The Twins have won just three of the 14 games they've played this month and figure to be sellers following the All-Star break. Brighter days could be ahead in the near future, however, thanks to top prospects such as Byron Buxton, who was profiled by Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports earlier today. Passan writes that Buxton's introversion can help him to avoid some of the negative perception that has surrounded Bryce Harper and Yasiel Puig, likening him to Mike Trout in that regard. Here's more on the Twins…
- Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN reports that Jamey Carroll is being sought after, but the Twins shouldn't expect much of a return. A prospect in the mold of Eduardo Escobar (a utility infielder whom the Twins received in last year's Francisco Liriano deal) is all they could hope for (Twitter links).
- Justin Morneau had his agent at SFX reach out to the Twins last week to see if they had interest in working out an extension but was told by the team that they preferred to wait and see what happened at the trade deadline, according to Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Morneau added that after July, it would be difficult not to hear what other teams had to say, with his first venture into free agency so near.
- From that same piece, Miller notes that Chris Parmelee was "stunned" by his demotion to Triple-A Rochester over the weekend. The Twins demoted Parmelee, Escobar and Oswaldo Arcia but only announced two call-ups. In another piece, Miller writes that it's likely due to the fact that Chris Colabello is slated to play in the Triple-A All-Star game this week, and the team is waiting until after that event to make the announcement.
- Twins VP of player personnel Mike Radcliff told Wolfson that Trevor Plouffe's versatility will come into play when Miguel Sano is ready for the Major Leagues. Plouffe has homered 34 times over his last 729 plate appearances in establishing himself as Minnesota's primary third baseman but will likely be displaced by Sano. Of Sano's defensive improvements, Radcliff said, "He can play third base. That's not an issue anymore."
