Minnesota Twins Talk

It probably was never intended and I don't know exactly how to make to happen going forward if we get healthy. Even after considering the small sample size of 70 AB's and really having no idea who he will be in the future. Doesn't Arraez have to stay up based on what he has done?

Today is the day that MLB names the pitchers and remaining members of the All-Star team. Each team must have one representative. The Twins already have Jorge Polanco going to Cleveland as the AL's starting shortstop. I am wondering how many more will be named today. To me, there are probably six or seven more candidates and my best guess is that the Twins will end up with three All-Stars total, kind of a low number considering how ell the team has play in the first three months. CJ Cron, Max Kepler, Nelson Cruz and Eddie Rosario all could make cases to be selected to the team. On the pitching side, Jose Berríos and Jake Odorizzi have good numbers and high win totals and…

Just wanted to know if there has been any news on how he is progressing. All I could find is that he has pitched in 2 games for Fort Myers.

Didn’t see this topic posted yet. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/07/twins-to-place-jake-odorizzi-on-injured-list.html

We have now passed the halfway point of the season... I was curious... who would you vote for as the Twins Most Valuable Player through the season's first half? https://twitter.com/twinsdaily/status/1146473624175558657 Are there others who should get serious consideration? I suppose Odorizzi and Rogers could be considered. I put Kepler ahead of Rosario because he's had a better first half, but Rosie probably deserves consideration. I thought Cruz and Garver missed too much time to put on the four-person ballot. So, vote and discuss.

Anybody remember him? He logged 11.1 innings and yielded 11 earned runs in April and was put on the injured list effective on May 1st. The injury was a pulled calf muscle and seemed to be a classic "stash" since Mejía has no options remaining. Mejía was transferred to the 60-day Injured List on June 19th, so if he is activated there will have to be a 40-man roster move. His minor league rehab began on June 10th and can only run until the All-Star break. The Twins will have to make a decision at that point. They will have to activate Mejía on the major league roster or designate him for assignment. Mejía's rehab has been successful according to the numbers. He's served …

https://www.lavidabaseball.com/willians-astudillo-twins-tortuga/ Really great article about Willians Astudillo in La Vida Baseball (a baseball website focusing on latino players). Great because it's actually filled with a lot of great quotes by the-man-the-myth-the-legend himself. Also links a recent tweet featuring a shirt new Astudillo shirt colab for those who are interested.

As per usual, Walters gets interesting with his blurbs at the end of his column. Take it with a huge grain of salt. Quote: It used to be forbidden for baseball clubs to trade within their division, especially between rivals. But no more. At least that’s the way the Twins view the possibility of adding Cleveland starter Trevor Bauer for prospects, of which the Twins have plenty. end quote. https://www.twincities.com/2019/06/29/charley-walters-twins-derek-falvey-thad-levine-are-keepers/ Fascinating idea. What say you? How much to pry away Bauer? Would you pull the trigger?

After playing 18 innings yesterday, along with Kyle Gibson getting some in-game work, it will be a surprise to no one that the Twins are adding a pitcher. I can confirm that Lewis Thorpe has been called up to the Twins. I don't know a corresponding move at this time. I don't know if he will be making a start one of these games in Chicago. Could push a couple of guys back. Could be someone ready for long relief if needed the first couple of games of the series. It marks the first promotion to the big leagues for the Lefty from Melbourne. UPDATE: Lewis Thorpe up. Zack Littell down. Eddie Rosario to the IL. Ehire Adrianza activated. https://twitter.com/SethTweets/…

According to MLBTradeRumors, Buxton and Marwin are back on the roster. Wade and Cave to Rochester.

Thoughts?

What do people think about the twins bringing back Francisco Liriano? Rogers could use some help against LHP and he will be excepted by the fans well. Thoughts

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/minnesota-twins LaMonte Wade is reportedly being called up without yet identifying the corresponding 25 man roster move

When they waived CJ Cron? He hit 30 home runs with a .816 OPS in 2018. He wasn't making a lot of money int he grand scheme of things. He still has an aribitration year left before he hits free agency. I normally do not think the Twins should pick up rejects from other team, but he was a no-brainer.

I'm really surprised nobody has jumped on this yet. Rosenthal has had an absolute nightmare of a season with the Nationals. So bad they released him the last few days. His frightening numbers can be referenced by anyone with courage to look at, in various articles and the such, but I will skip over them for brevity and because I would like to avoid any NC-17 or R rating being conjoined with this post. But his still only 29yo and maintains consistent mid 90's plus velocity from every account I have read. From 2012, SSS and 1st season, he was good to excellent with the Cardinals, including a pair of 40SV seasons in 2014 and '15. He took a dip in 2016 before a fine 2017 …

It's June 23 and it's interesting across the MLB fruited plain. Looking at the standings... There are only 7 clear sellers at the moment. Seattle, Detroit, Toronto, Kansas City, Baltimore, San Francisco and Miami. I'm sure that some others will join the list as time marches on but currently I'd guess this isn't good news for those who'd like to pay lower prospect prices.

Willians Astudillo was optioned after Sunday's game. So far I've only seen scout report this, but it looks to be true. It was fun having him back while it lasted. https://www.scout.com/baseball/mlb/news/1906242210421-fvo-willians-astudillo-optioned/

It may be premature to be looking forward to the 2020 season, and while there will be several signings, trades, and transactions to consider, there is one thing I would like to write down at least in pencil - I want Luis Arraez to be the Twins' Opening Day second baseman in 2020. Let's get to some bullet-points that will explain why! - * Note - I got the idea of writing this article around the second week of June, before Arraez was called up again. I just wanted to point out that this wasn't written just because of Luis' current hot streak. I've been sitting on this one for a little while now.* - - (Arraez at Spring Training 2019, image from Twins Daily) - - *-- Luis can…

Per Dustin Morse of the Twins, the team has activated IF Ronald Torreyes from the restricted list and DFAd LHP Gabriel Moya. Moya was hurt in spring training. He rehabbed and returned to the Red Wings but has an ERA over 7.

He's 30. He sucked really badly this year with The Angels. (1.913 WHIP, 6.26 ERA) But he's just 2 years removed from being stellar. Maybe Wes Johnson can work some of the problems out. Or maybe he's through. Smarter people than me may now begin the discussion.

Tom's thread earlier this evening piqued my interest, as I think the new braintrust thinks outside the traditional box and their success at transforming this once-moribund franchise has earned them chances to take on more financial and personnel risks to achieve and insure even greater success in 2019 and going forward. Case in point: The Marlins are saddled with Wei-Yin Chen's (pro-rated) $42M in salary over this season and next. And he's now reduced to pitching out of the pen. But his peripherals in relief this year are actually not as horrific when you look past the 7+ ERA. His fly ball tendencies can be better absorbed by the Twins stellar trio in the OF. K/9 at c…

The Twins bullpen has now given up 25 runs in 10 June games. ERA for the season near 5, and it's worse than that if you take out Rogers. They went 6-4 on the road trip, but the cracks were visible and widening, and have been since April. This isn't news, even if the damage was minimized for a time through fortune, good to great starting pitching, and historically outrageous offense. There is no help in the minors. 30 year old rookies and failed minor leaguers getting a chance make for nice stories, but don't end up helping the team win important games. They passed on help this winter, and passed on potenial help in Kimbrel. I don't know what they should do. I'm no…

Hi everyone, Long time firsts time (in awhile, I guess); I'm posting because I genuinely think today's game is pretty important, and here's why. Last night the Twins won; they played poor ball in the middle innings: bad fielding, bad pitching and certainly some putrid at-bats. After the game, I kept hearing about how the Twins kept after it, how they overcame obstacles and found a way to win. And they did. That's what I love about this team. They played a below average game -- arguably a BAD game in terms of fundamentals and focus and quality, yet they "stole" a win. Bad plays, bad at-bats, bad pitching -- that's gonna happen. But HOW they happen is important. Twi…

On Thursday afternoon, Dan Barriero interviewed Twins Hall of Famer Frank Viola. The interview was interesting and frustrating and eye-opening. 1.) you could say that Viola comes across as very old school in some ways. 2.) Viola expressed his thoughts on the Twins not signing Craig Kimbrel. 3.) They discussed how the game has changed for good and bad. What are your thoughts? (about the 23 minute mark) Listen here: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/139-the-dan-barreiro-show-26981004/episode/bumper-to-bumper-frank-viola-michael-46277779/

https://www.mlb.com/video/minnesota-twins-all-access?t=mlb-network Last weekend, MLB All Access's crew was at Target Field for the Friday night game (Gibson 8 IP, Garver 8th inning 2-run HR)... Was cool seeing their crew in the clubhouse and all over the stadium. But to see this video come together is remarkable. Cameras and angles. Seeing parts of the stadium we normally don't. Hearing from Nelson Cruz. Hearing Miguel Sano sing. And hey... quite a handsome media type gets a 1 1/2 second cameo at the 7:39 mark!

Just wondering if the large strides forward made this season by guys like Polanco, Garver, Kepler & Buxton, might make Miguel Sano less of a factor in the Twins future plans. Of course the power potential is obviously still there, but I can't help but wonder if patience is starting to wear a little thin while waiting for him to put it together. I would still expect him to have quite a bit of trade value and wonder if that might not be an avenue that the Twins pursue. I'm confident Marwin, Adrianza & Arraez could fill his shoes in the short-term, and in all honesty no one knows what his role could even be in the long-term. I'm leaning towards believing is best …

On the Glen Perkins Baseball Show on Skor North on Thursday, he interviewed Joe Mauer for more than 20 minutes. Perkins obviously isn't a seasoned interviewer, but it''s still fun to hear the questions he asks - such as how he feels about the split-catcher situation with the TWins and if he would be a different hitter if he would have come up today rather than 15-20 years ago. Mauer was really good in the booth, but i continue to be surprised somewhat by how good he is. And, in an interview with Perkins, he seems relaxed and the stories are fun. Check it out here: https://www.skornorth.com/skor-north-twins-shows/2019/06/glen-perkins-on-baseball-the-joe-mauer-inte…

The Twins made a series of moves this afternoon. Marwin Gonzalez to the IL (hamstring) Willians Astudillo called up. Sean Poppen called up (added to 40). Adalberto Mejia to the 60 Day IL. Blake Parker to the Family Emergency List.

The game is almost two months away and obviously a lot can happen in that time. As of now, I would say Polanco and Garver (depending on how long he is out) are lead pipe locks. Buxton and Cruz have a shot, as does CJ Cron. Rosario right now is a long shot. It’s too early to call any of the pitchers locks. However, Berrios, Odorizzi and Perez are all strong candidates. Middle relievers have a so-so history of making it. That said, Taylor Rogers has a shot. I don’t think you want to know who his biggest competition would be, but I’ll bet you can guess.

Hearing people talk about "trade value" makes me wonder, in the organization who has the most trade value (IE what can they get you in return), obviously certain players (1/2 year or Odorizzi) appear to teams needing help just for 2019 while others (Lewis, etc) for teams looking at value down the road. What do you think? How far off am I? 1. Berrios: team control for 3 1/2 years 2. Buxton: team control for 3 1/2 years 3. Polanco: team control for 4.5 years plus 2 options 4. Kepler: team control for 4.5 years plus 1 option 5. Lewis: team control for 6 years 6. Rosario: team control for 2.5 years 7. Garver: team control for 4.5 years 8. Kirilov: team control for 6 years…