Week in Review: Doormats

[Nick Nelson]

Image courtesy of Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

The Weekly Nutshell:
The steady drumbeat of losing continued over the past seven days, with the Twins winning on Monday and then dropping five straight. That included laying down for the red-hot Cleveland Guardians over the weekend to help them vault within a game and a half of Detroit for the AL Central lead entering the final week.

What a stunning contrast the Twins and Guardians present. Cleveland actually had a worse record than Minnesota at the All-Star break. Adversity? They lost their superstar closer perhaps permanently to a gambling scandal. 

But instead of packing it in and giving up, they locked in and have surged in the second half. In the season's final series at Target Field — Fan Appreciation Weekend, in a wonderfully ironic touch — the Guards were playing their butts off and seizing their fate while the overmatched and irrelevant Twins barely seemed to care. It's an image that'll stick with me for a long time as I think about this season.

Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 9/15 through Sun, 9/21
***
Record Last Week: 2-5 (Overall: 67-89)
Run Differential Last Week: -13 (Overall: -102)
Standing: 4th Place in AL Central (18.5 GB) 

Game 150 | MIN 7, NYY 0: Twins Stifle Yankees Behind Career-Best SWR Start

• Woods Richardson: 6 IP, 0 R, 11 K

Game 151 | NYY 10, MIN 9: Matthews Pummeled, Late Comeback Falls Short

• Matthews: 3 IP, 11 H, 9 ER

Gam 152 | NYY 10, MIN 5: Bradley Throws Hard, Hit Hard in Another Ugly Loss

• Bradley: 4 IP, 8 H, 7 ER

Game 153 | CLE 6, MIN 2: Lopez Leaves with Arm Injury as Twins Drop Third Straight

• Twins hitters: 16 K, 2 BB

Game 154 | CLE 6, MIN 0: Ryan's Second-Half Struggles Continue, Bats Silenced

• Ryan: 5 IP, 4 ER, 4 HR allowed

Game 155 | CLE 8, MIN 0: Twins Shut Out on Both Ends of Doubleheader, Guards Stay Hot

• Ober: 5 IP, 6 ER, 1 K

Game 156 | MIN 6, CLE 2: Late Homers from Lee and Lewis Cool Off Cleveland at Last

• Lewis: Pinch-hit 3-R HR

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NEWS & NOTES

Matt Wallner's season came to and end on Friday when he was placed on the injured list with a left oblique injury. His 2024 campaign ended in the exact same way: an oblique strain suffered in late September, albeit on the opposite side. Wallner's first full season in the majors will go down as a pretty disappointing one, albeit hardly disastrous, mainly because his batting average dropped off a cliff (.202 from his career mark of .251). He still was second on the team in home runs and slugging. I remain relatively confident in his outlook going forward. For the final week of the season, DaShawn Keirsey Jr. will hold down the vacated open roster spot.

Pablo López had a bit of a scare in his start on Friday night. He made a nice diving play in the field during the third inning, and stayed in the game for a while afterward, but was removed an inning later due to discomfort in his arm resulting from the play. The Twins held their breath awaiting results from imaging, but fortunately the scans revealed only a mild forearm strain and no structural damage. López's season is over but he avoided anything too serious. Now the question is whether he'll still be here next year.

Mick Abel returned to the roster in López's stead and tossed four innings in relief during the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader. He could get the nod to start in place of López on Thursday, though nothing's been announced yet. 

HIGHLIGHTS

Byron Buxton set a new career high with his 512th plate appearance on Saturday, in a week that saw him further build upon his phenomenal body of work here in 2025. He notched three more doubles and went 2-for-2 on steals. The power, the speed, the defense ... it's a full package like we've rarely seen in Twins history. Only he and Kirby Puckett have surpassed 20 doubles, 20 steals and 30 homers in the same season. Watching a healthy Buxton play ball week after week has been a real treat, albeit one of the few joys to come out of this generally miserable Twins season. One of the rare things I will miss.

Brooks Lee had another nice little flurry of power. He was excellent in two games against the Yankees, driving in four on a homer, a double and five hits, and then capped his week with a go-ahead two-run homer against Cleveland on Sunday, pushing his total to 16. This was a disappointing and generally discouraging first full season for Lee, but the bursts of production and slugging prowess we've seen from time to time do at least offer glimmers of hope. For a solid everyday shortstop, the bar is fairly low. 

 

On Monday night against the Yankees, Simeon Woods Richardson gave us perhaps the biggest glimmer of hope yet that at least mid-rotation upside exists within him. Woods Richardson has pretty consistently looked like a back-end guy during his time in the big leagues, but in this start he was nothing short of dominant, unleashing a refined splitter with devastating effectiveness as he shut down a good New York lineup.

The 11 strikeouts were a career high. In fact, he hadn't struck out more than seven hitters in any previous start this year. He's also produced two of the three highest swinging-strike totals of career (15 and 16) over his past three starts. Woods Richardson turned in another strong outing against Cleveland on Sunday, allowing two runs over six innings in an eventual win, and has a 3.26 ERA in his past 12 starts.

 

LOWLIGHTS

One positive development in the starting rotation from Woods Richardson was outweighed by negatives everywhere else. An all too familiar experience. For a team that is attempting to rebuild with starting pitching as its central strength, the lack of momentum in this area feels rather grim.

SWR's stellar outing on Monday night was immediately followed by a meltdown from Zebby Matthews, who was blasted for nine earned runs on 11 hits in just three innings. His ERA now sits at 5.97. Taj Bradley took the hill on Wednesday and got touched up for seven earned in four innings, raising his ERA to 7.82 as a Twin. You don't want to rush pitchers out of a starting role but it's not working for these two, in spite of their evidently good stuff. Given Minnesota's extreme level of need in the bullpen, I wonder if the front office will think hard about a relief transition for at least one heading into next year.

Granted, that option might be off the table if the Twins trade Joe Ryan during the offseason. But he's doing nothing to help his marketability here in the second half. Ryan coughed up four home runs against Cleveland on Saturday, and now has a 7.33 ERA in his last six starts, in which the Twins are 1-5. It's been a career year for Ryan but he still can't escape the trend that's plagued him throughout his MLB run: failing to finish the season both healthy and effective. Will it have an impact on how potential trade suitors view his viability as a playoff starter? I'd think it might.

 

Bailey Ober's status is completely up in the air at this point. Hopefully he and the Twins are able to confidently come up with a plan to get him right physically and mechanically during the offseason, because right now he's a sub-mediocre pitcher whose 90 MPH fastball stands little chance of surviving big-league lineups. Following a moderately encouraging performance against the D-backs the previous weekend in which he notched nine strikeouts, Ober fanned just one of 25 Cleveland batters on Saturday night, surrendering six earned runs in five innings. The Twins are 2-12 in his 14 starts since the beginning of June.

If the rotation is supposed to be the foundation of this team going forward, the way this season is ending inspires little confidence. The lineup, meanwhile, inspires even less. Pretty much every hitter is ending the year cold, even the few who actually had decent campaigns. Wallner is finishing on the IL, again. Luke Keaschall went 5-for-22 with no walks and is batting .220 in his last 11 games. Kody Clemens went 3-for-14 and hasn't tallied an extra-base hit since the three-HR explosion against Arizona

But probably the most dire issue for the Twins from an offensive standpoint is Royce Lewis's continual inability to get and stay on track. This wasn't a horrible week for him, per se – he went 7-for-24 (.292) with a double and a big pinch-hit home run on Sunday – but he just doesn't resemble the dominant player who broke through in his first two seasons. Lewis homered twice in Anaheim to kick off the Angels series two weeks ago, and since then has two extra-base hits in 45 plate appearances. He also has zero walks during this span. Pitchers don't fear him and he rarely gives them reason to feel differently. 

A return to vintage form for Lewis in these finals weeks of a lost season would've offered a much-needed jolt of reassurance for fans. But the clock has more or less run out on that. So much like with Ober, we'll have to hope that player and team can figure out an offseason plan that addresses Lewis's wayward game and revives the standout performer he once was ... if it's still in there. Flashes like Sunday's plate appearance have been too few and far between.

TRENDING STORYLINE

The final road trip will provide one last look at the players who we hope will help usher in better days next season and beyond. Matthews, Bradley and Abel should each get once more opportunity to take the mound and finish on a high note, parlaying some better vibes into the offseason. Lee, Lewis, Keaschall and other hitters will get a few more swings and hopefully can make them count. The games don't matter but the performances do.

We might also be getting our last chance to watch Rocco Baldelli as manager of the Twins. He is under contract for 2026 but that guarantees nothing coming off another ruinous second half and a generally lackluster half-decade run. If ownership decides someone needs to take the fall for this (which would presume they actually care), then it seems more likely for Baldelli and his coaching staff to be targeted rather than Derek Falvey.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Twins will travel to Texas and then Philadelphia on a season-ending road trip. The Rangers are all but eliminated from postseason contention, while the Phillies are a World Series favorite, with the second-best record in baseball. The Twins enter this last week on the precipice of 90 losses. How low can they go? 

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23: TWINS @ RANGERS — RHP Zebby Matthews v. TBD
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24: TWINS @ RANGERS — RHP  Taj Bradley v. TBD
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25: TWINS @ RANGERS — TBD v. RHP Jacob deGrom
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26: TWINS @ PHILLIES — RHP Joe Ryan v. RHP Aaron Nola
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27: DIAMONDBACKS @ TWINS — RHP Bailey Ober v. LHP Ranger Suarez
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 28: DIAMONDBACKS @ TWINS — Simeon Woods Richardson v. LHP Cristopher Sanchez

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[Vanimal46]

It’s a shame Falvey and Co decided that they didn’t want to expose additional minor league talent to this disaster. They chose to waste these opportunities and innings on players who have no future in the organization. 

Now we head into the offseason with question marks everywhere. The bullpen is Sands, maybe Funderburk, and shrug emoji. Lineup is a complete mess. Rotation has names, but no confidence to write in #3-5. 

It’s time for a new era. Fire Falvey, and fire Baldelli.  

[tony&rodney]

34 minutes ago, Nick Nelson said:

If ownership decides someone needs to take the fall for this (which would presume they actually care), then it seems more likely for Baldelli and his coaching staff to be targeted rather than Derek Falvey.

Would any manager in baseball get much better results from the roster? Maybe or maybe not. Baldelli has not exactly distinguished himself in the last two years and the scene with Griffin Jax was noteworthy.

Still. Who put this roster together? Who decided each of the last two years that the Twins had a playoff team? The Twins and the product you see in the games are a direct reflection of the guy who designed this roster.

What are the odds that the Pohlads watch every game? How about every other game?

It is hard to be optimistic but I'm going to hope for 4-7 trades this offseason to remake the identity of the club. Hope is all I got.

[Vanimal46]

6 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

Still. Who put this roster together? Who decided each of the last two years that the Twins had a playoff team? The Twins and the product you see in the games are a direct reflection of the guy who designed this roster

It’s why I always put Falvey first in my statements to fire Twins employees. Job titles are fickle in baseball, but I’m pretty confident Falvey is top 5-8 ranked in tenure for architects of baseball rosters. Cashman (1998), Mozeliak (2007), Preller and Friedman (2014) are the ones I’ve seen in searches that have been in charge longer than Falvey (Nov 2016). 

Plans change all the time. Falvey was chosen to lead the Twins in transition between ownership groups, but that doesn’t need to continue now that the Pohlads aren’t selling. Clearly he’s doing a very poor job running the business side of the Twins. He’s doing just as poorly managing the talent on the baseball side. 

[ziggy]

Quote

— the Guards were playing their butts off and seizing their fate while the overmatched and irrelevant Twins barely seemed to care. It's an image that'll stick with me for a long time as I think about this season.

barely seemed to care sums up the look of the 2025 Twins. Remember in April/May it "was too early" to be concerned with their play and record.

Is it still too early?

[Parfigliano]

They are embarrassing.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

I give this team a 50/50 chance to make a run at .500 and a wild card next year, but two necessary steps would be keeping all their starting pitchers, and bringing in a better manager and philosophy and coaching staff. 

Otherwise the players will continue to underwhelm and bring themselves down, and it’s another run at 90+ losses. 

[Nshore]

It still seems bizarre to me that they didn't bring up more young players toward the end of the season to at least give them a look.  There was nothing to lose.  The organization seems absolutely rudderless.

[Nshore]

Wallner got himself sidelined because he saw the Mendoza Line rapidly closing in in his rearview mirror. 

[Doctor Gast]

9 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

It’s why I always put Falvey first in my statements to fire Twins employees. Job titles are fickle in baseball, but I’m pretty confident Falvey is top 5-8 ranked in tenure for architects of baseball rosters. Cashman (1998), Mozeliak (2007), Preller and Friedman (2014) are the ones I’ve seen in searches that have been in charge longer than Falvey (Nov 2016). 

Plans change all the time. Falvey was chosen to lead the Twins in transition between ownership groups, but that doesn’t need to continue now that the Pohlads aren’t selling. Clearly he’s doing a very poor job running the business side of the Twins. He’s doing just as poorly managing the talent on the baseball side. 

I've been complaining about Falvey for years. All he has done is make excuses & cosmetic changes that often made us worse. '23 had a great core; all he had to do was make some small, viable trades to bolster fragile areas. When they didn't do them, I felt that they weren't going anywhere. Falvey won't change so it's time to change the one who should be accountable with someone who knows what he's doing, if we want change for the better. 

[mikelink45]

The system just worries me - which means a do over - FO, Manager, and all the coaches:

Here's a breakdown of the 2025 coaching staff: 

 

• Manager: Rocco Baldelli
• Bench Coach: Jayce Tingler - what does he do?  What has he contributed?
• Assistant Bench/Catching Coach: Hank Conger - an assistant to an assistant! 
• Hitting Coach: Matt Borgschulte - well that worked out well
• Hitting Coach: Rayden Sierra - which one gets all the Mendoza line batters?
• Assistant Hitting Coach: Trevor Amicone - more help and the team line is 239/312/397 
• Pitching Coach: Pete Maki - excellent job - team era 4.69 (where are his assistants?
• First Base/Infield Coach: Ramon Borrego Did he get lonely?
• Bullpen Coach: Colby Suggs - Why don't we get rid of all the major league arms and see what he can do?
• Quality Control Coach: Nate Dammann - Okay where is the quality?
• Third Base Coach: Tommy Watkins - his biggest strength is staying employed.

The minor league coaches prepare the minor leaguers - the major league coaching are supposed to build on their accomplishments, but - how many do better their second or third season on the team?  I am even worried that Keaschall is slowing down as the season ends.

Luckily for you - there is another week you can summarize. 

[Doctor Gast]

We had been out of it for a long time, especially after the great sell-off. All our games have been meaningless. But IMO, we could have made the series against our old nemesis, NYY, a team who have humiliated us for years, meaningful. IMO, it'd be valuable to give the team something to play for & have them come together as a team (besides some individuals vying for a spot next season). I feel the Twins' hierarchy admire the NYY, they roll over and play dead whenever they play them. They take out their trusty computer & figure the odds & think odds are against us, why try? So they figure it's time to play our Juliens & give all our main players a rest. This really burns me when they do this.

Their prior series with NYY, NYY were reeling, in great danger of losing it. BUT they knew they were facing the Twinkies, they knew that they owned us & this would give them a reset. This would have been the ideal time to rally the troops, make this our playoff series, see what we have, take revenge against our nemesis by keeping them reeling even further, knock them out of the postseason, change the air & premise. How meaningful would that be? But no the Twins lost the series & let NYY regain their footing & regain their position in the playoffs.

Now this last series, the Twins brought in what they thought was the bottom of the rotation, but SWR proved them wrong & pitched a gem along with Martin & Lee making statements. SWR shut out the NYY, which was valuable in itself. IMO, the Twins could have swept the Yanks or at least won the series if they tried harder. Twins again lost the series & giving NYY confidence to finish on top of the WC or even hope to challenge for the division championship. How long has it been since the Twins won a series against the Yanks? How meaningful would it be to accomplish the above objectives? For me, very; I take this very personally, I wish the Twins did too.

[NYCTK]

4 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

We had been out of it for a long time, especially after the great sell-off. All our games have been meaningless. But IMO, we could have made the series against our old nemesis, NYY, a team who have humiliated us for years, meaningful. IMO, it'd be valuable to give the team something to play for & have them come together as a team (besides some individuals vying for a spot next season). I feel the Twins' hierarchy admire the NYY, they roll over and play dead whenever they play them. They take out their trusty computer & figure the odds & think odds are against us, why try? So they figure it's time to play our Juliens & give all our main players a rest. This really burns me when they do this.

Their prior series with NYY, NYY were reeling, in great danger of losing it. BUT they knew they were facing the Twinkies, they knew that they owned us & this would give them a reset. This would have been the ideal time to rally the troops, make this our playoff series, see what we have, take revenge against our nemesis by keeping them reeling even further, knock them out of the postseason, change the air & premise. How meaningful would that be? But no the Twins lost the series & let NYY regain their footing & regain their position in the playoffs.

Now this last series, the Twins brought in what they thought was the bottom of the rotation, but SWR proved them wrong & pitched a gem along with Martin & Lee making statements. SWR shut out the NYY, which was valuable in itself. IMO, the Twins could have swept the Yanks or at least won the series if they tried harder. Twins again lost the series & giving NYY confidence to finish on top of the WC or even hope to challenge for the division championship. How long has it been since the Twins won a series against the Yanks? How meaningful would it be to accomplish the above objectives? For me, very; I take this very personally, I wish the Twins did too.

You care way too much about the Yankees. They went 2-4 against them, all after they gave up at the trade deadline. That's exactly what was expected.

[exeoud]

This week isn't completely meaningless. They need to out-tank the Pirates for the 2nd best lottery odds. Go Rangers, Phillies, and Pirates!

[rv78]

We might also be getting our last chance to watch Rocco Baldelli as manager of the Twins. 

 

We can only hope that "might" turns into "are" and that Falvey joins him on that watch list.

 

[NYCTK]

2 hours ago, exeoud said:

This week isn't completely meaningless. They need to out-tank the Pirates for the 2nd best lottery odds. Go Rangers, Phillies, and Pirates!

I have double rooting interest for the Pirates right now! The help rescue the terrible Mets in the race for the last playoff spot (which shouldn't even exist) AND for the lottery odds. 

Raise that Jolly Roger Buccos

[RpR]

2 hours ago, rv78 said:

We might also be getting our last chance to watch Rocco Baldelli as manager of the Twins. 

 

We can only hope that "might" turns into "are" and that Falvey joins him on that watch list.

 

Oh, sing with me, sing for the year
Sing for the laughter, and sing for the tear
Sing it with me, if it's just for today
Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away

Dream on
Dream on
Dream a little, I'll dream on
Dream on
 

[Blyleven2011]

10 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

The system just worries me - which means a do over - FO, Manager, and all the coaches:

Here's a breakdown of the 2025 coaching staff: 

 

• Manager: Rocco Baldelli
• Bench Coach: Jayce Tingler - what does he do?  What has he contributed?
• Assistant Bench/Catching Coach: Hank Conger - an assistant to an assistant! 
• Hitting Coach: Matt Borgschulte - well that worked out well
• Hitting Coach: Rayden Sierra - which one gets all the Mendoza line batters?
• Assistant Hitting Coach: Trevor Amicone - more help and the team line is 239/312/397 
• Pitching Coach: Pete Maki - excellent job - team era 4.69 (where are his assistants?
• First Base/Infield Coach: Ramon Borrego Did he get lonely?
• Bullpen Coach: Colby Suggs - Why don't we get rid of all the major league arms and see what he can do?
• Quality Control Coach: Nate Dammann - Okay where is the quality?
• Third Base Coach: Tommy Watkins - his biggest strength is staying employed.

The minor league coaches prepare the minor leaguers - the major league coaching are supposed to build on their accomplishments, but - how many do better their second or third season on the team?  I am even worried that Keaschall is slowing down as the season ends.

Luckily for you - there is another week you can summarize. 

I got a kick out you mentioning Watkins still has a job , one of the worst I have ever witnessed  , sends a slow guy to his death at the plate , but holds the fast runner at third ...

Another statement i laugh at is from falvey at the time he remodeled the positions in the minor leagues by firing almost all fron ryans tenure , ( his quote not mine , we have replaced every positions with the top professionals  ) , what a crock , minor league positions might be doing their jobs correctly  but at the major league level they don't show the capability to be Manager or coaches ...

I to am tired of the lies damned lies and Rocco and falvey  , Levine was the smart one to leave , he may have seen the writing on the wall , they way this organization is run , I can't see falvey or baldelli ever getting the opportunity to get the same position with another team  ....

But as baseball has shown me , it's a funny game run by people of incompetence  ...

[Parfigliano]

32 minutes ago, Blyleven2011 said:

I got a kick out you mentioning Watkins still has a job , one of the worst I have ever witnessed  , sends a slow guy to his death at the plate , but holds the fast runner at third ...

Another statement i laugh at is from falvey at the time he remodeled the positions in the minor leagues by firing almost all fron ryans tenure , ( his quote not mine , we have replaced every positions with the top professionals  ) , what a crock , minor league positions might be doing their jobs correctly  but at the major league level they don't show the capability to be Manager or coaches ...

I to am tired of the lies damned lies and Rocco and falvey  , Levine was the smart one to leave , he may have seen the writing on the wall , they way this organization is run , I can't see falvey or baldelli ever getting the opportunity to get the same position with another team  ....

But as baseball has shown me , it's a funny game run by people of incompetence  ...

And we have two top level incompetents.

[LastOnePicked]

The contrast between the Twins and the Guardians is simple: the Guardians are a real organization. They've committed themselves to excellence within their means. They don't make excuses. They go out and perform. They have the tools, the talent and the discipline.

The Twins are not a real organization. They are a joke. No one is steering the ship. They flail, falter and faint. They lead the league in excuse-making. They are a nothing club with no vision and no understanding of accountability.