The Minnesota Twins are sitting in that awkward middle ground where the standings say one thing and the roster says another.
At 39-45, they entered Sunday 2.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot in the American League. That keeps them in the hunt, but it doesn’t exactly settle the bigger question: are they a real contender, or just hanging around because the expanded postseason leaves the door open?
That answer has to come fast. The Aug. 3 trade deadline is creeping up, and the Twins need the next five weeks to tell them what kind of team they really are.
If they’re for real, adding help for a playoff push makes sense. If not, the deadline could turn into a much bigger decision because Minnesota owns two of the top trade chips on the market in Joe Ryan and Ryan Jeffers.
There’s no shortage of reasons for GM Jeremy Zoll to keep watching closely.
The offense has been productive overall, entering Sunday seventh in MLB with 4.87 runs per game. But it has also vanished at times, disappearing for stretches that make the whole lineup feel far less stable than the raw numbers suggest. The starting pitching has been good enough to keep the club in the race in the American League, but injuries have kept it from becoming the team’s defining strength.
And then there’s the bullpen, which has been one of the worst in baseball.
That’s why the question of whether to invest in this group now is so messy. The case for pushing in is real enough.
Chairman Tom Pohlad has talked big since taking over last December, but the Twins haven’t made a major splash under his watch beyond calling Framber Valdez during Spring Training and making several bullpen moves for cash considerations. A move for a reliever or a shortstop would also send a message to a fan base that has been put through plenty since the club’s last playoff appearance in 2023.
If Minnesota is still hanging around near the deadline, a modest addition could be the right call. But July is going to do a lot of the heavy lifting before then.
The road ahead is demanding, starting with a three-game series against the Houston Astros in a matchup of Wild Card contenders. From there, the Twins head to New York to face the Yankees, where trips to the Bronx have not exactly gone smoothly. Then come seven games against the Cleveland Guardians, who are battling the Chicago White Sox at the top of the American League Central, along with series against the Athletics and Seattle Mariners that could help create some separation in the wild card race.
By the time that stretch is over, the picture should be much clearer.
There are still plenty of moving parts. Byron Buxton is putting together a career year in center field, though his injury history remains impossible to ignore.
Brooks Lee has been scorching since moving to third base full-time on May 22, slugging .516 with nine homers in 34 games, but the Twins still have to figure out whether that’s a hot streak or a real breakthrough. Royce Lewis’ return is another key variable, with the possibility of either a surprising departure or a place cemented in Minnesota’s long-term plans.
The pitching side has its own set of complications. Ryan is a strong ace at the top of the rotation, and Taj Bradley has ace-like stuff when everything is working.
After that, the questions pile up quickly around the health of Mick Abel and Bailey Ober. Connor Prielipp is already nearing the largest workload of his professional career, which only adds to the need for more depth.
Even if the rotation settles in, the bullpen remains the bigger problem. Yoendrys Gomez and Andrew Morris have looked like useful finds, but the Twins still could use another reliever with major league experience to help pull it all together, especially after Anthony Banda left Sunday’s game with an injury.
So much of this feels like a gamble. If Minnesota gets enough things right and keeps stacking wins, it could justify a deadline addition and a push for October. If the pieces don’t come together, the club could slide into another sell-off and continue the long-term plan Derek Falvey set in motion at last year’s trade deadline.
Either way, the Twins have five weeks to figure it out. That stretch may end up shaping both this season’s identity and the franchise’s next step.
In Other News...
Twins Lose One Of Their Few Bullpen Answers At Worst Time
Anthony Banda had become one of the more dependable arms the Twins could lean on out of the bullpen, which is what made his exit in Colorado sting even before the club had to sort out the roster move. Minnesota is already piecing together relief innings from a group that has been too inconsistent for comfort, so losing one of the few pitchers who had provided real stability only narrows the margin for error.
Cody Laweryson was summoned from Triple-A St. Paul to take Bandas spot, giving the Twins another look at a depth option as they try to navigate a bullpen that has been under pressure for weeks. With a tough stretch ahead, the bigger question is how Minnesota covers the innings Banda had been handling and whether the current relief mix can hold up long enough for help to emerge. [Read more 🡒]
Former Twins Arm Chris Paddack Gets Another Shot With A Contender
Chris Paddacks season has already turned into a tour of attrition, and the latest stop is another reminder of how quickly a veteran arm can become a depth solution in July. After time with the Marlins, Tigers and Reds, the former Twins right-hander is now working toward his next opportunity after Cincinnati moved on, leaving him looking for a way back into a rotation and a chance to stabilize a career that has been interrupted by injuries and uneven results.
The appeal for his new club is straightforward: there is a need for innings, and Paddack still has enough track record to be considered for a starting role. Injuries and recovery timelines have thinned the pitching staff, so the door is open for him to step into meaningful starts if the contract gets finalized and the fit holds up. [Read more 🡒]