Minnesota Twins Week in Review: St. Louis Blues

[Nick Nelson]

The Minnesota Twins picked up their 2025 season where they left off in 2024: with ugly, lifeless, losing baseball. An opening sweep in St. Louis served to set a gloomy tone for this new season, giving skeptical fans little reason to believe off the bat.

Image courtesy of Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Weekly Snapshot: Thurs, 3/27 through Sun, 3/30
***
Record Last Week: 0-3 (Overall: 0-3)
Run Differential Last Week: -13 (Overall: -13)
Standing: T-4th Place in AL Central (2.0 GB) 

Last Week's Game Results:

Game 1 | STL 5, MIN 3: Pablo Unsharp in Opener, Offense Stifled by Sonny

• López: 5 IP, 8 H, 4 R (2 ER); Bader: 2/4, HR, 2B

Game 2 | STL 5, MIN 1: Lineup Unable to Find Spark, Bullpen Struggles

• Twins 1-3 hitters: 0/12

Game 3 | STL 9, MIN 2: Shaky Ober Obliterated as Cards Complete Sweep

• Ober: 2.2 IP, 8 ER, 8 H, 3 BB, 2 HR

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NEWS & NOTES

The Twins opened the season with four players on the injured list: Royce Lewis (hamstring), Brooks Lee (back), Michael Tonkin (shoulder) and Brock Stewart (hamstring). All were injured over the course of spring training. We don't have specific timelines on any of these sidelined players yet, but presumably we'll receive some updates when the team returns home on Thursday for their first series at Target Field.

HIGHLIGHTS

The most positive thing you can say about this opening series in St. Louis is that, at least on Thursday and Saturday, the Twins didn't look as bad as the results indicate. There were plenty of good at-bats and plenty of quality pitches thrown. It was one of those series where the ball always seemed to find grass for the opponent and never for the good guys. The Cardinals also, to their credit, played exceptionally well, repeatedly making big plays in the field and coming up clutch at the plate. 

But in terms of actual performance and output for Twins players, there weren't many high points over these three games. One of the few bright spots was Trevor Larnach, who appears ready to build on last year's success in his new apparent fixed role as cleanup hitter. The biggest factor in Larnach's 2024 breakthrough was a drastic reduction in strikeout rate; he showed an increased tendency to fight off breaking balls and go the other way with outside pitches. This adaptation was back on display in a series where he went 3-for-10 with a walk and just two strikeouts.

Newcomer and fellow left fielder Harrison Bader made a nice first impression on Opening Day, going 2-for-4 with a double and a two-run homer against the team that drafted him. His one swing accounted for a full third of Minnesota's total run production in the series. Bader started twice in left field in St. Louis series, pushing Larnach to DH. 

Willi Castro, fresh off being named Twins 2024 MVP at the Diamond Awards, definitely looked the part as the lineup's biggest standout. Starting all three games at second base, Castro flashed serious pop, with all four of his hits going for extra bases, including three doubles and a homer. That's a very welcome sight after his power vanished in the second half last year, when Castro's slugging percentage dropped from .420 before the break to .329 after.

LOWLIGHTS

The offense picked up where it left off following last year's season-ending collapse. They scored just six runs in 16 hits in 27 innings against the Cardinals, with far too many prolonged stretches of nothingness. And yeah, there were some good at-bats here and there, but there were also a lot of really poor ones. Honestly this series just felt like a continuation of last September: hitters going to the plate without much of an evident plan, failing to make in-game adjustments, and falling into bad habits. 

The shortcomings start at the top: Minnesota's No. 1 through 3 hitters – Matt Wallner, Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton – went a combined 2-for-34, making it almost impossible for the offense to catalyze. The total lack of production from this trio was a major drain on a unit that couldn't muster a fruitful rally all weekend. Minnesota posted one crooked number in the entire series, when they scored two (on Bader's homer) in the fifth inning of the opener. Otherwise they were scarcely able to generate a threat, and couldn't capitalize when they did, going 3-for-20 with runners in scoring position.

The lineup's struggles are what they are. While discouraging, it's only three games, and run-scoring was not expected to be this team's calling card. Instead, the pitching staff was to be the signature strength on this roster, led by a stable of accomplished veterans in the rotation and bullpen. Namely: Pablo López, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Jhoan Durán and Griffin Jax. What most concerned me about the opening weekend is that none of those guys, with the exception of Ryan, looked much good at all.

López struggled on Opening Day, both with executing pitches and executing plays on the mound. He gave up eight hits in five innings, committing a costly balk and throwing error on the way an 0-1 record. At least his velocity and stuff looked relatively intact. 

The same could not be said for Ober, who once again delivered a dud in his first start of the season. This one, to my eye, was much more worrisome than what we saw from the righty last year in Kansas City. It didn't seem like the Cardinals necessary "had something on him," as Rocco Baldelli theorized with the Royals. Instead, Ober just had really underwhelming stuff and brutal command coming off a spring where his velocity was noticeably down. He surrendered two three-run homers in the game and both came on straight-up meatballs hung out over the plate. You don't need a lot of in-depth scouting research to crush those things. 

Hopefully Ober can flush this clunker and get on track in similar fashion to 2024. For what it's worth, Baldelli mentioned after the game that Ober had been dealing with a virus leading up the start, so perhaps that was a factor. 

On the relief front, Jax – who allowed just four home runs all of last season – gave one up to the second batter he faced in 2025, with Nolan Arenado taking him deep to pad a one-run lead in the eighth inning of the opener. Outside of that, Jax looked fine. More alarming was the performance of Jhoan Durán, who entered with a deficit on Saturday to get some work in and, well, got worked. 

Like Ober, Durán flashed diminished velocity in camp. He had a little of it back in his first regular-season outing, touching 101 a few times, but the big righty simply had no command, throwing 13 of 24 pitches for strikes. He allowed the first three batters to reach, two on free passes, before getting pulled from the game with just one out recorded. 

Look – all of these guys have made one appearance apiece. There's no reason for dramatic extrapolations. But the bottom line is that these five pitchers represent the biggest reason to believe in the 2025 Twins, from my view, and aside from Ryan they all have started their seasons on the wrong foot. 

TRENDING STORYLINE

How are the Twins going to get their offense going? You don't want to overreact to a three-game sample in the first series, but at the same time, it's difficult to have a lot of patience after what we saw from this (largely unchanged) offense at the end of last year.

There are a few small and straightforward adjustments I can see that might help give the lineup a jumpstart. The first and simplest would be getting Edouard Julien into the lineup against right-handers – potentially at second base with Castro moving to third and José Miranda to the bench. 

It's clear to me that the Twins don't have a great deal of faith in Miranda's bat based on the fact that he's been batting eighth in the lineup. The lack of faith is justified based on what we've seen: really low-quality at-bats characterized by the same overaggressiveness and persistently weak contact that defined his second-half slump in 2024. You've got to think Julien is a better option against right-handed pitching. If not, why in the world is Julien – who made zero plate appearances in the opening series – on the roster? (It does sound as though Julien like Ober has been dealing with an illness.)

The other opportunity that sticks out is to steer away from using Bader against right-handed pitchers. Bader's strong performance on Opening Day notwithstanding, this just isn't a good idea if the objective is to maximize run-scoring. The 30-year-old has a .672 career OPS against righties, yet drew starts against two of them in Minnesota's first three games.

In each of those cases, the decision was understandable – the Twins wanted to showcase their biggest offseason acquisition on Opening Day, and Sunday's starter Andre Pallante has extreme reverse splits. But if this becomes a pattern, while the offense continues to sputter, it's going to turn into a point of contention. While I recognize the value of having Bader's glove in the outfield alongside Buxton, putting him into your starting lineup against a right-hander means sacrificing the ability to use a bat-first lefty swinger like Julien or Mickey Gasper. 

LOOKING AHEAD

This season has started in exactly the way the Twins needed it NOT to, as a franchise. They're already clearly having a hard time igniting fan interest, which I suspect will be reflected by the crowd size and energy for Thursday's home opener. They can't afford to dig a deep early hole. These boys need to get going, and in a hurry. A three-game showdown against the lowly White Sox in Chicago, ahead of, will provide an opportunity to regain some composure before the Twins welcome Houston to Target Field.

MONDAY, MARCH 31: TWINS @ WHITE SOX: RHP Chris Paddack v. LHP Martin Perez
TUESDAY, APRIL 1: TWINS @ WHITE SOX — RHP Simeon Woods Richardson v. RHP Shane Smith
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2: TWINS @ WHITE SOX — RHP Pablo López v. RHP Sean Burke
THURSDAY, APRIL 3: ASTROS @ TWINS — RHP Hunter Brown v. RHP Joe Ryan
SATURDAY, APRIL 5: ASTROS @ TWINS — RHP Spencer Arrighetti v. RHP Bailey Ober
SUNDAY, APRIL 6: ASTROS @ TWINS — RHP Ronel Blanco v. RHP Chris Paddack

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[$tryf4Life]

Had been looking forward to the start of baseball. 
 

Just plain ugly, boring baseball making me wonder what I was so excited for.
 

Hope these guys can get it going. I am extremely worried about this offense. 

[LA Vikes Fan]

Probably too early to panic. Still, this series was pretty brutal. One tweak I would suggest - get Wallner out of the leadoff spot. He didn't hit well there in ST and he isn't hitting well there now.  It may be a psychological thing only but whatever it is, he isn't loving the role so far. The lucky thing is that we have a replacement - Willi Castro or even Julien (if he actually gets to play). Hit Wallner 2, Correa 3, Buxton 4, and Larnach 5, hit Castro 1 against righties, 7 against or bench against lefties with Bader moving up to 1. Give Keirsey some ABS in the OF. Keep mixing things up until you find something that works and gets the boys excited.  

By the way, completely agree on Miranda. Bench time for him with Castro moving to 3B (D up), and Julien to 2B (D down). 

[Aerodeliria]

Baldelli's excuse-making for Ober (and himself) is lame. If he had a virus, you rest him. 

[roger]

Comments I have seen said Ober was sick all day Friday and taking IVs on Saturday.  Cannot understand why he was pitching?  That’s on Rocco, as was the decision to leave Alcala in on Saturday.  

[AugieOjedaFanboy]

This was a bad series obviously, but a reminder that every single playoff team in history has gotten swept at some point in the season.

[twinzcynic]

12 minutes ago, AugieOjedaFanboy said:

This was a bad series obviously, but a reminder that every single playoff team in history has gotten swept at some point in the season.

Except for the Orioles once Adley started playing, and that's just a very recent example. Though I'm not one to panic this early, this is exactly the type of ball you get when you change literally nothing about leadership and philosophy.

[Vanimal46]

The lifeless part is most concerning at the moment. 

[Blyleven2011]

The twins should be singing the st Louis blues  , no redemption this year unless we meet in the world series  , NOT ...

I'm not going to panic because there really is nothing to panic about , the twins were awful in second half of 2024 and we are seeing a continuation to start 2025 , i guess we'll have to get use to it but it's definitely going to be a long season ...

 

[tony&rodney]

1 hour ago, Vanimal46 said:

The lifeless part is most concerning at the moment. 

Agree. 

23 minutes ago, Blyleven2011 said:

The twins should be singing the st Louis blues  , no redemption this year unless we meet in the world series  , NOT ...

I'm not going to panic because there really is nothing to panic about , the twins were awful in second half of 2024 and we are seeing a continuation to start 2025 , i guess we'll have to get use to it but it's definitely going to be a long season ...

 

Rough start, so I cannot disagree.

Binged watched a ton of baseball since Thursday. No reason to make proclamations this early. I will say that it was fun watching some of the other teams. Rays-Rockies series was filled with great defense and exciting base running. Cleveland-Kansas City showed quite a bit of talent. Can't say I was overly impressed by St. Louis because the Twins looked like they were in a fog. Baldelli's decisions? Oof.

I'm hoping the fresh 40 degree air in Chicago and the views from the Southside fire up the Twins.

[TheLeviathan]

I can get behind criticizing Miranda and others about terrible at-bats.....

But how did Buxton get a pass?  Our number 8 hitter being bad isn't on the same level of importance.

[Lasorda_This_Out]

The Manager in the Stork pants needs to go...it's a simple as that?

[CRF]

It's way too early to push the panic button, but the 3 games in St Louis looked just like the team we all saw last September. Flat, lifeless, uninspired baseball. Get Wallner out of the #1 spot. I don't know where Rocco came up with that one, but it's just not going to work. It didn't work in ST, and it's sure not going to work now. Time for that little experiment to end. Also...if Ober was sick and had to take fluids for a couple days...why the "F"  was he out there yesterday? Push him back a day or two and do a bullpen game instead! It ain't rocket science. C'mon Rocco...it's common sense. A little bit of that can go a long way. 

[mikelink45]

While it wasn't enjoyable and it isn't the same as the sinking of the Titanic, I have enjoyed having a real summary after weeks of reading about Ober for Cy Young, the best BP in MLB, how we can win the WS. 

I know those are talking points and you need to fill the columns. But talking about the real season is the most interesting and at times the most depressing.    

[Doctor Gast]

I think it's strange that our best pitcher of the series was DFAed, that Julien was kept for his LH bat & was not used against any of the many RHPs used in this series, Alcala wasn't taken out of the game when he was hit by a bullet, Ober was sicker than a dog & was allowed to pitch, Martin is needed at 2B & wasn't played there while at AAA, Wallner has been bad at leadoff & is still cemented there and France's bat went dead when the regular season started to go with his bad glove &  nobody even mentioned it. 

Our INF was really bad; Correa didn't even look that sharp. You put Julien at 2B, we go from bad to horrible. With that INF, we'll have difficulty beating even CWS.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Gloom, despair and agony on me, deep dark depression, excessive misery. If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all. Gloom, despair and agony on me. 

[Nashvilletwin]

19 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

I think it's strange that our best pitcher of the series was DFAed, that Julien was kept for his LH bat & was not used against any of the many RHPs used in this series, Alcala wasn't taken out of the game when he was hit by a bullet, Ober was sicker than a dog & was allowed to pitch, Martin is needed at 2B & wasn't played there while at AAA, Wallner has been bad at leadoff & is still cemented there and France's bat went dead when the regular season started to go with his bad glove &  nobody even mentioned it. 

Our INF was really bad; Correa didn't even look that sharp. You put Julien at 2B, we go from bad to horrible. With that INF, we'll have difficulty beating even CWS.

👍🏻- excellent summation. 

[JD-TWINS]

11 hours ago, Aerodeliria said:

Baldelli's excuse-making for Ober (and himself) is lame. If he had a virus, you rest him. 

Cannot win scoring 2 runs per game……1,2,& 3 hitters were 2-34 in series. I could pitch for Twins and same result with this offense!

[rv78]

A note worth noting............

The Twins have the worst record in MLB since Sept 1, 2024. 

[JD-TWINS]

37 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

I think it's strange that our best pitcher of the series was DFAed, that Julien was kept for his LH bat & was not used against any of the many RHPs used in this series, Alcala wasn't taken out of the game when he was hit by a bullet, Ober was sicker than a dog & was allowed to pitch, Martin is needed at 2B & wasn't played there while at AAA, Wallner has been bad at leadoff & is still cemented there and France's bat went dead when the regular season started to go with his bad glove &  nobody even mentioned it. 

Our INF was really bad; Correa didn't even look that sharp. You put Julien at 2B, we go from bad to horrible. With that INF, we'll have difficulty beating even CWS.

Was reported Saturday that Julien had been sick for 3 days ……. worse than Ober.

Agree, defense looks pretty weak. Correa looks rough on both sides of the game so far.

I know you love Martin and want him to have a chance. Realistically, he’s about the 6th 2B option in the organization. He didn’t hit well enough this spring to deserve a shot anywhere on the 26 Man. Hopefully, he gets it going in St. Paul.

Castro is comparable to what Martin would bring at 2B defensively. He had 3 doubles & a HR in the series. 2B wasn’t the issue.

Julien was sick or he may have played. 3 RH starters so Martin probably doesn’t play either if rostered.

[insagt1]

Royce Lewis has become one of those players that is always hurt. He is unreliable . Everytime you look up he is on the injured list. And last year in September when he did play he was terrible. How long will Twins hang with this guy. They already have Buxton who is hurt every year like clockwork. Hard to build a team with players that are part time all the time. Will this team battle the Sox for the basement in 2025. They did practically nothing in the off-season to move the needle. Hope this changes.

[JD-TWINS]

11 hours ago, twinzcynic said:

Except for the Orioles once Adley started playing, and that's just a very recent example. Though I'm not one to panic this early, this is exactly the type of ball you get when you change literally nothing about leadership and philosophy.

Hitting side was overhauled on the Philosophy front.

To me, Players play. Not adding a bat that’s competent (with all the supposed young pitching riches) in a trade is the issue to me. 2-34 from top 3 slots in line-up is hard to even imagine.

My trade was Duran & young AAA starter to Red Sox for Casas at 1B. Not sure if he’s done anything positive either? As you say, there’s 159 to go but, things looked a lot like September ‘24 the past few days. 🤞

[JD-TWINS]

7 hours ago, Lasorda_This_Out said:

The Manager in the Stork pants needs to go...it's a simple as that?

Is the new guy going to hit for .830 OPS? If not, won’t really help much.

Team can still better last year’s start of 7-13 at this point………gotta score though.

[JD-TWINS]

6 minutes ago, Bodie said:

Even more concerning than your (and others') comments on the "lifeless" Twins is the fact that they look and play just like last year's (2nd half) team.

And if Rockhead's "good job" taking at bats comment post-game isn't a fireball offense,  at least we can identify the head of this particular rotten fish!

#fireRockHead

“Life” in a Club typically comes from run scoring & wins…….if they aren’t happening it’s pretty tough to fake it on this level. Correa was near embarrassing & Buxton as well. 2-34 in the Top 3 slots - tough to Manage your way around those numbers.

[Bodie]

2 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

“Life” in a Club typically comes from run scoring & wins…….if they aren’t happening it’s pretty tough to fake it on this level. Correa was near embarrassing & Buxton as well. 2-34 in the Top 3 slots - tough to Manage your way around those numbers.

No need to praise them though... and if he can't figure out how to get this particular team going, there are two options- 1) get a new team (ain't happening now), or 2) find a new manager. 

[Woof Bronzer]

Serious question:  do Correa and Buxton enjoy baseball anymore?  Correa is picking up where he left off last September loafing it to 1st on the last out of the season, and Buxton appears to be more interested in whatever he is doing after the game.  When your best players and "leaders" can't be bothered to care you've got no chance.  

[Doctor Gast]

54 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

Was reported Saturday that Julien had been sick for 3 days ……. worse than Ober.

Agree, defense looks pretty weak. Correa looks rough on both sides of the game so far.

I know you love Martin and want him to have a chance. Realistically, he’s about the 6th 2B option in the organization. He didn’t hit well enough this spring to deserve a shot anywhere on the 26 Man. Hopefully, he gets it going in St. Paul.

Castro is comparable to what Martin would bring at 2B defensively. He had 3 doubles & a HR in the series. 2B wasn’t the issue.

Julien was sick or he may have played. 3 RH starters so Martin probably doesn’t play either if rostered.

Ober was puking a lot & was on IV (receiving liquids & medicine intervenous).  Julien was a side note that he had some flu-like symptoms. I don't know where you got that Julien was worse than Ober.

I don't love Martin & I don't hate Julien. I dislike how they've been mishandled. Right now, realistically, Martin should be our #1 2Bman because we need a stable 2Bman. Martin could be our best fielding 2Bman once given the chance, he has pretty much equal splits, Lee isn't dependable (he better & 1st in line at SS & 3B & has chronic back issues). Castro is much more valuable as utility than pinned down at 2B, Julien & Gasper are subpar and Keaschal is still recovering from TJ & isn't on the 40-man and shouldn't be handed 2B until he has proven w/o a doubt that he can dominate 2B at the MLB level. Martin is hated on social media because of his low OPS mainly because of his focus of learning a relatively new position at the highest level. Keep him at his natural position & you'll see him get on base on a steady clip, steal a lot of bases, reek havoc on the basepaths, pitchers & catchers so they make mistakes for hitters behind him & start rallies. That, plus his spunkiness, is exactly what this team needs. Overlooking this is the Twins' problem.

IMO right now, Martin should be our starting 2B, Castro at 3B & Miranda at 1B. If France shows that he can hit both LHPs & RHPs, he can be our full-time DH otherwise he's our LHPs DH & Miranda sub.

[LastOnePicked]

Replacing Rocco was an absolute imperative after last season's collapse. Not doing so signaled that the team wasn't serious about improving and turning the page.

And so here we are, right back on the same page. It's one series, yes, but tone and momentum and clubhouse culture can make a difference over a 162-game season. The stink from 2024 will still linger until they clean house.

Rocco is a fine human being, but he has no feel for the game. His decision-making instincts are poor. Keeping Ober in the rotation with the flu is a prime example.

[PDX Twin]

12 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

The lifeless part is most concerning at the moment. 

 

1 hour ago, Woof Bronzer said:

Serious question:  do Correa and Buxton enjoy baseball anymore?  Correa is picking up where he left off last September loafing it to 1st on the last out of the season, and Buxton appears to be more interested in whatever he is doing after the game.  When your best players and "leaders" can't be bothered to care you've got no chance.  

I'm totally in agreement, and this is my worry. You can change stances and swings and pitching motions, but baseball coaches really can't change players' personalities. I fear that the Twins have recruited and signed a bunch of "good on paper" and "good secondary numbers" players, but players with no heart.

Anybody else missing a little bit of Arraez or Punto these days?

[thelanges5]

8 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

Cannot win scoring 2 runs per game……1,2,& 3 hitters were 2-34 in series. I could pitch for Twins and same result with this offense!

Update: 1.5 runs per game now