The Twins have a very clear direction heading into next week’s trade deadline.
General manager Jeremy Zoll made sure of that on Tuesday.
Zoll told reporters in no uncertain terms that the Twins would be buyers ahead of the MLB trade deadline on Monday, with Minnesota sitting a half-game back of the Guardians for the final American League wild-card spot.
The Twins GM also made it clear what area of need the front office would be focused on.
“We’re going to use this next week to do everything we can to find ways to improve the club, continue to execute on that goal and make it a reality,” Zoll said, according to the Star Tribune. “We’re going to focus on finding ways to improve the bullpen and that’ll be a clear focus.”
“We’re going to focus on finding to continue to improve the bullpen and that’ll be a clear focus,” Zoll later said, according to MLB.com. “Beyond that, we’re going to be open to a variety of creative paths and you never know what might come about. This year in particular feels like the market is taking longer to fully take shape as teams have really used last week, this past weekend and, in some cases, these next few days to finalize their path.”
The Twins are 54-54 after they pulled off a comeback 3-2 win over the Royals on Tuesday with six days to go until the deadline.
Zoll reminded folks that the ballclub’s goal since spring training had been to “play meaningful games in September.”
“We’re really excited about how the team has played over this last stretch,” he said. Tuesday. “We’re really encouraged about that. In turn, we’re going to use this next stretch, this next week, to do everything we can to find ways to improve the club and continue to execute on that goal and make it a reality.”
The decision to be buyers at the deadline means that pieces that teams may have been interested in off the Twins roster may not be available, such as pitcher Joe Ryan
Catcher Ryan Jeffers would have certainly fit that bill as a pending free agent, but Zoll indicated that there wasn’t much interest in trading Jeffers before the deadline.
“In terms of individual speculation, I don’t think it’s particularly productive to work through all that,” he said. “But what I’ll say is on Ryan specifically, he’s had an awesome year. We’re really excited about where he’s at, and looking forward to doing everything we can to keep the group together and put us in the best spot to keep pushing ahead.”
The Twins will continue their three-game series with the Royals on Wednesday.
