Twins

What if the Minnesota Twins signed Tarik Skubal? Sure, small-market teams such as the Twins don't go after the biggest of big-name free agents, but this would be a move that would invigorate a franchise in need of a spark. Skubal is inherently familiar with a lot of the Twins' setup from his six-plus seasons with the Detroit Tigers. The Twins already have a decent rotation with right-handers Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Taj Bradley, Dean Kremer and Zebby Matthews, with left-hander Connor Prielipp also

The Minnesota Twins have plenty of work to do this offseason after finishing the 2026 campaign with a disappointing 77-85 record. Between free agents departing and several holes that need to be addressed, the roster will look different when the team takes the field next spring. However, a recent MLB.com ranking suggests Minnesota might be closer to contention than its record indicates. Mike Petriello ranked all 30 MLB teams based on their projected 2027 rosters. Using Wins Above Replacement (WAR

At the beginning of last winter, Connor Prielipp's future with the Twins was still an open question. After years of elbow injuries and an extremely limited professional workload, Minnesota's front office was considering whether his best path to helping the big-league club might be in the bullpen. His electric stuff could play in shorter outings, and a relief role might better protect an arm that had already undergone two significant elbow procedures. Prielipp entered the offseason hoping to rema

In one scary scenario, the Twins might not add a significant free-agent catcher this winter. Ryan Jeffers could walk away from Minnesota for a long-term deal, while Tyler Stephenson and Carson Kelly could get better offers elsewhere. These three are the top free-agent options at the position on DiamondCentric’s free agent rankings. So, if the Twins don’t sign any of these names, where do they pivot? Minnesota could try to land bigger offensive threats such as Hunter Goodman and Shea Langeliers,

Testing. As we each race to be the first person to put the cart before the horse of 2023 Spring Training Flavor of the Week Edouard Julien, it’s worth taking a minute to consider where the lad will play. He’s not renowned for his defensive chops, but he may be able to hit well enough to stick at second base. “Gregg, you lout!” you might be saying, “You messed up the phrase; it’s ‘defends well enough to stick at second base.’” Allow me to explain. Many are familiar with the concept of the defensi

In late-July of last year, the Twins were still grasping to a small division lead, with more holes seemingly appearing by the day. One of the biggest gaps in their roster at the time fell between superstar relief ace Jhoan Duran – and pretty much anyone else in their relief corps. Sure, Griffin Jax had built some trust equity from the skipper, as did Caleb Thielbar. They weren’t all-star caliber players, but they could be trusted to pass the baton in a relay that led to Duran.  The team the

Last season got off less than ideal for Jordan Balazovic. Due to the lockout, he couldn’t communicate with the organization and entered Spring Training with a knee issue. Despite suggesting he was healthy, he was slow out of the gate and battled ineffectiveness all season long. Even while he turned things around late with the St. Paul Saints, Balazovic finished with a gaudy ERA north of 7.00 across more than 70 innings of work. Just a year removed from being a guy that put up a 3.62 ERA with mor

Neither is inherently evil, whether it's the pitch clock or your politics. The application of both is where it can get ugly quickly, and things may start to get a little awkward at family gatherings, and yes, I'm still talking about the pitch clock. Love it or hate it, the new rules are here for 2023, and the Twins have built a team that can take advantage of the new era of baseball. With the shift changes, the pick-off rules, bigger bases, and the fact that the full season for an MLB playe

Projected Starter: José Miranda Likely Backup: Kyle Farmer Depth: Donovan Solano, Willi Castro, Elliot Soto Prospects: Brooks Lee, Jose Salas, Austin Martin, Yunior Severino THE GOOD It already seems safe to say Miranda is either going to be a good hitter or a great hitter. The type of hitting prowess we've seen on display over the past two years doesn't happen by accident. His ability to mix huge pull power with a penchant for going the other way give him a balanced offensive attac

There is no question about what Jhoan Duran meant to the Minnesota Twins during his rookie campaign. He immediately became one of baseball’s most dominant late-inning relievers. In 67 2/3 innings, he allowed 14 earned runs (1.86 ERA) with 89 strikeouts and 16 walks. He showed the Twins could use him in multiple situations, including closing games, multi-inning appearances, and getting the club out of jams. Duran led all AL pitchers in Win Probability Added while establishing himself as vital to

The Twins have played with using a long reliever in the bullpen at times in the last few years and found that the role is inconsistent and sometimes not worth the trouble. In 2021, Randy Dobnak made the team as a long reliever as the team’s assumed sixth starter. The downside became evident almost immediately. When starters exited in a close game, it made more sense to go to a high-leverage reliever to keep the game intact. The Twins almost never found themselves having a sizable lead or deficit

Projected Starter: Jorge Polanco Likely Backup: Donovan Solano Depth: Kyle Farmer, Nick Gordon, Willi Castro Prospects: Edouard Julien, Jose Salas, Austin Martin, Tanner Schobel THE GOOD In the 2021 season, his first spent playing second base, Polanco ranked fifth among MLB players at the position with 4.2 fWAR, instantly establishing himself as an elite player at his new infield home.  He launched 33 homers, drove in 98 runs, and was an easy choice for Twins Daily MVP. Polanco provi

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 Co

Over at Fangraphs, Dan Syzmborski has released his 2023 ZiPS projections, putting the Twins at 80 wins. They are a high variance team without question, and could have looked at adding another bullpen piece, but given the overall success of the offseason, that feels a bit low. I guess having a low floor is not appreciated by ZiPS and as we saw last year, the Twins’ floor isn’t pretty. Same goes for the White Sox who are projected for only 74 wins. Cleveland comes in at 83 wins, and some projectio

In recent weeks, there has been a lot of analysis of team and player projections here at Twins Daily. Not all of these models are perfect, but it gives fans a sense of reasonable expectations for each player and the team. Some players exceed their expected performance every year, and others struggle to meet expectations. Here are the weakest positions on the Twins roster and how they may impact the club in 2023.  3. Right Field- Projected WAR: 2.7 Max Kepler's name was in the rumor mill for

Projected Starter: Alex Kirilloff Likely Backup: Joey Gallo Depth: Donovan Solano, José Miranda, Tyler White Prospects: Edouard Julien, Aaron Sabato THE GOOD In an ideal scenario, the Twins would be regularly rotating Kirilloff, Miranda and Solano at first base this year, giving the team a pair of young hitting stars along with a veteran line drive machine, and the ability to optimize against any pitching matchup. Of course, as the strong side of the platoon mix and highest-upside hi

After originally planning to play for Puerto Rico, newly re-signed superstar Carlos Correa will be out of the tournament. He will miss some time this week however as his wife Daniella is scheduled to give birth to their second son. It’s the second time Correa will have missed an opportunity to play third base alongside countryman Francisco Lindor. In his place, Jose Miranda could have been the option at the hot corner, but he too will stay with the Twins as he rehabs a sore throwing shoulder.

Gilberto Celestino was acquired from Houston in the July 2018 Ryan Pressly trade. The Twins saw a raw but physically gifted outfielder who has steadily made his way up to the majors since. The fact that Celestino was able to do so speaks to his raw athletic ability above all else, as the last few years have included some difficult obstacles. Unfortunately, it appears he’s hit yet another significant roadblock this spring. Celestino is a tiring topic for many fans. He hasn’t hit at the

How did last season go? Terrible. After a surprisingly competent showing in 2021, the Motor City Kitties fell back into their typical post-2016 swampy waters, finding themselves stuck in a 66-win quagmire. It was a puzzling everything-that-could-go-wrong-did type of season. Their big free agent splashes in Eduardo Rodríguez and Javier Báez capitulated; Rodríguez battled personal issues while Báez continued his lifelong struggle with sliders off the plate. A good team could overcome those

Projected Starter: Christian Vázquez Likely Backup: Ryan Jeffers Depth: Tony Wolters, Grayson Greiner, Chance Sisco Prospects: Chris Williams, Noah Cardenas THE GOOD Acquiring a veteran catcher was a top priority for the Twins this offseason, and they got their guy, signing Vázquez to three-year, $30 million deal as arguably the second-best free agent at the position. The 32-year-old could hardly be described as a star, but that's not what the Twins were seeking: they wanted stability fol

Coming into spring training, it seemed that Trevor Larnach might serve as the Twins most regular designated hitter. With Joey Gallo looking to handle left field, Alex Kirilloff slated for first base, and Max Kepler still on the team, that was a fair thought. Things got murky when Donovan Solano was added to the mix. Kyle Farmer may take the first crack, but there will still be at-bats to go around. Is it crazy to give some of them to Canadian prospect Edouard Julien? Coming off an excellen

Every team will deal with injuries during the 2023 season, and that's one of the reasons the Twins added depth at nearly every position this winter. Here are the known injuries this spring and how each will impact the Opening Day roster.  Jose Miranda: Right Shoulder Soreness Miranda planned to join Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, but a shoulder injury has forced him to withdraw his name. He was the talk of TwinsFest after spending the off-season getting in better shape to hand

As I looked at numbers for Jose Miranda's stellar rookie campaign, something about it seemed quixotically familiar. This gap-to-gap line-drive hitter with a below-average walk rate and a below-average league strikeout rate reminded me of a season another young third baseman had several years ago, 2013 Manny Machado. This may initially seem bewildering, but give me a chance to explain, because while similarities exist, it’s the (somewhat hidden) differences that highlight the contrast betwee

It encourages us to give into our inherent bias and forget the things that really matter. There isn’t a lot of drama in “this guy is on the 40-man roster” and “this guy doesn’t have options.” But those are the things that matter, not giving up a grand slam on March third. (We’ll get back to that.) So your best bet for deciphering a roster battle is to start with your assumptions before spring training started, when you were soberly and objectively evaluating the probable 26-man roster. And