Report: Twins weren't going to trade top prospects for best starting pitchers

Minnesota's division rivals allegedly asked for one of the Twins' top prospects in order to land a rental pitcher.

Jul 28, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Minnesota Twins third baseman Brooks Lee (72) hits a sacrifice fly to score a run in the second inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports / Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

By way of doing pretty much nothing, the Twins were one of the biggest losers at the MLB trade deadline. Through a mix of cost-cutting and a bullish sellers market, Minnesota was reportedly priced out of a few moves they attempted to make as the deadline neared.

With a need at pitcher the Twins were heavily linked with Blue Jays lefty Yusei Kikuchi, but were priced out after the Astros gave up three major league ready prospects. Staring at the prospect of not adding to a team in a position to return to the playoffs, the Twins front office looked at potentially making a deal with a division rival but were put off by the asking price, or so says one insider.

According to The Athletic's Dan Hayes, the Twins discussed potential trades with the Chicago White Sox for Erick Fedde as well as the Detroit Tigers for Jack Flaherty. Those talks went nowhere after both teams asked for packages that included one of Brooks Lee, Walker Jenkins or Emmanuel Rodriguez, according to Hayes' reporting.

Not looking to give up one of their high-end prospects for a three-month rental starter, the Twins' front office deemed that asking price a non-starter, Hayes said.

Jenkins, Lee and Rodriguez are the consensus top-three prospects in the organization. Lee is already up with the Twins while Rodriguez is at Double-A and Jenkins was just promoted to Class A+ Fort Myers.

In the end, Minnesota acquired Blue Jays reliever Trevor Richards in a move ESPN deemed worthy of a shrug emoji.