Reflections on the 2023 Twins Season from a Time Traveler

[Hunter McCall]

I visited the future, and you won't believe what I saw!

Image courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Jeff Hanisch, Jordan Johnson – USA Today Sports

After reading one article on quantum physics, I decided I was prepared to build the first-ever functional time machine. I should have waited and watched how the 2023 Minnesota Twins season played out, but I just had to know now! I worked tirelessly constructing a device that could vault me to October to get a peak at how the season shook out. 

What I found may surprise some, so without further ado, here are five headlines from the Minnesota Twins 2023 season.

Joey Gallo Receives MVP Consideration

One of the more highly criticized moves of the offseason was the Twins signing Joey Gallo to a one-year contract. Despite being a two-time all-star for the Texas Rangers in 2019 and 2021, Gallo's career .199 batting average has turned off many of the more "traditional" style Twins fans. However, I am here to tell you that in 2023 Joey Gallo will exceed all expectations and find himself receiving MVP votes at the end of the season. With the new limitations of shifts, Gallo's batting average climbs to .234, and he continues to draw walks at a clip higher than 90% of the league-leading to a .398 OBP. Gallo also belts 38 home runs which are ... second most on the team?

Buxton Hammers 40 Bombs

Byron Buxton's health has been his Achilles heel throughout his career, playing in more than 92 games only once. However, Buxton's fortune changes in 2023, as he appears in 126 games for the Twins. Even though only 85 of those games are in center field, Buxton has a massive impact on the club, contributing 8.4 WAR. Buxton improves his 97th percentile rank in average exit velocity in 2022, bumping up to the 99th in 2023. Buxton remains one of the most elite power hitters in the game, belting 41 home runs.

Pablo López Flashes Ace Potential

When the Minnesota Twins acquired López for Luis Arraez in a trade with the Miami Marlins, the thought was that López would best fit the rotation as a number two or three pitcher. Throughout the offseason, he worked on making adjustments to his pitches. He reshaped his slider to become more of a sweeper and worked on his cutter. Both these pitches work very well in 2023 and accompany his elite changeup nicely. His new pitch mix eventually leads López to posting a 12-4 record with a 3.24 ERA. I'm sure this news is music to Twins' fans' ears, but the following headline may be a bit more controversial.

Twins Go All in on Gallen at the Deadline

When the Minnesota Twins enter the trade deadline in first place in the AL Central for a second straight year, they have to choose an aggressive push, similar to last year, or mainly standing still as they did in 2019. This time, the Twins push every last chip in the middle of the table in pursuit of a championship. On July 31st, they acquire Zac Gallen from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for Brooks Lee and Bailey Ober. The Twins use the depth they've built in the rotation and in the infield to acquire the ace they have been waiting for. Gallen gives the Twins a powerful arm they can lean on throughout the playoff push, plus team control through 2025.

A Star is Born

While the Twins' injury situation in 2023 is much less drastic than in 2022, they still experience some bumps and bruises. This causes prospect Edouard Julien to be called up to the major league club as an extra utility man. Julien continues to display a high-level OBP skill while adding extra power to his profile. He has a stellar campaign and comes in third place in the AL Rookie of the Year voting behind Gunnar Henderson of the Oriels and Oscar Colas of the White Sox.

Unfortunately, due to my lack of knowledge and experience, my time machine only brought me to October 1st, so I could not see how the Twins fared in the playoffs. I can tell you they exceeded regular-season expectations, going 94-68, winning the American League Central, and securing the number three seed in the AL behind the Astros and Yankees. 

One thing is sure; I am very excited to watch the 2023 Minnesota Twins!

What are your bold predictions for 2023? Let me know below! Go, Twins!

View full article

[CRF]

Sign me up! All of that looks good to me.

[Rod Carews Birthday]

Those would be amazing!  I think Gallo and Lopez are most likely to actually happen with the Gallen trade the least likely.  Buxton having a real season and finding a gem in Julien would be awesome but I'm not holding my breath.  My fingers are crossed.

[Parfigliano]

Lee isnt getting traded.

[MMMordabito]

Was Max Kepler still in a Twins uniform on October 1?

[Doctor Gast]

Sounds good to me but I think maybe you might be off on the Gallen trade.

Did you see a Kepler bounce back?

[Bigfork Twins Guy]

You forgot that Emilo Pagan was named the Rolaids Relief Pitcher of the year :-)

[gunnarthor]

Fun article. 

[miracleb]

Ha...I thought this was RandBall at first.....

[Chachi]

Did you happen to notice who won the NCAA tournament?? Asking for a friend…

[Heiny]

I think that maybe you just had a dream that you had a time machine.  Howeverrrr, If it were a real time machine, I think it may be defective.  But I like the way you think.  I'm just going to watch the season play out without such high expectations yet hope your machine is close.  See you at the ballpark.

 

Edit:  Except for the Brooks lee trade.  That ain't gonna happen.  (fingers crossed)

 

Edited March 8, 2023 by Heiny
addition

[Heiny]

10 minutes ago, Chachi said:

Did you notice who won the NCAA tournament?  Asking for a friend…

I'd like a more complete bracket please.  I've picked the winner several times without doing well in a complete bracket.

[Beast]

That would be fun to watch for a while, but nobody will care if they got swept out of the playoffs again. 

[ashbury]

5 hours ago, Hunter McCall said:

I could not see how the Twins fared in the playoffs.

 

Nah, just kidding.  If these events come to pass, have to like our chances.  A playoff series win, or even two, so much the better.  I'm all in for 93 wins, and just like our FO I'll backtrack on this if there are significant injuries.

[DocBauer]

FUN! Great read!

I actually have faith in a Gallo rebound, but I'd knock a few points off the BA down to about .220-ish, and the OB % down to about. 350. The HR numbers are very reasonable, unless MLB is playing with the ball negatively again.

I like the 41 bombs from Buxton and not going to argue that one. I also don't want to, LOL.

Are you sure you weren't a little confused or blurry eyed from your trip and it was Mahle that was actually the best SP? I'm pretty optimistic on Lopez. But my gut hunch says Mahle is just fine, and he and his new slider and other pitches are just ready at 28yo to take another step forward.

100% yes on Julien.

And I agree with others, Lee isn't going anywhere. The only way he doesn't appear in a Twins uniform at some time in 2023 is because the roster is healthy and performing and he isn't needed. Now, if that happens, I'm not saying he shouldn't be one of the limited September call ups, but maybe the 40 man is pretty packed and they'd just rather add him in 2024 when the dust settles and the smoke clears during the offseason. Either way, he's not going anywhere. 

I think a re-sign or QO or both for the pitchers on hand makes more sense than a trade for Gallen. If Lopez and or Mahle are that good, why not keep what we have instead of a trade?

 

[Oldtimer]

Neither Lee or Ober are going anywhere.  Ober is going to break into the starting 5 sometime early in the season and become a solid contributer in the rotation. 

[Reptevia]

Fantasy fan fiction. Thanks for making me worry about Buxton’s Achilles!

[Hunter McCall]

7 hours ago, Parfigliano said:

Lee isnt getting traded.

I agree it’s unlikely….. however….. never say never. The Cubs traded Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease for Jose Quintana in 2017. This was a case of big prospect package for big arm in hopes of winning another World Series. Big prospects get traded all the time and with the depth of middle infield prospects the Twins have, none of them should be untouchable if they’re competitive at the deadline.

[Hunter McCall]

6 hours ago, MMMordabito said:

Was Max Kepler still in a Twins uniform on October 1?

He was! And he bounced back rather nicely! (Not 2019 nice, however😉)

[Hunter McCall]

5 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

Sounds good to me but I think maybe you might be off on the Gallen trade.

Did you see a Kepler bounce back?

The Gallen trade is more so a fun little dream of mine that I insist on keeping alive! It’s unlikely to happen, but if it does some people might actually think I’m smart!😂

Kepler bounced back nicely! Not quite 2019 nicely, but he found a middle ground!

[Hunter McCall]

5 hours ago, gunnarthor said:

Fun article. 

Thanks for the read and comment!

[Hunter McCall]

5 hours ago, Chachi said:

Did you happen to notice who won the NCAA tournament?? Asking for a friend…

As a sports book connoisseur, I sure do wish I had this answer😂 great comment!

[Hunter McCall]

5 hours ago, Heiny said:

I think that maybe you just had a dream that you had a time machine.  Howeverrrr, If it were a real time machine, I think it may be defective.  But I like the way you think.  I'm just going to watch the season play out without such high expectations yet hope your machine is close.  See you at the ballpark.

 

Edit:  Except for the Brooks lee trade.  That ain't gonna happen.  (fingers crossed)

 

Is that why I was so sleepy when I returned!?😂

Optimistic? Yes. Dumb? Maybe. I just gotta have faith in my Twinkies!

[Hunter McCall]

3 hours ago, ashbury said:

 

Nah, just kidding.  If these events come to pass, have to like our chances.  A playoff series win, or even two, so much the better.  I'm all in for 93 wins, and just like our FO I'll backtrack on this if there are significant injuries.

Gotta love Jim Mora😂 great comment!

[Hunter McCall]

2 hours ago, DocBauer said:

FUN! Great read!

I actually have faith in a Gallo rebound, but I'd knock a few points off the BA down to about .220-ish, and the OB % down to about. 350. The HR numbers are very reasonable, unless MLB is playing with the ball negatively again.

I like the 41 bombs from Buxton and not going to argue that one. I also don't want to, LOL.

Are you sure you weren't a little confused or blurry eyed from your trip and it was Mahle that was actually the best SP? I'm pretty optimistic on Lopez. But my gut hunch says Mahle is just fine, and he and his new slider and other pitches are just ready at 28yo to take another step forward.

100% yes on Julien.

And I agree with others, Lee isn't going anywhere. The only way he doesn't appear in a Twins uniform at some time in 2023 is because the roster is healthy and performing and he isn't needed. Now, if that happens, I'm not saying he shouldn't be one of the limited September call ups, but maybe the 40 man is pretty packed and they'd just rather add him in 2024 when the dust settles and the smoke clears during the offseason. Either way, he's not going anywhere. 

I think a re-sign or QO or both for the pitchers on hand makes more sense than a trade for Gallen. If Lopez and or Mahle are that good, why not keep what we have instead of a trade?

 

I appreciate it!

I agree that it’s unlikely that Lee gets traded, but he’s the most valuable trade chip in a crowded crop of high end infield prospect talent, so if the Twins decided to let it all hang out, Lee would make sense. I don’t consider it too much of a stretch, especially with the Twins also possessing the number 5 pick in the draft this year.

As far as adding Gallen to a pretty solid rotation, I’ll say this; good is good, better is better. When it comes to chasing championships, any major improvements that can be made at the deadline should be made. I’m not saying the Twins will be in position to sell out at the deadline, but if they are, they have the pieces to make something like this happen and really go for it.

Again, thank you for the comment and support!

[Hunter McCall]

1 hour ago, Reptevia said:

Fantasy fan fiction. Thanks for making me worry about Buxton’s Achilles!

Maybe I should’ve used different descriptors😂

[dxpavelka]

Interesting the Gallo gets MVP love by hitting Sano's career batting average and hitting Sano's per 162 number of home runs.

[Doctor Gast]

5 hours ago, Hunter McCall said:

The Gallen trade is more so a fun little dream of mine that I insist on keeping alive! It’s unlikely to happen, but if it does some people might actually think I’m smart!😂

Kepler bounced back nicely! Not quite 2019 nicely, but he found a middle ground!

Yes, may it be.

[big dog]

Bartender, please buy my friend another and I'll have what he's having. Looks like it's working pretty well.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

I enjoyed pretending with you. Thanks it was fun. Now Twins, let's get back to work. Time, as we all know is fleeting, and the most important day of the year is the present day.