Twins

In the season ahead, Joe Mauer may be looking at one of the most important campaigns of his entire career. Yes, he’s got three batting titles and an MVP to his name, but it’s 2018 that has some very real story lines awaiting their resolution. What will Mauer bring to the table? Will he be back? Should the Twins want him? All are very real questions, and the answers could go a long way to cementing the living legend’s legacy.

A glimmering spark of hope, snuffed out forcefully by a demoralizing backslide: This recurring cycle has defined the 2018 season for the Twins, and last week epitomized it.

Following perhaps its best stretch of baseball all year – four wins in five games against a pair of top-flight teams – Minnesota followed with perhaps its worst, getting outscored 26-9 in three straight losses that further whittled the club's already slim hopes as Cleveland separates itself atop the division.

Willians Astudillo hit his first career home run, Joe Mauer notched the 1,000th run scored of his career, Robbie Grossman delivered a huge go-ahead hit with two outs and Eddie Rosario tallied three hits of his own. It was a mini breakout of the slump the Twins’ lineup had been enduring of late. Kohl Stewart was shaky but the bullpen was outstanding as the Twins earned a one-run victory at Cleveland Wednesday night.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported on Twitter that right-handed relief pitcher Blake Parker is expected to sign soon and that the landing spot is believed to be the Twins. Parker, 33, was non-tendered by the Angels earlier this offseason. He pitched to a 2.90 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and saved 22 games for the Angels the past two seasons.

Martin Perez looked good in his first start as a Twin, but Adalberto Mejia gave up the lead in what was a four-run eighth inning for Toronto. This Twins team has had a knack for battling back so far in 2019, but their comeback attempts fell short tonight.

Like usual, the Royals didn’t sell this one cheap, but also like usual, the Twins prevailed and took the series opener at Target Field, 11-9. Nelson Cruz raked, with his third five-RBI game of the season and Sergio Romo earned his first save in a Twins uniform. This was the seventh win for Minnesota in ten games against Kansas City this year. The Twins have now won six of their last eight games and keep a three-game lead over the Indians, atop of the Central.

Since June 1, no team’s top three relievers have a lower wOBA than the group of Taylor Rogers, Tyler Duffey and Trevor May.

Approaching their first postseason foray since 2010, no bullpen group, save perhaps the Rays, will face more heavy lifting than this trio. The Twins starting pitching has taken significant blows since June 1.

The hiring of Derek Falvey and Thad Levine by the Minnesota Twins marked a true change in the Twin Cities. Since their hiring they have made a number of critical hires and player moves. In this series we are going to look back at the significant trades this front office has made. First up, Jake Odorizzi.

Although it likely did not materialize exactly as it was drawn up, Minnesota has done a nice job of adding quality starting pitching to greatly increase the depth of the rotation. The possibility of having more starters than rotation spots is an unfamiliar but welcome problem for the Twins. If and when the majority of their options are healthy and pitching well, might Minnesota consider a six-man rotation?

The top five Twins hitters in history seem to be fairly straightforward, with a few marginal quibbles. The best starting pitcher debate, however, is riddled with more questions and maybe more heat. How much is a great stretch worth over many years of consistent production? I tried to find a balance.

Aaron and John talk about the latest 'this is the week' for MLB's owner vs. player negotiations, the Twins' decision to remove Calvin Griffith's statue from Target Field, the Pohlad family changing their reputation for the better, and mailbag questions from listeners. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link.

Success can be a trap. It can invite complacency. In the cases of Kenta Maeda and Wes Johnson, the Twins seem to have avoided that pitfall.