Twins focused on trade market during winter meetings with ‘high bar’ for any Carlos Correa talks

DALLAS – The Twins weren’t involved in Juan Soto’s record-setting, 15-year contract worth a guaranteed $765 million. Taking away the first two digits is a closer representation of how much money they could add to their payroll this offseason.

Soto signing with the New York Mets, however, could help move things along on the trade market, which is where the Twins are more likely to make a move to gain financial flexibility.

“There are a lot of conversations happening here now,” said Derek Falvey, the Twins’ president of baseball operations, on the first day of the league’s annual winter meetings. “That’s probably our primary focus while we’re here, just making sure we’re connecting with teams about if their needs are shifting based on different free agent dynamics that have either occurred or feel like they’re about to occur with different players.”

The Twins, with a current payroll that sits around $134 million, have three obvious trade candidates because they are a year from reaching free agency: starter Chris Paddack (owed $7.5 million in 2025), catcher Christian Vázquez ($10 million) and All-Star utilityman Willi Castro, who is projected to command around $6 million through arbitration.

None of those three players would likely yield a significant return in a trade besides salary relief. Starting pitchers are always in demand, but Paddack didn’t pitch after the All-Star break because of an injury. Vázquez hit poorly in his two seasons with the Twins and Castro faded in the second half of last season.

If the Twins shed salary through a trade, adding a first baseman and a righthanded-hitting outfielder will be atop their wish list. After losing Gold Glove winner Carlos Santana to free agency, Falvey said acquiring a first baseman “has some appeal.” Corner outfielders Matt Wallner and Trevor Larnach are both lefty hitters, and the Twins will need to replace the 343 plate appearances Manuel Margot received last season.

“There are ways to complement with what we have,” Falvey said of the Twins’ outfield options, “but that’s probably an area if we could focus on figuring how to add, we would like to.”

“When he was on the field, [Correa] was one of the best players in the game,” Falvey said. “He’s a leader. He’s a key member of the clubhouse. Obviously, you expect teams to call on players like that, especially with where we are and some of the conversations we’re having with other clubs, but we want to win, so a high bar is set.”

The Twins’ front office does not enter trade talks with any players completely untouchable, but they remain bullish on the core of their roster despite an epic six-week collapse that cost them a playoff spot. Falvey thought they have one of the deepest starting pitching groups entering a season he’s had since he joined the organization.

“We get calls on a lot of our players,” Falvey said. “Some that we have to listen, and we have to hear the conversation. Some that go absolutely nowhere, but they are the guys you would expect teams would call on. In light of the team sale situation, some of the dynamics around our roster or otherwise, I think there are enough teams checking in. What we tell every team is listen, we’re open to being creative. We can’t rule anything out before we hear it, no matter who the player is.”

It’s early in the offseason, but the Twins are encouraged by the health of their players, too. Correa told head trainer Nick Paparesta he’s ahead of last year recovering from plantar fasciitis. Joe Ryan is expected to be ready for the start of spring training and the Twins don’t anticipate any issues from Wallner’s oblique injury at the end of the season.