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Here's Falvey with Mad Dog Russo on MLB Network today:

This is a fun time of the year to follow minor leaguers that aren't big prospects. Three guys that are on a roll: Jordan Gore having success as a RP. He should be a good coach if he doesn't make it to the Twins. How many coaches have made it to AA as both a middle infielder and a pitcher? If he does make it to the bigs, he presents some interesting flexibility as a PR and emergency defensive substitution. As Dman said, Bechtold has figured something out. How about Alex Isola? A late 2019 draft pick (paid overslot), he's progressed every month. In June, he took a ton of walks and hit with power. In July, he's slashing .340/.415/.617 while sharing C duties with Camargo. Has anyone seen him live this year?

I will: Appreciate every Cruz PA while he's a Twin. Enjoy watching Buxton play again, no matter how many or few games. Follow the young OF, Kirilloff and Larnach, as they continue to improve. Hope Gordon can develop into a solid MI/CF. I'm pulling for the young man after what he went through the past two years. Monitor the trade wire for an answer to the big question... retool or rebuild? Be surprised if Balazovic pitches for the Twins in 2021.

Thanks for the writeups, Cody. Of your options, I think Berrios to LAD is the best bet. They can't count on Bauer the rest of the season, while Kershaw is on the IL and scheduled for an MRI. They certainly have the money and the prospects to make a deal. ATL should be a market for Berrios too. I'm not sure their corporate ownership cares enough to invest the prospects and money. I think the Reds are the least likely to trade at this point. They're too far behind and already have a big payroll for their market. IMO, the Twins have a chance to get more (lose less) for Donaldson at the end of the season. He just needs to show he can stay healthy. If not, they can still make a lousy deal during the Winter.

All of the trades look reasonable as far as need. Out of the trades listed, I think Cruz to Oakland has the best chance of happening. The A's are 10 games over .500 but aren't getting anything out of the DH spot. Moreland has faded. As mentioned, Toronto is another good landing spot for Cruz. I'm not sure Kepler will be traded. If he is, I think the Yankees are the best fit. They have only one LHH in the lineup and their OF is really thin. They're playing Tim Locastro and Miguel Andujar in LF right now. Rogers and Berrios will be in big demand if they're available. IMO, uncertainty around the collective bargaining agreement isn't going to stop teams like the NYY, NYM, TOR, SDP, HOU or SFG from making a trade.

I can't imagine walking away from last night's Twins game thinking, "They lost because of Jose Berrios".

They still allow a few free articles. It's available. The change has definitely made a difference in terms of spin rate for many pitchers. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

Enjoyed the writeup, especially for the Saints game. My parents taught me to enjoy every day at the ballpark, win or lose.

Thanks, Lucas. I have one quibble - I think Winder is a top-10 Twins prospect right now. He doesn't seem to have any holes in his repertoire. He has multiple pitches with command/control. Like you said, a high floor... with upside.

I don't think Donaldson will go anywhere. An outside possibility is the Yankees. They are ranked 29th at 1B. I think Voit is coming back from an injury but they might not want to wait to find out if he's going to be ok.

Comparing the White Sox history to the Twins situation makes no sense: The White Sox traded Chris Sale before the 2017 season, when he was probably the most dominant SP in the American League. The White Sox received three players. Two of them were monster prospects. Moncada was ranked #1 and Kopech was ranked #16 by FanGraphs heading into 2017. The Sox also traded Adam Eaton to Washington that same offseason. He had just had a career year capping off three very good consecutive seasons. The Nats overpaid. Giolito was ranked #19 and Reynaldo Lopez was ranked #28 by FanGraphs . That's four players ranked as top 30 prospects from two offseason trades. That will "jump start" - the original comment that caused me to respond - a team. Do you think Berrios will bring back either of those hauls? A TD writer just wrote that he didn't think Berrios would be worth a top 100 player in return (I'm more optimistic). Yes, Berrios could get hurt. But until now, he's been very durable. The prospects the Twins might get for him could wash out or get hurt too. That's baseball. If Berrios wants to wait for free agency, they should probably trade him. But don't expect the return to bring the results that came to Chicago from their trades.

? oops...

This is the first year that the White Sox are in contention. It took 4-5 years.

Ted wants a retool, not a complete roster teardown. The White Sox traded their veterans for prospects in 2016 and 2017. It took 4 to 5 years for them to develop. For the Twins, that means they would be ready to compete when Larnach, Jeffers and Kirilloff are about to become free agents.

The mid-90s Twins SP was awful. From '94 to '96, the best ERA was a young Brad Radke at 4.46 and the best FIP was Tapani at 3.86. Nobody else under 4.46 in either category. Those were painful seasons.

An annual IP limit is not a good justification to pull Ober after 12 TB in 4 innings. He faced 22 batters and went 5 innings in his previous start.

Pretty much hit the teams that could use Buxton. I'd add Philadelphia and SF. The problem is, most of the teams don't have prospects worth getting back. The Red Sox are the only team that could dangle interesting prospects. If they want to trade Duran or Downs, I'd be tempted. IMO, Berrios is the "must sign". I'd trade Buxton, but a high-upside prospect, either a SP, SS or CF, has to come back in return. There's no hurry to trade him if the return isn't decent. There will be plenty of time to field offers in the offseason if they can't extend him.

How about a little good news... Baseball America lists both Josh Winder and Louie Varland(!) as part of their weekly "20 notable hot prospects". On Winder: "With a solid four-pitch mix topped by a fastball that reaches the upper 90s, Winder is progressively asserting himself as one of the Twins most promising starting pitching prospects." On Varland: "While admittedly old for the level and playing in a pitcher-friendly league, Varland has nonetheless impressed in Fort Myers’ rotation this year." Wander Javier has been as hot as any player on this week's list but I think he's fallen off the national radar (.296/.321/.741 during the past week).

That's true re: A's DH. But Cruz is at least a 30% improvement if healthy. That's a lot.

Wait... The Twins have a left-handed SP prospect? How did that happen?

Oakland could be a trade partner too. They've struggled to get anything out of DH from Moreland and Lowrie.

The MLB transaction page shows that Dakota Chalmers has been claimed off waivers by the Cubs.

All pending FAs should be on the trading block, except Shoemaker, who should be DFA'd. Happ needs to continue in the rotation to see if he can build back value. I'd understand if the Twins keep Pineda if they extend him for one more year. There would still be two SP openings in 2022. I don't see the Twins trading any core players unless someone comes asking for Donaldson or Sano. The bigger decisions will probably come at the end of the season. Four starting position players are on the IL (6 total), the top two SP prospects have just started their season, and Lewis is done for the year. Hard to make big in-season trades with this much uncertainty.

Love the photo at the top of the article.

Outs are the most important measure of defense. Simmons gets outs on plays that other shortstops can't due to his range and arm. This year, his above-average plays have well exceeded his errors.