PHILADELPHIA -- The Twins are headed into the Trade Deadline with one clear preference: add, not subtract.
That message is coming from everywhere inside the organization. The front office wants to buy.
Ownership wants to buy. The clubhouse wants the same thing.
Minnesota is trying to push back into the postseason for the first time since 2023, and the way the team has played so far has made that feel possible.
But nothing is locked in yet. There are still three weeks until Aug. 3, and the next stretch will decide plenty.
A slump between now and then could change everything, just as last year’s rough post-break stretch reshaped the conversation. The Twins also know the market may not cooperate, with so many clubs hanging around the fringes of contention and few clear sellers available.
"There's still a lot of games left to unfold and teams aren't really making those declarations until the last possible minute," said general manager Jeremy Zoll. "And in turn, you need the full market to develop to be able to have things happen.
So we're continuing to evaluate things. The team is on a nice run here.
… So we're really excited about that to continue to progress and hopefully have a good showing here, and the break and go from there."
That leaves Minnesota with a few possible paths. The ideal one is obvious: add help and keep rolling.
Another option is more of a middle ground, using a Major League player to create space for one of the club’s young bats while also bringing in pitching help. With so much talent sitting at Triple-A St.
Paul, that kind of move could open the door for someone like Walker Jenkins or Kaelen Culpepper.
The biggest issue, though, is not hard to spot.
Bullpen help is the priority. Even after the addition of Tommy Nance, and even with Andrew Morris and Yoendrys Gómez giving the club a dependable late-game combo, the relief corps still looks thin.
Cole Sands should be back soon, but Minnesota needs at least one more real bullpen arm, and probably more than that. Another starter would help too.
Defensive upgrades would help too. But the bullpen is the first thing on the list, the second thing on the list and the third thing on the list.
If the Twins do decide to buy, the prospect depth gives them some room to work. They have four Top 100 prospects: Jenkins at No.
14, Emmanuel Rodriguez at No. 55 and currently injured, Culpepper at No. 32 and Eduardo Tait at No. 38.
Jenkins and Culpepper are considered highly unlikely to move.
If the Twins go the other direction, the calls will pile up on Ryan Jeffers and Joe Ryan. A deal involving Trevor Larnach would not be a surprise either, especially if Minnesota wants to add pitching in a Major League-for-Major League swap and clear a lane for Jenkins.
Jeffers also looms large in the second half. He believes he’ll be himself again once he gets back into rhythm after missing more than a month and a half with a wrist injury.
That’s no small thing for a lineup that has already been dangerous. If Jeffers finds the All-Star level he showed before getting hurt, the offense could go to another level.
For now, the Twins are in wait-and-see mode, and the next road trip will say plenty. Last year, a 2-4 trip out of the break helped flip the season.
This time, Minnesota opens the second half on the road again, with games at the contending Cubs and Guardians. They don’t need perfection.
They just need to avoid a disaster and stay in the mix.
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