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Twins rise in power rankings following strong deadline and hot July originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Minnesota Twins seemed like a team that was not doing much in the AL Central. However, things changed in July, and the team started to heat up.
They only lost one series during that month and were able to make up some solid ground on both the Chicago White Sox and the Cleveland Guardians.
That put them in an interesting position with the trade deadline coming up. They have a shot to make the postseason and made some strategic moves to potentially try and help them get there.
MORE: Twins acquire Jeff Hoffman from Blue Jays in MLB trade deadline deal
Twins rise in power rankings following strong deadline and hot July
The Twins got some starting rotation help thanks to the deadline as they acquired Dean Kremer from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for Luke Keaschall.
However, their biggest upgrades are in the bullpen. They acquired A.J. Minter from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Kala'i Rosario, while also acquiring Jeff Hoffman from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for Keadry Rojas and Hendry Mendez.
With these moves, Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter bumps them up in his post-deadline power rankings from No. 14 to No. 12.
"The Twins added A.J. Minter to the bullpen and Dean Kremer to the starting rotation before deadline day, then capped off their pitching staff upgrades by acquiring closer Jeff Hoffman from the Blue Jays. In a wide open AL Central, that might be enough to hang around, and after going 15-9 in July, they have some legitimate momentum."
It'll be on this team to keep up their hot July, and they'll need to buckle down, taking on teams like the White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies, and Braves in August. But with a reinforced bullpen and some extra help in the rotation, that might be enough to stay in the thick of things.
More MLB news:
- Diamondbacks blasted by ex-MLB GM for 'clunker' trade deadline amid lousy grade
- Trade deadline sales send Cardinals sliding down power rankings
- Astros earn weak 'C-' grade for trade deadline after failing to address one key need
- Red Sox get strange 'loser' label from ESPN after two 'bizarre' trades
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