I could give you Minnesota team stats up to this point of the season, but the fact is this is a much different Twins roster than it was ten days ago. With the team up for sale, management gutted the roster, trading away nine players from their MLB roster, including Carlos Correa, Harrison Bader, Willi Castro, Chris Paddack, Louis Varland, Griffin Jax, Jhoan Duran, Danny Coulombe, and Brock Stewart.

That leaves just a few starters, combined with half the team from Triple-A, and a few waiver claims. The Twins are just a few games back of the Royals in the standings, but there is a much bigger gulf in talent than there was when the teams played back in May.

Kansas City Royals (57-58) vs. Minnesota Twins (54-60) at Target Field, Minneapolis, MN

Royals: 3.70 runs scored/game (29th in MLB), 3.82 runs allowed/game (3rd)

Twins: 4.21 runs scored/game (21st), 4.46 runs allowed/game (20th)

Only six position players from the Opening Day roster are currently on the active roster – catchers Ryan Jeffers and Christian Vázquez, infielders Eduoard Julien and Mickey Gasper, and outfielders Matt Wallner and Trevor Larnach. Byron Buxton would not waive his no-trade clause, otherwise he might have been dealt last week as well. He has been out with a ribcage injury, although he could return this weekend.

After a slow start, Matt Wallner has eight home runs in 29 games since the start of July. Ryan Jeffers is hitting .355/.396/.526 with two home runs over his last 21 games. Luke Keaschall hit a pedestrian .263/.373/.337 with one home run and 11 steals in 28 games for Triple-A St. Paul, but has hits in eight of his first nine career MLB games with three multi-hit games.

Kody Clemens, son of Hall of Famer Roger Clemens, has a career-high 12 home runs, all against right-handed pitchers. Trevor Larnach is hitting just .178/.238/.260 against lefties. Royce Lewis has not enjoyed home cooking, hitting .216/.261/.261 at Target Field. He is also a career .162/.205/.324 hitter in 11 games against the Royals. Eduoard Julien has a 51.4 percent groundball rate.

Despite being one of the most coveted players at the deadline, Joe Ryan was not traded by the Twins. He has been the 14th-most valuable starting pitcher by fWAR at 3.1 with the 13th-lowest ERA at 2.83. He also has the ninth-best strikeout rate at 28.3 percent and the sixth-lowest walk rate at 5 percent. Righties are hitting just .175/.240/.297 against him this year. He tossed seven shutout innings in a win over the Royals back in April, allowing just two hits, and is 7-0 with a 1.30 ERA in nine career starts against them. Salvador Perez is a career .167 hitter (3-for-18) against him.

Bailey Ober was having a nice season until June, when he started struggling. He missed the entire month of July with a hip injury, and he has given up 34 runs in 35 innings with 16 home runs allowed over his last six starts. He has not won a game since May 3, and his ERA has ballooned to a career-worst 5.34. Ober avoids walks and has a good chase rate, but his slider has been hammered, with opponents hitting .333 against it, and .385 against his sweeper. Bobby Witt Jr. is a career .480 hitter (12-for-25) against him with two doubles, two triples, and a home run.

The Twins have not yet announced a Sunday starter, but veteran journeyman José Ureña is expected to get the start. The 33-year-old right-hander has pitched in 11 seasons with the Marlins, Tigers, Brewers, Rockies, White Sox, Rangers, Mets, Blue Jays, Dodgers, and now Twins, his fourth organization this season. He gave up two runs in four innings in his first start for the Twins, and probably won’t be asked to give them many innings. He throws a hard sinker, change, and slider in an effort to yield groundballs.

The Twins traded five of their top relievers away, leaving them with a motley assortment of arms. Michael Tonkin got the first save opportunity on Sunday, but when he faltered, they let Erasmo Ramirez get the final out. Justin Topa earned the save on Tuesday. So the late innings are probably a fluid situation for the Twins. Cole Sands has been one of their best relievers the last few seasons and will likely be the setup man. The Twins picked up Thomas Hatch off waivers after he made one relief appearance with the Royals.

The Twins have split their six games since the trade deadline, so they haven’t just rolled over to die. But this is a pretty depleted team that the Royals should take advantage of. Joe Ryan is a tough pitching assignment for the lineup, but Seth Lugo should give them a chance to stay in the game before the Twins hand things to an unproven bullpen. If the Royals can pull that game out, they should like their chances at taking the series and giving themselves a winning road trip, or even sweeping the Twins.