Second Half Storylines

In the order in which they'll be answered (hopefully):

Friday's signing deadline - The Twins have nearly a quarter of a million dollars - SIXTH ROUND MONEY! - to throw at any single unsigned player. The problem is that they've already signed 33 (of 42) picks and there aren't any great (deserving or affordable) options left. There's a very strong chance the deadline comes and goes and the Twins didn't spend every last dime in their pool and, while that's ok, fans will likely be very upset. When asked recently about it, a Twins source told me they "would try" to spend it, but that kids just don't think $250K is that much money anymore. <insert crying Jordan emoji here, I think>

(Sidenote: I offered to take $125,000, play as a feel-good story in the GCL for the rest of the summer and accept being cut the day the season is over... I'm still waiting for the team's counteroffer.)

Byron Buxton - Last we saw of Buck, he's was being wheeled off the field on a John Deere. Is he healthy? Can he build on his recent still-not-great-but-not-terrible-either streak? I really hope so.

The non-waiver trade deadline - Pushed back to August 1st this season, the Twins (and all other teams) have one extra day to negotiate trades that don't involve players clearing waivers.

Ervin Santana will likely be the Twins most appealing trade chip. From where I'm sitting, I'd have a hard time betting on any players beside Santana and (fingers-crossed) Kurt Suzuki getting moved in the next two and a half weeks. Fernando Abad would have made a great addition to the list had he not, you know... sucked as of late.

Jorge Polanco and Jose Berrios - I need to see both of these guys get extended major league looks. Can Polanco be the next Danny Santana (and by that I mean, "the next Ben Zobrist")? Give him some run everywhere but first base.

Jose Berrios is going to be in the rotation for the better part of next year. Let's get him acclimated to the big time. If all that's standing between him and stardom is better results (sounds funny doesn't it?) - he's the most confident pitcher in the system - he's going to be a star.

The other trade deadline - The month of August, assuming he can come back, is going to be huge for Trevor Plouffe. Miguel Sano is the future of third base. Trevor Plouffe's future is likely elsewhere. He would certainly clear waivers, but the question is: How good will he be?

Could the Twins look to move any of their other guys in August? Ricky Nolasco maybe? (I'm looking at you, Dodgers.) Would Joe Mauer consider waiving his no-trade to play in the playoffs again? (Short answer: No.)

Roster expansion - Maybe a bigger deal to me than most, but I love to see who the September call-ups are each year. Will we get to see Adam Brett Walker's or Daniel Palka's power? Will Nick Burdi (or JT Chargois or Zack Jones) finally make the Target Field radar gun touch triple-digits for the hone team? Will James Beresford get that major league cup of coffee?

The Little Things (that might be really Big Things) - What's up with Byung Ho? And opposite of that... what's up with Kennys Vargas? Is Max Kepler going to keep this run going? Eduardo Nunez can't be capable of this all year... can he?! Who's the real Eddie Rosario? 2015 Eddie or first half of 2016 Eddie?

Who's going to lead this rotation? Kyle Gibson has to continue to move forward, right? Will last year's Tyler Duffey return? Trevor May.... starter or reliever? Please tell me the bullpen doesn't forget how to strike people out.

As we turn the page to the second half, what are you most anxious to see?