The Minnesota Twins are in the middle of a tight playoff race with the Cleveland Guardians, leading them by just two games with two months left of games. But that’s not how USA TODAY Sports reporter Bob Nightengale sees it.

The Twins did nothing at the 2023 MLB trade deadline besides swapping relievers with the Miami Marlins. Meanwhile, the Guardians made a few moves, trading away Amed Rosario, Aaron Civale and Josh Bell in exchange for Noah Syndergaard, Jean Segura (whom they ended up waiving) and prospects across their multiple deals. The moves open up room for younger players to get playing time and add more talent to the farm system. With the Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals also being sellers, Nightengale crowned the Twins as division champs.

“Congratulations to the Minnesota Twins, who clinched the AL Central title. They are barely over .500(55-53), 2 games ahead of the Guardians, but were the only team in the AL Central who didn't sell at the trade deadline. They just stayed pat and watched everyone else get worse,” Nightengale tweeted the day after the 2023 MLB trade deadline. 

Over the years, Nightengale has made a name for himself with reporting and grammatical blunders on Twitter (I'm not calling it X and neither should you) and incorrect predictions. Although he does still break big news, like the trade that sent Justin Verlander back to the Houston Astros, he has a knack for making hilarious mistakes, like when he called one of the prospects being exchanged in the deal by the wrong name. He's also not one to delete his tweets often, leaving some gems out there for fans to laugh at.

Twins fans were quick to react negatively to Nightengale's declaration while others said that the Guardians are a shoo-in to win the division now.

The Twins certainly have what it takes to win the division. A dynamic pitching duo of Sonny Gray and Bailey Ober, two other strong starters in Pablo Lopez and Joe Ryan, a strong closer in Jhoan Duran and a solid hitting core highlighted by Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton. But the Guardians, in addition to boasting talents like Jose Ramirez, Steven Kwan, Josh Naylor and Emmanuel Clase, have seen this movie before.

Last year, the Twins held a one-game lead over the Guardians after the trade deadline. The Twins had acquired Jorge Lopez, Tyler Mahle and Michael Fulmer to boost their pitching. The Guardians stayed pat…and still proceeded to go on a second-half surge that saw them comfortably win the division while the Twins finished the year with a losing record.

Whether he believes the extra game in the Twins' lead makes it truly insurmountable or just thinks these Guardians don’t have it in them to rally, this is shaping up to be another masterful cold take from Nightengale.