Twins in Miami, front office in trade talks

Derek Falvey
Photo credit Hannah Foslien / Getty Images

The Twins are in Miami to take on the Marlins on Tuesday in the opener of a three-game interleague series, while executives in the front office are looking hard at trading options to shore up the team's pitching.

After a day off, the Twins are two games up on the Cleveland Indians in the AL Central, with the Tribe starting a three-game home series against Houston.

Twins baseball operations chief Derek Falvey picked up a veteran reliever last weekend by trading prospects for 36-year-old righthander Sergio Romo.

The former Marlins reliever was a major part of the San Francisco Giants team that won the World Series three times earlier this decade.

So far, the Twins have come up empty in the search for a front-line starter.

There's plenty of competition out there, with just about every team in the playoff race looking for pitching help.

Teams that have been talking to the Twins have been inquiring about top prospects Royce Lewis and Alex Kirilloff, while at least one major league general manager reportedly wanted Byron Buxton included in any deal.

The Twins have indicated there is no interest in dealing Lewis or Kirilloff.

The history of the Twins obtaining mid-season help is not deep, but they have made key acquisition in the past.

In 2003, they obtained outfielder Shannon Stewart, who hit .322 and received MVP support after helping the Twins get to the post-season.

Starting pitcher Carl Pavano was a waiver-wire pickup in 2009, and closer Matt Capps came over late in 2010, with both teams making the playoffs.

Long-time Twins fans know how important Don Baylor was when he joined the team in time for the 1987 drive to the World Series.

Then there was Bret Boone, obtained from Seattle in 2005 to provide help at second base and the middle of the lineup, only to be released after 14 games and a .170 batting average.

Boonie never played in the majors again. The 2005 Twins failed to win a fourth straight division title.

Here are the pitching matchups for the Twins' three-game series against the Marlins in Miami:

  • Tuesday: Jake Odorizzi (11-5, 3.84) vs. Zac Gallen (1-2, 2.76), 6:10 p.m.
  • Wednesday: Jose Berrios (9-5, 2.94) vs. Sandy Alcantara (4-9, 4.18), 6:10 p.m.
  • Thurdsay: Michael Pineda (7-5, 4.30) vs. Jordan Yamamoto (4-2, 3.64), 11:10 a.m.

Twins designated hitter Nelson Cruz is the reigning America League Player of the Week, but is not expected to get much playing time against Miami.  With the National League Marlins hosting the three games, the designated hitter rule is not used.

Fun fact: There are professional baseball leagues all around the world, and they all use the DH, except for the National League and Japan's Central League.

Cruz last week hit .414 with seven home runs and 13 RBIs in seven games.

This is the sixth time Cruz has won the AL Player of the Week award, and third Twins player to do it in 2019.

The others are Jake Odorizzi and Max Kelper.