Seth Stohs

The Minnesota Twins’ bats continued to rake in Cleveland with a third straight win, and a third straight double-digit output. The team is now 32-30 in their last 62 games. Mauer. Dozier. Kepler, Rosario. Pretty much everyone is producing right now. While the Twins have played three straight high-scoring blowout wins, the Twins affiliates all played some very close contests on Wednesday. There were a couple of transactions of note on Wednesday as well: Niko Goodrum came off of the disabled list for the Lookouts.While we noted that Tyler Jay was placed on the Lookouts disabled list with a “neck strain,” Rob Antony indicated to reporters before Wednesday’s game that there is some concern about Jay’s shoulder.RHP Brian Gilbert was released by the Twins and from the Miracle roster.LHP Cam Booser was promoted from the Kernels to the Miracle.RHP Brady Anderson, a non-drafted free agent from Florida Gulf Coast, was promoted from the GCL and started on Wednesday for the Kernels.Following Wednesday night’s game, Jeff Johnson (The Gazette in Cedar Rapids) reported that RHPs Cody Stashak and Dereck Rodriguez were also headed to Ft. Myers. He also noted the RHP Kuo Hua Lo had been released.Thursday is an exciting day for a couple of new Twins. Hector Santiago will make his Twins debut in Cleveland on Thursday morning. In Rochester, Adalberto Mejia will make his first start.With that, let’s get to the Minor League Report for Wednesday. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 3, Pawtucket 2 Box Score This was a bit of an intense game. In fact, the game finished under protest by Pawtucket. At that time, Mike Quade, the Red Wings manager, was ejected. Pawtucket questioned which pitcher Quade signaled in from the bullpen. So, the International League will need to make a decision. If they decide to agree with the PawSox, the teams would start the game where it was in the 8th inning. Pat Dean started and gave up two runs on seven hits in 6.2 innings. He walked two and struck out six. Neil Ramirez gave up one hit but got the final out of the seventh inning. He gave up a single to lead off the eighth. Then came the controversy. Ryan O’Rourke came into the game and gave up a hit to the one batter he faced. It was a bunt single on which Reynaldo Rodriguez tried a swipe tag. The runner was ruled safe. Quade disagreed and was ejected. Pat Light then was summoned for his Twins organization debut against guys he was teammates with a couple of days ago. He gave up a hit which loaded the bases, but he was able to get out of the inning without the tying run being allowed to score. He even hit 100 mph on the radar gun a few times. Alex Wimmers came on for the ninth. He also kept it interesting. He gave up two hits and walked one but struck out two and didn’t allow the tying run to score. It was Wimmers’ ninth save with the Red Wings. Trevor Plouffe played seven innings at third base and came to the plate four times before being replaced to start the eighth inning. He was 0-3 with a walk. Reynaldo Rodriguez went 2-3. Daniel Palka was 1-3 with a walk. Darin Mastroianni went 1-2 with a walk and his eighth stolen base. Wilfredo Tovar went 1-3 with a walk and stole his 24th base and hit his first homer of the year. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Game 1 - Chattanooga 3, Mobile 4 Box Score David Hurlbut gave up three home runs in the first two innings to let the team get down 4-3. The Lookouts scored two runs in the top of the seventh inning to cut the lead to 4-3 but fell one run shy and lost game 1. Hurlbut recovered well, however, completing all six innings. He gave up the four runs on seven hits. He walked two and struck out six. Niko Goodrum hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning. It was his second Lookouts homer. Ryan Walker went 2-3 with a walk. Engelb Vielma went 2-2 with a walk and is now hitting .299. Travis Harrison walked twice. Game 2 - Chattanooga 4, Mobile 5 (11 innings) Box Score The game was tied at three going into the 11th inning. In the top half of the inning, Levi Michael scored on a wild pitch to give the Lookouts a 4-3 lead. Unfortunately, the Lookouts had their second blown save of the game and fell 5-4 after giving up two runs in the bottom of the inning. Felix Jorge started and went the first 5.2 innings. He gave up two runs on seven hits. He struck out four without a walk. Jake Reed went the next 1.1 innings and gave up one run on two hits, earning a blown save. He struck out two. Zack Jones worked the next two innings. He gave up one hit but no runs. He struck out five batters. Raul Fernandez pitched a scoreless tenth inning but he gave up the two runs in the 11th inning. The Lookouts had nine hits in the 11 innings. Zach Granite had two hits. Niko Goodrum had a two-run single, one of his two hits. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 5, Bradenton 9 Box Score The game was tied at five going into the bottom of the eighth, but Todd Van Steensel wasn’t able to keep the lead. Randy LeBlanc started and went just three innings. He gave up five runs on nine hits and a walk without a strikeout. Randy Rosario came out of the bullpen and threw two shutout innings. He gave up a hit and walked one but struck out four. Cam Booser made his first Miracle appearance. He walked one and struck one out in his inning. Van Steensel gave up four runs on four hits and a walk in the eighth inning and he also pitched the ninth. LaMonte Wade led the offense. He went 2-3, was hit by a pitch and added his seventh double. TJ White went 2-4 with his 12th double. Joe Maloney was also 2-4. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Clinton 3 Box Score Brady Anderson was pitching great in the GCL, but the Kernels needed a starter and Anderson got the call. He arrived and was placed right on the mound for his Midwest League debut. The right-hander went the first five innings. He gave up three runs on seven hits and a walk. He struck out two. He left the game with the bases loaded and no outs in the sixth inning. Williams Ramirez came on and got the next three batters out to avoid any further damage. Ramirez went two innings and gave up just one hit. Max Cordy worked the final two innings. He gave up just one hit and was credited with his first win. Sean Miller led the way. He got the offense going with his fourth home run of the year. Zander Wiel went 2-3 with a walk and his sixth triple. Chris Ibarra went 2-4. Kevin Garcia went 2-4. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Miller got things going with this 17th double. It was backed up by Garcia’s sixth double which proved to be the game-winning RBI. E-TWINS E-NOTES Box Score No Game Scheduled. In off-the-field news, Alex Kirilloff got engaged… in case you were wondering. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 3, GCL Rays 2 Box Score Jordan Balazovic made his first start. He gave up one run on four hits and two walks in three innings. Clark Beeker came on and gave up one run on three hits over 3.2 innings. He walked three and struck out three. Callan Pearce struck out two over 2.1 scoreless innings to end the game. He walked two and gave up one hit. The Twins had eight hits in the game, and six of them came in the final two innings. The team was down 2-0 going into the eighth inning. Dominic Blanco singled. Then Heiker Meneses singled. Then Aaron Whitefield had an RBI single. That was followed by an RBI single from Jean Carlos Arias to tie the game. Then in the bottom of the ninth inning, Jorge Munoz got things going with a single. He advanced to third base on a Jhon Alvarez double. Heiker Meneses was walked but on the final pitch, there was a passed ball and Munoz scored the winning run. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Pat Dean, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Sean Miller, Cedar Rapids Kernels THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Pawtucket @ Rochester (12:35 CST) - LHP Adalberto Mejia Chattanooga @ Mobile (6:35 CST) - LHP Stephen Gonsalves Ft. Myers @ Bradenton (5:30 CST) - LHP Sam Clay Clinton @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) – RHP Eduardo Del Rosario Elizabethton @ Johnson City (6:00 CST) - RHP Ryan Mason GCL Twins @ GCL Rays (11:00 am CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Wednesday's games. Click here to view the article

It is "just a hamstring." It's a muscle that isn't always easy to recover from. He came back and re-aggravated it. Did he come back too early? Maybe, or maybe he pushed it. Who knows? Injuries happen.

Wow! Did I ever miss that one!! What a terrific month for Ryan and I missed it. I put him in the Honorable Mention, and he should probably be 2 or 3.

No question. That was a miss. I added him to the Honorable Mentions and maybe he could be in the 4-5 range. Thanks!

Chargois has a fastball, a changeup and a slurve, and all are pretty solid. They all can use some work, but he's close. I'm also told that he has made some adjustments even since moving back down and is better today than he was a month ago.

I'm not sure there's any correlation between what Walker is doing and what Kepler is doing. Kepler's always had a good approach and known the strike zone and that improved as he moved up. Walker is great when he gets a mistake. He is making strides and has been much better of late, but there's very little similar about Kepler and Walker.

He likely won't play the rest of this year. He will likely be ready for Instructs in the DR this Fall.

After reviewing the top hitters in the Twins system in June yesterday, it’s time to consider who the top pitchers were in July. Tomorrow we’ll take a lot at the top starting pitchers, but today you’ll be able to see which relief pitchers performed well in July. There were quite a few solid performances.In case you missed them here are the previous July winners, we named Cedar Rapids Kernels first baseman Zander Wiel the Hitter of the Month. First, a number of relievers worthy of mention: RHP DJ Baxendale (Rochester) - 11 G, 1.64 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 11.0 IP,9 H, 3 BB, 11 KLHP Sean Burnett (Rochester) - 10 G, 1.74 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 10.1 IP, 9 H, 2 BB, 10 KLHP Ryan O'Rourke (Rochester - 11 G, 0.00 ERA, 0.58 WHIP, 10.1 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 12 KRHP Marcus Walden (Rochester) - 10 G, 2.63 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 13.2 IP, 13 H, 2 BB, 12 KRHP Zack Jones (Chattanooga) - 11 G, 1.88 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 14.1 IP, 9 H, 5 BB, 17 KRHP Jake Reed (Chattanooga) - 10 G, 2.08 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 13.0 IP, 8 H, 6 BB, 18 KRHP Thomas Hackimer (Cedar Rapids) - 8 G, 1.74 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, H BB, 5 BB, 10 KLHP Anthony McIver (Cedar Rapids) - 8 G, 2.03 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 13.1 IP, 12 H, 4 BB, 13 KRHP Colton Davis (Elizabethton) - 8 G, 3.00 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 12.0 IP, 6 H, 4 BB, 18 KRHP Moises Gomez (GCL) - 6 G, 0.60 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 15.0 IP, 16 H, 4 BB, 13 KRHP Callan Pearce (GCL) - 9 G, 0.73 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 12.1 IP, 12 H, 5 BB, 14 KTHE TOP FIVE RELIEF PITCHERS Number 5 - Elizabethton/Cedar Rapids – LHP Andrew Vasquez - 7 G, 2.35 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 15.1 IP, 9 H, 6 BB, 24 K Andrew Vasquez was the Twins 32nd round pick in 2015 out of Westmont College in California. He began in the GCL last year where he walked 15 and struck out 22 in 12.1 innings. The 6-6 left-hander began this season in extended spring training and then started games in Elizabethton where he pitched four games. A week into July, he was promoted to Cedar Rapids. There, he has 15 strikeouts in 10.2 innings. Overall for the month, he was 3-0 in the month. Opponents hit .170/.279/.226 (.505). Number 4 – Rochester – RHP JT Chargois - 8 G, 1.54 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 11.2 IP, 9 H, 2 BB, 12 K Chargois has been a regular in these monthly relief pitcher reports. He has had a tremendous year . In July, he pitched in the Futures Game. While that didn’t go so well for him, the regular season games went better. Opponents hit just .214/.250/.286 (.536) against him. The 25-year-old has continued to show good control throughout the season. He recorded three saves in July. The team’s 2012 second-round pick has one big league appearance, but he should be up again in the very near future. Number 3 – Rochester – RHP Alex Wimmers - 10 G, 1.42 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 12.2 IP, 7 H, 6 BB, 13 K Wimmers was the Twins 1st-round draft pick in 2010 out of Ohio State. He has certainly had problems through his professional career. He’s had control issues. He’s had Tommy John surgery. Through all the struggles, however, he appears to have found a role and experienced a lot of success in the Red Wings bullpen. Overall, he’s posted a 3.35 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP in 32 games and 43 innings in Rochester. He was even better in July. Opponents hit just .159/.260/.182 (.442) during the month. He was 1-0 with two saves. He may not be the mid-rotation starter that people envisioned when he was selected late in the first round six years ago, but it is possible that the now-27-year-old can reach the big leagues in the bullpen. He can become a free agent at the end of the season unless he’s on the 40-man roster. Number 2 –GCL/Elizabethton – RHP Patrick McGuff - 8 G, 0.00 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 12.1 IP, 7 H, 5 BB, 22 K McGuff was the Twins 39th-round pick in June out of Morehead State. After four games and 5.2 scoreless innings in the GCL, he was promoted to Elizabethton. He finished July with 8.2 scoreless innings for the E-Twins. For the month, he went 0-0 with two saves and 12.1 scoreless innings. He also struck out 22 batters in those innings, a 16.1 K/9 rate. Oppenents hit just .159/.245/.159 (.404) against him. He did give up one run in his first appearances of August to end his scoreless streak at 15.0 innings to start his career. And the Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month is: Chattanooga Lookouts – RHP Trevor Hildenberger - 11 G, 0.00 ERA, 0.73 WHIP, 12.1 IP, 7 H, 2 BB, 16 K For the second straight month, Hildenberger is our choice for pitcher of the month. He has been a regular on these relief pitcher of the month posts all season, and all of 2015 when he was the Twins Daily Relief Pitcher of the Year in 2015. He was the Twins 22nd-round pick in 2014 after five seasons at Cal-Berkeley. After spending that summer in the GCL, he began last year in Cedar Rapids where he posted a 0.80 ERA and a 0.64 WHIP in 28 games (45 innings). He was promoted to the Miracle where he had a 3.32 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP in 13 games and 19 innings. He went to the Arizona Fall League where he had a 2.13 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP in 12.2 innings. He began 2016 in Ft. Myers where he continued to dominate. He posted a 0.96 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP in six games before being promoted to Chattanooga. In 32 games (38.2 innings), he is 2-3 with 16 saves. He has a 0.70 ERA and a 0.70 WHIP. He has 10.5 K/9 and throws a ton of strikes, walking just 1.4 per nine innings. At the end of last week, Hildenberger was placed on the Disabled List with right elbow tendinitis. Hopefully it will be a short stint on the DL and he can get to Rochester before the season ends. There were several very strong relief pitcher performances in July. Feel free to agree or disagree with the order, if you like, but congratulations to each of these individuals on an excellent month of July. Congratulations to the Twins Daily Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month for July 2016, Trevor Hildenberger. Click here to view the article

Have you heard anything? He played a full game on Monday night.

I looked up stats a couple of days before the end of the month to see who was in consideration. Palka ended the month with a couple of 0-fer days and it dropped down to .828.

I am very curious on this myself. So I asked someone close to the situation, someone who would know. That person said that Garver has worked really hard the last few years behind the plate and has made huge improvements since even the beginning of last year. That person's thought was that he is almost MLB caliber. So I don't know exactly if that's minimal MLB caliber or could be solid caliber, but combined with his offense, I'd say it's a pretty decent possibility that he could be a regular catcher, if necessary.

Well, and by then Nick Gordon will be strongly in the picture.

He had a lot of errors early in the season. I was told a year ago that if he could hit even .250 in AA this year, he would probably have a chance to be the Twins Opening Day shortstop next year. Well, I believe he is at .295 now. And the defense has been much better again. He would seem to be a cinch to be added to the 40-man roster and go to spring training with a shot (though I'd put the odds of it happening below 50%.

There is a lot left to be excited about... No question about that.

It's fun to see and hear how well he replies to questions and converses when we know that English is probably his 3rd or 4th language. He's good.

I can’t believe that it is already August. The trade deadline came this afternoon. There is just over a month left in the minor league seasons. However, it is time to look back at July and recognize some great performances. We start today by posting our choices for Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month. Last month’s choice, Daniel Palka, was promoted from AA to AAA, posted an .828 OPS, and “only” warranted honorable mention. It was a great month for hitters.As I said, there were a lot of great hitting performances. Here are nine more hitters who are very deserving of recognition for their strong July performances. Congratulations to all of the players mentioned below. OF Daniel Palka (Rochester) - .259/.347/.481 (.828). 28-108 with six doubles, six homers and 16 RBIs.OF Edgar Corcino (Chattanooga) - .300/.349/.475 (.824). 24-80 with three doubles, one triple, three homers and 12 RBIss.SS Nick Gordon (Ft. Myers) - .330/.359/.420 (.779). 37-112 with five doubles, one triple, one homer and 20 RBIs.2B Luis Arraez (Cedar Rapids) - .306/.331/.423 (.754). 34-111 with six doubles, two triples, a home run and 22 RBIs.OF Jaylin Davis (Cedar Rapids) - .245/.336/.520 (.856). 25-102 with five doubles, a triple, seven homers and 23 RBIs.2B Travis Blankenhorn (Elizabethton) - .287/.320/.521 (.841). 27-94 with five doubles, a triple, five home runs and 19 RBIs.OF Shane Carrier (Elizabethton) - .288/.310/.500 (.810). 23-80 with eight doubles, three homers and 16 RBIs.1B Lewin Diaz (Elizabethton) - .288/.333/.538 (.871). 23-80 with eight doubles, four homers, and 20 RBIs.SS Brandon Lopez (Elizabethton) - .353/.489/.426 (.938). 24-68 with three doubles, a triple and eight RBIs.THE TOP SIX HITTERS Number 6 – Rochester – 1B Byung Ho Park - .250/.333/.591 (.924). 22-88 with three doubles, nine homers and sixteen RBIs. Despite hitting 12 home runs through 62 games with the Twins this season, Byung Ho Park and his .191 batting average were sent to Rochester on July 1. He began his Red Wings stint by hitting .190 in his first six games, but since then he has been really good off. On July 28th, Park hit three home runs in one game to give him eight over a ten game stretch. He ended the month 0-11, but it was a strong showing for Park as the 30-year-old as he attempts to get back to the Twins in the near future. Number 5 – Chattanooga – OF Adam Brett Walker - .311/.368/.538 (.905). 33-98 with seven doubles, one triple, five home runs and 16 RBIs. Walker can be inconsistent from month to month, as we all know, but Walker continues to be pretty consistent in his overall numbers from year to year. With a strong July, Walker is now hitting .244/.314/.477 (.791) which is just a little behind where he has been the last couple of years. While he is still striking out too much, he cut down his K-rate to 28% in July. The Twins third- round pick in 2012 out of Jacksonville and he has moved up one level each year since. He is still just 24 years old and could be an option for a September call up. Number 4 - Ft. Myers – OF LaMonte Wade - .341/.400/.538 (.938). 31-91 with six doubles, four homers and 24 RBIs. LaMonte Wade’s first full season started out very strong. In fact, he was our choice for Minor League Hitter of the Month of April in Cedar Rapids. He ended his stint with the Kernels in a 1-28 slump but was still called up to Ft. Myers. And his first 27 games with the Miracle have been terrific again. He’s been hitting for average, getting on base, and showing a lot of extra base power. He ended the month with a two-homer game on Sunday. Wade has mostly been playing centerfield, though he is most likely a future left fielder. Number 3 - Elizabethton – OF Alex Kirilloff - .373/.374/.545 (.919). 41-110 with seven doubles, four homers and 20 RBIs. To say that 2016 top pick Alex Kirilloff got off to a fast start might even be an understatement. Upon signing, he skipped the GCL and jumped straight to Elizabethton. This is not unusual as the Twins typically send first-round hitters from high school to the Appy League, most recently Nick Gordon in 2014. He started his career with hits in eight straight games. He hit in 23 of 27 games in July. He had six two-hit games and six three-hit games.While he hasn’t yet walked much, he also puts the ball in play and does so with authority. Impressive debut for the 18-year-old. Number 2 – Chattanooga – C/1B Mitch Garver - .314/.392/.559 (.950). 32-102 with 13 doubles, four home runs, and 25 RBIs. After a slow start in his AA debut, Garver has been solid since early May, and actually very good the last six weeks. In July, as you can see, he hit for average, took a bunch of walks and really drove the ball often for extra base hits. The conversation is growing stronger about the likelihood of Garver being a September call-up this year. In my opinion, it will be very disappointing if he isn’t promoted. Defensively, he is playing a lot of 1B and DHs quite a bit. He will also catch a couple of times a week, spelling Stuart Turner. Overall, Garver is hitting .276/.354/.446 (.800) with 25 doubles and he hit his 11th home run on Monday night. And the Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month is... Cedar Rapids – 1B Zander Wiel - .310/.407/.660 (1.067). 31-100 with nine doubles, one triple, eight home runs and 24 RBIs. The Twins drafted Zander Wiel in the 12th round last summer out of Vanderbilt University. His father is a basketball coach who has coached all around the world, but Zander chose baseball. After signing last year and heading to Elizabethton, Wiel was hit by a pitch and missed a month. He began the 2016 in Cedar Rapids where he followed along with the weather and was quite cold. He got better as the weather warmed up, but when July 1st hit, Zander Wiel took off. Overall in 97 games for the Kernels, Wiel has hit .253/.336/.442 (.779) with 24 doubles, five triples and 12 home runs. He went through a very short stretch where he committed a lot of errors in a few games. In general, however, he is considered a solid defensive first baseman. In July, he had a nine-game hitting streak and then ended the month with a ten-game hitting streak. At one point, he had five multi-hit games in a seven-game stretch. During those same seven games, he drove in 15 runs. Overall, it was just a terrific month for the 23-year-old. There were a lot of real solid hitting performances in the Twins system in July. Guys who hit .320 or higher “only” garnered Honorable Mention. There was seven players with OPS over .800 in July who didn’t make the Top 6. One player posted a .938 OPS with nearly a .500 on-base percentage, but fewer at bats than most left him with the Mentions. However you choose to rank the Top 5 or 6 hitters of the month, I think the choice for the top minor league hitter in July was quite easy. Feel free to discuss the winner or any of the mentions in the comments. Congratulations to the July Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Month for 2016, Zander Wiel. Click here to view the article

I look at each trade on their own merit. I think the Twins are 3-3 in trades so far this year. I don't have the time or energy to think about if he was like 37-50 or 47-50 on these trades... Just looking at each trade as one trade and I like all three of them.

The Minnesota Twins reached an agreement with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim minutes before today’s non-waiver trade deadline. The Twins sent right-handed pitchers Ricky Nolasco and Alex Meyer to the Angels in exchange for left-hander Hector Santiago and minor league right-hander Alan Busenitz.Twins fans have to be impressed that interim GM Rob Antony was able to find a taker for the frustrating Nolasco and the approximately $18-20 million remaining on his four year-$49 million contract. Nolasco threw a strong eight inning in his start over the weekend, maybe giving the Angels reason to think that he has turned a corner, or that they can get him back to his former self. Alex Meyer came to the Twins in the Denard Span trade from the Nationals. He was considered a top pitching prospect at the time because of a power fastball. He showed his potential at times, but he also found himself out with shoulder issues a few times. He made two relief appearances last year with the Twins. He also made one start for the team in early May. He hasn’t pitched in a game since due to a shoulder issue. Santiago, 28, has played for both the White Sox and the Angels. This season, he is 10-4 with a 4.25 ERA and a 5.03 FIP. He has struck out about 8.0 per nine innings, but has also walked about 4.3 per nine innings. The southpaw has a 3.68 career ERA and one more year left of arbitration. He should immediately take Nolasco’s spot in the rotation. Finally, the Twins acquired Alan Busenitz in the deal. He was the Angels 25th-round pick in 2013 out of Kennesaw State. He will turn 26 years old later this month. He began the season with 24 appearances out of the bullpen in AA Arkansas where he posted a 1.93 ERA, a 1.04 WHIP and 8.8 K/9. He recently moved up to AAA Salt Lake and has a 9.00 ERA in 13 innings. He does have 13 strikeouts in the Pacific Coast League. He should report to Rochester. Rhett Bollinger is reporting that the Twins will pay Ricky Nolasco for the rest of this season. The Angels will pay Hector Santiago for the rest of this year. The Twins are also sending $4 million to the Angels next year to help them pay Nolasco. As the trade deadline has passed, Ervin Santana, Kurt Suzuki and Brandon Kintzler all remain on the Twins roster. They, and others, can still be traded in August, but it would require waiver-clearing, etc. Click here to view the article

Works for me... Light has upside yet. Team him with Pressly, May, Tonkin and Rogers, along with JT Chargois (and eventually guys like Melotakis, Reed, Burdi, Hildenberger, etc.) Abad had a nice couple of months and is a solid MLB pitcher. He was clearly the right choice over Tony Sipp and Antonio Bastardo. But dealing him now for a guy with upside is a great deal... Note - Rob Antony, 2-for-2.

If you saw him in spring training, and the work he was doing, the strides he's taken are tremendous.

At 3:00 central time today, the annual non-waivers trade deadline will pass. The Twins already made one move. Thursday night, they traded Eduardo Nunez to the San Francisco Giants for Adalberto Mejia. Will they be able to reach any more trade agreements today?Several Twins players have had their names mentioned in trade rumors over the last couple of weeks. The player seemingly most likely to be traded before the deadline is catcher Kurt Suzuki. He has been mentioned in rumors for a month, and teams can always use a backup catcher. Suzuki is putting together one of his best seasons with the bat and has always had a strong reputation for working with pitchers. When Jonathan Lucroy used his veto power to void a trade to Cleveland yesterday, it may have slowed the process. Cleveland is one possible destination for the Twins backstop, though there are several others that would be interested in Suzuki as well. At least two Twins bullpen arms are also garnering a lot of attention from scouts the last couple of weeks. Fernando Abad was terrific the first couple of months of the season. He hasn't been as good of late, but the left-hander should be of interest to some teams Brandon Kintzler, like Abad, came to the Twins on a minor league contract before the season. He began the season in Rochester. Since he has come up to the Twins, he has been terrific. Kintzler took over the closer's role and has been very good. He missed most of last season with a knee injury, but he has come back stronger this year. Since both players are under team control for at least another year, Rob Antony needs to weigh the return with what they believe the pitchers can be next year. On the other side of that coin, the Twins need to make room for the likes JT Chargois, Mason Melotakis and others. Could the Twins find a taker who wants Ervin Santana enough to take on the remainder (or most) of his contract and give the Twins a quality prospect or two? Toronto has reportedly shown a lot of interest of late. It's hard to imagine a Tommy Milone or Ricky Nolasco trade today, but could the Twins find a team to take them before the August waiver deadline? Could the Twins deal Brian Dozier for a big haul? Would they? Do they trust the potential of Jorge Polanco? If the Twins make a trade or three before the deadline, we will attempt to post a new article right away, but as rumors and other trades around the league occur, be sure to use this thread to discuss and make predictions. How many deals will the Twins make? Click here to view the article