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About this blog

Twins Blogger Since 2008

Follow my inane musings at @GreggTMasterson on Twitter

Entries in this blog

Greggory T. Masterson's Twins blog about the Minnesota Twins of the Twin Cities, Minnesota

I Kind of Miss 0-18

The following is an excerpt from the 2024 Gregg Media Guide, a 35-page lighthearted collection of essays, player profiles, a prospect list, and more that I penned prior to the 2024 season. The opening essay was the most serious piece of writing, as it's something that I've thought a lot about over the last year, even if it might not make sense to everyone. I've decided to post it here, in case anyone else finds it interesting. ~~~~ I’m being serious. I kind of miss 0-18. If you are dee
Greggory T. Masterson's Twins blog about the Minnesota Twins of the Twin Cities, Minnesota

If Carlos Correa Is Such A Great Assistant GM Then Why Did He Let cheap pohlad Cut Payroll?

Alright folks listen up I have some thoughts I want to get off my chest and I'm digging deeper then a home run hit by the REAL TC Bear at the Metrodome so buckle up.  In this essay, I will explore and evaluate Carlos Correa's performance as assistant general manager, 2 years in. On January 11th 2023 a day that will live in infamy Carlos Correa who was turned down because of medicals by the giants and Mets came crawling back to Minnesota because no one else would take him and he got 200 mill
Greggory T. Masterson's Twins blog about the Minnesota Twins of the Twin Cities, Minnesota

What We as Fans Know Definitively About Byron Buxton’s Knee

It’s a frustrating situation. As we formulate our own opinions about what the Twins should do about the Byron Buxton conundrum, it’s important to understand all of the information we have. Whether you hope to provide an opinion on how his recovery should be handled, whether he’ll play center field in 2024 if ever again, or if he should retire, we need to keep in mind the facts about Buxton’s knee that we personally know. Here they are:
Greggory T. Masterson's Twins blog about the Minnesota Twins of the Twin Cities, Minnesota

Why Every Single Twins Hitter Is Actually Just Another Miguel Sano

We've all been there before, battling against a Pollyanna Twins fan who just doesn't get it! The guy is a bum! As they obstinately prattle on citing reason or having watched an MLB game before, the rage grows inside of you until you remember your trump card: He's just another Miguel Sano. For your reference, I've compiled a list of 2023 Twins hitters and why they're just another Miguel Sano. If you ever meet someone who just won't listen to a baseball genius like yourself, you'll always hav
Greggory T. Masterson's Twins blog about the Minnesota Twins of the Twin Cities, Minnesota

What the Recent Number Changes can Tell Us

On December 10th, it was announced that a few Twins had changed their jersey numbers. Trevor Larnach from 13 to 9, Emilio Pagán from 12 to 15, Kyle Farmer from 17 to 12, Bailey Ober from 16 to 17, and Griffin Jax 65 to 22. This is nothing out of the ordinary; a few players each offseason on any team will request a number change for one reason or another. However, this time, something peculiar happened shortly thereafter. Joey Gallo was signed less than a week later, and he claimed the
Greggory T. Masterson's Twins blog about the Minnesota Twins of the Twin Cities, Minnesota

The value of the Twins moving up in the draft

This blog is written under the assumption that MLB teams with a robust amateur scouting system working hand-in-hand with a competent player development system will draft players better than a random guess or Keith Law's prospect rankings. You have been warned. In the first year of the MLB Draft Lottery, your Minnesota Twins were the greatest beneficiaries of the new system, moving from Pick 13 to Pick 5. Although draft order in MLB does not matter nearly as much as in other major sports, ev
Greggory T. Masterson's Twins blog about the Minnesota Twins of the Twin Cities, Minnesota

The threshold didn't even need to be Sonny Gray

At the beginning of the offseason, Nick Nelson laid out the concept of the Sonny Gray Threshold™, the idea that the Twins need to sign a pitcher better than Sonny Gray to make a worthwhile difference on next year's team, moving everyone in the rotation down a peg. I'm of the opinion that the threshold could be considerably lower than Sonny Gray, but the Twins have yet to even do that. Mind you, if you just read that last sentence and, in your head, it said "I don't want the Twins to sign a
Greggory T. Masterson's Twins blog about the Minnesota Twins of the Twin Cities, Minnesota

The Joey Gallo signing makes sense, actually

Go ahead, give me your hokey analytics about "Joey Gallo only hits .200," "There are now 5 lefty corner outfielders on this team," and "Joey Gallo has the highest K rate of all time." Well guess what nerds, I care about the stallion in the Italian, not what his "box score" may look like. Jokes aside, although not a world-moving acquisition, I think that it makes some sense, though it broke at an unfortunate time--two days after Correa signed with San Francisco and one day after Carlos Rodón
Greggory T. Masterson's Twins blog about the Minnesota Twins of the Twin Cities, Minnesota

How many free agent misses is too many free agent misses?

The great American poet Chester Bennington once said "I tried so hard and got so far, but in the end, it doesn't even matter." Every time that a notable (read: league-average) player signs with a team other than Minnesota, we hear the same complaints: "Typical Twins, always in the mix but never get it done." Why is it that almost every time a guy signs, it's not with the Twins? Well, we can start with there being 29 other teams, so surely the club can't sign every player they're intere
Greggory T. Masterson's Twins blog about the Minnesota Twins of the Twin Cities, Minnesota

Carlos Correa has great clubhouse presence, but what does that matter?

As the stove continues to get hotter and hotter and the Carlos Correa decision seems to be moments away, the value of his clubhouse presence is brought up as a hedge against skill regression with age. Even if he isn't able to play at an above average level, at least they'll have him in the clubhouse. But what do we actually know about the concept of "clubhouse presence" when it comes to measurable effects? Sure, it's a fun idea to throw out to express a hypothetical value, but what does it actua
Greggory T. Masterson's Twins blog about the Minnesota Twins of the Twin Cities, Minnesota

If Luis Arraez were to be traded, my new favorite stat would be in jeopardy

Do I think that Luis Arraez is in any great danger to be traded? No. He doesn't have enough value to be the centerpiece in a trade for top end starting pitching. I would be sad though. Upon his winning of the AL batting title, I did some research, and found an interesting statistic, which I shared on Reddit at the time with some inaccuracies, and I want to write up here as well as the definitive edition. The Twins have had the AL batting champion 15 times since 1964, a whopping 26% of
Greggory T. Masterson's Twins blog about the Minnesota Twins of the Twin Cities, Minnesota

Gilberto Celestino's career has been something of a tragedy, but the Twins still have time to salvage it

In the 2019 offseason, the Twins had four promising young outfielders in the minors who could reasonably be projected to stick as MLB centerfielders, occupying at least a 4th outfielder role--Misael Urbina, Gabriel Maciel, Akil Baddoo, and Gilberto Celestino. Urbina (20) is still in the organization, finishing the season at A-ball Ft. Myers. Maciel was claimed off waivers before the 2022 season by Oakland. Baddoo, quite infamously, was taken by the Tigers in the 2020 Rule 5 Draft, a fact th
Greggory T. Masterson's Twins blog about the Minnesota Twins of the Twin Cities, Minnesota

The Twins are a righty away from some fun matchups

Okay, the title ignores the whole shortstop situation, but hear me out. Actually it also ignores the catcher issue as well, but just keep reading. I'll briefly address them later. When @vikingsfan1936 commented "Failvine found there missing piece ..." and "World Sereis here we  come" under Dan Hayes's tweets about the Twins' trade for Kyle Farmer and resigning of Kyle Garlick, respectively, he might not actually be too far off the mark. Obviously, no one would say that the Two Kyles™️ solve
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