The Minnesota Twins had low expectations coming into the 2026 season and many figured they would be close to their second fire sale by the time this year’s trade deadline arrived. There’s still roughly six weeks until the Aug. 3 deadline, but the rest of the American League is making that difficult as they approach the midway point of the season.
The Twins own a 35-40 record after Tuesday’s 12-2 win over the Texas Rangers. But they entered Wednesday just two games back of the Athletics for the final Wild Card spot and five games back of the Cleveland Guardians for first place in the American League Central.
With that, any plans of another fire sale at the deadline have become complicated and the Twins must decide whether to finally throw their fans a bone or make a run at a return to the postseason.
Twins’ approach to trade deadline has become complicated
On the surface, this doesn’t look like a team that should be invested in. While the Twins are only five games under .500, their minus-30 run differential is the sixth worst in the American League. Minnesota has also MacGuyvered its starting rotation to get to this point and its bullpen owns the second-worst ERA in the majors at 5.09, just ahead of the Colorado Rockies at 5.17.
The optimist would look at that and see needs ahead of the deadline. The realist would also see a team that shouldn’t be in contention and is benefiting from playing in a much weaker landscape than their National League counterparts.
In addition, this year may not be in the Twins’ timeline. While Tom Pohlad said he expected the Twins to be competitive at the beginning of the year, they aren’t doing so as a product of the roster, which makes it much more difficult to sink assets into a legitimate reliever, a bat to boost the lineup and perhaps a veteran starting pitcher. And if a team is really willing to go crazy to acquire Joe Ryan or Ryan Jeffers, it could make the Twins stronger when top prospects, including Walker Jenkins, Emmanuel Rodriguez and Kaelen Culpepper, make their major league debut.
But the Twins are in a unique position because of what they’ve dragged their fans through. One year ago, Minnesota traded 11 major leaguers off its 26-man roster and came close to trading Ryan before the Red Sox backed out of a deal. Twins fans took another gut punch when the Pohlad family pulled the team off the market after a failed attempt to sell them and the 2026 season has been smothered in apathy even as the Twins are in striking distance of a playoff spot.
There’s also the comment made by Pohlad when he took over last December. After describing himself as a “go big or go home” guy, the biggest thing the Twins have done is reportedly call Framber Valdez during Spring Training. Other than that, it’s been plenty of moves with cash considerations but nothing that has made a significant impact on this year’s team.
This sets up the dilemma the Twins have to go through. Do they bolster a team that probably won’t make a deep run? Or do they sell off pieces and continue to sell fans on the future of the franchise? It’s a situation that will play out in the weeks leading up to the deadline and could get more difficult if they gain ground in the American League playoff picture.
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