As trading deadline nears, Twins aren't shy about stating need to improve pitching

SAN DIEGO – If there's a trade to be made, the focus will be on who the Twins acquire. But Jose Miranda has given some thought about who might depart, too.

He hopes it isn't him.

"I don't want to think a lot about that," the rookie infielder said after hitting .444 (12-for-27) with seven RBI during the Twins' seven-game road trip, though he conceded that he's considered the possibility. "I'm just trying to go out there and help my team win. If something happens at the trade deadline and I'm going somewhere, I've got to go there and just keep playing ball. That's it."

Twins President of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey said on a WCCO radio interview Sunday that "I do anticipate tonight and tomorrow, a lot of work gets done" ahead of Tuesday's 5 p.m. trade deadline. "A lot of conversations have been had to try and set some groundwork. But ultimately, it will start to really come together over the next couple of days."

The Twins aren't hiding the fact that, like several other postseason contenders, they are seeking to supplement their pitching staff, both the starting rotation and the bullpen. Minnesota has been mentioned as a potential destination for starters such as Oakland's Frankie Montas, Miami's Pablo Lopez and Cincinnati's Tyler Mahle, and relievers such as the Chicago Cubs' David Robertson and Kansas City's Scott Barlow.

In the last 30 days, only the Boston Red Sox have a higher team ERA than the Twins.

Each of those possibilities except Robertson would be under contract for more than 2022, which Falvey, who didn't comment on specific trade targets, said is always an important consideration for him.

"We certainly are looking at the 'rental' market, guys who will be free agents at the end of the year. We'll have those conversations, for sure," he said. "But any time that we have a conversation with another club about a guy that has future control, it only helps you in your planning over multiple years. We have to think about future-control players and how that can impact our future roster. And we'll do that with this deadline."

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said he noticed that Alex Kirilloff hasn't looked the same since the All-Star break.

"He's taken some swings that didn't look like his strongest swings," Baldelli said. "Several times now, he's gone out there and played and felt [pain in his right wrist] and had to take himself out. We're all pointing toward the day where this is not something we have to worry about, talk about, deal with. But we're not out of the woods yet."

That said, Baldelli emphasized that nothing will be decided until Kirilloff's wrist, which was surgically repaired last summer, is thoroughly examined by Twins doctors in the Twin Cities on Monday. Is another stint on the injured list inevitable for Kirilloff, who went 3-for-21 on this road trip?

"I don't know the answer to any of those things," Baldelli said. "I know this is something he's seemingly been dealing with for a little while, and he couldn't play [Saturday] because it was too painful. That tells you a good amount, but we need to learn more before we can say more."

The Twins have not yet named a starting pitcher for Monday's game with Detroit, but Chris Archer, whose turn would normally come up, has been pushed back to Tuesday.

That means they plan to call up a pitcher from Class AAA St. Paul, and there are two candidates who are rested enough to get the call: lefty Devin Smeltzer, who has made 12 starts in the majors this season but owns an 8.76 ERA in three July starts, and veteran righthander Aaron Sanchez, an All-Star with Toronto in 2016 who has posted a 4.26 ERA in eight starts for the Saints.