The Twins start a three-game series against Kansas City Tuesday night, while the front office is looking to make deals before Monday's MLB trade deadline.
Although the Twins need to obtain pitching, they may be looking to trade away catcher Ryan Jeffers, who might try free agency after his contract runs out at the end of the season.
Twins general manager Jeremy Zoll says this "buy and sell" strategy isn't new.
"There's not that many teams over the last number of years that have actually executed on that, but certainly spent a lot of time on it," says Zoll. "So, you know, everyone's trying to do their best decisions they can and in a number of cases, make the team better, short-term. Obviously, long-term considerations as well and balance all those different factors."
The Twins remain in the middle of the race for a postseason spot, either as AL Central champions or a wild card entry.
Despite being on the edge of the playoff race heading into August, Zoll says all teams are weighing their best options.
"Usually, there's about 10 to 12 sellers," Zoll explains. "It feels like we're probably short of that number by a handful of teams, but probably there's going to be more time spent on this idea of a mixed strategy, buying and selling, which a lot of teams talk about. But at the end of the day, it's harder to pull off."
The other main name being bandied about is pitcher Joe Ryan, who teams would covet as a proven starting pitcher and could bring a good haul back for the Twins.
Center fielder Byron Buxton has also been talked about as a high-value trade piece, but he has been clear in saying he isn't interested in waiving his no-trade clause.
Last season, the Twins struggled out of the All-Star break, and eventually led former President of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey to trade numerous players, including most of the bullpen, plus shortstop Carlos Correa and players on expiring contracts.
Zoll said this season, they need to be open to ideas even though they are in close proximity to the playoffs with about two months to play. He says being paralyzed and talking yourself into not making moves based on what happened last year could be detrimental to the team's future.
"So you have to work hard to be convicted in your own evaluations, being open to what you're learning in the market, and what's going on," he explains. "But you have to be careful not to get too cute on that type of stuff because I think otherwise it'll lead to you just holding on to everyone and not taking action if the opportunity calls for it."
Kansas City Royals (45-62, fifth in the AL Central) vs. Minnesota Twins (53-54, third in the AL Central)
Minneapolis; Tuesday, 6:40 p.m. Pregame 6:00 p.m. on 830 WCCO and the Audacy app (in-market only)
PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Seth Lugo (4-6, 4.36 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 94 strikeouts); Twins: Taj Bradley (9-4, 3.69 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 129 strikeouts)
LINE: Twins -164, Royals +134; over/under is 9 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Minnesota Twins host the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday to begin a three-game series.
Minnesota is 28-26 at home and 53-54 overall. Twins hitters have a collective .408 slugging percentage to rank fourth in the AL.
Kansas City has a 19-35 record in road games and a 45-62 record overall. The Royals have gone 21-10 in games when they did not give up a home run.
Tuesday's game is the eighth time these teams meet this season. The Royals are up 5-2 in the season series.
TOP PERFORMERS: Byron Buxton has 16 doubles, a triple, 25 home runs and 45 RBIs while hitting .264 for the Twins. Trevor Larnach is 13 for 34 with three doubles and two home runs over the past 10 games.
Carter Jensen has 23 doubles and 14 home runs while hitting .240 for the Royals. Salvador Perez is 7 for 35 with a double and four home runs over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Twins: 5-5, .226 batting average, 5.16 ERA, outscored by 13 runs
Royals: 7-3, .242 batting average, 3.84 ERA, outscored by eight runs
INJURIES: Twins: Mike Paredes: 15-Day IL (oblique), Garrett Acton: 60-Day IL (shoulder), David Festa: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Mick Abel: 60-Day IL (elbow), Anthony Banda: 60-Day IL (lat), Pablo Lopez: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Royals: Carlos Estevez: 60-Day IL (foot), Kyle Isbel: 10-Day IL (foot), Stephen Kolek: 60-Day IL (flexor), Bobby Witt Jr.: 10-Day IL (back), Maikel Garcia: 10-Day IL (hand), Nick Mears: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Cole Ragans: 60-Day IL (elbow), Kris Bubic: 60-Day IL (elbow), Connor Seabold: 15-Day IL (lat), James McArthur: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jonathan India: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Alec Marsh: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
