PatPfund

Couldn’t disagree more. Royce had a great taste, but with Correa likely gone after this year, the team MUST know if he is the solution at short or not. That means beating all the rust off him at SS by having him play there every day for another month or so. (Pretty sure he had two errors in his short run.) There are other options at the other spots in the short run, and polishing Royce is far more important for later this year and beyond.

1) Where do you follow the Twins from? St. Paul 2) What's your jobby job? Worked almost two decades for a local state historical society; now I drive a transit bus. 3) How 'bout hobbies? 1860 Rules base ball (aka vintage ball), reading, history, geology, learning new handy stuff (like how to cut a dovetail by hand, or install my own water heater). 4) How long have you followed the Twins? Since my youth in the middle ’60s when my brother and I argued over who was the best Twin; he was a Carew guy, and I was (see below). 5) How many games do you attend a season? Eek! Haven’t been since the pandemic. Probably get to a couple this year (though it will have to be a weekend game). I’m one of the longtime fans who has serious issues with the modern game’s snail pace. (Though I do listen to several games a week on the radio and riff-text them with a high school friend living in TN.) 6) Who is your favorite all-time Twin? Number 6, Tony Oliva. 7) Who is your current favorite Twin? Probably Polanco, because he just shows up for work, and is quietly so dang good. Getting a soft-spot for Gio Urshela, though; my dad played 3B well, so I get misty any time I see the hot corner played so well. 8 )What is the coolest/craziest/most absurd/etc thing you've seen in person at a Twins game? Snowflakes during a really cold afternoon/evening at Target Field watching Mike Pelfrey pitch badly. I think the Twins #9 hitter didn’t get their first at-bat until 90 minutes after first pitch. Runner up would be getting gassed with cigar smoke in July at the new and un-air-conditioned Metrodome, and the Twins giving up something like 13 runs to Detroit in the top of the first. (Fortunately they eventually banned smoking, and bought an air-conditioner; it was like watch a game in someone’s sun-broiled tent.) 9) What is the most memorable thing you've seen in person at a Twins game? Game 1 of the ’87 World Series. I’d tell kids today, they can’t imagine how novel it was for a local team to succeed in a championship atmosphere, but it’s been as long since ’91 as the gap between the Lakers of the ’50s and the ’87 Twins, so I guess they know. 10) What is your favorite all-time Twins moment? Watching Game 7 of the ’91 Series with my Dad (which featured a guy my brother caught in high school as the winning pitcher).

If the Twins are in contention, and you want them to keep contending, forget any Correa trade. He won't want it, no contending team is going to give up the major league starters it would take to keep the Twins contending (because the Twins will be immediately worse after the trade), so the Twins won't want it either. You might trade someone else on the MLB roster, or more likely have to trade our own prospects. But not Correa. Because that make the team worse. If the Twins are out of contention, then a trade becomes more plausible. Correa would agree (maybe) to a trade from a non-contender to a contender. The Twins would agree to get worse in the short run to be better in the long run (but only if not contending). The trading partner would likely agree to surrendering prospects to get a piece that could deliver a championship now. But the return isn't going to be 'move the world' big for a half season; nobody's coughing up their top prospect. If Royce is hitting .320, you probably find a way to keep him up here, but otherwise you send him down to keep getting tons of games at shortstop, then call him back up in late August to help with the season end push. Because he will need to be the regular starter at short next season; Correa isn't coming back. (Twins aren't doing a 8-10 year deal, and if Correa keeps playing well, he can't afford to do the year-to-year thing and potentially lose over $100 million if something happens to him.)

Sad, but good update. It backs up the eye test, which pretty much says Alex isn’t a major leaguer until the wrist is fixed.

Montas is the only one pitching well enough right now to push aside players we already have. And we have more coming. Coughing up prospects for mediocre pitchers doesn't make sense unless the Reds want Bundy, Thielbar, and Vallimont for Castillo. Depending on whether we can get healthy again, there still remain a lot more questions with the offense. (Will our catchers hit much? Can we keep a healthy hitting LF? Will Max sustain his recent revival? Can Byron stay healthy? What happens at first if Miranda doesn't start hitting? Can we clone Urshela's defense and graft it onto Arraez, or if Lewis keeps mashing, does he combine bat and glove at 3B? Do we play Sano in RF again?)

Wow. The Twins are in first place even though battered by injuries (it feels like half the roster was playing for the Saints 3 weeks ago). And the villagers are out with torch and pitchfork demanding we dump most of our remaining vets. Is it disheartening that we were soundly thumped by the Astros? Yep. But all it really shows is our B squad isn't good enough to advance in the playoffs. Though it might be good enough to compete in our division, which gives us a chance to hang in there until the A team is back. Reality check: Urshela is our best defensive 3B by far with some amazing plays already on the year's highlight reel, and the article makes zero mention of that. Move him down the order until he hits, rotate him with others, but he can win us games with his glove alone (a big defensive upgrade over an aging, gimpy Donaldson). Sanchez is a decent backup catcher, with a far better bat than most backups (including Rortvedt), but admittedly weaker defense. I would agree with most that he should rarely DH, except many of the young batters who could help there have been worse than Sanchez. If the Twins get back the Larnach mashing before his injury, or Miranda has the MLB lamp go on, and/or Arraez can stay healthy, I think it is far more likely you see less of Sanchez in the DH slot (unless he starts hitting better). Reality check 2: Kirilloff is a mirage until he starts hitting, and with some pop. He hasn't been an MLB player since hurting his wrist last year, he says his wrist still bothers him, and if he doesn't figure it out soon, he'd be one of the first I'd send back to St Paul as people come off the IL. He probably needs lots of at-bats (or physical therapy) to figure it out, but I don't really want to see him getting them in a Twins uniform.

I was surprised the game started as it was totally clear by 7pm that the front was large (cover half the state large), involved very severe weather, and was going to hit well before the 5th inning. I'm guessing management (probably including the Astros) knew it wouldn't finish, but figured however many innings they got in was that many less played in finishing the game today. With a regular rainstorm that might be a decent move, but the severity made it pretty sketchy (3 innings gained against exposing their fans to intense winds, rain, lightning, and threat of tornado). Can't help thinking this is a bit of fallout from the stupid lockout (teams have fewer off-days for makeups), and getting rid of the 7-inning doubleheaders (a d/h today would be 14 innings compared to the 15 they will play finishing the suspended game and then a full regulation game). Good thing the fallout was tragedy free this time.

Alex Kirilloff is not a major league player right now, and shouldn't be in a Twins uniform. First step is to option him to St Paul, or put him on the IL to shut him down for a month of physical therapy/whatever-might-help. (And if the IL route is picked, then send him down for rehab, and don't recall him until he is hitting even if it means optioning him later.) Forget playing him at first in the meantime, because the last thing the Twins need is a .200/no-power 1B. And clear spots on the 40-man so we can bring up the players we actually need. (Including another bat so Buxton can go on the IL where he belongs. Letting him turn a minor strain into a chronic one would be a great way to torpedo this season.)

Pretty sure Byron would be on the IL if the Twins had a player to call up (like, say, Contreras) who was on the 40-man. I mean, seriously, are they really going to rush him back from the type of injury that cost him a big chunk of season last year? (Or do they keep him day-to-day, and keep a short bench shorter, because they literally can't call up good players for lack of 40-man spots.)

Great insurance if Kirilloff can't hit (and he hasn't yet in the year since injuring his wrist, which still bothers him), and for the Byron injury periods. It does highlight their wildly unbalanced 40-man roster, though. All their position players are up or hurt; a situation so bad that the only bat they could call up last weekend was a good-defense/low-offense catcher. Time to make a call on someone like Vallimont (who has been consistently awful), or put Sano on 60-day IL (something that could have been done with Enlow who was dreadful last week in his first outing), or package a few of the 'almost, but not quite' pitchers like Sands and Strotman to teams with a lower pitching bar for a prospect or something. Something to clear some space not only for players to help now, but also for the more legit prospects that will need Rule 5 protection soon.

I'm not asking for moral support. But he is a potential asset as long as he is not an active detriment (hence, the 'good teammate' comment). One of the ways he could help the team with a hot streak, is making himself viable as a late season rental for another team. Might not score much, but unless he plays enough to show himself a major leaguer, his current trade value is zero. And while I think the Twins have potential successors right now, Kirilloff still smells like a minor leaguer since his wrist injury, and Miranda has shown some promise, but hasn't locked himself in either. Sano may still be the best short term play when he gets back (though I hope not).

To answer the final question, Sano has been neither a bust, not has he justified the hype. All you have to do is read through the answers already given to come up with a one word description of Sano's career with the Twins: disappointment. I think the talent is there, and I don't "hate" Sano; he seems like a decent team-mate. But for whatever reason (too much pub as a kid, becoming enamored with HR distance, having it too easy early to put in the work, lack of hunger, I just don't know), he has been resistant to advice/coaching (Rod Carew's opinion, not just mine), and I don't think the full potential will ever be met. He is what he is unless the jolt of not being renewed lights a fire. And what he is, is thoroughly replaceable; if not during this season, then definitely in the offseason. I think he still gets too much credit here for what is rapidly becoming a distant past. Check his page on Baseball Reference (link below), and you will find of his 7.9 career WAR, he'd earned 5.5 of them by 2017 (aka 5 years ago). He really has only had one good year since, 2019, when he added 2.5. That means in the past three seasons (including what he has played of this season), Sano is a -.1 WAR, or just less than average. And almost all of the positive there was earned in the last half of last season when the Twins were essentially eliminated and dumping players. I'm not for cutting/releasing Sano as long as he remains a good teammate; he still could pop a decent hot streak that helps the team this year. But I'm ready to move on, and I expect the Twins are as well. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/sanomi01.shtml

As a pre-Twins affiliation Saints fan, those uniforms look like real Saints uniforms. Guess it's a matter of perspective as the powder blue ones make me gag (don't like the Twins version either), though ultimately you are right; the Saints were long-time Dodger affiliates and the independent league versions kept the color schemes. Agree on Steer; especially if Miranda sticks in St Paul, it probably is about time to move Steer up to AAA. (And maybe match that with moving Encarnacion-Strand to AA.) Enlow will be interesting to watch. For sure I would have waived Vallimont off the 40-man at the start of May, and probably would have put Enlow on the 60 day IL to open a 40-man spot (delaying his return to early June), because it sure looked like the Twins needed relief help. That option is gone now, though upside is the 'pen has been better lately. A 40-man roster crunch is coming, though. Every single position player on the 40-man is either playing for the Twins right now or is on the 10-day IL. So any help needed due to poor play or injury means somebody has to get bounced of the 40-man (or put on the 60-day IL; Sano might be a candidate for that depending on his recovery time). That means cuts at the MLB level, or marginal pitchers at the MiLB level, and Vallimont, Strotman, and maybe Enlow look like the ones most likely to slip through waivers right now. (The June deadline for reducing MLB pitchers to a max of 13 might be the next best time to try to sneak pitchers through waivers.)

I'd guess another start or two or until Ober comes back and May ends (which means the Twins will be limited to 13 pitchers). I will say, that though I'm not shocked at Bundy's coming-back-to-Earth, I've actually been very impressed with both his team attitude, and frank honesty (especially concerning his last outing). I'm kind of hoping the Twins talk to him about trying the bullpen as a route to extend both his time on this team, and possibly his career. The short outings might give him just enough boost on the fastball to make the other stuff play, and if productive he might be great to have on the staff for off-field reasons as well. (But it is easier to run that experiment before pitcher numbers reduce from 14 to 13 in June.)

Well, first we need to see if he hits MLB pitching, or if further injuries don't rearrange things. Lots of players struggle with hitting on their first go including a kid named Mike Trout (or locally Buxton, Rooker, Larnach, Miranda); some figure it out pretty quickly, but Byron took years. But if he plays really well, I'm guessing he stays, and you could rotate him with Polanco and Correa through SS/2B/DH. If he plays solid, but shows lack of development in areas as a hitter or fielder, you send him down for everyday work.

Sorry, I obscured the joke too much. It seems like every day I'm here saying a version of 'cool your jets until there is a shortstop position open for Royce; no outfield, 1st, 3rd, etc'. And said it so much I was almost shocked to realize this morning that I was ready to advocate promoting him. Dang. Next thing you know I'm going to be pushing for Thielbar and Duffey to be co-closers! (Well. Maybe not...)

That last part does give me pause enough that I wouldn't sign up for the annual deal, but in all seriousness, producing the telecasts isn't free, and ultimately piracy isn't either (it just relocates the costs/incomes, or if that fails to happen then the business fails). If I don't like it, or watch much, I'll just revert to radio. But I do like to kick in for businesses I use, because I want them to stick around. Like Twins Daily! (My favorite discovery of 2022!) So all of you reading this, consider becoming a Caretaker!

I can't believe how every day there is a new scheme to push Lewis to the majors. He needs to stay in St Paul until an everyday slot opens for him at his most valuable positi.... oh. Never mind. I'm pumped! (Though I want Correa back as soon as he can play, too.)

I heard the target market is someone who wants local sports, doesn't get (or want the extras on) cable, and likely trends younger. That absolutely nails me!!! (Well, two out of three, because 63 ain't the new 28.) I'll probably give it a wing for a few months. (Though I risk losing the time advantage I have over my TN friend. We watch (him)/listen (me), and I seem to have about 20 seconds to get 'future peeks/teasers/spoilers' in before he sees it happen.)

Well, it was always of some concern. It sounds kind of good when you say Sano has had an OPS+ of 105 for six of seven seasons, but all that means is he was 5% over league average in hitting while playing an offense-first position, and being among the worst defensively. For context, the better 1-baggers field better (because everyone else does if you are the worst), and have OPS+ numbers more in the 135-150+ range. I think Sano is the best option when healthy, but that says a lot about the limitations we have there. Hopefully Miranda hits (and fields better than his start), and things will look up. Not believing Alex is a factor until he shows he can hit with pop again.

I think the rotation is going to hold up pretty well not (just) because of the names mentioned, but because there is far more depth than in the past. Winder looks like a real starter in search of a slot (which he has now, and might not give up easily). Archer isn't mentioned here, and has better stuff than some who are. It isn't piling on after tonight's outing, but I do think Bundy is the most likely to not last; the game is slowing down for the hitters, and 89 mph fastballs get real marginal real quick. (You can find me elsewhere on the site in late April worrying Bundy might be like Geoff Zahn.) But even if he doesn't last as a starter, there are good-to-decent arms ready to step in and pitch now, or very soon. (Winder, Gray, Smeltzer)

The Twins have been half-decent lately (giggle), so injuries or recovery are the most likely factor if the call-up is a position player. I still wouldn't be counting on Kirilloff until he shows he can hit with the wrist discomfort (which he hasn't done yet in limited play; .200 average on 2/10, both singles). Doesn't sound like the Twins are going to rush that either when they talk about Miranda getting a lot of at-bats. Another outcome of being good; you just don't jump people straight from AA, so anyone in Wichita is more likely to go to St Paul. If Miranda can stick a while, I'd like to see Steer go to the Saints, and Encarnacion-Strand jump to the AA Wind Surge. Don't want to see Lewis moved around as I'm pretty sure he is the everyday shortstop of our future. (While Correa is definitely showing his full value now on D and at the plate, the Twins simply aren't the type of franchise that can afford the ten year deal Carlos is seeking, especially with a younger, cheaper replacement in the system.) The bullpen's early awfulness has been muted of late with a better sorting of roles, a few better outings, and lots of low-leverage mop-ups, but I suspect any non-injury need will be here. Moran will get a chance to stick, and while I think they have good 'non-prospect' options sitting in St Paul, Henriquez is intriguing as a prospect bullpen arm.

I'd rather see Miranda get a shot first (since his 2021 was spectacular, he has more AAA experience, and he actually plays positions of need like 1B). Lewis looks like a future star at SS, and he should be on max innings there instead of being rushed up to play out of position, and hit once in a while. Larnach looks like he's taking the next step (finally), and with Kepler, Correa, and now Polanco all having their bats wake up, the Twins no longer need to warp their top prospect's development to rush him (or Miranda) up to the bigs. Catcher is back to be the weakest part of the lineup, and that's okay with the rest of the order hitting.

1. Collegial supportive atmosphere that mixes individual effort fairly seamlessly with teamwork. 2. I grew up in a family with 8 kids, most of us playing various sports, several of us being coached at least a couple years by my Dad (in baseball). I don’t see a lot of separation here; I truly think one of the best lessons you can get from sports is how to work together for a common goal. It pays off outside the white lines, big time. 3. So far the chemistry looks good. Most of the imports are working toward bounce-back years, and most are doing that well and with smiles. Correa indicating he is interested in a long-term deal is a great early indicator. Chemistry is such that you can’t credit one area. The players have to be engaged (and Byron sets a great example), you have to have the right people (credit the front office there), and you have to have a supportive, respectful atmosphere with clear communication (and that is one of Rocco’s strengths). Things can turn, but good start! 4. I think chemistry exists outside of winning. Top of mind example would be the ‘80s Twins when a batch of young players came up together, and despite the beatings they took, hung together, and hung together, and then won a title in ’87. But just like in real chemistry, you can speed things up by adding the flame of winning, or potentially shatter them with the deep chill of being bad.

Winder for the reasons you give, Celestino for development as well. But this isn't just about numbers, the bullpen is an active problem right now, which is why people want Winder to stay. The Falvines have done a good job of stockpiling good arms, but they are in the wrong place, and that should change. We have players whose gutsy performances in lean times just aren't good enough any more, and they need to move so better players can make the team better. Stashak taking a role in St Paul doesn't appeal, because he is actively worse than several pitchers there. Minaya, Cotton, Smeltzer, Cano; three of those with good MLB experience. So no more Stashak chances with the Twins; switch him out for one of those players now (including on the 40-man). We've seen Cody's ceiling; if he has more he should prove it in St Paul or someone else's uniform. The same with Caleb Thielbar, though they don't even have to waive him, because he still has an option. Use it, DFA Vallimont, and call up one of the St Paul Four. Smeltzer is left-handed, but isn't it more important that the reliever is good? Isn't the left-right thing overblown in the 3 batter minimum MLB? I would give Duffey a bit (not much) more time, but the clock should also be ticking on that mess. When your team is crummy, you can play a personal favorite game, but the Twins actually appear to have a chance to be good. So use your best relievers, the ones you've worked hard to develop and accumulate, and have some tough, but needed discussions with once key players about their future here.