The trade deadline hasn’t gotten any easier for baseball fans since the league expanded the number of teams that qualify for the postseason each year from 10 to 12 in 2022. There are now fewer teams that are sure buyers and sellers at the deadline, with so many teams on the fringe of contention.

The Minnesota Twins may not remain in contention after dropping two of three to the Colorado Rockies, baseball’s worst team, to open the second half of the season. Now, they embark on one of the toughest road series of the year at Dodger Stadium. Still, even if they salvage one game from the new Evil Empire, it won’t be enough to save their chances of contention.

So, what should the Twins do with the 2025 trade deadline as sellers? Should they focus on selling players with contracts expiring at the end of the season? Or is it time for them to overhaul their current core and enter the dreaded rebuild phase?

Who offers the most value?

One argument for keeping the core is that new ownership will inherit a team that could contend next season. Minnesota’s best approach is to commit to trading away expiring players such as Willi Castro, Harrison Bader, Danny Coulombe, and Chris Paddack. They also should trade either Jhoan Duran or Griffin Jax to haul the best prospect return they can get without giving up too much of their core to contend next season.

As things stand, the Twins would expect to get the biggest return with Castro, a versatile player on an expiring contract. Castro has built up his value with the Twins over the last three years as their go-to utility man on the field. He’s played every position except first base and catcher for them and has been one of their more consistent hitters when healthy this year.

Castro has put up solid numbers at the plate over 77 games, including a .263/.355/.444 slash line, 10 home runs, 27 RBI, a career high 10% walk rate, and eight stolen bases. Add in that he can play almost anywhere on the diamond, and he’ll bring back a decent prospect on his own, even with his expiring contract.

Coulombe has pitched well for the Twins this season, and lefty relievers are always in high demand. However, Minnesota won’t get the same return for him as they will with Castro. Regardless, the Twins will likely move Coulombe in a package or on his own. Another team would likely acquire a reliever with the lowest ERA (0.65) among lefties with a minimum of 25 innings pitched.

The Twins probably would have to package Paddack

Minnesota is likely to trade Coulombe, Castro, and Bader individually, rather than packaging them with one of their teammates. Their value can at least get the Twins back a decent prospect in Low-A or High-A.

However, the same cannot be said for Paddack.

While he’s had some decent starts for the Twins this season, Paddack’s last two have plummeted his trade value. He allowed 19 hits, including three home runs, that totaled 11 runs over 10 innings and cost the Twins two losses against the Chicago Cubs and Colorado Rockies.

If the front office has any hope of getting some return value on him this trade deadline, he’d need to be packaged with a teammate like Castro, or one of Jax or Duran, to get the Twins some future value in return.

Should the Twins move a high-end reliever?

The Twins should consider trading Duran or Jax. Duran is the more popular name to be moved by the Twins among industry insiders. Almost any contending team would want a reliever who can throw a 98 MPH sprinkler and 102 MPH fastball to add to their bullpen.

However, if the Twins want to keep the best core possible to contend in 2026, they might be better off moving Jax. Jax has blown some games for the Twins this season. He blew two early games against the Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves, and recently against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Target Field.

Despite his blowups, Jax still owns the best xFIP in baseball (1.49), showing that some of the mistakes have been out of his control. Since May 1, he’s also the owner of a 2.45 ERA in 31 relief appearances and has a 37.9% strikeout rate on the year, seventh-best among relievers.

Jax’s numbers may not look great this year, but he’s still one of baseball’s most effective relievers when facing the heart of any team’s lineup.

How do the Twins get the best return?

Therefore, the best way for the Twins to retool their roster for 2026 without trading away too much of their core would be to package Jax or Duran and Castro to interested buyers. Relievers and utility players will always be in high demand, and putting a trade of these two players together would likely net the Twins an organization’s top-five prospect.

Their second-best package would be replacing Castro in a potential Jax/Duran trade with Paddack. Paddack’s plummeted value may mean the Twins won’t get the same level of minor league talent as Castro would in a package. However, it would help Minnesota to include him in a deal to get something in return for his expiring deal.

It’s never easy for fans to see the Twins trade away players they’ve come to love. But Minnesota needs to focus on what’s best for their roster beyond 2025, while remaining in contention for 2026, most likely under new ownership.

Trading away expiring contracts and one of the best two relievers on the team is the optimal way for the Twins front office to reboot instead of rebuild. Hopefully, by doing so, they will position themselves for a strong season of contention against the Detroit Tigers next year.