The Minnesota Twins will take the field on Friday night in Cleveland with a roster bearing little resemblance to the team it began the week with on Monday in Minneapolis.

The Twins’ roster was ravaged by trades throughout the week — nine total, with seven alone coming on Thursday before Major League Baseball’s trade deadline. The Twins rid themselves of nearly 40% of the active roster, trading 10 of 26 players, and Thursday will likely be remembered as one of the bleakest in the organization’s history.

So, why did they do it? Why did the front office tear apart the roster as thoroughly as it did?

After underperforming for a second consecutive season — the Twins currently sit six games under .500 — the front office decided it was time for a shake-up of the core.

“We had been hovering around or under .500 for a period of time and just couldn’t quite get things going in the right direction, and we’ve got to find a new way to do it,” president of baseball and business operations Derek Falvey said. “Part of that decision was, at this deadline, to reset a few of those spots, to think differently about maybe the way the roster’s constructed some, add some players we think will help us in different ways going forward.”

There’s a lot to dissect as the Twins try to figure out what has gone wrong over the past two seasons. The Twins had playoff odds around 95% last August before an epic collapse left them on the outside of the playoff picture looking in.

The front office did not disrupt the core, entering the 2025 season with nearly the same roster. A slow start this year was offset by a 13-game winning streak that pulled the Twins above .500 for a period of time, but for most of the first four months of this season, the Twins have been an inconsistent, underperforming team.

As the deadline approached, the front office knew it would be trading from the group of players who would be free agents at the season’s end. But it wound up cutting the roster much deeper, trading five players with team control past 2025.

“If we could find ways, with where our roster was, with us not performing at the level we wanted to be at, if we could find ways to get deals we felt brought real, significant talent back into the organization with guys that may have a couple years of control, admittedly, that we could reset or retool a little bit of the roster, we wanted to be open with that,” Falvey said.

Chris Paddack was sent out first, a move on Monday which indicated the team’s intentions to sell. Jhoan Duran went next, a move that suggested this sell-off would be bigger than once expected. And then, over the course of a five-hour period on Thursday, Carlos Correa, Griffin Jax, Willi Castro, Louie Varland, Ty France, Harrison Bader, Brock Stewart and Danny Coulombe were all dealt to contending teams, as well, in a frantic, dizzying array of moves.

Paddack, Castro, Coulombe, Bader and France are set to become free agents following this season, while Duran, Jax, Varland, Stewart and Correa — whose trade was the most stunning of all — were expected to be with the Twins beyond this season. While the Twins thoroughly decimated their bullpen, Falvey noted there was a “deadline premium” that allowed them access to young prospect talent that they did not feel they would be able to acquire otherwise.

“We just got deals we felt we had to say yes to for part of the future,” Falvey said.

As Falvey engineered a sale of much of the roster, the organization itself is navigating through a sale process. The team-owning Pohlad family, which slashed payroll after the 2023 season, announced its intentions to explore a sale in October 2024 after 40 decades of ownership.

There’s no telling how much that impacted the direction that the Twins decided to go in at this deadline but almost certainly, it played some kind of role.

“The sale process continues to be an ongoing reality for our organization and something that we will work through at the right time,” Falvey said. “I work closely with (executive chair) Joe (Pohlad) and the family on any decisions we are making or any plans we’re executing on, and my job is to discuss what those options are, work closely with them and then ultimately come up with a collective plan as to how we navigate forward and that was what was done here.”

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Numerous countries around the world are facing the prospect of much higher duties on their exports to the United States on Friday, a potential blow to the global economy, because they haven’t yet reached a trade deal with the Trump administration.

Some of the United States’ biggest trading partners have reached agreements, or at least the outlines of one, including the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Japan. Even so, those countries face much higher tariffs than were in effect before Trump took office. And other large trading partners — most notably China and Mexico — received an extension to keep negotiating and won’t be hit with new duties Friday, but they will likely end up paying more.

President Donald Trump intends the duties to bring back manufacturing to the United States, while also forcing other countries to reduce their trade barriers to U.S. exports. Trump argues that foreign exporters will pay the cost of the tariffs, but so far economists have found that most are being paid by U.S. companies. And measures of U.S. inflation have started to tick higher as prices of imported goods, such as furniture, appliances, and toys rise.

For those countries without an agreement, they could face duties of as much as 50%, including on large economies such as Brazil, Canada, Taiwan, and India. Many smaller countries are also on track to pay more, including South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and even tiny Lesotho.

The duties originated from Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day” announcement that the United States would impose import taxes of up to 50% on nearly 60 countries and economies, including the 27-nation European Union. Those duties, originally scheduled for April 9, were then postponed twice, first to July 9 and then Aug. 1.

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Will the deadline hold this time?

As of Thursday afternoon, White House representatives — and Trump himself — insisted that no more delays were possible.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that Trump “at some point this afternoon or later this evening” will sign an order to impose new tariff rates starting midnight on Friday.

Countries that have not received a prior letter on tariffs from Trump or negotiated a trade framework will be notified of their likely tariff rates, Leavitt said, either in the form of a letter or Trump’s executive order. At least two dozen countries were sent letters setting out their tariff rates.

On Wednesday, Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social, “THE AUGUST FIRST DEADLINE IS THE AUGUST FIRST DEADLINE — IT STANDS STRONG, AND WILL NOT BE EXTENDED.”

Which countries have a trade agreement?

In a flurry of last minute deal-making, the Trump has been announcing agreements as late as Thursday, but they are largely short on details.

On Thursday, the U.S. and Pakistan reached a trade agreement expected to allow Washington to help develop Pakistan’s largely untapped oil reserves and lower tariffs for the South Asian country.

And on Wednesday, Trump announced a deal with South Korea that would impose 15% tariffs on goods from that country. That is below the 25% duties that Trump threatened in April.

Agreements have also been reached with the European Union, Pakistan, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and the United Kingdom. The agreement with the Philippines barely reduced the tariff it will pay, from 20% to 19%.

And which countries don’t?

The exact number of countries facing higher duties isn’t clear, but the majority of the 200 have not made deals. Trump has already slapped large duties on Brazil and India even before the deadline was reached.

In the case of Brazil, Trump signed an executive order late Wednesday imposing a 50% duty on imports, though he exempted several large categories, including aircraft, aluminum, and energy products. Trump is angry at Brazil’s government because it is prosecuting its former president, Jair Bolsonaro, for attempting to overturn his election loss in 2022. Trump was indicted on a similar charge in 2023.

While Trump has sought to justify the widespread tariffs as an effort to combat the United States’ chronic trade deficits, the U.S. actually has a trade surplus with Brazil — meaning it sells more goods and services to Brazil than it buys from that country.

Negotiations between the U.S. and Canada have been complicated by the Canadian government’s announcement that it will recognize a Palestinian state in September. Trump said early Thursday that the announcement “will make it very hard” for the U.S. to reach a trade deal with Canada.

Late Wednesday, Trump said that India would pay a 25% duty on all its exports, in part because it has continued to purchase oil from Russia.

On Thursday, the White House said it had extended the deadline to reach a deal with Mexico for another 90 days, citing the complexity of the trade relationship, which is governed by the trade agreement Trump reached when he updated NAFTA in his first term.

For smaller countries caught in Trump’s cross hairs, the Aug. 1 deadline is particularly difficult because the White House has acknowledged they aren’t able to negotiate with every country facing tariff threats. Lesotho, for example, a small country in southern Africa, was hit with a 50% duty on April 2, and even though it was postponed, the threat has already devastated its apparel industry, costing thousands of jobs.

“There’s 200 countries,’’ the president acknowledged earlier this month. “You can’t talk to all of them.’’

AP Writers Josh Boak and Wyatte Grantham-Philipps contributed to this report.

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM and SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN, Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Two wildfires burning in the western United States — including one that has become a “megafire” on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon — are so hot that they’re spurring the formation of “fire clouds” that can create their own erratic weather systems.

In Arizona, the wind-whipped wildfire that destroyed the Grand Canyon Lodge is 9% contained and has charred more than 164 square miles to become the largest fire now burning in the continental U.S.

Another large fire in Monroe, Utah, has burned 75 square miles since July 13 and is 11% contained, officials said Thursday. Evacuation orders were issued Wednesday for several towns in the fire’s path, and scorched power poles caused electricity to be shut off in other nearby communities in south-central Utah.

‘Fire clouds’ present challenges for firefighters

Towering convection clouds known as pyrocumulus clouds have been spotted over Arizona’s blaze for seven consecutive days, fueling the fire with dry, powerful winds, fire information officer Lisa Jennings said. They form when air over the fire becomes super-heated and rises in a large smoke column. The billowing clouds can be seen for hundreds of miles and look like a dark spear jutting into the atmosphere.

Their more treacherous big brother, a fire-fueled thunderstorm known as the pyrocumulonimbus cloud, sent rapid winds shooting out in all directions this week as a smoke column formed from the Utah fire then collapsed on itself, said fire team information officer Jess Clark.

“If they get high enough, they can also create downdrafts and that’s something we really watch out for because that can quickly spread the fire and can be very dangerous for firefighters who are doing their work on the ground,” Jennings said.

Multiple fire crews in Utah were forced to retreat Wednesday as the unpredictable climate created by the clouds threatened their safety.

The same type of cloud, which the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has dubbed the “fire-breathing dragon of clouds,” recently formed a fire tornado that tore through an eastern Utah neighborhood with wind speeds estimated at 122 miles per hour.

“Think of the fire as kind of like a hot air balloon, so it adds buoyancy and things rise as a result,” said Derek Mallia, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Utah who studies pyrocumulonimbus clouds and tracks fires in Utah and Arizona. “You get this towering thunderstorm over the fire, and just like any other thunderstorm it gets really windy underneath it. Because it’s the West, these thunderstorms tend to be very dry.”

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Dry conditions fuel Grand Canyon ‘megafire’

The Dragon Bravo Fire burning on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon was sparked by lightning on July 4. It was about a week later that conditions deteriorated, with hot, dry and windy weather helping to push the flames toward the Grand Canyon Lodge and the historic cabins that surround it. The fire destroyed dozens of buildings and forced the closure of the national park’s North Rim for the rest of the season as hundreds of firefighters struggled to gain an upper hand.

Thursday marked the eighth straight day of historically dry conditions, Jennings said. Humidity levels have been in the single digits, fuel moisture levels are extremely low and wind gusts were expected to crank up to 35 miles per hour.

The pyrocumulus clouds have reached heights of at least 25,000 feet, and fire behavior analyst Arthur Gonzales said they could go higher.

The direction of the wind has been fairly consistent for crews working the Dragon Bravo Fire, and although they’ve been strong, the predictability has allowed fire managers to more easily position crews on the fire lines. But when pyrocumulus clouds form and the winds become less predictable, Jennings said firefighters often have to be pulled back to safety.

Fire prompts power outages in Utah

Hot, dry winds fanned the flames of the Monroe Canyon Fire on Thursday as firefighters worked to contain the spread. The fire has burnt 12 power poles, and many homes have been without electricity since Wednesday afternoon.

The National Weather Service issued red flag warnings for extreme fire danger in much of central and southwest Utah this week.

In Antimony, Utah, 54 miles south of Monroe, the town’s 123 residents were without power Thursday afternoon. Mayor Kasey King, who was helping people gather food and supplies at a community center, said they could be without power for a week.

The power company Garkane Energy Cooperative said it’s working to restore power as quickly as possible and has brought in backup generators.

Marnie King Reynolds, a resident of Antimony, worried for the town’s many elderly residents. She has been using a camp stove to offer hot meals to neighbors and is using a generator to help people refrigerate groceries and medications.

“We have been facing a lot of challenges, but we have the best community,” she said.

In Richfield, Utah, 10 miles north of Monroe, Lee Stevens said his yard was coated in ash. He and his wife, who has asthma and is sensitive to the smoke, have not yet been told to evacuate but are making preparations in case the fire spreads.

The National Interagency Fire Center in Idaho said Thursday that even with fewer acres having burned so far this year than average, many parts of the country remain vulnerable to new starts and fast-moving flames.

Bryan reported from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Smoke from Canadian wildfires set off multiple air quality alerts Thursday across the Midwest and the Canadian prairies, stretching eastward to Toronto.

“There’s a pretty large swath of smoke actually over the central part of the country right now, and you can see that coming down from central Canada,” said Dave Radell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in New York.

The smoke is expected to remain over the northern and central Plains for the next couple of days, he said, adding that there was a chance it could drift toward the East Coast during the later part of the weekend and into early next week.

In Canada, where fires have scorched millions of acres, air quality alerts were issued for multiple provinces, including parts of Manitoba, Ontario and Saskatchewan.

Every air quality monitor in Minnesota is reporting red or unhealthy conditions for everyone, said Matt Taraldsen, supervisory meteorologist at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

The agency issued an air quality alert for the northern half of Minnesota on Sunday before extending it to the entire state Tuesday, Taraldsen said Thursday. The alert is expected to last until midday Saturday.

“This is the first time that we’ve had a weeklong worth of alerts across the entire state,” he said. “Especially at levels that weren’t just unhealthy for sensitive groups, at levels that are unhealthy for everyone.”

Taraldsen said the state could expect something of a break from the smoke over the weekend, “but it looks like next week there could be another substantial round of smoke that we are keeping an eye on as well.”

People can wear well-fitting KN95 or N95 masks to protect themselves, he said, noting that it’s still possible to go outside even with the hazy conditions.

“You just want to be really cognizant of your health and what your body’s telling you,” he said. “If you’re starting to get burning eyes, coughing, things like that, those are the first indications that your body is being impacted by the wildfire smoke.”

Canada’s wildfire season is entering its busiest period, which means that smoke is going to be an issue for the rest of the summer, Taraldsen said, noting that fires were burning both aboveground and underground — in the naturally occurring rich peat bog beneath Canada.

Peat is a nutrient-dense soil that “holds heat really well,” he said, “so when it catches on fire, it tends to smolder for a long time.”

This means that it is “virtually impossible” for the fires to be put out before winter, Taraldsen said, “even if you have a lot of rain that falls over these fires.”

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources issued an air quality advisory on Tuesday that was extended Thursday morning until midday Friday, said Craig Czarnecki, an outreach coordinator for the department.

“Conditions will be re-evaluated every morning on a day-to-day basis through the weekend as additional advisories may be needed,” he said.

Czarnecki said the current advisory was the longest one the department had issued this year, and it “may need to be extended further.”

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In Chicago, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the Illinois Department of Public Health warned residents to be cautious with their outdoor activities as drifting smoke prompted a Red Air Pollution Action Day in several counties, including Peoria and Cook, the agencies said in a news release Thursday.

It is “too soon to say how long the conditions are expected to last,” said Kim Biggs, a spokesperson for the Illinois EPA, adding that the agency was “closely watching our current monitor readings as well as smoke models for the region.”

People in affected areas across the United States are encouraged to visit AirNow.gov for the latest information on local air quality and forecasts. People in Canada can visit www.airhealth.ca for the latest information on their region.

Wildfire smoke contains dangerous pollutants in the form of fine particles known as PM 2.5 that can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Short-term exposure can lead to bronchitis, worsen asthma and create other health issues.