HOUSTON — Wow. How did the Twins get here?

They will face the AL Central-leading White Sox in a three-game series starting Monday with three starters who were nowhere near the pecking order at the start of the season.

On Monday, Charlie Barnes is expected to follow opener Beau Burrows and face Lucas Giolito. Tuesday, Griffin Jax will face Dallas Keuchel. Wednesday, it's Bailey Ober vs. Lance Lynn.

That's a combined 22 career appearances for Barnes, Jax and Ober vs. 632 appearances for Giolito, Keuchel and Lynn.

With trades of Jose Berrios and J.A. Happ and the demotion then release of Matt Shoemaker, the Twins have to give someone the ball. And, as the 2021 season winds down, there's a chance more young starters get a look. Following the trade deadline, there are more candidates to choose from.

"We have a lot of guys, you can go up and down the 40-man roster," manager Rocco Baldelli said. "We have guys that are not even on the 40-man roster that we may want to get a look at, too."

One in-house candidate was Class AAA St. Paul righthander Josh Winder, who spent the 2020 minor league shutdown working on his conditioning and came back in 2021 hitting 97 miles per hour on the radar gun and improving the rest of his arsenal. But Winder has been shut down for the next two to three weeks as a precaution while he deals with some shoulder fatigue.

Jhoan Duran and Jordan Balazovic began the year as possible late-season debutants. But Duran got a late start to the season because of a trapezius issue, pitched 16 innings and then was shut down for a sore elbow. He has a good chance of pitching for St. Paul before the minor league season is over, but it is doubtful he would get a shot with the 2021 Twins. Still, Duran, whose fastball can hit triple digits and who also throws a splitter-sinker hybrid, remains on the radar.

Balazovic didn't pitch until June for Class AA Wichita because of an oblique strain and shoulder impingement. But he had a four-start stretch in which he did not give up an earned run over 25⅔ innings. He has given up six earned runs in each of his past two outings, however.

The best candidate to debut for the Twins is by one of the pitchers the club recently received in trades.

Joe Ryan will head back from Olympics in the next few days after helping Team USA win a silver medal. He will stop in Durham, N.C. to gather some belongings, then head to the Twin Cities. Ryan, who was dealt along with fellow righthander Drew Strotman by the Rays for Nelson Cruz, has been rumored to get a look by the Twins in the coming weeks. His fastball is about 92-93 mph, but scouts are impressed with his attitude and competitiveness.

Strotman has made two appearances with the Saints, going 0-1 with a 4.82 ERA. There have been no indications that the Twins will give him a look before the season is over. But he is close. He continues to refine his command following Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery in 2019, but has a mid-90s fastball, a cutter he added during the shutdown and a quality slider.

Arraez wants to play

Luis Arraez is willing to play when he doesn't look able to.

Playing second base on Friday, he went to his right late during an 11-inning victory over Houston to make a nice play on a grounder. He laid on the ground for a few moments as he tweaked his right knee. He batted the next inning, but Baldelli had seen enough when he fell down while swinging at a pitch and removed him.

Arraez, however, was able to pinch hit Saturday and convinced everyone he could start Sunday.

"I feel comfortable," Arraez said. "I can tell you I don't feel any discomfort right now while I'm talking to you."

Arraez started Sunday and had two hits and a walk in the Twins' 7-5 victory over the Astros.

As for Donaldson ...

Josh Donaldson's balky right hamstring kept him out of Sunday's lineup. So he started just one game in the four-game series and has started at third base once since July 27.

When does a stint on the injured list enter the discussion?

"I think we're still going to wait and see," Baldelli said. "We're going to get off the road. We're going to get home. It'll buy us a little more time. I'm hoping that he won't have to go on the IL."