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Josh Bell is acutely aware of how important these next few weeks before the trade deadline are, perhaps more than most in the Twins clubhouse.
Bell was moved from selling teams at the deadline in three straight seasons, traded from the Washington Nationals to the Padres in 2022, the Cleveland Guardians to the Miami Marlins in 2023 and the Marlins to the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2024.
Though they lost to the Guardians, 5-2, Thursday in the series finale at Target Field, the Twins currently sit within striking distance both in the American League Central Division and Wild Card races.
“This whole month, we know it’s important,” Bell said. “We’ve got to push, we’ve got to play our best baseball and then see what happens at the end. … We know what’s on the line here, we know what we’re playing for.”
The Twins have playing some of their best baseball of late, winning eight of their past nine series, the lone exception a sweep at the hands of the two-time reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
A tightly-bunched American League — few teams have separated themselves in either direction — has left the door open for the Twins, who have played well enough of late to give the front office much to consider in the next few weeks as they decide whether they will be sellers at the deadline.
Last season, the Twins traded away nine regulars for prospects.
“(I) couldn’t be prouder of how (manager Derek Shelton) and the staff have rebounded at every turn and put us in a position that we can keep having those conversations,” general manager Jeremy Zoll said. “And hopefully it ends up being an easy decision to push forward. But again, (there are) still a few weeks to let it all play out and go from there.”
A big series win against Cleveland was a good start, even if they couldn’t complete a sweep, which would have brought them back to .500.
The Twins welcomed Bailey Ober back from the injured list on Thursday, an important development. The starter gave up a solo home run to Gabriel Arias but was otherwise unscored upon in his five-inning start.
Ober made way for Kendry Rojas, who allowed one home run of his own — this one to Chase DeLauter in the sixth inning — and a pair of runs in the seventh. In his major league debut, recently-acquired Twins reliever Woo-Suk Go allowed a home run in his one inning of work.
On a day when Guardians righty Gavin Williams was flawless for much of the start, that was more than enough.
Williams did not allow a baserunner until the fifth inning when Royce Lewis, after trying to bunt twice, dropped a ball into the shallow outfield for the Twins’ first hit of the day. A walk and a hit by pitch followed before Tristan Gray ripped a single to right field to tie the game 1-1.
Lewis hit a home run in the seventh, accounting for the Twins’ only other run.
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Bell was moved from selling teams at the deadline in three straight seasons, traded from the Washington Nationals to the Padres in 2022, the Cleveland Guardians to the Miami Marlins in 2023 and the Marlins to the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2024.
Though they lost to the Guardians, 5-2, Thursday in the series finale at Target Field, the Twins currently sit within striking distance both in the American League Central Division and Wild Card races.
“This whole month, we know it’s important,” Bell said. “We’ve got to push, we’ve got to play our best baseball and then see what happens at the end. … We know what’s on the line here, we know what we’re playing for.”
The Twins have playing some of their best baseball of late, winning eight of their past nine series, the lone exception a sweep at the hands of the two-time reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
A tightly-bunched American League — few teams have separated themselves in either direction — has left the door open for the Twins, who have played well enough of late to give the front office much to consider in the next few weeks as they decide whether they will be sellers at the deadline.
Last season, the Twins traded away nine regulars for prospects.
“(I) couldn’t be prouder of how (manager Derek Shelton) and the staff have rebounded at every turn and put us in a position that we can keep having those conversations,” general manager Jeremy Zoll said. “And hopefully it ends up being an easy decision to push forward. But again, (there are) still a few weeks to let it all play out and go from there.”
A big series win against Cleveland was a good start, even if they couldn’t complete a sweep, which would have brought them back to .500.
The Twins welcomed Bailey Ober back from the injured list on Thursday, an important development. The starter gave up a solo home run to Gabriel Arias but was otherwise unscored upon in his five-inning start.
Ober made way for Kendry Rojas, who allowed one home run of his own — this one to Chase DeLauter in the sixth inning — and a pair of runs in the seventh. In his major league debut, recently-acquired Twins reliever Woo-Suk Go allowed a home run in his one inning of work.
On a day when Guardians righty Gavin Williams was flawless for much of the start, that was more than enough.
Williams did not allow a baserunner until the fifth inning when Royce Lewis, after trying to bunt twice, dropped a ball into the shallow outfield for the Twins’ first hit of the day. A walk and a hit by pitch followed before Tristan Gray ripped a single to right field to tie the game 1-1.
Lewis hit a home run in the seventh, accounting for the Twins’ only other run.
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- Twins take another flier on a relief pitcher
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