OAKLAND, CALIF. -- An update from trade front: The Twins' focus remains finding righthanded relief help. The Nationals have talked to them about Denard Span, the Pirates have talked to them about Jason Kubel, and the Phillies have talked to them about Jim Thome.

Span is not in the lineup for Class AAA Rochester tonight, but I'm told this was expected after the team traveled early this morning from Louisville, Ky., to Rochester, N.Y.

Still, the Span for Drew Storen rumors won't go away. Former Nationals GM Jim Bowden, now with XM Radio and of ESPN.com, just tweeted: "As I said earlier this week Denard Span -Drew Storen deal will go down it's a matter of time:secondary players have to be agreed to #TRADES"

Update: Ken Rosenthal, of FoxSports.com, just Tweeted:" #Twins scout watching #Nationals tonight. Trade with Span and Storen as centerpieces continues to look close."

We haven't been able to confirm this. The Twins always listen, in case they are overwhelmed, but they still think they're in this thing. So I'd be surprised if one of those hitters are moved before Sunday's 3 p.m. non-waiver trade deadline.

From what I've gathered, the interest in Kevin Slowey has bee tepid, and at this rate, the Twins would rather keep him as insurance in case one of their starting pitchers goes down.

Slowey, who pitches tonight for Rochester, also could get moved in August, when players must first go through waivers. He's making $2.7 million and isn't dominating to the point where multiple teams would claim him on waivers.

Update: Asked how the outfield will look when Span returns from Rochester, Manager Ron Gardenhire said Span will be the center fielder and he'll work the rest around that.

TWINS (50-56)

1. Ben Revere, CF
2. Trevor Plouffe, 2B
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Michael Cuddyer, 1B
5. Jason Kubel, RF
6. Jim Thome, DH
7. Danny Valencia, 3B
8. Delmon Young, LF
9. Tsuyoshi Nishioka, SS

Starting pitcher: RH Nick Blackburn (7-7, 4.21 ERA)

ATHLETICS (47-59)

1. Jemile Weeks, 2B
2. Coco Crisp, CF
3. Hideki Matsui, LF
4. Josh Willingham, DH
5. David DeJesus, RF
6. Conor Jackson, 1B
7. Cliff Pennington, SS
8. Scott Sizemore, 3B
9. Landon Powell, C

Starting pitcher: RH Guillermo Moscoso (3-5, 3.47 ERA)

Target Field. First pitch: 8:07 p.m. TV: FSN. Twins Radio Network