Rumor: Twins will seek bullpen help and a right-handed bat at the deadline, according to Falvey

[Mike Sixel]

3 hours ago, USAFChief said:

1. Pump the breaks a little on Stewart and Thielbar. Neither are back yet, for one thing. For another, Stewart is a 31 YO waiver wire claim who has 100+ MLB innings of 5+ ERA and 1.5 WHIP in his background. He certainly had a nice couple months for the Twins, but it wouldn't surprise me if he is the same guy he's always been if he comes back. Thielbar is 36.

2. Do you want to see any of Sands, Ortega or Balazovic pitch in a playoff game?

 

I'm good with Balazaovic, yes. Not sure on Ortega. No, not wanting Sands in the playoffs, but I could be wrong.

I do agree, we might not see Stewart back. I'm fairly confident Thielbar will be though. 

[Mike Sixel]

I'm good with adding a guy they think is as good as Jax or better. I have no interest in a lesser arm. 

I'm actually surprised Ober hasn't been shut down for a bit, and Keuchel promoted. But maybe they've decided Ober can just keep going, like the old days.

[gman]

We have 4 good but not great players sitting on the IL right now who could be back in August. Probably as good as anyone we are LIKELY to trade for. Polanco hits right as well as left, Lewis who is a right handed hitter, Thielbar a lefty reliever and Stewart a righty reliever. No cost but time. Thielbar scheduled for St Paul rehab starting today. Polanco has already been on rehab assignment in ST Paul. Lewis took batting practice on Friday and is hoping to be back early August.

Stewart some  time in August. Alcala and Paddock possible September. Gordon is running. No set time for any of these 4.

I wouldn't give up much to trade for anyone that would be a short term rental.

[wabene]

I'm getting the feeling they think Ober is healthy and young and they are just going to let him roll. They do limit him more to 80-90 pitches than 90-100.

I'm very surprised and dismayed with them using pen arms 3 days in a row. 

[Craig Arko]

33 minutes ago, gman said:

We have 4 good but not great players sitting on the IL right now who could be back in August. Probably as good as anyone we are LIKELY to trade for. Polanco hits right as well as left, Lewis who is a right handed hitter, Thielbar a lefty reliever and Stewart a righty reliever. No cost but time. Thielbar scheduled for St Paul rehab starting today. Polanco has already been on rehab assignment in ST Paul. Lewis took batting practice on Friday and is hoping to be back early August.

Stewart some  time in August. Alcala and Paddock possible September. Gordon is running. No set time for any of these 4.

I wouldn't give up much to trade for anyone that would be a short term rental.

I’m of this mindset as well. The players returning from the IL are likely better than what would come in any lower cost trade. I’m pretty okay standing pat.

[RLTW894]

The best trade the Twins could make is to ask Jorge Lopez which coach helped him and Cano, and then doubling or even tripling that man's salary. Even if only Lopez benefits, it would be huge and cheap. If others improve, then it would be a ridiculous steal. If that same coach could help Duran master a nasty 88mph changeup, that would be a hall of fame trade.

[Jocko87]

Went and listened to the whole interview, was interesting on a couple other fronts.

Polanco to third "he brought it up as much as we brought it up" very open to playing third.

Buxton in the outfield is a "week by week evaluation" but "focus is on getting the bat going as DH"  Outfield is not imminent, sounded more like getting time shagging fly balls as a mental exercise to me. 

Mentioned ML to ML trade for need fits several times. 

[stringer bell]

1 hour ago, Craig Arko said:

I’m of this mindset as well. The players returning from the IL are likely better than what would come in any lower cost trade. I’m pretty okay standing pat.

The last disabling injury was............Lewis(?), now that I think about it, it was Miranda. It would seem to me that someone will come up lame in the near future. Injuries seem to come in bunches and cluster in certain positions. Right now, it is relief pitchers and infielders. 

The Twins current outfield has the following OPS--LF (Gallo 103), CF (Taylor 83) RF (Kepler 100). The primary backup is Castro (89). The Twins need better production than that from their outfield. None of those guys are much better against left handed pitching. They need to add an outfielder who can hit lefties. Pham (character) and Canha (contract) aren't ideal gets, but they fit the bill as far as hitting left handed pitching. 

More bullpen please. Piecing things together with the likes of Balozovic and Ortega is okay occasionally, but adding depth in the bullpen has to be a priority. Stewart's injury recovery seems to be slow and I, too, wonder if the 25 innings of dominance might be pixie dust. Thielbar has already been on the IL twice with the same injury and no matter how he feels, he might be close to suffering the same injury again.

[Craig Arko]

44 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

The last disabling injury was............Lewis(?), now that I think about it, it was Miranda. It would seem to me that someone will come up lame in the near future. Injuries seem to come in bunches and cluster in certain positions. Right now, it is relief pitchers and infielders. 

The Twins current outfield has the following OPS--LF (Gallo 103), CF (Taylor 83) RF (Kepler 100). The primary backup is Castro (89). The Twins need better production than that from their outfield. None of those guys are much better against left handed pitching. They need to add an outfielder who can hit lefties. Pham (character) and Canha (contract) aren't ideal gets, but they fit the bill as far as hitting left handed pitching. 

More bullpen please. Piecing things together with the likes of Balozovic and Ortega is okay occasionally, but adding depth in the bullpen has to be a priority. Stewart's injury recovery seems to be slow and I, too, wonder if the 25 innings of dominance might be pixie dust. Thielbar has already been on the IL twice with the same injury and no matter how he feels, he might be close to suffering the same injury again.

But, you can make trades and get the likes of Sam Dyson, or even Matt Capps. Which might be okay, if the cost is manageable. Either way, it’s a roll of the dice, and a natural 1 is as probable as a natural 20.

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

If the Twins make the post-season with Lopez, Ryan, Gray and Ober healthy and pitching well, and if Duran and Stewart are healthy - they will have more than a good chance against anyone in the American League. The Yankees from the late 90's and early 2000's aren't walking through the door. 

Team hasn't won a playoff game since 2003. They have Correa, Buxton, and Lopez signed long-term. On some level, the Pohlad's aren't afraid to go for it. I don't expect them to mortgage the future but I'd be disappointed if they didn't do anything at all. 

Correa's absolute money in October. Can't forget about that.

[clone52]

How about signing Wil Myers as the a RH hitting OF option.  He hit lefties well last year and I think he got released, so they wouldn't have to trade anyone for him or pay him much.

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

Sands is a AAA+ pitcher. He really shouldn't be on the roster in the post-season.

 

[Shaitan]

6 hours ago, MABB1959 said:

Answer from Falvey is irritating.  He has us Twins Fans speculating again.  Would be nice to have a few names.  I could have given that "stock" answer.

That would be the worst trade negotiation strategy in history.

[dxpavelka]

9 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

Understood. He may be just a rental …..probably an 80% chance he’s just a rental. The potential for a deep playoff run, coupled with Boras relationship with CC & thus our front office may give us a shot? We can pay him with Mahle & Gray’s expiring salaries. Possible good 3 year signing.

Maybe just a rental, however, with Polanco - Lewis - Bellinger blended into our line-up for last 2 months it may get us to the 2nd Division winner slot? Certainly makes us competitive with anyone in the playoffs!!

Again, maybe a solid idea but if you break it down a little further you're looking at half of Berrios' career for two months of Bellinger.

 

[jkcarew]

I still say this is a don’t buy year…unless you can make a splash.

The Twins roster is jamb packed with guys that are ‘decent’ or ‘talented, but inconsistent’. Even St Paul has some. Don’t need any more.

You’re keeping Gray, you’re keeping Kepler. Lewis and Polanco are coming back.

I like the Idea of a right handed corner outfielder for the postseason. But even that isn’t needed to get there. 
 

Meanwhile Thielbar and Stewart should be healthy soon. A real difference maker for the bullpen…sure. But only that.

[USAFChief]

3 hours ago, jkcarew said:

Meanwhile Thielbar and Stewart should be healthy soon. A real difference maker for the bullpen…sure. But only that.

Maybe Thielbar, but he's 36. I wouldn't count on him.

I don't think Stewart has even started throwing yet, and let's keep in mind he's a waiver wire pickup. He had a nice run, but he's almost certainly not a front line guy.

[ashbury]

Tonight's game should impress on the FO that they don't have the horses in the bullpen for a serious post-season run.  Fortunately that is one of the most correctable flaws at any deadline.

[Hashim]

23 hours ago, dxpavelka said:

Consider that Bellinger will likely be incredibly difficult to re-sign and may well end up right back with the Cubs.  Just sayin

 

We don’t need anymore lefties either. 

[Mike Sixel]

32 minutes ago, Hashim said:

We don’t need anymore lefties either. 

Almost every starter is a RHP. He's so much better on offense than MAT... And that makes MAT a great defensive sub

[IndianaTwin]

Seems like we're getting a right-handed bat (who switches to a left-handed bat as appropriate) to fortify the lineup in a week or so when Polanco returns. And then another right-handed bat when Lewis returns. And I still think Buxton will right himself. I'm not that concerned about the offense -- anything that's sure to be an improvement will cost more than I'm interested in. There are enough potential parts to be able to roll with the hot hands.

Something the FO has tended to do well is have a bullpen that grows in effectiveness over the course of the year. I was doing this in my head, but I think the bullpen has given up 10 runs in 40.2 innings since the break. That's a 2.21 ERA, and is hasn't felt like smoke and mirrors, wiggling their way out of jams by luck. That may or may not be sustainable, but it points to being headed in a good direction.

I'm with Chief in pumping the breaks on assuming Thielbar and Stewart will be reinforcements, but they are two more parts to add to the mix. The sorting will continue, but with Duran, Jax, Pagan, Lopez, Balazovic, Moran, Ortega, Stewart, Thielbar and maybe Keuchel, etc., it feels like they have enough parts to be able to continue playing the hot hands there as well.

I'd be glad to add to that, but don't feel the need to break the bank on a guy like Bednar with multiple years of control. Of names I've read, David Robertson has the most appeal. A particular thing I like about Robertson is that he can be used all over the board, from closer to setup. His ego doesn't appear to have  

Last year Robertson was traded for a Class A prospect ranked 26th on the Phillies list at the time and now projected as a 2024 ETA for the Cubs. On the Twins list this year. that is C.J. Culpepper, who is . I don't know anything about him, but if Robertson could be had for somebody in that range, I'd be on board.

 

 

 

[SpicyGarvSauce]

Lewis, Polanco, Stewart, and Thielbar.

It'll be just like making a trade!

[jkcarew]

16 hours ago, USAFChief said:

Maybe Thielbar, but he's 36. I wouldn't count on him.

I don't think Stewart has even started throwing yet, and let's keep in mind he's a waiver wire pickup. He had a nice run, but he's almost certainly not a front line guy.

True. But my point would be don’t get any more of that type just to add to average-ish depth. Get a needle mover, or don’t bother.

Having said that…if you CAN’T count on Thielbar…you have to get another lefty, period.