There has been progress this year, it is the middle of June and we are talking about meaningful baseball games. We are in the middle of the road trip from hell at 3-4, hoping to split the last two games. As exciting as this may be, I am pretty sure this is not the year the Twins make the playoffs even though I would like to be proven wrong. So the question is, how close do we need to buy instead of sell at the deadline. I would like to see the Twins within 3 games of the division lead (too many teams involved in the wild card race) before we become buyers. Even at that point, maybe we become buyers and sellers. 1. Correia is the easiest person to replace, so even if we are in it, I would trade him and replace him with one of the AAA pitchers. He won't be here next year no matter what. 2. Willingham: If we are in the race, we owe it to our fans to keep Willingham. I doubt we are going to get that much for him but if we lose his bat, we probably don't have a chance to contend. If we drop 6-7 games out by the deadline, I would move him then. If he is still around at the end of the season, would you keep him for one more? 3. Duensing. He seems to have OK stats, but all I can remember now is ineffective outings. I say he has to stay if we are in it, but probably the easiest guy to move, since as TK has always said, he's left handed and breathing. Even if we do keep him, I beleive he has become too expensive for the outings he is producing anyways, so letting him go in the offseason is a possibility. 4. Morales. This is the most interesting trade chip. I believe he fits like a glove in our lineup. Hits for average and power and has shown that in non-hitters parks like Safeco. The question is whether he is willing to stay here and sign an extension? Is he blocking Vargas if he stays? In any event, he stays if we are in the race, but could be a sought after trade chip if we fall out of it. 5. Suzuki. This feels like the ultimate sell high player. However, we have no options at all for catcher in the near future. If we are in it, he stays. We certainly would have to sign a FA in the offseason. If we fall out of it, I would maybe try to dangle a two-year extension, and if he doesn't sign, then trade him. Who knows, maybe we could trade him and get him back a la Aggie. The Twins will have some chips to trade at the deadline, however, I believe they owe it to our fans to go for it if we are within 3 games. The question is, will we hurt our future if we gamble and fail? I don't think so. All five of the above options need to be signed in the offseason or at least tendered a contract, so these players may not be back anyways. The only player we really don't have a replacement for right now in the minors would be Suzuki. While I do expect the Twins to fall out of it by the end of July, it certainly has been fun to watch meaningful baseball, and will continue to watch since I expect May and Meyer up if the Twins do fall out of contention.