Road trip

It's a harsh but fair assessment. The Twins of 2026 are a lot like the Twins of the mid-late 1990s. Back then the youth movement of Cordova, Walker, Munoz, and McCarty was supposed to join Knoblauch as the next generation of core lineup players following the Puckett-Hrbek core. It didn't work out, none of those guys had enduring success, and the Twins spent a half decade wandering in the desert until Hunter, Koskie, and Mientkiewicz et al arrived. I think we can deem the rookie classes of the early 2020s a failure at this point, beyond Jeffers who will soon be gone. Time to move on, get younger like the White Sox did, and hope that the Culpepper/Jenkins generation can provide a new solid core by 2028 or so.

One more to add to the list, Sam. Prior to the growth of Diaw and adding Tinney, Lackey, et al in the past year, the sorta hot catching prospect was Ricardo Olivar. Olivar made the Twins top prospect list in the 20-30 range the past two years. He's been hurt much of this year, but he's still only 24. He's a bat-first catcher, with his defense being a question mark, but he still has some trade value if the Twins prioritize other catchers in the minors.

Baby steps, I guess. A lineup with 4 players under the age of 26 has rarely if ever been seen this year. It's excruciatingly slow progress? Just avert your eyes from the White Sox. They roll out a lineup with EIGHT guys under age 27 pretty much every night. And look at that... your 2026 division winners..

This is very true. Maybe a few discussions with Molitor would be beneficial when the time comes. Few players made the transition better, and much like Buxton frequent injuries were a large part of the reason Molitor was mostly a DH in his 30s.

This didn't quite match my memory, so checking the history (using AI, which I don't fully trust, but these were all cited) Major Outfield Defensive Injuries A high number of his most severe, impact-related injured list (IL) stints happened while tracking fly balls or making diving plays in the outfield grass: August 2014 (Double-A): Suffered a severe concussion after a violent, season-ending outfield collision with teammate Mike Berardino. [1] October 2014 (Arizona Fall League): Suffered a dislocated and fractured left finger while diving for a ball in the outfield. [1] July 2018: Suffered a left wrist injury after crashing into the outfield wall to make a catch. August 2019: Suffered a major right shoulder torn labrum after slamming into the center-field wall in Miami, which ultimately required season-ending surgery. [1, 2] May 2025: Landed in concussion protocol alongside teammate Carlos Correa following a scary outfield collision while both players aggressively pursued a fly ball. [1] June 2026: Suffered a right shoulder contusion after once again colliding with the center-field wall while making a running catch against the Kansas City Royals. [1, 2] August 2026: His persistent, season-ending right hip injury flared up directly on the outfield grass when he awkwardly decelerated and reached down to field a ball in the right-center gap. [1, 2] I agree that Buxton is probably more aware of his limitations and is more careful playing the outfield now. And yet, May 2025 and June 2026 would point to instances where being more aware wasn't enough. Having said that, if Buxton can't field a lot of his value disappears. If RF makes more sense he will be an asset there, when healthy.

Could be true, although I'm not certain how one would measure that percentage. Regardless, Amick is ranked 3rd in total home runs this year across all minor league levels, and only one player has more than 40. Even in a context of inflated HR levels, it is an impressive number.

37 HR for Amick. Making contact remains a problem. Still.... that' serious power. Guess I wish him all the best with the Mets but that trade is looking ok for them.

Yeah, I can see how the beams would be bad for obstructed views. I was only there once. Seats maybe 3rd row of 2nd deck on the LF line, which in my memory was stacked directly above the first level. They were really great seats compared 2nd deck of modern parks. So much closer to the action. The neighborhood was pretty dilapidated and the park was obviously very dated, but it sure had history.

Yup, I think 3 times. Sister-in-law lives there now. Not a fan either. Endless sprawl of a thousand strip malls. Seemed like 200 miles from the airport to downtown. Bottom 3. Detroit is low too. I *loved* old Tiger stadium, but with that gone I don't feel any need to go back.

Messick... geez, 2.53 ERA in 28 starts. Where does Cleveland find these young pitchers, seemingly every single year! I'd love to have a team do that.... but of the 20-some MLB cities I have visited I can confidently say Cleveland ranks dead last... and I wasn't even there in winter!

Larnach had a good two month stretch. On the year he's been worth 1.1 BWAR, and that number has been dropping since July. He hits for average without typical corner outfield power, is a poor fielder, and is one of the slowest outfielders in MLB. If the Twins management doesn't want to seek out an improvement for a LF that consistently puts up about 1 WAR/year, we will never be contenders.

I'd be quite surprised if Abel doesn't start the year in AAA. He's coming back from surgery, and has only limited MLB experience anyway. He may or may not be effective out of the gate. That doesn't mean Abel won't be in the Twins rotation by May, replacing whichever of the original 5 has suffered the semi-inevitable injury requiring an IL stint.

I guess 3 is a nice round number, but you forgot Wallner, as apparently has the Twins FO. I saw a headline from the Trib today, and an earlier article in the Pioneer Press, that Wallner does not expect to ever be called up to the Twins again. I can't blame him as he tore up AAA all summer and never got a call back. There is a little gnashing of teeth over Larnach's situation, and I get it, but Larnach somehow got 2100 plate appearances to put up an OPS+ of 105, while Wallner essentially was abandoned after only 1100 plate appearances at an OPS+ of 119. Wallner never even had enough time to get to arbitration.. Both are platoon guys, both slow on the bases, both should be DH's, both former 1st rounders. To me, it still seems the Twins invested playing time in the wrong slow platoon lefty.

I was wrong about Kody Clemens. I figured him for another mediocre, not gonna hit enough, no upside, waiver wire pickup. Throw in a little "nepo baby" on top (I couldn't stand his dad, while acknowledging Roger's talent). However, Kody has exceeded expectations. He's earned his spot. His role is a bit undefined, but he will be an adequate or better bat, and can field multiple spots. You don't build around him, but he should remain part of the Twins plans for the next couple of years

You are replying to the wrong person. I haven't been in the thread on Larnach until now.. I am certainly on the "move on from Larnach" train though.