As Twins keep up momentum, Zoll says they'll be buyers at Deadline

MINNEAPOLIS – For months now, it’s been a mission statement bordering on a mantra for Twins uniformed personnel: Play well enough to put pressure on the team’s front office when the Trade Deadline gets here.

It appears they have done just that, and Tuesday’s come-from-behind 3-2 win over the Royals just cemented it. The win got the Twins back to .500 at 54-54 and kept them just a half-game out in the battle for the third American League Wild Card. They’re two games back of the White Sox in the AL Central, and indisputably a contender for a postseason berth.

Prior to Tuesday’s rousing win, general manager Jeremy Zoll said in the clearest terms yet that Minnesota views itself as a buyer as Monday’s Deadline approaches. What exactly that looks like remains to be seen, but it is not a matter of needing to win some number of additional games by the end of the week.

Zoll, team chairman Tom Pohlad and the team’s baseball operations staff are looking to strengthen the 2026 Twins for a postseason push.

“If we go back to Spring Training, we spent a lot of time talking about [how] our goal was to play meaningful games in September,” Zoll said before the game Tuesday. “We're really excited about how the team has played over this last stretch. We're really encouraged about that. In turn, we're going to use this next stretch, this next week, to do everything we can to find ways to improve the club and continue to execute on that goal and make it a reality.”

Asked specifically about catcher Ryan Jeffers, by far the team’s most desired pending free agent, Zoll stopped short of speaking categorically. But he made it clear there is no appetite to deal Jeffers.

“In terms of individual speculation, I don’t think it’s particularly productive to work through all that,” he said. “But what I’ll say is on Ryan specifically, he’s had an awesome year. We’re really excited about where he’s at, and looking forward to doing everything we can to keep the group together and put us in the best spot to keep pushing ahead.”

Zoll made no secret that the team understands its biggest area of need to be the bullpen. And in general, that can be one of the easier areas to upgrade at the Trade Deadline, as a slew of relievers will typically change hands. But it’s not the only way, and it may not take the form of a classic prospects-for-veterans deal.

“We're going to focus on finding to continue to improve the bullpen and that'll be a clear focus,” Zoll said. “Beyond that, we're going to be open to a variety of creative paths and you never know what might come about. This year in particular feels like the market is taking longer to fully take shape as teams have really used last week, this past weekend and, in some cases, these next few days to finalize their path.”

One option would be to deal from the Major League roster. Zoll expressed confidence in the cadre of top prospects the club has at Triple-A St. Paul -- headlined by Walker Jenkins (MLB Pipeline’s No. 14 overall prospect) and Kaelen Culpepper (No. 29) -- and indicated that Minnesota would be willing to call up one of those players in a pennant race if the right deal created an opening for them.

There’s also the possibility of upgrading the bullpen indirectly, by adding a starting pitcher. The Twins have several young pitchers making starts who could be very intriguing relief options, and Zoll acknowledged that that’s one potential course of action.

Perhaps just as important as the wishes of baseball ops, Zoll also made it clear that he is confident ownership, led by Pohlad, is on the same page.

“I feel clear on the direction and opportunity that lies ahead of us,” he said, “and [on] being in sync across the board with Tom and [manager Derk Shelton], and our baseball ops group, and trying to work on that over the course of the week and execute on that.”

And that’s a welcome message inside the clubhouse.

“I didn’t hear that yet,” said Royce Lewis, whose walk-off triple delivered the win Tuesday. “I can’t wait to pull it up. That’s exciting. I think we know in here, too, that they’ve voiced that, honestly, a couple weeks ago.”