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Kyle Farmer knew he was going to get traded this past offseason. It was only a matter of where. 
"I'm happy I'm here," he said, looking around the bustling Twins clubhouse ahead of Tuesday's game against Atlanta. 
Maybe a little bit less happy than he was at the time of the move. It's no secret that he loves playing shortstop, where he was Cincinnati's primary starter for most of the past two seasons. Farmer was reportedly "blindsided" when the Reds moved him to third base last August, favoring prospect Jose Barrero at short.
“It sucks,” Farmer said at the time. “I love short. I’ve loved short my entire life. It’s part of the game, I guess, and they see me at third. Hopefully I play well enough to maybe play third here next year.”
Well, Farmer won't be playing third in Cincy this year, but he should see plenty of action there for the Twins. He started at the hot corner against Boston on Monday after making his spring debut at his beloved shortstop in Saturday's home opener at Hammond Stadium. He'll get the nod at second base on Wednesday against the Phillies.
Farmer was lined up as the de facto starting shortstop when the Twins acquired him from the Reds in exchange for pitching prospect Casey Legumina on November 18th, and as the offseason progressed, it looked increasingly like Farmer would indeed assume primary duties as at least an interim fixture. Free agent shortstop options came flying off the board while Minnesota's pursuit of Carlos Correa appeared doomed.
As it turns out, this pursuit was in fact not doomed. Correa signed with the Twins in January and just like that, Farmer's hopes of a full-time return to the shortstop position were dashed. But for his part, he doesn't express too much consternation about it.
"Love short, love second, and I also love third," he said. "I feel more comfortable playing second probably over anywhere besides short if I had to choose, but third base comes naturally to me too." 
Farmer also has experience at first base, which seems relevant in light of the uncertainty surrounding Alex Kirilloff's situation, but it's clear he fundamentally enjoys playing around the two-bag. "Playing up the middle it’s like, I’m having fun in baseball, it’s not like a job."
 
He will have a job to do for the Twins, and an important one. Farmer has a pretty good idea of how the team plans to use him. 
"Someone needs a day off or a lefty’s pitching or maybe they put me in certain situations but I expect to play all over the infield."
What about the outfield? There's been some chatter about that possibility, given the need for righty-swinging depth in the corner spots, but Farmer's MLB experience in the outfield is extremely scarce, amounting to total four innings in left field back in 2020 and 2021. That said, he's open to the possibility.
"I haven’t done it yet in spring training but that option’s open," Farmer shared. "As long as I’m in the lineup hitting it doesn’t matter where I play defensively."
And that's what it really comes down to: is he hitting? Farmer's strong splits against lefties are an obvious point of appeal after the Twins scuffled versus southpaws last year, but he might struggle to force his way into the lineup on a regular basis if he's not at least holding his own against righties. Last year he slashed just .235/.291/.320 against them.
Offensively, Farmer said he's focused this spring on using his hips and lower body more in his swing, gaining more consistency with his load move. The 32-year-old admitted that as he gets older, it takes him a bit longer to find his timing and get in a groove. Luckily (for him, not us), there's still plenty of spring left.
Under control for two more seasons, Farmer has the ability to impact the Twins in a range of different ways, especially if his work at the plate leads to an improvement upon his sub-par overall career OPS+ of 85. (For comparison, Max Kepler finished at 93 in a career-worst 2022 season.)
One intriguing tool in his defensive versatility kit that hasn't yet been discussed? Farmer originally came up as a catcher, and played more than 80 innings there as recently as 2019. The Twins are a little iffy on catching depth beyond Christian Vázquez and Ryan Jeffers, so Farmer's experience there feels somewhat relevant, separating him from your standard "emergency catcher."
To be clear, the Twins are still treating him as such. Rocco Baldelli was assertive in stating that Farmer is only a break-the-glass option as opposed to a third catcher – "He will catch in an emergency and that’s it." Still, it's awfully nice to have someone in that role who is a legit backstop, and it takes away any level of hesitation about carrying only two catchers on the roster, or DH-ing one of Vázquez and Jeffers against lefties.
Compared to catching, Baldelli was a bit less rigid on the idea of Farmer getting some time in the outfield, although it doesn't sound like he's planning around it. 
"I don’t think so," the manager said when asked if he anticipated any appearances from Farmer in the outfield this spring. "We generally will make adjustments the last couple weeks of spring training depending on what the roster looks like or any injury concerns around the team, and then if someone has to get some extra work or go play some positions they haven’t, we’ll do that at that point."
Incidentally, Trevor Larnach was scratched from Tuesday's game with lower-body soreness. Meanwhile, the third baseman Miranda has only been able to play DH so far this spring due to a throwing shoulder issue, and we still have yet to see second baseman Jorge Polanco in a spring game as he works back from a knee injury. Carlos Correa is slated to make his Grapefruit League debut at shortstop on Wednesday, serving as Farmer's double-play partner, but injury concerns will inevitably loom over him and his ankle. As we've discussed, the first base and catcher positions have their own question marks.
Given all of this, it's easy to see how the flexible Farmer – who's been very durable (he would've ranked third on the Twins in plate appearances last year, and fourth in 2021) – is an extremely nice piece of have on hand, with improved offense almost feeling like a bonus on top of what he can provide with his glove all over the field.
For a team that was so often forced to use players out of position or push them beyond their station last year, Farmer is a fantastic roster fit. A floor-raising player like him might not be the most exciting, but following a season where the bottom fell out, it's a vital necessity.

Born in Northfield, Minnesota, Caleb Thielbar calls the same state home as Thielen does. When Thielbar went to South Dakota State, the Jackrabbits were a Division II program. They transitioned to Division I during his final two seasons there. Playing in Brookings, it’s not at all surprising that the lefty went relatively overlooked, but by this point in his Major League career, the story should be equally inspiring.
Both Thielen and Thielbar beat the odds when considering how small their towns are. Detroit Lakes does boast a population of nearly 10,000 people, while Thielbar's Randolph claims less than 500. Thielen didn't pick up a football scholarship offer from Mankato until the summer following his senior year, and it took Thielbar multiple stints with the independent version of the Saints before he was discovered again.
The Milwaukee Brewers took Thielbar in the 18th round of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft. The only player drafted in that round that year to make a positive impact in the majors is Marcus Stroman, although he didn't sign, went to college at Duke and was drafted in the first round three years later as a pitcher rather than a shortstop. Given the rounds and depth brought in through the draft, Thielbar’s positioning did not at all help his chances for success.
It wasn’t until 2011 that Thielbar made his way to the Twins organization, and he didn’t make it to the big leagues for another two years after that. As a 26-year-old reliever, the lefty appeared on May 20 against the Atlanta Braves and threw two shutout innings with a trio of strikeouts. Thielbar posted a 1.76 ERA that season, but the Twins were so bad that his performance was largely overlooked.
A year later, in 2014, the strikeouts slipped and so did the overall performance. By 2015, Thielbar was out of affiliated baseball altogether. Using two strong stints with the St. Paul Saints, Thielbar provided the Twins with opportunity to scout him close to home. Boasting sub 3.00 ERA's in 2016 and 2017, he parlayed the success into minor league deals with the Detroit Tigers and Atlanta Braves in 2018 and 2019.
Resurfacing during the 2020 covid-shortened season with Minnesota, Thielbar is showcased in a wonderful piece by The Athletic’s Dan Hayes. Having all but given up hope on professional baseball after Atlanta did not call him up in 2019, Thielbar decided to move on to coaching in the Division II ranks with Augustana. Conveniently for this narrative, the South Dakota school is nicknamed the Vikings, and they play in the same conference as Thielen’s Mavericks. Fortunately for the Twins, Brad Steil and the team's pro scouts saw his numbers and improved "stuff" and convinced Thielbar to give it one more try. 
Despite having been away from the game for a time, Thielbar posted a 2.25 ERA across 20 innings on a team that hosted a home playoff series. He was still a crafty lefty, but now he brought a new strikeout sprinkle to his game and tallied a career best 9.9 K/9. Fast forward to where we are now, and Thielbar enters 2023 with a career-high $2.4 million salary, and being able to lay claim as one of baseball’s most underrated relievers. For Rocco Baldelli, Thielbar will be one of just two assumed lefties in the pen. Alongside second-year arm Jovani Moran, Thielbar can be expected to provide plenty of high-leverage innings. His 2.42 FIP tells a better story of his 2022 than the 3.49 ERA, and it’s really the career best 12.1 K/9 that deserves excitement. Having dropped his walk rate each of the past two years, and continuing to be stingy with homers, Thielbar is as good of a weapon as Minnesota has in the pen.
Although Major League Baseball rules now mandate a pitcher must face three batters, and Thielbar is better against lefties, he is relatively matchup proof. Last season he held right-handed hitters to a .226 average as opposed to .225 for lefties. Righties did get him for a .634 OPS as opposed to just .575 against lefties, but he doesn’t strike fear in a manager when needing to get big outs.
For a bullpen that has a fireballer like Jhoan Duran at the back, it’s incredible that someone like Thielbar can bring such a successful different look. Thielbar will never throw triple-digits, and his 92.9 mph average last season was a career-best. Still, generating soft contact along with swings and misses is something he’s done by knowing exactly what he brings to the table.
Among Minnesota’s arbitration decisions this winter, Thielbar had to be one of the easiest. He’s now a 36-year-old, and it’s been a decade since he debuted. The journey to get here was an interesting one, but he’s now a key cog for the Twins bullpen in 2023.
It’s improbable we see Thielbar named to an All-Star team or given national recognition, but make no mistake, Thielbar is every bit the success story that the Vikings have experienced with Adam Thielen. Sometimes the hometown hero is Joe Mauer, Paul Molitor, or Dave Winfield. Other times, it’s the grinder that has to do everything it takes in order to make their own opportunities.

Jake Cave’s return for 2022 felt frustrating in part when many expected the debut of prospects to be filling those lineup slots. But then an odd thing happened: I didn’t hate Cave this time around. He genuinely seemed to play better every time I expected the worst. And with the season’s doom leading toward more existential questions, a truly odd thought filled my head: Is Jake Cave Good?
Let’s cut to the chase: Not particularly. Jake Cave slashed .213/.260/.384 (.624), only a minor improvement on last year’s .189/.263/.400 (.663) with basically the same number of plate appearances. His WRC+ hovered almost to 100—essentially league average—before crashing down to 81.
And yet there was Cave hustling to first at Yankee Stadium to put Carlos Correa in position to smash a dinger to give the Twins the lead. In the critical Cleveland series, Cave hit a bomb off Triston McKenzie to provide the Twins an early lead. And if you looked out at the outfield, you could have sworn Buxton had transported himself into Cave’s body as he continually laid out to make a few diving catches.
Cave showed significant improvement this year in numerous ways. His Triple-A stint surely helped as he posted a .879 OPS over 85 games, his best since his time in Rochester back in 2019 that eventually landed him on the big-league roster for the last four years. He went on a 49 plate on-base streak, only ended by an unlucky five-inning rain out where he only managed two plate appearances.
When Cave first joined the Twins for the San Francisco Giants series at Target Field that gave one last fresh breath of air into the team, he managed to tie the game in the 9th inning with a single, and then the next day smashed a two-run homer and another double in a rousing victory.
Cave cooled down into his more expected self, but a few notable stats stick out. First, Cave had become a big strikeout guy, particularly in the 2021 season where he was around 35%. Going back to Triple-A worked wonders. He dropped that to 25% and then only climbed up to 27% when he came back for the majors—still below league average, but an improvement.
That came with a sacrifice of power. His BABIP slipped, but there was a big reason for Cave opting for singles: his speed score ballooned from 6.2 after a 3.7 in 2021. To put that into context, only Billy Hamilton and Byron Buxton posted faster speeds for Minnesota this season. I repeat: Jake Cave was the third faster player on the Twins this year. Cave was as fast as new-thorn-for-the-next-seven-years Steven Kwan. And when it came to his defense, his arm strength on Baseball Savant skyrocketed from a mediocre 46% to a shocking 79% within the league
Most notably, Cave improved when it mattered. "Clutch" is a unique metric, but it measures your chance at Win Probability against the stakes of the plate appearance as compared to your overall season numbers (to say the least, Carlos Correa demonstrated a high win probability, but his Clutch was -0.91 given his problems delivering with runners on base. Let’s just call it a “heart and hustle” stat). Cave was second on the Twins in the second half of the season in Clutch, just shy of Gilberto Celestino. His dozen barrels doubled what he managed last year, and with his speed, he managed a trio of triples. 
In the second half, Cave posted a better OPS than Gary Sánchez, Celestino, Max Kepler, and Jorge Polanco.  He hit about as well as the aging Nelson Cruz did for the Nationals except on a $800k contract that managed a half point of WAR—essentially quadruple his salary. It may have still been frustrating to see Cave batting fifth in a lineup for a playoff contention team, but Cave was hardly the problem given the improvements he demonstrated.
With a huge roster crunch in the coming months, it is likely that Cave once again sees himself in a St. Paul Saints uniform unless another team is looking for some depth in the outfield. But unlike previous years, I have to salute a player who hustled his way into an unfortunate situation and did what he could.
Update: The Baltimore Orioles have claimed Jake Cave off waivers.
For much more Jake Cave content from Twins Daily, click here. 
 
 

Honorable Mentions:

Griffin Jax: 72.1 IP, 3.36 ERA, 26.9% K rate, 6.9% BB rate, 0.9 fWAR, 0.9 bWAR
At the end of 2021, it became clear Jax lacked the pitch mix to thrive as a starter so he made the switch to the bullpen. It’s hard to expect more than what he provided the Twins. Arguably a Top 3 reliever for the team for most of the year, Jax turned to his wipeout slider nearly 50% of the time and the pitch was dominant in every way. Headed into 2023, it’ll be interesting to see if Jax can continue improving in his new role.
Luis Arraez: .316/.375/.420, 8.3% BB rate, 7.1% K rate, 3.2 fWAR, 4.4 bWAR
It’s hard for one of the team’s best players over the last few years to get “most improved” consideration but Arraez has earned it. Not only did he take his offense to the next level by winning a batting title and slugging a career-high eight home runs, but he also had an underrated season defensively. After struggling to stick at any one position, Arraez found himself playing first base for the first time in his career and more than held his own. Though his hamstring caused him issues at season’s end, he played a career-high 144 games. Hopefully, we can see more of the same moving forward.
Gilberto Celestino: .238/.313/.302, 9.2% BB rate, 22.2% K rate, 0 fWAR, 0.5 bWAR
To be fair, Celestino didn’t look to be an MLB-caliber player in 2021, and so even his modest 2022 numbers got him some love as one of the Twins most improved players. He showed flashes throughout the year that hint at his ability to at least become a solid fourth outfielder. He put up comfortably positive defensive metrics in center field across the board, and any kind of power development would be huge. Still just 23 years old, Celestino may very well find himself on this list again next year.
Twins Daily's Most Improved Player Nick Gordon: .272/.316/.427, 4.3% BB rate, 23.7% K rate, 1.5 fWAR, 1.6 fWAR
So much to be impressed by with Gordon’s 2022 season. Early calls to jettison him off the roster in favor of Royce Lewis were quickly rescinded, as Gordon found himself in a trial by fire due to injuries and came out on the other side looking like a legitimate piece of the Twins future. Gordon showed contact ability and power like never before and even did a little bit of damage against left-handed pitching on occasion. Though the Twins tailed off at the beginning of September, they’d have been out of the race well before without their former 2014 1st round pick.
Gordon pivoted off of his longtime position in the middle infield and is likely a better defensive outfielder at this point, a testament to the work he put in and his raw physical ability. The Twins outfield has plenty of left-handed hitters, but Gordon is a nice complement to the hulking sluggers such as Trevor Larnach and Matt Wallner. He seems like a favorite to fill a platoon-type role moving forward, finding himself in the lineup regularly when a right-handed pitcher is on the mound.
One thing that should really be appreciated about Gordon is the joy he plays with. Perhaps stemming from the long path to get to this point, Gordon isn’t afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve in every situation. From a huge smile on his face following a big hit to his visible frustration when being pulled for a pinch hitter, you just have to love how invested he looks no matter the situation. 
With team control until 2028 and a versatile skill set, Nick Gordon may just be getting started. In the midst of a disappointing season, the development he’s shown was truly a bright spot. For that reason, join us in congratulating Nick Gordon as Twins Daily’s Most Improved Player!
 
 

Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 10/3 through Weds, 10/5
***
Record Last Week: 1-2 (Overall: 78-84)
Run Differential Last Week: +3 (Overall: +12)
Standing: 3rd Place in AL Central (14.0 GB)
Last Week's Game Results:
Game 160 | CWS 3, MIN 2: Ober, Urshela Not Enough
Game 161 | CWS 8, MIN 3: Sox Lineup Proves Overpowering
Game 162 | MIN 10, CWS 1: Twins Finish on a High Note
NEWS & NOTES
The MLB season doesn't typically conclude in the middle of the week, but as a byproduct of last offseason's lockout and delayed spring training, this three-game series between the Twins and White Sox – originally scheduled to open the season – was tacked onto the end of the schedule.
Back when the change was first made, fans were sizing up the possibility of a decisive final showdown in the AL Central. As it turns out, Cleveland ran away with the division, rendering this add-on series in Chicago as little more than a begrudging formality.
Many key Twins players did not make it back in time to close out the season. Byron Buxton, Jorge Polanco, Trevor Larnach, Tyler Mahle and Max Kepler were all among the sidelined players once expected to return who never did. Sonny Gray joined them on the injured list in mid-September with a hamstring strain and Trevor Megill went down with an oblique strain after unleashing a wild pitch in warmups – which nearly hurt one the only injured player who DID make it back, Ryan Jeffers.
Even José Miranda, a relative iron man in this group rounding out a very impressive rookie season, got bitten by the bug on Tuesday as a pitch – amazingly – ricocheted off his wrist and directly into his face for one of the most painful-looking HBPs of the year. While not deemed serious, he came out of the game and didn't play in the season finale on Wednesday.
Fittingly, the injuries just kept on coming right up until the bitter end for these Minnesota Twins.
HIGHLIGHTS
Hilariously, the Twins fielded a lineup with no Miranda, no Carlos Correa, and none of the injured players mentioned above in Wednesday's season finale ... and managed to put up double-digit runs for the first time in six weeks. 
Minnesota did have one remaining cornerstone in their lineup: Luis Arraez, batting leadoff at DH while fighting through an obviously nagging hamstring, all in the name of actively locking down his first batting title. He did just that, finishing 1-for-1 with two walks to secure the honor.
It helped his cause that Aaron Judge, with whom Arraez was competing for the batting crown, slowed down in the final weeks as he pressed (successfully) for the AL home run record and then rested. Judge batted .216 from September 22nd onward, while Arraez batted .364 over the same span, giving himself a solid margin of victory with a final .316 mark. (It was still the lowest average to earn an AL batting title in more than 50 years, which says a lot about where the game is at.)
A few other positives to extract from the final series in Chicago, which – reflective of the Twins season as a whole – ended with a positive run differential and losing record:
Gio Urshela finished the season strong and ended it with an exclamation point. The veteran infielder slashed .333/.404/.425 after the start of September, including .463/.500/.585 in his last 11 games with a 4-for-10 effort and 2 RBIs in the final series. Dick Bremer opined during one of last week's broadcasts that Urshela would be his choice for team MVP, and while I personally wouldn't go that far, he's undoubtedly been one of the team's steadiest players, and has earned an arbitration tender for that reason. Bailey Ober didn't quite dominate the White Sox to the same degree he did a week prior at Target Field, but he closed out his truncated season in style on Monday with five innings of two-run ball. Ober struck out four and walked one while allowing just two hits to finalize these 2022 numbers: 11 GS, 56 IP, 3.21 ERA, 2.92 FIP, 1.05 WHIP, 8.2 K/9, 1.8 BB/9. Perhaps most notably, he allowed only four home runs (0.6 HR/9), correcting the biggest flaw in his game as a rookie when he allowed 1.9 HR/9. A tremendous sophomore campaign in almost every regard, with the glaring exception of two-thirds being wiped out by his groin injury. Ober has entrenched himself as a homegrown mainstay in the future rotation plans, and Louie Varland is looking to do the same. He too closed out strong, starting the season finale and tossing five shutout innings with five strikeouts and no walks. Varland, who was named Twins minor league pitcher of the year for a second straight season, made five starts during his September audition in the big leagues, and looked eminently capable. In 26 innings he posted a 3.81 ERA and 21-to-6 K/BB ratio, completing at least five frames each time out. LOWLIGHTS
While Ober and Varland finished on high notes, the same cannot be said for Josh Winder, who unfortunately has probably removed himself from a firm place in the team's rotation planning with a tumultuous season, and a final start that was emblematic. 
Winder was wildly ineffective against a watered-down White Sox lineup on Tuesday, lasting only 2 ⅓ innings before being lifted. He was charged with four earned runs on five hits and a walk, raising his ERA to 4.70. 
It was a familiar story for Winder: the velocity was there, but his fastball was nonetheless quite hittable (hitters batted .351 and slugged .713 against it this year), and the secondary stuff inconsistent. His control was amiss, with only 38 of 69 pitches finding the strike zone.
Turning 26 in a couple of days, Winder has plenty of time to get back on track, but there's a long way to go in regaining the confidence he'd earned by the start of this 2022 season, when the Twins surprisingly snuck him onto their Opening Day roster.
Also failing to gain confidence in this final stretch was Minnesota's makeshift outfield. It's tough to be without your full complement of starters – Buxton, Kepler, Alex Kirilloff – and even a bunch of key depth pieces in Larnach, Kyle Garlick, and Royce Lewis. Still, that doesn't fully excuse how woefully inadequate the replacement crew was.
Gilberto Celestino, Jake Cave and Mark Contreras combined to go 2-for-29 in Chicago, contributing to an offense that could get nothing going in the first two games. 
The 27-year-old Contreras struggled overall in his major-league debut, slashing just .121/.148/.293 with a ghastly 21-to-1 K/BB ratio in 28 games, but he popped a few homers and showed some defensible chops. The presence of Contreras will probably (hopefully) be enough to push Cave – suddenly about to be 30 and arbitration-eligible – out of the picture going forward.
Celestino, on the other hand, projects as more of an important part of the team's planning. His first full MLB season was a major improvement on a brutal 2021 debut, but the outfielder still rated out as merely replacement level. His offensive game was uninspiring and often punchless. His glove and legs showed promise, but Celestino managed to offset many of his positives with mental gaffes and baffling miscues.
It's unfortunate that Celestino's development was so disturbed by the necessities of an injury-raved big-league club over the past two years. He needed more time to refine his hitting in the high minors, and the Twins could not afford to give it to him. It bears noting that Celly is still only 23, the same age as Lewis and Austin Martin. 
It's understandable that Celestino is lagging behind a bit, given his circumstances. But next year he's gonna need to show that he's catching up.
TRENDING STORYLINE
The offseason lies ahead. It'll be a very intriguing one for the Twins, who have some pivotal decisions in front of them. 
In some senses, this team is raring to go for a comeback in 2023. They'll return most of their core players – hopefully with much better health – and the aforementioned season-ending highlights offer reason for excitement: the reigning batting champ, Ober's continued emergence, and a minor-league pitcher/hitter of the year who debuted in September and look primed for immediate impact
Then again, the Twins will head into the offseason plagued by lingering health concerns around key assets. They face the likelihood of losing one of their most valuable players in Correa, who's set to opt out shortly after the World Series. While they'd have money to spend in that event, the options available to replace him – and to bring much-needed stability to the top of the rotation and bullpen – are quite limited.
Like I said, plenty of intrigue and no shortage of question marks. We'll be covering it all as it happens here at Twins Daily, where the baseball season never ends. If you haven't yet, make sure to sign up as a Caretaker at any tier so you get automatic access to our premium Offseason Handbook content, which kicks off on Monday when we launch our payroll analysis and roster builder tool.

My day job is copywriting for a local independent regional craft brewery. That brewery also hosts concerts in its backyard, often featuring popular recording artists from around the world. Occasionally, those shows attract local and even national celebrities.
On Wednesday, popular Sad Dad favorites The National played a killer show there. (If you’ve never heard of them, that’s fine, but just know that Taylor Swift has).
As I wandered around the grounds, one of my friends said, “Hey, Joe Mauer is here.” I didn’t believe them. I guess I don't really know what Joe Mauer's musical tastes are, other than "What You Know" being his walk-up music for 100 years. Then a local journalist mentioned that he chatted with Mauer and his wife for a bit. Given that he covers baseball for his job, I took him at his word. And sure enough, standing there just to my right and towards the front of the stage? Joe Mauer, Cretin-Derham Hall Class of 2001. These are my observations.
He’s tall! You know how some athletes look “normal” on TV because they’re surrounded by absolute leviathans? Joe Mauer is crazy tall! He was wearing a baseball cap. On brand! That’s what he wore at his old job! He did the classic “dad at a rock concert head nod,” for when you’re not going to throw horns or dance, but still want to rock out a little bit without making a scene. Reliable sources tell me his wife is a huge fan of The National and indie rock/alternative in general. I share those interests, which gives me the wild hope that I’ll run into the Mauers at the McLusky show at the Turf Club in December so we can shout along to “Reformed Arsonist Seeks Child Bride.” I didn’t bother him to say hi or buy him a beer. Let the guy enjoy retirement and go to shows. I also remember how much his last contract was worth thanks to years of numbskulls getting mad at him on talk radio and god’s own internet for hitting singles and making $23 million per year. He probably doesn’t need a Furious on the house. That said, Joe, if you’re reading this and want some IPAs, let me know. Perkins has my phone number. There’s no way Joe Mauer is reading this. This also means I didn’t ask him about Rocco pulling Joe Ryan during a no-hit bid. Had I done this, I hope someone reading this would have the decency to beat me to death with a shovel. The last time I saw him in person was the game where he got the concussion that ended his catching career. This was a better day! This was the most famous person I’ve seen at work since Woody Harrelson attended a Gary Clark, Jr. show while in town filming a movie. Apologies to Jason DeRusha, who I think is a very kind man but he wasn't on Cheers.  

A 7th-round pick taken by Tampa Bay, Joe Ryan was always an interesting prospect. Throwing his fastball as high as 70-80% of the time in the minors, he always dominated with solid ERAs, eye-popping strikeout numbers, and acceptable home run rates. Still, scouts just didn’t buy the long-term performance with Joe Ryan due to his lack of any kind of consistent secondary offerings to pair with his best pitch. As 2022 rolls on, he’s shown more and more that perhaps the league has caught up to him. Were we too quick to anoint him as a staple for the front of the rotation?
When considering this question, there are a few factors we need to keep in mind.
Offspeed Debut
Joe Ryan was essentially a fastball-only pitcher in the minors because he could get away with it. His fastball is deceptive, and it appears that despite his numbers tailing off as the season went on, the league never really figured the pitch out. He’s thrown it three times as much as any of his other offerings and the pitch has allowed a .183 BA against and .328 slugging %. In order to maintain that effectiveness, however, Ryan has finally had to incorporate more offspeed pitches.
Unfortunately, it could be going better. Ryan has allowed a .500+ SLG on every pitch but his fastball this season. As his home run issues have ballooned, the slider is typically the culprit. Having allowed nine HRs on 1,229 fastballs thrown, Ryan has allowed eight on just 431 sliders thrown. In fairness, this is the first Ryan has really had to rely on offspeed stuff, and it’s safe to still call his secondary pitches a work in progress that could easily improve.
Bad Luck
I hate chalking anything up to bad luck but Joe Ryan actually has dealt with quite a bit of it this season. Ryan posted a 2.28 ERA in eight starts leading up to May 21. He then missed three weeks with COVID and has since posted a 4.78 mark in 16 starts. His velocity and command were both notably lacking for some time following his absence as he was clearly hit hard by the virus considering the amount of time missed. He was due for a bit of regression, but things certainly seemed to snowball after the IL trip.
Ryan also has an interesting gap in the expected results of his pitch mix versus the actual results. He’s allowed a SLG of .531 on his slider with a .368 expected SLG. His .538 SLG on his changeup is a far cry from the .443 expected mark. Even his curveball has allowed a .524 SLG compared to a .354 expected SLG. It’s hard to say what’s causing this discrepancy, but the expected stats point to Ryan being a much more effective pitcher than what his (still respectable) results have been.
He’s a Rookie
It’s easy to forget Joe Ryan is a rookie under control for five more seasons because the Twins have relied on him so heavily. Very rarely does a pitcher debut and provide consistent results. Many called the Twins front office out this spring for essentially hanging the hopes of the season on two pitchers with less than a year of experience (Ryan and Bailey Ober), and they turned out to be correct. While Ryan has worked out better than Ober due to the volume he’s provided, the Twins were always playing with fire.
Ryan getting his feet wet to the tune of a low-4s ERA in what will probably be 140ish innings in his rookie season would typically be viewed as a massive success. Unfortunately, the Twins relied on him being a front-of-the-rotation starter. As he builds up a bigger workload and makes adjustments back to the league, it’s easy to see him building off of an up-and-down rookie season and at least providing middle-of-the-rotation value to the team in future years.
In short, don’t let the Twins' disappointing end to the season affect your opinion of Joe Ryan. Whether he’s the pitcher we thought he was depends on what you were expecting. As fun as the idea was of a rookie coming up and co-leading the rotation with Sonny Gray en route to a comeback season, that was always the least likely scenario. Instead consider that Ryan has had a solid-to-good debut season, a rarity in Twins territory when it comes to pitchers.
As he soars past his career highs in innings pitched, keep in mind that Joe Ryan still has a good chunk of his Twins career left to adjust and improve, and he’s got a nice foundation to build off of from his 2022 season. 

When baseball was put on hold in 2020 while the world sorted out the pandemic and how we would move forward, fans took to social media in the form of TikTok to talk about their favorite teams, players and drama unfolding. It was a way to stay connected to the game we all love and see things in "real-time." 
Yes, I am an avid Twins fan, but really, I am a baseball fan. When baseball almost disappeared in 2020 and threatened to not happen this season, I wanted to focus on the positive things about baseball and that's what I found in fan bases of all teams on Tik Tok. 
Social media creates connections, business relationships, and friendships that we need during a dark time in life, work, and sports. Content creators took advantage of the opportunity to teach us parts of the game, involve us in their lives, and show their "fandom" and why their team is "the best," in some cases, even when the team is terrible, fans stay loyal. That's precisely what Julie is, loyal. 
As a Red fan her whole life, her loyalty can't be questioned. She is a fan of almost all Ohio sports, but baseball is her lifeline and bread and butter of her content. Her content is a massive hit on Reds baseball social media. She's traveled three-plus hours to see her teams, and in snow storms to watch playoff games. To say she is die-hard is an understatement. 
Her claim to fame is the sign she brought to the Cincinnati Reds v. Cleveland Guardians (though under their previous name) game on August 9, 2021: "I just hope both teams have fun."
She affectionately became known as "Sign Girl" at her college. Her dedication to her craft and content gained her followers and people who would tune in for her Reds post-game recaps, which most are of her frowning, crying, or being overly dramatic about the loss, but no one cheers louder for her 45-and-70 team than Julie. 
More and more people took notice of her passion and loyalty to the Reds fan base and the organization. Because of her dedication to the team, people who work for the Reds organization eventually followed her goofy antics, loud cheers, and videos about her Outfits of the Day that she would wear to each game. Her dry sense of humor and passion for her team not only brought people laughter but made them follow the Reds so that they could see what "Jules would do" next. 
Julie created friendships with people at Great American Ballpark, and when they had extra tickets, they would give them to her so she could come and experience the game in person. When she didn't receive tickets from Reds workers, the social media manager and creator would use her hard-working dollar for a media company she works with to buy tickets. Her constant presence on the field set her apart from many other fans. She films every game she is at and acts like each game is a playoff game, no matter how unfortunate the outcome. And yes, she was at the game when the Reds lost on a no-hitter to the Pirates. 
Jules is just the kind of fan that every MLB team needs. That one person goes out and brings the heat and the energy to every game. Her energy is what landed her on the Reds mound on July 30th. A worker at Great American reached out to her on social media and said, "hey, I get to pick the first pitch Saturday, and I want it to be you." Because everything can change at the drop of a hat with first pitches, Julie spent 72 hours praying that no celebrity or local well-known would get the offer, and her manifestation paid off. Julie stepped onto the field right before the game and got to throw the baseball to anyone she wanted, and she chose her dad. 
"My dad and I bonded over baseball," Julie says, "I couldn't imagine throwing to anyone but him. He has always been there for me, got me interested in baseball, got me passionate about the game, and I have him to thank for my obsession." 
She said it was the best day of her life, this far anyway. "I would never have been able to do it if it weren't for Tik Tok," she says, "Tik Tok has done so much for me." She also went to school for graphic design and social media marketing, so using that certainly has helped. I asked her if she had goals in working in sports, and she told me she did. "I have social media experience, and it's what I went to college for." She works a full-time job in the marketing department right now, but when she is not there, she attends Reds games and knows how to work with a crowd, the team, and the players. 
She has tons of TikToks holding a sign asking former Timberwolves All Star Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers to wave at her, and this past 2021 season, he saw the sign and waved to her during a game as he headed down the tunnel and in real-time as someone filmed, she melted. Getting attention is easy for her. She is a real fan, stacked with personality, a gorgeous smile, knowledge of the game, and the Reds of anyone I've ever met.
She also is followed by Richard Jefferson and Myles Straw. Authenticity and being true to who you are is the name of the game in social media. She's as genuine as Joey Votto and as down-to-earth as Ken Griffey Jr. Her friends that don't always like baseball, or get it, go to the game with her to be in her presence because she makes baseball fun. Jules is to Tik Tok as Joey Votto is to Reds baseball (but also to TikTok now too!). They both make the team exciting and relevant, and it doesn't matter their record because they both want to have fun enjoying the game they grew up in.  
Baseball is a timeless game, a family tradition, and the dreams change when players find out they have to hang up their bats. Few are lucky enough to continue working in baseball, let alone make it a career, but that's what happened to Ryan Ellingson. Find out in the following article how Ryan's career in baseball took a different path after hanging up his bat, and now is a Twins TikTok Social media influencer.  
Follow her on Instagram, Twitter, and Tik Tok at NotSoCoolJules to follow all her baseball adventures
 

The above graph plots the whiff rate (fraction of swings that are swings-and-misses) with average exit velocity for all MLB hitters in the top 10 percentile for whiff rate. A few takeaways:
Among hitters with sufficient plate appearances, Arraez leads the league in whiff rate. Less than 7 percent of his swings result in misses. Only four hitters are even below 10 percent. (note that the plate appearance cutoff is not really driving this result ... the only hitters with lower whiff rates than Arraez have seen less than 40 pitches this season). Arraez's exit velocity is uniquely high for hitters with such low whiff rates. You have to get all the way to Michael Brantley to find a hitter who hits the ball harder than Arraez, and Brantley whiffs almost twice as often to accomplish that. Does exit velocity even matter? Of course. The league leaders in exit velocity are Yordan Alvarez, Aaron Judge, and Giancarlo Stanton. A real who's who. And the hitters who most closely resemble Arraez in whiff rate while sacrificing exit velocity (Steven Kwan, Luis Guillorme, and Nick Madrigal) own OPS values of 0.771, 0.712, and 0.581 compared to 0.841 for Arraez. No other hitter in the big leagues combines plate control and exit velocity like Arraez does. Imagine a Brantley or DJ LeMahieu who whiffed at pitches half as often without losing any of the power. And was only 25 years old. That's Arraez. Pretty good!
 

Box Score
Starting Pitcher: Sonny Gray 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 SO
Homeruns: Gilberto Celestino (2)
Top 3 WPA: Sonny Gray .179, Caleb Thielbar .158, Gilberto Celestino .125
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

After doing ‘just enough’ on Monday night, the Twins were back at it on Tuesday, looking to get a winning streak, and some momentum going in their efforts to chase down the Cleveland Guardians. Here’s how they lined up against Zack Greinke. 
Jorge Polanco was the notable absentee after being lifted from the series opener with knee soreness after an awkward slide. Prior to the game, a pensive sounding Sonny Gray, somewhat carefully, stated his desire to pitch deeper into ballgames. I’d love to hear folks thoughts on Gray’s interview in the comments.
Gray Dominates Weak Royals Lineup
Whatever Sonny Gray was alluding to in his pre-game interview, he sure delivered in the mound. The Twins recent weeks have been incredibly frustrating to watch. Games have been punctuated by a sputtering offense, poor pitching, or both. Boy, did Gray hold up his end of the bargain on Tuesday night.
After cruising through six innings, Gray ran into trouble in the seventh, giving up back to back singles to Salvador Perez and Vinnie Pasquantino. Gray was close to his best however, throwing 61 strikes in 92 pitches while racking up ten strikeouts, tying a season high. Gray was relieved by Caleb Thielbar with two men on and no outs in the seventh innings.
Lots of Hits, Not Enough Big Hits Early for Twins Offense
The offensive showing was painfully familiar through the firsttwo-thirdss of the game. Through five innings, the Twins had managed 8 hit, but managed just three runs off Zack Greinke. Going back to their poor final two games in the Angels series, the Twins were 4 for their last 34 (.117) with runners in scoring position.  
The Twins scored twice in the second inning. After a Gio Urshela single, Gilberto Celestino reached on a fielding error. A Sandy Leon bunt scored Urshela, while a Luis Arraez single brought home Celestino. Celestino added a solo home run in his next at bat in the fourth inning, his second in his last five games. With limited right-handed flexibility in the lineup, Celestino developing any kind of line drive power would be a welcome surprise for the Twins.
Thielbar Snuffs out Runners, Twins Add On
Despite Gray running into trouble in the top of the seventh inning, the Twins had the perfect foil in Caleb Thielbar. With two men on and no outs, he pitched a scoreless frame, striking out two. Thielbar has been one of the Twins best relievers in 2022, and outside April, has been the lone bullpen success story to start the season with the Twins not name Jhoan Duran. 
The Twins did what they have struggled to do in recent games in the bottom of the seventh inning, add on. A Max Kepler groundout, Gio Urshela single, and a Nick Gordon double added on three runs, increasing the lead to 6-0 and offering the kind of all around offensive output the Twins will need to continue to win the AL Central.
Michael Fulmer and Cole Sands pitched the final two (scoreless) innings of the game for Minnesota. In the bottom of the eighth, the Twins added three more runs, courtesy of singles from Jose Miranda, Gio Urshela, and Nick Gordon. After the wreckage had cleared, the Twins managed 16 hits and ended the game 6-18 with runners in scoring position.
Elsewhere in the AL Central, the Guardians lost, allowing the Twins to close within a game of Cleveland, having played two less games.
Bullpen Usage Chart
  FRI SAT SUN MON TUES TOT               Duran 15 19 0 10 0 44 López 10 19 0 13 0 42 Fulmer 12 0 20 0 7 39 Thielbar 0 13 0 8 17 38 Jax 0 13 0 14 0 27 Megill 0 0 26 0 0 26 Pagan 0 9 10 0 0 19 Sands 0 0 0 0 19 19 Next Up
On Wednesday, the Twins will conclude their series against Kansas City. Tyler Mahle goes for the Twins against Daniel Lynch for the Royals. First pitch is 12:10pm CT
Postgame Interviews
 
 

Wednesday night's loss in Los Angeles might be the low point in the season so far. However, the Dodgers are arguably baseball's best team, and they finished the series with a 10-game winning streak. The Twins eventually need to be able to beat playoff-caliber teams, but the club was hardly playing its best baseball. 

Twins Vice President of Communication and Content Dustin Morse had a simple message for fans following the team's loss, "Let's ride together." Sports are designed to be frustrating for fans. Only one team can end the season as the champion, so 29 other fan bases will be upset. Baseball isn't fun if you don't enjoy the journey of a 162-game season. 
With Morse's message in mind, here are three reasons to be excited about the remainder of the Twins' schedule. 

Twins Control Their Own Destiny
MLB's unbalanced schedule means the Twins have 27 remaining games against AL Central teams. This includes nine games against the Royals and White Sox, six games against the Guardians, and three games against Detroit. Minnesota can control its own destiny by winning the majority of the games in the division, including 15 games against Cleveland and Chicago, the other teams chasing a division title. 

There will also be some tough tests on the schedule with seven road games against the AL's powerhouse teams. Minnesota travels to Houston on August 23-25 to play the Astros in a three-game set. Houston has a 71-41 record, and they are tough to beat at home with a .660 winning percentage. New York has the same record as Houston but has struggled recently with a 2-8 record in their last ten games. The Twins head to New York for a four games series from September 5-8. Both series will be a good test for the Twins. 

Arraez's Batting Title Chase
Entering play on Thursday, Luis Arraez leads baseball with a .333 batting average. He is five points ahead of St. Louis' Paul Goldschmidt for the MLB lead and over 20 points higher than Rafael Devers for the AL lead. Minnesota hasn't had a batting title champion since Joe Mauer during the 2009 season when he won AL MVP. Only four Twins players have won a batting title, but each player has their number retired by the team (Mauer, Tony Oliva, Rod Carew, and Kirby Puckett). 

Arraez struggled in a recent stretch going 7-for-42 (.167 BA), but he seems to have recovered his swing. Over his last three games, he has gone 9-for-14 (.643 BA) to help improve his average. Also, he has 13 three-hit games so far this season which ties him for second in baseball. If Arraez can stay healthy, he should earn his first batting title. 

Young Contributors
Roster depth helps every contending team, and the Twins are no different, with multiple young players providing value to the team. It took some time, but Nick Gordon seems to be living up to his former status as one of the team's top prospects. Jose Miranda is coming off one of the best minor league seasons in franchise history, but few expected him to have 126 OPS+ during his rookie campaign. Jhoan Duran has been one of the team's bright spots during his first taste of the big leagues. His dominant relief appearances are some of the team's must-watch moments, but some may forget he was a starter until this year. 

It's easy to get mad and upset when a team isn't performing well on the field, but fans need to enjoy the ride, or sports will never be enjoyable. 

What are you excited about watching in the last 52 games? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. 
 

Emilio Pagán has not only been bad this season for the Minnesota Twins, but has been one of the worst relievers in baseball going on three seasons now. Our friend Aaron Gleeman said it best:
Continuing to trot out Pagán every few days is actively harming the Minnesota Twins. He continues to harm the team and his upside is certainly not high enough to warrant the catastrophic performances we see from him on a weekly basis. Additionally, the Minnesota Twins have plenty of players just 15 minutes away from Target Field who could fill in for Pagán. There’s a great chance that these players would perform better than Pagán, and would give each of them valuable experience with an eye toward sticking in the bullpen for years to come.
These four players are better options for the Minnesota Twins’ bullpen than Emilio Pagán:
Jovani Moran
Jovani Moran should be a familiar name for Minnesota Twins fans as he has been up with the Twins many times this season. In his time with the Twins, Moran has been more than solid, owning a 1.93 ERA in 23 1/3 innings in 2022. Moran is a left-handed pitcher who possesses a nasty changeup that can neutralize right-handers. Moran is certainly a pitcher who has a future in this Twins bullpen and the fact that Emilio Pagán is getting more play than him isn’t right.
Ronny Henriquez
Ronny Henriquez was acquired from the Texas Rangers in the Mitch Garver/Isaiah Kiner-Falefa swap early in the 2022 offseason. Henriquez has not been amazing for the Twins in 2022, owning a 5.90 ERA for the AAA affiliate, but he has been better as of late. In 26 innings since June 21, the right-hander owns a 3.12 ERA with a 29/8 K/BB ratio. What makes Henriquez an intriguing option for the Minnesota Twins bullpen is that he has yet to be tested in a true 1-2 inning bullpen role. Henriquez can get to the upper 90s with his fastball and his pitch repertoire might just be one that thrives in a bullpen role rather than the 4-5 inning stretches that he has been pitching with the Saints this season. Henriquez is currently on the 40-man roster with the Minnesota Twins.
Evan Sisk
The Minnesota Twins acquired Evan Sisk in its trade with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2021 for J.A. Happ. Sisk performed extremely well this season in Wichita and was moved up to the St. Paul Saints where he has continued his great pitching out of the bullpen. In 14 innings with the St. Paul Saints in 2022, Sisk owns a 2.57 ERA with a K/9 of 9.6. Sisk is not currently on the 40-man roster for the Twins so would need to be added if he were to be called up to the big-league club.
Drew Strotman
Acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays in the Nelson Cruz trade last summer, Drew Strotman struggled mightily as a starting pitcher with the Minnesota Twins in 2021. Coming into 2022, the Twins opted to convert Strotman into a reliever and he continued to struggle in the early months of this season. Over the past month and a half, though, Strotman appears to have turned a corner and become somewhat of a weapon for the St. Paul Saints. Over his last 10 appearances, Strotman has a 1.32 ERA and opponents are hitting just .180 off of him. On the season, Strotman has demonstrated the ability to miss bats, boasting a K/9 in the double digits. 
Control can be an issue for Strotman, but when he’s able to locate his pitches, he can be really solid. Strotman is already on the 40-man roster, so no roster finagling would need to be done with a Strotman call-up. 
Do you agree that these options would be better for the Twins’ bullpen than Emilio Pagán? How would you rank your confidence in these names? Leave a comment below and start the conversation!
 

With obvious needs like bullpen depth and another starting pitcher staring them in the face, sources familiar with the Twins front office say they have a singular focus headed into the All-Star break:
The godless Chicago White Sox. In particular, the manager’s job security.
Tony La Russa, the 76-year-old DUI enthusiast and leader of the godless Chicago White Sox, has appeared befuddled and bewildered at times. His team, heavily favored to win the AL Central, has struggled mightily all season long and continues to trail the first-place Twins in the standings. Given the talent on White Sox roster, Minnesota is banking on the manager continuing to waste it at every turn.
“Obviously, we would love to reinforce the bullpen,” said a front office source. “The thing is, that takes money and prospects. Keeping Tony in charge on the South Side costs us nothing. We'll be putting a lot of encouragement on our social channels and via group chat with White Sox players and staff. Lots of 'Really admire what you're doing' and 'Looks like you're turning things around, we just hope we can get a wild card.' Stuff like that.”
Unlike godless Chicago White Sox teams of the past, this roster is loaded with likeable, talented players. Liam Hendriks, Tim Anderson, Dylan Cease, the unbuttoned majesty of Eloy Jimenez. Sources say it’s dumbfounding that they’ve been unable to catch an overperforming, banged-up Twins team with a threadbare bullpen. Minnesota aims to keep it that way.
“Another front-line starting pitcher would be terrific, especially if you’re looking towards the playoffs,” said the source. “But you have to get there first. Letting Tony cook is the best way to ensure that.”
Observers close to the situation agree.
“Not a lot of managers could pull off what La Russa is doing,” said a Twins coach. “He’s a legend for a reason.”
“I heard he might start every inning with an intentional walk on Saturday,” said an MLB source. “It’s unorthodox to be sure, but he says that it sets up the double play every time. That’s just facts. He’s a Hall of Famer.”
 

Thursday’s off day provided the Minnesota Twins with some much-needed downtime, including their annual Summer Potluck. But the charcuterie turned to carnage when members of the Twins bullpen botched their dish, injuring dozens in the clubhouse.
“We had a real nice spread laid out,” said a team source. “Buffalo chicken dip, sliders, Minnesota sushi, you name it. Then all of a sudden I just hear shouting and screaming and then the burning. The burning.”
Sources say the bullpen was assigned chips and ice, but when reliever Emilio Pagan got lost on his way to Kowalski’s and drove to Fort Smith, Arkansas instead, they improvised a pasta salad. That’s when the trouble began.
“First of all, they didn’t have any of the ingredients one would need to make a pasta salad,” said a clubhouse source. “They had plenty of enthusiasm, but noodles? No. Veggies? No. Dressing? No. A pot and water? Again, no.”
“I can’t stress this enough: the clubhouse doesn’t have a stove,” said former Twin and current Bally Sports North analyst Glen Perkins. “They removed it after they found out (Carl) Pavano was living there for a couple years to in his words ‘let some things sort themselves out.’ You couldn’t even start a fire if you wanted to. And yet.”
Multiple cell phone videos appear to show Twins reliever Caleb Thielbar and other unidentified relief pitchers pouring a Ziploc bag labeled “MAKE CAR GO WATER, DON’T DRINK” on a bucket of gum and sunflower seeds, then attempting to light the unconventional salad with a road flare.
“If I heard them correctly, they said they were marinating the gum and seeds mixture and hoping to sear it to seal in the juices,” said manager Rocco Baldelli. “Right before the flames engulfed us, I heard Thielbar call it a Goodhue County sous vide. I don’t think that’s right.”
A team spokesperson said that no decision has been made about rescheduling Friday’s game at Texas. Although the injuries are minor, the spokesperson said the bullpen is entirely healthy and they must consider that before making the final call.