The Minnesota Twins had an opportunity to play their way into buying at the trade deadline. But the Twins have stumbled, losing four out of their first five games out of the All-Star Break. After Tuesday’s 5-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians, many fans are coming to grips that the Twins may indeed sell and perhaps trigger memories of last year’s deadline fire sale. But there is still time to turn things around.
In addition to having two games to salvage a split with the Guardians, the Twins have advantageous matchups at Target Field against the Athletics and the Kansas City Royals. If the Twins win those series, it could go a long way to convincing General Manager Jeremy Zoll to add players who can help them compete in a weak American League playoff race.
If they don’t, the Twins could be open for business, potentially bringing their season down to the next eight games.
Twins’ series vs. Athletics, Royals could determine trade deadline pans
Putting pressure on a stretch in July seems extreme, especially since the Twins are only 3.5 games behind the Boston Red Sox for the final Wild Card spot in the AL and five games back of the Chicago White Sox for first place in the AL Central. But the Red Sox have won 14 games in a row and the White Sox and Guardians have already started to create separation coming out of the All-Star break.
Splitting the series in Cleveland would go a long way toward helping the Twins’ cause. But the series at home against the Athletics and Royals may have an even bigger importance.
Consider that the Twins owned a 47-49 record at last year’s All-Star Break. While they were down 11.5 games to the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central race, they came out and dropped two of three games to the Colorado Rockies, who at the time were having one of the worst seasons in MLB history.
Dropping a series to the Los Angeles Dodgers was nothing to be ashamed of, but the Twins came home to lose two of three games to a bad Washington Nationals team, essentially confirming their decision to blow it up at the deadline per The Athletic’s Dan Hayes.
Looking at this year’s team, dropping the series to Kansas City and the Athletics could have a similar effect. The Athletics have lost 16 of their last 19 games dating back to June 26 and have completely fallen out of the AL Wild Card picture. They’re also down two of their best hitters as Nick Kurtz and Brent Rooker are on the injured list and lost their hottest hitter at the moment when Joshua Kuroda-Grauer suffered a ruptured testicle after taking a foul ball to the groin on Tuesday.
The Royals are in a similar funk, sitting in last place of the AL Central with a 42-60 record. Injuries to Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic have sent their starting rotation into disarray but the Royals also lost Bobby Witt Jr. after he was placed on the injured list with lower back tightness on Wednesday morning.
A team worthy of a playoff spot should be able to win series against two struggling teams. You could even argue that the Twins should win five of the six games if they’re really to be taken seriously over the final two months of the season. But losing those series could have a catastrophic effect that would make their final series ahead of the deadline – a three-game set at the Seattle Mariners – irrelevant.
Of course, the Twins could go the other direction by getting back on track. But these next eight games, beginning with Wednesday’s matchup in Cleveland, will go a long way in determining which direction the front office will choose.
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