Twins

Brian Dozier. Byron Buxton. Miguel Sano. Jose Berrios.

Now that we’ve offered up suggested long-term contracts for those four players - at about a combined quarter of a billion dollars - today I’ll add two more players who could be in line for long-term extensions this offseason. While their deals won’t cost as much as the four above, they are also young players who have a chance to become really good and become spendy in a hurry.

Today, I want to consider potential contract extensions for outfielders Eddie Rosario and Max Kepler.

Prodded by a caller on his weekly radio show, Minnesota Twins manager Paul Molitor admitted the club was exploring their options with regards to the rotation spot of right-hander Mike Pelfrey. A number of factors make the situation difficult, including the shutdown of Jose Berrios, the presence of Tyler Duffey, and the current situations surrounding Phil Hughes and Trevor May.

Eddie Rosario put himself in the Twins record books again and gave the Twins a nice boost with a first inning home run, but the bats then went silent and the bullpen was unable to stop the bleeding. The Twins got a big win in the series’ first game, and the Astros got the big win in the second game. On Wednesday night, the team’s will face off one more time.

So far, we have considered three of the Twins' fifth starter candidates, Mike Pelfrey, Alex Meyer and Tim Stauffer. Today, we will take a look at the one left-handed option for the rotation, Tommy Milone. As always, we welcome your thoughts and comments in the forum.

The Minnesota Twins signed former Houston Astros catcher Christian Vazquez to a three-year, $30 million deal Monday evening to serve as one of the team's primary backstops. Here's a breakdown of some of his pitch framing metrics. 

The Minnesota Twins shuffled their roster in preparation for the upcoming Rule 5 draft. Their manager is riding high after a remarkable rebound. And a potential budding bullpen ace just finished up in the Arizona Fall League.

Here's some food for thought go along with the holiday feasting ahead.

Just past 11 p.m. central this past Wednesday evening, MLB’s 30 owners initiated the sport’s first lockout in 26 years after failing to come to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement with the MLB Players Association. While the work stoppage ultimately falls on the shoulders of both the owners and the players, commissioner Rob Manfred’s public arguments framing the players as the primary culprits are largely nonsensical.

The Blue Jays are coming to town this weekend, and bringing some familiar faces. Meanwhile, the Twins are as hot as they've been in half a decade, with a five-game winning streak pushing them 10 games above .500 and into first place.

Sounds like a good opportunity to catch some ball at Target Field. Let's break down the most intriguing aspects of this Jays/Twins series.

The 2012 MLB draft was very interesting for the Minnesota Twins and their fans. They had the second overall pick after their first of four straight 90-loss seasons. They had a couple of extra picks due to the loss of Michael Cuddyer to free agency. They had six of the first 100 picks. It was an opportunity for them to gain much-needed talent in the organization.

While a large theme from that 2012 draft was the Twins selection of several college relief pitchers, the Twins really got more than that.

What follows is an excerpt from a feature for the 2019 Offseason Handbook, which you can order here on a name-your-price basis and receive it right away.

Phil Miller has covered the Twins for the Star Tribune since 2013, and has also covered them for the Pioneer Press. In total, he has more than four decades of experience in sports journalism, and for my money, he's the best writer on the local baseball beat.

He's also a tremendously nice guy who's always been incredibly supportive of our independent writing ventures, and was kind enough to contribute to the Handbook by breaking down a crucial topic for this winter: the search for a closer. Read an excerpt below.

As we approach pitchers and catchers reporting for spring training in about two weeks, there are a ton of remaining free agents. The pitchers are understandably getting all of the headlines, but throughout the offseason, there have been a few rumblings about the Twins also looking for a right-handed hitter.

Today, let’s take a look at which candidates are out there, and which internal options could flit the bill. Should the Twins target a right-handed hitting fourth outfielder type? Should they go after a right-handed designated hitter type to come off of the bench?

40 days ago, MLB and the MLB Players Association entered their first work stoppage in over 25 years. No progress has been made yet, but some progress could happen soon.