Baseball Gods to Tom Pohlad: 'Aight, Bet'

It wasn't equivocal, and it wasn't compulsory. This April, as part of a slow-motion goodwill tour in which he's tried to rebuild the fan base's faith in (or even tolerance for) his family, Tom Pohlad piped up. He gave Dan Hayes of The Athletic a quote that left little wiggle room. That even seemed to be by design. You can't gain much goodwill by going halfway.

"As we go throughout the year and more opportunities present themselves for us to put action to words, so long as we do that, I’ll be happy," Pohlad said. And later: "We owe it to our fan base as much as we owe it to [Derek Shelton], [Jeremy Zoll] and the players, to do everything we can to improve our team at that point.”

We should presume he meant it, because whatever goodwill (and time) it did buy him was nowhere near worth the backlash he'll receive if he goes back on that asseveration. However, it was an easy time to say those words. The Twins were 13-17 when Hayes's article ran, which was right on schedule; most fans, pundits and projection systems forecasted a losing season for them. In fairness, they're still sub-.500, too. Since that day, however, they've gone 40-37, and they find themselves right in the thick of the race for the AL Central, as well as a possible Wild Card berth. They've proved themselves resilient, and they've played near the top of their spectrum of possible outcomes based on their talent. Unequivocally, this team is in position to buy at next week's MLB trade deadline.

It's time, in other words, for Pohlad to pony up. In fact, the baseball gods have offered him no quarter. Although this team (frankly) is not all that good, they're also plainly not bad, and they're playing in one of the weakest divisions and leagues in recent memory. They have a glaring need for pitching help, and a strong farm system with which to pursue it. They have, by any reasonable reckoning, plenty of money to spend. The stars all aligned. The dictate is clear, and Pohlad's own words have painted him into a corner.

Admittedly, it would be strange (and ill-advised) for the team to go all-in and trade top prospects to bolster this squad. They're just entering a competitive window, not peaking or trying to maximize the final phase of a cycle. They can get better easily, though, and Pohlad's money can do a lot of that work. Here are five guys they could acquire, for whom the prospect cost could be minimized if the Twins take on the salaries involved.

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Kevin Gausman, Blue Jays

RHP  Age: 35 FA: Nov 2026 Sal: $23m

There are days when, as they say, the splitter ain’t splittin’, and on those days, Gausman gets frighteningly hittable in a hurry. The rest of the time, though, he’s as steady and sturdy as a starter comes these days. He fills up the zone and gets ample swings and misses, especially with that splitter. He can dominate, and he has a solid postseason track record. The Blue Jays, who look unlikely to emerge from the quagmire into which they’ve sunk in the standings, are likely to deal Gausman, rather than let him walk for free this winter. His salary is substantial, but Toronto is one team who should be willing to eat the money to maximize the return they realize in a trade. There are many harder-throwing starters a team might pursue this month, but few who are as likely to have a positive impact on a postseason run.

Kevin Gausman is a tough, durable veteran starter—someone who could start a playoff game and give the Twins a chance to win even against a tough lineup. He's an impending free agent and is still owed over $7 million. If the Twins are willing to take on that money, he wouldn't cost that much, and he could be a difference-maker for them both in the regular season and come october.

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Luke Weaver, Mets

RHP  Age: 32 FA: Nov 2027 Sal: $9.5m

A well-established high-leverage reliever having his best year on a massively disappointing team, Weaver is just about perfectly situated to be traded for a haul and to be a main character come October. He’s always had good swing-and-miss stuff, and is filling up the strike zone better than ever, working with a simple three-pitch mix and excellent command. The Mets are slated to pay him $12.5 million in 2027, and for them, that’s a drop in the bucket, so they might even pay down some of his salary to maximize the return in a trade. Neither on this year’s moribund club nor on next year’s is he likely to have a greater impact on the organization’s fortunes than he can have as a trade chip on a market starved for top-flight right-handed relievers.

A major bullpen upgrade is the most obvious way the Twins could get better this week. Weaver is under contract for 2027, too, so while he would cost a good prospect or two, he could help them not only this year, but next. He's an ideal fit for their situation, as long as Pohlad is willing to shell out the relatively high financial cost for a non-closer.

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Antonio Senzatela, Rockies

RHP  Age: 31 FA: Nov 2026* Sal: $12m

Quick, someone rescue this guy from Coors Field and see if there’s even more to unlock. After a career full of promise (enough so that he signed a long-term deal with the Rockies in 2021) but often sidetracked by injuries and/or pitching at elevation, Senzatela has embraced a move to the bullpen and taken off this year. He still throws 97 with his four-seam fastball, but now, he pairs that with a vicious cutter in the 92 MPH range, which both misses some bats and induces ample weak contact. If he never (or very rarely) had to pitch in Colorado, his four-seamer might even turn out to be the good pitch everyone briefly hoped it would turn out to be. He’s stuffed the strike zone and begun manipulating swings better by simply relying on power out of the pen. A team picking him up would have a chance to benefit from his experience working multiple innings come September and October, and in November, they’d even have a chance to retain him for $14 million in 2027. That’s a high price for a middle reliever, but if he shows you two months of relief ace-caliber work after escaping Colorado, you might give that a shot—or even move him back to the rotation at age 32.

It's a similar situation to that of Weaver, but Antonio Senzatela offers the bonus of not being obligated to pay up for 2027. The salary taken on for this season wouldn't be terribly onerous, and if it pans out well, the team could elect to bring him back at a moderate price.

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Dustin May, Cardinals

RHP  Age: 28 FA: Nov 2026* Sal: $12.5m

It’s great to see May come through a multi-year run of miserable injury luck to pitch the way many long believed he could. Not has his good season with the Cards been solely about being available. He’s throwing more strikes, thanks in part to a rejiggered approach that favors four-seamers, cutters and changeups at the expense of sinkers and sweepers. He still has an extremely lively arm, and his stuff is playing better this season, thanks to his newfound ability to fill up the zone. As an impending free agent on a team that still views itself as building for a future brighter than its present, though, he’s a strong candidate to be dealt. Unless the Cardinals can strike a deal with him this month to convert his mutual option for 2027 into a multi-year commitment, he’ll be on the market, and should slot nicely into the back half of a playoff-caliber rotation.

Dustin May could be a huge upside play for the Twins, and although the mutual option on his deal for 2027 is almost certain not to be mutually exercised, even a fistful of starts that get the team over the hump and into the postseason could be a huge windfall. The Cardinals will want something good for May, but his salary does give the Twins leverage, if they're willing to eat that money.

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Andrew Kittredge, Orioles

RHP  Age: 36 FA: Nov 2026 Sal: $9m

It’s not a trick they were hoping to turn, but the Orioles just might get something in return for Kittredge for a second year in a row. After trading him to the Cubs last summer and watching him dominate for Chicago down the stretch and into the playoffs, the O’s reacquired the righty so they could exercise the club option on his deal for 2026. Unfortunately, he’s missed some time, and the results aren’t especially pretty even when he’s been on the mound. Meanwhile, the team is floundering for a second consecutive summer. The stuff remains good; he’s still inducing ground balls; and he’s throwing strikes, so Kittredge still has trade value. There’s little reason for Baltimore not to move him again and look ahead to 2027.

This should, at this point, be the bare minimum. The Twins need help in the bullpen. Andrew Kittredge is one of several available right-handed hurlers who could assume a high-leverage role for them and slightly upgrade the relief corps, and who are making somewhere between $7 million and $12 million. If the Twins don't at least trade for someone like Kittredge, Pohlad will have failed to keep his promise to the fan base and to the team.

The good news is that this team is in the hunt. The even better news is that the season has left much less uncertainty than one might have worried it would even a month ago. The only bad news is for Pohlad, and then only for his bottom line. He said he wants to help Zoll make this team better. Now, he gets to prove that he meant it.