Where Do the Twins Go from Here

This team is right where they should be.  Boring, uninspired, no spark or enthusiasm near 500 because so far that's all they've shown they want to be.  I'm not impressed at all by the offense especially the veterans that are suppose to be leading this team.  Nor am I impressed by the FO and their hands off everything will be fine attitude.  With the great starting pitching we have had we should be at least 5-8 games ahead in the division.  No matter what happens now we will be hurt by so many missed opportunities and the awe shucks attitude of the manager and FO.  When the season ends and we don't make the playoffs again, in spite of a record payroll, this manager and FO should be replaced the next day.

Looking at the hitters, the "starters" in RF, CF, 3B all should be targets for improvement.

RF: Playing Solano at 1B and Kirilloff in the outfield is an approach, but Solano will be exposed. Wallner up seems obvious now.

CF: Austin Martin up is the only hope here, and would be a roll of the dice

3B: until Lewis is back, this is looking harsh. Brooks Lee up would be another gamble

And even if you achieve that, your bench would be Taylor, Farmer, Vazquez, and Castro. All guys you want to hide in the lineup one at a time.

And you also would still have three stalwarts with bad OBP in Correa, Buxton, and Gallo

Ugh. Get used to this I guess

3 minutes ago, Karbo said:

I don't really have a problem with signing Vazquez. He is still a very good catcher, and has hit OK till joining the Twins. Gallo I was shocked. I don't know what they were expecting giving him that kind of money, but they got what Gallo has become. One thing I've noticed though, some of the hitters we trade away suddenly can hit! Is this an indication of the way our coaching staff is working with these guys?

On your last question.  It sure feels that way to me.

3 minutes ago, Karbo said:

I don't really have a problem with signing Vazquez. He is still a very good catcher, and has hit OK till joining the Twins. Gallo I was shocked. I don't know what they were expecting giving him that kind of money, but they got what Gallo has become. One thing I've noticed though, some of the hitters we trade away suddenly can hit! Is this an indication of the way our coaching staff is working with these guys?

The guys that were traded away could hit before they left.

The guys who are still here can't though, and that part might be telling.

3 minutes ago, 2wins87 said:

The guys that were traded away could hit before they left.

The guys who are still here can't though, and that part might be telling.

Yup the FO's decisions created this offense. And whether they were wrong about evaluation, development, or offensive philosophy, those are all what they are paid to get right

I disagree with the help has to come part, I would start dumping veterans and adding prospects. Trade players like Kepler, Taylor, Vasquez, Farmer, Pagen and Lopez. I would also consider putting Buxton on the IL until he can play in the outfield, even if that is next year or forever. Make room for some of the young guys who are playing at least as well and get them some experience. This team will not compete against good teams in the playoffs and it does not make sense to trade any prospect capital to try and sneak into the playoffs from a terrible division to add more playoff misery to the fan base.  

Kind of perplexing:  a first-place team yet completely unwatchable and cringe-worthy, let down by their veterans, leading the league in strike outs, while featuring a top-five starting pitching staff.

There are no obvious moves to make.  The Twins offense should be better, but they can't hit the ball, especially with runners on base, and particularly when they are in scoring position.

There is nothing to be done but accept that something is terribly wrong with this team.  It starts with Buxton, Correa and Kepler, but it doesn't stop there.  Lewis and Polanco can't stay healthy, Baldelli finds new ways to lose games in the late innings and the idea that they might rally, at some point, string some hits together, get that big knock, you know, like score some runs, come from behind, is dashed over and over again.

Can't love them; can we leave them at least?

Just dreadful season.  The worst division in baseball and we sit, hands folded, watching offensive ineptitude prevail, with no moves to be made and no one to hold to account.

6 minutes ago, terrydactyls said:

I think that the key statement in the article is "calling any of the contending  teams (in the AL Central Division) a playoff threat would be lying ".  So I will repeat, reiterate, and say once more - SELL!  SELL!  SELL!

So are you OK with the FO office continuing to be employed going forward? IMO there is no way they are only selling if they haven't been told their jobs are safe.

The offense is SO BAD, maybe the team needs to rethink this.  You can't be all pitching and no offense and vice versa.  There has to be balance.  The problem is they've burned through a lot of very good prospects in some bad trades such as the Mahle deal and now don't have a lot of prospects to potentially trade.  Maybe the team needs to make a tough decision and flip one or two of the starters that have value such as P. Lopez, Sonny, Ryan, Varland or Ober for a slew of prospects.  I know fans don't want to hear that and it will make the team A LOT worse in the short term, but this offense looks to be THAT BAD.  Correa and Buxton both look like complete busts and we are stuck with both of them on multi-year deals, especially the Correa 6 year deal.  Perhaps it's time to blow everything up and start over if this continues into the second half.  

14 minutes ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

So are you OK with the FO office continuing to be employed going forward? IMO there is no way they are only selling if they haven't been told their jobs are safe.

The only pending free agents that would significantly impact their chances to win the division if traded are Gray and possibly Maeda.  MAT and Solano are debatable.  Solano is one of the few twins hitting well.  It would be risky to give Stevenson a shot but hard to imagine his bat is worse than MAT given he has an OPS in the 900s at AAA.  I have only seen 4 Saints games so I don't know how much of a drop-off he would be in CF vs Taylor.  Would appreciate insight from anyone with better knowledge of his defense.   

They could move on from Gallo / Kepler and Pagan with a chance for better production.  Farmer is probably expendable too.  Gray would have to be a very good offer because of the comp pick if we give him a QA.  Maeda is interesting.  He might bring a nice package if his next starts up to the deadline are good.  Gray has been pretty average in his last 10 starts.  I don't know that a big offer is eminent. 

Fire Baldelli.  Move on.

Gallo - gone

Kepler - gone

Kirillof to 1b

Larnach to lf

Wallner to rf

Correa, Buxton will eventually produce.

Show some support for the young guys.  Heck, .500 and 2nd place is not worth anything.

The place where we were at in the off season was very heavy in cOF LH bats & short in RP depth. So they signed a cOF LH bat to a big contract & failed to add a top end RP. 

The players we traded for last year were hot the 1st half but didn't produce the 2nd half (Fulmer wasn't too bad). That's the chance we take, who can guarantee that any hot player we may target now will produce in the 2nd half? No matter what we do, our success hinges on if Correa & Buxton can get hot down the line. The line up will vastly improve when Polanco & Lewis come back, to accompany Kiriloff & our bench players.

I'd trade Gallo + somebody else to HOU for a decent RP & stand pat. Since we failed to draft any catchers, I'd trade for a decent catching prospect. 

37 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

The only pending free agents that would significantly impact their chances to win the division if traded are Gray and possibly Maeda.  MAT and Solano are debatable.  Solano is one of the few twins hitting well.  It would be risky to give Stevenson a shot but hard to imagine his bat is worse than MAT given he has an OPS in the 900s at AAA.  I have only seen 4 Saints games so I don't know how much of a drop-off he would be in CF vs Taylor.  Would appreciate insight from anyone with better knowledge of his defense.   

They could move on from Gallo / Kepler and Pagan with a chance for better production.  Farmer is probably expendable too.  Gray would have to be a very good offer because of the comp pick if we give him a QA.  Maeda is interesting.  He might bring a nice package if his next starts up to the deadline are good.  Gray has been pretty average in his last 10 starts.  I don't know that a big offer is eminent. 

All that is true, doesn't answer the question do you want this FO here moving forward after what they have shown the last 3 years, and my answer is a hard NO, and they aren't going to trade away players for the future if they aren't part of the future is my point.

There may be some uncertainty or discomfort between the Pohlads and Falvine/Baldelli. I have no idea about this and we do know that the Pohlads are generally quite supportive and hands off with the management they put in place. I'm not expecting any changes, yet the lack of excitement toward the Twins is reflected in attendance to some degree.

A large shift, such as selling off expiring contracts and veterans, seems quite unlikely given the large investment made for this season. The opposite is also unlikely. I do not expect a big trade to acquire a significant player.

The Twins should be in contact with clubs and exchanging ideas frequently this month. We just don't know what Gray or Maeda could return. Some team may get crazy and offer some excellent prospects, in which case the Twins should act.

For several years I have wanted the Twins to incorporate all strategies possible in their game. The big inning and swing out of your shoes approach simply doesn't work without a juiced ball and also leaves fans nodding off to sleep. There has been some small changes this season. The series with Atlanta should have been a lesson for the Twins, watching another team cut down on their swing with two strikes, go the other way, run the bases, etc. Bunting doesn't need to be used often but it can work and even be effective in the first inning. A double play ground ball that scores a run is always preferable to not scoring while swinging for the fences. Subtle changes need to occur.

Lastly, it may be unfortunate but a couple of demotions are in order. That may be a hitting coach, which seems pretty crappy or trades/DFA of a veteran player. On the whole, Gallo has not been worth a roster spot. Kepler needs to play some centerfield or get moved. Falvey needs to make one move at least. A repeat of the first half won't please many people.

1 hour ago, Karbo said:

I don't really have a problem with signing Vazquez. He is still a very good catcher, and has hit OK till joining the Twins. Gallo I was shocked. I don't know what they were expecting giving him that kind of money, but they got what Gallo has become. One thing I've noticed though, some of the hitters we trade away suddenly can hit! Is this an indication of the way our coaching staff is working with these guys?

Why do I see that comment so often?  The one, "has hit OK till joining the Twins."

Put me in the group that doesn't want to see the FO go out and make any big acquisitions.  The Twins will be successful, or not, based on what their two big studs do the last 2.5 months of the season, Correa and Buxton.  And hopefully, that includes Buxton playing in center field at some point. 

The lineup should also get a boost from Polo and Lewis returning over the coming weeks.  Polo probably won't hit much better than Julien, but his defense should eliminate a couple mistakes/errors that would lose a couple games.  Add an improvement from AK over the last few months and the lineup should be able to score enough runs to get those extra wins to win the division.  But if Correa and Buxton play like the first half, nothing the FO can do will make a difference.

Steer and Encarnacian-Strand could hit before they were traded (probably, in the minors at least).

But then you have to account for LaMont Wade.  And Luke Raley.  And Brent Rooker.  None of them good enough to keep, and given away.  All very good hitters now, assisted greatly one would assume by the coaches in their new organizations.

I'll certainly place some blame on the current Twins players themselves, but it should be very apparent that the hitting coaches aren't succeeding.  

Well, considering the team is about on the path to match the predictions laid out by the models before the season, how disappointed should we be?

As for certain players I'm wondering if Correa's plantar fasciitis is hindering him more than we are being told. Buxton may end up being a Tony Oliva-esq player in that his body is betraying him right now, and may continue to. Although he isn't performing great, I still think he's a bargain going forward if he can figure some things out. Perhaps he needs to move to a corner spot (I know, too many folks there already).

I think one thing I see from the front office is a deference to veterans, i.e. Kepler, that may not be warranted. However, if you just sit Kepler you ruin his possibility of having hot streaks that improve his limited trade value.

I think I'd be okay dropping Gallo.

One surprise this year has been Castro who I think will be a good utility guy going forward for the team. Unless he totally regresses.

So I'll say I'm disappointed, but this team is sort of what I thought they were going into the season.

2 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

What was our record after the all-star break last year?  Not good.  Do we expect a repeat? 

The annual Buxton the superstar story is worn out and he provides us with little value - causing us to have a below average CF, and a clogged DH spot.  0.8 WAR so far on BR.

Correa has made the Mets and Giants happy that they moved on.  Nice player but not a key to the team.  Although last year most of his value came in the second half contract moves.

Kepler and Gallo do not belong on a good team.  Solano has over performed in his role, but if he is your best hitter the team is in bad shape.

Miranda has still not found himself and maybe that one great year in the minors was a mirage.

Polanco should have been traded last year.  We cannot count on him and his health.

The BP has been covered and should be covered up.  Can Duran pitch 4 innings a game - every game?

I have been afraid of Cleveland since the start.  They always move up in the second half and Francona leaves Baldelli in the dust. 

I know - good draft - divert our attention and hope for the best. 

"What was our record after the all-star break last year?  Not good.  Do we expect a repeat?"

Good post.  As for the first question, it might not be.  We open up after the break with 23 out of the next 26 games against teams at approx. .500 on down......all the way down to Oakland.  A decent record in those games should give us a little breathing room.  And I read somewhere we have the 3rd easiest schedule in the league (or was that in all of MLB) from this point on, based on won loss records of the opponents.  With our starters going the way they are we will sneak out the Division. but where do we go from there.  As I have said here before we appear very comfortable competing in the division year in and year out, but not much else.  Time will tell us what Joe will do now that he is making the decisions.  Stay tuned............. 

I had em pegged to be about a .500 team. But I'm still disappointed that that is all they are. Hope is not enough. Change is needed. Rocco is not able to inspire or motivate this group of players. Imo we are underperforming. Terrible offense.