The Twins Are Trending Toward Full Strength for the Stretch Run

So glad you brought this up Nick.  There have been a dozen articles scrutinizing every aspect of what the Twins should do at the deadline.  Without making a move, they are expecting to pickup two bats and a reliever in the very near future.  The prospects of these three individuals (and Stewart as well) will have a huge impact on how the Twins view the deadline...

20 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Agree. Unless there's a shockingly big trade, these guys are likely as big of a boost as any of average players they plan on trading for.

Though, I think the Twins have actually played better when forced to improvise. Seems like every time a starter goes down and they have to reach into the AAA bag, they come out better than when the starter was in the lineup.

K master Buxton is not there.

Last September we were starting the 8th, 9th, and 10th string outfielders in the system.

I don’t know about charmed… we just got Maeda back, Mahle’s been gone Polanco and Paddack missed a lot of time, Lewis and Kiriloff started late and Lewis is now out again, Buxton hasn’t played in the field. We haven’t exactly been without our own challenges. 

50 minutes ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

So glad you brought this up Nick.  There have been a dozen articles scrutinizing every aspect of what the Twins should do at the deadline.  Without making a move, they are expecting to pickup two bats and a reliever in the very near future.  The prospects of these three individuals (and Stewart as well) will have a huge impact on how the Twins view the deadline...

I hate this type of reasoning. Has been going on since I can remember. "We are getting player A,B and C back from injury, so it's like adding 3 players at the deadline without making a trade". HATE this! They are players we have had of and on all year and we are sitting at 5 games over .500. Has anyone ever heard of "adding" better talent than what you are getting back from injury to be a better ballclub? I just don't like the saying, "well, if we don't make any trades, we still have these guys coming back, which is like a trade". Rubbish.

8 minutes ago, Hosken Bombo Disco said:

If we are describing the Guardians 2022 run as charmed and lucky, then let's be consistent and describe the Twins 2023 season the same way. 

But the Twins won't really have a stretch run this season. It's been evident for a while now. We are all just drumming our fingers at this point, playing the waiting game, to see who our first round opponent will be and if this is the year we break the streak. Maybe enjoy some baseball in the meantime.

Well, we could also give some credit to the front office for building depth and then refusing to give up on any of it even with half the fan base screaming for the under-performing veterans to be DFAd.

That's probably a bridge too far though.

24 minutes ago, 2wins87 said:

Well, we could also give some credit to the front office for building depth and then refusing to give up on any of it even with half the fan base screaming for the under-performing veterans to be DFAd.

That's probably a bridge too far though.

This. I’m not a huge fan of Falvine but they really made some key acquisitions. Farmer has been extremely valuable as has Taylor and others. 

I don't think there's any doubt that they're in a better position overall with personnel, than last season. It's not a starting lineup with a handful of minor leaguers, especially in the outfield. The pitching alone takes care of a lot of that too. It's significantly better than last year. If a few of the guys could remember how to hit a baseball, it certainly wouldn't hurt. With Polanco and Lewis coming back soon, that will help tremendously. I don't know what the FO has up their sleeves at the deadline, but a good righty bat would help...and maybe another BP arm, but we'll see what happens. 

23 minutes ago, terrydactyls said:

 

Two points.  1.  The Twins haven't had "of" and on all year.  Players A, B, and C have missed significant time.  Therefore, it's like getting a new player.  2.  If you want to add better talent, then which prospects are you willing to lose and does anyone else want them?

You couldn't be more wrong. My post was directed towards thinking like yours.  Lane Thomas, and 1 or 2 high end relievers. I am not the GM. I will leave the compensation to them. Just do it

All the aforementioned returners or three other guys could be hurt by the end of next week. Still probably won’t be enough to propel CLE past us. 

After winning 9 of 11, there is no doubt we can allow ourselves a bit of complacency now, but let's not fool ourselves.  There are still a lot of holes on this team!  Kirillof, Julien and Kepler have been hot.  They have carried the offense during this streak.  Looking at the rest of the season thru rose-colored glasses, yes, the offense might stay robust IF they continue and Polanco and Lewis come back soon and start contributing immediately.  What is the likelihood of this happening?

But if the FO really desires to ensure a Central Division title and break the horrific playoff losing streak, they must act boldly this deadline.  Adding a bat like Goldschmidt, Bellinger, or Lane Thomas will be necessary to really improve the odds.  Sure, we can hope Correa/Buxton will rediscover their batting stroke, but depending on this happening is a fool's journey.  We have 100 games to affirm this unlikelihood.  We have 32 years of diddlin' around.  Time to man up and go for the gold!

s.ed

26 minutes ago, terrydactyls said:

Step up and tell us who you are willing to trade for two high end relievers and Lane Thomas.

Wallner, Larnach, SWR, Varland, Balazovic, Canterino and I would throw in Baldelli.  Lane Thomas is worth a haul by himself. Transformational lead off hitter.  Better than the Shannon Stewart acquisition back in 2003, and he turned the offense around in a snap. 

Nick, I knocked on wood - twice.

2 hours ago, Hubie29 said:

I hate this type of reasoning. Has been going on since I can remember. "We are getting player A,B and C back from injury, so it's like adding 3 players at the deadline without making a trade". HATE this! They are players we have had of and on all year and we are sitting at 5 games over .500. Has anyone ever heard of "adding" better talent than what you are getting back from injury to be a better ballclub? I just don't like the saying, "well, if we don't make any trades, we still have these guys coming back, which is like a trade". Rubbish.

Let's see...
Thielbar has thrown a whole 10.1 innings this year
Lewis has 99 AB in 26 games
Polanco has 127 AB in 30 games

I understand where you are coming from, but this is not the hill to die on.  These guys have not had the impact you say.  Their potential impact could be huge.

It's not how well you start, it's how well you finish. Last year we started pretty well but after being over-stretched, players that weren't injured, limped along to the finish line (except Correa), This years approach is much better & we should finish strong coming into the post season.

Once twins get healthy they should/will pull away from division-with theilbar/Stewart and hopefully kucheal coming up along with palanco and Lewis back-twins will be firce to be reckoned with. This is year we end playoff losing streak and possibly win World Series. 

16 hours ago, big dog said:

I don’t know about charmed… we just got Maeda back, Mahle’s been gone Polanco and Paddack missed a lot of time, Lewis and Kiriloff started late and Lewis is now out again, Buxton hasn’t played in the field. We haven’t exactly been without our own challenges. 

I haven't heard anything recently about the status of Paddack. It's almost August; any updates? At this point I assume he won't pitch at all this season. 

I read the opening paragraphs and almost lost it:

Kirilloff ... shut down for the season.

WTF?! And then I re-read it and realized that the article was referring to 2022. Whew! Big sigh of relief! We need that guy in the lineup!