23-year old righty swinging outfielder Delmon Young was the key player the Twins got back in a trade a couple of winters ago with the Rays that sent shortstop Jason Bartlett and Matt Garza to them. Young has not lived up to his potential with the Twins but he’s still young enough to turn things around. Young has played in 82 games for the Twins this season and he is 77 for 292 (.264 avg, .672 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 8 homers, 42 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Young swings at everything which often negates the power he could have if he were more selective at the plate. Young has now played in 234 games with the Twins the last couple of years and he is 244 for 867 (.281 avg, .718 OPS) with 116 runs scored, 18 homers, 111 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. The Twins need Young to step up or that trade they made with the Rays will be viewed as a train wreck.

The Twins have designated 34-year old righty reliever R.A. Dickey for assignment. Dickey pitched in 35 games (1 start) for the Twins this season and he was 1-1 with a 4.62 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP. Dickey will likely clear waivers and he’ll be added back to the roster next week when rosters expand.

The Twins have acquired 38-year old lefty reliever Ron Mahay from the Royals. At this time it hasn’t been published anywhere as to what the Twins gave up to get him. Mahay pitched in 41 games (0 starts) for the Royals this season and he was 1-1 with a 4.79 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP. Mahay has now pitched in 457 games (3 starts) in his major league career and he is 25-11 with 4 saves, a 3.89 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. Mahay might be able to help the Twins in the late innings as a lefty specialist.

The Twins have acquired 30-year old righty reliever Jon Rauch from the Diamondbacks for a player to be named later. Rauch pitched in 58 games (0 starts) for the D-Backs this season and he was 2-2 with 2 saves, a 4.14 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. Rauch has now pitched in 339 games (11 starts) in his major league career and he is 26-25 with 26 saves, a 3.87 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. This move should help the back end of the Twins bullpen as long as Rauch keeps focused on the job at hand. The D-Backs acquired him at this same time last season and he folded up like a tent.

The Twins have traded 25-year old righty starter/reliever Yohan Pino to the Indians to complete the Carl Pavano trade. Pino pitched in 40 games (12 starts) in AA+AAA ball this season and he was 7-3 with a 3.03 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. With the way Pavano has pitched for the Twins this trade was a bargain as Pino wasn’t listed among the top 30 prospects in the Twins’ system coming into this season according to Baseball America.