Minnesota Twins Talk

MLB Trade Rumors has a lengthy piece discussing the Padres situation. They have the 5th best record and run diff in baseball, but are right up against the luxury tax threshold and have next to no production from CF and DH. The general framework for the trade is to remove some cap from the Padres, get them help for CF and corner OF and focus on their win now approach. The approach for the Twins is to absorb some salary (short-term), balance their roster, drop some guys from the potential 40 man due to their impending crunch, and continue to build the pipeline for the future. Just spit-balling here, but: Padres send Will Myers, Luis Campusano, James W…

The mystery surrounding the constant accumulation of injured Twins' players doesn't get enough attention. Year after year the injuries pile up despite a determined effort by the Twins' executives to rest players and restrict their workloads. Today's Twins' players are some of the most pampered athletes in sports history, yet the injuries continue to mount. Something beyond simple bad luck must be happening. Perhaps nutrition is being neglected? I'm 57 now, when I was 37 my knees and left shoulder hurt so bad I couldn't sleep. I was ready for replacement surgery just to end the pain. Then one day I searched for alternative solutions on the Internet and discovered the…

As crazy as it feels, Byron’s 20th homer tonight sets a career high for him, as he only hit 19 in 2019. Dunno if they brought that up in the broadcast or not.

I can't read the actual article since it's subscribers only but WTF?

I believe we’ve had a discussion before on HOW to address the Twins’ bullpen. The next question is WHO to address it with. Just like every year at the trade deadline, there are going to be many RPs on the move. Some big names, some not as big names. The Twins absolutely need RP help, so they will likely be in the running for some of these names. Which RPs would you like to see the Twins go after at the deadline and why?

Patience is paying off after a rough start to his MLB career. Miranda mashing the ball is creating a great problem for the Twins to have… No position player on the current roster is struggling enough to make room for Kirilloff, or Lewis when he is healthy enough to return.

I read MLB.com today https://www.mlb.com/news/dylan-bundy-logs-quality-start-in-twins-loss-to-rockies by Do-Hyoung Park and it got me wanting to dig deeper. "MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins’ pitchers couldn’t have done much more to help the cause in the past two days -- but the hitters couldn’t have done much less. That has led to a two-game stretch unlike any the team has seen in more than a half-century -- and on Friday night, it led to defeat, too." 72 games – 39 – 33, 542 pct – 44.4% of the season 10 shutouts 13.9% of games 1 run - 7 games 2 runs 10 games So zero - two runs 27 games - 37.5% 4 runs - 4 times 5 runs - 6 games …

Our Minnesota Twins are currently 38-32 and in 2nd Place in the AL Central Division. However, they’ve lost 4 of their last 5 games, the last two games they’ve had seemingly impossible losses. A few days ago I made a thread asking if this team should buy or sell at the deadline. When I made it, it was a no brainer that the team should buy, but now they’re on a bit of a losing streak. Do you think this team can break out of its losing streak? Or do you think that they will be knocked out of contention quickly?

I think we've found the secret to the Twins winning games. All the games need to be 1 - 0 scoring. They are undefeated in games where only 1 run total has been scored during the game...

The Twins currently stand at 38-30 (0.559) and are leading the division. However, some don't trust this Twins team as much as others. Some have said they do not want this team to go 'all in' at the deadline. Questions for Discussion: 1. Should this team buy or sell at the deadline? If you have a side, how far to that side are you leaning and why? 2. If you think this team should buy, what should they be looking for? (SP, RP, Offense, etc) or If you think this team should sell, who should they look to unload? 3. What should the Twins' goal for the 2022 season be? Why? 4. What should the Twins' goal for 2023-beyond be? Why?

I am taking my son to his first baseball game next week. He has seen my autographed baseballs and he wants to try to get some autographs. However I wasn't sure if the players were allowed to sign before games or not? I didn't want to get his hopes up if they still aren't doing it. We are going to the Thursday early game against the Guardians at 12:10. Any other advice or tips would be welcomed. We live in southern Iowa so generally go to Kansas City to watch Twins games, but this worked best with our schedule. Thanks in advance.

Like most of the postings I am not a believer in pitch framing. Who came up with this and started the trend? If everyone is doing it does it matter? Why is the ump supposed to look at the glove when the flight of the ball over the various angles of the plate are what counts? What I am interested in is the ability to call a solid game. How do we measure this? Is it catcher era? I know Jeffers has a much better era than Sanchez, but then he catches Ryan and Gray. Do pitchers choose catchers because of the target they set, the game they call, or other reasons I don't know? The trouble with catcher ERA is the fact that a lot of it is based on the quality of …

Welcome back to my ongoing little thread where my opinions come out to play. I hope to add to the conversation about the Twins. When last I wrote, the Twins were in first place and my attention in the division was the Chicago White Sox. That has changed. Cleveland has climbed into first place, winning three straight series on the road and sits atop the AL Central. I attended the matinee yesterday and saw Cleveland first-hand. They are a pretty good club and playing very well right now. They've da eveloped enough hitters that the top 2/3s of their lineup is good. Their bullpen looks much better than the Twins and they have an abundance of speed, which helps them in the fie…

Okay, I know it was only 2 games, plus 1 at-bat so hard to make much of a decision. That being said, from what I saw he was looking much more like the hitter we thought he would be this year, and the ball sounded like it did last year when he was slugging the ball, and not like he did in the early returns this year. He did go only 2 for 10, actually raising his average, but the two hits were doubles. Both of which were hard hit, and most likely the two hardest hit balls he had all year, I do not have the numbers on that. I did not see every at bat, games were on too late for me, but he just looked like was a different player than he was when he was swinging when …

Trade rumors are starting to rumble, and will hit high gear after the ASG. What/who should Twins target? This Bleacher piece is 6 weeks old, and hoping it hasnt already been featured in previous posts. If so, my bad. If not, it's fascinating. It's logic leads me to believe Twins should strengthen the 6/7th inning RP roles, by trade (or even internally....would Archer profile for this, or Bundy? ) All comments and ideas welcome! https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2955675-the-newest-trend-taking-over-mlb-in-2022-and-beyond

Why would any Twins fan vote for Buxton. True, he is a great talent, but resting his knee is of more than playing in a meaningless game.

I've seen a few comments on Twitter about Ryan Jeffers. One I just saw is he's allowed 65 SB since the beginning of 2021, which is 6th most. Coupled with his batting struggles I'm starting to think maybe the Twins will look for a veteran to complement Sanchez at some point so Jeffers can goto St. Paul and work on stuff.

Well I think we all knew that either Cleveland or Chicago was going to make a move at some point. After today it'll either be a 1 game or 2 game lead (Twins losing 7 - 1 at this point and likely will loose the rubber to AZ). IMHO, this is not the end of the world when you consider all the injuries/COVID that the team has had to endure over the last few weeks. It could have been a lot worse! The Twins have a powerful offense. Pitching is touch-n-go, but with Gray back and Bundy showing some signs of resurgence, I like the Twinkies chances going into the All Star break and beyond. Yes, perhaps a trade for a good relief P or two. But don't talk to me about trading Cor…

Was last night the first time that the Twins wore their powder blue unis that were specifically road uniforms? I always remember those uniforms saying “Twins”, not “Minnesota”. When they originally wore them it always said “Twins”, and I thought earlier this season it was the same. When looking up Twins uniforms 2022, it shows “Twins”, not the “Minnesota” version. I had to do a triple take when I saw it (and not until I saw a replay of Sanchez’s homer today). Didn’t notice last night.

There's been a lot of recent conversations concerning the August trade deadline and what the Twins might need. And while any additions to assist the Twins in their drive to WIN, the Central and to advance in the playoffs to do well, if not challenge, are almost universally directed towards the bullpen and the rotation, there has been at least some talk about adding a position player to upgrade the offense, though that's clearly a distant 3rd on the list. Still, I think it's worth taking a look at. Further, there has been conversation about the number of shutouts the team has "zeroed up" thus far, and what it might mean. It's always great if your team adds an even bet…

He pops up on Rand's Daily Delivery podcast all the time and all he has to say are negative old guy things. It doesn't even sound like he likes the sport of baseball anymore. I used to like listening to him but his negativity stinks. Are we actually that angry of a fan base that he's just pandering to the lowest common denominator?

The July trade deadline is about six weeks from today. This team has had its ups and downs, strengths and weaknesses. This team is likely to be in contention for a playoff spot (well, hopefully. If they aren’t then I will eat my hat) so they should address their weaknesses. With a more clear picture on what this team is, what would you like to see this team do at the trade deadline?

The title alone is enough to make smoke blow out of the ears of some Twins fans. Go to any twins post or forum after a loss (or win somehow) and you can find a stream of Twins fans complaining about Twins manager Rocco Baldelli. Is this distain reasonable? No. No It's not. Now before I get into it, I'm not the biggest Rocco fan myself, but some of the things I see fans saying really confuse me. I've seen people calling for Paul Molitor back (who was fired for not winning) or people somehow wanting Joe Girardi (who also just got fired for not winning) to be hired. Seems to me wanting to hire managers who have been sent away by their own or other franc…

Per Betsy Helfand. This is Polanco's 1st ever trip to the IL!

Many have talked about how we are not ready to win this year, unless we upgrade our pitching. I agree we can upgrade our pitching, but believe getting a top starter and top reliever will drain our farm system and will not be needed to get into playoffs, and once there nothing says doing so will make the difference between a WS win or not. I looked into past deadline deals and only found 2 higher end starters helping lead to WS win in recent history. I am suer there was some middle of road trades that helped, but without knowing how someone else would have done we never know how big of a difference it would be. This post is not about if we should trade for pitching, but…

The Twins 26-man roster is in permanent flux, as most major league rosters are. They have run a lot of players on the Injured List, but there are several players on the road to return to the active roster. Within this week, Kyle Garlick and Sonny Gray should be added back to the roster. In addition, Alex Kirilloff is absolutely mashing for the St. Paul Saints. I am of the opinion that it is past time to bring Kirilloff back to the Twins. His stats in the past weeks are beyond excellent. He is crushing there and has shown that right now he is dealing with whatever residual wrist issues he might have. Assuming there are no new injuries, the Twins will be hard-pre…

That would be Arraez, Buxton, and Correa. I'd sure love to see those three guys at the top of the Twins line up for the next 5-7 years! I can dream, can't I?

Okay I have to ask this - what is happening with Sano? Does anyone care? Have we written him off? I prefer the players we have to the strikeout king, but he is under contract and on the IL. We hear about other IL players and their progress, but no one writes about Sano - does anyone miss him? Was his injury actually a blessing in disguise for the team? Help me understand.

Waaaay back in the off-season, the Twins signed Chi Chi Gonzalez. No doubt he probably would've gotten a 40-man spot at the time. But instead, he grabbed a job with the potential to work out in spring training if the lockout continued. He has been the msot durable and the better of the minor league free agents working out in St. Paul. The Twins managed to get him to the majors and a short start without putting him on the 40-man. But now he wants to walk. Become a free agent. The Saints roster is full of a wealth of minor league signings: Sanchez M, Sanchez A, Bashlor, Faria, Gossett, Jurado, Petricka, Pinto, Ramirez, Rodriguez, Thornburg, Viza. I'm sure qui…

We need pitching. What will it take to transform this pitching staffs to a contender? I think we need a starter at the top of our rotation to push Ryan and Gray down a slot. That will be expensive. It might cost Royce Lewis and a top pitching prospect. I think we need two bullpen arms to pair with Duran. It might be 3 by the deadline. It is reasonable to worry about Duran’s injury history. One needs to be a pitcher at the top of the pen. They need another to slot in with Duran in the late game and preferably a lefty. They need to acquire the best starting pitcher moved at the deadline. They probably also need to add the best reliever moved as well as a re…