Nate Palmer

Carlos Correa, one of the top free agents of the offseason, is back with the Minnesota Twins. How long and what does he need to accomplish to be considered the greatest to ever play shortstop for the Twins? Image courtesy of © Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports If you haven’t heard, the Minnesota Twins pulled off the improbable and signed Carlos Correa to a long-term deal. With Correa in the fold as the Twins shortstop for the next six seasons and potentially ten and carrying the richest contract in franchise history, it feels safe to ask one question. How long until Correa can be considered the best shortstop in Twins history? To open the answer to that question, we can state the obvious: it won’t take much. In case you missed it, the shortstop position has been a bit of a revolving door over the years. While that is true, it has also been filled by some Twins favorites like Christian Guzman . While we have loved many of those players over the years, the position has lacked some much needed star talent until the arrival of Correa and the numbers show that. In Correa’s one season in Minnesota, he put up a 5.4 bWAR. In what felt like a pretty mediocre season by Correa standards after a slow start to 2022. Still, that WAR number landed third on the Twins all-time single-season list (when sorted for players playing at least 50% of their time at shortstop). Correa finds himself behind only the incredible 1965 MVP season produces by Zoilo Versalles that tops the list at 7.2 bWAR. Roy Smalley is between Versalles and Correa with his 5.9 bWAR in 1978. Correa has already put himself firmly in a place where his name will have to be mentioned amongst some of the best to play shortstop for the Twins. Correa should only continue to put up similar, if not better, numbers as he returns to Minnesota. Correa has twice in his career put up WAR numbers above 7, with his 2021 season matching Versalles’ 7.2. While that is impressive, the greatest of all time assumes some longevity. So who tops that list for the Twins, and what will it take Correa to get there? Before we talk about the top of the list, there are some fun names on this all-time list to highlight. Two shortstops put in one season with the Twins and rank 14th and 15th according to WAR. Number 14 is Andrelton Simmons (1.5 WAR) and at 15 J.J. Hardy (1.4 WAR). Even Pedro Florimon makes the list at 12 with his 2.0 WAR from 2012 to 2014. Not exactly the start of a storied history. The focus of the present already finds himself 10th on this all time ranking. At the top is the guy with the longest tenure, Smalley. Over his career with the Twins and multiple positions, he accrued 20.9 WAR. Greg Gagne comes in second with 17.9 WAR over his career. Gagne's claim, over everyone else on this list, is that he was the shortstop for both World Series titles. Coming in tied for third, but with plenty of WAR accrued at another position, is Jorge Polanco with 15.3 WAR. Almost half of those numbers have come after his switch to second base. The aforementioned Versalles is tied with Polanco, with almost half of his total coming from his one MVP season. If we make WAR the benchmark for Correa, three more identical seasons to 2022 puts him 0.1 WAR shy of Smalley’s mark with the Twins. Outside of the shortened 2020 season, Correa’s lowest total for a single season was 3.1 WAR in 2018. If Correa even performed at that level over the next six seasons he would become the Twins all-time WAR leader at shortstop at 23.8 WAR. Numbers are part of the story but may not mean everything when discussing the best shortstop of all time for the Twins. There is a lot of love for the players who have brought the two rings to Minnesota. Because of that, it would help Correa’s case to bring the Twins back to that level of play finally. He may not even need to win a championship, but serious contention for one will be needed in order to hurdle Gagne and Smalley when considering more than purely numbers. The best WAR total is very much within reach for Correa. The question will be how those other achievements fit into the equation and what team achievements he will lead everyone in accomplishing. Correa is already a well-rounded baseball player hitting for average, for power, providing good defense, and great leadership. It would be hard to see Correa not fill out those superlatives one would look for when crowning the greatest player at the franchise’s shortstop position. Whether it is only six years or the length of the full reported contract, Carlos Correa could very easily be considered the best shortstop in Twins history by the contract’s end. View full article

The point of addressing the weaknesses is to be honest. I don't want to try and sugar coat an idea just to make it sound better than it maybe is. The reason a team would consider something like this is to get the player that is already something instead of waiting for the prospect to become something that they may never become. Devers is a very good bat who can play third for the moment but would be moved defensively in favor of someone like Brooks Lee at some point.

The Minnesota Twins could really use another impact bat in their lineup. While third base isn't the most obvious fit, there are options on the trade market that could fill that need for some offense. Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports The Minnesota Twins officially (again) lost Carlos Correa and one of their most impactful bats to the New York Mets. That still leaves the Twins with a huge void to fill in the middle of their lineup. It will be impossible to replace Correa truly, but there may be a path to replace some of his value by acquiring a few different third basemen that could be available via trade. Rafael Devers , Red Sox Stop me if you have heard this before. The Red Sox have an impact, all-star level player ready to hit free agency, and we aren’t sure if they will keep them in town on a new contract. We have seen the team in Boston dance this dance with both Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts , only to see one traded and the other walk. Should the Twins maybe try and benefit this time around? Rafael Devers has been an excellent hitting third baseman in the middle of Boston’s lineup and is in his last year of arbitration. This past season he hit .295/.358/.521, which was good for a 141 wRC+. Defensively he may not stay at third base long term as his defensive numbers are already looking a bit ugly, but that didn’t prevent him from putting up a 4.9 fWAR in 2022. While the last thing the Twins need is another left-handed bat, Devers is in that top tier where handedness matters little. He isn't as bothered by the platoon splits as he only drops to .272/.315/.424 and a .739 OPS when facing lefties. Devers power does drop but overall, but still continues to hold his own. The sticky part of a trade for Devers is that the acquiring team would want to be assured they could sign him to an extension. Maybe the Twins would be willing to put that Correa money toward the 26-year-old Devers. If so, a package around Jose Miranda could make sense for both sides, especially since the hope is that Miranda would turn into a right-handed hitting version of Devers, but isn’t that quite yet. Anthony Rendon , Los Angeles Angels Those who listen to Gleeman and the Geek will have heard the guys talk about the Twins going after “depressed assets.” Anthony Rendon very well could be the poster child of a depressed asset. Bad enough that the Trade Simulator gives Rendon a -132.3 value. By comparison, Trevor Story comes in at -37.4. Rendon has certainly earned that ranking entering the 4th year of his 7-year, $245 million contract. The past two seasons have seen Rendon’s offensive numbers dip dramatically. The one-time All-Star has only been slightly above replacement level in recent seasons. As his K-rate has gone up and walk-rate down, he only slashed .229/.326/.380 this past season. So why would the Twins want to gamble on an expensive, declining player? The conversation would start and end with the front offices' confidence in being able to bring Rendon back to his earlier career performances. He already has two things going for him versus the rest of the Twins roster: he is right-handed and hits left-handed pitching well. Last season he sported a .873 OPS when facing lefties. A mark that jumps to .900 over his whole career. A Rendon acquisition is an absolute gamble, but with Gio Urshela in the fold, the Angels may be willing to get rid of their third baseman. A move that would also clear the payroll in preparation to try and keep Shohei Ohtani . Eduardo Escobar , New York Mets In case you missed it earlier, the New York Mets just signed a $315 million third baseman. With that move, rumors are circulating that they may be willing to move the veteran infielder and old friend, Eduardo Escobar. Someone that Cody Christie also highlighted when exploring some former Twins the club could bring back. Escobar is the most likely out of this list the Twins could acquire and, unfortunately, the one that moves the needle the least. He would bring in another bat to mix into the lineup against left-handers. Eddie’s numbers against lefties in 2022 were .259/.299/.519 with a .817 OPS. and nine home runs. The tricky thing about Escobar is he is hardly a third baseman at this point in his career. He recorded a -11 DRS and a -7 OAA. So while he could play the position, he may be more of a bat at this point than carry any value as a fielder. Considering how bad the Twins were against left-handed pitching last season, he could still be a valuable addition to the team. View full article

Both would be great. I also once had myself convinced for a hot minute that the Twins could land both Darvish and Ohtani.

Out of the trade options, Manny Pina always made the most sense to me for who the FO would go after. He is coming off an injury but is easy to have him share time with Jeffers. He has also shown his bat can get just hot enough for stretches to help carry a lineup. He also shouldn’t cost much in prospect capitol to acquire.

The beginning premise was that Pham is an option if the Twins spend big money on Correa or other SS or a starting pitcher. If this is the only move, I agree that would be very disappointing.

I just saw 1 yr, $6MM floated. Considering how big a problem hitting LHP was last season, duplicating Garlick's ability to hit LHP seems like a good thing.

A bulk of the Minnesota Twins payroll could go to filling needs other than a right-handed bat. If that is the case, Tommy Pham could be a more affordable option with some upside. Image courtesy of David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports It is Big Bat Week at Twins Daily, and this player may not indeed qualify in that category, but it is a veteran right-handed bat. Since the Twins will potentially be big-game hunting in the shortstop and pitching markets, they may need to fill the need for a right-handed bat in a slightly less expensive way. Tommy Pham, who was traded mid-season to the Boston Red Sox, could represent that sort of bat. Pham started the 2022 season with the Cincinnati Reds, and the Red Sox brought him in at the deadline to try and salvage their season. Over his career, Pham has been a respectable bat, but 2022 wasn’t the type of year he likely expects of himself. He slashed .237/.312/.374 (.686) and hit 17 home runs. What is intriguing about Pham is that he could provide a similar ability to hit left-handed pitching as recently-resigned Kyle Garlick does. In 2022, Pham hit .273/.338/.446, a .784 OPS, and six home runs against lefties. The difference between Pham and Garlick is that Pham has shown a much higher upside than Garlick. Pham has also, at age 34, been showing some discouraging signs of decline. In 2022, Pham’s walk rate dropped to a low 9.0% while his strikeout rate climbed to 26.8%. One likely contributing factor to those shifts is that Pham has been diagnosed with keratoconus, a cornea-thinning eye issue. He believes he is beyond the issue and has it corrected. If the Twins believe the same, they could buy low on Pham and at least get another platoon outfield bat and maybe more. In addition to another right-handed bat to roll out against left-handed pitchers, Pham would also allow Gilberto Celestino time to finish refining his game in the minors. Pham is also a more realistic replacement as a starter for Max Kepler if the worst-case scenario presents itself. That being that Trevor Larnach or Alex Kirilloff struggle to return to the lineup, and Kepler doesn’t find more success with his bat even after the changes to defensive shifting. A Pham signing certainly would come with some risk. Seeing that the Red Sox already declined his $12 million option for 2023, he would seemingly come at a price tag well below that. That lower price tag will prove valuable if the Twins pull off a Carlos Correa or similar signing and, at the same time, address the glaring need for a bat that can hit left-handed pitching. If the Twins do sign Pham, they will want to be careful that they review all the Fantasy Football league rules ahead of his involvement. View full article

Thanks bighat! Appreciate your support and kind words!

From everything coming out of Rocco's interview it seems he is simply just that hurt. The interview is added to the article now for easy listening.

The Minnesota Twins were able to watch Bailey Ober have a good outing. Gio Urshela and Carlos Correa also provided some offense. It ultimately wasn't enough as the White Sox took the first game in season's final series. Image courtesy of © Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports Box Score SP: Bailey Ober: 5 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K (82 pitches, 54 strikes (65.8%)) Home Runs: Gio Urshela (13) Bottom 3 WPA: Griffin Jax (-.168), Nick Gordon (-.103), Mark Contreras (-.093) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The Minnesota Twins entered into their final series for the 2022 season Monday night. A series with the division foe Chicago White Sox that was circled at the beginning of the season as a series that should have had the two heavyweights of the division duking it out for first place. That isn’t the case, with both teams licking wounds and looking towards the offseason. The Twins and us fans do have one thing to keep an eye on tonight, Bailey Ober. Last time out against this same White Sox lineup Ober struck out 10 batters. Since returning from the IL, Ober has thrown 17 ⅓ IP, collected 18 strikeouts, and walked only three batters on his way to a 1.56 ERA. With nothing to play for, the storyline for the Twins will be to see how Ober can follow up his ten strikeout game against that same lineup. A task that usually leans in favor of the offense. Urshela hits career mark in the first inning The Twins offense got an early jump by spotting Ober a 2-0 lead. It could have been larger if Carlos Correa hadn’t been thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double. Instead, with Nick Gordon on base after his own double, Gio Urshela hit his 13th home run of the 2022 season. It also happened to be his 140th hit for the Twins this season, setting a career-high for the third baseman. With Urshela also flashing his leather in the third inning, he is doing his best to make a case that he is well worth what his arbitration number will be this offseason. It will undoubtedly be one of the many off-season decisions we will all keep our eyes on. Ober solid in five innings While it was not dominant like his last outing, Ober still put together a solid five innings against the White Sox. Josh Harrison got to Ober with a two-run home run which tied the game up 2-2. It was a great way to see Ober finish out the season. Especially after missing so much time on the IL. The Twins will certainly be looking for him to fill a role next season, and this stretch to close the season should only add to Ober’s confidence as he does so. Cueto hits a groove, works fast Something that was obvious and commented on during the broadcast was that Johnny Cueto was working fast. Every good dad would have likely asked him if he was late for a date as fast as he was moving. Whether he was getting ready for the new pitch clock rules or something else, Cueto found a groove and kept the Twins off the scoreboard beyond the first inning. Even after Cueto's exit, the White Sox bullpen kept the Twins off the scoreboard, leading to eight scoreless innings. All it took was Griffin Jax allowing a run to cross the plate in the seventh inning to give the White Sox the 3-2 win to start the series. The Twins did show up in the ninth inning to make things interesting against White Sox closer Liam Hendriks. The Twins loaded the bases with two outs and sent Mark Contreras to the plate. Even though Hendriks seemed to be struggling to command some of his pitches, he was able to strike out Contreras to close out the win for Chicago. What’s Next? The Minnesota Twins will send Josh Winder to the mound for Tuesday’s game. He will face off against Lucas Giolito, who overall has had a disappointing season and would love nothing other than to shut down the Twins one last time. Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Jax 14 0 0 12 21 47 Henriquez 0 0 40 0 0 40 Pagan 0 30 0 0 5 35 Thielbar 18 0 0 0 15 33 Lopez 14 0 0 18 0 32 Fulmer 5 0 0 26 0 31 Moran 0 23 0 0 0 23 Megill 17 0 0 0 0 17 Duran 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

The Minnesota Twins continued to be a magnet of bad news Monday afternoon. Starter Sonny Gray left early after re-injuring his hamstring and the Guardians dominated the Twins by scoring eleven runs. Image courtesy of Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports Box Score SP: Sonny Gray: 2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K (44 pitches, 26 strikes (59.1%) Home Runs: Nick Gordon (9) Bottom 3 WPA: Sonny Gray (-.281), Mark Contreras (-.243), Ronny Henriquez (-.121) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Guardians grab lead early The Guardians wasted no time in putting runs on the board Monday afternoon. Quickly Amed Rosario and Jose Ramirez found themselves in scoring position. It didn’t matter where they were on the base paths as Josh Naylor got a hold of a Sonny Gray curveball and launched it into the right field seats giving the Guardians an early 3-0 lead. Gray exits after second Not only were the Twins behind early 3-0, but there were other signs that Gray's outing was going poorly. The radar gun showed that his average fastball speed was down about two miles per hour. We later learned what was ailing Gray was a return of the hamstring tightness that recently plagued him. Henriquez debuts With Gray out, Ronny Henriquez came into pitch, making his major league debut. Early on, his stuff was on display. The movement that the 22-year-old pitcher creates is impressive. Henriquez even flashed his glove as he was welcomed to the big leagues by a screaming Ramirez liner right back at him. The gloves behind him could have been a bit more sound as they helped create a bases-loaded situation that Henriquez was able to escape without allowing any runs to score. Henriquez is currently ranked as Twins Daily’s #16 prospect in the Twins system after coming over to the Twins in the Mitch Garver trade with the Texas Rangers. Since the trade, there has been an eye on Henriquez as a possible bullpen arm for the Twins in 2022. Finally, here in September, he is getting his chance. The debut was promising through three innings as Henriquez was able to hold Cleveland scoreless. In his fourth inning of work, the opposing bats were able to get to him. Including the exclamation point of an Amed Rosario three-run home run. Twins find some runs in the fourth Carlos Correa led off the fourth inning with an opposite-field single. Jose Miranda followed up with a similar opposite field hit for a double, setting the Twins up with runners on second and third with no outs. In a game full of infield hits, it was two hits that stayed in the infield that would bring both Correa and Miranda in to score. Those two runs cut the Twins deficit down to two with a 4-2 tally on the scoreboard. Opportunity missed in the sixth With the Twins down 4-3, they had the perfect opportunity to take the lead. With the bases loaded and one out, the Twins chased Guardians starter Cal Quantrill from the game. Nick Sandlin took his place, and Mark Contreras came in as a pinch hitter for Caleb Hamilton to try and drive in some runs for the Twins. Instead, Contreras lined out to first baseman Naylor, and Matt Wallner was doubled off to end the inning and the scoring threat. In the end, Cleveland would score two more runs after Rosario hit his three-run home run, bringing the final score to 11-4. In a week following the "official" end to the Twins playoff chances, there wasn't much to be excited about. Nick Gordon hit his ninth home run, and the first three innings of Henriquez's debut were good to see. Beyond that, any Twins fans watching got another look at why the Guardians are poised to win the division, and the Twins are not. What’s Next? The Minnesota Twins will make their way to Kansas City to open up a three-game series against the Royals. Dylan Bundy will take the mound for the Twins, while the Royals will send veteran Zach Greinke to the mound. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet TUE THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Henriquez 0 0 0 0 0 73 73 López 0 0 0 32 0 34 66 Moran 40 0 0 15 5 0 60 Jax 0 18 22 13 0 0 53 Duran 0 19 16 0 17 0 52 Sanchez 0 0 0 49 0 0 49 Fulmer 0 21 11 17 0 0 49 Pagán 0 0 0 31 0 15 46 Thielbar 0 12 15 0 0 0 27 View full article

Not having Alcala is an aspect of this season that I have come back to often and wondered "what if?" His presence and development just seems to be a core piece of how the bullpen was supposed to be constructed and without him we saw how quickly the 'pen became shallow. And yes, the FO put themselves in that position of lacking depth.

The Minnesota Twins were able to extend their winning streak to four games Monday night. Dylan Bundy and the bullpen were able to hold the Red Sox bats at bay and Gio Urshela got the go-ahead, bases-clearing double to secure the victory. Box Score SP: Dylan Bundy: 4 2/3 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K (86 pitches, 62 strikes (72.1%)) Home Runs: N/A Top 3 WPA: Gio Urshela (.464), Caleb Thielbar (.113), Nick Gordon (.103) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The Minnesota Twins enter into Monday night’s game on the heels of a three-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants. That sweep had the hometown nine two games back of Cleveland for the AL Central lead. The Twins need to keep things going against a Boston Red Sox team whose record does not look great, but there are plenty of dangerous names up and down their roster. Prior to Monday's game there was a notable bullpen move. Devin Smeltzer was optioned back to St. Paul while fellow lefty Jovani Moran was brought back to the Twins. Before we get to the game, could you take a moment to let us know more about how you like to engage with minor league coverage at Twins Daily? Red Sox break through first, Bundy limits damage As the game ventured into the third inning, the Red Sox began to hit the ball hard. Tommy Pham reached on a line drive single. Alex Verdugo followed up with another hard-hit ball but for a double this time. The double was enough to score Pham. With the score 1-0, Xander Bogaerts would follow up with a single to make it runners on first and third with one out. The inning looked headed straight towards a crooked number, Bundy somehow limited the damage and got out of the inning without allowing any more runs. The fourth inning felt much the same as the third. The Red Sox were going down the lineup and collecting hard hits and hard contact. With one out it was a soft bloop double by Reese McGuire that scored Trevor Story. Once again, it felt like an inning was going sideways for the Twins. Insert Bundy. With a ground out and strike out the Twins starter was able to close out the inning with only one run scored. Cave produces again Red Sox starter Brayan Bello has had very good minor league numbers this season. His ERA has been ugly in the majors at 7.36. At the same time, with a 3.03 FIP it seems there is something better underneath what has happened on the scoreboard for Bello this season in the majors. The right-hander also simply has some nasty stuff. For three innings, Bello looked purely like the 3.03 FIP version of himself. Finally, in the fourth inning, the Twins were able to get their bats going and loaded the bases with no outs. One of this weekend’s heroes, Jake Cave was able to drive in the Twins' first run on a sac fly to center field which brought Jose Miranda home. Unfortunately, that was the only run the Twins could score in that RISP situation. Brings to the forefront again one of the biggest frustration with the Twins' offense this season. Gio with the go-ahead The Twins were able to chase Bello in the fifth after he walk both Luis Arraez and Carlos Correa. After a weird Max Kepler swinging bunt that barely rolled to the front of home plate advanced the runners to second and third, Miranda collected a walk of his own. Kyle Garlick pinch hit for Nick Gordon but wasn’t able to come through after striking out. Then Gio Urshela stepped up to the plate with a fresh John Schreiber brought in to face him. With the count full, Urshela went down and got a low and away slider and was able to poke it down the right field line to clear the bases and put the Twins up 4-2. Bullpen Cruises Monday night was a night where we once again saw the beauty of deadline bullpen addition at work. Caleb Thielbar first came in to help Bundy get out of a jam. Just as Thielbar has done many times again, he did just that getting the final out of fifth and handled the sixth inning as well. Jhoan Duran then came in to take on the heart of the Red Sox lineup. He did so with his patented high-velocity heat. Duran wouldn't have been able to take on that spot if it wasn't for the deadline additions, as he would have been needed to potentially close. Griffin Jax got the eighth and made quick work of it giving up only a single to Story. It was then Jorge Lopez's turn and shut the door with authority getting two ground outs and a strike out to secure the victory for the Twins. What’s Next? The Twins will face off against another young Boston arm in Kutter Crawford. The right hander sports a 5.30 ERA this season over 73.0 innings. The Twins will counter with Chris Archer. Archer will look to bounce back after a rough start against Houston where he surrendered five earned runs. Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Megill 23 0 35 0 0 58 Pagán 0 28 0 22 0 50 Duran 20 0 13 0 14 47 Thielbar 0 0 22 0 15 37 Jax 6 0 8 0 17 31 Fulmer 0 12 0 15 0 27 López 18 0 0 0 9 27 Moran 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

Editing error. Sorry. It is fixed now.

Tomorrow's starter announced.

The Minnesota Twins came into Monday night needing a win. The defense came through with the season's second triple play, but continued struggles from the offense and an early exit from Byron Buxton led to a loss. Box Score SP: Sonny Gray: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K (69 pitches, 47 strikes (68.1%)) Home Runs: N/A Bottom 3 WPA: Jose Miranda (-.225), Luis Arraez (-.150), Max Kepler (-.145) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) As the Minnesota Twins have scuffled through what was supposed to be an easy part of their schedule, they looked to even up the series with the Rangers Monday night. Continuing to sit in second place in the AL Central standings, Monday’s night game felt like a must-win game for the Twins. If not must-win, very important. The struggle to hit with RISP continues The Twins struggle to get hits with runners in scoring position has been well documented. That struggle was highlighted early on Monday night in almost identical fashions. In the first inning, Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton reached base and stood on second and third with only one out in the inning. It looked like the Twins were cruising to an early lead. Instead, Jose Miranda struck out, and Max Kepler continued his struggles by pulling a pitch into a ground out to end the inning and the threat. Once again, in the third inning, Correa was again standing on third base and Buxton on second. This time it was with two outs after Jose Miranda grounded into a fielder’s choice to put the two Twins stars in those positions. Kepler’s overall batting struggles were highlighted once again as he couldn’t muster anything more than a fly out to center field. Twins turn second triple play of season The fourth inning started in a way that did not look favorable for the Twins. Starter Sonny Gray who was off to a great start sending the first nine batters faced down without incident, wasn’t as fortunate as the lineup turned over. Marcus Semien broke through with a single for the first hit off of Gray Monday evening. Corey Seager followed up with a walk putting runners on first and second with no outs. Not only did Gray look to be in trouble, but he looked so with the middle of the Rangers lineup due up. With Nathaniel Lowe at the plate, Gray caused the left-handed batter to pull a liner right at Miranda. Miranda was able to step on first for out number two. Miranda then spun and fired down to second where Correa had to leap to snag the throw and was still able to come down and get Semien out to complete the Twins second triple play on the season. The 17th in franchise history. Nick Gordon breaks through To start the fourth inning, Gio Urshela gave the Twins their second lead-off triple after sending a pitch the opposite way down the first baseline. Nick Gordon came to the plate and nearly broke through to start the run-scoring with a true exclamation point. Gordon sent a moonshot down the first base line that just hooked foul. It was called so live on the field and was later confirmed by a crew chief review. Gordon wouldn’t be fully denied. He came back and lined the ball down the third base line to score Urshela and add a double to his resume. That double brings Gordon up to 18 for the 2022 season. Middle-inning pitching struggles The Twins have seemingly been plagued repeatedly by starting pitchers struggling in the middle innings of games. That was again the case Monday evening as Gray saw all the damage done against him in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. In fairness, Gray was able to mute the actual damage done, leaving the game with the Twins down 2-1. The solo homerun by Adolis Garcia and RBI-single from Corey Seager did carry much more weight as the Twins offense could only muster up one run of support for Gray. Buxton leaves after 6th inning Buxton had two significant instances where it was evident his hip was once again bothering him. After swinging through a pitch during an at-bat in the 5th inning, it could be seen on Buxton's face that it was painful. Then again, after attempting to dive to catch a fly ball, he was slow to get up. It has been well documented that Buxton has been working extremely hard to make it onto the field each day he plays. It does not remove the frustration present as the Twins best player is sidelined and sidelined in a game where they desperately needed some offensive firepower. What’s Next? The Twins will catch a late-night flight to Houston, where they will open a three-game series against the always-tough Astros. It already was an important series, and became that much more important with Monday's loss, as the Twins try to keep pace in the central and compete with a playoff-caliber team. Currently, the probable starters lineup as follows: Tuesday: Aaron Sanchez vs. Justin Verlander Wednesday: Dylan Bundy vs. Framber Valdez Thursday: Chris Archer vs. Luis Garcia Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THUR FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Thielbar 0 17 11 0 12 40 Pagán 0 0 0 39 0 39 Megill 0 24 0 15 0 39 López 0 20 9 0 0 29 Jax 0 0 11 0 14 25 Fulmer 0 0 0 0 12 12 Duran 0 10 0 0 0 10 Sands 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

I would actually think that there is a strong possibility every arm is available again. There may be a preference to try and not use Duran and Lopez, but in a pinch both could probably go. Everyone's work load was (and has been) about as minimal as you could hope for.