Twins face balancing act at Trade Deadline

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It might not feel like it because the flurry of activity hasn’t yet picked up, but the countdown to the Aug. 1 Trade Deadline has reached single digits -- and there are definite needs on the Minnesota roster as the Twins try to finally build a cushion atop the American League Central.

The Twins also have reason to be measured in their aggression, because their farm system, frankly, might not be able to withstand anything too crazy.

Here’s a list of prospects who have exited the organization in the past two years: Chase Petty, Cade Povich, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Spencer Steer, Steve Hajjar, Sawyer Gipson-Long and Casey Legumina (and Yennier Cano, if you want to count him as a prospect). Steer and Cano are already productive big leaguers, and Encarnacion-Strand was recently promoted by the Reds.

The Twins’ next young core is starting to arrive (Royce Lewis, Alex Kirilloff and Edouard Julien will play key roles down the stretch) and, for the first time in a long time, they have enough starting pitching. What, then, should they be looking for?

1. A functional right-handed hitter

MLB hitters this season have a .738 OPS against left-handed pitching. The Twins have a league-worst .666 OPS against southpaws, and only one regular -- Joey Gallo, of all people -- has an above-average OPS against lefties.

That’s definitely not something one expects from a team led by Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton, who both need to pick up their performance. The right-handed hitters behind them have been the likes of Donovan Solano, Kyle Farmer and Willi Castro, who are solid players, but not, ideally, primary run-producers for a championship-hopeful team.

This doesn’t need to be a star-level player, and it doesn’t even need to be an everyday player, since left-handed hitters such as Julien, Kirilloff, Matt Wallner, Gallo and Max Kepler will play against righties. But there just needs to be another meaningful threat against left-handed pitching, even if Correa and Buxton pick things up and both Jorge Polanco and Lewis return from injury.

“I think the crux of it is the vast majority of the production is going to come from most of the 26 you already have in that room,” president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said before the All-Star break. “Can we add and complement that? Sure. But I think those guys are going to have to perform and be the engine that we built for the team.”

2. A high-leverage reliever

Contenders are always in search of reliable bullpen help, and the Twins are no different. Jorge López has had a rough year and, at this point, the Twins are counting on both Brock Stewart and Caleb Thielbar to step in seamlessly upon their returns from injury -- and the former had no track record, and the latter is 36 years old and coming off a recurring oblique injury.

The Twins have made do with Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax and Jovani Moran, but they need more help. Without it, they’ll have to expect too much more out of Moran, Emilio Pagán or Jordan Balazovic or rely too heavily on the two returning from injuries.

Rental relievers are a dime a dozen at the Deadline, and the Twins should be in the market for at least one -- and left-handed depth could make sense.