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Twins walk away from deadline day happy with additions to roster

betsy helfand, pioneer press
·3 min read
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In the days leading up to the trade deadline, star shortstop Carlos Correa had a few messages that he wanted to convey, through manager Rocco Baldelli, to the front office. Among them, he wanted everybody to know that rookie infielder Jose Miranda should be deemed untouchable, looked at as a cornerstone of the club’s future.

Miranda was a popular ask in the days leading up to Tuesday evening’s trade deadline, but the Twins didn’t want to deal any of their young major league talent, which president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said was a sticking point for the organization.

It wasn’t until Monday afternoon, Falvey said, that things started getting “unstuck,” and the Twins began to make traction towards moves they believe will impact their roster both this year and in the future. When all the dust had cleared on Tuesday, The Twins ended the day with starter Tyler Mahle, whom they acquired from the Cincinnati Reds, relievers Jorge López (Orioles) and Michael Fulmer (Tigers), as well as catcher Sandy León (Guardians), who was sent to Triple-A.

And they did it all without touching the major league roster, dealing nine minor leaguers — most notably, Spencer Steer, Cade Povich, Steve Hajjar and Christian Encarnacion-Strand were included in trades.

“Before the deadline, we said we believe in this team. We said it from the get-go,” Falvey said. “We felt that way all year. We wanted to try to find a way to supplement it. We did. Hopefully we found a way to infuse some energy in that room.”

They certainly did, providing a jolt to a team that entered the day with a slim lead in the American League Central Division by bolstering a rotation and bullpen badly in need of help.

Gray, a rotation-mate of Mahle’s in Cincinnati for years, called the moves “refreshing” and “exciting.”

“It brings a little more energy into the room, into the building, hopefully into the stadium with fans as well,” Gray said. “It’s something that I think a lot of guys are excited for.”

While the two teams that are trailing them — the Cleveland Guardians and Chicago White Sox — did not make impact moves at the deadline, the Twins pushed their chips in, sending a message to those within the clubhouse that the team is serious about making a playoff push.

That sentiment was certainly felt within the clubhouse on Tuesday.

“As a player, you want to feel like the front office is putting the best product on the field to help you win a championship,” Correa said. “They’re giving us a chance, a better chance, to go out there and compete with the best of them.”

The moves add depth to a bullpen that was thin on late-inning options, and provided a reliable arm in Mahle, one of the best starters dealt ahead of the deadline, to a rotation that collectively has weathered a tough month of July.

While Falvey was slightly worried 72 hours or so before the deadline that some of the conversations weren’t moving along as quickly as they would have liked, the Twins ended the day pleased with the way they were able to supplement their roster.

“A lot of the times, you may have hopes and thoughts and expectations, maybe, but it’s hard to pull all of these things off. These are not easy things,” Baldelli said. “Trades do not come together as easily as, probably, many think. Within the game, even within the clubhouse, we probably don’t even understand how challenging it really is for two teams to line up and get something done, especially with guys that have as much ability as the guys that we’ve been able to acquire. We’ve been able to acquire some difference-making players.”

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