Minnesota Twins Talk

Please! I can't watch any more of this. Not sure if I wouldn't fire the entire Front Office as well. Every choice that they have made has back-fired. We have a roster full of pitchers who can't throw strikes, and batters that can't hit (or often even swing) at them. That we are in a position that Escobar is our primary clean-up hitter is inexcusable. Our scouting department (which was supposedly rebuilt) is pathetic. They can't evaluate potential talent and the advance scouting appears to be non-existent. Can't blame them for Polanco's suspension. But when core players like Dozier, Sano, Buxton, Morrison & Kepler all tank together, that's systemic not coinci…

Check out the latest from Mike Berardino: Brian Dozier on the radar for Indians, Giants as trade deadline approaches In the piece: According to sources, the Indians are telling people they have a “revolving door” of options as they search for an additional piece of two.

Welp. Now we know why he wasn't used.

We keep talking about being sellers but the Twins are on a 13 - 5 run. If we gain another game or two by the deadline we would be 5-6 games back. Who do you think we should target if the front office decides to make a run this year instead of selling?

#Twins drawing as much interest in RHP Kyle Gibson as in any of their players., but would need to be “blown away” to trade him, source says. Gibson, 22nd overall pick of 2009 draft, finally becoming pitcher MIN envisioned. Ranks 12th in AL with 3.42 ERA, one more year of control.

Probably not. Hot shot office types don’t think they ever do...... But- 1.) Buxton situation playing through broken toe. (For that matter, not giving him any time in Rochester after long DL stint) 2.) Belisle 3.) Use of relievers (see Magill, Belisle, etc.) 4.) Wilson love (For starters) Twin city reporters are gutless. Same with FSN interviews-can’t remember any tough questions for Molitor) Look, this is a bad team now. It’s going to happen. But it would be nice to know if they had any discernible plans for this group. It’s embarrassing to watch this train wreck now!

Well, it's late July and starting to wonder if any of the Twins players will reach the 20 homer mark this year. Rosario is currently sitting on 19, so he SHOULD be able to get up and over that benchmark. But will any other players on the team make it? Dozier and Escobar are two other possibilities, but one or both of those guys could end up being traded soon. Or could it be Kepler? He's now at 13 dingers and starting to look better lately.

It's July 25, 2018. The Twins likelihood of making any sort of playoff push here is basically nil. However, the boys in the minors have been making noise and making names for themselves within the Twins Daily community as well as nationally. I thought now would be a good time to have some fun and make projections on what the Twins roster will look like 2 years from today on July 25, 2020. To make this fun lets say you can use anyone currently in the system (Includes Dozier and Escobar), and 1 player you think they could add either via trade or Free Agency. C - Ramos (Free Agent) 1B - Rooker 2B - Polanco 3B - Sano SS - Lewis LF - Rosario CF - Buxton RF - Kiri…

I have beaten this drum a couple times here at TD. But I'm going to bang the crap out of that drum again until the skin breaks through. I am in no way going to wax poetically that Garver is some Gold Glove, future All Star catcher just waiting to explode on the scene. But I also think we need to take a step back, recognize the reality of his situation, and then take a much needed step forward. I think we can all mostly agree that the 2 hardest things to find in baseball are a true ACE pitcher, and a "do it all" catcher. And both are also hard to define. In regard to catcher, there are simply very few guys like Mauer, Rodriguez, Possey, etc, who are just born to the po…

He elects FA after being DFA'd by Baltimore. The stats are brutal this year. But in 2016 he was great. He may be washed up... Is it worth taking a chance on him?

Nm

Per Berardino, Ervin wasn't able to top 90 MPH with his fastball during his last rehab outing on Friday. The timeline set in March was silly. Now it's looking more and more like we won't see Erv in a Twins uniform again. https://www.twincities.com/2018/06/23/ervin-santanas-rough-journey-continues-to-drag-on-following-surgery/

What are the prospects we should be looking at from the Brewers in a trade? Seems almost certain he will end up here in a few days. Him or Escobar...

Saw an article where the Twins are giving bullpenning a run in the minors. https://www.twincities.com/2018/07/22/curious-twins-give-bullpenning-a-whirl-in-their-minor-league-system/ Trevor May started and went an inning in Rochester. He strikes me as a good option to try as an opener and go two innings. Another pitcher than might fit well next year is Odorizzi. If he a team is loaded with lefties at the top of the lineup, maybe Rogers is a fit. If May were to go two innings once a series you get around 108 innings from him and he never has the stress of warming up several times and then not be used. If the Twins have Berrios, Gibson and several young pitchers in …

https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/news/twins-logan-morrison-confirmed-for-activation/ Who’s this Astudillo guy? He played great for a handful of games and then inexplicably benched, and now sent down instead of Taylor Motter who can’t hit at all...

There was a good article on ESPN today about regression, particularly as it pertains to players traded at the deadline. It's definitely worth going to read the whole thing, but here's the TL,DR: First, regression does not mean getting worse. Regression means a player's performance will tend to move towards their established track record. Therefore, a player can have either negative regression, meaning they've been performing above their track record, and are likely to get worse, or a player can actually have positive regression, meaning they've been performing below their track record and are likely to get better.Second, GM's have a pretty bad overall success rate (44%…

Is Hedges a possible solution to catcher? It will be Mejia’s job soon. Would one of the Rochester starters be a good match? How about Kepler? I know he isn’t hitting yet but he is still young and among the better defensive catchers.

Got any favorites in Milwaukee's system?

Some interesting trade news floating around this morning. -Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle seems to be connecting the dots that the A's and Twins would make a lot of sense as trade partners: "There could be a few options that pique the team’s interest, Minnesota’s Jake Odorizzi and Lance Lynn, perhaps. The A’s aren’t going to be looking for top-line, Jacob deGrom-type starters; they’ve carefully assembled a strong minor-league system with all their midseason deals the previous three years. So taking on some contract from a team out of the running might be their best shot." -Joel Sherman of the New York Post passed along some Twins pitching notes: "One…

Joe Christensen gives an update on Sano and Buxton in today's StarTribune. RE: Sano "As of early this week, Sano had lost nearly 20 pounds since his demotion, according to people familiar with his conditioning." “It’s not just weight room and batting cages and stuff. There’s lots of things going on here, and his [agency] is part of it, too. It’s a giant makeover.” (Quote from Mike Radcliff) RE: Buxton “[buxton] was on his way to being back in the big leagues here quickly [before the wrist injury], in the short term, probably this month, or soon,” Radcliff said. “There’s no timetable per se, but well ahead of when Miguel was going to show up.”

http://linklete.com/2018/07/17/iron-sharpens-iron/?utm_content=buffer5ced3&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer I'm sure by now everyone has seen Corey Koskie's new venturee, ,Linklete. In it, there are articles from him and many others in an attempt to provided stories of youth baseball with life lessons and such. Brian Dozier wrote about his senior season in college, his injury and what he learned from it.

MLB Trade Rumors released its list of the Top 75 MLB Trade Candidates At The All-Star Break, and quite a few Twins were listed. Here's the methodology: "Essentially, we’re ordering players based upon our assessment of both their trade value and likelihood of being dealt." You'll have to click the link above for the full details, but here's where our guys landed: 18. Eduardo Escobar 19. Brian Dozier 20. Fernando Rodney 21. Zach Duke 29. Jake Odorizzi 72. Lance Lynn Also, Addison Reed got a mention under the disabled list section. No mention of Joe Mauer, I'm guessing they don't see it being very likely that he'll be dealt.

I'm just going to post here whenever they do an article on the Twins. Today, they have one on Trevor May (noting some changes in set up, and in approach and outcomes). they also have one on Berrios, where his top statistical comparison is...........Pedro Martinez.

I know SSS, But he sure seems to pass the eye test so far.

After watching zero meaningful offensive output for...well most of the season here's a High Risk attempt to jump start the offense in 2019 (note could be done this July if more prospects are sacrificed) Here's how to get it done RE-SIGN CURRENT TWINSMauer 2 years and negotiate the $$...for place holder I'll use $7M/year for 2 yearsEscobar $10M/year for 3 yearsRosario, Buxton, Kepler, Sano ARB1 guys estimating $2M-$3M for each of them FREE AGENTSPick your Closer/Setup Dude - Cody Allen $39M/3yearsMachado - Open up the wallet and pay so much he can't say no - $30M/year for 10 years - $35M for 8 Guy will be 25...fits current core's age and plays everyday, maybe he'll be…

Announced Romero is up for tomorrow’s game as Sleger hIt the DL. No corresponding roster move yet announced. Belisle DFA? https://mobile.twitter.com/SethTweets/status/1018251313107427334

MLBTR: Red Sox Interested In Fernando Rodney https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/07/red-sox-interested-in-fernando-rodney.html (Maybe we need a general Twins trade rumors thread now?)

Buxton just injured his hand by swinging the bat on his minor league optional assignment. X-rays were negative, and MRI apparently showed “wrist inflammation” and not a dreaded hook of hamate injury. He will be placed be on the minor league DL, and is not accruing major league service time. It was a good idea that the FO optioned him rather than just continuing his rehab assignment earlier this month. Will he rehab and figure out his swing in time to get called back to The Show this year? I think he is in danger of delaying his free agency a whole year. Obviously, as a Twins fan, I would rather have him up with the club, being productive, but the implications of this…

A quick look at the remaining Strength of Schedules for the Twins and the Indians and maybe a bigger Ray of Hope for the rest of the year Games remaining for the Twins by division AL Central 43 AL West 13 AL East 14 NL Central 2 Games remaining for the Indians by division AL Central 35 AL West 6 AL East 24 NL Central 7 Those 8 extra games versus the AL Central could be the difference Dark Cloud addendum: Combined winning % of teams remaining to play actually shows the Twins with a slightly tougher schedule (Twins Opponents .450 Indians .447)

Star Tribune's Patrick Reusse dropped a column today extolling the virtues of a competitive team having a productive catcher in order to find success. He did this through the usual history lesson that starts with decisions made in the mid-20th century beginning with acquiring Earl Battey and continues into the Wilson Ramos trade and Joe Mauer's eventual relocation from behind the plate. Reusse then takes aim at the current assortment of backstops. Statistically speaking, this position has been a mess for the Twins this year. According to fWAR, the Twins catching unit has been worth -0.5 wins above replacement, tied with the Nationals for lowest in the MLB. The c…