The sell-off is well underway.
After trading starting pitcher Chris Paddack to the Detroit Tigers on Monday and Jhoan Duran to the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday, the Twins swung two more trades Thursday afternoon, per reports.
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A day after finding a trading partner in the Phillies for Duran, the Twins and Phillies struck another deal with outfielder Harrison Bader headed to Philadelphia. They also made a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, shipping out reliever Brock Stewart, who was originally drafted by the Dodgers and began his major league career in Los Angeles.
In their first move of the day — the trade deadline is set for 5 p.m. — the Twins swapped outfielder Harrison Bader, whom they signed to a one-year deal this offseason, to Philadelphia for prospects Hendry Mendez, an outfielder, and right-hander Geremy Villoria, per reports.
Bader, 31, has been among the Twins’ top position players this season, providing Gold Glove-caliber defense in the outfield as he put together one of his most productive seasons at the plate. The veteran is currently hitting .258 with a .778 OPS and 12 home runs.
Mendez, a left-handed outfielder, is the Phillies’ No. 12 prospect, per MLB Pipeline. The 21-year-old is slashing .290/.374/.434 at Double-A this season. Villoria was signed as an international free agent this year for $425,000. He has been pitching for the Phillies’ Dominican Summer League team this season where the 16-year-old has posted a 4.50 earned-run average across 14 innings pitched.
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Stewart is the second high-leverage reliever the Twins have traded in as many days after Duran and both have team control after this season. The 33-year-old, who will not hit free agency until after the 2027 season, has pitched to a 2.38 earned-run average this season after recovering from mid-season shoulder surgery that he underwent last August.
The reliever, whom the Twins originally signed to a minor league deal in 2022 after his second stint in the Dodgers organization, has been an important piece of the Twins’ bullpen since 2023 but also has a lengthy injury history that perhaps is part of why the Twins were willing to part with him for value even with his future control.
The front office is expected to remain busy this afternoon ahead of the trade deadline. Other players likely to be on the move before then include utilityman Willi Castro and reliever Danny Coulombe, both of whom are free agents at season’s end. Catcher Christian Vázquez and first baseman Ty France are also due to hit free agency this winter.
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