Well, now it has to work.

Tuesday’s trade deadline came and went with the Twins having made one move, total - the one they made last week, when they swapped Jorge López for Dylan Floro, a case of Minnesota and Miami both trying to improve guys who’ve struggled all season. But otherwise, the Twins decided to add nothing - not another bullpen arm, not a player who can hit left-handed pitching, nothing.

It fits in with the rest of the year: the plan is to hope that things improve.

And it’s worth remembering why this is the plan: because the Twins already traded so many assets that they feel like they can’t get rid of more.

The simplest way to connect the dots here is this one: the current front office came into the organization with a plan to develop players throughout the minor leagues, and especially pitchers. They spent a lot of money on player development, modernizing the Twins’ operation in lots of ways - but in the end, they failed to develop anything in the way of pitching prospects.

So, instead, they started trading away players and prospects, to get pitching. They assembled an excellent starting rotation and a shaky bullpen, and a lineup with two high-paid players, and when the bullpen and the two high-paid players struggled, so did the team.

And so now, when the team needed further improvements - well, they already spent their money, and they already traded away too many prospects, and their flaws were pretty glaring. I’m sure that any team the Twins called about a trade asked for the moon, solely because the team’s needs were so obvious. And so no deals got done, because Minnesota couldn’t afford to overpay - even a little - for help for the next couple of months.

It’s been a strange year for the Twins, and perhaps the strangest thing is just how frustrating the whole thing has been, even though Minnesota has been in first place for all but five days. “We’re a good team,” the Twins keep saying, but they aren’t. A good team wouldn’t be hovering around .500, unable to separate itself from a terrible division.

More to the point, anyone who says the words “we’re a good team” within 72 hours of getting swept by the Kansas City Royals should have his head examined.

Anyway, the Twins won 3-2 on Tuesday, beating a very bad St. Louis Cardinals team that seemed determined to make outs on the bases. Joey Gallo, who is batting .111 over his past 15 games, was in the lineup; showing just how they value him, the Twins pinch-hit Donovan Solano for him with one out and runners on second and third, even though the Cardinals had a right-handed pitcher on the mound, solely because Minnesota knew that Gallo would strike out, and they needed someone to actually make contact. Solano grounded a two-run single to give the Twins a 3-1 lead, and it held up even though Jhoan Duran gave up a homer again, his second game in a row doing so after he gave up just one since April 12.

Even when they win, they’re just frustrating.

The Minnesota Lynx’s seemingly-impossible two-game winning streak came to an end on Wednesday, as they lost to Connecticut 79-69. Alyssa Thomas had another triple-double for the Sun, with 21 points and 20 rebounds and 12 assists.

Minnesota, still without Napheesa Collier, didn’t get the secondary production they got in their last two games. Kayla McBride and Diamond Miller combined to go 8-for-25 from the floor, and it’s going to be hard for Minnesota to win a lot of games without either one producing; Lindsay Allen had 16 points, but the Lynx were outscored 54-30 in the paint.

Following Friday’s game against New York, Minnesota’s schedule eases up a bit - they play four straight games against teams with losing records. Amazingly, they’re two-thirds of the way through their schedule; the WNBA season is so short that, just as the Lynx start to figure out who they are, it’s already crunch time.

The St. Paul Saints lost 15-7 on Tuesday, and even that scoreline flatters them; they trailed 15-2 heading into the top of the ninth inning. Four different St. Paul pitchers allowed multiple earned runs, and the Saints got only three hits before the ninth - two of them solo homers, by Andrew Stevenson and Jair Camargo.

We should also note that Anthony Prato was named the International League Player of the Week, after a ridiculous series in Toledo. Prato was 11-for-20 in the series but also somehow walked nine times, meaning he reached base 20 times in six games. Oddly, Prato had a .553 OPS at Double-A Wichita this year, through 43 games, but when he was promoted to St. Paul to fill in at third base, he started raking. He has a 1.131 OPS in Triple-A, he’s walked more than he’s struck out, and he’s homered seven times in two months after hitting just 10 all of last year. St. Paul suits him!

TODAY’S SLATE

TWINS at St. Louis, 6:45pm
SAINTS at Columbus, 6:05pm

ON DECK

LOONS at Columbus, Friday
LYNX vs New York, Friday