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The Twins 26-man roster is in permanent flux, as most major league rosters are. They have run a lot of players on the Injured List, but there are several players on the road to return to the active roster. Within this week, Kyle Garlick and Sonny Gray should be added back to the roster. In addition, Alex Kirilloff is absolutely mashing for the St. Paul Saints. I am of the opinion that it is past time to bring Kirilloff back to the Twins. His stats in the past weeks are beyond excellent. He is crushing there and has shown that right now he is dealing with whatever residual wrist issues he might have. Assuming there are no new injuries, the Twins will be hard-pressed to choose players to option or be designated for assignment. Adding Gray, Garlick and Kirilloff would require demotion or designation of three players. Who might that be? Here's my take: Jose Miranda--Miranda has had a good month of June and is getting pretty consistent playing time. He plays first and third base (but not well). Miranda's overall stats are below average and IMHO his defense has been a disappointment. With Garlick providing a right handed bat, I think Miranda is the #1 candidate to be removed from the roster. Nick Gordon--Gordon's left handed bat really isn't needed, however his defensive versatility is of some value and he does have plus speed. Further, Gordon has no options remaining. To be demoted, he would have to be exposed to the other 29 major league teams. Trevor Larnach--The new, improved version of Trevor Larnach had a WAR of 2.0 about two weeks ago. He has demonstrated improved plate disciple, used the whole field and really has looked like an improved defender in the outfield corners. However, he's the flip side of Jose Miranda. His hitting has dried up recently. He is 5-44 in the month of June. On balance, Trevor has taken a step up, but it only figures that Kirilloff would produce more at this point. Kyle Garlick--Garlick is a 30-year old outfielder with limited upside. He is passable as an outfielder, but his reason for being on a major league roster is his ability to hit left handed pitching. So far, in a limited sample, he is again mashing against lefties. Garlick has the "lefty killer" role with the Twins and there is really no one available to fill that role if he were demoted. Like Gordon, he can't be optioned and would have to be exposed to waivers. Among the pitchers who could be demoted, only two can be optioned, I believe. Jovani Moran has performed well for the Twins and is left handed. Trevor Megill also has performed quite well, but he has two options available. Otherwise the Twins could DFA Thornberg or Cotton. The long-shot that would appeal to TD readers would be to release Tyler Duffey. There are more pitching returns on the horizon. Danny Coulombe and Bailey Ober will have spent their IL time and should be healthy by the end of the month. Of course, this is probably a fantasy exercise. By far, the most likely event is Injured List assignments to players currently unknown. Opinions on what the Twins will/should do are welcomed.

For those among us that have seen the earth orbit the sun more than 50 times, the St. Paul paper had a writer named Don Riley who weekly had an item "scattergunning from the catbird's seat". In a similar fashion,I have several thoughts and have thrown them together for comment: 1) Has anyone seen two wackier late inning victories than the Twins 2-1 win on Friday and the 5-4 walk-off on Tuesday? 2) Raise your hand if you thought at the start of the season that the best lineup against a right hander would include Nick Gordon in left field and Luis Arraez at first base. 3) Is it time to move Carlos Correa down in the lineup temporarily? He seems to be fighting himself at the plate. 4) With three of the next four opponent starters left handed and a roster reduction coming, I think Garlick will be getting his chance, but if he doesn't hit soon he could be the roster casualty. 5) Dylan Bundy's stuff doesn't make anyone go "wow", but his command has been beyond excellent and he knows how to pitch. 6) Things are going well for the Twins now, but the bullpen doesn't have enough impact arms. They either need to go outside the box and convert a minor league starter or outside the organization (my preference). 7) Sano, Correa and Polanco are off to miserable starts, but there are dozens of established major leaguers who aren't hitting. ? I’ll believe that Alex Kirilloff is healed when he starts driving the ball regularly. I'm not convinced he will contribute to this year's team. 9) The schedule in May for the Twins is Charmin soft. They need to take advantage and run of a 20-win month. 10) Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober have been terrific so far. This shouldn't have been taken for granted. Maybe the Twins' staff knows something about developing pitchers after all. Please comment on any of these items or any random thoughts you might have about the 2022 Twins.