The Major League All-Star break will likely be the point where the Minnesota Twins pick a lane ahead of the trade deadline at the end of the month. As it stands, the American League Central race is all but over with the Twins being in second place, but 13.5 games behind the Detroit Tigers. The Twins are 5 games out of a Wild-Card spot, but 6 teams are ahead of them in the race. The picture that is painted is of a team that should be selling at the deadline.
Short of the Twins going on a winning streak before the All-Star break next week, it seems that the decision that needs to be made is what kind of selling Minnesota will do at the deadline. The options are moving talent who will be free agents after the season, or taking the sell-off a step further and being willing to trade players under contract beyond this season.
While Dan Hayes mentions that the Twins' dwindling attendance numbers at Target Field, payroll uncertainty, and impending sale could be reasons that force the team to be willing to shed controllable contracts at the deadline, it may be more likely that they just move their rental players by the end of the month.
"If the Twins decide to sell, Willi Castro, Chris Paddack, Harrison Bader and Danny Coulombe should draw interest, though their status as impending free agents naturally limits their trade value," Hayes reported for The Athletic.
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If the Twins did choose to have a full sell-off, then the team could cash in on the trade value of pitchers Joe Ryan, Jhoan Duran, and Griffin Jax. Pitching, as it always is, will be the hot commodity at the trade deadline, with nearly every contending team in the market for either help in their starting rotation or bullpen. if the Twins join the short list of legitimate sellers, there would be no shortage of interested teams to come calling.
The Twins' recent history, however, suggests they will just tread water and move the expiring contract that they can. For a team that needs much more than a sell-off at the deadline, this month is shaping up to be a disappointment for the Twins fanbase.