Cody Pirkl

Marwin González had a career year in 2017 which we later found out may have been aided by… other variables. He’s struggled to replicate that performance ever since, and has become known for being a slow starter. 2020 however offers some encouraging signs in the early going.Marwin suffered from a knee issue that flew under the radar in 2019. Regardless he provided passable offense and his versatility was priceless down the stretch. In the offseason he had a minor procedure done to clean up his ailing knee, and the early results have been positive. Marwin has posted a slash line of .297/.381/.459. Much more impressive than his slash line of .147/.216/.176 through 11 games in 2019. His wRC+ of 142 is his best by far (albeit in a short stretch) since his career year in 2017. He’s been one of the quiet contributors to the offense in the early stages of this season while much of the lineup has struggled. So what’s behind Marwin’s offensive resurgence? Marwin has always swung at pitches outside of the zone at a fairly decent rate. He did so over 35% of the time in 2019. Mitch Garver did so about 20% of the time for reference. So far in 2020, Marwin has reduced his chase rate to around 25%. The game plan here is obvious, Marwin is setting himself up for success by swinging at less pitches that are difficult to hit. Running parallel to this, Marwin has walked around 13% of the time to begin the season, which is a much higher rate than he’s ever managed before. “Bad ball hitting” is a skill that has proven not to stand the test of time. As Marwin enters his age 31 season, it’s very possible that he decided to make a concerted effort to be more selective at the plate. It’ll be an interesting trend to watch and see if it’s just a small sample oddity or if he continues being more selective as the season carries on. The key to selectiveness at the plate being successful however is mashing the hittable pitches you do get. We saw Mitch Garver make the most of being selective in 2019. He would take almost every pitch out of the zone and force the pitcher to come in with a cookie that he could put a good swing on. The strange thing about Marwin’s season so far is that he hasn’t punished many pitches in the zone yet. His exit velocity is almost identical to that of his 2017 season, and his launch angle is even a few degrees greater. Despite this, he has only “barreled” one ball, which explains why his slugging isn’t overly impressive yet. All of this bodes well for Marwin. His start to the season has been encouraging and a necessary cog in a lineup that hasn’t hit its stride yet. Plate discipline is often the foundation to strong offensive output. If Marwin continues to display this new found skill, it should only be a matter of time until he starts barreling more balls and putting them into the gaps and seats. This is likely Marwin’s final year in Minnesota and he’s going to play a near full time role between 3B, 1B and the outfield. You truly will not find a better “fill in” player for multitude of reasons. If you missed the proof of this in 2019, it’s at the forefront to begin 2020, as Marwin picks up the slack of not only the missing Josh Donaldson, but of the majority of the lineup that has yet to show any semblance of their 2020 selves. Appreciate Marwin everybody, he’s playing a huge role for your hometown Twins and this is likely the last year to do so. — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email — Follow Cody Pirkl on Twitter here Click here to view the article

A solid first week of Minnesota baseball has kept the hype train rolling in Twins Territory. Naturally of course, we’ve found ourselves with several great quotes about the team that are worth examining. Let’s take a look at a few that are indicative of the first week.“I actually think they’re going to have a good team. I just think we’re a better team.” - Jake Cave on the White Sox Were you worried headed into Chicago? You shouldn’t have been. Not because the Sox are the team they’ve been for the last 7 years, but because the Twins are still better. While the Twins did let the Sox take one game, they proved that this pitching staff is on an entirely different level than the one on the South Side. In the early going, it sure appears that the critics may have been correct in pointing out the flaws in the White Sox rotation. While they’ve proven themselves a formidable lineup, the Twins 1-9 is still superior and the arms don’t even begin to compare. Despite an offseason that may have told you otherwise, continue to expect the Twins to be favored in these matchups. “We’re going to get a chance to face him again and make some adjustments.” - Josh Donaldson on Shane Bieber The Twins got utterly dominated by Shane Bieber on Thursday night and were reminded that for all of the depth and quality we have in the rotation, nothing compares to having a bona fide ace like Bieber. What’s even more difficult is that he’s backed up by Clevinger and Carrasco. The Twins lineup is by and large heavily scuffling right now and showed how one pitcher can take control of a game. The Twins will in fact get another chance against Bieber, and adjusting will be necessary. One thing was made abundantly clear in this one however: Cleveland is a formidable roadblock in the Twins path to another Central title. “The elbow feels like it’s 18 again.” - Rich Hill Rich Hill made his Twins debut on Wednesday and it was glorious. While he lacked his common swing and miss stuff (2Ks in 5 innings), he allowed very weak contact and his effectiveness was never in question. To hear him speak so highly of his surgically repaired elbow is certainly a fantastic sign for Minnesota, who signed Hill as a lottery ticket with a possible top of the rotation payout. It’s great to see optimism from Hill in regards to the biggest question mark that pops up in his lengthy injury history. Hill’s health is all the more encouraging as Jake Odorizzi remains on the IL to open the season. “You’re going to hear people chirping a little bit more now that the stands are empty. I think the best way to quell that is performance.” - Rick Renteria What a weird experience it is to watch baseball in 2020. No fans, almost dead silence. It’s likely what we can expect to see for the entire season. As a result, we’ve discovered that the Twins have some loud individuals in the dugout. It was difficult to watch Rick Renteria’s postgame interview and not come to the conclusion that the Twins chirping and jeering got under the Sox skin just a bit. It’s yet another consideration in the baseball landscape of 2020, as teams can hear each other’s reactions and smack talk likely for the first time in baseball history (except maybe at Tropicana). The Twins dugout energy and personalities could come to play a not insignificant role in momentum this season. Post game one liners often flash across your news feed and you often don’t even consider the storylines they open up. After only a week, these few quotes are just scratching the surface of some interesting interviews that you can dive into. Were there any impactful quotes that you came across over the last week? Did you find breaking these quotes down to be a useful exercise? Let us know below! — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email — Follow Cody Pirkl on Twitter here Click here to view the article

Not particularly. I think the kind of anticipation the layoff created is pretty specific to this situation.

I wouldn't worry a ton about the staff. Berrios was amped up and made some mistakes to some good hitters. Otherwise Littell just didn't have it and Smeltzer wasn't good. Almost everybody else has looked great. Even Dobnak was pretty damn good considering he started game 2 of the season on short notice. I think we'll be just fine!

Jake Odorizzi is slated to miss at least one turn to begin 2020. One of the Twins most effective pitchers in 2019, back troubles are not new to the righty’s career. The hope is that we’ll see Odorizzi take the mound in the second trip through the rotation. While that could be the case, it’s possible the repercussions go beyond a single missed start.Back injuries are tricky when it comes to pitchers. The motion of pitching relies so heavily on bending and twisting of the back, and any kind of pain can easily disrupt these necessary movements. Further complicating things, the physical grind required of a Major League pitcher leaves them little opportunity to rest a back injury during the season and they typically end up pitching through it for better or worse. Odorizzi’s 2017 was a perfect example. Odorizzi admitted to suffering an injury in the weight room in 2017 and struggled with back pain through most of the season. He allowed a career high 1.88 HR/9 and his career worst 5.43 FIP was suppressed by a .227 batting average on balls in play. At season’s end, he worked on stabilizing and strengthening his back and successfully staved off the pain he had suffered through. Odorizzi’s first year as a Twin in 2018 was pain free but not overly impressive while essentially filling a spot in the rotation with a 4.49 ERA. He impressed in flashes but was inconsistent. It was this offseason that he made his change. Odorizzi decided to go all in on improving his mechanics and arsenal by attending the Florida Baseball Ranch. If you’re interested in the work Odorizzi did, it’s outlined on their website. Long story short, two years after a back injury that had seemingly healed, Odorizzi’s mechanics were still disjointed as a result. He made some changes and strengthened his back to avoid relapse and the result was a career year in 2019. So now we find ourselves in 2020 where Odorizzi is again suffering from back pain to open the season. Upon his return, the Twins will certainly hope for some semblance of the Jake Odorizzi of 2019. Can we count on that though? 2020 has a sense of urgency to it with a 60 game regular season. It’ll be harder to wait until Jake’s back is completely healed to get him back on the mound and we won’t truly know until we see how effective he is. There was a strong correlation to Odorizzi’s effectiveness and his average fastball velocity increase (a career high of 93 MPH in 2019). A step back in this fastball velocity may be an indicator to look for as to what we can expect from Odorizzi moving forward when he returns. Another issue to consider is recurrence of the injury. Odorizzi has already struggled with his back multiple times in his career as we’ve seen, as back injuries commonly pop up repeatedly. He could come back feeling great only to reinjure it two weeks down the line. At 30 years old, the likelihood continues to increase. Take a look at Clayton Kershaw. Two years older than Odorizzi, Kershaw suffered a back injury in 2014 and has continued to struggle with it ever since, also missing opening day in 2020. It’s worth noting that the previous two years, Kershaw’s ages 30 and 31 seasons, his fastball velocity had dropped precipitously. Kershaw has one of the deepest arsenals in baseball to compensate. What happens if Odorizzi see’s a similar trend though? In summation, I’m pretty concerned about Odorizzi’s 2020, and you should be too. While better than an IL trip for a torn UCL or something of that nature, a back injury shouldn’t be discounted for a pitcher with a history of this injury. Odorizzi in particular makes a living with his fastball which would be the first skill to suffer if the back is compromised. So what do you think? Is this a minor issue? Are you concerned for the long(ish) haul of the season for Odorizzi? How has this affected your thoughts on an extension? Let us know below. — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email — Follow Cody Pirkl on Twitter here Click here to view the article

Last week the Twins' roster plans began to reveal themselves at least a little bit. Wes Johnson pointed out he’d like to see 15-16 pitchers on the active roster as well as 2 “length options” available outside of the rotation. Today we’ll take a look at the pitchers competing for the last few spots.By all accounts, the starting rotation has impressed upon their arrival to summer camp. It appears each starter will be carrying a nearly full workload on day one because of the shape they’ve kept themselves in. Even still, two length options makes sense. Afterall, a disrupted routine this spring could make injury more of a possibility, not to mention the pandemic still relevant across the U.S. “Length option” however greatly decreases the pool to consider for candidates. There are five likely competitors to take a look at. Jhoulys Chacín - Chacín was brought in on a minor league deal as a reclamation piece to compete for the 5th rotation spot. Coming off a season with an ERA over 6, he hasn’t really dazzled for the Twins thus far either as he was likely falling behind in the running for the rotation before spring training was shut down. He still sports a solid slider that gets a decent amount of whiffs, however he hasn’t shown much else over the last year. His durability paired with being two years removed from 190+ innings of a 3.50 ERA could still be enough for the Twins to try and work out whatever went wrong. As the fantasy baseball industry loves to say: “Chacín will pitch well when Jhoulys expect it”. Randy Dobnak - We all know Dobnak who likely missed out on the 5th rotation spot with the return of Hill. Coming off a fantastic 1.59 ERA in his rookie year, he appears to be a steady and capable pitcher. He likely cracks the rotation with several MLB teams, just not the depth rich Twins in 2020. That being said, Dobnak is a Major League calibre pitcher and should be at the top of the list for one of the final spots. Devin Smeltzer - With a ceiling limited by his fastball velocity, Smeltzer’s funkiness and pitching smarts still make him a solid option. Coming off a rookie season with a 3.86 ERA, some still argue his skill set would be best utilized in the bullpen eventually, and now he’s reportedly developed an impressive slider. That paired with him being a left hander (something the Twins really do need) who can provide length may just make Smeltzer a near sure thing to make the opening day roster. Lewis Thorpe - The Twins are quite fond of Thorpe and for good reason. He led AAA in K/9 in 2019 and has a strong starter’s repertoire. While unlucky at the MLB level (6.18 ERA 3.47 FIP), he flashed his talent in 2020. He was demoted to minor league camp in early spring however after taking a personal leave. I think the Twins see Thorpe as a starting pitcher and may want to keep him stretched out to step into a rotation spot if injury hits, but things certainly could change. Sean Poppen - Poppen is likely at the bottom of the list of candidates. We only saw him in a mopup role in 2019, but he was a starter for AAA all year which makes him part of the “length” pitchers Johnson is looking for. It would take a huge performance for Poppen to snag this role, but I believe the Twins think highly of him. He struggled with a 7+ ERA in 2019 while getting a bit unlucky (4.41 FIP), but there’s definitely talent in that arm. Who takes the final few spots is likely to work out fine regardless, as the Twins can certainly identify talent and there seems to be no terrible options here. The likely choices are Dobnak and Smeltzer, after the former nearly won a rotation spot and the latter is a lefty the Twins could match up or use as length. While this is my assumption, it’s no sure bet with the options the Twins have to choose from. Who do you think fills that role as the “length options” on opening day? — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email — Follow Cody Pirkl on Twitter here Click here to view the article

The Twins won with a roster of players ranging from solid to fantastic in 2019 and will return in 2020 with much of the same. While being a powerhouse in 2019, the Twins could ascend into full blown juggernaut status on the backs of a few players reaching their ceilings. Three such players stand out as the most obvious to take this step.Rich Hill Plenty has been discussed when it comes to Rich Hill and how good he can be when he’s on the mound. Since 2015, Hill has amassed a 2.91 ERA and an 11.2 K/9 and ranks in the top 10 in several major categories in that same span of time for all of the MLB. The obvious issue is Hill’s health, as he’s put together these numbers in a bit over 500 innings and is returning from elbow surgery. Not only is Hill’s health always in question, but his effectiveness upon his return is far from a sure thing. The fact remains however that on a pure performance basis, Hill is capable of more than anything any other Twins starter has achieved. If firing on all cylinders, he could be in the conversation for the Twins #1 starter, and we’ve currently got him pencilled in as the #5. At just a $3m base deal (with incentives), Hill is a potentially season altering ceiling play. Max Kepler Kepler has had comparisons drawn between him and Christian Yelich in the past at TwinsDaily. Both lefty corner OFs, both increased how hard they impacted the ball and had breakouts in their age 26 seasons. Yelich may be a more well rounded hitter at this time, but Kepler is a few short strides from becoming a superstar himself. Kepler can get too aggressive and swing at pitches out of the zone resulting in poor contact at times. His career batting average on balls in play (BABIP) of .253 also reflects that his pull happy ways may limit his batting average. The adjustments he’s made in his career however suggest he could develop his approach and pull-happiness as he matures more which isn’t uncommon in good hitters. He’s already one of the best all around players on the Twins, at times carrying the team in 2019. Another adjustment or two could transform him into a downright elite player for a team that would become even more formidable as a result. Byron Buxton The most obvious option when you think of ceiling on the Twins, Buxton’s career has had its fair share of ups and downs. He has always been in contention for one of the best defensive center fielders in baseball, but just as his offense appeared to be on the ascent in 2019 it was cut short by labrum surgery. He was on pace for over 5 fWAR, surpassing the next most valuable Twins player with ease. We’ve seen how game changing Buxton can be when he’s on. He’s a transcendent talent with physical tools that simply dominate the opposition when challenged. Injury and mechanics stand in the way of being mentioned with Christian Yelich and Mike Trout. Make no mistake, this is no over exaggeration. On a team full of young stars with bright futures, nobody’s has the possibility to shine as bright as Buxton’s regardless of the roadblocks his career has had to this point. The scary thing about the Twins is that for all of their 2019 success and bright future, they still lack that true top of the MLB talent. In 2019, 18 players amassed 6+ fWAR which is where you find your Verlanders, Betts, Rendons etc. (Ignore Lance Lynn please). Make no mistake, players like Cruz, Donaldson, etc. are proven studs at what they do. Having a player in the true top tier of all of the MLB however would simply elevate the Minnesota Twins to heights beyond our wildest imagination, and the best part is they have several candidates to make that leap. Do you agree that the Twins already have a player that can take this next step? Is it somebody not on this list? — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email — Follow Cody Pirkl on Twitter here Click here to view the article

I definitely understand the sentiment of being biased towards the Twins, fans of every team certainly do feel that way. I do however objectively feel like the Twins are far and away better positioned especially in the bullpen. We already had the breakouts, and in most cases like May and Duffey the metrics backed them up as studs. It could play out where one of or both teams have those breakouts and the Twins falter, but the odds aren't in their favor given the ability our relief arms have already shown.

The Twins were undoubtedly favorites for a 162 game marathon. As we’re now looking at a sprint, their odds to win the division have fallen as you’ll see across all of baseball when it comes to heavily favored teams. Make no mistake though, the Twins roster is still superior on paper in nearly every way.No case needs to be made for Minnesota’s offense, as we all know what they’re capable of. There is simply too much firepower there for anything that goes wrong this season to be a direct result of the lineup. Instead I believe there will be two “X Factors” to consider league wide. Competent Starters: In a season where each loss is close to losing an entire series, losing streaks can be devastating. Cleveland has an impressive cast of stars at the head of their rotation with Clevinger, Bieber and Carrasco. However, they’re followed by Adam Plutko and maybe Jefry Rodriguez? Being so top heavy is dangerous when considering injury or poor performance. There’s simply no obvious answer to come in and save the day in Cleveland if needed, and their back end of the rotation is questionable at best. Lucas Giolito broke out in 2019 and looks to improve for the White Sox. After him however you’ve got Keuchel, Gio Gonzalez, Dylan Cease and Reynaldo Lopez. I would firmly put anybody on this list 2-5 in the 4-5 spot in the Twins rotation. For replacements they have Kopech and Rodon returning from injury and are far from sure things to hold up in a rotation this soon after serious surgeries. Again we see plenty of questions with no obvious answers. The Twins boast a solid 1-5 in Berrios, Odorizzi, Maeda, Hill and Bailey. In addition, Dobnak, Thorpe and Smeltzer are ready to roll whenever needed as well as Pineda returning mid season. It’s easy to say depth is mitigated in a 60 game season but in the case of starting pitching, an injury happening in 2020 without a viable replacement can sink the ship. In addition, the Twins glut of arms can piggyback to allow our starters to build up properly with guys like Dobnak being available to completely take over a spot if needed. The Twins should have all the tools they could ask for at their disposal to give themselves a chance to win every day on the mound. Super Relievers: 2020 will be a constant fight to not let games get away from you, and that requires a relief corp with talent and experience. Cleveland has a great closer in Brad Hand, but their second best relief arm in 2019 is currently wearing a Twins jersey. They have arms that catch my eye such as James Karinchak but they otherwise boast a bullpen of arms with a lot to prove, especially after their prize for the Kluber trade, Emmanuel Clause failed a drug test and will serve a suspension. Chicago has a decent closer in Alex Colomé and an even better setup man in Aaron Bummer. Jimmy Cordero looked great at times in 2019 as well. A signing of Steve Cishek in the offseason however does little to help the decline of Kelvin Herrera and the general shakiness of the rest of the Sox bullpen. They may look to use Kopech creatively with his high octane fastball, but this group still has a long way to go to be considered a top tier pen. I’m biased, but it’s hard to imagine the Twins bullpen shaking out any better than it did this offseason. The trio of Rogers, Duffey and May that dazzled down the stretch in 2019 returns to lead a formidable group. Re-signing Sergio Romo simply needed to be done. Him being outside of your top three relievers is a good situation, not to mention the leadership and experience he brings. In addition, after stealing the Indians Central title, they decided to steal away a core piece of their bullpen in Tyler Clippard who had an impressive 2019. Add in young budding arms such as Stashak and Littell and the Twins should have a very strong core to finish off games. My hot take is that we’ll even be surprised by how strongly newly signed Matt Wisler performs. 2020 is going to be a season where you don’t want to look back on a game and say “That one got away from us”. With enough arms to ensure we can field a competent rotation indefinitely, the Twins should have the early innings of games covered. With as strong a trio as you could ask for in the pen backed up by more proven arms, late game leads should consistently end in wins. Pair that with a clearly superior offense, and the Twins should be universally superior to their competitors. Bring on the sprint. What do you think? — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email — Follow Cody Pirkl on Twitter here Click here to view the article

I've seen that argument as well. I don't think the prospects not playing is a factor. The second half of the season is essentially going to be a pennant race for a ton of teams normally out of it I'd guess and it may give incentive to make the move that puts them over the top.

As we come within reach of a 2020 baseball season, the stage is set for a whole lot of weird outcomes. With a new season length and a mess of new rules, the trade deadline being announced for August 31st was almost overlooked. In what should be an exciting season, I believe the trade deadline could be a highlight to look back on.Are Trades Worth It? We’ve seen an August 31st trade deadline before, but never like this one. We used to have a revocable waiver trade deadline prior to 2019 which some teams did take advantage of. Before underestimating the amount of craziness we could see at the deadline this year because of there only being a month left, consider this: In regards to the MLB as a whole, September 2020 will be the most interesting month of baseball we’ve ever seen. Trades only impact twenty some odd games, but the percentage of the full schedule this represents is huge. Many teams will likely be hanging around looking for a jolt on the trade market. The Astros pulled off a trade for Justin Verlander on July 31 of 2017. He made 5 regular season starts for them going 5-0 with a 1.06 ERA to finish the season. Acquiring a superstar at the deadline in a normal year is huge. Doing so in a shortened season could take a fringe team and allow them to coast into the playoffs. Get excited for what could be one of the most influential trade deadlines in MLB history. Who’s available? So I’ve created a bit of a fallacy in my logic. If a bunch of teams are surprisingly hanging around at the deadline, who will even be available to trade for? The beauty of this season is that we have absolutely no idea! Not a clue! Every team is a bad month away from selling. Every team is a decent month away from buying. If the Yankees are 6 games under .500 at the deadline with the Rays and Red Sox looking unbreakable, why hang onto James Paxton? If the Marlins go off in August leading up to the deadline, why not look for some bats to complement their impressive young rotation? The bottom line is that this could all come down to how aggressive each team wants to be. An emerging team like the Reds may want to make a push while hovering around .500. Another team with a similar record could feel like they’re nearing the end of their winning cycle and look to retool such as the Indians with Francisco Lindor. Negotiations are probably going to be outrageous, and I wouldn’t rule out some big names being available. Evaluating Need How do you evaluate team needs in such a short amount of time? Some teams enter the season with obvious holes. Others like the Twins feel fairly solid in every aspect of their roster. We feel good now, but how many starts does Berrios need to struggle in before we’re clamoring for an ace? (If you’re on Twitter you already know the answer is one) This will again come down to aggressiveness by each organization. The Twins for example shouldn’t save bullets in my opinion. We’ve lost enough of our 2020, don’t forfeit the entire year by being conservative. The window for improvement is small and if teams are serious about winning, they should address weakness externally as soon as it shows up. Another consideration is injury. Hamstrings, obliques, etc that normally sideline a player for a few weeks now puts their season in jeopardy. Good teams with an injury to one or more of their starters will be looking for high level replacements if their player’s return is at all in question. If Polanco sprains his ankle, it may make sense to go get more of a consistent producer at shortstop than Ehire Adrianza for example. My not so hot take is that we’ve never seen anything like the 2020 trade deadline and we probably never will again. Even if the volume of trades drops, the impact of each trade will be infinitely higher than baseball has ever seen. We’re bound to see some surprise moves that could push teams you’d never have expected into the driver's seat as they hit a stride. We were clearly looking forward to baseball being played in general in 2020, but the trade deadline in particular should be something for fans of every team to dream about. — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email — Follow Cody Pirkl on Twitter here Click here to view the article

I believe Blaine Hardy opted for Tommy John. Replace him with Randolph native Caleb Thielbar and it looks good to me!

I think they'll be formidable for several years and should still be a powerhouse in 2021. I have the utmost faith in the players on their way from the minors. That being said, 2020 was definitely the best Twins team we've seen in years and was definitely our best chance. In order to have that feeling again it's going to take some young guys stepping up and supplementing the team with another good free agent or two.

Believe it or not, the Twins were a juggernaut in 2019 despite getting rolled out of the playoffs in 3 games. With a young core of MLB talent, strong veteran leadership, and a fast approaching glut of talent in the minors, the whimper 2019 ended with at least brought hope for the coming “window” that had obviously opened. *Sigh*While more serious issues in the real world persist, it’s possible that no MLB team is more poorly affected by the pause coronavirus has put on baseball than our Minnesota Twins. Lower tier teams appear to be losing a year of MiLB development, but how much hope did they really have for 2020? Teams like the Dodgers, Yankees etc. lose a year of contention but let’s be honest, they’ll be just fine. The Twins stand to lose both. After years of accumulating the talent to manufacture a new window, it’s all finally come together. We’ve got the team friendly deals with Max Kepler and Jorge Polanco. There are a fair amount of contributors on near league minimum contracts such as Arraez and Garver. On top of that, there likely isn’t a better duo of “been there, done that” veterans to lead a team than Nelson Cruz and Josh Donaldson who can’t slug forever. Several near MLB ready phenom prospects wait in the wings to contribute to a potential title run. If not this year, you can bet the Kirilloffs, Larnachs and Durans of the world would have been ready to step in for 2021. Here we are though. Even if baseball is played in 2020, the sample size invites chaos and the minor leaguers will lose a year of development. So why whine about the Twins during this time where every team suffers? Ask yourself the question: When’s the last time the Twins have been so armed and ready for success? We’re talking about a team coming off 101 wins sporting a top 10 minor league system. This isn’t the Dodgers we’re talking about who regularly supplement their brilliant infrastructure with a $200m MLB team. The Twins front office and development created this window almost completely internally. Look at the Astros payroll history to see how precious a season for a contender is. In 2016, their young core was assembled and finally ready to compete for about $97m. In 2020 those players along with their contracts have matured to the tune of a $210m payroll. Even with strong prospects on their way, a window is only open for so long before the money entices ownership to tear it down. This was also an important year in Twins territory because it was one where we still felt confident at the top of the Central. Cleveland will be competitive but our Twins should still be top dog (as I believe they will be for some time). Despite what their fans say, the White Sox were not in fact ready to go 162-0 in 2020. They do however have talent coming up through the system that should compete with the Twins in the coming years. 2020 should have been heavy Central favorites in 162 games. Even in a 50-60 game season the Twins are obviously favored, but who knows? A bad month and your team can be toast in this scenario. Perhaps it’s biased to say our Twins are the most negatively affected by the mess baseball is going through right now. How perfectly “Minnesota Sports” is it to finally have what looks like years of fun in the confines of Target Field be interrupted by an act of nature though? In a window where every year should bring as much hope as we’ve had in almost a decade, this one hurts. Do you think the Twins truly are taking the biggest hit from the stoppage in play? — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email — Follow Cody Pirkl on Twitter here Click here to view the article

You can debate over his worth, he pointed out that he knew he wasn't worth the 10s of millions he had been previously. I just know for a lot of players, they were getting offers that were worth a super lowball amount often for a contract that wasn't guaranteed. I think Span was worth more than that, and I respect his decision to walk away instead of settling.

News broke on Wednesday that former Twins outfielder Denard Span was calling it a career after 11 seasons. As one of my favorite mid 2000s Twins players, this news was more noteworthy than just a quick news flash amid MLB money negotiationsSpan was taken 20th overall in the 2002 draft. It took him a few years to make it to the big leagues, but he got his chance in 2008 and put together a nice rookie season with a .294/.387/.432 triple slash. He would play 4 more seasons in a Twins uniform and would become one of the true stud leadoff hitters in all of baseball. Span put together a strong five years in Minnesota including: -.284/.357/.389 triple slash and 90 stolen bases -Accumulating 15.1 fWAR and 17.2 bWAR -(Technically) The first hit and home run in Target Field in an exhibition game -First regular season run and stolen base at Target Field -Led off for two AL Central champion Twins teams Denard span has a lot of weird moments in a Twins jersey that are just downright hard to forget. Considering the odds of him hitting a foul ball into the stands and hitting his own mom to his record tying three triple game, Span certainly had an interesting stay in Minnesota on top of a productive one. He was a player that I for whatever reason felt would always stay in Minnesota. Much to many’s disgust, the Twins traded Span in 2012 to Washington for Alex Meyer. This trade needs no explanation for how bad it was. The Twins would struggle to find production in center field for years to come while Span would go on to have some of his most productive years in Washington, even finishing 19th in MVP voting in 2014. After three productive years, Span departed for San Francisco where he continued being an around league average hitter before being traded to Tampa Bay and eventually Seattle later in 2018. Despite putting up a top 5 offensive season in his career (112 wRC+), Span couldn’t find a contract in the 2018 offseason and sat out 2019. After similar issues this offseason, Span retired feeling disrespected by the free agent market. He was an above league average hitter in 4 of his final 5 seasons. His fWAR hovered in the low to mid 1s in his last five seasons. While his defense had slipped a bit, he still had plenty to offer the game of baseball. from our writers— Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email — Follow Cody Pirkl on Twitter here Click here to view the article