Last offseason, the Minnesota Twins traded two of their most important outfield pieces, Denard Span and Ben Revere. There were plenty of reasons for doing this but the main reason was the team needed to add some pitching prospects to their minor league system. The club also felt Aaron Hicks was close to being ready to take over the everyday center field job. It's nearly a year later and things might already be falling apart for both of these players in their new organizations. Reports have beg
The Twins made it official on Monday... Joe Mauer's days behind the plate are over. After consulting with doctors at Mayo Clinic, it was felt that Mauer needed to avoid the chance of re-injuring himself at the roughest position on the baseball field. Even though Mauer is now symptom free and able to go about his regular offseason routine, the club felt this was in the best interest of the team and their star player. The move away from catcher has been something Mauer has tried to avoid in
When a team has lost 90 games in three consecutive seasons, there can be plenty of finger pointing. For the Twins, there are questions to ask about how this current roster was created and what the team can do as they try and move forward. Where are the holes in this roster? What needs to be done this offseason? Are there internal options to help remedy the situation? All of these questions and more need to be answered before the team heads to Florida for spring training. Let's take a look at
As part of the Twins Daily preseason preview, I took an in-depth look at Chris Parmelee and Trevor Plouffe as they headed into the 2013 season. Going into the season, both former first round draft picks figured to get extended playing time. The hope for Twins fans was for each of these players to show some of the potential they had shown while playing at the Triple-A level. Plouffe showed some impressive power in 2012 with 24 home runs and 19 doubles. He had a career high .756 OPS and it looke
Plenty of Twins players will have things to reflect on this coming offseason. When a team has multiple 90-loss seasons in a row, changes are likely and some of those situations started to play themselves out. Minnesota needs pitchers to stand out in the final games of the season as the team tries to figure out the future. Liam Hendriks is one player on shaky ground for 2014. The team rushed him to the big leagues as a 22-year old and struggles followed him since he got called up. Next season,
There is less than a week left in the regular season and the Twins don't have a manager under contract for 2014. With Minnesota on their way to a third straight 90-loss, there are questions about whether Ron Gardenhire deserves another opportunity at the helm. He won 2010's AL Manager of the Year but things have been ugly since that season. Since Tom Kelly was hired in 1987, the Twins have employed two managers so change has been far from commonplace. Terry Ryan cleared out most of Gardenhire'
When the Twins left spring training, there were multiple Twins players in line to get playing time during their sophomore seasons. The second year can be a huge year for players trying to make their mark at the big league level. There can be positive signs during a rookie season but continuing those early impressions and making adjustments is key to solidifying a player's future. Two of these second year players were set-up for very different starts to the season. Scott Diamond had seemingly c
The Twins continue to play out the rest of the 2013 season without their $23 million man, Joe Mauer. There is plenty of concern surrounding Mauer's concussion related injury. As Twins fans are well aware from recent incidents with Denard Span and Justin Morneau, head injuries can be tough to solve. This leaves Minnesota with an interesting situation behind the plate as the team looks to the future. No one knows when Mauer will be back on the field and if he will ever be able to suit up behind
Aaron Hicks had to be flying high at the conclusion of spring training this season. He had won the starting center fielder job for the Twins and he would be making his big league debut in front of the Target Field faithful. His 2012 minor league campaign was fantastic as he showed much of the promise the Twins had seen in him when they took him as a first round pick. The future seemed nothing but bright and there were comparisons being made to some of the best outfielders in the game. Those
The calendar turned to September over a week ago and some changes can followa failing team in the final month of the year. Younger players continue to getmore playing time over veterans like Ryan Doumit and Josh Willingham. It is thetime of year for the Twins to see what the future can hold and changes likethis can bring up some other questions. During the last two seasons, the Twins have been able to see the value ofhaving a high draft pick. Byron Buxton and Kohl Stewart were added to the fol
With Justin Morneau's exit from the club in the last week, the Twins are searching for someone to take over his leadership role in the clubhouse. This seems to be a reoccurring theme for the Twins in recent years as the club shifts away from veteran leadership to a more youthful roster. A couple of years ago Michael Cuddyer and Joe Nathan were considered among the team's strong voices and both players left in free agency. Morneau filled the void left by Cuddyer and it seemed like a smooth tran
Before he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday, Justin Morneau penned an open thank you letter to Twins fans and the only organization he has ever known. He discussed how he has grown up in the organization from a "wide-eyed 22-year old kid" to now being "someone my friends and family could be proud of." Minnesota has become his "second home" and he will always have connections here because his "wife, kids, and family are Minnesotans." In the end, he apologized for never winning a
Chris Colabello's time in the major leagues this year hasn't been spectacular but he has been outstanding in his time in the minors. On Wednesday, Colabello was named the Most Valuable Player and the Rookie of the Year for the International League. This comes a year after finishing runner-up for MVP in the Eastern League. Colabello has been a hitting machine for the Red Wings. He currently leads the league with a .352 batting average, a .427 on-base percentage, and a .639 slugging percentage.
It has been five seasons since Johan Santana last wore the uniform of the Minnesota Twins. In the mean time, he has been dealing with multiple injuries and ineffective pitching performances. He missed all of the 2011 season as he dealt with a shoulder problem and he won't pitch in 2013 because of another should issue. Last season with the Mets, he tossed 117 innings with a 4.85 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. Not exactly the numbers Twins fans were used to seeing from their former ace pitcher. Santana
It has been quite the 12-month span for Twins second baseman Brian Dozier. On August 14th of last season, the Twins had seen enough of him at shortstop with the big league club. They demoted him to Rochester after 340 plate appearances in his rookie campaign. Many thought he would be back as a September call-up but the call never came. Dozier was forced to live with a bad taste in his mouth for the entire offseason. Brian Dozier entered the 2013 season not knowing if he would have a starting
"My big fish must be somewhere."--- Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea Marlin fishing can be an adventure. These beasts of the ocean can weight upwards of 1,000 pounds and it can take quite the fight to get them into a boat. Fishing for these animals can take a lot of time and patience. It also takes the right tools and skills to reel in one of these giant fish. Over the weekend, a story came out in the Boston Globe that discussed the possibility of the Twins making a play for Gian
With the calendar already flipped over to August, there could be some shake-ups coming to the Twins roster. These might not be immediate changes but the club is on the way to their third straight losing season and different players should be given an opportunity at the big league level. In the next couple of weeks, I will look at some of the names on the Triple-A roster that could earn a call-up before the end of the season. This series called "Waiting With the Wings" will profile multiple min
While the Twins finish up their series with the Royals, there could be some reinforcements on the way. Josh Willingham and Darin Mastroianni are both on rehab at the Triple-A level and this could mean both men are back with the big league club in the near future. A healthy Willingham could be a sight for sore eyes to Twins fans. Miguel Sano returned to the line-up of the Rock Cats last night after missing four games with a tight hamstring. He wasted little time making his mark as he fell just
Entrenched in the middle of another losing season, it can be tough to look at the Twins roster and find some positives. There are going to be disappointments but sometimes there can be good mixed in with all of the bad. Sam Deduno fits this mold. He was a surprise for the 2012 Twins team and this still didn't save his spot on the 40-man roster in the offseason. Every MLB team had a chance to claim him and no one took the opportunity to add him to their club. Deduno went back into the Twins
With the trade deadline coming and going, there could be some changes on the horizon with the Twins roster. These might not be immediate changes but the club is on the way to their third straight losing season and different players should be given an opportunity at the big league level. In the next couple of weeks, I will look at some of the names on the Triple-A roster that could earn a call-up before the end of the season. This series called "Waiting With the Wings" will profile multiple mi
For the Minnesota Twins, the last handful of trade deadlines have been mostly uneventful. This seems out of character for a team that has posted one of baseball's worst records in the last few seasons. There are different ways for a team to rebuild and the Twins were very active during last offseason by dealing away Denard Span and Ben Revere. Minnesota doesn't necessarily need to move away pieces that will still be with the club in the offseason. That being said, it would make the most sense
The non-waiver trade deadline is closing in quickly and it is still tough to know what the Twins will do in the coming hours. Is Justin Morneau's Twins career over? Will Glen Perkins still be the guy at the back end of the bullpen? Can the Twins afford to part with Kevin Correia or Mike Pelfrey? There could be a lot of deals in the next couple days or there could be nothing but the sounds of crickets. During the offseason, the Twins made a lot of noise by dealing two of their starting centerfi
The story of Miguel Sano's benching after a slow home run trot has certainly taken on a life of it's own. There have been multiple websites and media outlets that have picked up the tale. He wouldn't play again on Friday and it will be interesting to see when he gets back on the field. He can be a difference maker to the Rock Cats offense and the team wants to try and get back to the .500 mark. Sano can help to make that happen. Sano might be getting a lot of the attention for the Twins farm
Since the Twins were playing on the West Coast, their afternoon game with the Angels went into the early evening in the Central time zone. Minnesota won the first two games of the series before things got a little dicey on Wednesday. Jared Weaver looked excellent on the mound but a bad infield fly call might have cost the Twins a chance to sweep the Angels. With Joe Mauer on paternity leave for three days, Drew Butera was called up from Rochester. He has spent the entire season at Rochester wh
The second half of the minor league season is well under way. Some of the Twins affiliates are trying to find their way into the playoff race. A few of the farm teams are trying to fight through some injuries and keep players on the field. It will be an interesting couple of months leading up to the playoffs. Earlier on Tuesday, a roster move had to be made to fit Nick Blackburn into the rotation for Rochester. His promotion from Double-A meant another pitcher had to go the opposite direction.
I really hold back what I would like to say about then payroll arguments here. The fact that people don't accept the amount taken in dictates the amount going out requires one of two things. Extreme financial ignorance or fanatical bias that prevents the acceptance of something some basic. I did not change the argument. It's the same idiocy over and over. Do you really want to be on the side that suggests revenues does not determine spending capacity?
At this point in the pre-season, I’m just so happy to be seeing games again, I don’t care about the Twins record in 2023. I think they’ll win it all, unrealistically speaking 🙂
I really hold back what I would like to say about then payroll arguments here. The fact that people don't accept the amount taken in dictates the amount going out requires one of two things. Extreme financial ignorance or fanatical bias that prevents the acceptance of something some basic. I did not change the argument. It's the same idiocy over and over. Do you really want to be on the side that suggests revenues does not determine spending capacity?· 0 replies
