What Will the Twins Front Office's Trade Deadline Strategy Look Like?

The August 1st trade deadline is a little over seven weeks away, which is a long time but not THAT long. Already, the front office is surely beginning to strategize, keeping one eye forward while they try to maintain a slim division lead in the present.

For Twins brass, the prevailing hope is – has to be – that significant improvement will be driven internally, with lagging hitters and injured players and wayward youngsters finding their rhythms in the summer months. Few outside additions could be as impactful as Carlos Correa finding his MVP form and turning it on for three months, or Jose Miranda rediscovering his swing and returning to the majors with a vengeance.

But even with some much-needed twists of fortune, it's already growing clear that this team will need additional help to compete at the level of, say, the Tampa Bay Rays, who soundly swept them in Florida last week.

The bullpen is its own issue, and luckily relief pitchers tend to be plentiful at the deadline. I'm more interested in how the Twins might look to address the offense, because that is no easy nut to crack. 

They're already having a hard enough time finding room for some of their best hitting prospects from the minors, so realistically, where would the Twins be aiming to make impact additions? And what might be available?

As we'll learn through taking a position-by-position survey of the roster, any upgrade scenario would require a little shaking and shuffling. 

CATCHER
Christian Vázquez has been a big contributor to the team's offensive woes, turning into a total void at the plate after the first week, but he's not going anywhere – both because his defense is considered so valuable, and because he's on a freshly signed $30 million contract. Ryan Jeffers has been very good. Barring injuries, catcher is not a place to target additions. (Not that any impact hitters are available here anyway.)

FIRST BASE
It seems safe to say Alex Kirilloff is firmly implanted. He's been essentially the only hitter on the team to live up to his promise. He's a long-term cornerstone piece. Kirilloff definitely seems most comfortable and effective at first base defensively. That said, he can play the outfield corners just fine, so if a big 1B bat were to come into play, moving AK off the position would be an option. (It would, however, require the Twins to sort out their existing corner-OF depth, which we'll cover shortly.)

• Name to Watch: Paul Goldschmidt, Cardinals – The 35-year-old reigning NL MVP is under contract through next year with the last-place Cards, who probably wouldn't mind dumping his salary for prospects. Goldy has a no-trade clause, but that's not always a deal-breaker for brokering a deal...

SECOND BASE
Jorge Polanco's health can be counted on roughly as much as Edouard Julien's defense – but the presence of both quality bats makes it hard to justify adding another player here. Especially when Royce Lewis, Brooks Lee, and Austin Martin could all factor in at second as well. 

SHORTSTOP
Something tells me the Twins won't be trading for anyone to replace their $200 million free agent in the first year of his deal. 

THIRD BASE
Between Lewis, Lee, and Miranda (not to mention Kyle Farmer) it feels like the Twins have too many guys in the third-base mix for adding another piece to make sense. MAYBE if a difference-maker became available, it would be possible to shift things around, but as I scan the deadline trade candidate landscape I don't see any prominent third basemen in the likely mix. 

Thanks to some intrepid reporting, I believe we can safely say the Twins won't be dealing for Josh Donaldson. 

LEFT FIELD
So, the Twins have Trevor Larnach, they've got Joey Gallo, they've got Willi Castro. Nick Gordon will be back at some point. None of those four are above setting aside for a high-profile acquisition, if the right deal presented itself. I'd name left field as the most likely destination for a deadline bat addition, mainly because the Twins are least entrenched at this position and it's an easy place to make a variety of good hitters work. 

• Name to Watch: Juan Soto, Padres – Under control through next year, he's the only member of San Diego's star-studded core who hasn't been locked down long-term. Soto would require a ransom and will cost around $30 million in his coming final turn at arbitration. Do the Twins have an appetite for 2023/24 superstar upside at that pricetag? 

CENTER FIELD
It's probably wishful thinking to believe Byron Buxton will occupy this position in any full-time capacity this year, but Michael A. Taylor has been a quality fixture and Gordon will be back at some point. Tough to envision a major add in center field.

RIGHT FIELD
It's a similar situation to left field, except here you've got the longtime incumbent Max Kepler atop the depth chart, and top prospect Matt Wallner pressing him from Triple-A. I would bet against Kepler still being on the roster on August 1st, but even if Wallner flops or gets hurt, the presence of guys like Larnach, Gallo, and Kirilloff provide a lot of theoretically capable offensive depth. 

If the right opportunity came along, the Twins could probably make it work. But I consider left field to be easily the most likely spot for an addition in the outfield.

DESIGNATED HITTER
If Buxton's knee flares up, or something else happens to knock him out for the season, the Twins would presumably turn to Julien at DH, where he's best suited. But let's say Polanco can't get his legs healthy, and Julien needs to stick at second. That's the type of situation that would open the door for acquiring a pure designated hitter at the deadline. Maybe even one who could ... also slot in as your ace starter in a ridiculously loaded playoff rotation? Just spitballing here.

• Name to Watch: Shohei Ohtani, Angels – For now, the Angels are in contention. But if that changes, as it usually does, they'll surely be shopping the impending free agent Ohtani. Minnesota would be in no position to re-sign him, so it comes down to how much they're willing to sacrifice for the most impactful and expensive deadline rental in MLB history.

Alright, so, what has this exercise taught us? 

For me, it's that the trade deadline is probably not going to offer solutions for the Twins lineup, unless they are willing to venture into the pipe-dream territory teased above with names like Goldschmidt, Soto and Ohtani. 

If you move your scope much lower than the superstar tier, then you're probably not getting a whole lot more upside and assurance in a 2-3 month sample than you would with internal options already on hand. And the last thing this front office needs is to get wiped out on another bad deadline deal.

For better or worse, I think that's where the path to resurrection lies for this offense. As tired as the "It's like making a trade!" tropes are, nothing can realistically remedy this offense as much as coalescing a remotely healthy and effective mix of Buxton, Polanco, Correa, Miranda, Gallo, Larnach, and beyond.

Then again, the deadline is still a pretty long ways away.