The demotion of Aaron Thompson and call-up of Ryan O'Rourke might not be the only bullpen moves the Twins will make in the coming weeks.

The Twins are looking around the league for bullpen help, particularly lefthanded relief, while still giving a shot to O'Rourke, a rookie, and Brian Duensing, who has emerged from a rough stretch of outings.

The Phillies, Brewers and Athletics look to be sellers at the July 31 nonwaiver trade deadline. And the market for relief help will become clearer as the deadline nears and more teams decide which approach to take. The Twins, who are in the AL wild-card picture, are looking for help.

The Twins are 37-2 when leading after seven innings and 37-0 when leading after eight. That's a reflection on closer Glen Perkins and key setup man Casey Fien. Blaine Boyer has struggled a bit lately but was dominant early in the season. But the bullpen ERA of 3.83 heading into Tuesday ranked only 21st in the majors. Thompson made 41 appearances before being sent to Class AAA Rochester and Boyer is at 40. That's a lot in 83 games.

Twins General Manager Terry Ryan said there still are options within the organization, but he is not afraid to trade.

"You always look inside and outside, it doesn't matter,'' Ryan said. "You go where you need to go. We've got some people down there we still have faith they can get the job done. If we need to get them, we will. If we don't feel like we have them in-house, then we need to go outside.''

Randy Johnson — Star Tribune, Star Tribune
Twins reliever Ryan O'Rourke made his major league debut and pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning Tuesday.

O'Rourke for now

O'Rourke will attack hitters with a variety of pitches from different arm angles. He'll figure out what is working on that day and use it in his one-on-one battles with hitters.

O'Rourke, 27, likes to embrace a bulldog mentality.

"I have a hockey background back in Massachusetts, so I was the guy who would like to put people through the boards,'' said O'Rourke, who was born in Worcester, Mass. "I think that has helped me on the mound.''

O'Rourke posted a 5.93 ERA at Rochester with seven walks and 22 strikeouts in 13 ⅔ innings. Definitely not great numbers, but he has held lefthanded hitters to a .172 batting average and had a strikeout rate of 14.5 per nine innings. O'Rourke, called up when the Twins optioned Thompson to Rochester on Monday, is here to get lefties out.

"We have a lot of confidence he's going to be effective,'' Twins manager Paul Molitor said, "particularly against lefthanded hitting.''

O'Rourke pitched a 1-2-3 ninth Tuesday.

Duensing likely will get the matchups Thompson had before his demotion.

#VoteDozier

The Twins pushed forward with their campaign to get second baseman Brian Dozier elected to the AL All-Star team via MLB's Final Vote.

The Twins parked a bulldozer not far from Gate 29, and the team is pushing the slogan, "No Bull. Vote Dozier.'' this week.

Entering Tuesday, Dozier was tied for the major league lead with 63 runs scored, led the AL with 46 extra-base hits, was in the top 10 in total bases and slugging percentage and led all second baseman with 17 home runs — by a wide margin.

But his competition in the Final Vote for Tuesday's All-Star Game in Cincinnati is formidable: Boston's Xander Bogaerts, Detroit's Yoenis Cespedes, New York's Brett Gardner and Kansas City's Mike Moustakas. Boston and New York are powerful baseball markets, and Royals fans have shown they know how to support their players.

The online vote at mlb.com for the final roster spot ends at 3 p.m. Friday.

Herrmann sent down, Fryer recalled

After Tuesday's game, the Twins optioned catcher Chris Herrmann to Rochester and selected the contract of catcher Eric Fryer from Rochester. Fryer was with Team USA in Cary, N.C., as it prepared for the upcoming Pan Am Games in Toronto but will leave to join the Twins. Herrmann batted .156 in 25 games for the Twins. Fryer batted .299 with one homer and 16 RBI in 51 games for Rochester.