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Those who've followed the Twins for any length of time know that this front office operates in a shroud of secrecy. Rarely are their moves foreshadowed by media speculation, often coming seemingly out of nowhere. They tend to keep the lid tight, publicly anyway.
Their lone move so far in deadline season – trading Jorge López to the Marlins for Dylan Floro last week – was a fine example. While it's no surprise that Miami was willing to deal Floro and his expiring contract, his name wasn't bouncing around in tons of rumors or anything. Nor was López.
That said, the Twins have some pretty clear needs, and they've been open about receiving interest in certain players. While they stood pat on the day preceding the deadline, other moves around the league had implications for Minnesota's strategy.
As we look ahead to deadline day (and potential late-night action preceding it), here's a rundown of what Twins fans should know right now.
Twins are on the hunt for right-handed bats, relief help
Even after acquiring Floro, the Twins should still be in the market for another reliever. Their bullpen has been wobbling lately along with the rotation. While getting Caleb Thielbar back is helpful, optimism is limited around Brock Stewart's uncertain return.
This year's bullpen was designed with López as an integral late-inning linchpin, so the Twins are now scrambling to backfill in terms of depth.
Meanwhile, in their final game ahead of the deadline, the Twins were shut down by another mediocre left-handed starter (Ryan Yarbrough), underscoring the need for an impact bat from the right side.
One interesting potential match is the Yankees, who are known to be targeting corner outfielders. That's an area the Twins could help with.
New York is reportedly receptive to dealing players with expiring contracts. "The Yankees continued to try to operate on two tracks — see if they could move out some veterans for prospects and perhaps salary relief while trying to acquire pieces that have control beyond the 2023 season," according to Joel Sherman in a new piece for the New York Post.
Harrison Bader is one name Sherman specifies as a candidate. Bader is a good-glove center fielder who swings righty and has a 1.210 OPS against left-handed pitchers this year (.841 career). Swapping him for, say, Trevor Larnach would make some sense on both sides, although the Yankees would need to add in more on top of the rental.
Seattle's Teoscar Hernandez, who would be a higher-upside RH bat than Bader (albeit not a center field option), reportedly has an active market, and is likely to move.
Cleveland is ... selling?
Despite being only a half-game out in the division, the Guardians are acting as sellers. It's not a white flag necessarily, given the quality of this division, but the trade of Aaron Civale to the Rays on Wednesday for a prospect hardly signals an intent to press the Twins for the Central crown.
Civale ranked second among Guardians pitchers in fWAR with a 2.34 ERA in 13 starts. He's under team control for two more years. In return, Cleveland got back Kyle Manzardo, a 23-year-old lefty-swinging first baseman who is highly regarded as a prospect.
Coming off a Miranda-esque breakout season in the minors (he posted a 1.043 OPS between Single-A and Double-A in 2022), Manzardo was on the back half of most Top 100 prospect lists this spring, and played in the Futures Game earlier this month.
The move is not dissimilar in nature from four years ago when Cleveland traded Trevor Bauer for Franmil Reyes at the 2019 deadline, hoping to sell high on a good pitcher inching toward free agency while bringing a high-upside young bat into their system.
They'll hope Manzardo works out better than Reyes did, while Twins fans hope he doesn't.
This trade is unlikely to offer much positive impact for Cleveland in the second half. Quite the opposite. Barring a counterbalancing "buy" type move before the deadline strikes, the Guardians are lying down – no Civale, no Shane Bieber, no Triston McKenzie. The Twins have no excuse not to clamp down this division, and use this opportunity to position themselves for success in the postseason.
Twins trade targets are falling off the table
The Twins have a history of remaining patient in these situations, letting the market take shape and seizing opportunities in the late stages. Last year, most of their action came close to the deadline itself.
But there's a cost to standing still. Monday saw several deals take place, including some desirable targets snatched up by other contenders. Here are a few trades consummated on Monday involving players who were connected to the Twins, or might have interested them for specific reasons:
- Diamondbacks acquired closer Paul Sewald from the Mariners.
- Brewers acquired utilityman Mark Canha from the Mets.
- Cubs acquired infielder Jeimer Candelario from the Nationals.
- Reds acquired left-handed reliever Sam Moll from the Athletics.
Tomorrow could be a busy day. Make sure you stay plugged into Twins Daily (and our deadline news feed specifically) all day long.
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