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The star-studded St. Paul Saints continued their hot start to the 2022 season on Wednesday evening. Read up on highlights from game and updates from around the Twins farm system! Once again, the St. Paul Saints were the only Twins minor league team in action on Wednesday. That didn't stop them from putting on an offensive clinic. The Wind Surge, Kernels, and Mussels will all kick off their season on Friday. That's when the Twins will play their first game as well after it was postponed from Thursday. TRANSACTIONS The Twins placed LHP Lewis Thorpe, RHP Ronny Henriquez, and RHP Jake Petricka on Developmental List. SAINTS SENTINAL St. Paul 7, Louisville 4 Box Score Fresh off their first W of the season, the Saints were the true bearers of lumber against the Louisville Bats on Thursday evening. The Saints got the party started with a three-run first inning and never looked back, notching their second win of the young season. The hype around the talented Saints roster has been exponentially leading up to the 2022 season. Wednesday evening showed why. On the third pitch of the game, Jose Miranda launched a 2-0 pitch over the left-field wall to give the Saints a 1-0 lead. The MLB.com Top 100 prospect launched 30 homers between AA Wichita and AAA St. Paul last season and his Wednesday dinger will likely be the first of many. 2017 first-round pick Royce Lewis followed suit with a double to center on an 0-2 pitch to keep the momentum going. Lewis recorded his first hit of the season last night in the season opener and it’s safe to say that all of Twins Territory is thrilled to see Lewis’ play and personality back on the diamond. Touted for his impressive speed, Lewis followed suit by stealing third base (2) and was eventually driven in alongside Mark Contreras by a Jake Cave double (1) to give the Saints a 3-0 lead. Miranda continued his solid evening by knocking in Curtis Terry on an RBI single in the fourth inning. Jermaine Palacios also scored in the first thanks to a catching error by Louisville first basemen Jake Bauers. St. Paul tacked on two more runs in the seventh. After an infield single by Lewis, Contreras launched an 0-1 pitch over the right-field wall to give the Saints a 7-3 lead. The shot was Contreras’ first of the young season. The Goose is Loose A former member of the Red Sox organization, RHP Daniel “Goose” Gossett was rock-solid in his first outing for the Saints. Despite a rocky third inning, Gossett gave up no runs on one hit in the first two innings and retired the first two batters in the fourth inning before being removed. Newcomer JC Ramirez (W, 1-0) came in after Gossett and was rock solid for 2.1 innings. The Managua, Nicaragua native struck allowed no runs on three hits with three strikeouts, allowing the Saints offensive opportunities to pad their lead. The tandem of Jovani Moran and Juan Minaya (S, 1) tackled the final seven outs, allowing only two combined hits. Minaya struck out four batters to earn his first save of the year. Larnach Out Just hours before first pitch, the Saints announced that top prospect Trevor Larnach had been removed from the lineup and replaced by Mark Contreras (who had a stellar evening). Pre-game, Saints manager Toby Gardenhire told broadcaster Sean Aronson that he had some muscle tightness and with the wet field conditions (both of the first two games have been delayed), they removed him from the lineup. That didn't stop Twitter from being curious. Then Ken Rosenthal tweeted out during the Saints game that the Twins were working on acquiring San Diego starting pitcher Chris Paddack. And while some believe Larnach could be headed to Southern California, Rosenthal followed up by saying that the Padres are interested in Twins reliever Taylor Rogers. Will Larnach's promising future remain in Minnesota? It seems likely, but only time will tell. WIND SURGE WISDOM The Wind Surge will begin their season on Friday at home against the Tulsa Drillers. The Surge will send top prospect Matt Canterino to the mound for the season opener. Canterino was 1-0 with a 0.78 ERA in 2021 before being sidelined with an elbow injury. The return of one of the most exciting pitchers in the Twins organization should be electric. In the meantime, be sure to check out the Wind Surge roster preview. KERNELS NUGGETS The Kernels announced on Wednesday that LHP and Burnsville, MN native Aaron Rozek will take the bump for Cedar Rapids' opener on Friday against Beloit. Signed to a minor-league contract last season, Rozek went 3-2 with a 2.40 ERA between Fort Myers, Cedar Rapids, and Wichita in 2021. Be sure to take a look at the Cedar Rapids roster in advance of their opener on Friday. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers hits the road to Clearwater to open their 2022 season against the Threshers on Friday. There should be quite a few of the Twins 2021 draft picks on their roster, which has yet to be officially announced. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - JC Ramirez, St. Paul Saints (W, 2.1 IP, 3 H, BB, 3 K) Hitter of the Day - Jose Miranda, St. Paul Saints (2-for-5, HR, 2 RBI, 2 K) PROSPECT SUMMARY #2 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - 2-for-5, 2B, 2 R, 2 SB (3), 2 K #3 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 2-for-5, HR, 2 RBI, 2 K #11 - Gilberto Celestino (St. Paul) - 0-for-5, 2 K THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Louisville (5:35 PM CST) - RHP Cole Sands View full article

Given how things have played out, with the lockout causing a major overlap between Hot Stove season and spring training, it's only fitting that our last offseason status update comes just four days ahead of the season opener. Read on for a rundown of the front office's final (we think?) moves and a look ahead at the projected 2022 Twins roster and payroll. Around the time of our last check-in, anticipation was building for a big move to round out the rotation after the splashy addition of Carlos Correa. Such a bold showing of intention had to be followed by a similarly decisive pitching acquisition, right? It turns out, no. The Twins were evidently shut out in the trade market and so they pivoted to fill the last spot in their rotation with a fairly low-wattage signing. The bullpen received a bit more veteran depth with a couple of minor-league signings, but for the most part, it looks like this is the pitching staff Minnesota will roll with. Let's take a look at the last few players brought into this mix. Twins Make a Volatile Upside Play with Chris Archer Signing At one point, Chris Archer ranked among the best and most durable young pitchers in baseball. From 2013 through 2017 in Tampa, he almost never missed a start, piling up nearly 1,000 innings in 156 starts with a 3.60 ERA and 9.7 K/9 rate. Those days are now in the distant past. In four seasons since, the righty has thrown 287 innings with a 4.70 ERA, although the strikeout ability has remained (10.3 K/9). He didn't pitch in 2020 due to thoracic outlet surgery, and was limited to just six appearances last year in his reunion with the Rays. So, obviously a longshot. But that's why he was still available this late in the game, and why he came with such a low guaranteed price tag ($3.5M). Archer will be able to significantly increase his 2022 salary by reaching productivity thresholds, in a deal that is somewhat similar in structure to the one Rich Hill signed with Minnesota two years ago – a "pay-as-you-play" approach, as JD Cameron puts it. It's been a while since we've seen it materialize, but Archer's upside remains, and his debut in a Twins uniform on Friday offered some encouraging signs in terms of his velocity and stuff. Two More Veteran Relievers Join the Bullpen Picture A couple names you might recognize joined the Twins on minor-league deals last week: Jake Petricka and JC Ramirez. Both right-handers have thrown more than 200 innings in the majors and pitched most recently for the Angels. Neither pitcher has a significant recent track record in the majors – Ramirez hasn't appeared since 2019 and Petricka has thrown just 14 total innings since 2018. But the experience could give them a leg up on the depth chart, and Ramirez in particular is interesting because he could become a bridge-type guy capable of providing multiple innings. No More Trades for Pitching? The Twins kept on pushing for one of Oakland's two top starting pitchers known to be available. After the team signed Archer, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reported that "They also have spent the past 2 1/2 weeks attempting to pry either Frankie Montas or Sean Manaea away from Oakland without success. While the Twins have made it clear they’d like to complete a deal — and still have interest in one — the previously wheeling-and-dealing A’s haven’t recently engaged them." On Sunday, the A's finally pulled the trigger on one of these two starters – Manaea, who they were always much more motivated to deal due to his salary and expiring team control. Oakland sent the left-hander to San Diego for a fairly underwhelming return, suggesting there wasn't much of a market for him despite many teams still looking to add starters. It remains possible that the Twins could strike an 11th-hour deal for Montas or another starter. But in all likelihood, the current group is the one they're going to roll into the season with. So let's take a look at how that group shakes out. Twins 2022 Roster & Payroll Projection The team has made a bunch of cuts, narrowing down the final field of players in camp and leaving only a few decisions to be made on the bullpen and bench. Below you can find my stab at projecting the Opening Day roster. A few notes: I've got Brent Rooker filling the fourth outfield spot, if only because it's the most convenient and easy course of action. I actually have a sneaking suspicion that the Twins will choose to go with Kyle Garlick in that spot, possibly DFA-ing Rooker to make room on the 40-man roster. But we'll see. All major-league teams will have two extra roster spots for the month of April, to help offset the shortened spring ramp-up. I'm assuming the Twins will use both on pitchers and carry a 15-man staff (in fact I wouldn't be surprised if they go with 16). I've plugged in Griffin Jax and Josh Winder. I didn't account for those additional fractional salaries in the total payroll. They would increase it modestly. (At the league minimum, paying two extra players for one month equates to about $233K – a little less than Correa will earn for each game. I have the total payroll projected at $128M, which is roughly in line with last year's figure. It's worth noting that the payroll is fluid and can easily rise if Archer or Byron Buxton trigger portions of their ample incentives. Barring something unexpected, the "offseason" is complete and the Twins have assembled their forces for the 2022 campaign. We'll gain clarity on the final roster in the coming days, but it should resemble the above fairly closely. How are you feeling about the state of affairs as we await the impending start of the season? View full article

With the bullpen still in flux a week out from Opening Day, the Twins were busy on Thursday adding much-needed bullpen depth to the organization. The Twins signed veteran right-handed relievers Tyler Bashlor, JC Ramirez and Jake Petricka to minor-league deals. Each of the names mentioned above has varying amounts of Major League experience, although that comes with a considerable amount of time missed. Since the 2018 season, JC Ramirez and Jake Petricka have combined for just 84 1/3 innings, of which Petricka provided 45 2/3 in 2018. On the other hand, Bashlor has gone up and down between Triple-A and the big leagues since 2018, but he spent the entire 2021 season with Pittsburgh’s Triple-A affiliate. These signings are of the same ilk as Chi-Chi González. The Twins are taking a low-risk flier on guys with experience but aren’t fully committing to them past a minor-league deal. In other words, these signings are not in the same realm as “low-risk” signings from previous offseasons. As it stands now, the three will likely start in St. Paul and will need to earn their trip West on 94. Let’s look at what the three veterans could provide to one or both teams in the Twin Cities metro. Tyler Bashlor was drafted by the Mets in 2013 and was traded to the Pirates in the middle of the 2020 season but was sent to Pittsburgh’s alternate site before throwing 8 1/3 innings for the Pirates towards the end of the season. Although it was with their AAA affiliate, Bashlor had a successful 2021 season throwing 37 2/3 innings over 37 relief appearances and struck out 10.8 K/9 with a 2.39 ERA but also carried a 4.5 BB/9 which has been his Achilles heel throughout his career. His most recent Savant profile from those eight innings in 2021 shows a mid-90s fastball and slider mix with the occasional changeup. (Look at the curveballs in the below video and try not to think about Matt Wisler.) JC Ramirez has only thrown 14 2/3 relief innings since 2018 due to a combination of Tommy John Surgery, costing most of 2018 and 2019, and the cancellation of 2020 spring training due to COVID. According to MLB Trade Rumors, Ramirez has pitched in Mexico and China with some success over the last two seasons. However, the level of competition isn’t nearly what he faced stateside. His Savant profile from 2019 tells us he has a fastball that sits in the low-90s, although it’s worth noting it averaged 96 miles per hour in 2017, and a slider and curveball. Before his injury in 2018, he was just a passable back end of the rotation option, but sometimes those guys can reinvent themselves as effective relievers. I wouldn’t hold my breath but benefit from a minor league deal. A Northfield (MN) native, Jake Petricka might sound familiar as he was a good reliever for the Chicago White Sox from 2013 through 2015. He was with the White Sox until 2017 but has since bounced around the league with the Toronto Blue Jays, Milwaukee Brewers, and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He’s avoided Tommy John Surgery, but he also has a history of elbow and forearm injuries which could explain why his career has gone south since that three-year run ending in 2015. Most recently, he provided the Angels organization with some depth with their AAA affiliate so he isn’t as far removed from Major League Baseball as Ramirez and profiles similarly. He throws a low to mid 90’s fastball with a slider and changeup. These three moves won’t move the needle, and to be frank, minor-league deals shouldn’t especially those signed a week before the season starts. Last year, the Twins used a total of 35 pitchers. Depth is good. These pitchers can provide the organization with some relief depth, and, who knows, maybe one will rediscover himself and provide some effective innings in Minneapolis before the season is over. View full article