It had taken 12 long years, but the Minnesota Twins finally won a series at Yankee Stadium this weekend.
It’s only the third time since the new Yankee Stadium opened in 2009 that the Twins took a series there. However, it comes at a better time than any, because Minnesota is three games below .500 entering Tuesday with six left on the schedule before the All-Star break.
The Twins have a somewhat easier schedule going into the break compared to others. They finish out the first half with two home series, one against the Cleveland Guardians and the other against the Los Angeles Angels.
The Angels are the worst team in baseball, with a 36-55 record on the year. They’ve had solid pitching performances from starters Jose Soriano and Reid Detmers, as well as rookie Walbert Ureña. However, their bullpen has been nearly as bad as the Twins’, and the offense has struggled without Mike Trout in the lineup.
Meanwhile, Cleveland is down Jose Ramirez, who is recovering from a broken hamate bone. Still, even without their best hitter, they’ve been a constant thorn in Minnesota’s side over the past five years. The Guardians are one of only three teams this year that have had their starting pitchers combine for over 500 innings. They also own a 3.80 ERA, 23% strikeout rate, and 8.3% walk rate.
On paper, the Angels look like an easy opponent for the Twins to go into the All-Star break against, while the Guardians could still prove to be as pesky as they’ve been of late. However, the possibility of the Twins taking five of their next six and potentially putting themselves at 49-48 going into the break doesn’t appear to be unrealistic.
The Twins have won six of their last seven series, except when the Los Angeles Dodgers swept them. Their lineup has been hitting well since June 1 with a collective .270/.334/.477, an American League-leading 173 runs scored, 53 home runs, and 166 RBI.
Even if the Twins don’t go 5-1 into the break, 4-2 is still a good mark because they took two of three on the road against the Yankees. They’ve put themselves in a position to buy instead of sell at the trade deadline.
When Tom Pohlad took over as the Twins’ Chairperson in December, he said the team owed the fans something after the disappointment of the payroll reduction following the 2023 playoff run and the late-season collapse in 2024. While the Twins didn’t do much this past off-season when they could have restocked on relievers, Pohlad has until the trade deadline to address what his ‘Go big or go home’ mentality will look like from a baseball operations standpoint.
Fortunately, relief help is Minnesota’s biggest need, and it’ll be able to add relievers more easily than adding a big bat or top-end starter to help stabilize the starting rotation.
If the Twins only add relief help, they shouldn’t have to worry about trading away too much of their depth for, say, three relievers to bolster a bullpen that has become greatly dependent on Andrew Morris and Yoendrys Gomez lately.
The Twins are deep enough in the outfield in the majors and at Triple-A St. Paul that they can move outfielders in a trade for relievers. Matt Wallner, Gabriel Gonzalez, Alan Roden, or even Trevor Larnach could serve as a one-for-one to bolster Minnesota’s relief depth.
Relief help will be the priority for the Twins. Still, if Pohlad wants to back his words on the Twins competing in 2026, they could pursue an additional arm for the starting rotation. That isn’t to say they’d be one of the top suitors in the Tarik Skubal sweepstakes. However, the Twins must add another starter to be serious about contending.
The Twins have had many starting rotation injuries this year, and rookie Connor Prielipp will likely hit an innings limit before the year is over. Therefore, another Tigers pitcher, such as pending free agent Casey Mize, would make more sense for Minnesota’s rotation needs.
The next six games will help determine Minnesota’s plans for the trade deadline. Still, they have 22 games between now and the Aug. 3 trade deadline. The Twins must go 13-9 to be .500 by the end of that stretch.
The Twins look like they could go on that sort of run with how they’ve been playing over the last month. But they’ll need more relievers to step up in the bullpen beyond Morris and Gomez, and hope for healthy and productive returns from Bailey Ober and Ryan Jeffers off the IL.
Minnesota still has many boxes to check off. Still, taking a series at Yankee Stadium has set them up in a good position to buy rather than sell at this trade deadline.
