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About this blog

Catch up on all things Minnesota Twins from an insider's perspective without the added slant.

Entries in this blog

Twins Showing Assumed Colors

The 2016 Major League Baseball season wasn't supposed to go like this for the Minnesota Twins, but then again, maybe it was. Reliant upon an influx of youth, Paul Molitor's club was expected to score runs, and do so in bunches. Pitching should've been an improved aspect, but still could've been an assumed deficiency for this club. Through the first half however, nothing went right, right up until the end.   As the dust settled and the 2016 season enters the All Star Break, the Minnesota Twins fi
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

2

Twins Show Poise in Winning Deadline

For weeks we’ve heard talk of the big names. Madison Bumgarner, Will Smith, and Noah Syndergaard were all assets expected to be moved at the July 31 trade deadline. Because the Minnesota Twins are one of the best teams in baseball they were consistently linked to the best gets, and so too were every other major market. In the end, that trio went nowhere, but it’s in how Minnesota executed on their moves that makes the maneuvering something to get behind.   Without hammering out more thoughts on
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

3

Twins Setting The Table

As February quickly comes to a close, the Twins are ready to get fully underway with spring training activities down in Fort Myers. Pitchers and catchers have reported, with most of the roster following suit. With Paul Molitor eyeing an improvement on a strong first season, he knows that his club has some areas to work on.   Minnesota found themselves in a good deal of beneficial situations a season ago. The club, more often than not, excelled in clutch or high leverage situations. Despite havin
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

2

Twins Set Up for a Big Splash

So far, the Minnesota Twins have committed something like $30 million in 2020 contracts to three players this offseason. Two pitchers and a backup catch mean the 26-man roster is quickly closing in on finality. At this point, there’s nothing left but the big bang.   Jake Odorizzi returning to the Twins was a great development. A longer-term deal is probably better than the qualifying offer situation, but it’s negligible nonetheless. Michael Pineda is a guy that made sense to QO, and instead Minn
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

7

Twins Set for Series 1

On January 30 the 2019 Major League Baseball season officially gets underway. While the likes of Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, and Craig Kimbrel all remain unsigned and on the free agent market, Topps is ready to role out their first cardboard offering of 2019. Always a fun kickoff to the new year, ripping some wax and seeing new faces in Minnesota uniforms is a time-honored tradition.   In 2018 the exclusive rights owner for production of licensed baseball cards had plenty going for them. While
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

0

Twins Sending A Message With New Arm

After the debacle that was the Minnesota Twins series with the Houston Astros, it was apparent that a lackluster bullpen needed and overhaul. The club had shuffled deck chairs too often this season, and there wasn't much room for error to begin with. In one of the moves that was made, we might be able to get a better understanding for what could be to come in regards to roster construction.   When the dust settled as Houston left town, the Twins bullpen had given up 28 runs (27 earned) on 29 hit
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

7

Twins Searching the Cupboard for Arms

Coming into the 2019 Major League Baseball season, relief pitching was a very serious question mark. For the most part, the guys Minnesota’s front office has told us to trust in have looked the part. Ryne Harper has been a great story, and Matt Magill has flashed solid stuff. The back end of Taylor Rogers, Blake Parker, and Trevor May work. Unfortunately, that’s where things end.   There’s been a revolving door at the bottom of Minnesota’s bullpen, and the options to call upon are dwindling. Fer
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

6

Twins Searching Out A Bat?

Recently on MLB.com, Jon Morosi wrote a trade deadline buyer's guide focused on hitters. I recently wrote a piece regarding the Twins and how they should attack the deadline when it comes to pitching and prospects. I hadn't considered them adding a bat, but there's a name Morosi mentions that could make some sense. Is this the time that Jose Bautista comes to Target Field wearing the home uniform?   There was some talk over the offseason that Minnesota may have interest in the long time Blue Jay
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

18

Twins Sano Punishing Baseballs

Through the first month of the 2017 Major League Baseball season, it's hard to argue against Miguel Sano being the Minnesota Twins most valuable player. Ervin Santana has been incredible on the mound (and he's benefited from improved defense) but Sano has really come into his own, and it's been fun to watch. Why trying to find answers as to why, Sano is quite simply destroying baseballs.   With the first month behind him, Miguel Sano has been worth 1.5 fWAR and owns a .316/.443/.684 slash line.
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

2

Twins Rotation Provides Intriguing Depth

Over the weekend the Minnesota Twins inked Jhoulys Chacin to a minor league deal that’s worth roughly $1.5 million if he makes the big-league club. With the non-roster invitees yet to be unveiled, and some chatter going around, he’s probably not the last arm to be brought in. Although the rotation didn’t experience a big jolt, Rocco Baldelli’s club is going to have some interesting options.   A week ago, the assumed Opening Day rotation would have been Jose Berrios, Jake Odorizzi, Homer Bailey,
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

8

Twins Rotation May Be The Most Certain

Although more often than not I put some thought into a topic before putting together a full fledged post, sometimes the topic just happens. This afternoon, a follower on Twitter posed a very interesting question. He asked, "Where do you see the Twins rotation amongst the AL Central competition." As recently as last season, it would be easy to quickly dismiss the thought and suggest they are dead last. Heading into 2015 however, it's not quite as easy.   To understand the foundation the Twins sta
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

3

Twins Reinforcement Absent In September

With August officially coming to a close, and the Twins just a game back in the Wild Card standings, Paul Molitor's club is in uncharted territory. For the past four seasons, losing has been all the Twins have known. Now with a chance to play meaningful September baseball, promotions take on a whole different meaning.   As the Rochester Red Wings finished off a 4-2 win to end the month of August, Twins General Manager Terry Ryan watched the action unfold as he decided who he would bring back nor
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

2

Twins Reduce Clarity With Roster Cuts

This morning, first year manager Paul Molitor announced the next handful of roster cuts for the Minnesota Twins. As the team whittles down its roster to 25 players prior to Opening Day a week from Monday, the group of Fort Myers is going to get smaller. With 31 players now left in camp, Molitor has six more players he must send packing. The latest round however may have caused more confusion than clarity.   Amongst the roster moves this morning, the Minnesota Twins elected to send out position p
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

9

Twins Ready To End 20 Year Drought

The Minnesota Twins have not been to the Major League Baseball playoffs since 2010. Following the 3-0 series sweep at the hands of the New York Yankees, Minnesota went on an ugly four-season run losing 90 or more games each year. Having begun to turn the corner in 2015 with a near playoff run, the 2016 squad appears poised to end another long drought. This one focuses on the AL Rookie of the Year award.   Marty Cordova was the last Twins player to take home AL Rookie of the Year honors, and he d
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

1

Twins Questions from the Offseason

It’s been a while since I’ve fielded some questions and handled a Twins mailbag. With the offseason in full swing, and plenty of irons in the fire, the Minnesota Twins have provided a good deal of questions for fans. Doing my best to pick out a handful of them, here’s my take on some of the discussion.     The Twins have been tied to a handful of position players, but really the only role needing to be filled is corner infield. If Sano moves to first base, then the idea of Josh Donaldson ma
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

2

Twins Quest for Pitching Becomes Clearer

Update: It appears that the Padres will be also landing Yu Darvish from the Cubs. While that takes a target away from the Twins, they have less competition on the Reds front. Arms like Joe Musgrove and Jon Gray also remain enticing.   Late on Sunday night the market for starting pitching pursuits took a drastic change. After the Tampa Bay Rays had announced they’d make Blake Snell available, the San Diego Padres decided to cap off their Christmas weekend with a blockbuster trade. This provides a
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

7

Twins Provide Plenty Of Room For Thanks

Whether you're new here or not, a quick glance at a handful of the articles at Off The Baggy should give you a glimpse of what I'm about. Not a full blown sabermetrician, I find myself using statistics to tell a big story more often than not. In this post however, there's very little reason for numbers to quantify anything. With what the Twins gave us in 2015, and where they appear headed, there's plenty of obvious reasons for thanks.   Following four dismal 90 loss seasons, the Twins turned thi
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

1

Twins Prospects Taking Over Bowman

Today is one of the biggest releases on the calendar in the hobby world. As Topps pumps out the latest Bowman Draft product, collectors feast their eyes on an opportunity to grab autographs and cardboard of the next great stars. For the Minnesota Twins specifically, a Bowman product hasn’t been this exciting in a few years.   While collecting sports cards is a hobby, a large contingent of its appeal is monetarily driven and provides an aspect of gambling. Outside of buying specific cards you cov
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

1

Twins Projections Bring Interesting Expectations

As the winter draws to a close, storylines for the upcoming season don't quite write themselves yet. Sure, teams are solidifying their Spring Training invitee list, but the bulk of what is to come, has yet to get here. That puts us in the midst of Prospect List and Projection season. There's no shortage of pieces out there on either, but it's the projections that bring the most intrigue for the 2017 Minnesota Twins.   Coming off a season in which the club lost 103 games, a franchise worst, there
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

4

Twins Problems Are All Of Them

Here we sit, right around the end of the first month of the 2016 Major League Baseball season, and the Minnesota Twins find themselves as cellar dwellers. Not only are they dead last in the AL Central, but they've found themselves there on account of everything going wrong, at almost always the right moments.   Coming off a season in which they weren't technically eliminated from playoff contention until the final week of the season, the Twins had high hopes for the year ahead. Instead of capita
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

1

Twins Pitching Excellence but Needing More

The Minnesota Twins dropped their 8th game in walkoff fashion while playing the Kansas City Royals deep into the May 29th evening. Accomplishing that feat means they've surpassed the mark set in each of the previous 13 seasons, and 43 of their 58 in franchise history. While walkoff scenarios can sometimes be a fluke, there's a systemic trend that has Minnesota in the dire position they now face. The pitching is there, but the offense has been nonexistent.   Going into the year, Derek Falvey and
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

4

Twins Pen Showing Its True Colors

A season ago, the Minnesota Twins had one of the worst bullpens in baseball. Just narrowly missing out on the playoffs, a better relief corps could have been enough to get them over the hump. This season there were some holdovers and some dart throws to the pen, but no player has been more important, both in reality and principle, than Taylor Rogers.   Rogers, a 25 year old rookie, has now pitched 35.1 innings for Paul Molitor's club. An 11th round draft pick out of Kentucky in the 2012 Major Le
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

5

Twins Pen Ready For A Jolt

Coming into the 2017 Major League Baseball season, the Minnesota Twins biggest question mark was exactly how their pitching staff would respond. After being at the bottom of the big leagues a year prior, Minnesota needed a turnaround to return to competitiveness. They've seen a good enough start through the first 30 games or so, but staving of regression will be best accomplished by continuing to raise the water level.   As things stand on May 16, the Twins own the 9th best starting ERA in MLB.
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

1

Twins Pen Proving Prowess

Going into the 2019 Major League Baseball season there were few areas on the Minnesota Twins 25-man roster that looked more questionable than the bullpen. After bringing in Blake Parker and no one else, the front office turned away from opportunities to significantly bolster their relief corps. We’re just eight games in at this point, but so far, it appears the decision to look internally may be a warranted one.   Despite Minnesota having a ridiculous amount of off days to kick off new year, Roc
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

5

Twins Pen is a Problem in More Ways Than One

Prior to the news of the Minnesota Twins re-signing veteran reliever Matt Belisle, I had every intention of writing a piece on the curious usage of Matt Magill. Paul Molitor has routinely been lackluster when it comes to bullpen managment during his time as Twins skipper, but things got even more confusing today. After revamping the relief corps going into the season, Thad Levine, Derek Falvey, and Paul Molitor have found a way to make a relative strength into a revolving door.   Needing a fresh
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

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