Minnesota Twins Talk

Very few comments on the manager and his coaching staff during this lackluster season. There have been many coaching decisions,especially with pitchers that are very questionable. Such as leaving in your starter who is getting " shelled" by opposing batters, building up an insurmountable lead in runs. Wes Johnson is first time ever college pitching coach who never spent a day in minor league baseball, thats very suspect in his ability to handle MLB caliber players. Twins need to evaluate Roccos performance and not rely events from the past. Change should be highly considered.

I don't think anyone is surprised the Twins are placing a high price on Berríos but according to Dan Hayes, the asking price is "one pre-arb MLB player and two top 100 prospects". That's an insane ask and makes me think the Twins aren't actually interested in trading Berríos. Which isn't necessarily the wrong decision but they better do a hell of a lot better job in the coming offseason than they did this past offseason. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/07/twins-trade-rumors-jose-berrios.html

Joel Sherman of the NY Post briefly mentions the Yankees are "wondering" about Kepler. It's possible that we are largely ignoring one of the most logical trade pieces on the Twins, assuming the fact people are willing to offer value for him in a relatively down season. It may be a little absurd for the Twins to keep Kepler with both Larnach and Kirilloff on the roster, as that gives them an all-lefty outfield if Buxton is out. If the Twins believe strongly in Kirilloff and Larnach (particularly him during his recent slump), Kepler becomes moderately expendable. https://nypost.com/2021/07/19/there-are-real-questions-about-yankees-trade-deadline-plan-sherman/ …

The twins are about to sell off parts of the team due to a terrible 2021 first half of the season. But are the twins contenders and are a year off from contending or are they just pretending and have more work to do Let's go position by position and find out. Catcher-garver 67 rbi in 2019 hurt in 2020, behind him nothing, catcher still a work in progress.... First base-sano stats in 19 79 rbi 20 down in production this year down further where Alex kirloff is now taking time at 1st and doing rather well, 1st base incomplete. 2nd base and shortstop- Polanco has played both this year bringing in Simmons and last year playing Luis Arreaz there as we…

Apparently the weather that we had in SE Minnesota on Wednesday has made it's way to Michigan. Both games of the doubledheader have been postponed. I do not know how they will make this up, but we can all focus on the off-the-field news (players rehabbing, Buxton negotiating extension).

Nick Gordon has been on the Twins roster for most of the season. He was first recalled in early May and spent a week with the team only getting in one game. He was sent down, but then recalled later in May and has been on the team since. By my calculation, he has been on the club for about 55 days. Gordon has played in 24 games and only has 69 plate appearances. The results have been pretty good. Despite sporadic play, Gordon has managed to hit .262 and garner a .674 OPS. Gordon has struck out 27.5% of the time and walked 5.8% of his plate appearances. He is also five for five stealing bases and has played center field, second base and shortstop. This looks to be th…

No question the first 89 games of the 2021 season have been disappointing. However the Twins did manage to avoid total disaster by walking back from the edge of the cliff with a 5 game streak and finishing pre All Star with a 4 game sweep of the Tigers when they absolutely had to at least win that series. So what do they do now with 73 games left and on a 72 win pace? Many trades and other moves have been suggested but the main question is do they go all out and try to salvage a .500 or better season or do they strictly look ahead to 2022? Even dealing with the possible return of Byron Buxton is not simple because it may be best to sit him for the rest of the year. I…

Last-minute addition to the team ...

(WARNING: Very small numbers ahead.) Here's a round-up of the Twins 2021 postseason odds, by various systems, as of today (Monday June 21). Baseball Prospectus: 16.2% Fangraphs: 2.5% 538: 2% Baseball-Reference: 0.4% Whoa, Baseball Prospectus takes a bold stance! Somehow we gained 4.5% on our odds there in the last day -- maybe due to Buxton's return? As you might have guessed, all of these systems give the Twins higher odds of winning the division than winning a wild card. So it seems our best path to the postseason is a strong comeback paired with a Chicago collapse. My perspective is that we shouldn't get too discouraged by these …

Wondering if any cause/effect relationship explains this years dumpster fire of a season? Your question is answered. While other teams invest enormous time and money crunching never ending data, here in Minnesota, we have the silver bullet that explains everything: Uniforms. The trend is clear, results dispositive. Through the end of June, with data courtesy of UniformLineups.com, we see that when wearing their dark blue alternate (road or home), the Twins are sporting a hefty 15-12 record, for a .556 winning percentage. Road grays come out to 7-9/.438. Home whites fare the same: 7-9/.438. Alt home reds: 4-9/.308. And last and certainly least, Alt…

With today being an off-day for the Twins, I have taken a longer look at the stat sheets. I think it is interesting to compare and contrast Kirilloff and Larnach. Alex Kirilloff and Trevor Larnach have much in common. Both are rookie outfielders for the Minnesota Twins, both were #1 draft choices for their team and both hit left handed. They represent a big part of the future of the franchise. Kirilloff has been in the organization longer and was the first to be promoted to the Twins. He started the second game of the 2021 playoffs versus the Houston Astros and did get a hit. Alex began 2021 in the minor leagues, although he was recalled before play began in the AAA…

welcome... This is my 7 point plan for the 2nd half of the season, so simple straight forward plans 1)Rocco gets 1 more year, let him learn and figure things out if he does we reap the benefits. He doesn't he goes. 2)Cruz gets dealt but 1 player coming back must be mlb ready I'm not saying wandy Franco don't worry, but say an arm for the bullpen. 3)Rogers gets dealt for a young starter period, say Garcia from the Astros If not sign him say 2 years 25 million (12.5 yearly) with a player option 4)Donaldson trade him for some minor league potential obviously the more we help with the salary the better, but sometimes just gotta move players on. …

I am going to the game on Friday and was curious if players are signing autographs yet? I am really hoping they are.

Kenta Maeda threw 36 fastball yesterday. For those 36 fastball he got no whiffs and they generated his lowest fastball spin rate in the last two years. In three of his last 4 starts he has no swings and misses on his fastball. Does he need a sticky ball to be effective? Can he command his fastball without a sticky ball? Below is a chart of his spin rates comparing 2020 vs. 2021. How should the Twins proceed? If he can't command his fastball do they need to put him in the bullpen where he can limits its use? They need bullpen help and it would certainly save them several million in incentives. He may be a very valuable bullpen piece at a very reasonable cost. The ince…

The Twins chose to let Kyle Gibson, Rich Hill and Lance Lynn go elsewhere. So far this season, they are a combined 20 wins, 6 losses. The replacements, Maeda, Shoemaker, Dobnak, Pineda and Happ are a combined 15 wins, 25 losses. The Twins must be the only major league team to have at least 10 batting practice pitchers on their active roster. There must be something wrong with the pitching coach team that can't get the same results as other organizations.

I still think the Twins have some nice pieces that they need to parlay into some starting pitching and bullpen help. The obvious pieces people will talk about when moving players are Nelson Cruz and Josh Donaladson. I think we should talk about some not so obvious names. I believe the Twins have one really attractive trade piece in Max Kepler that people will want. I think this year is an anomaly and people will try to lowball the Twins on a guy like Kepler or Arraez. Both have great trade value and to me are the Twins most marketable trade chips outside of Jose Berrios. I still wish the Twins would sign Berrios to a long term extension. We need to add starting rotat…

For a moment let's let the disappointment and vitriol of 2021 subside to examine 2022 and maybe even the remainder of 2021 and look to the future. We all know the fluid and crazy nature of a ML pen and RP in general. Honestly, I'm not sure it's that different than a rotation. For most teams that are successful, you have a PRIME arm and at least one close to it. It doesn't matter these days about a "closer" and "set-up" man because even though things are similar to the past, we've also see a revolution in how the bullpen is built and used across baseball. Rogers is only 30yo and has shown everyone that his "bad luck" in 2020 might have been real. Duffey hasn…

The Twins have won 7 of 9. I’m not trying to be a debbie-downer, but I’m still not convinced this season can be saved (I would love to be proven wrong). Do you think Baldelli needs to go after this season? Please share your thoughts down below!

If you haven't already gotten a chance to take a look at Jeff Passan's "MLB Trade Deadline Preview" on ESPN, its worth the read. He essentially notes that the Twins are the team every contender is eyeing to make a deal with. The article outlines everyone from Nelson Cruz to Tyler Duffey as potential candidates teams are coveting as we approach the July 30th trade deadline. Here's what he had to say about Taylor Rogers. "though I didn't mention, left-handed reliever Taylor Rogers is very popular among teams that want bullpen help, which is pretty much every team" .. OK, pretty vague. But I think we all get that he will be in high demand in the coming weeks and…

So, looks like Buxton did not make Round Two and will miss being named a starter for the 2021 All-Star team. Of course, we know he wouldn't start, because he was injured. Mike Trout, however, has been named to the team. By some fluke, he MIGHT make an appearance as he is scheduled to be doing minor league rehab appearances during that week. Will see. So now the BIG QUESTION? Who represents the Minnesota Twins? How could Nelson Cruz not be named! Will Jose Berrios be one of the pitching staff?

Consider your options carefully.

This season has been a bummer, but it provide a unique opportunity to get rid of a contract that is likely going to be a real problem. Donaldson has been healthy, he's performed well, and the Twins don't need him this season. If they don't find a trade partner, there is a very real risk they are spending $50M over the next two seasons for either a declining or injured player. So let's find a trade partner. Here is a link on FanGraphs to how all MLB teams are hitting at 3B, sorted by wOBA, from worst to first. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of competitive teams at the top of the list. Philly is 5th, but Bohm is a 24y0 who hit .338 last year, and has looked …

During the last week I have attended a couple VFW games, worked, and had a small family reunion. In the last month I have been to an anniversary and had one of my regular coffee visits with an old friend. And during these occasions, I have encountered quite a few people whom I know for a fact are baseball fans of many years. The constant to all of these get together is the complete and total apathy for the Twins. MLB doesn’t fare much better, with the exception of the sticky debate. It’s virtually impossible to discuss the Twins with anyone I know. My son and son in law both coach youth teams. The guy I coffee with was always a Twins and sports fan. I sat at the VFW …

The atrocious part of the 2021 season seems to finally be in the past. That doesn't mean the Twins will be good, but I think we can all agree this roster isn't anything close to "the worst team in baseball" territory. Y'all saw the Orioles last night, after all... I figure, being on the slightly cautious side, the Twins will have to make a decision around July 20th whether to push the chips into the middle or fold their hand. In reality, they can probably push more toward July 26-28 but if you want the best return, and the Twins have a ton of decent/good pieces available to move, you're going to want to start dangling players like Cruz (limited market) as early as po…

So, another 40-man roster switch. Hamilton has to be wondering "What th-" in St. Paul. So now the Twins have Law, Jax as potential musical chairs. Smeltzer is throwing. How long is Colome for the Twins, although he has been okay in mop-up settings. And Burrows. Will it be musical chairs as we see Gilmartin, Barraclough and others (who knows, Albers might even get a game to comeback).

Apparently the game happening some other day. I assume it is weather related, Which is sad. We had 'em right where we wanted 'em! So trash talk to your hearts' content! Also, you suddenly have the night free. Go play music, pick wild flowers, fold origami, watch a movie, read a book! And we'll expect a full report...

My proposal; send Berrios, Buxton, Rogers, and Sano (while also paying for the rest of his contract, including buyout. If the Padres pick up the option, they send the buyout back to the Twins). The Twins get from the Padres Gore, Abrams, Hassell, Haynes, and Lizarraga. The Padres immediately increase their chances to win the West (it seems likely the two wild cards will come from the NL West; do you really want to worry about having to beat the Dodgers in a 50-50 game?). They also keep all of those guys for next year, giving them a nice two year window to win a title. The Twins signal they are in rebuilding mode, but get a potential front-line starter, a guy …