A feeling of uncertainty hangs over the Minnesota Twins as they return home to open a three-game series against the Washington Nationals on Friday night in Minneapolis.
After a 2-4 road trip against the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Dodgers, the Twins have dropped to four games below .500. The trade deadline is less than a week away, and Twins players are starting to realize the team might be sellers instead of buyers.
The biggest question is how many assets the Twins might move in the week ahead. Players such as Willi Castro, Ty France, Danny Coulombe and Chris Paddack are pending free agents who could be shipped to contenders. Other mainstays such as Joe Ryan, Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax could also be moved if the price is right.
Paddack encapsulated the mood of several teammates when asked about his future.
“I talked to my agent (this week). I’m here until they tell me otherwise,” Paddack said. “After the deadline, everybody can kind of be humans again.”
The Nationals also figure to be sellers at the deadline. Some of Washington’s available players could include Josh Bell, Nathaniel Lowe, Kyle Finnegan and Michael Soroka.
Bell will look to maintain his successful play over the past month. He was hitting .151 on May 27 but has boosted his average to .224 to go along with 13 homers and 38 RBIs.
A more relaxed approach at the plate has helped Bell to improve his production.
“I think I was trying to do too much early, and that’s the name of the game,” Bell said. “I felt like I was one swing away — and I felt that way for 150 at-bats. I can’t take them back now, but I’m just trying to salvage what I can.”
Nationals left-hander MacKenzie Gore (4-9, 3.59 ERA) will make his 21st start on Friday. He has a team-high 140 strikeouts in 112 2/3 innings.
Gore will try to bounce back from a rough outing against the San Diego Padres on Sunday, during which he gave up eight runs on eight hits in 2 1/3 innings.
This will be Gore’s first career start against Minnesota.
Twins right-hander Zebby Matthews (1-2, 6.26 ERA) is set to make his sixth start and improve on a season that has seen him strike out 31 in 23 innings. Still, he has allowed 16 runs on 28 hits.
Matthews has not faced the Nationals, though he is 0-3 with a 6.35 ERA in four career interleague starts.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said his team could bounce back from a hard-fought series against the Dodgers.
“You’re going to deal with tough losses,” Baldelli said. “And you’re going to deal with good wins. You’re going to deal with all kinds of stuff in this game. … As we sit here right now, we’re going to pack up, we’re going to get home.
“We have an off-day to recoup a little bit, get our guys kind of healthy, feeling good, and we’ll be back out there against Washington.”
Minnesota is 28-20 at home this season, while Washington is 20-30 on the road.
–Field Level Media
