Baseball's nonwaiver trade deadline came and went on Tuesday without the Twins making a deal.

General Manager Terry Ryan worked the phones but came up empty. Reports on Tuesday had Texas showing interest in reliever Jared Burton and Cincinnati in Denard Span, but talks never heated up.

The Twins held on to both players, as well as lefthander Glen Perkins, outfielder Josh Willingham and first baseman Justin Morneau. Clubs inquired about those players in recent weeks, but since the Twins weren't actively looking to deal them -- as they were Francisco Liriano, who was sent to the White Sox on Saturday night -- they sat back and waited to be impressed with a big offer.

And they weren't.

"There's a lot of players on this ballclub that people would like to have on their team," Ryan said. "I don't think there's any question about that. I don't think there's any shock that people putting up the numbers on this ballclub would be desirable for other organizations. If you're going to do something with that, you'd like to think that you're getting equity back. We didn't see it."

While several trades across the league were announced right before the 3 p.m. deadline, manager Ron Gardenhire finalized his lineup and the Twins prepared to face Liriano.

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Denard Span, who's sticking around rather than being traded, was a bit late getting back to first base and out during a double play by the White Sox in the first inning Tuesday night.

"I got a call [at 3:02] that said go ahead as planned," Gardenhire said. "Gotcha."

The biggest news involving the Twins on Tuesday was an erroneous report by the MLB Network that had Span vetoing a trade to the Reds. Span does not have a no-trade clause and is several years away from becoming a 10-and-5 player (10 years in the majors, five with the same team), which would enable him to block any trade.

Once the news hit Twitter, Reds fans chided Span for not wanting to be part of a playoff push. Span found out about the report when he received a text from a relative.

"I had to explain to him that it wasn't true and all that," Span said. "It was just a whirlwind."

The trade deadline has been on Span's mind in recent weeks, but it wasn't as bad as last season, when Span-to-Washington rumors were rampant. He said the uncertainty is the worst part.

"You start hearing crazy stuff from reporters," Span said. "I don't want to say making stuff [up], but miscommunication. That makes it worse. Social media doesn't help. It's the combination of a lot of different things that gets your nerves and adrenaline going."

The Twins' search for more talent, namely pitchers, continues this month. Next up is the Aug. 31 deadline for players who have cleared waivers. Every player won't get through waivers without being claimed, but the chances for deals remain.

The Twins could have a couple more chips to play by then, as righthanders Carl Pavano and Matt Capps are working their way back from shoulder problems and could be back on the mound by then. Both could be attractive stretch-drive options for contenders.

"Just because the calendar changes to Aug. 1 doesn't mean things will stop on the trade beat," Ryan said. "It's a lot more difficult to make a deal, but there's certainly the ability to do that.

"We're in a little different situation than the one we were in a couple years ago when we were buyers. We're certainly not buyers right now. We're trying to get the most talent possible, and we're certainly looking at that pitching."