The Minnesota Twins have some big decisions facing them as we prepare to enter the 2020-21 MLB offseason. I ran through a few topics in a series of videos over on my YouTube channel. Keeping Eddie Rosario | MN Twins Offseason Primer Ep. 1
What To Do About Donaldson, Buxton? | MN Twins Offseason Primer Ep. 2
Finding Time For Kirilloff, Lewis And Others | MN Twins Offseason Primer Ep. 3
Have We Seen The Last Of Odorizzi And May? | MN Twins Offseason Primer Ep. 4
Free Agent Targe
I've had a lot on my mind as we head into the 2020 MLB postseason, and have been sharing my thoughts over on my YouTube channel. This short season resulted in the playoffs sneaking up on me, but I found some time to get things off my chest. First up ... ATTN: Pissy Twins Fans
Yes, I'm calling you out!!! This was recorded shortly after the White Sox series, and I was fed up with the way a lot of Twins fans were throwing shade at the White Sox while also dumping on the Twins at the same tim
I’ve been having bomba withdrawal of late. You can't give somebody 307 of them and then just expect them to go cold turkey! So over on my YouTube channel I whipped together some quick highlight reels of home runs from the 2019 Minnesota Twins. Jorge Polanco:
Technically next up were Jonathan Schoop and C.J. Cron. I salute them for their contributions, but did not compile their highlights. I wish them the best of luck with the Tigers. Well, at least when they’re playing Cleveland and the Wh
Fellow Twins Daily contributor Matthew Lenz and I discussed a few topics related to the Twins outfield. He recently wrote a piece for the site on Byron Buxton's defensive impact. We discussed some of the interesting things he discovered, the potential of an Eddie Rosario trade and more.
Fellow Twins Daily contributor Cooper Carlson and I discussed a decision facing the Twins this offseason that I feel has flown a bit under the radar. Among the topics we covered were whether retaining Jason Castro is a priority, Willians Astudillo as the backup and which free agent catchers caught our interest.
Fellow Twins Daily contributor Jamie Cameron and I discussed the immediate decisions facing the Twins regarding their current in-house pitchers. We recorded live on Twitter, but here's a cleaned up version of our discussion that cuts out a few (expected) technical issues we ran into:
I love to jump headfirst into things, so I'm not sure where this is going to go or how it works into Twins Daily just yet, but I plan on recording similar discussions with other Twins Daily contributors in the
The 2019 Minnesota Twins season was highlighted by the most prolific home run hitting lineup of all time, but in this video I took a look back at the best starts the team got from its rotation. Here are the top 10 performances as ranked by Game Score Version 2.
Here's some background information on Game Score Version 2.0, if you're interested. Below is the list, see the video above for more information, analysis and highlights. 10. Jose Berrios at TOR 5/7 81 Game Score 2.0 9. Jake Odoriz
Even a really great meal goes stale eventually. I desperately wanted the Twins to do more to upgrade the bullpen this offseason, and was supportive of the idea of them pursuing Craig Kimbrel at one point, but I'm out now. I don't really want anything to do with him. My frustration with the bullpen inactivity was never tied to any one particular reliever. Things have boiled own to that, since Kimbrel is the last man standing, but there were several attractive free agent bullpen pieces out the
*I’m primarily posting this to my blog in order to use it as part of a tutorial video I’m putting together, but I hope there are also a few things in here you find interesting. It would have been difficult to expect Logan Morrison to replicate the excellent numbers he posted last season, that was by far his best year after all, but LoMo has fallen so far behind even his career averages you have to wonder if he’s ever going to turn it around. He’s actually made solid contact, and is putting t
Did you know that marine scientists are making an effort to replace the name starfish with sea star? Neither did I, but these are the kinds of things you learn when you have a toddler (who decided it’s so important to know all the animals and what sounds they make?) Anyway, maybe it’s also time for us baseballogists to review the game’s nomenclature. The purpose behind renaming the starfish is due to the fact that it’s not, in fact, a fish at all. Per National Geographic, sea stars are more cl
One of the great things about being a baseball fan is you can always find plenty to be positive about if you’re willing to look hard enough. While 2016 has been a bleak year for the Twins, having 100-plus players in the organization means there are 100-plus opportunities to find some bright spots. It’s no secret that the biggest issue for the Twins has been their pitching. While some of the prospects like Jose Berrios and J.T. Chargois have struggled in their brief time in the major leagues, t
It has already been an interesting year in terms of how the Twins have deployed their players defensively. From Miguel Sano moving all over the place, to Jorge Polanco going from no reps a shortstop in the minors to the everyday guy there on the big club, there have been some decisions that have been worthy of questioning. Well, the questioning seems to be never ending during a down season, and I'd like to pile on and add Mitch Garver's usage on to the list of head scratchers in the organizati
Heading into this season, it appeared Eduardo Escobar had cemented himself as the Twins' starting shortstop. He'd put together two-straight above average offensive seasons and ended his 2015 season with a big exclamation point. With a poor showing thus far in 2016, however, Escobar's place on the team is now very much in question. Escobar performed admirably in 2014, taking over for Pedro Florimon and fending off rookie Danny Santana for playing time. He hit .275/.315/.406 and ranked 10th in t
The Twins have been very under the radar in their search for a new general manager, but could the team be in a position to announce a new hire before the end of the 2016 season? Recent remarks from Star Tribune reporter Phil Miller certainly make that sound like a real possibility. Miller joined host Michael Rand on the most recent episode of the Star Tribune's Twins Insider podcast, and had a couple of very interesting tidbits to share in regard to the team's search for a new gm. The topic co
In the wake of the Twins acquiring Hector Santiago from the Angels, some have questioned how big of an upgrade he'll be over Ricky Nolasco, mainly pointing to Nolasco's vastly superior numbers in terms of FIP (fielding independent pitching). While the peripheral stats may be in Nolasco's favor, they don't tell the whole story. The biggest divide between these two players is how they bear down when things start to not go in their favor. If you take a look into how each pitcher performs with run
After getting off to the worst start in franchise history, the Twins appear to be turning things around this month, but is that something fans should be excited about? It seems like a crazy question, but when you look at the big picture could it be in the best interest of the team's future to tank the rest of the season? In the MLB there is nothing but incentives to tanking a season. The worse your record is the higher up you draft and the bigger your allotted bonus pool is to divvy out to tho
It's never good when a baseball team leads you to research the stages of grief, but that's exactly the type of thing the 2016 Twins are inspiring. Here's how my grieving through the 2016 season has gone so far. Stage 1: Denial and Isolation Last time I checked in, I was looking for hope with the Twins at 0-8. I wrote that there was plenty of time to turn things around and way too early to be looking for the panic button. When the turnaround didn't happen, I had no interest in investigating w
There isn't a whole lot you can look back at and be positive about from the Twins 0-8 start this season, but here comes the sun (do do do do). There's a string of 70-degree temperatures coming up, and things can only go up from here for the Twins. Yes, it's lame to write about the weather, but you can't be a Minnesotan and not talk about the weather, especially when it's good. Just like you can't say here comes the sun and not add in the do do do do part. Anyway, the biggest bright spot for
If you've been a fan of the Minnesota Twins for a while, you're probably sick of hearing about payroll. It's a topic that's beaten to death, and the criticisms are often contradictory. People will rip the ownership for not spending more out of one side of their mouth and ridicule them for overpaying Joe Mauer out the other. You can't have it both ways. In no way am I trying to suggest ownership or the front office shouldn't be questioned. I'm just saying those are tired and lazy arguments an
In a fan forum Wednesday evening, Minnesota Twins manager Paul Molitor indicated he would probably prefer to keep Trevor May in the bullpen. The plan for spring training, however, is for May to prepare for the 2016 as a starting pitcher. If given an opportunity, I have the utmost confidence May will force the team's hand and pitch his way into the rotation. After the season ended, the Pioneer Press' Mike Berardino wrote a piece that had a couple telling quotes. May expressed his desire to retu
With the Minnesota Twins inactive at the Winter Meetings, many fans and experts are wondering what the team's plan is in regards to its bullpen. The club is said to be focused on getting a lefty, but with so many of the current in-house options being unproven at the major league level, they could use any help they can get. While some are feeling disenfranchised by the team's lack of action, it may not take a blockbuster move to vastly improve the bullpen for 2016. Just take a look at what Ryan
When the news broke of the Twins' trade of Aaron Hicks to the New York Yankees for John Ryan Murphy, the deal seamed reasonable enough. The club was dealing from an area of strength to address one of it's greatest weaknesses. After seeing the free agent and trade markets evolve, things are starting to look worse. There was no reason the team had to deal away a player who would have been of value to the 2016 roster in order to solve the catching problem. True, Matt Wieters, the expected top pri
The dominoes began to fall in terms of the market for starting pitchers when David Price signed with the Boston Red Sox earlier this week. There has been a flurry of moves in the aftermath, both in free agency and on the trade market, but one of the top options heading into the winter is still available: Johnny Cueto. With so many moves going down of late, it's starting to feel like Cueto may be running out of landing spots. Tuesday, SB Nation's Grant Brisbee took a look at potential destinati
Last we saw Danny Santana he was riding the bench, lucky to get a handful of at bats a week as a September call up. After a frustrating regular season, he decided to go back to playing winter ball in the Dominican. The results have not been encouraging so far, with many of the 25-year-old's weaknesses still being exposed despite facing inferior talent. The Monte Plata product has had a particularly lousy week with the glove. Tuesday evening, Santana committed his fifth error in as many contest
Twins fans have been trying to dream up ways to get rid of Ricky Nolasco and his nightmare contract basically from the moment the ink dried on his signature. That exercise has usually entailed finding a similarly terrible contract to swap. After a disappointing first season in San Diego, James Shields' name has been often floated out as a target of late. My immediate reaction to a potential Nolasco for Shields trade is it would be a dream swap for the Twins. After looking into it further, an
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
