Breaking: Twins Calling Up Former First-Round Pick Aaron Sabato

[Parfigliano]

2 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

There had to be someone else that could provide more than 4 PAs off the bench since August 1st. What a slap in the face to the fans and the other 25 MLB players. 

And a punch in the face to AAA guys looking for their MLB break.

[Parfigliano]

1 hour ago, weitz41 said:

Nice! He's put the time in and earned it.

A lot of work to be done by the FO this offseason to make the roster work. You never know, could be the beginning or the end for him. Congratz!

Please no work done by this FO this offseason.  They can collect their things and be escorted from the building to seek employment elsewhere.

[Vanimal46]

6 minutes ago, Parfigliano said:

And a punch in the face to AAA guys looking for their MLB break.

I understand keeping him thru the trade deadline in case if Jeffers was traded. I can understand keeping him if the idea was him as the backup in 2027. I didn’t like it, but I get it. 

Now all this proves is we kept a guy Shelton had zero intention of playing for 40+ games. The stated goal was being competitive in 2026. 

[old nurse]

2 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

Zoll has to go. They punted a roster spot for 2 months only to let Alex Jackson go in the final week of the season? Incompetence at its finest. 

I doubt having Jackson over someone else would have made a difference 

[Mai.K]

The fact that there are only a few games left in the season is the only downside, but at least all the players I’d been disappointed to see left out have now gotten a chance to step on a major league field.

I’m really happy with this move, haha.

I’m hoping Sabato gets the best of luck!

[mrmpls]

2 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

They're not going to. He isn't eligible for post-season play with them if they did. Why would they pick up his salary to not play the last 6 games of the season as insurance? To spite the Twins, who probably don't care that much? To try and give a small segment of the Twins fanbase some additional sand to kick in the front-office's face?

I would have preferred they move Royce to the IL so there's a clear path for Sabato to play more, but this will be fine.

it was a JOKE--Relax

[Mike Sixel]

9 minutes ago, old nurse said:

I doubt having Jackson over someone else would have made a difference 

I doubt most teams agree that playing with less players available is a good plan. 

I cannot wait for this team to be sold. 

Happy for Sabato! Good for him. 

[HarmonK03]

8 minutes ago, old nurse said:

I doubt having Jackson over someone else would have made a difference 

But if you are truly trying to contend as he has stated and showed with his deadline moves, you don't keep a player on the roster for two months to give four at bats.  You bring up someone that can contribute in some role.,  Who knows if it would have made a difference but due to the incompetence of Zoll we will never know.

[Woof Bronzer]

3 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

Zoll has to go. They punted a roster spot for 2 months only to let Alex Jackson go in the final week of the season? Incompetence at its finest. 

I would really, really like to know what the thinking was with Jackson.  Because from the outside it's Keystone Kops level incompetence.  

[Road trip]

Happy for Sabato!  Hope he's in the lineup a lot this week.

Strange series of decisions on Jackson.  Are Zoll and Shelton even on the same page?  Did Zoll force Jackson onto the roster, and Shelton simply refused to play him?  Or did Shelton also want Jackson, but never found opportunity to play him somehow?  It may not have cost the Twins a win, but was at a minimum a very unorthodox approach for the 25 man roster.

 

[Woof Bronzer]

15 minutes ago, old nurse said:

I doubt having Jackson over someone else would have made a difference 

Ladies and gentlemen, we've found it.  The best, most concise way to sum up the state of the Minnesota Twins in the year of our lord 2026: 

Some fans truly believe that better players will not help this team.

Congratulations, Pohlads.  You win.  

[Vanimal46]

28 minutes ago, Woof Bronzer said:

I would really, really like to know what the thinking was with Jackson.  Because from the outside it's Keystone Kops level incompetence.  

I hope Tom P has been paying attention. If I’m him, the first thing I’m doing is speaking to Shelton and asking if he ever intended on rotating Jackson in? If no, was it communicated to Zoll that the roster spot should be used by another player?

Then I’m going to Zoll and asking why he prioritized a roster spot for a player who contributed so little to the team? 

[wavedog]

I should add I am happy for Sabato's promotion and hope to see him in the lineup tonight and the rest of the week.   

[Saxophone Joe]

28 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

I hope Tom P has been paying attention. If I’m him, the first thing I’m doing is speaking to Shelton and asking if he ever intended on rotating Jackson in? If no, was it communicated to Zoll that the roster spot should be used by another player?

Then I’m going to Zoll and asking why he prioritized a roster spot for a player who contributed so little to the team? 

Hopefully they have to answer these questions publicly, too. Absolutely fair game to ask. 

[Woof Bronzer]

20 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

I hope Tom P has been paying attention. If I’m him, the first thing I’m doing is speaking to Shelton and asking if he ever intended on rotating Jackson in? If no, was it communicated to Zoll that the roster spot should be used by another player?

Then I’m going to Zoll and asking why he prioritized a roster spot for a player who contributed so little to the team? 

Careful, you'll poke the "the CEO has no responsibility for anything the organization does" bear...

It will be extremely interesting to see how Tommy views this season.  He said in the offseason that he wants to be judged on wins and losses....that we will be playing competitive games in September...that he's not a half measures guy.  Well, the season was a bunch of half measures that resulted in what will likely be a couple game improvement on last year's busted season and not a single meaningful September game. 

What he REALLY wanted this year was attendance, so the Pohlads can pay back their limited partners sooner and clear the way for a bigger sale.  Don't think that plan really worked out either.

So yeah.  How does Tommy hold himself accountable?  How does he hold his staff accountable?  What will his message to fans be this offseason?  It will be very interesting to see.  

[Linus]

1 hour ago, Woof Bronzer said:

I would really, really like to know what the thinking was with Jackson.  Because from the outside it's Keystone Kops level incompetence.  

The only thing I can think of is they want him off the 40 man for the offseason but still want to keep him so they are doing it now in hopes that he will sneak through. Occams Razor indicates Keystone Kops. 

[Woof Bronzer]

Just now, Linus said:

The only thing I can think of is they want him off the 40 man for the offseason but still want to keep him so they are doing it now in hopes that he will sneak through. Occams Razor indicates Keystone Kops. 

Didn't they already DFA him a month ago and he cleared waivers?  

[Nashvilletwin]

1 hour ago, Parfigliano said:

Come, sit next to the fire where it's warm.

…..and crowded…

[Linus]

2 minutes ago, Woof Bronzer said:

Didn't they already DFA him a month ago and he cleared waivers?  

Yes they did. I believe it was before the All Star break but yea I guess it’s Keystone Kops level of incompetence. 

[HarmonK03]

13 minutes ago, Linus said:

Yes they did. I believe it was before the All Star break but yea I guess it’s Keystone Kops level of incompetence. 

It was the middle of August and he was back within days of not being claimed.

[StiltedGopher]

Wow. What will the Twins do without having Alex Jackson on the roster.  Guess they are really throwing in the towel now.  

[shimrod]

27 minutes ago, Linus said:

1 hour ago, Woof Bronzer said:

I would really, really like to know what the thinking was with Jackson.  Because from the outside it's Keystone Kops level incompetence.  

The only thing I can think of is they want him off the 40 man for the offseason but still want to keep him so they are doing it now in hopes that he will sneak through. Occams Razor indicates Keystone Kops. 

Or ownership has assured the team they will authorize paying up for a better catcher. Jackson is not needed because we will spend enough to fill the starting and backup catcher positions with legitimate players. 

Of the three possibilities - Keystone Kops incompetence, trying to sneak him off the 40 man, or ownership opening the checkbook - I think the last one is the least probable. 

[Vanimal46]

3 minutes ago, StiltedGopher said:

Wow. What will the Twins do without having Alex Jackson on the roster.  Guess they are really throwing in the towel now.  

It’s less about Alex Jackson the player, and more about using a valuable 26 man roster spot on a player that never played on a team that was supposedly trying to make the playoffs. 

[Cris E]

6 hours ago, LA Vikes Fan said:

I think he would be a great chang of scenery candidate for a trade. I wonder if there's a deal out there to move him to a team like the Angels for a pitcher with arm talent but control issues like Grayson Rodriguez or a young 2B with a "maybe" bat like Vaugh Grissom. Could be good for both teams, could be good for the players as well. This is something we should explore in the offseason. 

I do believe that one year in the near future Lewis is going to have some Road to Damascus moment, suddenly change his name to Paul and start hitting like a professional. That means  waiting for his pitch, staying back with two strikes, not swinging for the fences, hitting only what's thrown instead of what's desired, etc.  He got his head right for a month or two after his visit to St Paul and hit like a monster, then started back-sliding until he hurt his shoulder.

There's a very good hitter in there that will come out, but I don't think it's going to happen here. He needs to hit a bottom somewhere and feel a need for a real rebirth. And when it happens you could see a late-career Molitor emerge, where he stays healthy, plays within himself and provides real value to some lucky team. We need to find the team where this can happen and move him. 

[Cris E]

5 hours ago, Palindrome Bob said:

Also, let's please quit the calls for Josh Bell's spot. He's been one of the team's best hitters, and even purely as a DH, there was/is clearly no one else in the organization who could do what he did both at the plate and in the clubhouse this year. It'd hurt the team, be tremendously disrespectful, and he wouldn't qualify for another team's playoff roster anyway. That said, would I like some of his ABs to go to Sabato? Sure, but I'd prefer that Lewis and Clemens surrender theirs (in that order).
 

Amen.  There are a lot of voices around here that love the sound of hot takes and shouting. Larnach has no value. Bell should be cut. Gomez is terrible and shouldn't be back in 2027. 

These are all MLB players with better than average numbers. That is 90 RBI, 22 saves, a 123 OPS+ and so on. They aren't great players, but gracious they are not terrible or bad or even disappointing. They are OK, not terribly expense, apparently nice guys in the clubhouse, and playing to potential. They are who we expected them to be and folks are cranky.  

If you want to complain about a DH who is a league average hitter then complain about not having any money to spend, because there were better bats out there for more money.  You don't like a 4.5 ERA guy who closed a couple dozen games? Well he was free and we refused to spend on the bullpen in the off-season. Larnach isn't good against left handed pitching but he is against the right side but for some reason the Twins are too good to platoon an outfielder? Come on, who else were you going to play in left? (And once again, they did have a trade lined up that was squashed by another bad owner. Tom P is hardly the worst out there.)

[ziggy]

I'm happy for Sabato. I was at a Saints game this past summer when he hit a ball out of the stadium.

I hope he gets a chance to play and hits 6 homers in the next 6  games.

[Permanent Twins Fan]

8 hours ago, DJL44 said:

He definitely could be worse than Lewis the last 6 weeks.

Re: Matt Wallner

[TCanWins]

3 hours ago, Mai.K said:

The fact that there are only a few games left in the season is the only downside, but at least all the players I’d been disappointed to see left out have now gotten a chance to step on a major league field.

I’m really happy with this move, haha.

I’m hoping Sabato gets the best of luck!

Rosario is the last one I'd like to see take some swings at major league pitching but I can't wait until next year 

[Blyleven2011]

4 hours ago, Parfigliano said:

It's mind boggling.  They carry Jackson for months, don't play, then 6 games left in the season DFA him.  

What possible reason makes sense for Zoll to do this?

Sense , he’s just like our government , zoll has no common sense …

it certainly is mind boggling , but they definitely have a reason , maybe DFA Jackson now and hope to pass him through now off 40 man roster and re-sign him to a minor league contract at about the same kind of money in hopes he can be a back up catcher next season …

im only guessing mind you …