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Fantastic improvement for a young man who can/must be a big part of the 2022 bullpen. Rogers, Duff, Alcala and one top new arm take the late innings. Lots of guys did well late this year, who collectively can handle those early innings.

Thanks, Seth. Have a feeling there will be more changes to the Twins coaching staff over the coming weeks. Has anyone heard what the recent surgery to Colina's elbow was? If it was TJ, then this recent move makes sense, albeit, the timing may have been better when all teams were making cuts in preparation for the Rule 5.

Fantastic writing, Nick, loved it. As for the choice, slam dunk. Kirilloff ias going to be great if he can get past his wrist problems. But Ober flat out pitched so much better than anyone could have expected. My only question is I would think he was better than 1 win above replacement...but I don’t really understand that.

Bechtold and Helman are Rule 5 eligible. Are any of the pitchers? Could this be a break-out opportunity for Wallner? Sure would be nice to separate himself from the other corner outfielders in the organization who have some pop, when they don't strike out.

Yes, it was a nightmare. But my wife, who has the patience of a saint, spent one morning doing it.

I understand that Bert Blyleven has some free time. That wasn't totally a joke! But getting some savvy vet might help what is going to be a very young staff.

I have Hulu and a firestick. One app that comes up is 'internet.' All I have to do is type in the MiLBtv address and all the games are there. After doing it once, it comes up automatically, at least for me. And I am as technically challenged as they come, so it must be simple. Quality of most broadcasts is excellent...although I watched mostly St. Paul and Wichita.

I would rather sign Buxton and keep Celestino to play when he is injured. When Buxton is healthy, Celestino could be a very good corner/4th outfielder. Other than Kepler, defense in the other corner is so-so to just plain ugly.

There is no comparison. Buxton is one of, if not the best player in the game...when on the field. Ortiz had some pop in his bat, but wasn't much of a prospect as every team passed on him until Boston finally signed him before spring training. Or had ST already begun? The Twins could have retained Ortiz at a modest cost. They chose to move on, which proved to be the wrong decision. They want to and have tried to retain Buxton, however, have yet to come to an agreement on what will be somewhat of an unusual contract as incentives will play a larger role than the norm. Think Maeda's contract, although not that extreme.

Thanks for the link to the Fangraphics chart. Had never seen that before. See that Miranda was 17th in all minor leagues. Half of the 16 ahead of him were in the DSL. Of the 8 other, only 4 were AA or AAA, one being 28 years old.

Thanks for an interesting look at the organization Lucas. Guessing that Martin wasn’t on the list because he was with Toronto most of the year? Where would he fit in this group, assuming he was over 100?

Question on Javier. Is he a minor league free agent this winter?

Always an interesting time of year. I suspect the Twins are higher, much higher, on Jax than most of you here. I also suspect that there is almost no likelihood that he would pass thru the Rule 5 draft. A starting pitcher with big league experience and minimal experience leading up to this year. That is the pitcher many clubs would be drooling over. I suspect the only prospects that are added are the top 5 preferred prospects. To open spots for them and the three or four free agent signings, several names are going to find themselves on the outside looking in. I will be surprised if either Thorpe or Smeltzer are on the Twins 40-man come December 1.

Tough season, fortunately, some of us were unable to watch almost all of the games. Hopefully, next year the Twins will return to contenders and baseball will have figured out a way for so many of their fans to see it. The real problem as I see it, Nick, wasn't a specific day each month. Rather, it was a month that stunk and when it is April makes for a long, long season. The good news is that with us all now looking back, there are too many very good players on this team to not put them in position where working towards a winning 2022 is not only possible but the best option. And that begins by signing/extending several of their current players, ie, Buxton, Duffey, and Rogers. Go Twins!

Thanks so much, Nick, for these weekly articles. There are so many questions that will need to be answered. Will they begin answering them today? Their 40-man roster sits at 49, including an unheard of 9 on the 60-day IL. Does that have to be reduced to 40 today? If not, when? You made one comment that I question if it is still true. That is referring to the corner outfield depth in the system. Does that depth really exist? Kirilloff is going to be a great hitter, however, is better defensively at first. Of all the others, only Larnach appears to be both adequate defensively with a better than average bat. (Note: I didn't include Celestino, who projects as a center field replacement should they not get Buxton extended) Yes, there may be a few young guys in rookie ball or low-A, guys like Rosario, Urbina, Rodriguez. But they are so far away it is unclear how they will develop. Thanks again, hopefully we don't have to suffer through another year like this for a long time.

Wasn’t it fantastic having their AAA club in St. Paul? Hopefully several guys like Maggi, Kerrigan, Telis and a few more will be back so the fans can connect with a good part of the team.

Twins go from first to last. Didn’t they once go from last to World Series champs? Can they do it again?

Of those dozen guys with 30 home runs, how many hit over .300, way over, with a .400 OBP? My guess is none. Biggest question of the winter will be watching to see how the Twins open a spot for him next spring. Great seeing Celestino’s performance at St. Paul. No question he should be ready to be a quality fill in when Buxton is injured next year. Strotman has been a bit disappointing since coming over. Hopefully he will be better come spring.

Doc hit it right on when talking about how little Jax has pitched and how aggressively he has been promoted. Many of us heard the Wichita announcer rave this summer about Winder and his make up in part due to his experiences at VMI. The same is true for Jax and I would expect the AFA is even tougher than VMI. No reason we won’t see an improved starter next year who has addressed some of those concerns from this year. Four of Ober, Ryan, Pineda, Jax and Dobnak works for me. Add Winder and a few others who are close for early depth and Maeda in August. Go out and sign or trade for that top guy after resigning Pineda, which I expect to happen this month.

Interesting discussion. So many comments talked about playing players where they are best suited. Others refer to the Twins as a mess. Most comments are reasonable. If we can see it, why doesn’t management? If they do, the place to start this off-season is with the Manager.

A bird in hand is worth two in the bush. We sure learned that last year. Extend this young man for a couple years.

Will agree that your concern about Miranda stepping in at third from day one is legitimate. The good news is that if the Twins go down this road and Miranda needs more time at AAA, Arraez is available to start at third until he is ready. That assumes that Polo isn't the everyday shortstop and Arraez is again super utility.

Have never been a huge fan of the Twins signing Pineda, twice. Yet, so often I look at a box score following his start and think...that was a solid outing. Not being around the team, I don't know what his presence means to the locker room. Some could argue that with their record this year no one meant a lot in the locker room. But recent reports seem to indicate that he maintains a large presence, which could be more important in 2022 should there be several young starters. It appears that Pineda likes the Twins and the Minneapolis area. It also seems that the FO likes big Mike. So I will not be surprised when/if the Twins announce that he has been signed to another two year deal for similar dollars as the last. Some combination of Pineda, Ober and Ryan could be a solid #2-#3-#4 for 2022. If Ryan develops like we hope, they could be better than solid!

Lots of questions. Some will be answered by the front office over the winter. I fear others will not. The most obvious move to open a spot for Miranda is to trade Donaldson. Unfortunately, the FO needs a trading partner to agree to a reasonable deal, whereas, those of us at these sites don't. Is there a partner out there for the Twins to make that move? And even if they eat some of JD's salary, it would still provide dollars to use towards a Buxton extension and/or a very good starting pitcher. Expect there are other moves that would open a spot, but the only two that make sense are at first and second. Unfortunately, the Twins have two players already penciled in for each of those spots...three at second if you include Gordon. So the obvious move is also the best...open up a job for him at third base. Come on Front Office, find a way!!!

What a great month/year for Ryan. And yes, a clunker like last night should be expected. As he said, a great opportunity and so much to learn. And it becomes critical to the Twins future that they sign Buxton to an extension this winter. Build around this young man, including a top 4th outfielder who is solid in center field. Perhaps that is Celestino.