BOSTON - During his first stint as Twins general manager, Terry Ryan pulled two of his biggest coups in August, soon after the July 31 nonwaiver trade deadline.
Using the waiver wire, he traded Dave Hollins to the Mariners on Aug. 29, 1996, for a Class A first baseman who eventually changed his name to David Ortiz. Then, on Aug. 21, 1997, Ryan traded Roberto Kelly to the Mariners for a Class A pitcher named Joe Mays.
But Ryan will have a tougher time making moves this August. Two of the team's best candidates to get traded this month -- Carl Pavano and Matt Capps -- are recovering from shoulder injuries and might not pitch until September.
Other players the Twins discussed moving before the July 31 deadline -- Denard Span, Josh Willingham and Jared Burton -- probably won't clear waivers because of their team-friendly contracts. When players are claimed, teams can pull them back off waivers but can't move them for the rest of the season.
Justin Morneau probably would clear waivers, since he's owed $18.6 million through 2013, but any trade likely would come in the winter, when other teams could be more certain about his ability to stay healthy through the end of that contract.
The Twins traded Delmon Young (to Detroit) and Jim Thome (to Cleveland) last August. This month could be much quieter.
"I would say that's probably accurate," Twins assistant GM Rob Antony said. "There's a lot of interest in guys, and when you run those guys through [waivers], it's harder to do.
"So I'd say [an August trade's] probably not highly likely, but we'll do our thing as every team does. And if somebody claims them, we'll talk to that club and see if anything makes sense."
