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The lineup should remain virtually unchanged going into 2021. Eddie Rosario is a prime non-tender candidate given his production and assume cost. Also noting that both Brent Rooker and Alex Kirilloff appear major league ready, there’s an immediate replacement to be had. If Nelson Cruz is retained, and hopefully only on a reasonable contract, then much of the punch should be back. Where Derek Falvey has work to do is on the pitching front. Minnesota was actually very good on the bump each of the past two seasons, but there’s an exodus of sorts that is taking place this winter. Only three of the rotation spots are accounted for, and finding more pitching is the goal of every organization. For a guy familiar with the former Cleveland Indians pitcher, a reunion between Derek and Trevor Bauer makes a lot of sense. Here’s the deal though, it’s highly unlikely and that’s because every team in baseball could use Trevor Bauer. He knows that, and every front office around the league knows that. Whether a multi-year deal is struck, or he sticks to his guns as a hired assassin on one-year pacts, the payday is going to come. Expected to be named the National League Cy Young winner, Bauer posted a ridiculous 1.73 ERA across 73.0 innings in 2020. He owned a 12.3 K/9 with just a 2.1 BB/9 en route to a 276 ERA+. Arguably no one in the game knows their body better than Bauer knows his, and he’s continued to push the boundaries of what can be expected from him. Turning 30 in January, there’s also expected to be plenty of mileage left on his arm. He wants to extract the most from himself in terms of performance and was able to convince the Reds to allow him an opportunity to pitch on just four days rest. Sustaining that throughout a full season would be a throwback of sorts, but he has it down to a science in order to make it work. Those additional trips to the mound would seemingly provide more value to any suitor, especially if only carrying the risk for a single season at a time. Circling back to what Minnesota has in front of them, they’re coming off inking the largest free agent contract in history. However, prorated pay in a Covid shortened sprint had the total expense checking in just north of $55 million, or 18th in baseball (and two spots shy of league average). Despite the losses in fan generated revenues this season, the reality is no franchises find themselves in a place of struggle, and especially not a Twins team right in the heart of their competitive window. It makes sense for the front office to spend a bit on the bullpen, hand out a nice chunk of change to Nelson Cruz, and maybe find a utility man that requires a little bit more of a monetary commitment. In all of that though, there’s not really an avenue to a significant expense. Minnesota will be up against plenty of competition for Bauer’s services, but handing him a blank check would be ego stroking and potentially enough to get it done. This should be great theater to watch unfold, and Twins Daily Women in Baseball participant Rachel Luba is going to have a field day representing her high-profile client. Where the Twins can allow themselves to enter the ring is in saying the top of the staff is yours, write the amount that will get it done. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email

Today Twins vs Tigers 7:10 pm CDT Betting Line: MIN -150 O/U 8.5 Twins Starter: Jose Berrios (5-3) RHP 3.72 ERA Jose Berrios will take his final turn of the season for the Twins tonight. After a rough start to the year he’s been on cruise control of late. His last six outings have resulted in a 2.14 ERA with a 37/11 K/BB. Opponents have just a .547 OPS against him during that stretch and five of those outings have come against teams vying for Postseason spots. Interestingly, this will be Berrios’ fifth start against an NL Central team in 2020. He’s 4-0 with a 1.57 ERA and 27/7 K/BB in those contests. This serves as a tune up for game two of the Wild Card round and making sure he can keep things rolling against a playoff bound Reds team would be nice to see. Reds Starter: Tyler Mahle (2-2) RHP 3.57 ERA Cincinnati’s 25-year-old Mahle is having a breakout season. His 3.57 ERA is a career best, and it’s substantiated by a 3.96 FIP. He’s got an 11.1 K/9, reaching double digits for the first time in his career, and his 1.103 WHIP is well below the career norm. Although he hasn’t been overly dominant at any point this year, Mahle has been extremely consistent. He’s never allowed more than three runs in an outing, and he’s completed at least six innings in four of his eight starts. Shutting down the White Sox in his last time out, Mahle saw the Reds win for the first time when he was on the mound against an AL Central opponent. Twins Lineup https://twitter.com/tlschwerz/status/1309576127007068160?s=21 Reds Lineup https://twitter.com/reds/status/1309555208826093568?s=21 Division Recaptured Minnesota comes into tonight leading the AL Central Division by a full game. The Cleveland Indians swept the Chicago White Sox, coming from behind in the final three games, to give the Twins new life. Not holding a tiebreaker over Chicago, Rocco Baldelli’s club will need a win in hand to repeat. Postseason in Flux Minnesota could finish as high as the two seed and as low as the four seed. They’re looking at opponents such as the Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, Houston Astros, and Chicago White Sox. Postseason Staff Taking Final Turn Kenta Maeda threw the last game against Detroit for Minnesota, lining him up to open the Wild Card round. Rocco Baldelli confirmed that was the intention, and Jose Berrios will be penciled in for game two with Michael Pineda slotting behind him after his final outing tomorrow night. Around the AL Central Cleveland 5, Chicago 4 Kansas City 8, Detroit 7 MIN 35-22 +57 run differential CWS 34-23 1.0 GB +68 CLE 33-24 2.0 GB +44 KC 24-33 11.0 GB -26 DET 22-33 12.0 GB -67

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 Ghiroli Paving a Path Part 2: Melanie Newman The 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

The Reds are in a precarious position after a disappointing 2014 season that saw them finish 76-86, their worst season since 2008. Injuries could be pointed to as a reason for their ineffectiveness and failure to live up to expectations, but that is an excuse used for many teams across baseball each and every season. Whatever the reason, if the Reds are hoping to turn the tide and return to contention for the 2015 season, they will need players like Bruce to lead the turnaround. The fact that he is potentially being shopped makes little sense on the surface. In his career, Bruce has hit .251 with a .790 OPS, 182 home runs and 551 RBI. His best season was 2013 when he hit .262 with 30 HR and 109 RBI. Acquiring Bruce will not be easy and it will not come cheaply. However, looking more deeply at the situation in Cincinnati, one might be able to understand the spot the Reds are potentially facing and be able to comprehend the rationale of trading one of their most dynamic offensive weapons who is entering the prime of his career. According to Sports Illustrated, the Reds are facing an unsettled situation after next season in regard to bringing back the majority of their 2014 starting rotation. Last season, the Reds signed Homer Bailey to a long-term contract. Outside of Bailey, the other four pitchers in the starting rotation—Johnny Cueto, Alfredo Simon, Mat Latos and Mike Leake—aren't signed past next season, nor is closer Aroldis Chapman. For a team hoping to remain in contention within a division that boasts the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Milwaukee Brewers, and the rapidly improving Chicago Cubs, having a solidified starting rotation and quality depth at the position is something of a necessity. The Reds boasted one of the best starting staffs in all of baseball last season and though their 3.60 team ERA ranked in the middle of the NL, Reds pitchers held opposing batters to a league-best .239 average. Those numbers were largely credited to the starting rotation, whose collective 3.37 ERA ranked third in the NL. Needless to say, the reason the Reds were competitive had a lot to do with their quality starting pitching. If they wish to remain competitive, it will be via starting pitching and an offense centered around Joey Votto. The window for playoff contention may be closing if the team fails to keep this staff intact, so trading a player like Bruce may be a way to free up payroll and also improve the team in other areas of weakness. This is where the Twins come in. No, I have not started putting down the eggnog quite yet and yes, I am of stable mind when I stand behind this thought: The Twins should, can, and need to cash in on some of their young talent in order to acquire an established player this offseason. If there is one thing we know, it is that the Twins’ biggest area of weakness is their starting pitching and, to some extent, portions of their bullpen. So why would the Twins want to invest in an area that is in less dire straits than their starting pitching? Because they have enough assets to do so and a move like this would significantly improve a lineup, and an outfield, that drastically needs it. Not to mention, a blockbuster trade like this would create a necessary buzz around the team that would hopefully keep dangling fans interested and buying tickets. In addition, the Twins have a general manager who is willing to take a risk when it comes to adding talent. The main questions that Ryan and his staff must ask themselves, and what many fans reading this article are probably wondering is: What would it take to bring in Bruce and is he worth the price? Reports out of Cincinnati indicate that the team is looking to add a left fielder and pitching depth to their rotation and bullpen. If they were to trade Bruce, they’d also have a vacancy in right field as, so that must also be factored into any potential equation. If I were in Ryan’s seat, I would begin the discussion by offering a package of Phil Hughes, Aaron Hicks, and someone from the duo of Ricky Nolasco and Tommy Milone. I know many fans may scoff at trading Hughes after his brilliant 2014 campaign, but his track record does not offer a lot of stability and if the Twins are serious about acquiring a talent like Bruce, it will likely cost them one of their best arms. In Hughes’ case, why not sell high on a pitcher with an unpredictable future? He seems like exactly the type of pitcher the Reds would be looking to add to their already solid rotation and he would come with two years remaining on his deal and a payroll-friendly contract. Hicks has enough potential that the Reds may view him as a reclamation project and could plug him into an outfield spot with many years of control left at a cheap price. The inclusion of Nolasco would be a bit more difficult due to his poor 2014 season and the approximately $36 million left on his deal. But, like Hicks, the Reds could view Nolasco as a reclamation project with a solid track record in the National League who could be had at a reasonable price. Another potential deal I believe the Reds might strongly consider would revolve around Brian Dozier. I’d be willing to part with Dozier, Hughes, and Hicks straight up for Bruce because he has the talent to transform a lineup and is signed through 2016 with a team option for 2017 to a payroll-friendly deal. There is no guarantee that Dozier will continue to perform at the level he had this past season and his value may be at its height. Also, he is due a hefty pay raise in the coming years and with suitable replacements potentially coming up through the minors (Jorge Polanco, Eddie Rosario), the Twins could use this as a perfect opportunity to flip Dozier for maximum value. A package of Dozier, Hughes, and Hicks could even fetch a lower level minor leaguer or two in the deal, but Bruce would be the centerpiece for any such deal. In addition, the Reds have been rumored to be shopping Brandon Phillips over the past few seasons and could be looking for his long-term replacement in the near future, which would make Dozier the ideal fit in this deal. So why do I believe this would be a great deal for the Twins and their future? For one, in either deal that I have presented, the Twins would not be sacrificing any of their prized prospects such as Alex Meyer, Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton, J.O Berrios, Kennys Vargas, etc. Whether or not the Reds would be willing to trade Bruce without the inclusion of at least one of those prospects remains to be seen, but there is no guarantee that any of these players will ever live up to the hype that has been bestowed upon them throughout their minor league careers. With that in mind, why not trade for a proven commodity who is entering the prime of his career? If these stud prospects are kept, Bruce would be a cornerstone in place when the majority of these players make it to the majors. This may be one of the only times that the Twins have enough assets to get a player of his caliber without sacrificing numerous talented prospects. With Bruce in the fold, the Twins could trot out a lineup that looks like this as early as next season: 1. Danny Santana SS 2. Joe Mauer 1B 3. Kennys Vargas DH 4. Jay Bruce RF 5. Miguel Sano 3B 6. Oswaldo Arcia LF 7. Trevor Plouffe/Eduardo Escobar/Nunez 2B 8. Kurt Suzuki C 9. Eddie Rosario/Jordan Shafer CF And still have a pitching rotation of (in no particular order): 1. Kyle Gibson 2. Trevor May 3. Alex Meyer 4. Nolasco/Millone/Pelfrey 5. Free Agent starter (Justin Masterson, Brett Anderson, etc.) Under this scenario, the Twins still will be waiting on Buxton, Berrios, etc. to be making their way to the majors. Much like the Twins of the early 2000s, the time has come where if the Twins are unwilling to spend money via free agency to bring in top-flight pitchers and if they are confident in the prospects that they have coming up, they should bring up the young pitchers (with a few veterans thrown in) and grow with them as they learn to pitch at the big league level. The Twins will then have the best evaluation information as to what they truly have with these kids and it will allow the front office to take the next step into turning this franchise around as the youngsters gain experience and learn from their mistakes. Maybe the prospects crash and burn when they get to the majors and the team is back to losing 100 games again every season. At this point, who really knows for sure? At the same time, if the Twins were to begin losing 100 plus games every year because of the youth movement, they’d at least be doing it with players who are young and hopefully improving instead of cheap veterans who are on the last legs of their career. Trading for Bruce would not solve the Twins problems overnight. If anything, it would likely make the situation worse in the short-term. However, if the Twins are ever again to become a serious contender in this league it will rest on the arms of their young starting pitching that is developing in the minors and the bats of a productive lineup that can provide the starters with run support. Bruce improves the potential of any future Twins lineup immensely upon arrival and gives new coach Paul Molitor a masher who can anchor the lineup while the youngsters develop and provide stability at a position of great current concern. All that is needed now is for management to be willing to step outside their comfort zone and take a risk by making a blockbuster deal. Until then, we sit and wait as the Hot Stove adds one more coal to the fire.