Monday Morning Minnesota: The “Wild Card Hopeful” Edition

I left for a month and the Twins slightly improved? The team is now 1.0 game away from the final wild card spot and two more series away from the one-year anniversary of the legendary Twins Trade Deadline firesale. It remains to be seen whether we’ll be saying goodbye to any fan favorites next week or hello to new players that are part of the playoff push, but regardless, it should be an eventful week in baseball.

The Twins split a series against the Guardians and took care of business against the A’s, and now face the Royals and Mariners this week. The team could potentially get back to being an above-.500 team and fight for the playoffs. That being said, the team was in a similar spot last year prior to the fire sale, so I wouldn’t hold your breath.

The Past Week on Twinkie Town:

• Check out The Feed, where you can add your discussions about the Twins!
• We’re starting a new segment called Daily Questions! Provide your opinion on the Twins and debate with the community!
• Game threads and recaps are back! Commiserate with your fellow fans as we experience the season together.
• Jack Purdy sets expectations for Vahn Lackey and how he can contribute to the Twins organization.
• Zach Koenig introduces us to a stat you might not have heard of: plate appearance per pitcher.
• Aidan O’Brien breaks down the most recent season from the FCL Twins.

Elsewhere in Twins Territory:

• Aaron Gleeman provides his primer to the trade deadline and routes that the Twins could take in the next week.
• Chris Schad at Zone Coverage looks at how the Twins could approach the trade deadline without “Fire Sale 2.0”.
• LaVelle E. Neal at the Star Tribune explores the dynamics between the Twins’ “triangle of authority” of Joe Pohlad, Jeremy Zoll, and Derek Shelton.
• Matthew Leach at MLB.com gives a look into the funny dynamic in the Twins clubhouse with four teammates sharing the same wedding date this fall.

In the World of Baseball:

• Tampa Bay leads the AL by three games over the Yankees, who have impressively kept pace despite still not having a timetable for Aaron Judge’s return. The White Sox are leading the AL Central by 2.5 games, and the Rangers lead the AL West by 1.5 games. The top three wild card spots are currently occupied by the Yankees, Red Sox, and Guardians.
• The NL pennant race is now down to the Dodgers and the Brewers, who are separated by a half game, while Atlanta has dropped to 4.5 games behind the Dodgers. The Cubs, Phillies, and Diamondbacks round out the wild card slots. YYes
• Carlos Beltran, Andruw Jones, and Jeff Kent were enshrined on Sunday as part of the National Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2026.
• Jesse Rogers at ESPN looks at the potential movers and shakers at the trade deadline.
• Michael Baumann at Fangraphs evaluates the Red Sox – Washington Nationals trade of Connelly Early for Curtis Mead.