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It feels like it may be time to shake things up with this Minnesota Twins roster. One way to accomplish that would be by making a challenge trade, swapping big league pieces for big league pieces. It’s a risky endeavor. Let’s take a look back at some of these deals. There are quite a few of these challenge trades in fairly recent Twins history, but this current Twins front office really hasn’t explored this avenue. The Kenta Maeda deal was close, but Brusdar Graterol only had 10 big league appearances to his credit. He was still a prospect. Possibly the LaMonte Wade Jr. trade qualifies as a minor challenge trade, as he had 113 plate appearances and Shaun Anderson had 46 career games pitched at the time of the swap. Considering how that one went, maybe it’s good there haven’t been more challenge trades of late … These deals are risky, but when a team has a surplus or is motivated to make room at the MLB level for a younger player they can make sense. With Josh Donaldson, Jorge Polanco and Luis Arraez already in the third base/second base equation and Jose Miranda waiting in the wings, this current Twins roster could be ripe for a challenge trade. There’s another possible option but I don’t want to ruin your day quite yet. Let’s take a look back at some of these types of deals from past Twins seasons. All of the trades below were completed during the offseason and included established MLB regulars on both sides of the deal. Nov. 14, 2003: A.J. Pierzynski traded to the San Francisco Giants for Joe Nathan, Francisco Liriano and Boof Bonser We’re starting out this list on a high note. One of the ironic elements to this deal is part of its motivation backfired to a degree. In moving AJ Pierzynski, the Twins were making room behind the plate for 20-year-old Joe Mauer. He ended up playing just 35 games in 2004 due to injuries and Henry Blanco ended up as the primary catcher. The Twins still won 92 games that year in part due to Joe Nathan saving 44 games. He had 128 MLB games to his credit at the time of this deal. We’re focusing on the MLB pieces, but I’d say the prospect side of this package also worked out pretty darn nicely for the Twins. Dec. 3, 2003: Eric Milton traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Carlos Silva, Nick Punto and Bobby Korecky Milton was only a year away from free agency and Carlos Silva had pitched 130 games for the Phillies. Though he only had one career start prior to the trade, Silva was actually a better rotation piece than Milton right out the gate. I’d say that worked out pretty well. Toss in Punto, who also had some MLB experience at the time of the trade (though only 111 plate appearances) and this one was also a success. Kinda nuts that after back-to-back division championships the Twins made these two big trades and took the central again in ‘04. Nov. 28, 2007: Jason Bartlett, Matt Garza and Eddie Morlan to the Tampa Bay Rays for Delmon Young, Brendan Harris and Jason Pridie This was a pretty crazy trade under new GM Bill Smith. A starting shortstop and budding rotation piece for the former No. 1 overall pick and reigning runner-up in Rookie of the Year voting. Plus Brendan Harris and all of his Brendon Harris-ness! This was an incredible trade … for the Rays. They went from 96 losses to 97 wins and a World Series appearance. Delmon had a great 2010 season with the Twins but was dealt away the next year after fizzling out. Nov. 6, 2009: Carlos Gomez traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for J.J. Hardy Gomez went from centerpiece of the Johan Santana deal to trade bait in just two seasons. If you thought that tenure was short, Hardy only lasted one season in Minnesota before being dealt to Baltimore. Both players found much more success with their new orgs than they had in Minnesota. Man, the Twins made a lot of trades back during this time. Dec. 6, 2012: Ben Revere traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Vance Worley and Trevor May Terry Ryan was back in the GM role and cleared room for another former first-round pick. The Twins traded both Revere and Denard Span that offseason to open the door for Aaron Hicks in center field. Worley made 46 starts for the Phillies prior to the trade. His Twins tenure was, uh, less impressive. May ended up developing into a nice bullpen piece, of course, but Hicks struggled to take advantage of his opportunity. Speaking of which ... Nov. 11, 2015: Aaron Hicks traded to the New York Yankees for John Ryan Murphy The hope was Murphy would be the long-term solution behind the plate. He was not. I guess I don’t really remember the motivation to move Hicks. Byron Buxton missed most of the previous season and started the year in Double-A, so it was a bit premature to make room for him. The Twins opened the season with Jordan Schafer and Shane Robinson platooning in center. Ugh. Looking back, it’s kinda funny how many of these deals revolved around the center field position. I know most Twins fans don’t want to think about this, but it’s time to ruin your day. There’s a possibility of a Buxton challenge trade this winter. We all know it, but most of us don’t want to acknowledge it. I’m on team Pay Byron, but if they don’t extend him … who knows? What do you think? Should the Twins try to pull off a challenge trade this offseason? View full article

Yesterday, we took a look back at the 2001 draft. Specifically, we reviewed the decision that the Twins had with the first overall draft pick. Should they take Joe Mauer, or should they take Mark Prior? Well, 17 years later, it sure looks like the Twins made the right choice, though Prior was tremendous before injuries ended his career prematurely. Today, I thought it might be fun to take a look at the situation and just ask what might have been if the Twins would have drafted, and been able to sign, Mark Prior.Back in 2009, Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times opined, “What looked like an incredible break - the Twins passing on Prior and taking the more ‘signable’ Mauer with the #1-overall pick - has turned into yet another example of how fate seems to taunt the Cubs and Cubs fans.” In hindsight, it is easy to say that the Twins made the right choice, but it is also fun to consider what would have happened if things had gone differently. What if the Twins would have drafted (and signed) Prior instead of Mauer? Let’s consider. … for the Twins Let’s start with an assumption that the Twins were actually able to convince Prior to sign. That’s a big assumption as Prior made it clear that he did not want to sign with the Twins at that time. But let’s think more positively. The Twins have a strong history of drafting high school hitters and college pitchers. That was even more the case at that time for years to follow. Looking at some of the pitchers that the Twins employed in the early-to-mid ‘90s, you see a lot of college guys. Starting pitchers included names like Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey, Nick Blackburn, Brian Duensing, and Jeff Manship, who were all drafted out of college. The Twins moved each of them fairly aggressively in the minor leagues, and yet, in comparison to Prior, they were very patient. Of course, none of them were the #2 overall pick, or even first round picks. The Twins likely would have had Mark Prior begin his professional career at Ft. Myers (High-A). He would have maybe spent a half-season there, and after the Florida State League All-Star Game, he may have been promoted to New Britain (Double A affiliate at that time). Honestly, because the Twins were in the playoffs, he probably would have been called up directly from Double A. If not, he would have gone to spring training 2003 with an opportunity to make the Opening Day roster. And he probably would have. The Twins have been known for taking care of their pitchers, especially young pitchers, at least once Ron Gardenhire took over as manager. Dusty Baker was willing to let Kerry Wood and Mark Prior throw 120 to 140 (or more) pitches late into the season. I have no doubt that the Twins would have controlled pitch and inning counts much more tightly. Does that mean that Prior would have stayed healthy? There’s no way to know that with any certainty. It is possible that Prior had underlying arm issues that may have caused inevitable injury. However, it is also possible that he could have been an All-Star, Cy Young-contending starter for the Twins from 2003 through 2008, and maybe beyond. And think about the Twins 2006 team. That roster included the AL MVP (Justin Morneau), a top closer (Joe Nathan) and the AL Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana. They also had Michael Cuddyer, Torii Hunter, Jason Bartlett, Brad Radke and a strong bullpen. How much could a healthy Mark Prior have helped that team? The thought of Prior and Santana in the same rotation, along with Brad Radke, and ideally a healthy Francisco Liriano is sure fun to think about. (Of course, the AL Batting title winner (Mauer) would not have been on the team.) … for the Cubs Had the Twins taken Prior, the likelihood is that the Cubs would have drafted Georgia Tech third baseman Mark Teixeira who was said to be looking for a $15 million deal after the draft. (With the Rangers, as the fifth pick, he signed a four-year, $9.5 million big league contract with a $4.5 million bonus.) Teixeira would have moved quickly through the Cubs farm system and probably put up numbers similar to those he has put up with the Rangers, Braves, Angels, and Yankees in his career. But would the Cubs have kept Aramis Ramirez or acquired Derrek Lee? Would they have gone after Alfonso Soriano? I would venture to guess that Teixeira would have been a building block for the Cubs and would likely not have played for as many teams in his career. … for Joe Mauer To me, it makes a lot of sense that the Tampa Bay Devil Rays would have selected Joe Mauer with the third pick in the 2001 draft. The Rays were a team that was constantly building at that time. They had a lot of early draft picks that they used to select several talented high school players. They took Carl Crawford in 1999, Rocco Baldelli in 2000, BJ Upton in 2002, and Delmon Young with the first-overall pick in the 2003 draft. Mauer likely would have thrived with the Rays had this scenario played out. While he batted third through most of his career with the Twins, you have to assume that Joe Maddon may not have been afraid to bat him leadoff. As earlier adopters of analytics, the Rays would have loved Mauer’s on-base percentage at the top of the lineup. Assuming health, it’s hard to believe that Mauer would not have been equally successful with the Rays. Now, the economic reality is that the Rays would not have been able to keep him through free agency. The Twins actually extended him for two years beyond free agency before giving him the big contract. The Twins had to do the deal for a variety of reasons, including the new stadium, his performance on and off the field, and being a hometown player. If the Rays would have pushed him to the big leagues as quickly as the Twins did (likely), he probably would have been traded either before or after his 2009 season. At that time, Jorge Posada and Jason Varitek were on their last legs with the Yankees and Red Sox, respectively, so there would have been a big market and the Rays could have received a lot for Mauer. Mauer would likely have gone to a team that was in the playoffs often and would have had some great playoff and maybe World Series moments. Assuming health, he would have received, probably, an even bigger contract than the Twins gave him. CONCLUSIONS The Twins had a huge decision to make in 2001. Should they draft the All-American, can’t-miss college pitcher from a baseball-rich college? Or, should they take the tremendous high school athlete with the full ride scholarship to Florida State for football and baseball - a guy from their backyard with the perfect swing, a strong arm, and the perfect mentality? The Twins went chose Mauer, and have never looked back or questioned it. Fortunately for the state of Minnesota, Mauer has proven the Twins right over time, regardless of what Prior has done in his career, by being one of the best players in baseball. Even if Prior somehow goes on to win three or four Cy Young Awards, the Twins’ selection is justified. It was not a case of the team being “cheap”: Mauer’s signing bonus still ranks among the highest of all time (in part because of baseball going to the slotting system in the draft). It was not a case of picking the hometown kid over a better player (as the Padres did in 2004 when they picked Matt Bush instead of Justin Verlander). Scouting and the baseball draft can be such an inexact science. The Twins have a solid track record in drafting and player development, but no team is perfect all of the time. In 2001, the Twins had a difficult decision, and they made the right choice. Click here to view the article

Believe it or not, Tuesday’s match-up between the Twins and the Yankees will be the sixth AL Wild Card game. Major League Baseball expanded their playoff format in 2012 to add more drama with a one-game playoff to decide who would move on to face the best regular season team. There has been some drama and plenty of story-lines. Are there any trends that can be found in the previous games? Let’s take a look back.2012 AL Wild Card Game Baltimore Orioles 5, Texas Rangers 1 Yu Darvish faced off against Joe Saunders in the AL’s inaugural Wild Card game. Both clubs scored runs in the first frame as the starters worked out some kinks. From there, Darvish and Saunders pitched shutout baseball until the sixth. Adam Jones drove in a run on a sacrifice fly and Nate McLouth added an RBI single in the seventh. Former Twin Joe Nathan would allow two insurance runs in the ninth inning to bolster Baltimore’s lead. The Orioles relief trio of Darren O’Day, Brian Matusz, and Jim Johnson did not allow a run over the final 3.1 innings. 2013 AL Wild Card Game Tampa Bay Rays 4, Cleveland Indians 0 Tampa Bay entered the AL’s second Wild Card game having already defeated the Texas Rangers in a tie-breaker game. Tampa Bay’s Alex Cobb was outstanding on the mound as he recorded 6.2 shutout innings with five strikeouts. Cobb had missed 50 games during the regular season after taking a line-drive off his head. Former Twin Delmon Young homered in the third inning off rookie Danny Salazar. Desmond Jennings went 2-for-3 in the game with a double and two RBI. Jake McGee, Joel Peralta and Fernando Rodney combined for 2.1 shutout innings to finish off the Indians. 2014 AL Wild Card Game Kansas City Royals 9, Oakland Athletics 8 (12 Innings) Royals fans were just getting a taste of a wild playoff run as the club would use this game as a launching pad for a run to the AL pennant. This game was originally touted as a pitching battle between Oakland’s Jon Lester and Kansas City’s James Shields but neither would see the end of this one. Former Twins Josh Willingham and Nick Punto made appearances in the game but wound up on the losing end. Kansas City scored three runs in the eighth inning and another in the ninth to tie the game. The A’s would take the lead in the top of the 12th inning but the Royals couldn’t be stopped. Big hits from Eric Hosmer and Salvador Perez pushed the Royals to the ALDS. 2015 AL Wild Card Game Houston Astros 3, New York Yankees 0 The Astros, like the Twins this season, headed to New York City after multiple years of futility. Houston had averaged 104 losses in their previous four seasons. Dallas Keuchel was pitching on three days rest for the first time in his career and pitched masterfully. In six shutout innings, he scattered three hits and struck out seven. He became the first pitcher with a scoreless postseason start on three day’s rest since Josh Beckett in the 2003 World Series. Colby Rasmus and former Twin Carlos Gomez homered to help the Astros win their first postseason game since the 2005 NLCS. Fans in New York were booing with every out in the late innings. Houston moved on to face Kansas City, the eventual World Series Champions. 2016 AL Wild Card Game Toronto Blue Jays 5, Baltimore Orioles 2 (11 Innings) Edwin Encarnacion’s walk-off three-run home run sent Toronto fans home happy. While this game might be remembered for its ending, others might remember it for the moment when a fan threw a nearly full can of beer at Orioles left fielder Hyun Soo Kim while he caught a deep fly ball in the eighth inning. Jose Bautista smacked a solo home run to start the scoring in the second inning. Mark Trumbo hit a two-run shot to account for all of Baltimore’s offense. Orioles manager Buck Showalter opted not to use closer Zach Britton in extra-innings and that could have been the difference in the game. Ubaldo Jimenez gave up two singles and the big fly to end the game. Some important hits from former Twins and one upset at Yankee Stadium were all part of previous AL Wild Card games. Let's hope some of this history repeats itself on Tuesday night. Click here to view the article

Miguel Sano came off the bench in the 12th inning on Wednesday night and delivered a clutch home run to give the Twins a 3-2 lead and win over the Kansas City Royals. The game was full of excitement, ebbs and flows, good at bad. As I was watching the Twins, I could help but thinking back to the 2009 Twins. With the Twins win coupled with a Rangers loss, Minnesota is 1.5 games behind Texas for that second Wild Card spot.As Kurt Suzuki laid on the ground after a home plate collision with the Royals’ Jarrod Dyson. On Twitter, I was being asked what the Twins would do if Suzuki needed to miss significant time. In mid-September, the Twins would have to rely on the combination of Chris Herrmann and Eric Fryer down the stretch. On September 12, 2009, Justin Morneau dove head-first into first base in an attempt to avoid a tag. He jarred his back and ended up with a stress fracture in his lower back. It was all bad news. Morneau had just reached 30 home runs and 100 RBI. The team was also 5 ½ games back of the Detroit Tigers. At 70-72, the situation looked bleak. The good thing was that the Twins were scheduled to play the Tigers seven more times over the final 20 games. Little did we know at the time that they would play them an eighth time, in Game 163 at the Metrodome. Michael Cuddyer moved in to first base. Jason Kubel was primarily DHing, and he moved out to right field. The DH position was filled with the likes of Brian Buscher and Brendan Harris. But if the Twins were going to get to the playoffs, they needed those two to step up, but others as well. And, that’s exactly what happened. The offense took off, and the Twins went 17-4 down the stretch, catching the Tigers and winning Game 163. Here is a look at how the hitters performed over that final stretch. MICHAEL CUDDYER The team-first Cuddyer stepped up. Over the final 21 games, he hit .325/.398/.675 (1.073) with three doubles, a triple, eight home runs and 24 RBI. He also played very well at first base in Morneau’s absence. Overall, Cuddyer hit 34 doubles, 32 homers and drove in 94 runs. This final stretch got him a lot of MVP votes. JOE MAUER Mauer’s MVP season was absolutely incredible. Though Cuddyer hit the home runs and drove in 24 runs, Mauer was on base most of the month. In 21 games starting September 13, he hit .378/.521/.527 (1.048) with five doubles, two homers and 14 RBI. Those numbers are amazing, but they were right in line with his full-season numbers in 2009. Overall, he hit .365/.444/.587 (1.034) with 30 doubles and 28 homers. ORLANDO CABRERA The Twins acquired the 34-year-old shortstop from Oakland in exchange for former 2nd-round pick Tyler Ladendorf (who made his MLB debut for the A’s in 2015). Cabrera was magnificent down the stretch. He played all 21 games and hit .355/.378/.538 (.915) with six doubles, a triple, three homers and 19 RBI while playing a strong shortstop. JASON KUBEL Kubel moved out to the outfield from DH and hit well down the stretch. He played in 20 of the final 21 games and hit .278/.333/.597 (.931) with five doubles, six home runs and 21 RBI. DENARD SPAN The 25-year-old Span was in his first full season with the Twins and did a great job leading off. He played in 19 of the final 21 games and hit .333/.398/.397 (.795) with three doubles and a triple. He drove in 11 runs and scored 16 times. DELMON YOUNG The 23-year-old was in left field. He played all 21 games and hit .353/.380/.576 (.957) with five doubles, a triple, four home runs and 17 RBI. NICK PUNTO Ron Gardenhire loved his defense and his approach at the plate. He was a polarizing figure with fans. However, he took over at second base late in this season. He played in all 21 of the final games and hit .250/.407/.297 (.704) with three doubles. In that stretch, he walked 17 times and obviously played great defense. MATT TOLBERT 2009 was the year they brought in Joe Crede. As he had in previous seasons, Crede ended up out for the season with recurring back issues. Tolbert wasn’t much of a hitter, but he started 18 of the final 21 games. After September 13th, he hit .313/.347/.448 (.795) with four doubles, a triple and a home run. GAME 163 HEROES Mauer and Tolbert each had two hits in Game 163. But that game was also a reminder that anyone can play hero in a big game or a pennant stretch. In the final inning, Carlos Gomez was on second and scored on a game-winning single off the bat of Alexi Casilla. Bobby Keppel was the winning pitcher, his first and only major league win. BRIAN DUENSING People may forget, but Duensing was alright as a starting pitcher for a while. In his final four starts of that 2009 season, he went 2-0 with a 2.92 ERA. On September 13th, with the Morneau news fresh, Duensing threw seven shutout innings. He backed that up with 6.1 scoreless innings in his next outing. OTHERS Francisco Liriano was pretty bad and had been moved to the bullpen later in the season. Scott Baker went 2-1 despite a 4.61 ERA. Jeff Manship wasn’t great, but he picked up his first career win in Game 160. Joe Nathan posted a 1.46 ERA and recorded nine saves. The Twins went 12-0 in games he pitched. SUMMARY 2010 was the last time the Twins were in the playoffs and Twins fans were involved in a pennant race. However, the second half of the final month of 2009 was as exciting as it gets in the baseball world. The former MVP gets hurt. Things don’t look good. Someone needs to step up. Everyone did step up. Mauer was amazing. Cuddyer had some huge home runs. And then there was Game 163, one of the most exciting games in Twins history. So, what will happen in the final three weeks of the 2015 season? There’s no way to know. The Twins are just 1.5 games back of a playoff spot. Who will step up? Will it be a big name? Will Miguel Sano hit a few more big home runs? How will the rookies respond? Will the veterans lead the way? Will a role player come up in a big situation and come through? In reality, they will need a combination of all of the above. No one knows the answers to those questions. All I know is that it’s going to be a lot of fun to find watch! Click here to view the article