
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What Would a True “Blow It Up” Offseason Look Like for the Minnesota Twins?<\/span><\/h3>\n
What if the sell-off we saw at the trade deadline was only beginning? Here’s what it might look like if the Twins front office chooses to go full scorched earth in a true reset that ushers out the previous core and clears the books.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson, Matt Krohn, Bill Streicher-Imagn Images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Twins leadership has hinted,\u00a0not so subtly, that fans can expect a non-competitive rebuild season in 2026. The big question is how far they plan to lean into this.The baseline scenario is that the Twins mostly stand pat, holding onto what they’ve got and maybe spending modestly to try and fill some gaps.<\/p>\n

That is, I would argue, the best fans can expect. It’s not what I’m expecting.<\/p>\n

Based on everything I’ve seen and heard, in combination with my general lack of faith in ownership’s mettle (regardless of “new investors”), I believe the Twins are going to full-on tank next year.<\/p>\n

They’ll dump more of their more even moderately expensive prime-aged players who have value \u2014 for the players’ sakes as much as theirs \u2014 and they’ll run out a very low payroll in 2026 under the messaging of a youth-driven rebuild. “Come see the kids play at Target Field!”<\/p>\n

How might this actually play out in practice?<\/strong><\/p>\n

To convey an image of what the most extreme version of a conclusive teardown this offseason might look like, I theorized a few trade destinations for players who would be likely to depart. I’m not gonna get into guessing at what the returns might look like \u2014 that’s a matter for another day, or for the commenters to muse on \u2014 but I wanted to put a little more specificity by identifying some logical trade partners.<\/p>\n

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Who is the Twins’ best pitching prospect?<\/h3>\n
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Here’s a rundown of some moves I could envision, followed by an overview of what would remain.<\/p>\n

Trade\u00a0Joe Ryan\u00a0to the Red Sox and\u00a0Pablo Lopez\u00a0to the Mets.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Minnesota and Boston were in (potentially deep) talks over Ryan trade at the deadline.<\/p>\n

The Red Sox could use a starter like him added to their rotation, which was underscored in a playoff exit against the Yankees. I have little doubt these discussions will pick up again in the offseason so it’s just a matter of getting across the finish line.<\/p>\n

Lopez to the Mets is a bit more of a creative and unfounded guess but makes a lot of sense in my mind. New York just experienced a dramatic midseason collapse, and you just know owner Steve Cohen is looking to make an ambitious statement this winter. Lopez would give them the durable, veteran, front-end starter they need, and they won’t blink at adding his salary.<\/p>\n

Trade\u00a0Byron Buxton\u00a0to the Braves.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This pains me to write. It’s true that Buxton has declared his intention to remain in a Twins uniform for life, but sometimes people reconsider things. If the front office is up-front with Buxton about what the next two years have in store, it’s entirely possible Buxton changes his tune, knowing that Minnesota’s next contending window won’t likely overlap with his ability to contribute at a high level.<\/p>\n

Trade\u00a0Royce Lewis\u00a0to the Angels.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another boring “trade to hometown” concept that also has merits. I have a hard time envisioning a Lewis trade that makes much sense for the Twins, given how low his stock is at the moment, but maybe a downtrodden Angels team gambles on the change-of-scenery effect and pays a reasonable premium for the upside and three remaining years of service. They did watch Lewis launch a pair of homers in their ballpark near the end of the season.<\/p>\n

It’s not really a matter of money, because Lewis’s projected salary ($3 million according to MLBTR) isn’t substantial. But, fair or not, it’s just hard to see any kind of true “reset” taking place on this team with Lewis still a part of it. And he hasn’t been talking like a guy who’s in lockstep with team leadership in quite a while.<\/p>\n

Trade\u00a0Ryan Jeffers<\/a>\u00a0to the Rays.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tampa is\u00a0known to be looking for catching\u00a0help coming off a season where they ranked third-to-last in fWAR at the position. Jeffers is slated to make around $6.6 million in his final season before free agency, which is probably not enough to make even the low-budget Rays balk, but perhaps too much for a tanking Twins team \u2014 especially if they feel they can extract some real value before he becomes a free agent.<\/p>\n

The Twins have traded with the Rays plenty of times before, including most recently at the deadline when they dealt\u00a0Griffin Jax\u00a0for\u00a0Taj Bradley.<\/p>\n

Where Does This Leave Us?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Okay, so in this most extreme vision for wiping the slate clean, the Twins part with roughly $50 million in salary, and basically every veteran player from the previous wave. I left out\u00a0Bailey Ober, only because the value proposition of trading him is so unfavorable, but he could conceivably be shipped out too. I also left out\u00a0Trevor Larnach, for similar reasons, and just to keep some small semblance of continuity on the offense.<\/p>\n

Below I took a spin at concocting a 2026 roster in this aftermath. Spoiler alert: the payroll amounts to under $50 million, with a large portion of it going toward Carlos Correa in Houston. A few decisions I made to lend some realism:<\/p>\n