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Henry Blanco was your classic journeyman backup catcher. Known for his glove, he hit just .223 over a 16 year career that was spent with 11 different teams.
Minnesota signed Blanco to a one year deal in December 2003. The expectation was that he would be the number two catcher behind top prospect Joe Mauer, who made his Major League debut on Opening Day in 2004. But a knee injury limited Mauer to just 35 games that season, and Blanco wound up playing a career high 114 games that season.
Journeyman reliever Héctor Carrasco pitched for 12 seasons in the Major Leagues, which included two stints with the Minnesota Twins. He also played for the Reds, Angels, Royals, Red Sox, Nationals, and Orioles.
Carrasco first came to Minnesota through waivers just before the 1998 season. The Diamondbacks had selected him from Kansas City in the expansion draft that winter, but he waived right before Opening Day and the Twins picked him up. He went 4-2 with a 4.38 ERA and a save over 63 reli
Justin Huber was a highly regarded prospect who never panned out.
He peaked as the 66th ranked prospect, according to Baseball America, and the Australian native played on “Team World” in the Futures Game three times. Some of his prospect value deteriorated after a string of minor league knee injuries forced him to move from catcher to first base, but Huber was still able to break into the Majors with Kansas City in 2005.
Things never clicked for him in the bigs, and he began to bounce
One of the more surefire ways for know-nothing schmucks like myself to gain insight into the world of MLB is to examine market trends. The unprecedented money spent on relievers in recent years indicates the growing importance that front offices are placing on bullpens. Stars such as Xander Bogaerts, Trea Turner, and Bryce Harper have recently received contracts that will overlap with their AARP benefits - evidence of a new emphasis on skirting the annual luxury tax brackets.
Now, in the ea
The Baltimore Orioles took Darnell McDonald with the 26th overall pick in 1997, but he never really found his footing in the Majors until 2009 at age 30 with Cincinnati. This long path included a four game cup of coffee with the Twins in 2007.
He did debut with the Orioles in 2004, but played just 17 games for them. McDonald spent time in the Guardians, Devil Rays, and Nationals systems on minor league deals after being released by Baltimore. Washington traded him to the Twins in June 2007
Minnesota acquired veteran outfielder Sam Fuld off of waivers from the Athletics very early in the 2014 season. The 32-year old was hitting just .200 through seven games with Oakland, and carried a career OPS+ of 79.
Fuld then began to play some of his best baseball during his time with the Twins. He collected two hits in his Twins debut, including an RBI single against Rays reliever Brandon Gomes. That was followed up by two more multi-hit games, and a five game hitting streak to begin his
Dillon Gee was the 2017 version of what Dallas Keuchel did for the Twins in 2023. In fact, he was probably a little bit better. While he didn’t have quite the same name value, Gee was still a veteran in his 30’s who provided value as an innings eater late in the season after impressing at Triple-A on a minor league deal.
Gee had a solid 3.91 ERA over 103 starts with the Mets from 2010-14, but he struggled out of the gate in 2015 before getting buried by a crop of young Mets starters. He sa
Randy Flores was a late August waiver claim by the Twins in 2010, and that began the final chapter of his Major League career.
He was a ninth round pick by the Yankees in 1997, and debuted with the Rangers on April 23, 2002. Flores spent most of his big league career with the Cardinals, and also had two stints with the Rockies. As a lefty specialist, he threw under ten pitches in 162 of his 350 appearances (46.2%). This includes 12 occasions where Flores threw just one pitch.
Despite
Introduction of the series here
Part 2: 1961-1962 Offseason MLB expansion here
Part 3: 1964 World Series Champs! here
Hello friends! Putting a slight pause on the series to ask a question in the comments below. In the meantime, enjoy another WS title winning run in 1967! Below are my notes since the last time I checked in...
1964-65 Offseason:
CF Jackie Brandt wins a Gold Glove, and 4 Twins win Silver Slugger Awards - Mincher, Rollins, Killebrew, and Allison.
Seattle just traded their 3B to AZ for a back up C and pitching prospect. They were looking for a second base upgrade before but this makes it even more important for them to trade a starting Pitcher to Minnesota for a package around Polanco. The pitcher acquired may not replace the starter we acquire but will help give them more depth. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/11/dbacks-trade-seby-zavala-mariners-catcher.html
A deal with trader Dipoto in Seattle will get done.
I noticed this this mornings and thought maybe there's a couple of players that may fill a need on the Twins roster. 36/40 man roster filled.
Intriguing free agents after the tender deadline (mlb.com)
Nick Senzel in CF wouldn't be the worst fit. He's also a pretty good bat against lefties.
Juan Yepez as a RH 1B/OF option? This one a question even mentioning. Was pretty good in 2022...Minor league signing?
First, I congratulate Sonny Gray for coming in 2nd in the CY & thank you for what you accomplished as a Twin. As expected Gray turned down the Twins QO. In this thread I like to show how Gray should appreciate the Twins.
Below is a '21 comparison between Gray & Mahle before the '22 offseason
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Introduction of the series here
Part 2: 1961-1962 Offseason MLB expansion here
In the 1962 regular season, the Minnesota Twins showcased their talent with players like Harmon Killebrew, Jack Kralick, and Don Lee earning All-Star nods. With a 45-40 record, they stood in 4th place at the All-Star break. A notable trade saw Lenny Green moved to the St. Louis Cardinals, paving the way for the rising star Tony Oliva. However, their playoff hopes dimmed by September 20, finishing tied for 3r
Introduction of the series here
The 1961 season was a bit of a rollercoaster for the team, finishing with a record of 79-83 and landing in 8th place in the AL. The World Series saw the Los Angeles Dodgers triumph over the Chicago White Sox in a thrilling 4-3 series victory.
In terms of transactions over the course of the 1961 season, there were none worth noting. Despite the temptation to sign young free agents like 17-year-old Sandy Alomar, the decision was made to stick with the exis
First off, NO... I do not expect the Twins to be anywhere NEAR in the running for Ohtani. He most like lt has zero interest in a midwest location, and we will not spend that much. The question however is SHOULD we be in the running? and the answer is an unequivocal YES.
Everyone is talking about how we will be lowering payroll, primarily because of the lack of TV contract. I would suggest that actually signing Ohtani would give the Twins leverage to sign a bigger contract. The guy is a m
I know with the TV issue and the revenue stream from it, up in the air. The Twins will probably want to lower the payroll But, with Pablo Lopez going from 8.25M in 2024 to 21.75M in 2025. And, with Royce Lewis, Joe Ryan, Jhoan Duran, Bailey Ober, Griffin Jax, Trevor Larnach, and more ALL becoming Arbitration eligible in 2025. It maybe makes more sense to spend a little more on payroll in 2024. We have a defending Division champion, and the other teams in our division are NOT that strong. So why
As the crack of the bat fades away and the echo of cheering crowds subsides, the hallowed fields of baseball fall silent, marking the end of another thrilling season. As the final out is recorded and the last pitch is thrown, a hush descends over the diamond, signaling the inevitable transition from the sun-soaked days of summer to the crisp embrace of winter.* Since winter is upon us, and I still have the itch for baseball, I decided to try something new... Out of the Park Baseball has a mode i
It’s a frustrating situation. As we formulate our own opinions about what the Twins should do about the Byron Buxton conundrum, it’s important to understand all of the information we have.
Whether you hope to provide an opinion on how his recovery should be handled, whether he’ll play center field in 2024 if ever again, or if he should retire, we need to keep in mind the facts about Buxton’s knee that we personally know. Here they are:
The Minnesota Twins go into the offseason with an excellent combination of top prospects and serious depth throughout the organization. With plenty of young players putting up nice seasons, a recent end-of-the-year update to the Twins Daily Top 20 Prospects list shows real movement.
For the Twins organization, prospect graduations took place this year in the form of rookies like Royce Lewis, Edouard Julien, Matt Wallner, and Louie Varland. It wasn’t just the guys that made it to the big lea
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Twins Nation! Although this year did not go the way we planned it to go, it was good to see the Twins win another division title and prove that they can hang with the best and have the talent moving forward to compete for a World Series title, something us Twins fans have not seen in qui
We've all been there before, battling against a Pollyanna Twins fan who just doesn't get it! The guy is a bum! As they obstinately prattle on citing reason or having watched an MLB game before, the rage grows inside of you until you remember your trump card: He's just another Miguel Sano.
For your reference, I've compiled a list of 2023 Twins hitters and why they're just another Miguel Sano. If you ever meet someone who just won't listen to a baseball genius like yourself, you'll always hav
A few months back, I posted a Q&A I did with Matt about his injury, rehab and how things have gone since. Matt will be on my The Show About The Show Podcast in video form, and he is thrilled to answer as many Twins fans questions as possible! If you have any questions for Matt, leave them below an I will ask as many as I can. Also, be sure to subscribe to my podcast and watch recent episodes such as former Twins Matt Lawton, Marty Cordova and 1991 GM 7 hero Gene Larkin.
https://youtube
While I'm new to the community, I have been a Twins fan my entire life. I just turned 40 and so the two championship teams laid a foundation that no amount of mediocrity, contraction talk, playoff ineptitude, or geographic distance could fracture. I don't remember much about the '87 team itself, but I do remember collecting the cards in the years that followed and you better believe I remember the Berenguer Boogie. That '91 team though - talk about a perfect storm. If you wanted to dox me, you c
Got a theory that the Twins trade Duran 1/1 for an OK starter they think they can optimize. He's the Luis Arraez of this offseason. A buzzy fan-favorite at peak value with an amazing skillset that the Twins FO doesn't value too much. They've always treated relievers as fungible. I think they seriously consider flipping him.