Who Are The Twins Missing Most?

7 - Zack Littell

Littell came on strong in 2019, posting a 2.68 ERA and 3.62 FIP in 37 innings. Most notably, he gave up just 3 runs across the final 3 months of the season spanning 30.2 innings. 2020 has not been so kind however. Regression was expected, but nowhere near the 9.95 ERA he’s posted to begin the season. His walk and K rates are identical thus far, which never ends in success. It may just be that the elbow injury that sent him to the IL was an issue before it took him off the field. While it would be nice to have Littell back to full strength, the bullpen has been the bright spot of this team and we can afford to give him time to heal. It’s been reported that Littell has thankfully improved and while he may not miss significant time, it’s unclear if he will return when first able in the middle of next week.

6 - Cody Stashak

Stashak was off to a nice start to 2020. He’s given up some homers (2.57 per 9), has a low BABIP allowed (.214), and has walked a few more hitters (7.1%) to contribute to his FIP of 4.87 going against his 3.86 ERA, but his K% has jumped to 35.7% and the walk rate is likely to decrease according to his history. Stashak is another valuable albeit luxury bullpen piece that can take his time getting right. He’s already past his 10 day timeline but it sounds like his ailing back is improving. Stashak should be back sooner rather than later.

5 - Homer Bailey

Many people were underwhelmed with the Bailey signing. The fact of the matter is that after seeing TBD 2 times per week for pitching matchups all season, Twins fans should be begging for Bailey and his 4.57 ERA in 2019 to return. Any starting pitcher on the IL is greatly missed right now and even if you have reservations about Bailey’s abilities, you have to admit that his injury has negatively affected this Twins team. Biceps tendonitis currently has him placed on the 45 day IL which puts him out until mid September. One more setback likely means we signed Homer Bailey for a single appearance in a Twins uniform if we haven’t reached that point already.

4 - Mitch Garver

This one may be controversial. Garver should rank higher looking at his 2019 numbers. The issue however is the beginning of his 2019. Something was clearly very wrong with Mitch Garver before his trip to the IL as displayed by his .154/.262/.212 slash line. The likely scenario is that he’s somewhere in between the historically great player we saw last season and the struggling player we’ve seen in 2020. While I’d expect Garver to rebound to some extent upon his return, his move to the IL didn’t directly hurt the team given the lack of impact he’d made to that point. Avila has been solid and Jeffers has looked just fine as a right handed bat behind the plate. We’re likely to see a lot more of the duo, as Garver’s intercostal strain will likely keep him out plenty past his 10 day designation.

3 - Jake Odorizzi

Similar to Bailey, missing a starter right now hurts. It’s much worse for Odorizzi however considering his All Star campaign in 2019 and his assumed role as the #2 on this staff before opening the season on the IL. An 8.10 ERA in 10 innings so far doesn’t impress, but Odorizzi hasn’t really had a chance to ramp up this season. Odorizzi could very well be back from his abdominal contusion by the middle of next week to try to make his case to factor into some sort of playoff role.

2 - Josh Donaldson

You could argue Donaldson should be #1. Donaldson himself was another slow slarter slashing .182/.296/.318., his 41.4% whiff rate on fastballs is unlike anything we’ve ever seen from the slugging third baseman in his career. Still, while he changes the lineup by coming anywhere near his 132 wRC+ in 2019, the Twins have an admirable replacement in Marwin Gonzalez on both offense and defense even if he has cooled off from a hot start. We can afford to let Donaldson heal much more than we can afford to rush him back early. That being said, it sounds like he’s hitting dingers in St. Paul which could be a good sign for his timeline. Donaldson should be nearing the end of his IL stay relatively soon.

1 - Byron Buxton

Buxton at 1 has everything to do with the replacement options. An already left handed heavy outfield of Kepler and Rosario is now complemented by either Lamonte Wade or Jake Cave. This is an unfortunate reality considering the team has already struggled against left handed pitching. Wade and Cave haven’t even sniffed the offensive ability Buxton flashed at times this season, and the defense is no comparison. Buxton’s surgically repaired arm has improved and should be off the IL when first eligible next week.

There’s some ability to interchange some of the players here, but as a whole this just goes to show how much production the Twins are missing out on to the injured list. Disagree with the ordering? Let us know below!

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