Josh Willingham trade rumors: Twins plan to keep Willingham through deadline

The Minnesota Twins were discussing the possibility of trading Josh Willingham with multiple interested teams in the days leading up to Thursday’s non-waiver trade deadline. Nothing substantive emerged from those talks, and now it sounds like the Twins plan to keep Willingham for now.

According to Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press:

Willingham has received nibbles of interest from teams like the Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees. Because right-handed power is at a premium in today’s game, the Twins might still be able to find a trade partner for Willingham and get value for him as he stumbles through the final year of his current contract. If such a deal does take shape, however, it will involve waivers and take place in August.

More from Minnesota Twins

• MLB standings ordered by hard hit rate: Struggling Cardinals still cracking bats
• 3 teams that still wouldn’t be World Series contenders after trading for Shohei Ohtani
• Juan Soto rumors: 5 monstrous trade packages to land the Padres star
• Immaculate Grid baseball: Answers, connections, hints for Grid 108 (July 19)
• MLB standings ordered by FanGraphs postseason chances: Braves take control

Over the course of his career, Willingham has hit 20 or more home runs in a season five times and 30 or more once. As recently as 2012 he blasted 35 while driving in 110 runs.

If teams are convinced that his struggles in 2013 and 2014 are temporary and possibly health-related, then the Twins might be able to get something for Willingham now rather than losing him to free agency for nothing at season’s end.

Be sure to stay tuned to FanSided’s MLB Rumors page to stay up to date with the latest action and rumblings from the baseball hot stove this trade season as Thursday’s deadline approaches.