Minnesota Twins Talk

The Twins are currently having a terrific season. They are significantly exceeding most expectations and unless the Indians get very hot and the wheels come off the Twins machine, they should qualify for the playoffs. So why am I going to suggest that the Twins be sellers at the deadline? Here are a few reasons. 1) The current make-up their roster. Twenty % of the current team will be free agents after this season, including 60% of the current starting rotation. Those numbers go higher if the Twins do not pick up the options on Cruz and Perez. Thus it is hard to image the Twins re-signing the majority of these players, so there will be holes to fill next season - …

While there hasn't been anything officially announced, several sources have shared on social media that Cody Stashak will be joining the Minnesota Twins bullpen. Here's a quick package of highlights I put together from his time in Triple A: The closest I could find to a confirmation is Dan Hayes of The Athletic wrote "Reports Sunday suggested the Twins will next turn to Triple-A Rochester right-hander Cody Stashak." Stashak has a 3.38 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 12/6 K/9 over 50 2/3 innings between Pensacola and Rochester this season. He's struck out 71 batters and has walked just nine, an eye-popping 7.89 K:BB ratio. *Zack Littell, who has pitched the last three consec…

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/07/twins-designate-mike-morin-assignment-dfa.html No corresponding move, no trade appears imminent. *scratches head*

Just tweeted out. It will be interesting to see if he turns it around

SABR's mid-season defensive stats are out, and some Twins are looking really good in them. Byron Buxton leads all American Leaguers in the aggregate SABR Defensive Index (SDI) score. Max Kepler isn't too far behind. Right with him, and causing me to eat some crow, Marwin is shining in his efforts at third base. A little further down, Jorge Polanco ranks among the league leaders also. Martin Perez is showing well, among pitchers. The entire listing, both tops by league and also rankings by position, are here: https://sabr.org/sdi/2019-07-07 I'm here this morning to celebrate our guys - or critique them if need be. If you are skeptical of current attempts to quantify …

http://www.startribune.com/twins-owner-jim-pohlad-fired-up-and-fearful-of-playoff-push/512687682/?refresh=true It's a good read, and kind of a relief that if a newspaper with an editorial staff and a seasoned veteran pro writer can spell Thad Levine two different ways in the same article, I don't feel so bad if i screw it up every now and then.... On to the business of baseball: Is this just a PR piece? Or does the money really not matter as much in the second half of the year?

We all know the twins are REALLY struggling with clutch hitting with runners in scoring position. What do you think of this trade or what do you think it would take to get this player? Our old friend Eduardo Escobar. My arguments for getting him .329 avg. with RISP .279 RISP with 2 outs and finally .556 with bases loaded.Would you be able to get him for Sano straight up or Sano plus a prospect? The only draw back is I can see is how would eduardo react to coming back. I believe there was some tension towards management? are there other better clutch hitters available?

"Hot catchers are a lot like goalies standing on their heads in hockey - once you get on a roll in the postseason, you tend to stick with your horse. With his batting average hovering around .300, Garver has a knack for clutch hits in big spots and could absolutely take over a tight game with one swing of his bat. Maybe even a series." Click below for the full article on why the catcher is the most important position in baseball and why that will equare to a Twins Championship https://www.boutdamn.com/blog/twins-world-series-hopes-rest-behind-the-plate

40 man now at 36. Good luck to Magill.

I really appreciate how the Twins front office is keeping the trade deadline low key as far as press and build up. I believe it is ALWAYS better to under promise and over deliver ( unlike the T-wolves). I certainly hope they do SOMETHING by the deadline but at least we're not being pumped full of false hopes of getting this GREAT player or that GREAT pitcher only to have the rug pulled out when it turns out not to be true. Maybe we will be surprised and they will make a BIG splash!

Odd to see Indy ball 35 year old. Is this to replace Schoop? I assumed it would be a pitcher.

Per Dave Schwartz,,

Pretty good article. http://www.startribune.com/there-s-a-place-in-twins-lineup-for-luis-arraez/512819452/ Arraez gives the team MI depth to trade this offseason is one of the keys.

Trade Deadline is Approaching!!!!!! I've seen some articles suggesting trading prospects for pitching help and most say we can afford to do this now. What I'm offering here is a breakdown of the top 40 Twins prospects who were broken down very recently at Twins Daily. I've listed 39 of the 40 prospects by position (I skipped Arraez because he probably is going to stay with the Twins) and listed how many top 40 prospects are ahead of them on the list. For example, Lamonte Wade Jr. has 8 players listed as outfielders ahead of him on the top 40 list. Kohl Stewart has 10 RHP listed higher. I'm not offering any judgments. I'm just offering up some numerical data that h…

The "live audition" of Zach Wheeler at Target Field is off now that he has been placed on the IL with "shoulder fatigue" according to MLB.com. https://www.mlb.com/news/zack-wheeler-injured-list-shoulder-fatigue-mets That means the Twins are not expected to see Wheeler, deGrom or Syndergaard during their two game set this week.

There are some people on this site that have preached that Twins players should be flexible. This year with a couple of new players (Arraez and Marwin Gonzalez) and a new manager, the Twins have demonstrated that they have a roster of players who are flexible. Four players have started at at least four positions, and four more players have started at at least two positions. I've followed the Twins since they moved to Minnesota and I've never seen a more versatile position player roster. Marwin Gonzalez--1B (8), 2B (2), SS (1), 3B (32), LF (7), RF (7) Ehire Adrianza--1B (2), 2B (7), SS (11), 3B (11), RF (2) Luis Arraez--2B (7), SS (2), 3B (4), LF (5) Willians A…

What do you think about moving Gibbs to the bullpen? He seems like he's usually very solid the first time through the order and then g6ets bad after that.

Lots of panic, dread and concern was we start the 2nd half tonight. So I thought I would start a thread for people to discuss their Highlights of the First Half. List your top 5 or top 3... whatever you like... Can be players or events or other things. Here are a couple of mine: 1.) Jorge Polanco and Max Kepler getting the contract extensions and then both of them taking off with strong first halves. 2.) The Joe Mauer Uniform #7 Retirement ceremony. I was there, so that likely alters my thinking on it, but what an incredible event. 3.) Mitch Garver taking off. Improved defense and a powerful approach at the plate. 4.) The Devin Smeltzer Story and Debut: Dev…

Could the Detroit Tigers say no to the proposed trade of Matthew Boyd and Shane Greene to the Twins for: Royce Lewis, Brent Rooker, Kole Stewart, and Jake Cave? Boyd is controlled until 2023 and Greene through 2021. This would give the Twins a top of the rotation left handed starter, and a tough right handed closer to go with Rogers. The Tigers might ask for someone like Jhoan Duran instead of Stewart. Is Lewis still untouchable in this situation?

Took a look at the lineup's numbers with two outs and runners in scoring position as well as high-leverage hitting. It started out sad, but it turned out there were some reasons for optimism. Check it out:

They had a game Tuesday night. Sort of an exhibition, I guess you could call it - both leagues sent some of their better players. Seeing no mention of the outcome of this "friendly match", I thought I'd post a few nuggets about those of our guys who were invited to take part. I apologize if I'm repeating someone else's work here. Jorge Polanco batted ninth in the order. He thus came up to bat only twice before courteously offering his spot in the lineup to another fellow. Clayton Kershaw struck him out in the second inning. But in the fifth inning he legged out a single against Walker Buehler, resulting in an RBI for his efforts. Since the game was decided 4-3, this run…

I have previously posted that July schedule is pretty smooth except for the 3 games against the Yankees. Well, the upcoming 3 games against the Indians might just be a little bit important as the Twins could wake up Monday morning anywhere from 8.5 to 2.5 games in front of the Indians. I have probably already been corrected on this but I had to post this for the record. Jack Buck's son has already proclaimed that the Indians will catch and pass the Twins so I guess its a done deal but at least make them struggle to do it.

Dave Mona is well known in the Twin Cities media circles. He was a long-time sports writer, used to be involved in Field of Dreams in the Mall of America and has long been the co-host of The Sports Huddle with Sid and Dave on WCCO radio. He shared a story this morning on his Facebook page this morning that I found very interesting from 50 years ago this month... He told me that I could share it with the Twins Daily readers, so I thought I would place it here.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/07/twins-trade-rumors-ken-giles-blue-jays-kirby-yates-padres.html/comment-page-1#comment-1598657 Seems like the opposing teams are focusing on AAA so that would suggest Gordon as a piece?

Jorge Polanco will be starting, Jake Odorizzi was named to the roster and Jose Berrios made it in as a reserve, but who do you think is the biggest All-Star snub on this Twins team? Plenty of options. I still can't believe they won't have anybody in the Home Run Derby, but that's another topic.

Again, didn’t see it posted. Hopefully Wade can get into a few games.

It appears the Twins will add Adalberto Mejía to the bullpen prior to playing Oakland today. The current bullpen has seven occupants, all of whom have thrown over 20 major league innings at the halfway point of the year. With the anticipated adding of one or two arms from outside the organization, one or two of these guys will have to be optioned or DFAed. Who should stay and who should go? I've provided a small table with the numbers. To my knowledge, only Duffey and Harper have minor league options remaining. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RH1IkQpLBRAmbGXnTtYlWW098bbbFKDw5qd8o512W18/edit?usp=sharing

Is a terrible color analyst. There, I said it.

Perhaps we should consider adding a starting pitcher if the splits tell us anything over the last 28 games. There's room to improve both areas on the pitching staff... To my surprise, the bullpen continues to hold their own, including a couple of gutty outings in the 17/18 inning games.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/07/twins-outright-andrew-vasquez-off-40-man-roster.html Not sure what the corresponding move would be though.