When NFL teams have a bye during the season, they take time to self-scout, examining their own flaws.
Minnesota Twins are good enough; forget about a trade
If the Twins’ stars can remain healthy, the division is in reach and they didn’t need to make a splashy trade at the deadline.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
August 5, 2024 at 3:56AM
Sometimes, fans and media should self-scout. Especially when it comes to the local baseball team.
The Twins could be criticized for being passive with their team in contention at the trade deadline. There is another way to view this situation.
What if the Twins wisely avoided trading some of their best players and prospects for mediocre pitchers who would be in Twins uniforms for only two or three months?
What if the Twins are a very good team whose season will likely be determined by the health of its best players, not whether it could add a starting pitcher with a 4.75 ERA at the deadline?
What if all of the nonsense pushed by the national media at the deadline — that you have to make a deal to be considered a serious contender — is an effort to drive clicks and views, not reflect historical reality?
On Sunday at Target Field, the Twins defeated the Chicago White Sox 13-7 to earn their fourth consecutive victory. The Twins are 62-48. If the Cleveland Guardians didn’t have baseball’s best record, the Twins would be in a close race for first place.
Instead, they are chasing Cleveland while holding the second of three wild-card spots. Which is neither ideal, nor a crisis.
With a four-game series with Cleveland looming, this would be a good time to embrace the race, not malign the deadline.
Most trade-deadline deals in baseball fail, either because the player doesn’t perform or fit in well enough or the team doesn’t play well enough to make the newcomer’s contributions meaningful. Or, as has been the case for too many Twins deadline deals, the incoming player winds up injured.
The trade deadline I remember most is from the mid-2000s. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire had been expressing anger that General Manager Terry Ryan wasn’t being more aggressive on the trade market.
Ryan invited Gardenhire to sit in his office on deadline day. Gardenhire came downstairs, saw me and said: “I can’t believe what these teams are asking for. We can’t trade away our best young players.”
The Twins’ result in this race will much more likely be determined by the health and productivity of their best players in August and September than by anything they might have done in the trade market in July.
Carlos Correa is dealing with a recurrence of plantar fasciitis and might not be in the lineup until next week. Brock Stewart could have the best stuff on the staff, and he’s on the injured list. Brooks Lee was given Sunday off and has been seen frequently wearing an ice pack on his right shoulder, a red flag for a young player.
Willi Castro is playing despite constant tightness in his back. Reliever Justin Topa, who is on a rehabilitation assignment at Class AAA St. Paul, might be better than any reasonable-priced reliever the Twins could have gotten via trade.
Byron Buxton and Royce Lewis are playing frequently and well, but both are so tightly wound, physically, that they require frequent days off even during a pennant race.
On Sunday, Buxton made a beautiful and dangerous catch while crashing into the tall wall in right-center field. His teammates lined up to thank him in front of the dugout — a rare sight. Buxton then was pulled from the game.
Later, Buxton said he felt fine.
If healthy, this team can compete with anyone. If not, the Twins might finish third in a five-team division that includes the historically woeful White Sox.
The Twins’ next 10 games include three at Wrigley Field, four in three days next weekend at Target Field against Cleveland, then three against the young-and-impressive Kansas City Royals at Target Field.
You can whine about the Twins not trading rising star Matt Wallner (OPS: 1.006) and a top prospect for the mediocre Yusei Kikuchi, or you can enjoy watching a bunch of likable stars competing for a playoff spot.
I know what I’m choosing, but, as the kids say, you do you.
Only 34 years old, Jeremy Zoll has worked his way up the organizational ranks since coming to the Twins in 2018.
