Baseball\u2019s trade deadline is approaching, and it\u2019s not just major leaguers wondering about where they might be playing next weekend.<\/p>\n
After excelling at times with the Twins over the past three seasons, long stints with the Class AAA Saints this summer have a couple of former top prospects acknowledging that it isn\u2019t just the Twins brass they\u2019re trying to impress.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt this point, I\u2019m not just playing for the Twins,\u201d infielder Edouard Julien said before a Saints double-header at CHS Field on Thursday. \u201cI\u2019m playing for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, Julien added, he\u2019s not thinking much about being part of a trade before Thursday\u2019s 5 p.m. cut-off because, he said, \u201cI don\u2019t think about any of that stuff because that\u2019s out of my control.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not so for Jose Miranda, who appeared to be a shoo-in for a corner infield position after the 2024 season, when he set a club record \u2014 and tied the MLB record \u2014 by hitting safely in 12 straight at-bats last July.<\/p>\n
The deadline for MLB teams to add players through trades is Thursday at 5 pm. CDT.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt does cross my mind,\u201d Miranda said. \u201cBecause, you know, there are certain moments in different players\u2019 careers when a trade or something could make a change for you, provide a different scenario, or something like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
If anyone needs a different scenario, of any sort, it\u2019s Miranda. The first and third baseman just isn\u2019t hitting, for the first time in his career. After setting the Twins\u2019 record for consecutive at-bats hit safely last July, Miranda was hitting .326 with nine home runs and 43 runs batted in over 72 games.<\/p>\n
After that, Miranda hit .219 with no home runs and six RBIs in 49 games for the Twins. Before Saturday night\u2019s game against Worcester in St. Paul, he was hitting .195 with 14 extra-base hits in 58 games with the Saints.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m always optimistic, always trusting my game, trusting myself,\u201d Miranda said before a double-header against Worcester on Thursday. \u201cIt\u2019s been a really weird year for me, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Second](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/stp-l-julien-0727.jpg\")
Second baseman Edouard Julien takes a swing during a St. Paul Saints game this season at CHS Field. He broke camp with the Twins but was sent back to St. Paul after 29 games. Hitting .395 with three home runs in his past 11 games, Julien is hoping to convince the Twins he’s ready for another chance. (Rob Thompson \/ St. Paul Saints)<\/p>\n
The Twins move toward Thursday\u2019s deadline insisting a playoff spot remains in play for them, and technically it does. Fourth in the American League Central Division before Saturday night\u2019s game against Washington at Target Center, they\u2019re only four games out of the second AL wild card spot \u2014 but behind five other teams.<\/p>\n
Still, it seems unlikely the Twins would balk at trading some impending free agents \u2014 at the right price \u2014 before Thursday, let alone add players for a run. Asked Friday if there might be openings for veterans at St. Paul next month, manager Rocco Baldelli said that kind of speculation is for the people who cover the team, not the ones who run it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really focused on playing good baseball in this stretch of games, getting the most out of our players in these games \u2014 that\u2019s what I\u2019m thinking about and hoping to talk about, as well,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Both Julien, 26, and Miranda, 27, broke camp with the Twins in March. Miranda played 12 games before being sent to St. Paul with a .219 batting average; Julien played 29 before being sent to St. Paul with a .198 average \u2014 but he has found his swing with the Saints.<\/p>\n
On Friday, Julien went 3 for 4 with a single, double and home run, his fifth multi-hit game in his past 11, to raise his average to .265 with 18 extra-base hits, 51 walks, 30 runs scored and 30 RBIs in 55 games.<\/p>\n
![\"Minnesota](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/AP24188733960882.jpg\")
Minnesota Twins’ Jose Miranda acknowledges the crowd after hitting a fly out to end his streak of 12 consecutive at-bats with a hit during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo\/Abbie Parr)<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, I would have liked to be up there a little longer and show that I can hit, and in the past two months, I feel like I\u2019ve felt good here,\u201d Julien said. \u201cOf course, there\u2019s ups and downs. But at the moment I feel great. I feel like I can hit anything. I\u2019m much better on offspeed, and I know I can hit the fastball. So, I\u2019ve taken my walks and I feel like I\u2019m capable of being in the big leagues on any team and able to hit and help a team win.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut that\u2019s not in my control, and the only thing I can do is hit here, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
Neither Julien nor Miranda has even started arbitration, so they remain under team control through the rest of the decade. And because they\u2019ve had success in the majors \u2014 Julien had a terrific rookie season and hit .364 in the division series against Houston \u2014 they\u2019re still valuable pieces for the Twins.<\/p>\n
Maybe too valuable to spend as an extra piece in a trade.<\/p>\n
But with Royce Lewis and Brooks Lee consistently manning third and second base, respectively \u2014 and Luke Keaschall getting his first callup after they were sent down \u2014 Julien and Miranda are keenly aware of where they stand in the pecking order.<\/p>\n
As Julien put it, the Twins \u201ckind of have their own guys up there, and at the moment I\u2019m not part of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou go through the tough times and the tough stretches, especially last year in the big leagues, the times when it was harder,\u201d Julien added. \u201cAnd you know, with the Twins it feels like the leash is not as long, for any player. It\u2019s mostly what you\u2019ve done lately \u2014 and that\u2019s for everybody in the big leagues.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re trying to win, so if you\u2019re not performing, they\u2019re going to get someone else up there and give them the chance. That\u2019s the right way to do it; I just wish I could have another chance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Originally Published: July 26, 2025 at 5:13 PM CDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Baseball\u2019s trade deadline is approaching, and it\u2019s not just major leaguers wondering about where they might be playing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":205134,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2388],"tags":[5,4993,822,60,3190,4,185,5855,148],"class_list":{"0":"post-205133","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-minnesota-twins","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-jose-miranda","10":"tag-minnesota","11":"tag-minnesota-twins","12":"tag-minnesotatwins","13":"tag-mlb","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-st-paul-saints","16":"tag-twins"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/114922068475882075","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=205133"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205133\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/205134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=205133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=205133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=205133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}