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Minnesota Twins play joke on everybody amid trade rumors

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated Jul 30, 2025 4:37 PM ET

The Minnesota Twins are having some fun at everyone’s expense as persistent trade rumors surround the team.

The Twins were down big to the Boston Red Sox during Wednesday’s game at Target Field in Minneapolis, Mn. Perhaps because of that, they opted to pull Willi Castro, a potential trade chip, from the game.

Castro was seen hugging people in the dugout, sparking speculation that he had been traded.

Willi Castro has been removed in the middle of the game and was giving hugs to teammates and coaches pic.twitter.com/KYTZZnT7cx
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 30, 2025

Ultimately, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that there was no trade. Those hugs appeared to be for show.

Willi Castro has not been traded. He also did not get a hug like Jhoan Duran when he was not traded, which is kind of sad.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 30, 2025

Twins closer Jhoan Duran actually pulled a similar move during Tuesday’s game by hugging members of the bullpen. Duran has featured heavily in trade rumors as well, but similarly, he has not yet been traded either.

Hug watch for Johan Duran pic.twitter.com/smDz2Xz7FW
— Baseball Unstitched Podcast (@BaseUnstitched) July 30, 2025

The Twins are probably well aware of how these things look on television. That may be the reason they are leaning into it in the first place.

The “hug watch” joke has become popular for years across baseball. It does occasionally happen that a player is about to be traded and gets pulled from a game, and that is typically accompanied by that player hugging teammates and coaches in the dugout as he learns that he is on his way to a new team.

Minnesota’s loss on Wednesday dropped them to 51-57, and they are likely sellers at the trade deadline. That could even see some big names leave the team. They might as well try to have a little fun with what may turn out to be an unhappy week for the organization.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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