Minnesota Twins

Amid a disappointing 2021 season, the Minnesota Twins have gone into sell mode by trading starting pitcher Jose Berrios to the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday.

Toronto confirmed the move, noting the Twins will receive shortstop Austin Martin and pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson in exchange for Berrios.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported the agreement, with Jeff Passan of ESPN relaying the return, describing it as a "massive haul."

Expectations were high for the Twins coming into this season. They had made the postseason in three of the past four seasons, including back-to-back American League Central titles in 2019 and 2020. 

A combination of injuries and poor performances has seen Minnesota fall to the bottom of the AL Central standings with a 43-60 record.

Berrios has been one of the few bright spots. The 27-year-old is on pace to have the lowest ERA of his career (3.48) along with 126 strikeouts and 95 hits allowed through 121.2 innings over 20 starts. 

The Twins found themselves in a difficult spot with Berrios. He has one more year of team control before being eligible for free agency in the winter of 2022.

Given the state of Minnesota's roster, with most of its key position players under contract beyond this season, it would be easy for general manager Thad Levine to expect his team to return to contention in 2022.

While that still might be the case, moving Berrios leaves the Twins with more questions in their starting rotation. Michael Pineda and J.A. Happ can become free agents this offseason. 

They will at least restock the farm system with two top-100 prospects in Martin (No. 16) and Woods Richardson (No. 68), according to MLB.com.

Martin was the fifth overall pick in the 2020 MLB draft and has performed well in Double-A with a .281 batting average and .424 on-base percentage in 55 games. He has also played both shortstop and center field this season, giving the Twins options going forward.

Woods Richardson has a 5.76 ERA in 11 starts in Double-A, but he also has 67 strikeouts in 45.1 innings and 11.6 career strikeouts per nine innings in the minors.

Meanwhile, the Blue Jays are going for it in 2021 with the luxury of knowing Berrios will be in their rotation next year. The right-hander has dominant stuff and can be a high-end starter when he's at the top of his game. 

Toronto entered Friday fourth in the AL East at 51-48 but remains 4.5 games out of the wild-card race.

The lineup is one of the best in the majors behind Vladimir Guerrero Jr., but the pitching needed help. The Blue Jays add another reliable pitcher behind Robbie Ray and Hyun Jin Ryu who will help them compete during the stretch run.

Having already gone into sell mode, the Minnesota Twins are reportedly intensifying their trade talks involving All-Star pitcher Jose Berrios. 

Per The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal and Dan Hayes, the possibility of Berrios being traded is "increasing" because the market has exceeded Minnesota's initial expectations.

Rosenthal and Hayes noted virtually every playoff contender has checked in on Berrios, including the New York Yankees, San Diego Padres, Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays. 

Joel Sherman of the New York Post added the New York Mets are in the mix as well.

Hayes noted the asking prices for teams selling has been described as "borderline ridiculous" to this point. 

The Padres' interest in Berrios may not last much longer, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported they are close to acquiring Max Scherzer from the Washington Nationals.

Even with the Padres potentially out of the mix, there are enough good teams reportedly in on Berrios to at least make it worth Minnesota's while to listen before the trade deadline arrives at 4 p.m. ET on Friday. 

The Blue Jays, Yankees and Mets are probably the teams with the most urgency to acquire a starting pitcher. 

The Mets and Blue Jays rank 27th and 28th in Major League Baseball in innings pitched by their starters this season. Robbie Ray and Hyun Jin-Ryu are the only Toronto starters who have made at least 10 starts and have an ERA under 4.00. 

New York currently has Jacob deGrom, David Peterson and Joey Luchessi on the injured list. Carlos Carrasco has yet to pitch this season due to a torn hamstring, but he's set to make his debut on Friday against the Cincinnati Reds. 

The Yankees have already pulled off one blockbuster, acquiring Joey Gallo from the Texas Rangers to boost their offensive production. But they still need another top-of-the-rotation arm to pair with Gerrit Cole for a potential postseason push. 

Berrios' value is certainly helped by the fact he has an additional year of team control in 2022 before hitting free agency. The 27-year-old has a 3.48 ERA with 126 strikeouts and 95 hits allowed in 121.2 innings this season.    

The New York Mets are looking to add pitching prior to Friday's MLB trade deadline, but Minnesota Twins right-hander Jose Berrios may not be on their radar, according to SNY's Andy Martino.

One source told Martino the Mets are "all over the pitching market," but he reported their preference might be players who are due to hit free agency since the asking price would be lower.

Berrios, on the other hand, has one more year of arbitration left before hitting free agency in 2023.

The Athletic's Dan Hayes reported July 16 that Minnesota indicated to at least one suitor it wanted to land "a pre-arb player and two top-100 prospects" in return for Berrios because of his additional year of team control.

Martino reported Sunday the Mets were planning to inquire about Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer. Scherzer's profile exceeds that of Berrios, but the 36-year-old is due to be a free agent in the offseason.

New York's starting rotation is second in FIP (3.45) and eighth in strikeout rate (9.51 per nine innings), per FanGraphs, and the team already acquired Rich Hill from the Tampa Bay Rays.

Even though the unit is strong already, contending teams can never have too many arms with an eye toward the postseason. Jacob deGrom is also out with forearm tightness, while Noah Syndergaard has yet to pitch in an MLB game since undergoing Tommy John surgery in March 2020.

Irrelevant to the Mets' reported aversion to trading away one or more of their top prospects, a short-term solution may be all they need.

Syndergaard is due to be a free agent, but deGrom, Carlos Carrasco and Taijuan Walker are all signed through at least next year.

If the front office is going to leverage its farm system to address the rotation, then it makes sense to wait until the offseason. By then, the team will have a better idea about Syndergaard's future and whether deGrom's forearm injury is a cause for larger concern.

The Milwaukee Brewers have "checked in" with the Minnesota Twins on third baseman Josh Donaldson and Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network and The Score.

However, Heyman noted that a Twins-Brewers agreement for Donaldson "seems like a long shot" considering the money left on the 2015 American League MVP's contract.

Donaldson, who signed a four-year, $92 million deal before the 2020 campaign, is owed $21,750,000 in 2022 and 2023.

The 35-year-old has 15 home runs, 42 RBI and a .249 batting average (.828 OPS) through 80 games this year for Minnesota.

As Heyman tweeted, the Brewers were in the market for a third baseman this offseason when they put themselves in the mix for Justin Turner, who decided to return to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Regarding Story, Heyman reported that the Brewers are in the market for a big bat. The Rockies infielder has 12 home runs, 46 RBI and a .242 batting average (.737 OPS).

He's having an off-year for his standards, but from the 2018-2020 seasons, Story had a 162-game average of 38 home runs and 100 RBI, per Baseball Reference. He also had a .292 batting average (.909 OPS).

Robert Murray of FanSided also reported on the Brewers, writing that the team has looked into "third base upgrades." Murray also mentioned Donaldson as an option but referenced that the contract could be a roadblock.

Regarding Story, Murray posited him as an option at third base with the Brewers already having a shortstop in the recently acquired Willy Adames. Acquiring the 28-year-old wouldn't be easy, though.

"The Brewers, or any other team, would have to submit an offer more valuable than the compensatory pick the Rockies would receive if Story left in free agency to entice them to pull the trigger on a trade," Murray wrote.

The Twins sit dead-last in the American League Central with a 42-58 record, and they appear to be playing out the string at this point. The same goes for the Rockies, who sit fourth in the NL West at 43-56.

As for the Brewers, they are first in the National League Central with a 58-42 record, good enough for a 6.5-game lead over the second-place Cincinnati Reds.

Donaldson or Story would be an upgrade over the Brewers' incumbent third baseman, Luis Urias. However, the 24-year-old has still performed well, amassing 13 home runs, 45 RBI and a .236 batting average (.751 OPS) in 94 games.

Milwaukee's phenomenal starting pitching has gotten the Brewers to the top of the division, with Brandon Woodruff, Freddy Peralta and Corbin Burnes all posting sub-three ERA thus far.

The Brewers' hitting has not fared as well, with the team last in the 15-team National League in batting average (.223) and 11th in OPS (.697). 

Inserting Donaldson or Story into the mix would certainly help, although the aforementioned contract could lead to Milwaukee eventually landing on other options.

Outfielder Byron Buxton has turned down a contract extension offer from the Minnesota Twins, according to Ken Rosenthal and Dan Hayes of The Athletic.

Buxton, who is on the injured list with a fractured left hand, is under team control in 2022 and could become a free agent in 2023.

While two separate IL stints have limited Buxton to just 27 games this season, he has put up MVP-caliber numbers when healthy, slashing .369/.409/.767 with 10 home runs, 19 RBI, 21 runs scored and five stolen bases.

Rosenthal reported on July 15 that Buxton and the Twins were negotiating a possible extension, although he also noted that Buxton's name had started to come up on the trade market.

According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, Minnesota will listen to offers for Buxton. The Philadelphia Phillies are reportedly among the teams interested in Buxton.

ESPN's Buster Olney had reported on July 17 that the Twins "aren't inclined" to trade players under team control through 2022.

Ever since the Twins selected him with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2012 MLB draft, Buxton has been a highly regarded player thought to have superstar potential.

Inconsistency and injuries have plagued the 27-year-old throughout his career, however.

Buxton has reached 100 games played in a season just once in his seven-year MLB career, appearing in 140 and winning a Gold Glove in 2017.

Buxton did appear in 39 of the Twins' 60 games last season, and he had one of his most productive years to date, hitting .254 with 13 home runs and 27 RBI, which resulted in a 16th-place finish in the American League MVP voting.

Since Buxton has finally realized some of his immense potential this season when healthy, it is understandable why he may be a hot name on the trade market leading up to Friday's trade deadline.

Also, while Buxton could blossom into a true superstar elsewhere, trading him could be a sensible move on Minnesota's part given that the Twins are last in the AL Central with a 42-57 record.

On top of that, there is an inherent risk that would come along with signing Buxton to a long-term extension, as he still has yet to prove he can remain healthy and productive over the course of a full season.

With Buxton reportedly turning down an extension offer from the Twins, perhaps the chances of opposing clubs prying him away from Minnesota before the deadline have gone up.

As the Minnesota Twins prepare to begin the second half of their disappointing 2021 season, Byron Buxton's contract status is something that opposing teams could keep a close eye on leading up to the trade deadline. 

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported on Friday that the Twins are trying to sign Buxton to a long-term extension, but if no agreement is reached, the 27-year-old is "likely" going to be traded by the July 30 deadline. 

According to Rosenthal, Minnesota's most recent offer to Buxton is more than the $70 million that Aaron Hicks received from the New York Yankees in February 2019. 

The Twins don't necessarily need to be in a rush to deal Buxton. He still has one more year of arbitration before being eligible for free agency after the 2022 season. 

There are significant questions about Buxton's ability to be a long-term contributor. The 2017 Gold Glove winner is one of the most dynamic players in Major League Baseball when he's healthy. 

Staying healthy, though, has been an issue for Buxton. He's only played more than 100 games in a season once since making his big-league debut in 2015.

The Georgia native is on the injured list with a fractured left hand suffered when he was hit by a pitch against the Cincinnati Reds on June 21, three days after he returned from a six-week stint on the IL with a hip injury. 

When Buxton has been healthy this season, he's been one of the few bright spots for the Twins. He's hitting .369/.409/.767 with 10 homers in 103 at-bats over 27 games. 

Coming off back-to-back American League Central titles, the Twins are in fourth place in the division with a 39-50 record. They trail the Oakland Athletics by 11.5 games for the second wild-card spot in the AL.    

The Oakland Athletics and Toronto Blue Jays are among the teams potentially interested in trading for Minnesota Twins slugger Nelson Cruz ahead of the July 31 trade deadline, according to Jon Heyman of the MLB Network. 

Cruz, who was recently announced to his seventh All-Star team, is hitting .304 this year with 18 homers, 45 RBI, 37 runs and a .939 OPS. At 41, he hasn't missed a beat. 

But with the Twins limping to a 35-50 record and well out of the postseason picture already—a disappointment, considering their playoff berths in three of the previous four seasons—a veteran slugger like Cruz is expendable. 

He's well on pace to exceed the 30-homer mark for the seventh time in the past eight seasons (and his 16 homers in just 53 games last year during the pandemic-shortened year suggest he would have hit that threshold in a full campaign, too). 

The only downside for the Twins in any trade talks for Cruz is that his market is limited to American League teams, given that he's a full-time designated hitter at this stage in his career. He hasn't made an appearance in the field since the 2018 season, and between the 2017-18 seasons played a total of just nine games in the outfield. 

But for teams in need of instant offense, Cruz fits the bill. Imagining him in a Toronto lineup that already includes Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Marcus Semien, Randal Grichuk, Bo Bichette, Teoscar Hernandez and a now-healthy George Springer is downright frightening. 

That lineup could propel the 44-40 Blue Jays into a postseason berth. Ditto for the 49-39 Athletics, where Cruz would be an enormous upgrade at DH over Mitch Moreland and give the Athletics a nasty punch in the middle of their lineup next to Matt Olson and Ramon Laureano. 

Minnesota Twins third baseman Josh Donaldson says he spoke with Lucas Giolito after Tuesday's game, but the Chicago White Sox pitcher "didn't have much to say."

"He said he thought it was annoying. I said, 'So what? I'm on the opposing team. What do you care about me? I'm in your face, what do you have to say about that?' And he didn't have a response," Donaldson told reporters Wednesday of the conversation, which he said took place in the parking lot.

Donaldson also responded to Giolito calling him a "f--king pest."

"He called me a pest, right?" Donaldson told reporters. "Which is fine. I kind of almost consider that a compliment.

Giolito called Donaldson "classless" Tuesday after the Twins slugger called out Giolito for using foreign substances while pitching. The White Sox star has been vocal about his displeasure about MLB's midseason crackdown.

"If we're going to talk about class, what side are you going to choose? Are you going to take the side of somebody who's playing the game fair? Or are you going to take the side of someone who probably cheated?" Donaldson said.

MLB's enforcement of the longstanding ban on foreign aid—which the league had largely ignored for a half-decade—began earlier this month. Pitchers are now subject to regular checks of their gear for substances, and managers can request umpires look into opposing players during an inning.

There has been an obvious impact across the sport, with spin rate and strikeouts down while batting average rises from a historic nadir. However, Rays pitcher Tyler Glasnow blamed the midseason change for his partially torn UCL. Others around the sport are concerned pitchers could hurt their arms by overthrowing to maintain a high spin rate or because of grip issues. 

Minnesota Twins catcher Mitch Garver had to be taken to the hospital following Tuesday's game against the Baltimore Orioles after being hit in the groin with a foul ball. 

Garver posted on his Instagram Wednesday that he required surgery on a "groin contusion" and is nor recovering well (h/t Megan Ryan of the Star Tribune).

Speaking to reporters after the game, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said Garver was "in rough shape" and had to be accompanied to the hospital by a team trainer. 

Baldelli added it's "probably unlikely that Mitch is going to be catching anytime soon."

There's been no firm indication at this point how long Garver will be out of action. 

The injury occurred on the fourth pitch of the game by Michael Pineda in the bottom of the first inning. 

Orioles designated hitter Trey Mancini fouled a pitch off that hit Garver right between the legs. The Twins catcher doubled over for a few minutes before he was removed from the game. 

Ben Rortvedt will likely take over as the Twins starting catcher for the time being. The 23-year-old rookie has a .509 OPS in 33 plate appearances this season. 

One of the big reasons that Minnesota is off to a disappointing 22-32 start is because of injuries. Byron Buxton, Kenta Maeda, Max Kepler, Luis Arraez and Jake Cave are currently on the injured list. 

Garver is hitting .224/.333/.500 and ranks fourth on the team with eight home runs in 41 games this season. 

Minnesota Twins star Josh Donaldson crossed home plate for the 685th time in his career Saturday against the Kansas City Royals, scoring the two millionth run in Major League Baseball history.

Nelson Cruz drove Donaldson in from second on a ground-rule double in the first inning of the American League Central matchup 145 years after Boston Red Stockings catcher Tim McGinley became the first player to score in the first game of the 1876 season.

The spike in offense in baseball's history is easy to spot just by looking at runs scored. Houston Astros outfielder Bob Watson was credited with scoring the one millionth run in 1975—though that stat remains contested—99 years after MLB's first season. It took just 46 years for MLB's next million runs to be scored.

It's the second major milestone in league history in the last two weeks.

Seattle Mariners catcher Jose Godoy became the 20,000th player to appear in an MLB game on May 21.

"What does it mean, two million runs?" John Thorn, MLB's official historian told David Waldstein of the New York Times. "Absolutely nothing. But that's what makes it fun."

For a sport that encourages statheads to dig through decades of box scores, Donaldson and Cruz join McGinley and Watson among baseball's best trivia answers.