Minnesota sits 3.5 games back in the AL Central and is reportedly leaning toward being buyers ahead of Monday's trade deadline, with bullpen depth the priority after losing Cole Sands to elbow surgery and Anthony Banda to a season-ending lat repair, according to the Star Tribune and Washington Post. Seattle has its own thin spots to patch — Brendan Donovan and Will Wilson are both still working back from injury at third base — and the front office is reportedly hunting for a right-handed bat and a reliever of its own before the deadline hits, per Heavy.com and MLB.com.
Buxton being out changes the calculus for Minnesota's lineup, but the Twins have found ways to win without him lately, taking 2 of 3 from Kansas City including a comeback the day before this series opener. Seattle's issue isn't injuries so much as an offense that's simply gone cold across the board — the Mariners have dropped 3 of their last 5, most recently getting outscored in back-to-back losses to the Dodgers.
None of this screams laugher — both bullpens have taken hits, and Miller's underlying stuff is still good enough to keep Seattle in it even on a bad night. But the shape of this series favors the team playing with a sense of urgency, and right now that's Minnesota, not Seattle.