Ted Schwerzler

With two parts complete in the Women in Baseball series a third new perspective gets brought in relation to the game. Having checked in with a beat reporter and broadcaster, now we go under the hood and behind the scenes with a Major League Baseball licensed agent.You may not yet know Rachel Luba’s name, but you absolutely know who she represents. Former Cleveland pitcher and current Cincinnati Reds hurler Trevor Bauer met the founder of Luba Sports during his time at UCLA. In 2020 Rachel successfully negotiated the second highest contract for an arbitration-eligible pitcher in MLB history. At $17.5 million it was a number that trails only David Price’s $19.75 figure from 2015. Paving a Path Part 1: Britt GhiroliPaving a Path Part 2: Melanie NewmanThe former gymnast set out to create her own path in a very male dominated industry and is doing so by taking non-traditional steps to differentiate the experience and set herself apart. With a branding and content strategy pushing the envelope for a connection between clients and fans further on a daily basis, it’s clear to see why she’s among the brightest names in the sport. She took some time to answer a few questions, and there’s a ton to dive into: Twins Daily: Being a former Division 1 gymnast and longtime athlete yourself, it's not surprising that you'd find a career within sports. When did that path become baseball and how did you know being an agent was your calling? Rachel Luba: I was an athlete my entire life, I started gymnastics at the age of two. Unfortunately, gymnastics isn’t a career you can have into adulthood and make money off of, so I knew once I was retired, I needed to find something else to do within sports. I was always drawn towards the individual athlete rather than working for a team, which tends to be the more popular route, but for me being an individual athlete my entire life it was the path I realized that I was passionate about. In college as a student athlete myself, I became good friends with a lot of the UCLA baseball players helping them manage their daily lives and schoolwork. I enjoyed learning about their industry which was very different than anything I had grown up with in the sport of gymnastics. Learning more about it, that’s when I really decided I wanted to work in baseball. TD: With representation I'd imagine the process involves a good deal of networking as well as talent evaluation. What do you feel like drives clients to Luba Sports specifically? RL: It’s a very different type of agency compared to the many others out there. Most agencies offer plenty of services, take a percentage of the contract, and everything is the same across the board. What clients tend to end up feeling is that they aren’t necessarily getting all of those services they were promised prior to the contract. Really the money an agency generates comes from the on-field contract, and once that contract is locked in, that’s all taken care of regardless whether the player leaves the next day. My client Trevor Bauer for example, has additional services that have tied incentives for me as an agent, that then ensure the relationship extends beyond that initial contract. Players create a certain value on the field and then pay a portion of that to an agent when signing a contract. Tying it more into a service provided structure, there’s opportunity to utilize the agency in whatever way best suits the athlete’s needs. As the industry and valuations of play on the field has changed, players see a benefit to pay for the value of services provided by an agent rather than just a set percentage of their negotiated contracts. TD: Trevor Bauer is obviously the most notable player you work with. You both have worked tremendously to create revenue streams and channels of interactivity outside of the game. How important has that diversification been, and where do your creative strategies come from? RL: This is something that we have been tremendously focused on. Trevor’s five-year goal was to be the most internationally recognized name in baseball, which means we needed to start getting his brand out there and expanding his audience. One of the initial hurdles was that Trevor Bauer’s story was often originally told by the media and misrepresented who he was. He has so many different interests and we wanted to find the niche audience where he could express and explore each of those. He needed to start talking more. Without his voice, the media or whoever else, was allowed to create the stories they thought were reflective of him. Trevor is passionate about teaching, and it’s derived from his engineering background. The way in which he uses Twitter, Instagram, and now YouTube as a resource to explore that creativity seemed like the perfect match. Getting his message, values, and personality out there was the goal, and is something we’ve done a great job of thus far. TD: As a female in a male dominated industry have you felt an uphill battle to establish yourself, and is there an additional sense of pride in earning and deserving a seat at the table? RL: It’s been an uphill battle from the very beginning. People told me “that’s cute” and didn’t take seriously that this was what I really wanted to do. Some offered their “advice” in warning me this wasn’t a great path or in an effort to deter me from the decision. A mentor of mine told me that in baseball, when a man walks into a room it’s viewed that he belongs there and knows what he’s doing. When you walk into a room, it will be assumed you’re a secretary, girlfriend, or a wife. You have to prove otherwise. Whether diving in depth into analytics, having a substantial among of arbitration credentials, or something else entirely, I set myself up to be overly qualified in order to prove my worth. I feel like getting Trevor the second highest salary for a starting pitcher in arbitration validates my place, but there will always be people questioning how I got here. The reality is people will always be looking to question my validity. In a specific YouTube video, I found myself unsure of an answer (as did Trevor), and upon checking with the MLBPA, they too told me they’d need to get back after double checking they had the right information. Being a female, my uncertainty was labeled as stupid, wrong, and out of place. Absolutely there’s pride involved. It took me several days to soak it in upon landing my first client and doing my first contract. I reflected a few days later on all of the people up to this point that continue telling me I can’t or it’s not possible. A lot of work went into this and a lot of people doubted you, be proud of yourself. I’m not done though, so while there is pride, it’s just part of the process and we have a long ways to go. TD: Being that baseball is currently shelved, what does that do for the life of an agent. While being involved with the resumption of the sport at least in a secondary sense, is some of the job now playing counselor or therapist and listening to frustrations in a difficult time? RL: It’s been a rollercoaster and you never really know what the days hold for you. Whether calls with the union or discussing implications with players, each day you have a plan and then it can end up being totally different. This isn’t what I expected for my first year of starting an agency, but I’m enjoying all of the curveballs being thrown my way. Being there for your clients, whether daily life situations or the mental aspects of an unprecedented time, was certainly an additional job responsibility no one saw coming. TD: What's next for you? Is the goal to continue creating a larger brand? Expanding into different sports or forms of representation? RL: First and foremost, I want to keep growing my agency and my brand. The latter is a stress I make to players, so it’s something I remain aware of for myself and intend to be an example. I hope to grow in the baseball industry as well as branching into other sports. I want to take Luba Sports and this type of representation to other sports. My vision is that I would have different divisions for each sport all utilizing the same unique financial fee structure. TD: It's not only baseball that's on hold, and with sports paused completely, what have you been doing to keep yourself busy. California obviously lends itself to nice weather, but what are some of your favorite hobbies outside of the game? RL: I’ve been back and forth between California and Arizona. Baseball has kept me busy enough, it has not been slow, and probably has been busier than during the actual season. Lots of work, and a lot of content helping Momentum with some of their things. I’ve done a lot of foundational work for my website and agency as a whole. Working out has always been a huge part of my life and has helped to keep me sane. Follow Rachel and check out her work here. Check back in next week for the final entry in this Women in Baseball series. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

For month we watched a public mudslinging fest take place between MLB owners and the Players Union. While the two sides have always been at odds, it’s leadership that the sport’s commissioner is supposed to provide. Rob Manfred may be a very intelligent man, but you wouldn’t know if looking at the results of his actions. Major League Baseball owners are represented by one man, Manfred. He was chosen having come from a labor negotiations background. With the sport likely coming to an ugly labor dispute following the conclusion of the 2021 season, it was Manfred who would be tasked at following in Selig’s footsteps but not making the same mistakes. Unfortunately, we are now here, a place that has given us an unprecedented set of parameters, and a terribly worse set of mistakes. While money was made out to be the reason players were publicly disparaged by those who own the teams, a reality is that any season in 2020 would be played during a worldwide pandemic. Although the rest of the world has done an exemplary job of flattening their curve and combatting the virus, this one is still seeing new records every day. For baseball to be played in that structure, players wanted their fairly agreed upon pay, but more importantly a safe environment in which to work. After the dust settled on economical issues, we were given resumption. Now six days into the new Summer Camp (which mind you, has a sponsor and branding intended to drive those owner’s immediate revenue), we’ve already got a long list of avoidable mistakes. Manfred and MLB have not come through with the necessary PPE in order to properly protect those within the game. Testing is being done, but results aren’t streamlined to meet deadlines, which has now caused multiple organizations to cease operations during a three-week sprint to get ready. The way these five days have gone is reflective of a very ugly reality. It’s a lack of leadership and follow through that paints the picture as a “set it and forget it” type of scenario. We were given a date for resumption, so everything was just going to fall into place. Major League Baseball is set to unveil the 2020 schedule tonight, but we have no reason to believe we’ll logically make it to that point. Whether now or in the future, whether the league gets its act together or not, Manfred needs to begin asking himself for accountability. He’s banged a drum for years that the game must be changed. Pace of play initiatives and poorly thought out marketing strategies have done little to benefit even the intended bottom line. While routinely chomping on his own feet whether by calling the World Series trophy a piece of metal, or publicly suggesting the league never intended to play anything more than the minimal amount of games, he’s become more court jester than duly appointed judge. Other sports have returned thus far, and while we’re still going up against a relatively unknown enemy, the reason to believe in positivity on those fronts is because leadership has ensured a strong plan of action. Rather than denigrating the product and squabbling over who will make more money, the first course of action was how would this be accomplished, and then everything else was allowed to figure itself out with proper runway to ensure follow through. I certainly hope we have a 2020 Major League Baseball season to watch. The Twins are going to be very good, and the nightly drama of a 60-game sprint should be a blast. If we don’t though, it won’t be on the players opting out or the virus causing them to consider that action. It will be on leadership, specifically that of one man, who fell completely short. For more from Off the Baggy, click here. Follow @tlschwerz

Entering into a weird Major League Baseball season in the middle of a global pandemic is going to give us results we never expected imaginable. Each organization has a 60-man player pool to work with, and for the Twins, three under-the-radar prospects could end up being the unsung heroes.It’s probably fair to assume that guys like Brent Rooker, Alex Kirilloff, and Trevor Larnach will all make their Major League debuts in 2020. Each had already been knocking on the door and 2020 seemed logical prior to the change in circumstances. Given his ceiling and less than consistent 2019, Royce Lewis would likely be an unworthy bet to play for Minnesota this season. Those are all names you know however, it’s the ones you may not have considered that could instead step up. Luis Arraez arrived on the scene last year and not only stole Jonathan Schoop’s job, but also took the spotlight thanks to one at bat against Mets closer Edwin Diaz. His ability to control the strike zone and hit for average never waned, and it’s why he’s one of the best bets to lead the league in hitting this year. What happens if he goes down though? The immediate indication might be that former 1st round pick Nick Gordon would be worthy of promotion. That’s a fair assessment given his resurgence in year two of Triple-A action (a trend he’s continued through the minors), but it’s actually Travis Blankenhorn that could pick up the slack. Recently added to the 40-man roster, Blankenhorn has played all over the place but second base has become somewhat of a home. At Double-A last year Blankenhorn posted a .786 OPS while failing to generate much in the way of on-base percentage. He’s a pretty big strikeout guy, but he’s often done a bit more in the walks department. There’s legit pop in his bat, and while he’s not even close to the same player Arraez is, the former 3rd round pick could find his opportunity to make an impact. At first base Minnesota has plenty of options, including at least two of the aforementioned top prospects. It’s a guy not on the 40-man though that is being brought to Minneapolis worthy of some discussion. Former Vanderbilt star Zander Wiel could play in the majors for a handful of clubs right now. Prospect status isn’t really here given he’s 27, but at Triple-A in 2019 Wiel posted an .834 OPS. There’d need to be some things go right (or wrong depending on how you look at it) for Wiel to rise up the ladder, but his game could help to get the Twins by in a pinch. Last season saw a rise in strikeouts and decline in walk rate, but that hasn’t been a career norm for him to this point. A bopper that is athletic at first base, he doesn’t get the power praise of Rooker and Larnach, but the ability to launch isn’t far off. Rounding out the talkers here is a guy that could routinely find himself routinely on the three-man taxi squad. Minnesota will have three catchers on the active roster, and then long-time veterans Juan Graterol and Tomas Telis are in the mix as well. If they want to play with upside however, it’s 2018 2nd round pick Ryan Jeffers that gets a shot. It’d be a big blow for the Twins to lose Mitch Garver for any portion of time this year, but Jeffers is his heir apparent. Drafted as a bat first guy, he’s worked to become more than capable behind the dish. It was only a 24-game sample size at Double-A in 2019, but the then 22-year-old hit .287/.374/.483. He’s not a .300 hitter, but he’s not a .250 hitter either. Jeffers takes walks and does a good job staying within the zone. Home run power is there, and he’ll reach double digits over the course of any full season. You might be asking him to do a bit much jumping up to the big leagues, but there’s a ton of talent here and it’s why he’s rocketed up the Twins prospect rankings. No matter how the 2020 Major League Baseball season shakes out, I think we’re going to have a fair amount of oddities. The year is already being played under weird circumstances, and how teams handle the hands they’re dealt will be as much the narrative as the actual results on the field. It’s always been a “next man up” type of sport, but that resonates now more than ever. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

Major League Baseball has not even gotten underway in 2020 and yet we’re just two months from the trade deadline. When the season does start, that date will be little more than a month away. After winning the deadline last year, will Minnesota make a deal? Last July I wrote high praise for Derek Falvey and Thad Levine in regards to how the executed the trade deadline. They got the best reliever swapped (although he was a disaster and hurt), picked up Sergio Romo, and provided a small jolt to the farm system. Over the course of their tenure in Twins Territory, Falvey and Levine have proven adept at swinging deals. We have no idea what things will look like on August 31, and right now the greatest hope is that the 2020 season is still being played. When Opening Day does come to fruition Rocco Baldelli should have the services of the previously expected to be shelved Rich Hill. The bullpen is already one of the best in baseball, and a fearsome lineup added Josh Donaldson. The other wrinkle to a later deadline and 60-game season is that Minnesota will receive a boost with 19 to play when Michael Pineda is eligible to be reinstated. Still on the hook to serve 39 games due to a failed drug test from a weight loss supplement, he returns for the final third. How the rotation looks at that point will be uncertain, and it will definitely come after the deadline has passed. If there’s somewhere the Twins can afford to bulk up, it is at the top half of their starters. Jose Berrios, Jake Odorizzi, and Kenta Maeda are all quality arms. None of them match the caliber of a true proven ace however, and in series where three men take continuous turns, they could be behind the eight ball from the jump. You’d probably be fair in assessing that the Twins were destined to add at the 2020 trade deadline under normal circumstances. I think the assumption that good teams can use that as an opportunity to get better is relatively basic. With the parameters in play for 2020 however, things are all a bit more complicated. Does another organization want a lower prospect that isn’t in the player pool and therefore missed out on a year of development? Are you acquiring to fill an immediate hole, or do you have to prioritize an empty place of production due to a player hitting the COVID-related Injured List? I’d wager the Twins could utilize the trade deadline in 2020 as an opportunity to get a jumpstart on free agency. This winter could be a cold one for guys without teams, and while acquiring them may be doable at depressed costs, dealing for long term assets in a window of contention seems like a worthy endeavor. Minnesota is being impacted by a goofy season at the worst time but salvaging a run doesn’t mean being boom or bust. Right now, I think the only given is that there is a trade deadline on the calendar. We have no idea what the roster construction will be at the end of August, or whether the season will still be going at that time. What is safe to say is that Minnesota enters the year with more talent than they’ve had maybe ever, and when acquiring more, it’s really just icing on the cake. For more from Off The Baggy, click here. Follow @tlschwerz

Glad you're liking it. Been a high bar by these two ladies, excited for the last two.

Things change quite a bit in a week and with the Major League Baseball calendar officially restarting as of July 1, we’re trending towards a resumption later this month. Chronicling the stories of women around the league, it feels appropriate we go to someone who will call the action.As a follow up to someone that writes about the game, it only seems natural to check with a woman that tells stories through a different medium. Having made her own trek through the minor leagues before debuting in The Show, Melanie Newman can now (or will as 2020 gets underway) call herself a big leaguer. Paving a Path Part 1: Britt GhiroliThe Georgia native has worked as a broadcaster at both the High-A and Double-A levels. She’s been a sideline reporter for Division 1 college athletics, and both MLB and ESPN have employed her directly. Now the long time Red Sox fan joins the Baltimore Orioles and calls a new team home. I caught up with her recently to talk about the journey: Twins Daily: You've been multi-talented and focused on a plethora of sports since breaking into the media scene. When did it become clear that baseball was your calling and that's where you wanted to focus? Melanie Newman: I always knew I wanted to specialize in baseball but also had learned in college that performing as a multi-sport journalist widened my chances of employment. Bob Rathbun sat down with me to review my work and chat soon after graduating and he affirmed to me I needed to give baseball a bigger piece of my attention. So, while I always stayed vigilant in studying other sports right down to cornhole, I've fought the hardest to have just about any role in baseball. TD: Everyone in baseball understands the ladder progression through a system. In your baseball career you've gone from minor league positions to now working with a big-league club. How has that helped to shape your drive, and what challenges does each new level present? MN: I will always adore my time in the minor leagues because it is so unique and a chance to really understand not just the game but the players. You see the sacrifices and the grind at a new level on those 12-hour bus rides. Broadcasters aren't exempt to those conditions. Sometimes the late hours and no days off catch up to you, but once you find your stride (usually the fifth week every season), things smooth out, you adjust to those 3-hour sleeps. If anything, it's proven to me that I DO want to be here and how much I appreciate this world. I also better understand what it takes for a game to even happen, from the sales staff to the groundskeepers, then multiply that immensely at the Major League level! I could not do an ounce of my job without the village of staff who make it happen, including PR, digital media, producers and editors. TD: Now working with a Major League club, do you feel like you need to re-establish yourself all over again, or is credibility built on your brand? As a female, is there an additional sense of responsibility being representative of opportunity beyond just yourself? MN: Breaking into the Majors feels two-fold: I absolutely am not changing who I am, because who I am is why I was hired. If I tried to be like another big league broadcaster, that just creates a duplicate in the industry and the beauty of every single broadcaster in any sport is while we might have similarities, we are each unique because we found certain aspects of how to do the job that speak to us on a personal level more than others. For example, I felt called to the humanizing niche of story telling, why humans are the way they are and how that shapes them into the athlete they are - what makes them laugh, the people in their life who got them here, etc. The second side is that while I am sure of who I am, that doesn't mean I can't develop and improve. I'm lucky to have a good team of peers and mentors to help me better my craft every day. According to the outside world, you are supposed to have more responsibility as a woman. While I am aware that my actions are more heavily scrutinized, I know how I was raised as a person and how I was trained to be a professional, I expect to behave at the same high caliber as every other respectable broadcaster, regardless of gender. TD: We're starting to see a female presence emerge in coaching and gameday operations for teams. You have been a pioneer on the broadcasting scene in multiple different stops. Do you feel like your success has helped contribute to that, and how can you continue using your platform so we can see talent no matter where it comes from? MN: I really would never take credit for females enterprising in the various roles of any sport. I will say it's so awesome that it's becoming more frequent to run into a female counterpart whether in the offices or at the facilities and getting to further pick their brains on how their particular role is unique and why they've pursued it. Going out every day and doing my job at a high level, that's what speaks and engages others to know that no matter their orientation or background, your dreams don't discriminate. It's also important to go out into the community, to engage with younger kids and just be a friendly person, there's no need to have a wall up around children. TD: Knowing that you have Red Sox fandom in your blood, it has to be different working for an organization in a division you grew up getting to know. How exciting is it to learn the Orioles organization from the inside, and what are you most looking forward to when we get back on the field? MN: I am very appreciative of my time in the Boston organization, especially to have grown up with New England family roots. I have had the pleasure of working for multiple organization's and I'm fortunate that a professor taught us to set aside fandoms in job hunting because the wealth of amazing people I've come to know across the entire country fills my heart. Baltimore's enthusiasm and the immediate synergy was hard to ignore. I felt like family within an hour of meeting the staff and hoped they felt the same (which I would argue now, they did). I just can't wait to step into Orioles Park at Camden Yards, knowing I am a part of this amazing organization and to see the incredible memories we will get to build together. TD: Baltimore has struggled at the big-league level of late, but have some really talented prospects. As someone who's worked on the minor league scene, how excited are you to be able to cover those stories and monitor that progress? MN: The minor leagues will always hold a special place in my heart and there is a deeper appreciation when you've been in the bottom levels to work your way up. I was fortunate to call games against two of Baltimore's affiliates last year so oddly enough when I was hired, it felt like I was more familiar with more of their minor leaguers than their major leaguers. The work Mike Elias and his team have done to select the best talent out there in building the future is absolutely exciting, the way they are training and honing each player's talents is a multi-level process that is developing both the athlete and the human being. TD: Let's end it with a surviving quarantine question. We all want baseball back and living through this sports-less time for the country has certainly been suboptimal. What have you been doing to keep busy? On off days, how do you give yourself a reset? MN: My days are pretty consistent between Spanish lessons, reading baseball articles and listening to other broadcasts/broadcasters, going for runs and spending family time. It's not flashy or exciting but the consistency of routine has been key! Follow Melanie and check out her work here. Check back in next week for entry number three in this four-part series. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

With baseball back on the horizon and an Opening Day set for the end of July, Rocco Baldelli’s Minnesota Twins will return with high expectations. Coming off a 101-win campaign a year ago, and entering a season with lots of unknowns, who fills out the 30-man roster?Thanks to COVID-19 we aren’t certain what the 2020 Major League Baseball season is going to look like. We know who Minnesota will play, and we know the constructs of what the league hopes to take place. In order to combat some of the havoc the virus could wreak, new roster stipulations have been put in place. A 26-man roster was adopted to start this season, but now it will be a 30-man situation from the get-go before later dropping to 28 and eventually 26. Matthew Trueblood recently did a great job breaking down who the Twins could assign to their 60-man active player pool, and it is from there that these 30 names will all come. Let’s take a stab at who they’ll be: Catchers (3): Mitch Garver, Alex Avila, Willians Astudillo There’s no change here from what should have been expected back in March. Astudillo was probably one of the most likely to be right on the fringe, but his positional flexibility could have got him a spot. Garver will handle the lion’s share of catching duties while the veteran Avila can give him a day off when need be. Infield (5): Miguel Sano, Luis Arraez, Jorge Polanco, Josh Donaldson, Ehire Adrianza Moving over to first base for the upcoming year, Miguel Sano has a new home. Of course, he’s doing that to accommodate the newly acquired star Josh Donaldson. Polanco will be back at short and Luis Arraez owned into the starting second base role. Expect Adrianza to play utility man all over the dirt. Outfield (5): Eddie Rosario, Byron Buxton, Max Kepler, Jake Cave, Marwin Gonzalez Minnesota’s outfield may be the best in baseball when healthy. Buxton is arguably the gold standard in center, and Kepler shined defensively in 2019. Rosario will be back in left after not being moved over the winter. Jake Cave was going to be up against a roster crunch to start the year, but the additional spots get him in. Marwin Gonzalez can once again be a productive utility man but has always been best served in an outfield corner. Designated Hitter (1): Nelson Cruz That’s it, he’s the guy. When Cruz is your DH, there’s not much reason to tinker with it. 41 homers a year ago, time to rest the wrist injury, and a shorter workload this season could see him put up a very nice encore performance. Rotation (5): Jose Berrios, Jake Odorizzi, Kenta Maeda, Rich Hill, Homer Bailey This group looks a bit different than it would have back in March, but only for the better. Berrios is working towards becoming a true ace, and the short season actually benefits him. Odorizzi flashed well last year and would have been in consideration for a Cy Young based on his first 12 starts of 2019. Maeda is the newcomer after being acquired for Brusdar Graterol, and he’s an exceptional frontline arm. Getting a healthy Rich Hill to start the season is a big boost for the Twins, and despite his injury history, he’s made at least 12 starts every year since 2015. Bailey is probably the wildcard here, but the Twins clearly saw something they could work with after he went to Oakland. Bullpen (11): Taylor Rogers, Trevor May, Sergio Romo, Tyler Duffey, Zack Littell, Tyler Clippard, Matt Wisler, Cody Stashak, Randy Dobnak, Devin Smeltzer, Lewis Thorpe Crazy how much can change in a year. After entering 2019 with uncertainty, this group may now be the best in baseball and there’s little unknown regarding who will comprise it. Rogers has emerged as the established closer with May and Romo providing setup work. Clippard is a proven vet and nice addition, while Littell emerged as a difference maker last year. Wisler doesn’t have good numbers but it’s clear Minnesota wants to see his slider work, and Stashak gets an inclusion after his ridiculous K/BB rate a year ago. The addition of spots on the roster helps guys like Dobnak, Smeltzer, and Thorpe who were all competing for rotation jobs this spring. They can work in long relief or spot start duty. It’s interesting that not a whole lot has changed from a roster projection I did back in February. I think that’s a testament to the talent Minnesota employs, and the additional spots really just sorted out some fringe players getting inclusion. We’ll see how things change over the course of the year with the hope that a clean bill of health stays consistent for all. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

Thanks! I have some really great people lined up!

I would like to see some capacity of fans as well, but it sounds like that's off the table for now. It would be nice for MiLB guys to have development of some sorts, but it sounds like the additional players in the 60-man player pool will need to be within 100 miles of Target Field.

It does, for distancing, but nope.

Today was finally the day. June 23, 2020 was the day when the Major League Baseball Players Association and Major League Baseball got on the same page. The announcement was simple, play ball. Now that we have that out of the way, what does it all look like? We're going to have a 60 game schedule, and that means that each team will play 40 games against their traditional division with another 20 coming against the geographic counterpart from the other league. Minnesota gets the NL Central which included just one team breaking the 90-win plateau in 2019, and two finishing below .500. There's going to be a significant amount of rule changes or modifications. The regular season will run from July 24 through September 26. Below you can find a bulleted list with a link to each report: Universal DH Runner will begin on 2B to start the 10th inning. Runner will be final out from the inning prior. Taxi squads can consist of up to three players, but one must be a catcher. COVID-19 specific injured list Transaction freeze ends Friday 6/26 at 12pm ET Teams will utilize players from a 60 man pool submitted by Sunday 6/28 at 3pm ET August 31 trade deadline Players not on 30 man roster (which will be trimmed to 28 and 26) will be at an alternate site Taxi squad players will not accrue service time or be paid MLB wages Postseason eligibility requires being in an organization by September 15 Arguing within six feet could result in suspension We already know there will be no fans. We already know that this entire thing could go up in flames if safety protocols don't end up keeping the virus in a manageable state. What we also know for the first time since March is that there will be baseball. Despite months of horrible public disparagement from both sides, it's once again the game that will attempt to unite us. https://twitter.com/MLBPA_News/status/1275589804990836736 This is a season the Minnesota Twins were looking forward to. Names like Josh Donaldson and Kenta Maeda have made their way onto a roster coming off 101 wins a season ago. Sure this is a difficult calendar to compare statistically across previous years, but every single organization is in the same boat now. The goal is still to win a World Series, no matter how different the journey to get there may be. There's certainly less nuance in a 60-game sprint than there is in a 162-game marathon, but the importance of every outing just got ratcheted through the roof. If you want the feel of a one-game Wild Card for the next three months you've got it. Buckle up because this is going to be something like we've never seen before. We've got a week until teams begin Spring Training 2.0 in their home ballparks, but it's official, Play Ball! For more from Off The Baggy, click here. Follow @tlschwerz

While we’ve waited on baseball to return, an enhanced focus has been placed on many important cultural causes and discussions. Although the negatives for baseball have taken place at the bargaining table, it’s within the game itself that this topic derives.Women remain underrepresented across the sport, but there’s more than a few that have made their mark on the game, and it’s through their abilities we can see a necessary need for greater inclusion. Wanting to gain perspective from individuals in multiple different roles, I sought out to tell stories from the clubhouse, broadcast booth, and the farm. Talent doesn’t recognize gender, status, ideology, or any other form of societal discrimination. When it comes to Major League Baseball, plenty of females have created synonymous personalities with what we’ve come to expect from an overall experience. Sony made Heidi Watney its go-to presence on MLB The Show. Alexa Datt and Kelly Nash are staples at MLB Network. For Twins fans it’s the duo of Audra Martin and Marney Gellner that are routinely invited into our living rooms. The talent is rich, and it runs deep. Highlighting that and kicking off this four-part series is none other than The Athletic’s Britt Ghiroli. An impressive resume and immediate tie to Baltimore precede her, but coming off a World Series year of coverage the Nationals writer has plenty of stories to tell. Twins Daily: Was it always baseball for you? Graduating from Michigan State, did you know right away that this was the sport you wanted to cover? What role did the game of baseball have in your life prior to your career? Britt Ghiroli: I get asked a lot if baseball is my favorite sport and – to be honest – it wasn’t at the time. I would stay up late at night watching hockey or football with my dad, and European soccer on the weekend mornings. But I fell in love with the stories and the nature of covering baseball, there’s so many nuances and so much access compared to football or basketball, that I’ve never regretted that decision. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always been a baseball fan and I’m from a big baseball/softball family and we all did the travel teams – my sister played at the University of Pittsburgh – but this job enhanced my appreciation of it. It was sheer luck that the internship I got was with MLB.com and I’m eternally grateful they picked me. I was an athlete my entire life, all the way up through college where I was a swimmer at Michigan State. Once I got there I realized two things: 1) I wasn’t nearly as good of a swimmer as I thought and 2) I better have a plan for my life because women’s swimming isn’t a sport with a future to pay your bills. Michigan State has an excellent journalism program and that’s what I always wanted to do – write. I used to write little stories growing up and have always been a pretty big reader and fan of long-form writers like Gary Smith. Plus, I’m abysmal at math. While swimming, I juggled a few internships which got increasingly harder with classes, but the experience was critical. At first, I thought TV was the way I wanted to go and I did work as a PA (production assistant) for Fox Sports Network in Detroit, which started as an internship and continued as a freelance gig. I also helped out the Big Ten Network when they’d come to town for a big game. I kept writing when I could and worked part time at the Lansing State Journal. It was a lot of grunt work, taking phone calls and filling in tiny box scores about high school games for that day’s paper, but I was also afforded the opportunity to pitch the occasional feature. That, and several other internships helped lead to MLB.com. Obviously, the MLB.com internship was the one that led me to covering baseball full-time and never leave :-) TD: Spending a decade with MLB.com you got to show off your abilities covering multiple beats. Establishing yourself with the Orioles, you quickly became one of the household names when it comes to bylines. What about covering daily action do you do to differentiate yourself? BG: Got on Twitter! Seriously, it was just starting when I got on the beat and I quickly embraced it. I still remember the other beat guys making fun of me for it but it really helped me build up a big network. A lot of those fans, of course, are Orioles fan who now really don’t like that I went to the Nationals... TD: As a female you represent a group that's not nearly proportionate in terms of voices within the industry. Is that a driving force to you? Is there something about the way you do your job that you feel like an additional impact can be made? BG: I don’t think it’s ever been a driving force. I wasn’t raised in a household where sports were for boys- my dad had four daughters and we were all tomboys. My mom is also a big sports fan. I never thought, “I should be a sports writer and try to bring a female voice in!” I just thought it was the coolest job in the world. Most days, I still do. I will say, there are a lot more females now than when I got into this in 2008. I understand it’s what sets me apart a lot, but I spent years trying to shake the stereotype that I was someone’s token female hire, you know? It’s always irked me when I had a close relationship to a guy or got a scoop that some people will always equate it with my gender. I’ve sort of just realized that no matter what I do, good or bad, I’m going to stand out. I always tell young female reporters that any advantage you have it cancelled out. Some people are going to be nicer to you and want to talk to you because you’re female. And some guys aren’t going to be nice or want to talk to you for that very same reason. A lot of the bull**** I thought that came with being a female - what you wear, for example - I thought would go away in my 30s. It hasn’t, but I do care a lot less what someone thinks. If it’s 100 degrees and humid, I’m wearing a tank top and it’s not to flaunt myself or hit on a guy. It’s because it’s 100 degrees and humid. As for additional impact, I look to women like Alyson Footer and Susan Slusser, who have made space for ME. I’d love to get to a point where I do an entire interview and my gender never comes up. TD: While being a beat reporter is essentially a version of storytelling, what about your creative process has made such compelling pieces each time you hit the keyboard? BG: That’s nice of you to say! I’ve been fortunate to have some really great mentors. The best part about being at The Athletic, and I’ll get into that more later, is the freedom you get to really go beyond the nuts and bolts of a baseball story. I was told once your lede should be the first thing you go home and tell your mom, or husband or friend about the person. What is it about that player or moment or game that everyone needs to know? Now, how can you make them care about it? That’s what I try to do. Fans now already know so much. They know the score and the stats. They may have even watched the post-game interviews. To be different, you have to add color and humanize things. You have to go beyond the “how did you feel out there?” questions, and that’s what I try to do. TD: Moving from worst to first in a sense, what was the experience (and rollercoaster) of covering the 2019 Washington Nationals like first hand? It's not your first World Series, but it might have been the most improbable. BG: It was pretty crazy. I remember a lot of people early on sort of joking, “You should have stayed in Baltimore!” because of the Nats early record. The 2008 Rays, which I wrote about recently may have been a little more of an underdog story (though they lost the World Series) but the turnaround in D.C. was truly made-for-the-movies stuff. I remember laughing the day they got Parra, we were in Milwaukee and I joked to my editor to print the World Series tickets. But, truly, you could have. He was such a positive infusion for that team. People love to say clubhouse chemistry is overrated because they can’t see it or come up with a metric for it. But that team needed Parra. They were always talented. They just needed to start to believe they could turn it around. I’m not sure it hit me, like really hit me, until they started to come back in Game 7 in Houston. Up to that point, you kept thinking they were on the ropes and eventually going to lose. But that game, I remember being like, ‘My god, they are gong to rally.” It was unbelievable. TD: Being at The Athletic now, what makes the newest outlet in the game arguably one of the best. It was a meteoric rise for the company, and it's more than just the top tier talent they've brought in. BG: They let you be an adult. People will often ask me about switching teams and, for me, it was never about the Orioles versus the Nationals. It was the chance to get out of my box. I’ve written about powerlifting, grief, memories on the beat, sexism, being yelled at, retirement and mental health. I’ve done Ravens stories and Bruins stories. I’ve never once had someone tell me, “No, you cover the Nationals.” They encourage you to think about different story ideas (especially now!) and they aren’t afraid to take big swings. The Athletic could go under tomorrow and I still wouldn’t regret taking the job. It was scary to leave MLB, it’s a great job and I still have a lot of friends there, but I needed to sort of be pushed out of the nest. To be pushed out of my comfort zone. And that’s exactly what The Athletic has done. TD: We're all worse off being without baseball right now, and the hope is we'll have something resembling a season soon. What have you been doing to keep yourself busy? BG: I am currently trying to plan Take 2 of my wedding. (Our original day was in May and cancelled). So, that’s been interesting to plan from another state. I wake up every morning and read all about two things: baseball updates and the COVID cases in Colorado. (We live in Maryland.) My fiance and I met at the gym so we are very active people. He was a kicker in football and has taken that back up. He’ll knock them out from 50 yards and I’m just trying to make an easy extra point attempt. Work-wise, I’m still writing, it just looks a little different. I recently started a series about each year I’ve been on the beat which has been a lot of fun to do look back and reminisce. It’s easy to fall into the negative trap right now with baseball, so that’s been a nice reminder that this sport is pretty great and matters to a lot of people. Follow Britt and check out her work here. Check back in next week for entry number two in this four-part series. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

Despite a global health crisis, it isn’t a pandemic that has ultimately thwarted the resumption of Major League Baseball in 2020, no instead it’s those directly involved with the game. Regardless of fault, fans are on a roller coaster ride they never signed up for, and it’s hurt the sport substantially. Today the Major League Baseball Players Association will vote on whether they’ll accept or reject Major League Baseball’s proposal for resumption of play. 38 voting members will give a yay or nay with a majority vote needed to cement a decision one way or another. The expectation is that the proposal will be rejected on the grounds of not wanting to lose an opportunity to grieve the circumstances in court. What we really have is posturing, and it’s what we’ve had during so much of this process, and what baseball labor negotiations have become synonymous with. Owners and players don’t trust each other at all, and it’s why every renewal of the CBA ends up coming with a significant possibility of lockout. It wasn’t until recently that Rob Manfred and Tony Clark got in a room together to has things out. Both sides came out of that meeting with different understandings of what took place, and it only furthered a battle that has played out with public barbs being fired back and forth. Regardless of the structure imposed by the current deal, it would seem to be a non-starter for players in that acceptance represents failure of sorts. I’ve long operated with the belief that there will undoubtedly be baseball in 2020 (barring a shift in circumstances regarding the virus), but that I have no idea what it would look like. The initial suggestion of a full season seemed laughable, but so too does the suggestion of an implemented 48-game playthrough. We’re obviously much closer to the latter than former at this point, and it’s because of all the feet dragging that we’re here. Siding with the players should be an easy choice in this whole battle, but the reality is that both parties have dug in so harshly what we as fans are left with is a bastardized version of what could’ve been. Finances tied directly to games played left us with one side looking to cut down the calendar, and the other trying to recoup as much of their income as possible. It isn’t a matter of what we want to play at this point, but instead what the calendar will allow for. So again today, when there’s a vote on whether the season should start under a certain set of conditions, we’ll likely be left waiting. One side’s disagreement will shoot down the opportunity for an official announcement, and like the many weeks and days of vast importance before it, the day will again be wasted. Tomorrow and going forward Rob Manfred, who has failed miserably in providing any direction or leadership while instead allowing his sport to burn, will need to decide whether or not he’ll implement a season. The players agreed to that possibility back in March, and it’s a scenario that makes all too much sense not to fulfill. Then again, we’ve crossed plenty of these bridges already throughout this process and they all still remain smoldering. I still believe we’ll have baseball in 2020, but the waiting has turned away many future fans forever, and it’s cost the current one’s significant amount of trust for ultimately no necessary reason. For more from Off The Baggy, click here. Follow @tlschwerz

This year has been anything but normal. As a global pandemic throws wrenches into plans all across the world, baseball and sports as a whole have needed to improvise. With the MLB Draft cut short, undrafted free agency came into the spotlight. I caught up with John Stankiewicz to see what that looked like.Traditionally spanning 40 rounds, Major League Baseball trimmed the amateur draft all the way down to five rounds. Some teams made four or less selections, and every undrafted player was then subject to new undrafted free agent rules. Players were stuck between some tough decision making processes. Limited to bonus allotments maxing out at $20,000 the financial draw wasn’t what it would be in a traditional year. There’s also the uncertainty as to whether a college program would be stretched in terms of roster capacity with hundreds of players in limbo. Minnesota didn’t go gangbusters on the open market, but they did target a select few talents. Fordham pitcher John Stankiewicz was among the first undrafted free agents they signed, and I checked in with him to see what the process was like. Twins Daily: Let's start with the craziness. What was it like going through the draft process in a year where the event was cut substantially short and you had a season put on hold? John Stankiewicz: It was definitely a bummer that the season was put on hold. I thought we had a pretty good team in 2020 and could have made another championship run. The draft process was a crazy process especially this year. It was a first for everyone so it seemed everyone was somewhat in the same situation. TD: You leave Fordham after your junior year. What was the decision making process like making the leap to pro ball now? You're doing it on your own terms as an undrafted guy, but traditionally we'd have seen you go shortly after this five round draft concluded. JS: I have always wanted to play professional baseball so the decision was pretty easy. What made it even easier was the possibility of something like Covid happening again. I wanted to take this opportunity and keep developing and getting better each day. TD: What about the Twins stood out to you. This whole undrafted free agent process is new. There's a capped bonus allotment, but you also have the choice to go wherever you please. What was the pitch like? JS: The guys from their player development side pitched some great ideas, especially on how they are advancing along with the game. They use some great new technology to put each player into the best position to become better. TD: Without necessarily getting into specifics, how much did financials and the economic decision you had to make weigh on you. In a normal year there's bonus allotments through the first ten rounds of a draft. Being capped at a certain amount, did getting whatever you felt like was the most compensation for your ability weigh heavily? JS: Financials played somewhat of a role but at the end of the day the goal is to play professional baseball and this year is just a little speed bump in the road. TD: You leave college with a pretty dazzling track record. Working mainly as a reliever in your freshman year, you broke out big time as a sophomore. The 1.47 ERA across 92 innings is no joke, but then the 102/20 K/BB with a .190 BAA is nothing short of exceptional. When did it start to become real that the next level was a possibility? What is your process or style on the mound like? JS: After my 2019 season it became a little more clear that playing at the next level could be in sight. On the mound I just think, let me get ahead of the hitter and put myself into a spot where I can put him away. Obviously that doesn’t happen every time so you just have to focus on the next pitch. TD: Take the floor on this last one. What do you want Twins fans to know about John Stankiewicz, and why should they be excited about the first undrafted target Derek Falvey and Thad Levine set their sights on this year. JS: I’m excited to be a Minnesota Twin and pumped to get going. It’s not about how you start it's about how you finish. I’ll be working hard each and everyday in order to become the best pitcher I can be. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

We’ll we’ve arrived. Back in May I wrote about the designated hitter being universally adopted by Major League Baseball for 2020. It now appears that will be the case going forward as well, and the Twins immediately vault to the top of the class.This was supposed to be Nelson Cruz’s age-39 season, but before any games are played, he’ll be for. A man, over the hill, or any other way you’d like to dice it he is not. Maybe it’s a credit to his elite napping skills, or maybe it’s because he was a late-blooming prospect. Whatever “it” is though, Cruz has absolutely still got it. Minnesota’s designated hitter played zero games in the field during 2019 and has played five or less in each season dating back to 2016. When he shows up to the ballpark there is one focus, to hit. Last season Cruz did plenty of that. He posted a career best 1.031 OPS while blasting 41 dingers. His .311 average was a high-water mark since 2010 and the .392 OBP was easily a career high. Counting stats are certainly gaudy for the Dominican native, but it’s the inputs that truly jump off the board. Cruz was 1st in baseball when it comes to barrels per plate appearance at 12.5%. He was third in average exit velocity (93.7 mph) behind on Aaron Judge and teammate Miguel Sano. He also ranked third in hard hit rate, trailing the same duo, and his average dinger came in at a whopping 411 ft. It wasn’t as though Cruz made any drastic changes in 2019 either. His swing profile remained virtually unchanged from career norms. No out of whack BABIP or walk rate were in play either. What the Twins have is a professional hitter with a single goal of destroying the baseball. Pretty nice asset for a position entitled “designated hitter.” So, if the Twins have the best one in the league, and everyone else is chasing them, it’s certainly going to be suboptimal when Nelson hangs them up in a year or two right? Well, maybe not. Enter Miguel Sano and the rest of Minnesota’s pipeline. Patrick Wozniak wrote a really great piece regarding the Twins draft strategy in recent years. Under Derek Falvey and Thad Levine, the focus has appeared to be on projectable bats. The system now has boppers like Brent Rooker and Aaron Sabato, while a bit more versatile options such as Alex Kirilloff, Trevor Larnach, and Matt Wallner all exist. The goal is never for a draftee or prospect to be psotionless. Value is derived from opportunity, and it’s largely why the Twins have strayed from locking Sano into a sole DH role at this point. However, if you look at it as a starter turned reliever, it’s hardly a bad fall back option. Knowing that one spot in the lineup, as has been the case in the American League for quite some time, is going to be taken solely by a bat allows the Twins flexibility. Not often do players age as well as Nelson Cruz has. Former Twins first basemen David Ortiz is probably the most glaring example, and he retired while still producing at an elite level. Time remains undefeated and eventually Cruz will turn the page, but it’s more than evident he’s at the top now and Minnesota could be for the considerable future. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

Agreed on the former two, not sure on the latter. Ryan has gotten better since going to Houston, and could have here had the coaching staff been able to convey what the analytics department was trying to do. Celestino has turned into a nice piece, but they could've gotten more for Pressly had they unlocked that next level first.

I think Jaylin can be a fine bat, not sure he's a big league regular. I'd still probably have both outside the top 15 given their volatility. Lewin had a great 2019 but had bottomed out before that.