Jeff Passan gives early outline of Twins trade deadline plans

It seems like Opening Day was just yesterday, but we're already two months into the season and quickly approaching the MLB Trade Deadline.

There's already been one blockbuster trade, with the Miami Marlins sending Luis Arraez to the San Diego Padres. It's the surest sign yet that the Minnesota Twins won the Pablo Lopez trade, but it's also a potential precursor to more high-end action as the deadline nears.

It's always difficult to determine where the Twins fit into the rumor mill. The team didn't make any deals last season which came a year after a pair of uncharacteristically splashy trades that both ended up failing spectacularly.

Missing on both Jorge Lopez and Tyler Mahle absolutely influenced the front office's decision to not make any deals at the last deadline. ESPN insider Jeff Passan thinks more of the same could be in store for the Twins this year.

ESPN insider Jeff Passan thinks Twins might 'hold' at the trade deadline

Already the Twins have been linked to players like Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, and other big name players, but most of that is just blog fodder. Jeff Passan sees things going down in a mich more realistic way, even if it's far less exciting.

Rather than linking Minnesota to Jesus Luzardo, Sean Manaea, or any of the other candidates we've heard about in potential fire sales, Passan suggests the Twins might once again stand pat at the deadline.

"This is less add or subtract and more like add or hold. The Twins believe in this roster, which is mostly intact from last year's AL Central-winning team, and they'll soon return Royce Lewis from the injured list," Passan reported. "And while they'd do very well if they chose to move Max Kepler before he hits free agency this winter -- Minnesota is the sort of organization that could try to thread the add-and-subtract needle -- the goal is to add to a roster every bit as talented as the two teams ahead of them in the division."

This was the strategy last year, with the Twins opting not to make any deals other than trading away Jorge Lopez. Not only was that waving the white flag on the splashy moves that blew up in the team's face a year before, but it seemed to signal that Minnesota was going to avoid taking any further risks.

Once again it seems the rationale behind the Twins not making a move is that there's enough talent in-house. This is a refrain we heard this winter when Minnesota used it as an excuse to slash the payroll and not make any meaningful additions, presumably kicking the transaction can down the road.

Trading Max Kepler has been on everyone's radar since the team moved Jorge Polanco back in January, and the better he plays the more valuable an asset he becomes. What the question then becomes how much the Twins see him as an example of that in-house talent, and might view keeping him as no different than trading for him -- trying to figure out Twins logic is a fickle game.

It all seems like we're headed toward another boring trade deadline for the Twins. An argument could be made for the team to acquire some starting pitching, but it once again seems unlikely that we're going to see the team make any blockbuster moves, or any moves at all.

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