Minnesota Twins eyeing two trade deadline upgrades, have worked closely with one specific team

Following their loss to the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday, the Minnesota Twins quickly sprung into action, making a small move ahead of the trade deadline. They swapped relief pitchers with the Miami Marlins, sending former All-Star Jorge Lopez for former World Series winner Dylan Floro. Full trade analysis, including a grade can be found here.

But the Twins likely aren’t done trying to make upgrades ahead of the Aug. 1 MLB trade deadline. According to Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey, the Twins are heading into the deadlines as buyers.

Chances are, they won’t be swinging for the fences for a major acquisition as we’ve seen in recent times, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other players who can contribute to their effort to win the AL Central.

Two specific areas of need include finding another right-handed bat and always more bullpen help. According to Darren Wolfson of SKOR North, one team that has been engaged closely in trade discussions includes the Washington Nationals.

The Nationals have had scouts tracking prospects in St. Paul for the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate, and they have a couple of targets the Twins could be interested in. These include outfielder Lane Thomas and possibly a reliever or two as well.

But as Wolfson notes, the Twins’ front office has been very active, planting seeds all across the league trying to find a good fit. The Nationals are just one small example of who they’re potentially negotiating with. We’ll see if anything else comes to fruition by Tuesday’s deadline.