Twins are in a tight AL Central race ... but so what?

The White Sox enter Sunday as the AL Central leaders, with the Twins and Cleveland just a half-game back. With only three weeks left in the season and 11 games pitting those contenders, it sets up a thrilling race for the championship.

Or does it?

One side effect of this season's expanded playoffs is that finishing first in the division is not only unnecessary to qualify for the postseason, it comes with virtually no advantage. All three Central contenders are already huge mathematical favorites to earn one of the eight AL playoff berths, and MLB is reportedly considering whether to play most or all of the postseason at neutral sites to contain any risk of COVID infections.

"Well, I'll tell you this: I think every single person in our clubhouse wants to win the division," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said.

But Baldelli was less definitive when asked whether that desire would dictate how he manages down the stretch. If it's still nearly a dead heat in the final weekend, would he play his starters rather than rest them for the pressure-packed best-of-three first round?

"At certain points, you're going to have to make certain calls, as far as what the objective is," Baldelli said. "By the end of the season, if you're fortunate enough to still be playing good baseball, you'll factor in winning that day with keeping everybody healthy, and [getting] ready going forward."

Best case, of course: Win enough now that it won't be much of a race. "I think we can accomplish everything that we want to," Baldelli said, "while still not putting that ahead of literally every other thing."

Tortuga sticks around

Willians Astudillo rounded third base Friday and ran his way right onto the Twins roster.

Astudillo, a fan favorite for his all-out running style and unbridled enthusiasm, was called up to the Twins on Saturday when catcher Alex Avila went on the injured list to rest his sore back.

"Adding [Astudillo] right now just made a lot of sense. [He's] a guy we can rely on at the plate, a guy we know we can put in the field at different spots if we need him," Baldelli said of the 28-year-old Venezuelan, who scored the winning run Friday while serving as the 29th man allowed for a doubleheader. "It was something of a no-brainer once we knew what's going on with Alex."

Avila becomes the seventh Twins player on the injured list.

The Twins also recalled outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr. and optioned righthander Sean Poppen, who allowed two runs in two-thirds of an inning Friday, back to their St. Paul camp.

Welcome to CHS Field

The Twins on Saturday added three of their best upper-level pitching prospects to their St. Paul camp.

Jordan Balazovic, rated the Twins' top pitching prospect and their No. 4 prospect at any position by Baseball America, will begin working out at CHS Field this week. Balazovic, a righthander who posted a 2.69 ERA at two levels of Class A last season, will be joined by righthander Matt Canterino, a second-round pick in 2019, and lefthander Charlie Barnes, a fourth-rounder in 2017.

To open spots on their 60-man summer roster, the Twins released a pair of former major leaguers: infielder Jack Reinheimer and righthanded reliever Ryan Garton.

In addition, Ildemaro Vargas, the utility infielder who appeared in 10 games for the Twins after being acquired Aug. 10 from Arizona, was claimed off waivers by the Cubs.

Etc.

• Jake Odorizzi threw about 60 pitches in a simulated game in St. Paul on Saturday, and Baldelli said he "came out feeling good, maybe a little rusty." The Twins are still considering the next step for the righthander, sidelined since being hit by an Alex Gordon line drive in Kansas City on Aug. 21.