Doc Munson

the last power hitting player the Twins gave up on just got inducted into the hall of fame. do it again and the outcome will be worse than the curse of the bambino and the Cubbies Curse of the Billy Goat, combined. Oswaldo Arcia was inducted into the HOF???

I LOVE IT!!! Great comments everyone. LOL and to paraphrase most comments, yes I also agree that it will not happen. It was just fun putting toegther the THEORETICAL rationale, how it COULD happen. lol. And to see all of these glorious replies!!! Keep on havin fun!!!!

Maybe I am just looking for something to gripe about after another walkoff loss. I got off work only to walk into the bottom of the 9th. in a 6-6 game there are probably NUMEROUS things you could point to that could have lost the game. And what I am pointing to is probably LEAST valid among the reasons for the loss, it is more of a philosophical complaint. Why do you use biggest bullpen arm in the 8th of a 6-6 game on the road as opposed to the 9th??? Now sure if Duran had a quick 8th he most likely comes back out, and yes if Duffey pitched the 8th like he did the 9th we still would have lost, and yes,, Duffey has been great lately, and yes... I may just be too "old school", but you have a CLOSER for a reason, use him as such. the 8th was not a "high leverage" situation to justify burning Duran n the 8th, and while Duffey has been good he has had TWO save opportunities during that run and 5 all year. Duran on the other hand ... OK it just FEELS like he has had more... surprisingly Duran has only had 2 save opportunities since June as well, but Duran just SEEMS like the 9th inning guy. with Duran having an ERA a full run and a half lower. While the result may have been the same, the feeling is MUCH different. IF Duran and Duffey had swapped places, and Duran blew the game, then it would have felt like... "UGH!! we just got beat by a better team" or "UGH Duran was just off tonight" losing the way we did screams of "we lost because we dont know how to manage a frickin ballgame!!" it feels like incompetence... Again, a loss is a loss, but why does this loss "FEEL" so different? Or am I just looking for a lawn to yell at someone to get off of?

Is there a rationale for the Twins to get into the Juan Soto sweepstakes?? While I am not officially predicting this ( I have retired from teh predicting game immediately after predicting the Correa signing... going out undefeated!! hehe). There COULD be a path to Soto. First, The Twins inked Correa to a 3 year deal at $35.1M AAV. Assuming the Twins would be comfortable if Correa would opt in to those last 2 years, and were being used SOLELY as a leverage play, that means the Twins are OK opening up the books a bit. IF Correa were to get moved, his 2 years and $70.2M total due him would be freed up. IF the Twins were willing to give Correa $70.2M over the next 2 years then you would think they would be ok paying Soto $60-70M (in arb cases) over the next 2 years. That right there takes the "small market" argument out of the equation. Now it comes down to what the TWins would have to give up. We start no place else than Correa himself. While he CAN opt out, if the Nats were willing to lock up Soto with $440M, then maybe they would be willing to offer a similar deal to Correa, who would undoubtedly take that deal (or even something a little less) since he is a few years older. Obviously a straight up Correa/Soto isnt enough, so what else would it take? Nat's have said they want 4-5 top prospects or young controllable MLB talent in return. Lets say Correa is good enough to be worth 2 players. that leaves another 2-3 players to pick. Would they have interest in Sano? if so we include him, if not then no worries we move Urshela to SS, Miranda to 3B and Sano/Kirilloff/Arraez a 1B/DH platoon. Assuming not interested in Sano, lets add Spencer Steer for near MLB ready 2B, Noah Miller for a more future/potential player, a young player like Nick Gordon, and a top 10 pitching prospect. This reloads the Twins, allows us to still contend this year, and help address some of the positional overlap. With a set OF rotation of Soto, Buxton, Kepler. an IF of Miranda, Urshela, Polanco, Kirilloff/Sano The Twins can keep Soto for a year to a year and a half and and then still trade him for a massive haul after 2023. Again I am not saying it WILL happen, I am just saying it COULD happen

We have talked about the scenario the Twins will be in once Sano and his rehab stint come to an end. Well that time has come. There is clearly only one move. But before we go there, lets take a quick look at why it is the only clear choice. MOVE SANO?: We could just DFA Sano. There is no way this happens his "potential" is still just too teasing. We will also not trade Sano, as his trade value is absolutely rock bottom. No contending team will roll the dice on him if it means giving up anything from there system. no rebuilding team will take on the large team option for next year. So Sano is going nowhere. lets look positionally... 1B: Arraez is an All Star and a spark plug Where else is he going to get consistent AB? wont be SS (Correa) 2B (Polanco) or 3B (Urshela/Miranda). He is not going to the OF. so 1B it is. He is controlled for 3 more seasons and a potential batting champ. You also do not trade a player like this. Kirilloff hid platoon mate is also now hitting well. Kirilloff has options, but with all of the up and downs of Kirilloff's young career you do nto throw him back down when he is finally starting to hit well. NOTE>>> AS typing Kepler just came out of the game after a HBP on the foot... could this change everything??? well see, but lets continue as is... DH: This is a platoon/rest position for the Twins. Buxton just got PRP injection, and will have had nearly 2 weeks of rest (with an All Star appearance in teh middle) so maybe he comes back and will be able ot play more in the field down the stretch, but as of now he will be DH at least 1 out of every 3 games. Then there are AB's for Miranda, and of course as mentioned above both Arraez and Kiriloff BOTH cant play 1B at the same time. SO where does Sano fit in here? OF: Outfield would be a natural area to move Kiriloff to free up some ABs, but who do you move? Kepler (assuming no foot/toe injury) is not going to get moved. Buxton?? to reference a borderline good movie that I still haven't figured out just how good it is or isnt... NOPE. That leaves Gordon. Gordon is out of options so you risk losing him by trying to send him down. Gordon has clearly played well enough to not risk losing. I see him as a piece of the future. As far as starters go there is no room at the inn. 3B: the final position that could be ancilarily (is that a word?) impacted. and the only move that makes sense. Ursehla is the only one now mentioned who would be the most expendable. Yes he is still ARB eligible, but he is not a part of the core future Twins. He would not command a strong return, but maybe getting "just enough" back makes sense. Miranda can slide in at 3B. this now leaves Arraez, Kirilloff, Sano in a 3 way rotation between 1B/DH. Of course all of this becomes moot, or at least delayed should say Kepler have a broken toe that requires a DL stint. then Kiriloff moves to OF opening the spot for Sano. So how moveable is Urshela? He would upgrade the Mets 3B (apologies to Escobar who I love). Urshela = .261/.307/.408 Escobar = .219/.273/.388 How about a Urshela for Thomas Szapucki deal straight up? He could be a nice addition back in NY with the Yankees. Donaldson = .229/.313/.395 Falefa (SS) = .271/.316/.322 If the Yankees want to be in on Soto, there is a good chance they would/could include Gleyber Torres, as well as other near MLB ready infield prospects. I am sure Yanks would love to have Urshela back. What would we get for him from Yanks? That would all depend on what the Yankees will give up for Soto (and they will get Soto) I would say to basically just taking a flier on a young prospect with one standout tool. Or heck even a return swap of Rortvedt at C. Baltimore is actually now in contention and Urshela could fit in well there. Regardless of trade destination, this is the move. Trade of Urshela is the right move all the way around.

Well so much for that Stupid Rangers!!! outside of top 2-3 picks, Rocker will easily be the most productive MLB to come out of this draft. A July Draft and a September Bullpen call up and then next year a midyear call up to teh rotation for good would have been a great play. My understanding is Rocker will start out at AA Frisco.

The more and more sources I speak with, the more I am convinced the Twins will be taking pitcher Kumar Rocker at #8 in the draft Saturday. Is this picking based on NEED vs best player? maybe, But I still like the pick. Assuming his shoulder is good to go then he would be a nice pick. He was at one point he was in the running for 1.1 last year. Ultimately going #10 to the Mets. SO assuming health, he is a legit top 10 pick. Combine that with the fact that the Twins need significant upgrades in pen, and this makes it an even more realistic move. If you factor in what the Twins would give up from the system to get a top bullpen arm you are looking at something most likely around a top 10-15 prospect, then the Twins could keep some prospects while getting a power arm in the pen. Make no mistake, Kumar is a starting pitcher!! and a team like the Twins does not spend on top FA pitching, we need to draft and develop. and Rocker has a chance to be a very nice starting pitcher in the future. SO it will just be a bonus to get him for the stretch drive as well. I am no scout, I cant tell you anything about the players available in the draft other than what I read other places. But at #8 the Twins are not gettign a consensus stud like Druw Jones. MLB.com has the Twins currently taking 3B/OF Jacob Berry (or OF Gavin Cross as an alternate) both College hitters. I have no clue if either are "cant miss" have big bats or what. Maybe they will be the next Mike Trouts for all I know, but If we can get a potential top of the rotation starter of the future AND get immediate bullpen help for a contending team, then Kumar is the pick for me!! Draft picks are crapshoots. Here are all of the "good" picks frm #8-15 in the last 10 drafts... (with the actual 8th pick) 2012 #8 Mark Appel 2013 #8 Hunter Dozier 2014 #8 Kyle Freeland #13 Trea Turner 2015 #8 Carson Fullmer 2016 #8 Cal Quantril #11 Kyle Lewis #15 Kirilloff 2017 #8 Adam Haseley 2018 #8 Carter Stewart 2019 #8 Josh Jung 2020 #8 Reid Detmers 2021 #8 Benny Montgomery. While some of these drafts are still too early to tell. How many #8's have been major league impact.. or even quality players? Jacob Berry, or anyone else the Twins may take, may be the next Aaron Judge, but odds say no. So why not take an arm that most people who DO know what they are talking about say plays AS IS in a MLB bullpen this year.

OK Twins fans, lets see if we can get some unique ideas on how to improve the MLB All Star experience. You are the Commissioner for a Day, You can make unilateral decisions on the All Star Game (OK I know he can't, but let's pretend). Here are a couple of mine. 1) a hitting "skills" competition. MLB has the HR Derby which is the equivalent to the Slam Dunk contest. But what is MLB's Skilsl Competition? How about a point based challenge with team and individual winners. Batters get points based on if they would have gotten a hit. How do you do that? First you take teh average size of each MLB position player. Second you take the average range of each MLB position player. You use these dimensions to develop "blacked out areas" which would be outs. on the infield you could build mini walls or nets that encompass the space a typical infielder would be able to cover, and as high as the typical infielder could leap for a liner. Thos are placed in the infield. You hit them your out, you get it past them and you get a hit (insert point total here) For the outfield you could either do the same, just create markings on the ground, or even funner yet, have baskets on wheels with remote controls to position and chase after balls. these could be controlled by the opposing teams. for each ball caught it subtracts points, and fo reach base hit they get points. (or you could just put live players in the outfield but that could just create potential for injury. You could then add all sorts of fun things. you could have "Money Balls" where a section of the field is identified JUST before each pitch, where if the batter is able to get a hit to that area of the field they get bonus points. This would help reward the players like Arraez and other hitters who are PURE hitters, and put the ball where it is needed based on skill. Heck could even raise money for charity by having each of the sections or nets sponsored corproately. OK so nto completely fleshed out, but something different from a "skills" perspective would be fun. 2) A community involved HR Derby. Fans can come and pay like $10-20 to get a bucket of 10 balls. fans also register as a fan of a specific team. the fans HR then get put into either an NL bucket or an AL bucket. whichever bucket ends up with the most fan HR has that team with the tiebreaker advantage. This eliminates the extra inning games, which while can be fun, are pointless in an exhibition. ALSO having to prepare for extra innings means some players are "kept in reserve" in case it goes extra and do not get to participate in what may be their ONLY All Star game appearance. This makes the fans feel part of the game. PLUS you can do a "Split the Pot" type thing, where all of the money goes into a pot. for each HR hit that fan gets an entry into a drawing to Split the Pot. When the winner is drawn they get half the money in the pot, and the team that they registered as a fan for gets the other half to go their Team Community Fund. You could have a children's HR fence and an Adults HR fence. The children's HR fence still counts towards the tie breaker, but obviously under 18 cannot get entry to win money. Can you imagine being a 10 year old and you hitting HR could help your favorite team/player win the All Satr Game!!! How cool would that be!! As far as the game goes... inning by inning, not sure I would change it, I like that it is as close to a real gaem as any All Star game is. So those are my goofy thoughts. What would you do to change the All Star game... the actual game, the weekend experience, the selection process, etc.????

OK, with Sano on rehad assignment that means we are getting closer to decision time. After going 0-3 in his first game he now has an exciting slash line of .313/..421/.750 for a 1.171 OPS. with just TWO strikeouts in 18 ABs!!!!! PRETTY EXCITING!!! Except for the fact that it against Rookie League talent, so this should be the expected baseline. Still it is better than the alternative. SO... What are the plans for when he returns? Kirilloff is starting to hit. Miranda is hitting as well now. so that covers 1B & DH. Maybe We move Kirilloff back to the OF and Miranda to 1B with Sano DH? BUT Nick Gordon is actually playing very well also. Plays a better defense (forget last nights play), and has actually been more productive than Kirilloff, so do you want to make that move? You could move Miranda to 3B and have Sano DH, but while Urshela has not been spectacular, he has been pretty good overall. The comparison here is not who is better between him or Miranda (would clearly be Miranda lately) but is it better to have Urshela's bat in the lineup over Sano, here is where it could be a push. Someone has to go when he comes back. It will most likely be someone like Garlick. No big loss there. But Does Sano come back as bench player? He doesnt have much positional flexibility, and you would like bench players to be able to play some defense. There is the R/L platoon option with Kirilloff and Sano. What about trade values? Sano;s trade value would be low, unless he comes back on fire. Even if Sano comes back and is "above average" is he "$14M" good for next year? very doubtful. So more than likely he is gone after this year anyways, so do we really care what we get in return (as much as I hate seeing him go)? So the question is... WHAT DO YOU DO WITH SANO BEFOR ETHE TRADE DEADLINE WHEN HE COMES BACK??? This is not an educational article, but an "I am curious to what you all think" article. What would you do? Personally I would dangle an underperfoming Sano who still has TONS of power potential to the Mets for 2 players who have underperformed but have potential. potential for potential. Sano for Dom Smith & Thomas Szapucki. Dom, is a potential Gold Glover who alos has the defensive flexibilty to play the OF. He has hit poorly the last 2 years, but he has shown he can hit, and has historically been a "2nd half hitter" and has shown some signs lately. Thomas Szapucki, is a AAAA type pitcher with great stuff who has had difficulty staying healthy. He could help the rotation. a career 3.02 MiLB ERA, with a 3.86 this year, he has been built up to over 5+ IP per game. He could also be a great lefty out of the bullpen as evidenced by his 65K in 49 IP (to go along with a higher than you would like 24 BB). With Scherzer and deGrom both coming back there is no need for Szapucki in NY, and the one area they could use help at is getting more pop out of DH. To me this is a perfect swap. Low risk on both sides, high potential on both sides. positional fits on both sides. This does not necessarily SOLVE any big problems/holes, but it also does not inhibit any other potential moves either. What say you

And this is why I love this board, and fan-dom in general!! I love the various takes. Some takes saying it is rediculous to trade top star for prospect(s). Another saying there is no way a top prospect gets traded straight up for said star. And for my Honest perspective... I am torn, do I go with my heart or my head? My heart says lots roll the ice with Correa, give it a run. My head says "We HAVE to see what we can get for him while we still can"

If you get the headline 3 points for you!! Obviously Correa is ZERO problem. BUT he is a bit of a conundrum. There were some level or reporting earlier that Correa may have been interested in signing long term. This had to have been pure hope. He never considered it. The "Problem" though is... Do the Twins treat him like a 1 year flier, and "make a run" this year and let him walk? or do they see if they can get top dollar in a trade? Problem #1: Keep and contend The Twins are not built overall to truly contend this year. Our Pitching is no where near in position to be a quality staff on a contending team. Sure we have a pretty good shot at winning the division, but if you are willing to put big money down that the Twins will win a series or two in playoffs, I would love to take your money. SO then you have to ask yourself... Is our cieling demosntrably better wit Correa than without? If you thin ultimately we go only so far regardless, then you MUST look for a trade. Problem #2 What is his value? Yes he is one of the top players in all of baseball, and yes he does have 2 more years of potential "control", so there is always a CHANCE he could opt in and the recieveing team gets him for more than 1 year. which woudl significantly improve trade value. otherwise he is "just" a rental. This diminishes his value. Problem #3: What team needs him? First it needs to be a contender. Second, needs to be a contender who has a need at SS. Third they need to be a contender with a need at SS who has quality prospects to trade. SO, who could possibly fall into this scenario? There is ONE team that checks all these boxes!!! (ok maybe a few, but oen who it woudl have the BIGGEST impact on!!) ST LOUIS CARDINALS!! The Cardinals are just 1 game out of 1st, and currently own a WC spot. one of the biggestholes they have is SS. They are a HUGE baseball town!! They are in a WIN NOW season!!! with it being the last years of Waino, Yadi and Pujols. there would be a HUGE public interest to have them go out with a bang!! Also with the Big Three retiring that clear s$30M nest year, which makes Correa's $35M affordable. Cardinals Have some great top propsects. including Jordan Walker. Why woudl the Cards trade Walker? he is a STUD!!! Well First they are getting the reigning MVP and Platinum Glove SS in Correa, they get a PROVEN superstar in excheange for a POTENTIAL superstar. Seconly Walker is 3B, Oh by the way the Cards have something called Nolan Arrenado currently mannign 3B. Ok, move one of them to 1B you say, oh ok how about something called Paul Goldschmidt. They also have Nolan Gorman who is a 3B/2B prospect. So trading for Correa gives them an infield to contend this year and future years of Arrenado, Correa, Gorman, Goldschmidt. Finally, How do you maximize Correa's value? Simple renegotiate his contract to build in a trade kicker that comes into play if opts in to BOTH of the remaining years. say it is a $10M kicker that is split between the Twins and the team that picks him up. This gets Correa $45M per year on a short 2 year deal. So a team like the cardinals can A: Afford $40M on a short deal to secure Correa, B: have a big positional need. C : have a PR opportuity, and D : have the blocked prospects to swing a deal. And as a remainder, NO anyone the Twins trade him to will nto give up MLB experienced top pitching., as any team takng on Correa will be a contending team and not move their quality pitching. SO... IF we will not get pitching back, then why not shoot for one of the top position prospects in all of baseball. Lets go get Jordan Walker!!

SInce I dont know hwo to EDIT a post, I will add it here. Demote Jeffers to AAA. call up Kirilloff. WIth Sanchez as the Primary C, that leaves DH open to have rotation of Kirilloff, Miranda, Urshela (and Sanchez when not catching, to rotate between DH/1B/3B. I never thought I would say who cares about Sanchez catching struggles. LOL he is at least hitting, and he has not been HORRIBLE. And then Godoy, or any other caccher with a pulse can be Sanchez's backup

I have never been a HUGE Jeffers fan, but at the same time I have never been anti-jeffers. but as this season goes on, I have to wonder what the best decision is to fix our catching. Or does it need fixing? The Twins are exactly middle of the road when it comes to team ERA, and for the Twins that is a huge win!! We do not have aces to rely on, or stud bullpens, so being 15 out of 30 is quite acceptable. A certain amount of that has to go to the catching. so in that aspect you have to give Jeffers some credit. But how long can we go with a primary catcher who hits .176 with a .570 OPS? on top of that he is only throwing out 13% of base stealers. The book is out, and any team that has any semblance of speed is now running at will against us/him. So now a walk turns into a double or triple. Jeffers cannot remain the primary catcher on a contending team. Is he just havign a bad year? well considering career numbers are .201 and OPS of .656 say it is not UNUSUALLY bad for him. He did throw out about 27% of base stealers last year, but that isnt super great either. SO how do you fix the C spot? 1) an absolute pipe dream, becasue no way they will trade in the division, and KC loves him, but I woudl give up a LOT to get MJ Melendez from KC!! 2) How about we get into the Wilson Contreras trade game? I am otherwise not a brilliant cacthing mind, so help me out here... What do the Twins need to do at Catcher?

Twins fans, like most fans tend to have a hot/cold, love/hate relationship with coaches/managers. What exactly is the Baldelli Lama? IS he a wunderkind for babying and piecing together a top 10 starting rotation getting the max results from a bunch of #3s or #4s? Will he end up looking like a genius by not letting starters go past 70 pitches regardless of results? With the delayed start to the season, OBVIOUSLY no pitcher should be able to go past 4 2/3 or touch 80 pitches per game right??? I mean they are not conditioned for such a workload. The whole rest of MLB will look ridiculous when Ryan, Ober, Archer, Bundy, Gray end up in a 5 way tie for the Cy Young with MONSTER second halves because they were not overused at the beginning of the season right?? All smart alecking aside (and I can guess you can figure out where my views land) Has he done a good job with the starters? keeping them healthy, slowly... ever so slowly loosenign the reigns, or doing a 2 steps forward 1 step back approach. I mean Archer just went 5 scoreless on 57 pitches and was pulled. It doesnt seem to be the case, with Sonny Gray having multiple nagging injuries, Paddack needing TJ (again who didnt see that coming when the trade was announced??) Bailey Ober has already had a stint as well. Still it is impossible to prove a negative, and one could easily say that if the Twins had NOT slowly built up the arms there would have been even MORE carnage and poor performance, so for the Hero argument, lets give Baldelli his due!! HE is the coach, and the starters have pitched very well. If you get the blame, you should get the credit as well. Now, speaking of getting the blame... Is Baldelli the Villian for not allowing the starters to go deeper into games? to learn how to pitch out of tough situations? to not build up that arm strength to be even stronger in innings 5,6 and God forbid 7th innings later in the year? And what kind of impact has the low number of innings had on the bullpen? Both now and going forward? Are we burning out the pen? Will that come back to haunt us? This is a results based game. and going back to the Archer 5 inning game, if Archer comes out after 5 innings and we hold onto a 2-1 win, then Baldelli gets praise for beautifully handling the pitching staff, since we lost, he gets tore apart for pulling a guy after 5 innings and just 57 pitches . and it loses a bit of actual "sting" since it wasnt the NEXT pitcher who gave up the lead, Duran came in and gave us 2 strong innings. AND to Baldellis credit before Pagan gave up the game, he had a 2.12 ERA. but we did not hold the lead so it was a "bad decision" And again with it being a results based game, we are still in 1st place, and a single win counts only as a single win, so it shouldn't matter if it is from a dominant 3 hit CG shutout on 115 pitches or a "two times through the lineup max" game for 3-4 pitchers. they still count the same. but they do not FEEL the same. and the losses sure the heck dont!! a well pitched 7-8 inning start we lose feels like we lost to a better team. a 3-4 pitcher game where the bullpen gives up a few runs feels we lost because we are just bad. Maybe I am just too "old school" who likes watching pitchers go deep, get out of trouble, and have a theory that you use the pen when you NEED to, not when you CAN. Maybe the game has passed me by, because I have great unease about this team, and what may happen going forward mainly as a result poor pitching management. Should I just be happy that we are in first place, and not care about how those wins LOOK? Take the pleasure in the win, vs the pleasure of watching entertaining baseball? But I am digressing... Getting back to the question at hand, I think our success/failure comes down to pitching more than hitting, And I think it is because I truly do not have an answer to my own question... Is (will) Baldelli (be) a hero or a villian?

flawed in so many ways... 1)reinforcements? Celestino is a "reinforcement"? and where exactly will these "reinforcements" play.? are expecting a 12 man batting order? Yes Correa is a good get to have coming back, Lewis has shown in a short sample that he could be exciting, but where do you play him? especially if you are hyping Kirilloff? Kepler is in RF, Buxton in CF (2/3 at least) Larnach in LF (sorry but he aint coming out if he keeps hitting). so we have Celestino< Gordon (who is playing better again) already them fighting for 4th OF. Arraez needs ABS so 1B is about onyl spot for him, and Polanco and Correa have 2b/SS down. (unless Lewis is a utility guy) and Urshela at this point is not coming off 3B for long stretches. which means not onyl is it not a FT position for Lewis but Miranda is going back down. DH is Sanchez/rotation. and offense isnt our main concern. and yes Ryan will be back, and Sonny Gray will hopefully be back, but that still leaves us needign replacements for Bundy (ok so lets say that is Winder) and do we actually LOSe our best pitcher recently when "replaceents" come in Smeltzer? 2) at this point we should no longer only be concerned with the Whitesox, it is the pesky Guardians who are coming hard, and have their next dozen games against teams like Baltimore, Oakland, Texas while we face the East. 3) the third wildcard spot as of now we would hold, but with a slight dip an dwe are out of that spot as well. So yes there are things to be concerned about.

The Twins are in 1st place in the AL Central by 4.5 games, yet there is creeping concern everywhere regarding the Twins future. Are all of the sweaty palms and consternation? is it an overreaction to just a bad stretch against a bad team? Are the Twins about to lose their hold on 1st place with us playing the AL East while Cleveland gets Baltimore, Texas, and Oakland? Lets take a look at some of the concern in Twins Territory and see what we think. 1) Our offense. Before last nights game with the Blue Jays we had scored 3 or less runs in 7 of our last 12 games, with multiple shutouts, and low number hit games. We do not seem to have much consistency overall recently. and those low runs scoring games came against the likes of KC and Detroit. Does that make it seem worse? I think it does. also, Buxton has been a shell of himself, and we have been putting out a number of replacement level players due to injuries. Hopefully last nights game re-ignites Buxton. It has been incredibly clear to anyone, even morons like me who know nothing about hitting mechanics, that Buxton has been off-balance at the plate. He has been off balance because of his right knee. His back knee, his leverage knee. As a result of not being able be comfortable putting his weight on the back foot/knee, and torque of it twisting, he has been swinging with his weight on his front leg, causing him to be off balance and losing power. Hopefully this is beginning to change as his knee gets a little better, but of course even a "healthy" Buxton plays only 2/3 of our games. The others... Miranda has been unplayable, although ironically has been hitting pretty well during this stretch. Garlick should not be on a MLB team, Jeffers has been horrible offensively, But really, overall everyone else has been at least decent. Urshella and Sanchez have been hitting well lately, while not eye popping numbers they are playable and have come up big recently. Losing Correa again, will be a short term hit with no long term impact. Hopefully Lewis is only out for a short time (but then let the debate reignite) Kepler has been decent, Larnach has been hitting well, Arraez has been the Rodney Carew/Tony Gwynn clone many saw him as when he was a rookie. So our offense should not be a problem going forward once we get everyone back healthy. 1B - Arraez ?? while nto an ideal position we need his bat in the lineup. 2B - Polanco. I would actually submit that even though he leads the team in RBI, and even though he is coming off an All-Star year, and has been a great Twin, he has to be the one to be impacted when Royce Lewis gets back with the team. 3B - Urshela - his .270 avg, above average defense and clutch hitting has him holding down 3B for the rest of the year (at least for now) SS - Correa - He is obviously there longterm... unless we crater, then he is traded and Lewis slides in at SS. RF - Kepler - very serviceable, and actually having a pretty decent year, CF - BUxton - with the obvious exception of his rest days is a lock. LF - Larnach - Mashing with strong exit Velo, lots of doubles which are starting to turn into HR C - Jeffers/ Sanchez - Jeffers cant hit but plays majority of games, with Sanchez backing him up and being primary DH DH Sanchez/rotation - His bat is starting to come alive. His bat was never really the problem. Again the only real issue going forward here is where do you put Lewis? and what happens if Kirilloff continues his 337/449/932 play in St. Paul?? I am not overly concerned with our offense, we should be just fine. Which brings us... "gulp" to our pitching. and I am going to combine coaching with our pitching, because a lot of the pitching performance is also based on how they are used. Starters; While there is good here, lets assume the good is good and only concern ourselves with a few questions. Chris Archer: ERA is good at 3.89, but just 39 IP in 10 starts??? This cannot hold up, if we only let him go 4 IP then he needs to be in the pen as the "long guy" Each starter impacts the game before and after him as well as the one he starts. we cannot regularly use our pen for 5 innings every fifth start. Last night he was cruising and still pulled after 57 pitches!!! This needs to change!! we may be able to compete in a pathetic AL Central like this, but this kind of ball does not win against good teams in the playoffs. At this point it is more of a coaching issue than an issue with Archer, but it is still an issue. Sonny Gray: Again great numbers, but another trip to the IL? is this concerning? I guess only time will tell, but we will be without him for another 2-3 weeks and then another month plus of treating him with kid gloves to get him "ramped back up". he only had 33 innings in 7 games for less than a 5 IP per game average as it was, so look for more bullpen busting, innings restricted starts when he gets back Dylan Bundy: Throw out back to back bad starts in Aoril/May and he has been quite good. but can you "throw out" 25% of a pitchers starts? and can he hold up over the long haul? History says no What is Smeltzer?: Is he a fluky guy with a weird delivery that team will hit better the more they see him. or is he legit now? he has always been phenomenal in short stretches in the past. Ryan is good and Ober has been decent. OVERALL: Be scared, be VERY scared!!! IF we continue to have starting pitching go less than half the game, whether by plan or by play, then our pen will get overexposed, burned out and we will start losing games we should win. Unfortunately I think our philosophy about never letting a starter see a batter a 3rd time will be what holds us back.

Nice article. WHile I knwo this article was strictly about targets and not about what it would take to get any of the targets, the price to be paid has to be considered. At the same time I do not think it woudl cost much to get any of them. Bell probably being the most expensive prospect wise. and even that wouldnt be too much given he is a rental. I will go ahead and preface my next comments with the fact that I have always been enamored with "potential" so my suggestions have a built in flaw. But here are a few alternate options... 1B = Instead of Bell, how about trading for Dom Smith of the Mets. Yes, he is struggling, an dwhy would/should we take a risk on a :change of scenery" guy, but he is Gold Glove caliber 1B, the guy CAN hit, and he has always been a slow starter, granted not THIS slow. I think given every day AB's would help get him back on track. Given his struggles and lack of ABs with the Mets he could be gotten relatively cheaply. Bullpen Arm = While I am trying my best not to comment on a bullpen arm we could still have if we hadn't traded for a pitcher with known elbow issues, I will just say SD seems to have a pretty decent closer. The arm I would love to see in a Twins uniform is AJ Puk. Scary stuff, but has always been injured. SO there is the injury risk there. But he is the perfect Twins player... an older player who is still under team control. He is 27 has 1 more year of TC then 3 years of Arb, meaning he will not be a FA until his age 32 year. by that time he is past the window of big contracts, so we will be able to retain him for the rest of his career should we want and should he work out. Besides the years of control, as a reliever Oakland is rebuilding team that already has a strong closer in Jimenez. and while I hate to harp on the Paddack trade, the fact that we also included Rooker, means Rooker is now no longer a trade piece available in a trade for a reliever like Puk. Starter = While it would be great to nab a true #1 or #2 via trade, we would have to give up a lot to get one, and what can we give at this point? (short of Correa, and anyone taking Correa would be a buyer not a seller, unless of course we go with a 3 way). Lewis is now untouchable, Larnach is proving valuable and will stay, We are a cheap team who loves our young pitching, and we have already traded away Petty, Rooker is gone, Kiriloff is struggling to recovery from wrist injuries, Martin is 23 at AA and is proving to be averag at best, Miranda is struggling mightily in the bigs, so tell me what exactly we have of value to trade for a #1 or #2? As a result I would suggest an older pitcher on a 1 year deal (as not to disrupt our youngsters) who is having a breakout , or resurgent year. Someone who is on a team that is below .500 and even with expanded playoffs, really doesnt have a CLEAR and easy path to a WC spot, that team is Texas, an dthat pitcher is Martin Perez. Perez is having an All-Star year, btu should come cheaply. I would counter Eovaldi, Bell, and Lopez with Perez, Smith, and Puk

It cracks me up that pretty much EVERYONE in the clubhouse said they were surprised by the move. Which begs the question, which "surprised" player thought THEY were the one who was going to be sent down, or what player(s) were thinking their time with the Twins is short lived? Lets also nto forget that Larnach and Kirilloff are both also potentially back at some point, while neither is BETTER than Lewis, Larnach has at least proved himself ready as well. and with him on a rehab assignment should be back in LF sooner rather than later, so LF is not a place that will get Lewis AB's in the MLB. BAsed on Performance, the top of the list is Miranda. His .332 just is not currently cutting it. and no the .332 is not BA, it is not his OBP, it is not his slugging % it is his OPS!! LOL I am sure he may still be a quality MLB in the future, but right now, HE needs the reset at AAA. Based on potential positional transition: Urshela... I am not sure if he has options, would be more of a trade. While his overall offensive numbers aren't great, he plays a nice 3B, We are not married to him for the future, so maybe sacrificing some potential defense to get a bat like Lewis is the right move. and a somewhat brutal move of its own... Jorge Polanco. Polanco is a fan and clubhouse favorite, he is coming off All-Star season, and is very well cost controlled. Would be hard to move a longtime Twin, BUT his numbers are down, and 2B woudl be about the easiest transition from SS on the diamond.. One has to wonder how "nervous" Polanco was getting as well. Ultimately the right move is demote Miranda, possibly move Urshela to 1B and let Lewis play 3B

While it is still quite early and anything can happen for good or for bad, it looks like the Twins will be contending all year long. We have a potntial great problem to have. Is Lewis Legit? and if so what do we do there? The Twins will need pitching help along the way, as mentioned before our rotation consists of either unproven pitchers or reclamation projects with nearly all of them coming off of year(s) with very low innings. With Paddack already out for the season, Bundy struggling, we already have two holes to fill. Archer is still on a pitch count, and Baily missing time with a hammy.. Ryan has been solid, and Winder has done quite well filling in, We do have more young guys who could help fill in, but do we try and contend with young inexperienced pitchers? On the offensive side,,, Sano has been an even bigger dissapointment and then got injured, Kiriloff so far has not translated, Larnach started hitting well before going on the shelf temporarily, Buxton has been a stud, but again misses time. Correa started slowly, but has been coming on before getting hit in the hand by TWO pitches and going on DL. So what do the Twins do if we are actually contending, yet have a lot of holes to fill? Would it be borderline blasphemous to suggest trading Correa? Lets say Correa comes back and plays at MVP Correa level, do you trade him or run out the season with him? Yes he has said he would like to stay, but what else is he going to say right after signing a deal with opt outs after each year? It is a small sample size, but is Royce Lewis the real deal? could he be a viable future SS? Let's take a look at a best case scenario. The Twins are contending and Correa is playing very well. To me the best move i to actually trade Correa at the deadline. What can we leverage from our 1/2 season of Correa? Take a look at some contenders who could use an upgrade at SS. Cardinals: Would the Cardinals give up their top prospect in Jordan Walker for Correa? IF they would, then we should jump at that even if we need to actually ADD to the deal. Jordan Walker at 3B and Miranda at 1B for the future??? Yankees: Yes they have Kiner (from us), and he is playing OK, and yes they have "cant miss" prospects like Volpe and Peraza at AA & AAA, but they are both actually "missing" this year. They are on pace for 122 wins, so do they NEED an upgrade? What if the Twins would get a package of Jasson Dominguez and Luis Gil? Dominguez more of a project than Walker but has MASSIVE potential. Lets say you think Lewis is the real deal. I would love to hear opinions on what you do with Correa this year. DO you trade him? if so to who and for what? Do you keep him and demote Lewis back to AAA for the season? or move Lewis to a new position? Let me here your thoughts on the one truly intriguing position decision for the Twins.

And now I am reading memo's that say the increased pitching rosters will remain in effect until the END of May. Citing "player safety" in order to help "monitor players health". SO pretty much just as I figured, just the next step in babying the players. In the generation of players training year round do we REALLY need to "protect" players from injury?? When they already throw 1/2 the innings and 1/3 the pitches of pitchers from previous eras?

If this is not the definition of the AL Central I do not know what is. Twins in 1st place!!! with a.500 record. Just a couple of weeks in I think it is important to take a look at a significant season milestone. May 1st. May 1st is when the "skinny mirror" gets replaced with a normal one. You know those skinny mirrors, those mirrors that make you look skinnier, or "better" than you actually are. While I am very happy to be in first place, and I am thrilled, and surprised with the Twins pitching this year, The Twins, as have all teams, have greatly benefited from a 28 man roster, and the ability to carry extra pitchers, carrying extra pitchers allows you to rely more on the bullpen, This also allows you to baby your starters and not give them too many innings, or pitches at the start of the year. This is evident by Chris Archer's comments after his last start. after his last start he said he knew it was going to be a short start because he was target for 50-60 pitches.... FIFTY to SIXTY??? Normally I would be screaming at the top of my lungs how this is nto baseball. BUT given the "unique" rules this year (Although I can see MLB permanently going to a 28 man roster for the 1st month to "ease in pitchers") you have to play and take advantage of the rules that are in place. I am not slamming the Twins for taking advantage of them, I am saying the Twins may not be the pitching juggernaut they currently look like without them. As stated previously by me, and every other baseball fan with at least a modicum of intelligence, the Twins pitchers are a collection of young pitchers who have not thrown more than 120 innings, and veteran starters coming off injuries/poor performance who also have not thrown more than 120 innings recently. This can be very easily covered up with a 6 man rotation, and a 28 man roster to allow for short starts consistently. Again, EVERY team got this benefit, and also again Twins pitchers have been GREAT!!! Just brace yourself. the Twins will be hit harder than most with the rosters going back down to 26. This is because not only is the roster trimming down to 26, but if the Twins continue to go with a 6 man rotation (and really who do you take out??) then that means you can no longer allow your starters to go only 4-5 innings because your bullpen with get overworked. This then in turn puts more workload back on those inexperienced starters and veterans coming off injuries. We will have a much better idea of where we are at at the end of My than at the beginning. Maybe it is just the typical MN sports fan in me, but I am very excited and happy about our team, yet at the same time will not believe it and am waiting for the train wreck. But until that happens, I am choosing to say the Twins Roster is half full instead of half empty.

The one discussion that actually does speak to some value... the controllable yesrs. I may be too focused on this year, since this is the only year we will have Correa. So i guess i figured that $35M could be spent on FA pitching, but yes with Bundy and Archer most likely not here next year, even with Winder, Balazovic, and other potential starters being a year closer, having another MLB capable pitcher locked in next year does make some sense. I guess though i still wouldnt have donebit at the expense of Rogers. If you cant have a dominant rotation, then need a doninant bullpen. Will be rooting for Paddack!!! Just wish we could have gotten him without Rogers. Oh well. And then the IMMEDIATE question is... Do we go with a 6 man? Or if we dont then who gets dropped?

So far nothing has moved me. I can see the need for pitching depth. I have also discussed how Archer and Bundy are risks coming back from injury and poor performance. AND Paddack may be an upgrade over Bundy, but not at the risk of losing an All-Star Closer. I HOPE Paddack realizes his potential, I also HOPE Bundy has a strong bounce back year, and HOPE Archer does as well. And the "pitching depth" community will undoubtedly, yet incorrectly scream "I told you so!!" When Archer/Bundy either get hurt or get moved out of the rotation for performance, but that misses the point here. My opinion isnt that Paddack isnt a decent pitcher, it is that the separation between him and our other #6-8 potential starters is not significant enough to move Rogers. And if you truly intend to win this year, then you do not worry about losing him in free agency "for nothing". you keep together the team that gives you the best chance to win. All of that being said, I am not a scout, my opiniosn are based on pure numbers on paper, and baseball is nto played on paper. He COULD be a much better pitcher than I think he is, and I guess if our scouts believe he is a significant enough improvement over Bundy/Archer then I can support the move. I just dont personally see it based on numbers.

This article is not meant for me to give MY opinion, I have done that in a previous post. This is to beg the fan base out there to help me understand how this move makes any sense except to cut costs (yet we are also sending cash considerations to SD as well). I liked Rooker, even though he is an "old" young guy and not much of a fit here. I don't have an issue moving him though. My question is why move an All-Star Closer who is a significant clubhouse presence and a fan favorite for an average at best pitcher a not significantly better than any of our other current starters. and here is where I need help understanding. Who is/should Paddack replace in the rotation? and how big of an upgrade is he over that pitcher? As I stated earlier, unless there is already an injury we have not heard about, the only one who gets moved out of the rotation is Bundy and is Paddack a significant enough upgrade over Bundy to warrant sending out Rogers? or do we go 6 man? But again this is not about my opinions. Help me understand, I legitimately cannot see the added value Paddack could bring. Please explain how this move makes sense and who gets impacted.

The Twins go all offseason barely touching on the rotation, then they make a move for Sonny Gray. Ok a decent move, but again trading away Chase Petty is only a good move if they make other good moves. Then with abotu a week or so to go before real games they sign Chris Archer. OK, doesnt really move the needle, but isnt a move that will hurt you. Now on the Eve of what would have been the Twins Opener there are strong indications the Twins are trying to get Chris Paddock from the Padres. NO. FULL STOP!! I don't care if you get him for a bag of used batting practice balls. He brings ZERO added value above what we already have available to us!!! It is crazy to say we are already flush with pitchers, BUT... we are already flush with THAT KIND of pitchers!!! We have 3 quality starters a 4th with potential and a 5th starter we can easily replace with Winder after his first few horrible starts. Top 3: Sonny Gray, Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober. Quality pitchers, 2 of the 3 unproven over the long haul, but still quality. 4th = Archer. yes a reclamation project a bit, but if you are selling hope, he can be a decent #4 with "flash games" where he dominates. 5th = Bundy is a joke. he will be out of the rotation and off the team by the end of May, but that will allow Winder to step right in. and we have a couple other potential starters who could use the first month to get in pitching shape as well. SO what does adding Paddock do? He doesnt replace the top 3, or even top 4. so that means Bundy goes. and even with all of the afore mentioned Bundy Bashing, he has been good in Spring. so you gonna replace him now?? It makes ZERO sense to bring in another pitcher unless it is a marked improvement over another pitcher. And Paddock simply isnt. By every single metric he is a pitcher who had a good rookie year and has gotten progressive worse each year after. PLUS has injury concerns with his pitching arm!!! What is even MORE alarming are the reports that we would consider moving Taylor Rodgers!!!!! Seriously??? I understand Jhoan "Splinker" Duran could be a bullpen stud, but to move Rodgers in a package for Paddock??? This could be rampant speculation, but if this happens the Twins better get some SERIOUS other compensation for Rodgers.