Matt Braun

Join us in argument as we count down the greatest Twins teams in history, as voted on by the Twins Daily writers. Today: the eighth-ranked team. Image courtesy of Thiéres Rabelo Overview: The 90’s were not kind to Minnesota. The team enjoyed a great 1992—although one not good enough to overcome the division-winning Athletics—and promptly slid into the same pre-1987 quagmire that cursed most every season following their glorious 1960s run. The team kind of looked like the one that practiced so much magic before; Kent Hrbek, Kirby Puckett, and Kevin Tapani played out the rest of their memorable Twins careers, and newcomer Chuck Knobluach was an All-Star fixture, but the armor suffered chinks; the picture blurred. By the late 90s, the only ones around to remind fans of the good old days were Rick Aguilera—who himself would leave in 1999—and manager Tom Kelly. Kelly was synonymous with Minnesota baseball at this point; born in Graceville, he parlayed an anonymous stint in MLB into an eternity as the man steering the Twins. He oversaw their unlikely 1987 championship victory in his first full season before ushering the team to yet another win in 1991, marking the two first—and as of 2023, only—World Series wins since the team moved from Washington. But the glories of 1991 were long in the past. The team had dissipated into an unrecognizable mess, losing the stars that drove the team to past glories without developing the young talent necessary to halt the long dive into obscurity. Finally, following the first winning season in eight years, Kelly resigned, leaving the job to rookie manager Ron Gardenhire. Gardenhire would have more than just Kelly’s shadow to deal with: MLB’s owners voted to contract the Twins late in 2001, throwing the team’s future into uncertainty. The team stayed put—a Hennepin County judge named Harry Crump shot down the effort, forcing the team to honor their lease and play at least one more season in the Metrodome—but the vague promises given to Minnesota’s players and coaches loomed over 2002 like the Death Star, threatening them at all points with the idea that this could end at any moment. Lineup By wRC+, the Twins were a top-ten group. Jacque Jones put forth the best hitting season of his career, riding his aggressive hitting style to a .300/.333/.511 slashline, good for the third highest OPS+ on the team. Torii Hunter claimed the second spot, cracking a .289/.334/.524 line that earned him an All-Star nod and a 6th-place finish in the AL MVP vote, the highest placement of his career. But, the best hitter by OPS+ was Bobby Kielty, a one-year wonder who hit .291/.405/.484 in 2002, and never came close to replicating those numbers again. He was traded to Toronto the next year, then bounced to Oakland. In his final career at-bat, he blasted a homer in game 4 of the 2007 World Series, scoring the critical run in Boston’s series-winning victory. What a career. This was mainly a group effort on offense; five other hitters notched an OPS+ of at least 100; Luis Rivas and Cristian Guzmán were the only regulars to fall short of that mark. Both men made up for it with the glove—at least narratively; advanced stats frown upon Rivas’ alleged defensive acumen. It was the early 2000s! We were just getting used to this sort of stuff. Other players of note include Michael Cuddyer, who was in his first full season as a minor league yo-yo, Denny Hocking and Matt LeCroy, who both exemplify a type of Twin popular with the team in this era and Casey Blake, who was in his final season as a passed-around depth piece before his unusual breakout in 2003 and eventual solid MLB career. Pitching 37-year-old Rick Reed was the de facto ace of a group that… let’s say was more bullpen-inclined. The team finished with the 9th-lowest reliever ERA in the league, riding excellent seasons with J.C. Romero, Eddie Guardado, Tony Fiore, LaTroy Hawkins, and Michael Jackson—no, not that one—to a 3.68 ERA. Romero’s breakout was especially shocking; the lefty fell flat on his face as a swingman the prior two seasons before posting a microscopic 1.89 ERA in 2002. He won nine games, lost two, and was probably the best reliever in the game not serving as his team's closer. The rotation, however, was more a collection of interesting names, fascinating players who were special in other times, but not now. Kyle Lohse made his full-season debut and was passable. He put up a 106 ERA+. Better days were ahead in St. Louis. Brad Radke took a break from his typical, boring competence, pitching to his worst ERA+ since his rookie season over just 118 ⅓ innings—an impossibly low total for the workhorse. And then there was Johan. The former rule-5 pick hadn’t succeeded much over his first two years in the majors, but a special regiment of changeups offered by minor league pitching coach Bobby Cuellar turned Santana’s career around. He hopped between the rotation and bullpen in 2002, but—no matter what role the team placed him in—the young lefty dominated; he ended the season with a 2.99 ERA and would win the AL Cy Young for the first time in two short years. Playoffs They didn’t know it at the time, but the 2002 Twins would become infamous for their playoff run. Not because of themselves, mind you, but rather, who they beat: Minnesota bested the Moneyball A’s in a nail-biting five-game classic. The final game was a doozy: the game stood as a normal 2-1 pitching duel headed into the 9th before A.J. Pierzynski cracked a two-run homer and David Ortiz added on for good measure, driving an RBI double to the gap to give Minnesota a four-run lead. They needed it. Mark Ellis cut three runs off the lead with a homer off Guardado. The Twins closer buckled down to net the final two outs—the final immortalized as it fell softly into Denny Hocking’s glove. The Angels decidedly thrashed Minnesota in the next round in a 4-1 series win that was uncompetitive after game three. Concluding Thoughts This is a weird time to analyze. They’re fun, absolutely. But also weird. It’s cool to see the early stages of the names that would define the 2000s Twins—guys like Hunter and Santana—but… Bobby Kielty? An absurd relief season from J.C. Romero? It’s hard to digest. At the end of the day, though, they won 94 games and went to the ALCS—something no Twins team has done since. Narratively, I think this team being the one that “saved” baseball in Minnesota, as well as the team that kicked off an awesome stretch of dominance, helped its cause. I mean, the newest Twins manager since the Reagan administration took the team to the ALCS under a cloud of uncertainty? That’s a hell of a tale. Given the lack of a dominant rotation, though, I think going to the ALCS was probably the height of the team's potential. It was maybe Gardenhire’s finest managerial performance, and it all came during his rookie season. “[T]his was the Team that Saved Baseball in Minnesota. Fun group of young players who had struggled for a few years and then came together and won a lot of games, made it to the playoffs for the first time in 13 years and they beat the Moneyball A's and got to the ALCS.” -Seth Stohs “Beat the Moneyball A’s, Pierzynski Ortiz and Mientkiewicz providing an edge. Veteran rotation that could have been even better if they didn’t bury Johan.” -Hans Birkeland “A sentimental favorite of mine, these guys inspired a bunch of “bloggers” to pop up. Whatever happened to those guys? Anyway, as someone who started closely following the Twins in 1999, it was incredibly rewarding to see this group of guys develop into a 94-win team and advance to the LCS. Would have gone all the way if it wasn’t for that damn rally monkey.” -Tom Froemming What do you think of the 2002 Twins? Were they ranked too high or too low? Do you have any special memories of them? Leave a comment below and start the discussion. Previous Entries: #10 - 2010 #9 - 2023 Honorable Mentions View full article

Join us in argument as we count down the greatest Twins teams in history, as voted on by the Twins Daily writers. Today: the ninth-ranked team, which should be a familiar one. Image courtesy of Thiéres Rabelo Call them the Streak-Breakers, the Slump-Busters, or the Ponche Posse. The 2023 Twins were a fun bunch. Overview The glories of the 2019 season were far in the past. The team never put itself together in 2021 and completely fell apart at the end of 2022, and 2020 effectively never happened. All of that placed Minnesota’s top brass in a precarious position. Was this the core to push in on? Could the veterans from 2019 find it in them to break through again? To make things harder, Carlos Correa was no longer around: the All-Star shocked the world by signing a deal with the Twins before 2022. Every party knew his original pact was effectively a one-year deal, but perhaps playing in the Twin Cities—breathing in the culture—would convince him to stay. No dice. The shortstop signed with San Francisco for… hold up; it looks like that deal fell through. Never mind; the Mets are right here to snatch him up. With Francisco Lindor already set at shortstop, the altruistic Correa will simply move to 3rd… wait, it happened again? Shoot. May as well come home, then. Correa is back in town—and with Pablo López leading the rotation (following a bold trade of the 2022 AL batting champion, Luis Arraez)—the Twins are hoping their high-end talent can bring them back to the top of the AL Central. Lineup This was about as ensemble a cast as a team can build, while still finding success. Eleven players clocked in at a wRC+ over 100, with a trio of rookies—Edouard Julien, Matt Wallner, and Royce Lewis—at the top of the pack. Max Kepler effected a second breakout, slashing .260/.332/.484. Ryan Jeffers enjoyed his first full-fledged one, hitting .276/.369/.490. But spotlighting any one player misses the beauty of this team. As good as those previous hitters were, guys like Michael A. Taylor and Donovan Solano were just as important, filling in whenever needed and providing value when called upon. Taylor’s presence was especially critical, given that Byron Buxton never played an inning in center at the major-league level. And how about Willi Castro? Minnesota brought him on before the season, assuming he’d be nothing more than minor-league depth. He turned into a legitimate offensive weapon and baserunning leviathan, swiping 33 bags while playing every position except for first base and catcher. Well, maybe Lewis deserves a spotlight. After going first overall in 2017, the Aliso Viejo, Cal. native labored in the minors—with some thanks to the absent 2020 season—and only reached the majors in 2022. He played 12 brilliant games before tearing his ACL for the second time in his career. Returning in 2023, Lewis appeared to understand how precious playing time can be; he slashed .309/.372/.548 with—if you can believe it—four grand slams in a 20-game stretch. We’ll hear more from him soon. Pitching Much like the lineup, the September Twins rotation wasn’t quite the one they started with. López and Sonny Gray never missed a start, and were often brilliant when they pitched. Gray finished second in the AL Cy Young voting. However, the back half of the starting pack shuffled. What started as a Joe Ryan, Tyler Mahle, and Kenta Maeda trio quickly involved Bailey Ober, once Mahle went down with elbow issues. He underwent Tommy John surgery in May, and Ober was suddenly a rotation fixture. He was brilliant. Armed with a deceptively tricky fastball, the 6’9” righty gave the team 144 ⅓ innings of 3.43 ERA ball, leading him to the third-highest rWAR of any pitcher on the team after he started the year at Triple-A St. Paul. The bullpen was even more complicated (when isn't it?), as reliability was hard to find and consistency was non-existent. Jhoan Durán continued to be brilliant, although a little less so than in 2022, and Griffin Jax and Emilio Pagán were late-inning fixtures, but Jorge López’s implosion left the team looking for depth. Fireballer Brock Stewart mowed down hitters when called upon, but he was only available for 27 ⅔ frames. A handful of failed middle-inning arms amounted to little. Jordan Balazovics and José De Leóns came and went. This was easily the weakest part of the team. Playoffs This is, I suspect, the reason why this team ranked so highly. Following nearly 20 years and countless failed attempts at winning a single playoff game, the 2023 Twins not only notched a postseason victory on Oct. 3, but followed it up with two more wins to give the team a trio of victories—enough to call for a parade in downtown. That didn’t happen, but the wins were nice. Minnesota squeaked out two close victories against the Blue Jays—the first won by a pair of solo homers from Lewis, backing up excellent pitching from López and friends; the second from brilliant heads-up defense and Toronto manager John Schneider inexplicably yanking José Berríos in the fourth inning—before they reached the Big Bad Astros in the ALDS. Houston dispatched Minnesota in four games. The Twins made it a series after swiping Game Two on the Astros’ home turf, but Game Three was a laugher, and the team ran out of juice in a Game Four crier. Concluding Thoughts Is this a case of recency bias? Perhaps, but I think this team has a legitimate claim of being amongst the best Minnesota has seen. Their meager 87 wins belie a more impressive 93-69 Pythagorean win-loss total. They also went 37-36 against teams at or above .500, sixth-best in the league, and better than the eventual World Series champion Rangers. But, of course, this is about those playoff wins. You’d have to go back to 2002 to find a Twins team with more postseason victories in a single season, and they’re one of just 15 Twins teams even to play baseball beyond the regular season. Those three playoff wins tie them with the 1965 team for the fourth-most in team history (seriously!). Some of that is sleight of hand, given that the World Series served as the lone playoff series until 1969 and that the Division Series only came into being following the team’s two World Series wins, but that total certainly swayed voters. Ultimately, this team had two dominant starting pitchers, excellent depth, and enough power to flip games when needed. That recipe served them well in both the regular season and postseason, even if they lacked the star power that usually fuels great teams. "The end of the 0-18 narrative. The end of not winning a series. A true transition from a team that could always hit to a team focused on pitching... Gray. Lopez... Maeda... bullpen. Won the division handily and gives us excitement again." -Seth Stohs "Royce Lewis, Pablo Lopez, Carlos Correa, Ed Julien, Jhoan Durán, ended the streak and put a scare into the Astros." -Hans Birkeland "The team that ended the streak! Also, this was my first year writing for Twins Daily. This was the most enjoyable season of Twins baseball in my life, and it will always hold a special place in my heart." -Cody Schoenmann What do you think of the 2023 Twins? Were they ranked too high or too low? Do you have any special memories of them? Leave a comment below and start the discussion. Previous Entries: #10 - 2010 Honorable Mentions View full article

I don’t think they’re incompetent, but Keller only has two years of control left, and I don’t see the team being competitive that quickly. They could always extend him, of course, but now would be the most they’d ever get for him.

With no new Twins news in the papers or on the horizon, join Matt for yet another take on Ohtani, his confusion regarding Seth Lugo, and speculation on Minnesota's starter trade target. Image courtesy of © Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports Ohtani’s Deferrals I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how I feel about Shohei Ohtani’s new deal. The emotion is something between frustration and annoyance. But why? Because of baseball’s inherent economic disparity? That’s nothing new to complain about; the sport has been unequal basically since its inception. I think, actually, I’m a little jealous--jealous that a team already healthy in its wealth is smart and attractive enough to pull off this deal. It’s somehow always the Dodgers, and never the Twins. Is it bad for baseball overall? It’s undoubtedly shady…ish. Deferrals have always been around—hello, Bobby Bonilla—but besides some mocking from internet folks, the real, tangible effects it has on the team seem to be nil (unless you’re the Orioles; well done, Chris Davis). Sixty-eight million dollars is certainly a new frontier, though. We shall see what comes of it. Also, Ohtani can opt out if Mark Walter loses his status as controlling owner or if Andrew Friedman leaves the team. Jack Harris on Twitter notes that Joe Maddon had a similar clause in his contract, which allowed him to opt out and eventually sign with the Cubs. That one was centered on Friedman, too. People love working with that guy. Maybe that's what I'm really jealous of. Lugo Blues It seems that Seth Lugo’s deal with the Royals caused some consternation amongst Twins fans, and I guess I don’t see why. Derek Falvey doesn’t pay for pitching, period. His method has always been to seek out tradeable projects, keeping the dough for extensions and position players. I’m perfectly confident he’ll find another starter for whom to trade. And Lugo himself? Is a 34-year-old with no history of being an effective starter the guy we will rue not having? I liked his potential five years ago. Now, I think he’s just a cromulent pitcher, overqualified as a reliever and moderately qualified as a starter. Good for the Royals, too. They haven’t had watchable baseball in years, and while Lugo’s arm won’t be the difference between the bottom of the barrel and the top of the division, it’ll be an improvement over their barren pitching pipeline. Who Will that Starter Be? Good question. I’m not sure. I’m confident it won’t be Corbin Burnes—Falvey never pays for the name brand—but it will undoubtedly be someone on the perimeter of our view. Pittsburgh’s Mitch Keller somewhat fits that criteria, but we are already hot on his trail, as seen by our writers’ trade suggestions earlier this off-season; the guy Falvey acquires will almost certainly be someone we’re not even considering. To throw a name out there, what about Trevor Rogers? He dominated in 2021 and commands an excellent fastball/changeup combo. Injuries erased almost all of his 2023 season—illustrating why teams might be scared of him—but the upside is apparent. What do you think of the specialized opt-out clauses in Ohtani's deal? What would you give up for Rogers? Are you worried about calling him Taylor by accident over and over, if the Twins did bring him in? Let's dig into it. View full article

Join us in argument as we count down the greatest Twins teams in history, as voted on by the Twins Daily writers. Today: the number 10 ranked team. Image courtesy of Thiéres Rabelo 2010 was much of the same for the Twins of this era: the team that won the 7th-most games of all franchises in the 2000s kicked off the 2010s with a new logo and yet another trip to the playoffs. Manager Ron Gardenhire won AL Manager of the Year. By wins, this was the team’s best performance since 2006—an impressive outcome considering this was now their third-straight Johan Santana-less season. They didn’t replace him—who could have—but they did shock the system with an impressive influx of young and old talent. Oh, and they had a new place to call home. Carl Pohlad had wanted out of the Metrodome since the 90s, but an extensive political battle kept the team grumpy yet covered by a roof. It’s not a good sign when the Wikipedia article for the stadium includes a history that starts 16 years before the field opened. The fight included an attempt by MLB to contract the Twins in 2001—a move that died a quick death when Hennepin County judge Harry Crump shot down the ploy just days following MLB’s decision hit the news. Then, less than nine years later, Minnesota opened the beautiful limestone-centric Target Field, bringing outdoor MLB back to the state. Lineup: While the Twins of the 2000s cloaked themselves in piranha vernacular, the 2010 team preferred to bop. Joe Mauer’s transcendent 2009 season gave the lineup two former MVPs and the best duo of lefties in the game. Neither of those was Mauer, though: Justin Morneau was the scariest batter in baseball that year, hitting a hilarious .345/.437/.618, and 39-year-old Jim Thome wasn’t far behind, topping the 1.000 mark himself over 340 plate appearances. Rookie Danny Valencia hit 300 in his first taste of the bigs. Six regulars hit above a 100 OPS+. The team finished 2nd in MLB in batting average, 2nd in OBP, and 7th in slugging. Perhaps the most significant positive development, though, was Delmon Young. The team made an uncharacteristically brash challenge trade for the former 1st overall pick just four years after he was drafted. He rewarded their boldness with two mediocre hitting seasons. Perhaps sensing that it was now seven years since he went number 1—and that goodwill in sports lasts about the same length of time as a House of Representative term, Young turned in a career year, posting a 124 OPS+ and 112 RBIs, netting him down-ballot MVP votes. A gaggle of veterans—two newcomers in Orlando Hudson and J.J. Hardy, two old-guard hitters in Michael Cuddyer and Denard Span, and Nick Punto—rounded out a supremely deep lineup. The bad news? Morneau’s story isn’t as simple as his outright dominance: the 29-year-old suffered a concussion against the Blue Jays on July 7th and never played another game the rest of the year. His play dropped in the following seasons. He led the NL with a .319 batting average in 2014 as a final show. Still, he never fully recovered from the concussion and subsequent injuries in the years following what could have been one of the greatest hitting seasons in Twins history. Pitching: 2010 was prime Rick Anderson’s Rick Anderson-ness. The longtime pitching coach famously preferred teaching a philosophy of limiting walks and pitching to contact—a strategy that worked for years until every pitcher became a nuclear flamethrower—and the 2010 Twins reflected his beliefs. Their rotation of Carl Pavano, Francisco Liriano, Scott Baker, Nick Blackburn, and Kevin Slowey struck out batters at the 10th-lowest rate, but their habit of seldom walking anyone (5.6% BB rate!) made them a roughly average group. The 2010 Twins were a bullpen team. Despite All-Star closer Joe Nathan missing the year with Tommy John surgery, Jon Rauch, Matt Guerrier, Jesse Crain, Jose Mijares, and swingman Brian Duensing, helped push the group to the 8th-best ERA in MLB (3.49). Adding Matt Capps at the deadline and Brian Fuentes on waivers in August only deepened the stable. Playoffs: Unfortunately, because this is a Twins team in the 21st century, their ultimate fate was a sweep at the hands of the Yankees. Games one and two were reasonably close. Game three wasn’t. That was it for the 2010 Twins. Concluding thoughts: This is a very worthy addition to the list. The 2010 team won the 7th-most games of any Twins team in history, and—considering some “luck” modifier—absolutely could have won even more had Nathan and Morneau enjoyed good health. The more I look at it, the more I see a team reminiscent of modern baseball. After acquiring Capps, the bullpen had six regulars with an ERA+ over 120, giving them a hearty amount of reliable relief arms; they could shut down games only needing four or five-inning starts. The rotation was missing a starter, though; the team axed Slowey, Blackburn, and Baker for the postseason, instead calling on Duensing to make the critical start in Yankee stadium down 2-0. It didn’t go well. If they had just one more sturdy starting pitcher, they could have moved Pavano to game three—a much better option than Duensing, who performed worse as a starter in 2010. Ultimately, this is the Jim Thome Season to me. His walk-off vs. the White Sox and absolute missile vs. the Royals are both singed deep into my memory banks, still crystal-clear over a decade later. Ironically, that this season came one year after Brett Favre led the Vikings to the NFC Championship game, considering Thome’s legendary run with Cleveland. “Jim Thome’s swan song with a 1.000 OPS, peak Mauer, Liriano was still good, Orlando Hudson, JJ Hardy, good Delmon. If only Morneau and Nathan had stayed intact.” -Hans Birkeland “The inaugural Target Field team won 94 games, but it’s easy to wonder how far these guys would have gone if Justin Morneau, who was having another MVP season, not suffered a career-altering concussion.” -Tom Froemming What do you think of the 2010 Twins? Were they ranked too high or too low? Do you have any special memories of them? Leave a comment below and start the discussion. View full article

A 2006 rule change narrowed an avenue once ripe with opportunity and talent. Image courtesy of © Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports Handed a chance to add a player to their major-league roster on Wednesday, the Twins—as they have done every year since 2017—passed. They weren’t solely driven by painful memories of Tyler Kinley and Justin Haley: The Rule 5 draft has, in recent years, devolved from a relatively consistent method of swiping talent to a largely barren, sure-let’s-shore-up-the-back-of-our-bullpen abstention fest. You can thank the 2006 CBA for this change. Before that year, players who signed at 18 or younger were eligible for the draft after four years; players signed at 19 or older needed just three years*. Emmanuel Rodriguez, for example, would have been eligible for last year’s Rule 5 process if the prior rules had still existed. The CBA pushed back the timeline a year for both age groups, allowing the Twins to wait until this offseason before ultimately deciding on Rodríguez. It’s just one year—seemingly innocuous stuff, really—but an extra season secretly cuts down on the talent available for selection. As Andrew Simon wrote for MLB.com: “relatively few players have stuck with a drafting team and made an impact [since 2006], though Josh Hamilton, R.A. Dickey, Darren O'Day, Brad Keller, Ender Inciarte and Mark Canha are among others who have been selected during that time.” Take Johan Santana. You know him. You love him! Santana was a 20-year-old fresh off a 4.66 ERA —a few ticks higher than the average hurler for the Midwest league that year. Needing to decide on his talents, the Astros gambled on leaving their $10,000 pitcher open for other teams to select, and the rest is well-documented history. Had it been after 2006, Houston would have enjoyed a bonus year of evaluation. Perhaps Santana flashes enough in his extra season to convince Astros decision-makers of his worth. In fact, it seems almost certain that he would have. -------------------- The last time a Rule 5 pick turned into an All-Star was in 2018, when the White Sox selected Jordan Romano… who only became an All-Star once he returned to his previous franchise. The only time before that was in 2017, when the Orioles selected Nestor Cortes… who only became an All-Star once he returned to his previous franchise. Other selections have turned into ancillary contributors or one- or two-year wonders. The last time a player turned into an All-Star for the team that drafted him was Odúbel Herrera, nearly a decade ago. The bonus year is grinding the already lengthy evaluation process to the point where no one misses. If a player hasn’t become a desirable prospect by the point at which he becomes eligible under the current rules, he likely never will be. In thinking about the Rule 5 draft and the changes made in 2006, I initially believed the new rules to be anti-player but pro-team. The talented must wait, laboring under the watch of a franchise safe in their evaluations. The team knows they have time; what’s the rush in ensuring they have someone of value? But, really, this process is only a boon to conservative teams. The swashbucklers of the league—the franchises who dare to bet on talent—have a worse chance at swiping a George Bell or a Shane Victorino, because it’s more evident to the original franchise whether they have a Victorino worth keeping. The cement is dried and set. Your best hope these days is to get a Brad Keller or maybe a Victor Reyes. It’s a bit of a travesty, just another minor alteration that makes the sport slightly worse for the fan. Given baseball’s place as the game most rooted in entropy—with Willi Castros popping up every season like clockwork—making it harder for teams to potentially hit the jackpot on talent creates a lesser product. Santana was an outlier, but can you imagine the mid-2000s Twins without him? What potential Santanas never wowed their fanbase because they never received the chance? *The specific wording is “professional seasons,” with occasional loopholes for players assigned to a team whose season has already ended. See J.J. Cooper’s article on Baseball America for more details. https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/explaining-the-rule-5-draft/ What's your reaction? Is this change hurting the fan and player experience of baseball? Should it be revisited in future CBA negotiations? Join the conversation in the comments. View full article

Join us in argument as we count down the greatest Twins teams in history, as voted on by the Twinsdaily writers. Image courtesy of Thiéres Rabelo Starting today and going until the weekend before pitchers and catchers report, you’ll find a weekly post highlighting a team we considered among the best in Twins history, Senators not included. (Sorry, Walter Johnson .) The methodology was simple: I asked our writers to rank the ten greatest teams in Twins history, with potential notes or comments on their selections as they saw fit. From there, points were awarded in reverse order (e.g., 1st place was worth 10 points, 10th place was worth 1 point). I double, triple, then, finally, quadruple-checked to ensure my elementary arithmetic was still intact before the final list—and accompanying honorable mentions—took shape. What defines “greatest?” I let our voters decide; no boundary or guideline came from me. Perhaps some writers valued regular season performance, playoff success, individual accomplishments, run differential, or just how much fun it was to watch said team in their consideration. Individual ballots reflected their personality to a degree, but I think the consensus represents a solid, well-rounded group touching on numerous critical eras for the team. No more yapping. Let’s get on to the honorable mentions: 2004 Twins Our first list-misser was a top-heavy team in transition. A kid named Joe Mauer made an outstanding first impression- and suffered his first injury - with the squad, slashing .308/.369/.570 with nearly as many walks as strikeouts, providing a glimpse as to why the Twins selected the hometown prospect first overall in 2001. Johan Santana won his first Cy Young award with a dominant campaign; he led the league in ERA, strikeouts, ERA+, FIP, WHIP, H/9, and K/9. Throw in the usual excellence from Brad Radke and Torii Hunter, mix in surprise breakouts in Lew Ford and Joe Nathan (only one would stick, take a guess), and it’s not shocking that this team won 92 games, enough to claim the AL Central crown. This was a 21st-century Twins team, though, which meant their ultimate fate was falling to the New York Yankees in the playoffs. 2009 Twins It’s rare for one image to symbolize an entire team, but the one for Twins this year is clear and defined: Carlos Gomez streaking around 3rd, dashing home in a hopeful sprint as his teammates explode with exuberance and cheers. He would be safe, they knew, and his successful score capped off one of the greatest games of Twins history, the final regular season game Minnesota would play in the Metrodome. The AL Central was now the Twins’ to own. The rest of the season went pretty well, too. Nathan, Matt Guerrier, and Jose Mijares headlined a top 10 bullpen by ERA, while an ensemble lineup plated the 5th-most runs of any team in MLB. Orchestrating that offense was a 26-year-old Mauer, who led the league in all three triple-slash categories—as a catcher, mind you—carrying him to an easy MVP despite “only” playing in 138 games. But, hey, wouldn’t you know it, the Yankees were pretty good this year, too, and they romped the Twins on their way to winning the World Series. So it goes. 1962 Twins This one may be a surprise even for those well-versed in Twins history: the 1960s teams are usually considered monolithically good, with 1965 as the crowning club. What, then, is there to make of the other teams? Considering 1962 was only the second season the team played in Minneapolis, the importance of this team may actually be understated. “[F]or them to be really good already in 1962 was huge,” wrote Seth Stohs when voting for them. Indeed, a familiar cast of Camilo Pascual, Jim Kaat, Earl Battey, Bob Allison, Zoilo Versalles, and Harmon Killebrew led Minnesota’s first foray into winning baseball in 1962. Mickey Mantle’s Yankees halted them from going to the World Series—they were pretty good, also, if you didn’t know—but 1962 remained a solid stepping stone for the franchise, one that would lead them into a profoundly successful decade of dominance. 1967 Twins Hey, it’s the 60s again! This team featured some new stars—mainly a young Rod Carew, a reborn Dean Chance, and arguably the best years of Jim Merrit and Dave Boswell’s careers—but this was still the Killebrew/Allison/Tony Oliva show; Oliva claimed the worst OPS+ of the trio with a 130 mark. This was also the final season for manager Sam Mele. The Queens native was Minnesota’s skipper since Cookie Lavagetto received the boot partway through the team’s inaugural season. What went around came back to Mele; owner Calvin Griffith pulled the plug on him after the team stood at .500 50 games into the season. Cal Ermer took over, and the team won 20 more games than they lost the rest of the way. Entering a critical final two-game set against the Red Sox—whom they tussled with in the standings—Minnesota stood at the edge of the playoffs. They blew it, losing both games to send Carl Yastrzemski and the “Impossible Dream” Boston squad to the World Series in their place. Two more measly wins may have reversed history and raised this team’s placement on the rankings, but those excruciating losses knocked them down to honorable mention status. 1963 Twins This is the final mention of the 60s in this article, I swear. It may seem strange to consider a team that only finished in 3rd place, but—as Tom Froemming wrote—“[t]he 1963 Twins only won 91 games, but had the fourth-best run differential in Twins history (+165). They had a Pythagorean record of 98-63. A lot of franchise icons were on this roster, they went on to do bigger and better things, but this was still a really strong Twins squad.” Indeed, Allison, Pascual, and rookie sensation Jimmie Hall spearheaded a team that led MLB in runs scored and pitched to the 3rd-best ERA in the AL. Future nerds might call this team “unlucky,” but there’s no reward for poor fortune; all this team could do was watch the Yankees win the World Series again. 2017 Twins This was a fun Twins team. They weren’t a great one, but they were certainly fun. Fresh off a disastrous 103-loss season, the team cleaned house—but kept manager Paul Molitor—and rebounded to win 85 games, just enough to nab a playoff spot for the first time in seven seasons. A personal favorite of writer Cody Schoenmann, he writes that having “young players in Byron Buxton, Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco, Eddie Rosario, and Miguel Sano emerge” amongst veteran leaders in Ervin Santana and Brian Dozier was fun to watch. It may reveal a lot about the actual quality of this squad that “fun” is the consistent adjective used by those who remember the team. Santana, Dozier, and Buxton were excellent players—and Mauer had his best post-injuries season—but depth was thin, and the team couldn’t escape themselves in the postseason, blowing a 4-0 lead in their matchup against… the Yankees. Good lord, 2023 couldn’t happen soon enough. 1988 Twins Our final team of the day is the often-forgotten follow-up to the famous 1987 squad. The same heroes of before were here—Kirby Puckett, Frank Viola, Kent Hrbek, and more—but their fortune was left in the past; a 104-win Oakland team boasting some bashing brothers flew by the Twins in the division. This was still a formidable group of players: Puckett finished 3rd in MVP voting, while Viola took home the Cy Young, and an otherwise non-descript lefty named Allan Anderson shocked the league by winning the ERA title, becoming the first Twins pitcher to accomplish the feat (how about that for bar trivia!) But, still, there’s no ring to show for this team, which stuffs them into the “honorable mentions” compartment. That concludes our honorable mentions. Join us next week to learn who ranked 10th in our Greatest Twins Teams list. View full article

To be clear: I'm arguing for a Clevinger-like player in skill, not the man himself.

As first reported by Jon Heyman, then confirmed by Ken Rosenthal, the 2023 AL Cy Young runner-up is a Twin no more. There's an almost golden lining to the cloud, though. Image courtesy of © Matt Blewett-USA TODAY Sports (Thankfully, Ken Rosenthal is here to cool our senses and establish order, because how comfortable were we with Heyman as the tip of the spear?) Following a tremendous season that saw him finish as the runner-up to Gerrit Cole for the AL Cy Young, Gray spoke glowingly about Minnesota, emphasizing in a rare public plea that money isn’t the only factor in his decision-making process. Comfort mattered, too, and Minnesota offers that in a unique way. The Twins spun a different tale. Much of their vernacular focused on what Gray had done, and their gratitude for his veteran savvy and excellent pitching. In the moment, this seemed like pretty typical posturing. Recent reporting regarding Minnesota’s future financials revealed the team was dead serious in their callousness. Today, Gray’s exit will become final. His time with the Twins will go down as the best amongst the four teams for whom he’s pitched. Gray spread a 2.90 ERA over 303 ⅔ frames in two seasons, easily making him one of the best traded-for starters this side of Dean Chance. Among all pitchers with at least 300 innings pitched since the beginning of 2022, only Blake Snell and Justin Verlander beat Gray in ERA. He also immortalized himself in recent Twins playoff history, winning the series-clinching game against Toronto with an unforgettable pickoff of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to end his day. Because the team slapped Gray with the Qualifying Offer, the terms of his new deal will hand Minnesota a compensatory pick right after the first round in 2024. That return will soothe the loss of Chase Petty, who was a late first-round pick himself. It isn’t a perfect one-for-one—especially as Petty has worked his way to Double A hiccup-free in the Reds system—but dropping back a few spots in the draft for almost two full years of elite pitching remains an excellent deal. The Twins deserve a lot of credit for their foresight. They’ll need that wisdom again as Gray's exit—in combination with Kenta Maeda signing with Detroit—leaves a mangled 2024 rotation to deal with. Pablo López, Joe Ryan, and Bailey Ober are well-entrenched incumbents, but Chris Paddack (who hasn’t come close to his rookie-year career high of 140 ⅔ innings in four years) and Louie Varland (who pitched much better out of the bullpen in 2023) leave the back end feeling a bit shaky and untrustworthy. Sure, that describes most team’s fourth and fifth starter situations, but Minnesota would probably like to improve their depth, lest an untimely injury forces David Festa into a premature support role. Broadly speaking, the team has two options: they could acquire a top-tier starter like Corbin Burnes or Logan Gilbert, thickening their bunch at the top of the rotation at the cost of serious prospect capital. The upside in wielding another great starter is obvious, but such a deal would also protect them from the chaos and uncertainty involved in waiting until the trade deadline to make a move, where teams can hike up prices, and the only mercy is for those with stable elbows. Minnesota tried this route once with Tyler Mahle, which may push them to act now. They could also go the innings-eater route. Acquiring a Lucas Giolito or Mike Clevinger isn’t sexy, but it would at least give them extra protection if the ligament gods frown upon the team on any given day next year. This plan places pressure on Ryan shedding his gopher-ball habit—something no statistician or qualified religious figure has been able to correctly speak to the potential of. In the end, the goal should be to knock Varland into the same role Ober occupied in 2023. Either way, the team has plenty of work ahead. That work won’t reach the surface until late December or January—this is Derek Falvey we’re talking about here—but it’ll help define the move-making possible under the self-imposed economic restraints already affecting their structure. We shall see what path they take. View full article

Nelson Cruz wasn’t a Twin for long—his Minnesota tenure lasted just 258 games—but few sluggers this side of Hrbek rocked the team with as much bombast and dominance as the man simply called “Boomstick.” Image courtesy of © Quinn Harris-USA TODAY Sports Signing with Minnesota in 2019 following four fruitful seasons in the Pacific Northwest, Twins fans didn’t know exactly what to expect from the soon-to-be 38-year-old. Sure, he had demolished plenty of baseballs in his career, but old-man authority in a young man’s game was something only Tom Brady and his ilk could accomplish; was Cruz up to the task? Could he turn around a team previously drenched in mediocrity? ------------------------------------ We all still remember the 2019 team. The power and overwhelming home run prowess shocked on a nightly basis, whether it was Miguel Sanó claiming the AL Central with a back-breaking Grand Slam, Max Kepler coming within a stone’s throw of 40 homers, or Ehire Adrianza smacking a solo shot off Justin Verlander to best the Astros in an unlikely victory. No matter your taste, there was a slugger for you; five different players reached the 30-homer mark that season. But overlooking all of them—standing as the unquestioned leader of the group—was Nelson Cruz, slashing .311/.392/.639 in one of the greatest offensive years in Twins history. By OPS, he’s tied with Joe Mauer’s 2009. No one else is higher. Oh, and his 2020 campaign is 6th, smack dab in the middle of a few classic Harmon Killebrews and Chuck Knoblauch’s 1996 season. Cruz joined a team needing more leadership following the 2018 departures of Brian Dozier, Eduardo Escobar, and Joe Mauer. His naps became as famous as his biceps, adding an air of delight to his outlandish power—an attitude that rubbed off on his teammates, who embraced Cruz almost like a father. Minnesota dealt Cruz at the 2021 trade deadline, netting Joe Ryan in a return that makes Nelson perhaps the greatest use of a roster spot in Twins history. His rate numbers are staggering: a .304/.386/.598 slashline, and—believe it or not—the highest team OPS+ of his career, just ahead of his run with the Mariners. He was only here for 1,081 plate appearances, but almost all were memorable. Following forgettable stints with the Nationals and Padres, Cruz has called it a career at 42, becoming one of the most memorable veteran sluggers in recent MLB history. Cruz will play one last winter in the Dominican Professional Baseball League as a farewell tour. He'll end his MLB career with 7 All-Star selections, 4 Silver Sluggers, and 464 home runs. The homers are good for 37th all-time, one spot behind Minnesota's own Dave Winfield. View full article

Just how accurate was our robot overlord? Image courtesy of © Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports If you can recall the two posts I made almost exactly eight months ago, PECOTA—the flagship projection system from Baseball Prospectus—had some thoughts regarding the Twins. Well, it had thoughts regarding every player, but we only looked at those set to don Minnesota jerseys. Enough beating around the bush: here’s how well the computer did. (After-season numbers are taken from Baseball Prospectus’ leaderboard found here for pitching, and here for hitting.) Perhaps most notable at the time was PECOTA’s optimism surrounding Pablo López, who joined the Twins as something of an unknown, possessing immense strikeout potential without the full season of unquestioned dominance. Turns out, the system was actually a pessimist: López crushed it in 2023, turning in 4.8 WARP, good for 3rd in MLB. PECOTA was also too low on Sonny Gray, Joe Ryan, and Bailey Ober; all three starters bested their projections, with Gray doubling his assumed WARP. Louie Varland can claim underrated status as well; he wasn’t even in the original post and ended up as the eighth-most-valuable pitcher on the team at the end of the year. Also, the computer was absolutely correct in regards to Emilio Pagán, whose ERA (2.99) and FIP (3.26) were freakily close to his projections. Perhaps this is a lesson in patience, or—rather—that giving up a lot of homers isn’t necessarily innate in a pitcher’s DNA; this is a weird and frankly unfair game we’re fans of, and Pagán proved that the difference between a hero and a villain is often just a few feet. Finally, the Jovani Moran train may have hit a cartoonish boulder, crashed, and exploded in a fiery rage, but he actually came within tickling distance of his projection thanks to a whiff rate amongst the best in MLB. He appears a good bet to rebound next season if healthy. Now, let’s move onto the batters: It, uh, didn’t do great here! Let’s start with the positives: PECOTA nailed Max Kepler’s bounceback season, actually underselling him by a few points of DRC+, but otherwise prophesizing his best season since COVID hit. It also warned people not to be too down on Royce Lewis; we all know how that went. But… yeah, this one is a mess. Minnesota’s 2nd and 3rd most valuable position players ended up being Willi Castro and Matt Wallner, not Jorge Polanco and Carlos Correa. Byron Buxton ended up behind Christian Vázquez. Jose Miranda is lost somewhere in the Joey Gallo void. Gallo himself… it’s best to keep his name locked up in a box, lest uttering it releases curses unto humanity. I'm a little humored that Trevor Larnach couldn't escape his fate, essentially nailing his pedestrian prediction. It's clear this was a season dominated by the unpredictable; be it the rookie onslaught or Castro's elevation, the exact shape of Minnesota's offensive production was atypical, but eventually effective. ---------------------------------- Overall, I’m impressed with how accurate PECOTA was in regards to the pitching staff. Some hurlers blew past their projections, but the order was mostly in line with how the season played out. Calling on Pagán to exceed wasn’t something perhaps any Twins fan could do. Hitting was a big miss—anyone who predicted Willi Castro being Correa’s equal in DRC+ would have been hanged as a witch. Projections are helpful, but there’s a reason they play the games, and strange and unusual things happen when competitors at the highest level face off against each other. View full article

Poor man wanna be rich Rich man wanna be king And a king ain't satisfied 'Til he rules everything Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports The Twins have lost. Included in the aftermath is the pouring of obituaries, a dissecting of a team surprising and, eventually, unthreatening. They'll use words like "scrappy" and "feisty"—words intended to praise with minor compliment, but ultimately mean there was no belief that Minnesota could have ever been a fair match for Houston. It was impossible. Their players—battle-tested; professional; of a different playing level; simply better—were always destined to win. In this reality and all others. Again. And again. These are the common narratives nestled in the threads of sports, where nuance is lost and understanding must be made easy. It's never about the games themselves: it's about the jerseys and names that accompany them. The known team winning, the unknown losing. Jeremy Peña, another success story in a long line of elite Astros players. Edouard Julien, a cute attempt at uncovering the same magic. So it has been. So it has been pre-ordained. So it shall always be. You can point to runners left on base, home runs, bad calls, the natural injustice of the sport, and how the Twins came up empty every single time with consistent help from freak occurrences and unusual plays, but it doesn't matter. That's how the better team separates itself from the lesser one; it's how losers lose while the winners roll with the punches. And the winners popped champagne while taking pictures on someone else's field. The difference was clear in dugout demeanor. The Astros were smiling, almost jovial. It was a lovely Sunday jaunt for them. They waved to their kids and laughed when Yordan Alvarez clobbered extra-base hits. They bunted for hits and watched their back-end starters dominate. They had bested cleverer teams than this—the best offerings from the Dodgers, Yankees, Red Sox, and whatever lone-season one hit wonder happened to sneak their way into the postseason this year—what real challenge could these Twins claim? It's doubtful that Pablo López's brilliance in game two even stirred them. --------------------------------------------- If there's a soft hope for the Twins, it's in these very same Astros. They didn't apparate fully-formed: their first crack at the playoffs was in 2015, where they fell to the Royals. "A plucky effort," thought baseball, one made a little funnier when they missed the postseason the following season. It's perhaps these years—the ones bearing small, enticing fruit—that develop a team. Winning turns opinions, but winning doesn't often happen at once; it takes a foundation of success to become a powerhouse. We've seen the start; now it's time for Minnesota to relentlessly pursue their best. View full article

Believe it or not, that was Caleb Thielbar's first double play all season What a sport

We move onto the important, but perhaps overlooked contributors to the AL Central-winning Twins. This one was purposely nebulous: is an unsung hero an underrated player? Was it someone who stepped up in another’s absence? We allowed our writers to interpret the term independently before sending in their answers. Here’s how the voting broke down: Honorable mentions (all of these players earned a vote): Caleb Thielbar Emilio Pagán Ryan Jeffers Carlos Correa Griffin Jax Kenta Maeda Royce Lewis Kyle Farmer Christian Vázquez Alex Kirilloff 5. Jorge Polanco It’s a little weird seeing a veteran rank so highly on this list, especially considering that Jorge Polanco—because of his 2014 cup of coffee—is the longest-tenured Twin. He played with Kendrys Morales and Josmil Pinto. Yohan Pino made 11 starts. Let’s just move on. I think timing is the key here: Polanco hit the IL halfway through May, came back for a week in June, and then returned at the very end of July. The team entered its “rookies dominating the lineup phase” right around this point, making it easy for Polanco’s contributions—which was a fifth full season with an above-average OPS—to be lost in the hype. There’s no glory in boring consistency, I guess. 4. Bailey Ober Bailey Ober wasn’t even a Twin to start the year. First considered a depth piece, Minnesota sent him to St. Paul to marinate, hoping that they would only need him in case of an emergency. He was up before April ended. Pitchers did as pitchers do, a little bit of badda, a little bing—ligaments tore and aches became extreme—and suddenly, Ober was back to being a Twin. It was only for a while, they said. After some time, it was clear the elongated righty was simply one of their finest starters, so he stayed with the Twins for most of the year, only going back to St. Paul for some rest at the beginning of September. It’s clear why he ranked so highly; it’s uncommon for a team to be able to reach in and extract a 3.43 ERA over 144 1/3 innings when in need. Who knows what kind of eccentric pitching experiments we would see if Ober wasn’t there to stabilize the rotation. 3. Donovan Solano “Donovan Solano???” Thought every Twins fan when news of his signing broke late in February. Perhaps you remembered his 2020 silver slugger with the Giants—and maybe the more sick amongst us even recall his time as a Marlin—but none expected the 35-year-old to be the line drive, on-base machine he was in 2023. Solano hit righties and lefties; he hit at home and when playing on the road; he hit in April, May, June, July, August; he hit in low leverage, and he hit in high leverage. He wasn’t one for slugging—the indulgence of extra-base brutishness—but, no matter the situation, Solano hit. Remarkable consistency seemed to follow Solano, whether he manned 1st, 2nd, or 3rd, making him our 3rd place Unsung Hero. 2. Michael A. Taylor When the Twins dealt for Michael A. Taylor over the offseason, I wrote an article titled Twins Make Boring, Necessary Trade for Michael A. Taylor, likening acquiring the veteran to the team eating their veggies. Snarkiness lost out today; Taylor was even more than expected. Taylor has over seven years of MLB service time, and he technically broke out in 2017 with an .806 OPS as a National, making him an atypical selection for this award. He would at least provide competence when Byron Buxton had to rest, we all thought; with visions of Jake Cave and his optimistic dives running across our minds. What we didn’t envision was Buxton never stepping foot into Target Field’s outfield, necessitating 129 games for Taylor in an effort to curb any center field leakage. He was tremendous. Putting up the 2nd highest OPS+ of his career, Taylor bashed a career-high 21 homers, pairing his typically excellent defense with a power prowess unusually potent for a 9th-hole centerfielder. Minnesota likely would have struggled without Taylor—he’ll take home our 2nd place honors today. 1. Willi Castro You’d be forgiven if you thought Willi Castro simply apparated onto the roster in spring training. He had some oxidized prospect luster from his time in Detroit as a man on their top-10 list in 2019 and 2020, but he couldn’t hit much with the Tigers, and the team cut bait following an uneventful 2022. And the Twins are ecstatic that they did. Castro made the opening day roster as an afterthought—the kind of player who sticks around for a little, is thanked for their services, and then subsequently Ryan LaMarres his way out of usefulness around the time someone else gets healthy. This kind of player is a baseball tradition. But, unlike those of years past, Castro hit, played quality defense at nearly every position on the diamond, and utilized his legs to steal bases at a rate unique amongst Twins of the modern era. He was suddenly valuable; he’s now a critical weapon for Rocco Baldelli to use in the postseason. The zenith of Castro’s powers had to be his game on September 20th, when he halted Hunter Greene’s dominance with a two-run homer, before kickstarting a 9th inning rally with a bunt hit and madman baserunning that sent him to 3rd. He scored the tying run on a Kyle Farmer single. At just 26, Castro looks like a quality contributor for years to come, and—for his efforts in 2023—Twins Daily has named him their Unsung Hero. View full article