Twins engaging in lots of trade talk as deadline nears

As the Twins continue to explore deals before Monday's nonwaiver trade deadline, they aren't sure if any of their talks will lead to deals.

"Having lot of conversations," interim General Manager Rob Antony said Sunday, "but you never know if it leads to a deal. Hoping serious conversation picks up tomorrow."

Righthander Ervin Santana, catcher Kurt Suzuki and relievers Brandon Kintzler and Fernando Abad have been the Twins mentioned the most in trade rumblings. A FoxSports.com report Sunday had Toronto considering a move for Santana, and that was before he went six innings to beat the White Sox.

Suzuki has drawn some interest from Texas and could draw interest from Cleveland now that the Indians' pursuit of Jonathan Lucroy has ended, but the Twins really don't have another catcher ready to step in.

Interest in Kintzler and Abad increased late last week, but nothing materialized. As the 3 p.m. deadline nears, that always could change.

Manager Paul Molitor noted the club has to make room to add righthander Jose Berrios to the roster in time for him to start Monday at Cleveland. Trading someone for a prospect could achieve that. But he wasn't sure how many more transactions there would be Monday.

"From the things I'm aware of, it's going to affect some of those things," Molitor said, "but I don't think it is going to be a major change. Maybe small changes."

Buxton stole second base in the second inning without a slide, which seemed odd at the time.

"Something prevented him from sliding," Molitor said. "I don't think it was because he didn't slide as much as he felt something that made him pull up."

But something was wrong. Buxton then ran to third on a ground ball and pulled up again. Molitor and trainer Tony Leo rushed out to talk to Buxton. After a brief conversation, the center fielder was removed.

The Twins announced that Buxton has a sore right knee and is day-to-day. It's the same knee he injured while chasing a fly ball in Texas right before the All-Star break. He was carted off the field at the time, but tests didn't reveal any major damage.

"Structurally it seems fine," Molitor said. "There is some fluid in there."

Berrios was headed out with his family after Class AAA Rochester's loss to Lehigh Valley on Saturday when a media relations member sprinted after him to get him to return to the clubhouse so manager Mike Quade could give him the news he was being called up by the Twins.

Berrios is 10-5 with a 2.44 ERA in 16 starts for the Red Wings. He has a 1.80 ERA over his past three starts. That convinced the Twins that it was time for another shot at the majors.

"The reports are good, not glowing, from the standpoint that he's harnessing all his potential," Molitor said. "We feel that there is room [to grow] there. Obviously as a young kid there should be room there. There's some feeling that it is time to get him up here like some of our position players, getting experience."