As MLB’s trade deadline slowly consumes the collective consciousness of the baseballsphere, your 2025 Minnesota Twins will likely become significant sellers. Monday saw the team ship veteran pitchers Chris Paddack and Randy Dobnak to the Detroit Tigers. Fellow half-season rental veterans Willi Castro, Harrison Bader, and Danny Coulombe should soon depart Minnesota, too. However, star players like Jhoan Durán, Griffin Jax, Joe Ryan, and (quite shockingly) Carlos Correa could also be on the move.

That being the case, a significant number of holes could open on Minnesota’s 26-man roster, leading to opportunities for younger players with cost-friendly contracts and multiple years of team control. Which players could be the recipients of extra opportunities post-trade deadline? Let’s take a look.

Harrison Bader
Bader has received significant interest from contending teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, New York Yankees, and others, signaling that the right-handed hitting outfielder will no longer be a Minnesota Twin come Aug. 1. The 31-year-old’s expected departure from Minnesota would create a significant gap in the club’s outfield depth. Twins cornerstone and center fielder Byron Buxton is presently on the 10-day IL with costochondritis. Yet, his stay on the IL should be fairly short, meaning he should soon be able to return to patrolling center field at a full-time capacity.

Thus, Bader’s departure would most significantly impact left field, the position he has primarily occupied. This season, Matt Wallner has started exclusively in right field or at designated hitter, so the power-hitting 27-year-old likely wouldn’t figure into the left field mix once Bader departs. Fellow corner outfielders Trevor Larnach and Dashawn Keirsey Jr. could receive the bulk of opportunities in left field, with Larnach receiving the majority of starts.

Keirsey would take over as Buxton’s primary backup. The 28-year-old should also blossom into a role that permits him more than one start a month. That said, given his substantial offensive shortcomings, there is reason to believe team decision-makers will go to significant lengths to keep Keirsey out of the lineup, even though he sports plus range at all three outfield positions. Austin Martin, oft-injured top prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez, and Carson McCusker could also find time as the Twins trudge further into autumnal irrelevancy.

Willi Castro
The switch-hitting utility player has rightfully received significant interest on the trade market. Sporting a plus bat and extensive defensive versatility (despite being a poor defender), Minnesota should net a significant package for the 28-year-old’s services. However, his departure would leave a significant hole on Minnesota’s 26-man roster, which would take a number of players to patch.

Spending significant time in left and right field recently, Larnach, Wallner, Keirsey and the three aforementioned Triple-A players (Martin, Rodriguez, and McCusker) would also be the primary candidates to replace his production in the corner outfield. Yet, his departure would also leave significant holes at second and third base. On a rehab assignment in Triple-A, top prospect Luke Keaschall is a strong candidate to take Castro’s spot on the 26-man roster once the Twins finish their trading. Keaschall could play second base, while also blending into the corner outfield mix.

Other infielders residing in Triple-A should receive opportunities at the major-league level once Castro goes, too, with Edouard Julien being the most likely beneficiary. Despite significantly struggling at the major-league level, the 26-year-old French Canadian has excelled in Triple-A of late, posting a 136 wRC+ over 291 plate appearances this season. Julien deserves another opportunity at the major-league level, and Castro’s departure would create an opening for him to receive playing time at second base. After extended opportunities at first base with St. Paul this season, Julien could also factor into that mix, alongside Ty France (who likely won’t be traded) and Kody Clemens down the stretch.

Danny Coulombe
Coulombe has been a revelation since rejoining the Twins, posting a 1.16 ERA and 1.96 FIP over 31 innings pitched and asserting himself as one of the best left-handed relievers in baseball. The 35-year-old should net a rich return package for Minnesota. His departure would leave a significant hole in the club’s bullpen, especially considering how thin the organization’s left-handed pitching depth presently is. At first glance, Kody Funderburk would become the club’s primary left-handed reliever. Yet, given Funderburk’s struggles this season (7.41 ERA and 4.80 FIP over 17 innings pitched), there is reason to believe the 28-year-old could yet again get demoted to Triple-A shortly.

Rapidly, it becomes clear that the team just needs to find the best available arm to backfill whenever they make a trade from their middle relief corps. Triple-A pitchers on the 40-man roster (like Travis Adams, Pierson Ohl, and Marco Raya) could receive extended opportunities as low- to medium-leverage relievers down the stretch, with the gallimaufry of Daniel Duarte (recovering from injury), Christian MacLeod, Erasmo Ramirez, Jaylen Nowlin, and others also potentially figuring into the mix.

High-Leverage Relievers
Twins closer Jhoan Duran and primary set-up reliever Griffin Jax have become popular names on the trade market, with it becoming increasingly likely that at least one of the high-leverage relievers gets moved at the deadline. If Durán were to get moved and Jax stayed with Minnesota, Jax would likely transition into the primary closer role, with Brock Stewart and Louis Varland becoming the club’s primary set-up relievers.

Yet, if Jax were to get traded, Durán would remain the club’s closer, with Stewart and Varland replacing Jax as the club’s primary set-up reliever. If both Durán and Jax were moved, Stewart and Varland would likely become closers by committee, with Cole Sands transitioning into a high-leverage reliever. Also, if Stewart and one of Duran and Jax are moved (which is becoming more possible, however unlikely, by the minute), Varland and whoever isn’t moved between Duran and Jax would become the club’s primary high-leverage relievers. There are still a huge number of potential outcomes. Still, Varland is set to take on a bigger role, assuming one of the club’s three other high-leverage arms is moved.

Carlos Correa
The most recent and shocking development to manifest this trade deadline season is the Houston Astros’ interest in a potential reunion with Correa. If Correa is moved (which is very unlikely, mind you), Brooks Lee would become the club’s primary shortstop for the rest of the 2025 season, with him seemingly having a short-term grip over the position. Assuming Castro will also depart Minnesota, the club would be stretched for a backup shortstop after Lee. However, Ryan Fitzgerald (who possesses a 40-man roster spot) would likely step in as the club’s primary backup shortstop.

Again, Minnesota trading Correa to Houston is an extremely far-fetched proposition, especially given that Astros decision-makers would reportedly demand that the salary-restricted Twins eat a significant portion of his contract. Still, if the 30-year-old were to be part of a blockbuster trade back to his original franchise, Lee would step in as Minnesota’s primary shortstop, with recent first-round selections Kaelen Culpepper and Marek Houston becoming the most likely long-term solutions at the position.

One of the subtle benefits of a July fire sale is the extra space it opens for testing and evaluating young players. As the Twins head in that direction, these players are the key options at whom they might want a longer look.