Jeremy Zoll Reveals What Could Slow Twins' Trade Plans This Month

The Minnesota Twins are getting ready for next week's GM meetings with one clear strength on the roster, but general manager Jeremy Zoll has already warned that turning that strength into a trade may not be easy this month.

According to Dan Hayes of The Athletic, Zoll believes the roster is starting from a high floor this offseason and can be improved in several places.

The most obvious place to deal from is the rotation, since the Twins have eight starters under team control for 2027 in Pablo López, Joe Ryan, Taj Bradley, Bailey Ober, Dean Kremer, Connor Prielipp, Zebby Matthews and Mick Abel.

The calendar is the problem here, because a lockout is expected once the collective bargaining agreement runs out on Dec. 1, and Zoll said back in October that the usual back-and-forth between free agent talks and trade talks may not happen the same way this year.

"It's a lot less clear how the trade market will operate in November," Zoll told the St. Paul Pioneer Press in October.

Zoll added that he is not sure how active teams will be on the trade front this month, both for players whose contracts run out after 2027 and for those with more time left. He also said the team will want to assess trading from a strength to fix a weakness, though he pointed out that a team can never have too much starting pitching.

Pitcher Taj Bradley looks like the safest bet to stay after being named the team's pitcher of the year with a 3.73 ERA and 205 strikeouts over 31 starts.

Pitcher Dean Kremer, who came over from the Baltimore Orioles in an Aug. 1 trade for outfielder Jhomnardo Reyes, posted a 3.48 ERA in 10 starts and has become an important piece since the deal.

The more likely trade names are Ober and Ryan.

Ober had a 4.47 ERA in 24 starts, and his place in the rotation was already in question with young arms pushing for spots.

Ryan had a 3.79 ERA in 27 starts, and after the Twins declined their side of his mutual option, he is eligible for arbitration one more time before free agency, according to Hayes.

López, who missed all of 2026 after having his elbow ligament repaired in February, was activated from the 60-day injured list on Nov. 2.

Zoll is right to be careful, but I do not think the Twins should let the calendar scare them off.

A team that went 77-85 and finished third in the American League Central cannot afford to wait until spring to fix its weak spots, and the bullpen is still an obvious one.

If a trade partner shows up at the GM meetings, the Twins should be ready to move one of their starters for help elsewhere, whether that is Ober, Ryan or one of the younger arms.

There are reasons to be careful with Ryan long term anyway, and even with the clock this short, Minnesota has the pitching to get a deal done before Dec. 1 if it wants to.