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As the trade deadline draws near, the Minnesota Twins still haven’t made any substantial moves to support either the bullpen or the starting rotation. There has been a lot of speculation on a number of pitchers the Twins could acquire here at Twins Daily. One of those pitchers is Toronto Blue Jays starter Marcus Stroman. The Blue Jays are said to have a high asking price on Stroman, and would like a deal similar to the one the Tampa Bay Rays received in return for Chris Archer last season. Will the Blue Jays get their wish and bring in a gigantic haul for Stroman, or will they need to settle for a lesser offer?To figure out what it might take to acquire Marcus Stroman, let’s start by looking at what he brings to the table. Stroman is currently 28 years of age and is under team control through the 2020 season. Stroman currently possess a 3.06 ERA (3.62 FIP) in 117 and 2/3 innings for the Blue Jays so far in 2019. For his career, Stroman has a 3.78 ERA (3.62 FIP) through his first six MLB seasons. Stroman isn’t a heavy strikeout pitcher, as his career 19.3% strikeout rate is quite low for today’s standards. From a control perspective, Stroman is solid, as his career 6.7% walk rate is slightly above average for an MLB starting pitcher. What makes Stroman so effective is his extremely high groundball rate. In a era where hitters are trying to hit the ball in the air more than ever, Stroman does an excellent job of preventing them from doing so. Since his debut in 2014, Stroman has a 59.6% groundball rate and a 22.1% flyball rate. Among the 152 starting pitchers with at least 400 innings pitched over that span, those numbers rank as the second highest and third lowest respectively. The next step is to look at the deal the Blue Jays are reportedly asking for. The blockbuster trade of last summer was the deal that sent Chris Archer to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Tyler Glasnow, Austin Meadows and Shane Baz. At the time Archer was still a highly thought of starting pitcher, with three and a half years of team control remaining. More than double of what is left on Marcus Stroman’s contract. Glasnow and Meadows were both highly touted prospects in the Pirates system who were up with MLB team, but hadn’t shown much at the MLB level quite yet. Still they were prized possessions, who many believed were ready to break out sooner rather than later, which is exactly what happened. Meadows has gotten off to a great start to 2019 and was named to the American League All-Star team. Glasnow was on his way there too with a 1.86 ERA (2.32 FIP) in eight starts before getting shut down with forearm inflammation. In addition to those two, Baz was the Pirates first round pick in 2017, and was ranked as the 95th best prospect in baseball by MLB.com at the time of the trade. Baz currently sits as MLB.com’s 91st best prospect in baseball, right around where they have Trevor Larnach and Jordan Balazovic ranked, for context. If the Twins were to match that offer, they would be looking at giving up a package deal that includes Alex Kirilloff, Brusdar Graterol and Jordan Balazovic. It is probably safe to assume that the Blue Jays won’t be getting any offers for Marcus Stroman that are remotely in the range of that Chris Archer deal that a year later is already considered on of the worst deals in MLB history. Especially given the fact that Stroman has less trade value now than Archer did at this point last summer given the length of control each player has/had. If the Blue Jays don’t get a package that they like for Stroman, they could always hang onto him. However, they have little leverage to use that in a negotiation right now because MLB teams know the Blue Jays won’t be competitive again until after his contract is up, and from this point on, his trade value is only diminishing as the number of starts he can give the team that acquires him goes down. So, if the Blue Jays want to maximize their value for Stroman, they need to make a deal happen before the July 31st trade deadline. If we want to look at a more realistic trade to comparison for a Marcus Stroman deal, a better trade to look at might be the Sonny Gray trade in 2017. At the time of his trade, Gray still had two and 1/2 years of control left before free agency, and like Stroman, was considered a young arm that would slot right into the top of the rotation on a postseason contender. While this is more than Stroman has left on his deal, it is a lot closer comparison than the Chris Archer deal. In that trade the Yankees gave up Dustin Fowler, Jorge Mateo and James Kaprielian, who were their fourth, eighth and twelfth ranked prospects respectively according to MLB.com. However, both Fowler and Kaprielian’s trade values had been significantly diminished at the time of the trade due to injury. Kaprielian was only a few months removed from Tommy John surgery and Fowler had torn his right patellar tendon after crashing into the while during the first inning of his MLB debut. At the time of the deal, the Yankees were considered to have a top farm system, like the Twins do now. So, if the Twins were to offer up their fourth, eighth and twelfth ranked prospects, according to MLB.com, the deal would include Trevor Larnach, Jhoan Duran and Stephen Gonsalves. To me, this seems like a much more realistic trade proposal for the Blue Jays to receive than one that would match the Chris Archer deal. However, since Gray still had an entire extra year of control remaining, it still stands to question that a fair trade for Stroman would be a little less expensive than that. With all those factors laid out, we can start to make a more accurate prediction as to what it should cost to acquire Marcus Stroman. While this isn’t an exact science, because we don’t know exactly how the Twins and Blue Jays value the players in the Twins farm systems, and we don’t know exactly what other teams are willing to offer, we can probably get pretty close to a fair market value for Stroman. Personally, I think both Royce Lewis and Alex Kirilloff should not be on the table in trade discussions for Stroman, as each carries much more value to the organization than acquiring Stroman for one and a half years would. Additionally, I find it hard to believe that the Twins will look to move Brusdar Graterol right now with his value being diminished due to his shoulder injury. This leaves both Trevor Larnach and Jordan Balazovic to injclued as the headliner in the return package back to the Blue Jays. I think it will take at least one of these two, plus one or two other mid-level prospects to get the deal done. My Offer: Trevor Larnach, Lewis Thorpe and Nick Gordon What do you think? Is this package enticing enough to convince the Blue Jays to trade Marcus Stroman to the Twins, or is this offer too much to give up for him? What would you be willing to trade away to get Stroman? Let us know in the comment section down below. Click here to view the article

Today is a day like many other days during the Major League Baseball season. There’s both day and night games, and teams across the nation have scheduled contests. Unlike other days, today is a day in which every major leaguer will wear number 42. Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, and his digits forever remain retired paying homage to his efforts. More than just a color barrier though, this is a story of equality. Although baseball has come a long ways in that vein, there’s still one large stain on the sport. The reality is that minor league baseball is the lifeblood of future major league generations. It’s on the farm that baseball dreams are realized, and the players earning those promotions are effectively rising towards the ultimate goal. Regrettably, minor league baseball is classified as an apprenticeship, stifled on an earnings scale, and publicly lobbied against in respect to livable conditions. It’s been a problem for years, and the discussion is finally heating up. Exactly one month ago today, a writer from Michigan flipped the conversation on its head. Emily Waldon, an emerging talent recently hired by The Athletic, penned a piece that effectively dropped a bomb on Minor League Baseball as a whole. No longer was the discussion regarding the minor league pay scale cordoned to select avenues of Twitter or held back by the small audience passionately discussing the topic. Waldon’s piece, in which she talked with a handful of people directly impacted by the harsh reality, reached and audience a long time coming. When the story originally came out, the Tweets we’re shared thousands of times. The lines were poured over, the story itself was retold and rippled throughout baseball. Waldon not only presented factual and accurate information, but she did so in a way that was conveyed with the utmost journalistic ability. Heartstrings were tugged, action was demanded, and thought was provoked. Emily didn’t know she’d be here, she didn’t realize this would be a path she’d blaze, and she certainly couldn’t have predicted being this catalyst. “Honestly, I never had the goal of being involved on the minor league circuit, it just sort of fell in my lap…The track that led to the farm system was purely to fill a need for the site I was writing for and just sort of unfolded from that point.” Even after writing such an impactful piece, Waldon realizes this isn’t about her and sees the issue as something needing to be addressed. Rather than credit what has taken place, or acknowledge the necessary discussion sparked, this has just been the culmination of work she is passionate about. “There have been many people before me who have written about these issues. My piece was really just a move to try and shed more of an honest light into how the season goes for the players and their families.” It's because of her ability, track record, and previous work that this was even able to come to fruition. “I've wanted to write that piece for a long time. The issue and biggest challenge was gaining enough trust from the players for them to give me their experiences.” Clearly, it’s not lost on Waldon that there’s much more than a story being uncovered here, and the lasting impact is something that is an actionable goal when the dust settles. As we jump back to today, change has occurred and while it isn’t monumental in number, it’s massive from an impact standpoint. Just three days after Emily’s report the Toronto Blue Jays announced that minor leaguers would receive a 50% pay raise. Obviously MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark approved of the decision, but it’s one that the major league union needs to put more pressure on. Working towards a livable wage presents a competitive advantage for Toronto’s organization, and while that shouldn’t be a driving factor, it making a production-based impact for even one prospect would provide significant return on investment. Staying true to how she has represented herself, Waldon saw the reaction to her piece through the eyes of humility and gratefulness. A landscape altering article, from the hard work of someone who has risen to national prominence on her own, the reaction was simply thankfulness. ” The response blew me away. It's what I wanted but had no idea what to expect. Players were very pleased, and I received a lot of good feedback from team officials, as well. I was very humbled by how well it was accepted.” For as much good has come from this reality being placed in a greater light, and for as much notoriety has been shed on the abilities of Emily Waldon, this is just the beginning. The Toronto Blue Jays took swift and measured action, but right now, they are alone. Minor League ballplayers are still grinding away at their craft. Small cities across the country play host to teams with a couple thousand fans in attendance. Although not every one of these players is the next Mike Trout, each of them is putting in the work to help their organization achieve the ultimate goal. Discussing equality doesn’t always take place regarding the same circumstances. There’s never going to be a time in which any avenue of society should cease striving to be better. We’re always working towards something, and with this story Emily can end us like this, “My hope is more players get on board with what the Blue Jays have done. The players aren't expecting Major League salaries, but they need to know their organizations support them enough to boost compensation.” No one is looking for a change that shatters expectations, but the game of baseball continuing to be one that does truly breed equality needs to trickle down a few levels farther. For more from Off The Baggy, click here. Follow @tlschwerz

Greetings from Target Field, where it is sunny and warm as the Twins look to make it two in a row over the visiting Toronto Blue Jays. It’ll be righty Bartolo Colon (4.69 ERA, 4.94 FIP in 63.1 innings with the Twins) on the mound for the Twins and the second lefty in a row on the mound for Toronto in J.A. Happ (3.73 ERA, 4.00 FIP in 125.1 innings). More on that in a bit. It’s Big Sexy night at Target Field, and it’s not just because Colon is taking the mound. The Twins had a special ticket package that included a ticket to the game and a special t-shirt, and it sold out in advance of Friday night’s game. What exactly encompasses the mystique of Big Sexy? Manager Paul Molitor tried to describe it. “I’m sure there are a lot of people who have tried to describe it,” Molitor offered. “The fact he’s been able to continually deny the odds and do what he’s done in the game, do it in a way that’s colorful, doing it in a way that’s obviously very fun-loving in terms of his attitude toward the game. he knows the seriousness of baseball, but he could just as well be playing a little sandlot ball with his buddies. you just never know what particular antic he’s going to bring to a game.” It’s not just a sideshow, though, Molitor said. The burly righty has done a good job cutting the tension for a club that’s in the middle of a race to the postseason. “Added to that, he’s pitching pretty good baseball,” Molitor said. “(Colon) along with other guys out there, are like ‘Hey, everything’s going to be fine.’ Guys, for the most part, are just doing what they’re doing. We haven’t seen too many guys show up in terms of pressure affecting how they pitch or hit. There’s going to be moments — the game gets pretty big at times. We just try to slow it down. But having those veteran presences certainly helps.” On a nice note, Jose Berrios and his wife Jannieliz welcomed their second child on Friday afternoon around 2:20. It’s a healthy baby boy named Diego, and Molitor said that he told Jose to take some time to be with his family before showing up to the ballpark sometime tonight. There had been some chatter about Berrios dealing with fatigue of late, though Molitor said that’s more of a general fatigue as opposed to arm fatigue. “I think it’s more general fatigue than arm,” Molitor said. “We’re just going to try to be smart, whether it’s how long we let him go on a given day to the fact that we all know how he works out. We’ve been trying to get him to back off a little bit. Not to stop working out, but just to conserve the best you can for the days you pitch. We’ll have to see when he goes out there how he looks on a given day and how he’s feeling. I’m not concerned to the point where I have to back him off a start or anything, but you have to keep an eye on these things late in the year.” Molitor added that Berrios is not throwing full bullpens at this point in the year, and that his last one was limited to just 15 pitches. For the full story, click here to read it on Zone Coverage.

The Minnesota Twins had a day off on Monday. Some of the players went to the Minnesota Vikings season opener. Hopefully all of them got some quality rest. The Twins now have 19 games in the next 20 days. And that's assuming there isn't a Game 163, which the Twins have a bit of experience with. Let's take a look at the Twins' opponents over these final 19 games.The Twins have just one off-day (on Monday, September 25th) remaining. Other than that, it's full-steam ahead toward the regular season's finish line. There remain high hopes among players and fans alike that the season will continue beyond the regular season's final regularly scheduled day (Sunday, October 1st). The opponents over the final 19 games comprise an interesting mix of teams. There are a couple of teams playing out the string. There is one team that pretty much never loses. And there is one team that the Twins have some hopes of catching before the end of the season, likely in an attempt to get to play them one more time. Here is a quick look at the remaining opponents on the Twins: San Diego Padres (September 12-13): The Twins played two games in San Diego earlier in the season, and now they will play their final interleague games, starting tonight. The Padres are 65-79 on the season. However, the team just came off of a series in which they won two out of three against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The weekend before, they won three out of four against the Los Angeles Dodgers, starting their losing streak. In between, they lost three out of four to the St. Louis Cardinals. Toronto Blue Jays (September 14-17): The Twins will play four games at home this weekend against the Blue Jays, a team that has had their number in recent years, but the Twins won two out of three in Toronto in late August. The Blue Jays beat Baltimore on Monday, and before that they won two out of three against the Tigers. Before that, they lost two out of three to the Red Sox. New York Yankees (September 18-20): The Twins will travel to the Bronx to take on the team they are chasing for the top wild card position. They are currently four games behind the Yankees for that spot, but that could be different in a week. This is a good Yankees team, but it isn't your older brother's Yankees. Derek Jeter isn't going to walk through that door. Jorge Posada and Bernie Williams aren't going to walk through that door. And if they did... Well, they're still a very good team, obviously, illustrated by being 13 games over .500. They beat Tampa Bay last night. Before that they won two out of three games in September series against the Rangers, the Orioles and the Red Sox (technology and all). Detroit Tigers (September 21-24 (away), September 29-October 1 (Target Field): The Twins and Tigers will play seven times down the stretch. That should be a good thing for the Twins. The Tigers are currently 60-83 and challenging the Chicago White Sox for the cellar in the AL Central. Of course, the White Sox were trying to be bad this year (acquiring tons of top prospects along the way). The Tigers have traded some of their players, like JD Martinez and more recently, Justin Verlander. Victor Martinez is out for the year. These can be tough games though. This month, the Tigers have lost all five games they've played against Cleveland, and by a combined score of 5-40. They lost two out of three to Toronto this weekend, but before that, they won two out of three against the Royals. Cleveland (September 26-28): I mean... wow! They are now 88-56 on the season and currently have won 19 games in a row, one short of the record. They are 13.5 games ahead of the Twins. Their Magic Number to win the division is down to six. It is very likely that they will clinch the division this sometime this weekend which will make these late-season games against the Twins pretty meaningless, but they are very likely to be very meaningful for the Twins. In this 19-game winning steak, they are 5-0 against Detroit, 3-0 against Baltimore, 4-0 against the White Sox, 3-0 against the Royals, 3-0 against the Yankees, and 1-0 against the Red Sox. Their last loss came to the Red Sox on August 23rd. So there you have it, the schedule the rest of the way for the Twins. Here is a quick look at the current standings in the American League Wild Card: Here are the upcoming schedules for the Twins Wild Card competition: Los Angeles Angels (19 games) 3 vs Houston 3 vs Texas 3 vs Cleveland 3 @ Houston 4 @ Chicago White Sox 3 vs Seattle Texas Rangers (19 games) 3 vs Seattle 3 @ Angels 3 @ Seattle 3 @ Oakland 3 vs Houston 4 vs Oakland Kansas City Royals (19 games) 2 vs White Sox 4 @ Cleveland 3 @ Toronto 3 @ White Sox 1 @ NY Yankees 3 vs Detroit 3 vs Arizona Seattle Mariners (18 games) 3 @ Texas 3 @ Houston 3 vs Texas 3 vs Cleveland 3 @ Oakland 3 @ Angels Baltimore Orioles (18 games) 2 @ Toronto 4 @ NY Yankees 3 vs Boston 4 vs Tampa Bay 2 @ Pittsburgh 3 @ Tampa Bay Tampa Bay Rays (17 games) 2 vs NY Yankees 3 vs Boston 2 vs Cubs 4 @ Baltimore 3 @ NY Yankees 3 vs Baltimore There you have it. It's going to be a fun, interesting final three weeks... Click here to view the article

We haven't done anything [yet], but we've put ourselves in good position. -- Twins general manager Terry Ryan, 5/25/15 The Minnesota Twins are within striking distance of the AL Central lead in April for the first time since 2010. At 26-18, they are eight games above .500, the first time they have been three or more games above .500 since the 2011 season. They are getting contributions from hitters up and down their lineup, the starting pitching is holding its own, and yet fans remain jaded after four years of losing baseball. After only playing three of their last 14 games at home, the Twins are in the middle of a six-game homestand followed against two AL East foes, the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays, giving people the opportunity to make a judgement on this surprising team with their own two eyes. “You can always trace back to the fact that our starting pitchers are giving us a chance almost each and every day, and the people that we bring in our bullpen have certainly held up their end,” said manager Paul Molitor before the first game against the Boston Red Sox. “And offensively, you can look at our stat sheet and see that it's a mixed bag. We've got a lot of guys doing a lot of things -- scoring runs, driving in runs -- and that's kind of what we need. It's not like we have those couple of guys that are locked in there at 4 and 5 that are gonna carry us for any given time, it's been well spread out.” Make no mistake, there is reason to be skeptical about this team, given that the Twins are coming off four straight 90-loss seasons following the team’s 94-win campaign in 2010. Gone are the likes of Michael Cuddyer, Justin Morneau and Denard Span, as well as manager Ron Gardenhire, and yet top prospects like Oswaldo Arcia, Kennys Vargas and Josmil Pinto are in Triple-A. Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano, the Glimmer Twins, have lost some of their luster following injury and inconsistent play in the minors. And Alex Meyer, a 25 year old 6’8” hard-throwing pitching prospect that was traded straight-up for Span, has been moved to the bullpen in order to try and straighten him out. Promise resides in youth, and yet most of the team’s best young talent can’t crack the major league roster. The team’s winning ways remain a mystery, which lends credence to the notion that this really is a 75-win team that is bound to regress at some point unless they get a serious push from their best young players. Some people believe that Minnesota has wins “banked” because of the unexpected games won early in the season, while others feel that this team is due for a 10-game losing streak at some point in the season that will even things out. To be fair, this team isn’t all just low-ceiling veterans. Aaron Hicks, 25, appears to have turned things around, at least in some capacity, and Eddie Rosario, 23, should benefit from the major league experience he’s getting right now, just as Trevor May, 25, did when he floundered last year and was able to get his feet under him before this season. Danny Santana, 24, has committed 10 errors at shortstop, however, and his .233/.253/.320 line indicates he’s coming back to earth after hitting .319/.353/.472 in 403 plate appearances while holding his own defensively last year considering he was playing out of position at center field last year, and Vargas has already been sent down to Triple-A in order to try and find his power swing again. “He wasn't driving the ball, they were pitching him tough,” general manager Terry Ryan said, explaining Vargas’ demotion. “If you're gonna be in the DH role, you're gonna ultimately have to be some kind of run producer.” The difference between this year and last year’s club, Ryan believes, is in the team’s ability to win the close games. “The last three or four years we've found ways to lose those games,” he said before the team’s most recent series against the Boston Red Sox. “This year we've just found ways to win instead of lose.” Certainly having Mike Pelfrey, a first round pick in 2005 who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2012, play to his capabilities helps, as does Kyle Gibson’s improved consistency -- the team’s first round selection in 2009 is suddenly looking like the player analysts though he could become when they rated him as a Top 100 prospect in 2010, ‘11 and ‘13. The Twins have also gotten surprisingly good outings from Blaine Boyer, a 33 year old journeyman, and of course have the reliable Glen Perkins closing games out for them following a season that ended in injury. “I'm not gonna tell you that I'm shocked that we're winning games,” said Ryan. “I said way back in February or March that we kind of like this club, and no one believed us, I know that, because we didn't give you any reason to believe. Now we're starting to win them, and people are starting to see a little bit, 'Hey, maybe they're a little better than we thought.' That's a good feeling.” Even way back in November, when the Gardenhire firing was still fresh, Ryan was talking about playoffs. Following the Nov. 4 press conference announcing the hiring of Molitor, Ryan told the media he expected the team to make the postseason. “As everybody in this game should be pointing towards the playoffs, we are too,” he said in a heated exchange, during which he vowed to supplement the starting rotation. “I expect to get into the playoffs every year. Why should we take the diamond?” A month later he inked Ervin Santana, a notoriously durable 32 year old free agent, to a 4-year, $54 million contract. At the time, he emphasized the team’s depth in the starting rotation while downplaying the need for a bona fide ace. “Well, I’m not sure you need a true No. 1 to get to the postseason,” Ryan said on Dec. 15 following the signing. “We have not had a true No. 1 in many of those years that we got there, so if you’ve got the five solid, you’ve got a pretty good chance to get there, and then let the playoffs dictate exactly where you’re headed.” This sounded insane at the time. Ryan already had the Twins in the postseason, and it sounded like he was making the ace expendable, as though the Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals spent upwards of $200 million on Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer just for the hell of it. On top of that, Pelfrey and Ricky Nolasco were not living up to their free agent deals, Gibson was still inconsistent, May was a wild card, and Tommy Milone had not finished the season well after coming over from the Oakland A’s in exchange for outfielder Sam Fuld. At the very least, Ryan got his glut of pitchers now, even with Santana suspended 80 games at the beginning of the year for PED use. Pelfrey and Gibson are the team’s best two pitchers, Phil Hughes appears to have turned things around following a bad start, May is pitching like a top prospect should and Nolasco went 7.2 innings to earn his 100th win in a 7-2 victory over Boston to kick off the homestand. Milone was sent down to Triple-A following a string of uninspiring performances, only to register a 0.28 ERA and 41 strikeouts in four starts with Rochester. When asked about how he’s going to go about bringing Milone back into the fold, Ryan essentially shrugged his shoulders, saying he’ll just see how it plays out. “Things are good, everything is going fine, and his opportunity will arise,” said Ryan. “I don't think there's any question whether or not it's in the next few weeks, but I suspect it will come about. It never fails.” Essentially, Pitchers get hurt or go in slumps; it’s nice to have the depth. Ryan’s words in the offseason have proven prescient so far, but only time will tell if the Twins can keep this pace up. It’s only six games in a 162 game season, but these next few home games matter if only because fans can see this team up close and personal as they close in on Kansas City for the AL Central lead. With Minnesota, a team that hasn’t had a winning season since Target Field opened in 2010, sometimes you have to see it to believe it. This article was originally posted on the Cold Omaha section of 105TheTicket.com. Tom Schreier can be heard at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays with Ben Holsen and Mike Morris and co-hosts a morning show 8-10 a.m. on Sundays. <a href="https://twitter.com/tschreier3" class="twitter-follow-button"