Minnesota Twins Trade Rumors: Tracking Hot Updates, News and Reaction

What a difference a year makes.

Most pundits and prognosticators predicted continued doom and gloom for the Minnesota Twins in 2015, sure that the club would be well on its way to a fifth consecutive 90-loss season by the time the All-Star break arrived.

Instead, the Paul Molitor-led Twins occupy the first American League wild-card spot and sit less than five games behind division-leading Kansas City in the AL Central, putting general manager Terry Ryan in a position to go out and act as a buyer for the first time in a long time.

Adding a few live arms to the bullpen would seem to be the priority for Ryan, who acknowledged to Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press that the group was "scuffling some" heading into the break.

Keep it here for the most up-to-the-minute rumblings about the Twins, along with analysis and everything else that comes with it. While the post date will always show as July 15, simply click to the next slide to see the latest from the rumor mill as Minnesota tries to end its four-year absence from the postseason.

Done Deals

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

July 31: Acquired RHP Kevin Jepsen from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for RHP Chih-Wei Hu and RHP Alexis Tapia

Twins Are Looking for Contollable Relief

Charles Krupa/Associated Press

Friday, July 31 at 6:30 a.m. ET

Minnesota isn't just looking for relievers that can help them in 2015 and 2016, but well into the future, tweets Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. He notes that neither Boston's Craig Breslow (a free agent after this season) nor Junichi Tazawa (pictured and a free agent after next season) are controllable enough for the team's liking.

While looking for a reliever that they can control for more than the next year-and-a-half somewhat limits the team's options, there are a few believed to be available. One intriguing option could be Tampa Bay's Brad Boxberger, an All-Star who is under team control through 2019 and believed to be available.

Twins Have Inquired About Arizona's Brad Ziegler

Ben Margot/Associated Press

Thursday, July 23 at 7:55 p.m. ET

Arizona has told teams calling on veteran reliever Brad Ziegler that it'd have to be "overwhelmed" to move him, per ESPN's Jerry Crasnick, but that hasn't stopped the Twins from expressing interest, according to 1500 ESPN's Darren Wolfson.

The 35-year-old has been outstanding for the D-Backs this year, pitching to a 1.08 ERA and 0.79 WHIP over 41.2 innings of work while converting 15-of-17 save opportunities as the team's closer in place of the deposed Addison Reed.

That he's signed through 2016 (his $5.5 million team option will be picked up by whatever club he's on) only adds to his value. What exactly constitutes an "overwhelming" offer is anyone's guess, but as the relief pitching market continues to develop, Minnesota is sure to have alternatives to choose from.

Would the Twins Add Another Catcher to the Mix?

John Minchillo/Associated Press

Update: Tuesday, July 21 at 12:12 p.m. ET

The Twins are "closely monitoring" the catching market according to Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press and are interested in both short-and-long-term options behind the plate.

Detroit's Alex Avila, Atlanta's A.J. Pierzynski, Oakland's Derek Norris and Milwaukee's Jonathan Lucroy were among the names mentioned by Berardino, though the last two—Lucroy especially—figure to be cost prohibitive to obtain.

--End of Update--

Thursday, July 15 at 9:10 a.m. ET

As Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press writes, Kurt Suzuki has performed at anything but an All-Star level since representing Minnesota in last year's Midsummer Classic:

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Over his past 418 plate appearances, dating to Aug. 1 2014, the durable veteran has slumped to a .240 batting average and .294 on-base percentage. He has grounded into 13 double plays while producing 38 extra-base hits (24 doubles, four home runs) in that span.

While Suzuki receives high marks for his game calling and staff preparation, he had thrown out just six of 39 attempted base stealers this season (15.4 percent). Charged with just two passed balls, Suzuki has seen 21 wild pitches uncorked on his watch in 2015.

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At the All-Star break, Twins catchers were hitting a combined .224 with four home runs and a .601 OPS, all totals that put them near the bottom of the positional leaderboards. While it's true that not every team needs a big bopper behind the plate, a bit more production would certainly be nice.

It's why Berardino speculates if the Twins will look to add a veteran catcher such as Atlanta's A.J. Pierzynski or Toronto's Dioner Navarro, both of whom are known to be available, offer more at the plate than Suzuki is capable of delivering and were offseason targets of the Twins in recent years.

Acquiring either one won't require parting with a big-time prospect, so if the cost is reasonable, general manager Terry Ryan really has nothing to lose by taking a chance on one of them. If not Navarro or Pierzynski, Ryan could turn his attention to Cincinnati's Brayan Pena or Philadelphia's Carlos Ruiz.

Could Joaquin Benoit Return to the AL Central?

Jeff Roberson/Associated Press

One of baseball's most consistent relief pitchers over the past five years, 37-year-old Joaquin Benoit could be on his way out of San Diego and, as Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal opines, could be a fit in Minnesota.

Benoit has thrived in a variety of bullpen roles, whether it be as a middle reliever, primary setup man or closer, and has pitched to a 2.36 ERA and 0.94 WHIP over 360 appearances since the start of the 2010 season, which includes a three-year run with the Detroit Tigers.

Due the balance of his $8 million salary in 2015 and with an $8 million team option (with a $1.5 million buyout) on the books for 2016, San Diego might be willing to kick in some cash in order to get back a higher-quality prospect in a potential deal.