With a week until the trade deadline, the Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins find themselves with different priorities ahead of the series opener of a three-game set on Tuesday in Minneapolis.

Entering Monday’s games, Minnesota sits a game behind the Cleveland Guardians for the third and final American League wild-card spot. The Twins, who have won four of their last five, also trail the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox by 3 1/2 games.

Minnesota is the first of six teams within 5 1/2 games of a wild-card position.

Hoping to bolster the Twins’ postseason chances, Taj Bradley (9-4, 3.69 ERA) will look to stamp a solid July. The 25-year-old is 3-1 with a 2.90 ERA in his last five starts.

Bradley threw seven innings of one-run, two-hit ball, striking out five and walking three on Thursday in a no-decision against Cleveland. The Twins won 3-1 in 12 innings.

Bradley has allowed two runs or fewer in 14 of his 20 starts this season, including six of his last seven. The right-hander is 2-1 with an 0.73 ERA in four career starts against the Royals. He faced them on April 2 and tossed six scoreless innings, allowing five hits while striking out three and walking one in a 5-1 win.

Offensively, Minnesota is coming off a much-needed scoring outburst. The highest-scoring team in the American League (511 runs) had scored three runs or fewer in three straight games before posting an 11-8 victory over the Athletics on Sunday.

Kody Clemens tripled twice in a three-hit effort for the Twins, who saw a seven-run lead reduced to two before holding on for their first series win of the second half of the regular season.

“Collectively as a group, we don’t panic,” Clemens said. “We don’t feel any panic there. It’s just how baseball goes. You’re not going to win them all. Sometimes, the losses come together, and that’s just how the game is. It’s a long season. You just have to keep going game by game.”

Kansas City, meanwhile, is sure to be a seller before Monday’s deadline. The Royals are 17 games below .500 and nine games out of the postseason picture.

In two post-All-Star break starts, Seth Lugo (4-6, 4.36 ERA) has made himself into an interesting trade candidate. The veteran right-hander allowed four combined earned runs in 13 innings in those two starts. Lugo allowed three runs on three hits across seven innings, striking out five and walking two in a 5-4 win over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday.

Lugo is one of several pieces that could be moved for a Kansas City team that’s on pace for its first losing season since 2023.

“We’ve got the deadline looming. There’s always talk about that, and it’s always kind of a thorn in the side this time of year,” Royals catcher Luke Maile said. “But guys want to show up and play for each other every day, and I think that’s the most important.”

Lugo, 36, is 1-3 with a 5.24 ERA in 10 career appearances (eight starts) against the Twins. He surrendered five runs on six hits in five innings in a no-decision against Minnesota on June 4. Kansas City won 8-6.

–Field Level Media

What does one give the team that owns the WNBA’s best record coming out of the All-Star break?

Perhaps getting its best player back at 100% health for the season’s remainder.

That’s the spot the Minnesota Lynx are happy to occupy as they resume play Tuesday night against the Toronto Tempo in Minneapolis.

Napheesa Collier, who missed the season’s first 27 games after undergoing surgery on both ankles in the offseason, returned to action in an 86-76 win at Seattle on July 22. As 24 points and 10 rebounds indicate, it didn’t take long for Collier to find something approaching her top form.

“It’s kind of fitting that No. 24 scored 24 points in her return,” coach Cheryl Reeve said. “I liked that a lot.”

Reeve also has to like the fact that opponents like Toronto really face a problem defensively. Do they try to double Collier inside and risk getting strafed by All-Stars Kayla McBride and Olivia Miles on the perimeter, or do they play it straight and perhaps allow Collier to run wild in the lane?

While Minnesota (22-6) appears fully stocked for success, the Tempo (10-16) limp into this one after dropping seven of the last eight. That includes a 109-83 defeat on July 20 against Las Vegas in their last game.

Injuries have affected the expansion team greatly, but so has lousy defense. Toronto has permitted an average of 94.9 ppg in that eight-game span, giving up 100 points three times. The Tempo rank in the league’s bottom half in steals and blocks, an indication that they struggle on the perimeter and in rim protection.

Brittney Sykes (20.1 ppg) and Kiki Rice (12.7 ppg) have combined to miss 27 games. Rice (left ankle) is on track to return sooner than Sykes (left plantar fasciitis) after participating in practice on Sunday.

“She’s worked really hard, so (I’m) excited,” Tempo coach Sandy Brondello said. “If we can get her back, that’d be awesome.”

Marina Mabrey (21.0 ppg) represented Toronto well at Saturday night’s All-Star Game, scoring 23 first-half points and hitting five 3-pointers in the first quarter.

–Field Level Media

The Chicago Cubs designated veteran right-handed starting pitcher Jameson Taillon for assignment on Monday.

The Cubs selected the contract of right-hander Andrew Wantz from Triple-A Iowa in a corresponding move.

Taillon, 34, was in the final season of a four-year, $68 million contract with Chicago. He pitched well over the first three seasons, and he made a pair of starts for the Cubs in the 2025 postseason, posting a 2.25 ERA over eight innings without a decision.

But in 2026, Taillon was 2-6 with a career-worst 5.92 ERA through 15 starts. He led the National League with 25 home runs allowed and had already issued as many walks (27) as he did all of last season.

Taillon pitched Sunday and received the loss in an 8-7 defeat against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He allowed seven runs on six hits over four innings, with three home runs. He had not earned a win since April 29, and the Cubs were 1-7 in his past eight starts.

For his career, Taillon is 84-66 with a 3.99 ERA in 239 games (238 starts) for the Pirates (2016-19), New York Yankees (2021-22) and Cubs (2023-26).

Wantz, 30, has appeared in 92 major league games for the Los Angeles Angels (2021-24) and Tampa Bay Rays (2026). He made one relief appearance for Tampa Bay and was dinged for five runs on two hits and two walks in 1 2/3 innings. He was granted free agency on June 3 and signed with Chicago three days later.

–Field Level Media