Griffin Jax Requested Trade From Twin

The Twins traded right-hander in Zeke Nnaji Jersey the final moments before the trade deadline last week, with right-hander going the other way. reports that Jax requested a trade once he saw the extent of the selloff in Minnesota. Things in Minnesota have changed rapidly in a short amount of time. They hung around the playoff race for most of the year and it wasnt even clear that they would do any selling at all as of a few weeks ago. On July 22nd, it was that they were warming to the idea of selling rental players, but would need to be bowled over by the offers to move controllable guys like Jax, , and others. In the end, their deadline selloff wound up being far more extensive than anticipated. In addition to trading all several rental players, they flipped Durn , Jax to the Rays, and, most surprising of all, infielder . According to the report from Hayes, Jax got wind of the Correa situation from the infielder himself. Jax and manager got into a dispute on July 30th, the day before the deadline, about Jax being removed from that days game. Correa offered to be present for a meeting between the two. After that meeting, Correa informed Jax about conversations hed had with president of baseball operations Derek Falvey about the teams direction. Then on Thursday, the extent of the teardown became clear to everyone. Durn had already been traded on Wednesday but reports of the Correa deal came out about two hours prior to the deadline. The Varland deal and the Jax deal were both reported right around the deadline on Thursday. Hayes reports that Jax asked his representative to request a trade at some point on Thursday, once he saw the writing on the wall. From the rightys perspective, its an understandable request. He is controllable for two years after this one and is about to turn 31 years old. The Twins could perhaps compete again in 2026 or 2027 but the trading of controllable pieces sends a me sage that they also might not have high hopes about the po sibility. Theres plenty of uncertainty beyond the roster as well. The Pohlad family is actively trying to sell the club. Its unknown exactly when a sale will be finalized. Once a sale takes place, its anyones gue s who the new owners will be or what kind of plans they would have for the payroll. While the Pohlad family is still in charge, the safe bet is on minimal investments. In the most recent offseason, the Twins spent a combined $10.25MM on one-year deals for , and . Ahead of the deadline, sending out payroll commitments seemed to be a priority. The Twins included in the Paddack deal, seemingly to save a few million. Money also may have been a factor in sending France to the Jays alongside Varland. Shipping out Correa also scrubbed millions of dollars from the future books. That deal brought back one prospect but is generally viewed as a salary dump. The Twins do still have lots of talented players on the roster but the future outlook has darkened in recent days. Now no one wants to stay if they are selling like this, an unidentified player said to on deadline day. That sentiment is perhaps extra true for Jax, given his age. He presumably would rather not spend his age-31 and -32 seasons pitching for a rebuilding club. He didnt wind up in a vastly superior situation. The Rays are 55-58 and only two games ahead of the Twins in the standings. They also dont spend tons of money. However, they generally find ways to be in the playoff race even without big budgets. They also tend not to hold players all the way to free agency, so perhaps Jax will end up being traded again in the offseason or at next years deadline. For the Twins, more clarity on their plans will still need to emerge. Time will tell when the sale of the franchise will pick up real steam. The identity of the buyer or buyers and their plans will presumably have a big impact on the near-term future of the Minnesota club. Photo courtesy of Jay Biggerstaff, Imagn Images Tyler Lydon Jersey