4 Twins Storylines to Watch in September

[Cody Christie]

September is shaping up to be an exciting month as the Twins find themselves in the thick of the playoff race. Here are four storylines to watch in the season’s final month. 

 

The Twins have been a roller coaster ride to watch this season, with great play through the season’s first two months and poor play over the last two months. Luckily, the team’s ineptitude hasn’t knocked them out of the playoff race because the team plays in one of baseball’s worst divisions. With weeks left in the season, there is plenty of pressure on the Twins to find a way to play in October. 

Correa Starting to Heat Up
Minnesota signed Carlos Correa for various reasons, but his postseason experience is unlike few players in Twins history. Last weekend, Correa punished the ball in a three-game series against the Giants by going 8-for-12 with a double, a home run, and four RBI. Fans may be unimpressed with Correa’s numbers in a Twins uniform as his .790 OPS is over 40 points lower than his career mark. However, offense is down across baseball, and his 129 OPS+ is two points higher than his career total. Minnesota’s offense has struggled in the second half, and Correa may be the key to getting the team back on track. 

Buxton’s Ailing Hip
Byron Buxton’s biggest goal for the 2022 season was to avoid going on the injured list. He made it to the end of August before needing an IL stint even though he had been battling multiple injuries this season. Buxton won’t join the team for their weekend series in Chicago, but there is a possibility he will join the club in New York for their big four-game series with the Yankees. The Twins are a better team with Buxton in the line-up, especially when facing left-handed pitchers. Buxton has talked his way out of going on the IL multiple times this year, and he is going to want to be at Yankee Stadium to start next week.

Multiple Pitchers Returning from Injury
Minnesota’s most prominent trade deadline acquisition, Tyler Mahle, didn’t look good the last time he was on the mound as his velocity was down. However, he threw a bullpen session on Monday and feels good. The Twins think he will be back on the mound this weekend in Chicago. Multiple other pitchers are also nearing a return from the IL. Josh Winder returned from the injured list at St. Paul this week. Randy Dobnak has made multiple rehab appearances, including two innings at Triple-A on Sunday. The Twins expect Bailey Ober to throw a live bullpen session this week before going on a rehab assignment. Minnesota won’t have room for all these arms on the roster, so it will be interesting to see how their rehabs progress. 

Maeda Needs More Time
While multiple pitchers are returning from injury, Kenta Maeda may need more time before returning to the Twins roster. Maeda had Tommy John surgery on September 1, 2021, and there was hope he could return as a reliever during the regular season. There is still a possibility that he can return for the playoffs, but the team isn’t ready to make that commitment yet. 

“Everything kind of feels like it’s in a good place,” Derek Falvey told reporters. “(But) we aren’t going to push as hard over the next couple of weeks because we just want to make sure (Maeda’s) comfortable, the doctor’s comfortable and otherwise. We always were hopeful that maybe we were kind of getting him to a place where he thought, ‘Hey, let’s push and be a little more aggressive here.’ … Just based on his progression, how important he is for next year, making sure we’re in a good place, we just collectively didn’t feel like it’s time to say, ‘Go.’”

Many of these storylines need to play out positively for the Twins to make a run to October. What storylines will you be watching over the next month? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

 

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[Whitey333]

Correa back?  He was great against the Giants for 3 games.  Right back into the tank against the Red Sox having a very poor series.  That was topped off by the game Wednesday in which he meekly hit into a game ending double play with the tying and winning run on base.  Continuing his abysmal lack of production with runners in scoring position and two outs.  Buxton?  He's been a part time player for eight years now.  We should be used to all the time off because of all the injuries.  I don't see either of our star players providing anything more than they have.  In any case I think September could be a fun month to see how the season shakes out.  

[Blyleven2011]

Would have been nice to win the final game against Boston  and continue a winning streak  ,,, in their last 10 games they have played 500  ball ...

1 1/2 games out of a tie with Cleveland for the central division ...

The twins need  to play better than 500 ball to distance themselves from the other contenders to win division  ...

A 10 game winning streak  would be nice  , 5 game winning streak is not enough  ... 

Start a new one and we'll see you in the playoffs  ...

[Peter]

September will be intense!!! Beat Cleveland-win division-simple as that 

[umterp23]

The plate is set for the Twins to do damage vs Cleveland and Chicago.  Can the twins play .800 ball this month to win the division? Definitely possible.  The Yankees aren't the cream of the crop these days as their shine of being the best in the AL has warn off a bit, not much but a bit.  7 vs Cleveland, 9 vs Sox, 6 vs Royals, lowly series vs Tigers and Angels and 4 vs the Yanks.  Would like to see 11-5 or 12-4 vs Cleveland/Sox combines, 5-6 vs the Royals, take 2 out of 3 vs anyone not Yankees.  Playing Yankees you need at least 1 win in their series, 2-2 vs them would be a bonus.  20 wins without beating the Yankees at all, is it enough?  

[dxpavelka]

sano returns for post season