r a surprising run to the American League wild-card game in 2017. They made a flurry of moves during an otherwise quiet offseason http://www.indiansfanproshop.com/authentic-b.j.-upton-jersey , adding Jake Odorizzi and Lance Lynn to a rotation that already included Kyle Gibson and Jose Berrios, and banked on improvement from younger talents such as Miguel Sano. None of those paid off the way Minnesota hoped. The Twins will miss the playoffs this season after a series of frustrations and setbacks, especially a rash of injuries. Article continues below ...Byron Buxton, Ervin Santana and Miguel Sano were all expected to play big roles in 2018 but spent significant time on the disabled list while Jorge Polanco missed 80 games for a PED suspension. The personnel shortage led to the Twins dealing veterans Brian Dozier, Eduardo Escobar, Zach Duke, Fernando Rodney and Lynn at the deadline to restock the system with young talent. Manager Paul Molitor admits the shortage was frustrating but refuses to use it as an excuse. “You don’t ever want to sound like we’re making excuses,” Molitor said. “Every team has to deal with certain things along the way. We had some things that went not according to plan, and we had to make adjustments. Sometimes we did well and sometimes not so well.“I think our guys learned, they’re continuing to learn. There was an obvious fallback from last year what we were able to do, so expectations weren’t met Corey Kluber Jersey , but I still try to look for positives.”Molitor will again turn to an opener Thursday when the Twins wrap up a three-game series with Detroit at Target Field in Minneapolis. Left-hander Gabriel Moya will fill the role for the sixth time this season and a fourth time against the Tigers, who haven’t scored a run on him. Moya has six strikeouts in six innings while allowing three hits and two walks versus Detroit in 2018.The Tigers rolled 11-4 on Wednesday, roughing up Odorizzi for four runs and six hits while benefiting from five walks in three-plus innings.“Truth be told, I’ll probably forget about 2018 tomorrow,” Odorizzi told reporters. “I’m going to focus on next year, improving and getting back to the pitcher I am and that this team deserves.“Take the good from this season. I made all my starts. I remained healthy. It was by no means a year that I’m proud of, but a year that I learned a lot from. So if I can make the adjustments next year and stay healthy, I’m in for a lot better and will show the fans a lot better too.”Another lefty, rookie Stephen Gonsalves, will serve as the primary pitcher while the Tigers turn to former Twins left-hander Francisco Liriano in what might be his final appearance as a Tiger. Lirano has recorded three consecutive quality starts, though he allowed three unearned runs over six innings in a loss to the Royals on Friday.Minnesota’s Logan Forsythe is in a 1-for-18 slump but is 7-for-12 in his career versus Liriano. Molitor won his 300th game Wednesday against 343 losses since becoming manager in 2015.“It snuck up on me a little bit Ricky Vaughn Jersey ,” Molitor said. “Didn’t realize it until Joe Mauer acknowledged it after the game, which was nice. I guess baseball likes round numbers. Would like to get to 300 wins already before you have seen 300 losses, but that hasn’t been the case. Keep moving forward.”The Twins won 10 of the first 18 meetings this season and have already wrapped up their second consecutive season series victory. Closers Roberto Osuna and Ken Giles switched spots. Adam Warren and Zach Duke moved into the Seattle bullpen. Lance Lynn got a new look in pinstripes. Adam Duvall will be slugging for the Braves. And Ian Kinsler is primed for a playoff run with his new team, the Red Sox.A day before the deadline to make trades without waivers, there were plenty of deals Monday.Hoping they could improve their bullpen without causing friction in the clubhouse, the defending World Series champion Houston Astros acquired Osuna from the Toronto Blue Jays for Ken Giles and two pitching prospects.The 23-year-old Osuna was a first-time All-Star last season, his second as the Blue Jays’ full-time closer, and finished with 39 saves and a 3.38 ERA.But he hasn’t pitched in the majors since May 6 because he’s been serving a 75-day suspension under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy. That suspension ends Sunday. Osuna was charged in May with one count of assault in Toronto, a charge that remains pending.The Astros have a zero-tolerance policy on domestic violence and released former prospect Danry Vasquez in March after video leaked of him hitting his girlfriend. Houston pitchers Justin Verlander and Lance McCullers Jr. used social media to voice their disgust about Vasquez’s actions after the video became public.Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said he reached out to several players and coaches before making the deal, and he clarified that the team policy does not apply to conduct that occurred when a player wasn’t in the Houston organization.”Quite frankly, I believe you can have a zero-tolerance policy and also have an opportunity to give people second chances when they have made mistakes in the past Michael Brantley Jersey , in other organizations,” Luhnow said. ”That’s kind of how we put those two things together.”Houston’s closest competitors in the AL West, the Mariners, also added to their relief corps. They got Duke from the Minnesota Twins for a pair of minor leaguers and acquired Warren from the Yankees, also for two minor leaguers.”Obviously a lot of teams are looking to add to the bullpen this time of year with the trade deadline coming up. I’m not surprised,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. ”It may not be the last thing we do.”The 35-year-old Duke was 3-4 with a 3.62 ERA in 45 appearances for the Twins. The lefty has limited left-handed batters to a .237 average this season.The 30-year-old Warren was 0-1 with a 2.70 ERA in 24 appearances for the Yankees in a season interrupted by a lengthy stay on the disabled list because of a strained back. He is eligible for free agency after the World Series.New York, competing with Boston in the AL East and with Seattle in the wild-card race, also made a move to replace Warren, acquiring Lynn from the Twins for first baseman/outfielder Tyler Austin and right-handed prospect Luis Rijo.The 31-year-old Lynn made 20 starts for the Twins, going 7-8 with a 5.10 ERA. The righty is likely to become a long reliever with the Yankees.New York has Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka http://www.indiansfanproshop.com/authentic-b.j.-upton-jersey , CC Sabathia, Sonny Gray and newly acquired J.A. Happ in its rotation, although Lynn could fill in if a starter is sidelined by injury.Late Monday, the Reds dealt Duvall to the Braves, who hope his bat will help them reach the playoffs for the first time in five years. The outfielder topped 30 homers in each of the past two seasons. He hasn’t maintained that pace this year, with 15 homers in 105 games and a .205 batting average.Cincinnati got right-handers Lucas Sims and Matt Wisler and outfielder Preston Tucker in exchange.Boston acquired the 36-year-old Kinsler from the Los Angeles Angels to fill one of the few holes in its deep lineup. The Red Sox have been without star second baseman Dustin Pedroia for most of the season. Kinsler has been to the postseason three times with Texas and once with Detroit and could easily be playoff-bound again with Boston, which has the majors’ best record.The Angels, who are hovering around .500 and fourth in the AL West, sent cash to Boston along with Kinsler in exchange for Triple-A pitchers Ty Buttrey and Williams Jerez.—