5 Twins Players That Need Improved Performance Following the Trade Deadline

[Cody Christie]

Minnesota's front office was quiet at the trade deadline, which can frustrate fans. Instead of trading for upgrades, the Twins will rely on the group of already assembled players. Here are five players that must be relied on the most during the season's final two months.

Image courtesy of Rhona Wise-USA TODAY Sports

 

The Twins weren't expected to make significant moves before Tuesday's trade deadline. However, many believed the club would add to an overworked bullpen and a line-up that has struggled mightily versus left-handed pitching. Instead, the front office will stick with the roster they assembled, which has the highest payroll in team history. 

Following the trade deadline, the message from the front office was similar to recent weeks. Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said. "We've seen stretches of our performance as a team that we think can go do that. I don't think that there were clear opportunities here that we felt were going to be achievable based on the conversations that we were having that would change that significantly, so I feel like we think this is a good roster. We think this is a good team. We believe in it. We believe in the group that's in the clubhouse."

For the Twins to win the AL Central, the team must be more consistent in all facets of the game. Here are five players critical to the team's division title hopes. 

5. Joey Gallo, 1B/OF
The Twins announced that Alex Kirilloff's shoulder injury will cause him to miss more time, pushing Gallo into a more regular role at first base. Gallo started the season hot but has been arguably the team's worst hitter for most of the season. Since June 1st, he is hitting .153/.231/.378 (.609) while also providing negative defensive value (-2.1 DEF). Gallo's calling cards for his career have been an ability to get on base, hit for power, and provide strong defense. He's failed to deliver in all areas for the Twins, so does he have anything left in the tank for the stretch run?

4. Jovani Moran, RP
Caleb Thielbar recently returned from injury, but there are no guarantees when it comes to the performance of a 36-year-old pitcher. Moran has made the third most appearances in the Twins bullpen behind Griffin Jax and Emilio Pagan. Over his last 21 appearances, he has a 7.64 ERA with a 5.60 BB/9. His walk rate is too high, but there are signs that he might be getting unlucky. His 3.61 FIP and 4.34 xFIP are significantly lower than his ERA, and his .354 BABIP is higher than his career average. Moran can upgrade the bullpen if he pitches closer to some of his peripheral numbers. 

3. Jhoan Duran, RP
Duran has been a revelation over the last two seasons while shifting from a starting pitching prospect to one of baseball's best late-inning relievers. Unfortunately, the Twins tend not to add to their bullpen mix through free agency, which puts added pressure on Duran. His performance has suffered in recent weeks. Since June 1st, he has a 4.43 ERA with 3.54 BB/9 and 25% HR/FB. Duran must perform at his best for the bullpen to succeed. Minnesota didn't add to the bullpen, which will force Rocco Baldelli to use Duran regularly. He will be responsible for some losses down the stretch without his best stuff.

2. Joe Ryan, SP
Minnesota's starting pitchers have struggled in the second half, none more so than Ryan. His first half was tremendous, putting him in the conversation for making his first All-Star team. However, he has posted a 5.90 ERA with an .821 opponent's OPS in his last 11 appearances while surrendering 17 home runs. Ryan is part of the team's long-term plans, and he must make adjustments to succeed in the season's final months. Last season, he pitched around 150 innings, and he's approaching 130 innings during the 2023 campaign. The team needs to monitor his performance as he gets closer to a career-high innings total. 

1. Byron Buxton, DH
Buxton is arguably the most critical player to Minnesota's success. It's seemingly more unlikely for him to step foot in center field this season, but that doesn't make his performance less valuable. Many expected the Twins to add a right-handed bat at the deadline, but an improved Buxton is the easiest way to increase the team's offensive output. Many of the team's struggles against lefties are tied to his streakiness in the batter's box. There have been signs that Buxton's bat is starting to wake up since he returned from paternity leave, including five doubles in three games. Can Buxton stay hot for the remainder of the season and carry the Twins to the playoffs?

How would you rank the players that need to improve the most? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. 

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[Fire Dan Gladden]

Cody, why 5?  The number is probably closer to 10 or 12.

[LA Vikes Fan]

You're right. I clicked on the article to see which 5 would be included. Shocked Correa isn't on the list. 

[HokieRif]

Yeah - why 5?  or is that a typo and you meant to say 25?

[Kenny Powers]

My five based on current OPS vs. Career (expected) OPS:

1.)  Vazquez.  Current .593.  Career .680

2.)  Buxton.  Current .731.  Career .760

3.)  Gallo.  Current .733.  Career .780

4.)  Polanco.  Current .710.  Career .770

5.)  Correa.  Current .686.  Career .820

 

These guys are just flat out under performing.

[chpettit19]

1A. Correa
1B. Buxton
1C. Lewis- To make up for 1A and 1B just a little

None of the rest matter if 1A and 1B don't perform better. I mean if the rest of the roster is fully healthy, and performs to their ceilings starting September 1 through the end of their playoff run, they could make up for 1A and 1B being bad. But that's not very likely. Your stars have to be stars as they're the ones you count on to pick up the slack, not provide slack that needs to be picked up by non-stars.

[Blyleven2011]

I usually don't follow the lead  but I'll go along with why just 5 , we have 26 players on the roster and it should be a team effort  ,,,

they aren't playing in harmony  ...

You would think they couldn't get any worse but nothing really supports them getting any better , 52 games left , first 110 games and alot of the games were  hard to watch ....

[DocBauer]

My initial thought was, "just 5??"

Agree with chpettit19 that Buxton and Correa are huge keys.

Can Kepler actually continue to perform solidly that last couple of months?

Please, let us have Lewis and Kirilloff back soon, and healthy for the rest of the year.

I still like Moran and do believe he's been a little "unlucky" when you look at his numbers. But better luck only gets you so far.

Finally...I absolutely, positively would NOT have Gallo on this list. Why? Because he shouldn't be on the roster. Nothing against him personally, but being a veteran and a LH bat means nothing when you can't hit....I mean at ALL...K like you are trying to set a personal record, and produce nothing except an occasional dinger every few weeks. 2022 and all but 1 month of 2023 have shown us what they've shown us. Time for someone, almost anyone, to be brought up that is deserving an opportunity. Williams at 1B and giving us a powerful RH option?

[Dave Borton]

1. Correa

2. Kepler

3. Ryan

4. Vazquez

5. Taylor

Buxton to IL. Eat that uninsured contract. Clogging DH and club.
Gallo DFA. $3MM, swallow hard and move on.

 

[CRF]

There's more than 5.

[mikelink45]

Don't forget Farmer 696 

I see Michael Taylor listed.  He should not be.  He is over his career OPS.  He has saved us from the Buxton meltdown and the Celestino failure and the Kepler refusal.

And then we have the pitchers.  Not pretty, but thanks Cleveland, we will slide to the division championship. 

[blindeke]

Sadly, Correa is the main guy who should be on this list...

[Karbo]

Maybe the FO should be on the list. After all they put this team together with its all or nothing hitting style.

[rv78]

Gallo making the list is a joke. He isn't crucial to the team and never has been. Shouldn't be on the roster. Shouldn't have been acquired. Correa continuing to flounder at the plate is more of a detriment. His move to the leadoff spot has fizzled. Why is he still batting there Rocco? Solano, Castro, Farmer, Jeffers, Julien, Wallner all have higher on base percentage than Dior Man and would be much better options to leadoff. Even Taylor who regularly bats 9th has outperformed the $33M dud at the plate. Maybe Rocco's reasoning for keeping him in the leadoff spot is that it is one less time per game that he can hit into a doubleplay.

[Otaknam]

Where is Correa on this list? He and Buxton are the poster boys for what ails this team, given their lack of production and contracts. 

[John Belinski]

14 hours ago, CRF said:

There's more than 5.

There are at least 7 or maybe 8 that need to improve.  It is hard to believe the Twins are in first place with so many batters hitting below .250.  One night we had 8 batters hitting below .250 and the other team had only 2 batters below .250.  

[rv78]

Caption for the above picture with Gallo pointing 2 fingers into the sky......

Thank You Lord for finding me the fools that gave me $11M.

[Ricky Vaughn]

3 hours ago, rv78 said:

 Correa continuing to flounder at the plate is more of a detriment. His move to the leadoff spot has fizzled. Why is he still batting there Rocco?

My best guess is its 1 less at bat he can hit into a double play.

[Dave The Dastardly]

4 hours ago, rv78 said:

Caption for the above picture with Gallo pointing 2 fingers into the sky......

Thank You Lord for finding me the fools that gave me $11M.

Two beers, please.

[Dave The Dastardly]

4 hours ago, rv78 said:

Caption for the above picture with Gallo pointing 2 fingers into the sky......

Thank You Lord for finding me the fools that gave me $11M.

I missed that last pitch by that much!

[stringer bell]

Correa needs to step it up to his career norms for the last quarter of the season. Buxton needs to hit or not be on the active  roster. The Twins have a bunch of DHs. Putting an underperforming Buxton there hurts in that an inferior defensive player has to play in the field.