Minneapolis – It’s never fun for a team to be on the selling side of the trade deadline, but that is where the Minnesota Twins have found themselves with a 51-57 record to end July.

The Twins started trading players on Monday, sending pitchers Chris Paddack and Randy Dobnak to the Detroit Tigers for Low-A catcher Enrique Jimenez. As the Twins began to pack up their bags for Cleveland following their 13-1 loss to the Red Sox, they hadn’t traded anyone else.

“It’s definitely a weird spot,” said Twins first baseman Ty France. “There’s two months of baseball left. We’ve got to figure our stuff out. We’ll see how the next 24 hours goes, and kind of just reevaluate from there. But gotta start playing better baseball.”

The Twins are expected to deal every player they have on expiring contracts at the end of the year, which includes France, Harrison Bader, Danny Coulombe, Willi Castro, and Christian Vázquez. However, the rumors circulating around the league about Minnesota’s plans only grew as the day progressed, focusing on players under contract beyond 2025.

The morning started with USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reporting that the Twins and Houston Astros had discussions about possibly sending All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa back to Houston.

Later in the afternoon, he reported that flamethrowing reliever Jhoan Duran was all but guaranteed to go to the Dodgers by the end of the day. Then, by 5:30, two and a half hours after the game, it had been reported by multiple outlets that the Twins were trading Duran to the Philadelphia Phillies for two top 100 prospects, RHP Mick Abel and catcher Eduardo Tait.

Then, Castro exited Wednesday’s game in the top of the ninth, fueling speculation he’d been traded. Baldelli confirmed postgame that this was not the case. The Twins were just down 8-1 at that point, and he wanted to give him a little extra rest. But that didn’t stop fans from speculating online that a deal had been done, nor some reporters from asking if he had been traded.

“I mean, I was anticipating everything, you know?” Castro said. “Obviously, you prepare for anything with the deadline and all that stuff. But, yeah, obviously, you just go out there, just play ball. It took me by surprise, but I saw [Rocco motion] for me to take it in, and like I said, I don’t know anything yet.”

Correa sat out Wednesday’s game after exiting early the night before due to a migraine. He had an MRI done that revealed he was fully healthy, but it was something that had been plaguing him for the last two days. The chances are small that the Twins would move Correa, but the Astros are the only team he’s even hinted at waiving his no-trade clause for in the past.

“I’ve got full control,” Correa said on the trade rumors surrounding him. “We’ll see how it goes. You listen to the rumors and all that, it feels like it happens every year. But you’ve just got to let it play out.”

It wouldn’t come as a surprise if Correa waived his no-trade clause for the Astros. He lives in Houston during the offseason. It was the franchise he came up with and won one out of three World Series appearances. However, Correa downplayed the possibility of entertaining any trades back to Houston postgame, stating that his desire is still to be in a Twins uniform in 2025 and beyond.

“That’s not something I don’t think is serious right now,” said Correa. “We’ll see where everything goes. But my goal has always been to be here and win here. I’ve been talking to Derek and Rocco, and I’ll be ready for the next series.”

Most of the league, including the Twins, will have an off-day during the trade deadline on Thursday. It will leave more time for players, managers, and coaches to keep an eye out for potential deals. But the goal for everyone is to keep to their off-day routine in a road city, so they don’t get caught in the rabbit hole of speculation and rumors online.

“Yeah, it’s been strange,” said Twins reliever Griffin Jax. “We know where we are as a team. We know that what’s going on around the league. It’s obviously being talked about, and guys are aware of it. I think everybody is trying to take it in stride and handle it their own ways. It’s something everybody is aware of, and it’s different.”

Some players, like Bader, are eager to be traded to contenders. However, no matter who gets dealt, it will be hard goodbyes for these players to make with their teammates who have become friends playing together in Minnesota.

“It should be hard,” said Rocco Baldelli. “If you care and you care about the team, which they do. They care about the guys they’re in that clubhouse with, as do I. It should be hard. It’s hard every time.”

“Like I said, I feel like home here,” Castro said. “You know, everybody that I knew, that I know here, and some other guys that are not here on the team. It’s a great team, great team, great staff. And, yeah, feels like home, like I said.”

“The thing I really appreciate from this organization is the communication I have with Rocco and Derek and those guys,” said Correa. “They keep me in the loop on things like this, so I’ve got an idea of what’s happening. At the same time, they’re very honest with me. I appreciate them.”

The trade deadline ends at 5 pm Central Time on Thursday. Whatever happens before Friday’s Game 1 in Cleveland, there will be new faces in the clubhouse. The Twins will do what they can to ensure that the season isn’t over just because they’ve traded some key players.