The Minnesota Twins have signed Josh Bell to bolster their depth at first base. However, to build a truly competitive roster, they shouldn’t stop there.
There are still plenty of first basemen available on the trade market who the Twins could acquire without having to spend more in salary than most players already on their roster. No team is better set up for trading away from their first base depth than the Baltimore Orioles after signing Pete Alonso to a five-year, $155 million deal.
Adding Alonso to Baltimore’s lineup has already affected Ryan Mountcastle and Coby Mayo, two players who are expected to have less playing time. Mountcastle and Mayo are right-handed hitters, something the Twins could use more strength in their lineup, but their positional versatility is vastly different.
Mayo is just a corner infielder, while Mountcastle has split time between first base and left field over his career. Mountcastle’s positional versatility is the more desirable need for the Twins between him and Mayo; however, it’s worth noting that he hasn’t played left field since 2021. But just because Mountcastle hasn’t played a game in the outfield in nearly five years doesn’t mean the Twins shouldn’t pursue him as additional depth to first base and the corner outfield spots.
Mountcastle also has a better track record as a hitter in the majors compared to Mayo. Mayo has played only 102 games in the majors over the last two seasons and has performed poorly, producing a .201/.285/.349 slash line with just 11 home runs and 28 RBI over 340 career plate appearances.
The Twins already have Brooks Lee and Royce Lewis, young hitters with streaky records in 2025. Adding another young hitter who has a worse track record in the majors to their lineup isn’t ideal for the Twins right now, which is why Mountcastle makes more sense between the two.
However, Mountcastle did have a down year in 2025. He missed just over two months of playing time due to a pulled right hamstring at the end of May, and played in only 89 games this past season. He put up a .250/.286/.367 slash line with seven home runs, 35 RBI, and an 83 OPS+ over 357 plate appearances. Mountcastle hit slightly better in the second half after healing from injury. His OPS was still under the .719 league average, sitting at .686, compared to .628 before he landed on the injured list.
Despite the down season in 2025, Mountcastle has still been an above league-average hitter for the rest of his career. He had a career OPS+ of 113 coming into 2025 and has averaged 18 home runs, 65 RBI, and a .265/.316/.450 slash line for each of the previous five seasons.
But the most appealing thing about Mountcastle for the Twins is his success against lefties, because they need any additional right-handed hitters they can find, as the Twins had too many left-handed hitters getting at-bats against left-handed pitchers down the stretch. He owns a career .282/.334/.479 slash line with 34 home runs and 110 RBI over 790 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers.
Newly signed Bell has hit .239/.327/.424, with 55 home runs, and 189 RBI over 1,447 plate appearances against lefties. Therefore, Mountcastle’s bat is a significant addition that the Twins can’t pass up this offseason.
A Mountcastle platoon between first base, either corner outfield position, and DH would significantly bolster their offense. Alan Roden, Matt Wallner, Kody Clemens, and the switch-hitter Bell are the left-handed hitters already penciled in at those positions. Still, the Twins might have what it takes to get Baltimore to move Mountcastle.
They can’t trade Trevor Larnach to Baltimore because the Orioles already have significant outfield depth. The O’s traded starter Grayson Rodriguez to the Angels for the power-hitting Taylor Ward. Now that they have added Ward and Alonso to bolster their offense, starting pitching is Baltimore’s focus for the remainder of the offseason.
The Twins would not move either of their top starters, Joe Ryan or Pablo López, for Mountcastle now that they’re off the market. However, the Twins could swing a one-for-one deal with either Bailey Ober or Simeon Woods Richardson going to Baltimore in return for Mountcastle.
Between the two, Ober would make the most sense for Mountcastle. Ober is coming off a down season. He had the worst month of his career in June, pitching to an even 9.00 ERA in 30 innings, while also leading the league with 14 home runs allowed.
Ober had been trying to pitch through a hip injury that month and was streaky when he returned to the mound in August and September. He finished the season with a 5.10 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and 30 home runs in 146 ⅓ innings.
An Ober-for-Mountcastle deal makes the most sense for both teams, as they try to retool their rosters for a competitive edge in 2026. The Twins have an excess of starting pitching, and they can still make moves without having to give up their top two starters.
The Orioles have too many right-handed hitters, some of whom lose out on playing time, like Mountcastle, after they added Alonso and Ward. Ober and Mountcastle also had down seasons in 2025 due to injuries and could benefit from a change of scenery to return to their previous success.
The only issue that may arise is the cost of Mountcastle’s contract. He’s set to earn $7.8 million in 2026, per MLB Trade Rumors’ arbitration projections. Ober is earning less, with a projected $4.6 million for 2026. The one-for-one deal would only add $3.2 million from Mountcastle’s salary into Minnesota’s payroll, though, and that should still be affordable with a $115 million projected payroll for 2026.
It would be painful for Twins fans to see Ober depart after five solid seasons helping to stabilize the rotation and become one of their best pitching development stories of the decade. But if they are intent on reshaping the roster to make a competitive push in 2026, a deal like this with the Orioles might be what they have to make to make their postseason dreams a reality.