Twins 3, Guardians 1: Taj Bradley Pitches Twins Past Sloppy Guardians in Series Opener

[Over The Hill Again]

10 hours ago, ashbury said:

Possibly the most important factor is team control.  Jax can be held onto through next season, Bradley for two additional seasons after that.

Good point, but in my mind it felt like a good old fashioned “challenge trade”. Jax always wanted to be a starter, the Twins didn’t want that and there were indications that he wanted out of here, especially during the fire sale. The Rays were out of patience with Bradley having sent him down to AAA. So both guys needed/wanted a change of scenery? It’s early but both sides are happy. 

[ashbury]

4 hours ago, Over The Hill Again said:

Good point, but in my mind it felt like a good old fashioned “challenge trade”. Jax always wanted to be a starter, the Twins didn’t want that and there were indications that he wanted out of here, especially during the fire sale. The Rays were out of patience with Bradley having sent him down to AAA. So both guys needed/wanted a change of scenery? It’s early but both sides are happy. 

You can look at it as a challenge trade, but one with 2-to-1 payout odds stacked in the Twins favor in the case both players succeed.  The "both players fail" scenario is a wash, and if one performs but the other one doesn't then that team wins - but if both succeed to a similar degree then the multiplier effect of Bradley's years of team control is pretty huge.

The Rays must have really thought Bradley was beyond repair, to agree to those odds. 

[DJL44]

35 minutes ago, langerr said:

This has been bugging me  awhile ….  In the ESPN box scores I always see next to the starting pitcher this stat called “game score” …  I believe it’s like a percentage with an average pitcher starting game score around 50 and it varies from there, depending upon the game results of that pitcher …

   Taj yesterday had a game score of 77,  this is the highest game score I’ve seen for a while ….

  So do any of you baseball statistical nerds out there know anything more about this game score, or am I off in my interpretation of it, but it’s always kind of fun to look at for both good games and also poor games …

    Thanks for shopping!

https://library.fangraphs.com/pitching/game-score/
 

77 is an excellent game score. The stat is designed so a perfect game is around 100. Bailey Ober’s “Maddux” complete game was a 90. Abel had a 79 in April. I think a 77 is the third best score for a Twins pitcher in 2026.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/stats/topperformers/_/type/pitching
 

 

[HerbieFan]

Am I crazy on these two thoughts? 

1) If ownership and the FO can find one or two capable relievers and this team somehow sneaks into a playoff spot...this version of Taj Bradley and Sunday's version of Joe Ryan can win them a playoff series.  2) I think they should think about signing Kody Clemens to something like a 2-year extension?  

[Jeff K]

15 minutes ago, HerbieFan said:

Am I crazy on these two thoughts? 

1) If ownership and the FO can find one or two capable relievers and this team somehow sneaks into a playoff spot...this version of Taj Bradley and Sunday's version of Joe Ryan can win them a playoff series.  2) I think they should think about signing Kody Clemens to something like a 2-year extension?  

Someone mentioned that Kody is under team control for 3 more years (I think).  That said, I agree, they should try like hell to extend Ryan.  A couple of relievers and this team has me sucked in!

[Saxophone Joe]

18 minutes ago, HerbieFan said:

Am I crazy on these two thoughts? 

1) If ownership and the FO can find one or two capable relievers and this team somehow sneaks into a playoff spot...this version of Taj Bradley and Sunday's version of Joe Ryan can win them a playoff series. 

Sure, why not? Anyway, I just love that this is a legitimate question less than a week from the All-Star break! I wish I could read all the hot takes from the past six months (and beyond) ripping on the entire organization that are starting to age like milk.

And, no, I'm not Tom Pohlad! ;)

[Rosterman]

He becomes a free agent after three more seasons. Should the Twins extend him now?

[ashbury]

36 minutes ago, Rosterman said:

He becomes a free agent after three more seasons. Should the Twins extend him now?

Gotta lock up that age-34 Clemens season before someone else gets a chance.  😁