Matthew Taylor

Image courtesy of USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect The Twins wanted Framber Valdez this offseason. It was one of the biggest free-agent pursuits of the winter, and for a minute there, it looked like Minnesota might actually land the left-handed ace. Ultimately, Valdez signed a three-year, $115-million contract with the Detroit Tigers, leaving the Twins without the big pitching addition many fans were hoping for. It was a late lunge after an unexpected pair of major leadership changes during the winter; there just wasn't enough runway to land the plane. According to Bobby Nightingale of the Minnesota Star Tribune, the Twins made a late pursuit of Valdez and put a multi-year offer on the table for the left-handed All-Star. Valdez was the last marquee free agent available, and signed on Feb. 10. Tom Pohlad later confirmed the pursuit and made it clear the Twins were willing to go well beyond their typical spending comfort zone if Zoll believed the move was right for the organization. At the time, the Twins missing out on Valdez became another piece of evidence for those who believed Pohlad had talked a bigger game than he was actually willing to play. The team had reportedly made a serious offer for one of the best starting pitchers available, but Valdez ultimately chose Detroit, and later reporting made it clear that the team was never especially close to wooing the southpaw. The more we see from Valdez this season, however, the more it looks like the Twins may dodged a bullet. There's no way around it: Valdez has been bad this season. Through 26 starts, the 32-year-old lefty has a 4.35 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. His 1.5 fWAR is hardly what the Tigers envisioned when they handed him a huge annual average value (AAV). His expected ERA sits at 4.50, suggesting his results are a fairly accurate representation of how he has pitched. Even more concerning is what has happened to his ability to miss bats. Valdez has struck out just 17.4% of opposing hitters, the lowest rate of his career and a significant drop from last season. His whiff percentage has also fallen to a career-low 19.8%, down 6.8 percentage points from last year. Those numbers are particularly concerning for the Tigers, because Valdez's success has always been built around generating weak contact while still having enough swing-and-miss ability to get out of trouble. His velocity has taken a step backward across his pitch mix, providing another potential warning sign. The Tigers have been one of the most disappointing teams in all of baseball this season, and the performance of Framber Valdez is certainly part of what has ailed the team. Perhaps most concerning is that there isn't an obvious injury explanation for the dip in stuff. Valdez has remained in Detroit's rotation and hasn't missed time because of an injury. The only games he missed came because of the six-game suspension he served after intentionally throwing a ball at Boston's Trevor Story in May. Valdez will turn 33 after the season, making it possible the Twins were looking at an aging pitcher whose best days are behind him. That doesn't mean he can't bounce back, but it makes committing more than $100 million to him considerably more frightening. The Tigers can probably survive the Valdez contract if it turns into a bad one. Detroit typically operates with a payroll that gives the organization more room to absorb a mistake of this magnitude. The Twins have very little margin for error. We've already seen what happens when Minnesota gets locked into an expensive contract that doesn't work out. Carlos Correa's deal has become a perfect example, as the Twins eventually agreed to pay him $10 million per season for three years not to play for them. Imagine making a similar decision with Valdez while he's earning roughly $38 million per season. There's also another reason the Twins may have been better off avoiding Valdez: they don't necessarily need to buy a starting rotation. Their pitching situation is actually set up fairly well for next season. Pablo López, Joe Ryan and Taj Bradley are a locked-in trio to lead the starting rotation next season. They also have Mick Abel, Zebby Matthews, Connor Prielipp and Kendrys Rojas, while newly-added Dean Kremer provides another experienced option with another year of arbitration remaining. Had Minnesota signed Valdez, one of those young pitchers would almost certainly have been pushed out of the rotation picture. Instead, the Twins have flexibility to see what their young arms can do and determine where they actually need help. There's certainly a fair argument that the Twins should have been more aggressive this offseason. Pohlad said he was willing to make a splash, and the organization ultimately didn't make the kind of major investment that would have demonstrated a dramatic change in philosophy. Valdez, however, is a different conversation. He comes with makeup concerns, which the team might have factored into its reluctance to go as far as Detroit did. He also comes with major performance red flags, and the smaller-payroll Twins were wise not to let him become a drag on their operation. What do you think? Were the Twins lucky to miss out on Framber Valdez, or would you still rather have the veteran lefty locked into the rotation despite his struggles this season? Leave a comment below and start the conversation! View full article

Image courtesy of Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images Box Score SP: Zebby Matthews 7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 7 K, 1 BB (105 pitches, 70 strikes) HR: Ryan Kreidler (6) Top 3 WPA: Matthews 0.21, Bell 0.13, Kreidler 0.11 Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs): After being swept by the San Diego Padres over the weekend, Minnesota saw its playoff odds cut in half, dropping from around 40% to just 20%, according to FanGraphs. (Baseball Prospectus put them even lower Monday morning—down around 12%.) With their postseason hopes hanging in the balance, the Twins traveled to West Sacramento to face an Athletics team with the worst record in the American League. The last time the Twins were swept, they responded by sweeping the Atlanta Braves. This time, they were hoping for a similar rebound. Minnesota ran into a struggling Jeffrey Springs, who came in with a 6.02 ERA. Considering the Twins' season-long struggles against left-handed pitching, there was still plenty of reason to wonder which offense would show up, but those concerns were quickly put to rest. Byron Buxton drew a walk to start a first-inning rally. Ryan Jeffers followed with a single, and Josh Bell continued his excellent month of August by ripping a double off the top of the wall in left-center. The ball missed being a home run by roughly an inch, but it still brought Buxton home to give the Twins an early 1-0 lead. The Twins added another run in the third inning when Bell grounded into a fielder's choice, bringing home Buxton. Minnesota then really began to pull away in the fourth, when Ryan Kreidler launched a solo home run, his sixth of the season and first since June 28. A massive hit for the hometown kid who had lots of friends and family at the game. Kody Clemens followed with an RBI single, extending the lead to 4-1 and chasing Springs. The Twins broke the game open in the sixth inning after loading the bases and putting pressure on the A's bullpen. Luke Keaschall came through with a two-run double down the third-base line, giving Minnesota a 6-1 lead. Bell followed with a sacrifice fly for his third RBI of the night. It was Bell's team-leading 17th RBI of August and brought him to 80 on the season, continuing what has been an impressive month at the plate for the switch hitter. Minnesota kept its foot on the gas into the late innings. In the eighth, Clemens picked up another RBI single, scoring Buxton and giving the center fielder four runs scored on the night. Buxton went 3-for-4 in what was a massive game as he had been struggling mightily since returning from the injured list two weeks ago. A couple batters later, Kaelen Culpepper added an RBI single to cap a four-hit night and push his batting average to .340 on the season, an impressive start to his young major-league career. By the time the night was over, the Twins had collected 15 hits and scored nine runs, with every batter in the starting lineup recording at least one hit. It was the kind of offensive performance that has been frustratingly elusive of late, making it even more encouraging to see Minnesota put everything together. While the offense stole the show, Zebby Matthews quietly delivered one of his best outings of the season. Matthews didn't need to be great to win, but he was, anyway, tossing seven innings and allowing just one earned run (on an infield single) and striking out seven. He generated 23 swings and misses, a season high, and followed up another solid start with a second straight strong outing. That offers some encouraging signs of consistency from a pitcher who hasn't been able to find much of it this season. Yoendrys Gómez was called upon to close out the game in a non-save opportunity, having not pitched since August 19. After getting two quick outs, however, Gómez ran into trouble. A single and a walk put two runners on. Back-to-back-to-back doubles from Jeff McNeil, Zack Gelof and Lawrence Butler suddenly turned a 9-1 game into a 9-6 contest. What looked like an opportunity to give the back end of the bullpen a much-needed night off quickly became a somewhat sticky situation. The Twins were forced to bring in Andrew Morris to record the final out, and he did just that (on one single pitch), securing the 9-6 victory. It wasn't the clean finish the Twins envisioned when they built an eight-run lead, but the important part was getting the win. After a weekend in San Diego that threatened to derail their season, the Twins got exactly the kind of offensive response they needed. Minnesota improved to 64-68 on the season and, with the Guardians also winning, remains two games behind Cleveland for the third and final American League Wild Card spot. The White Sox lost 11-2 to the Rangers, meanwhile, bringing the Twins to within 4.5 games of first place in the AL Central. Now they need to do it again. What's Next The Twins will look to take the series on Tuesday against Athletics rookie Gage Jump. Minnesota will send Taj Bradley to the mound. First pitch is scheduled for 8:40 p.m. Central. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Chart THUR FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Adams 0 17 0 34 0 51 Nance 0 0 27 0 16 43 Rogers 0 11 0 15 0 26 Morris 0 0 19 0 1 20 Gomez 0 0 0 0 20 20 Hoffman 0 0 0 17 0 17 Funderburk 0 0 0 17 0 17 Minter 0 0 8 0 0 8 View full article

Image courtesy of Jordan Johnson-Imagn Images Byron Buxton was one of the biggest reasons for the Twins' success in the first half of the season. He earned his third career All-Star selection and entered the break leading Minnesota with a .904 OPS, 25 home runs and 3.0 fWAR. Since then, however, everything has changed. Buxton has been one of the worst players on the roster while dealing with a lingering hip injury. Now, the Twins have a decision to make about whether continuing to play him is actually helping the team. Injuries have played a major role in Buxton's season. He began dealing with intermittent right hip soreness in May, which eventually forced him to miss the All-Star Game and spend time on the injured list in July. After a brief return to the lineup on July 20, Buxton reaggravated the hip on July 28 and received an injection. He returned for the Field of Dreams game on August 13 and has been in the lineup ever since, but the results since the break have been anything but encouraging. In the 16 games Buxton has played since the All-Star break (with a two-week IL stint in the middle of that stretch), he's posted a .411 OPS with just one extra-base hit. He's also produced a team-worst -0.4 fWAR during that time. For a Twins team already struggling to consistently produce offensively, having one of its biggest stars performing at that level is a significant problem. His struggles go back even further than the IL stints. Since June 15, Buxton has a .585 OPS with just seven extra-base hits in 125 plate appearances. The difficult part is figuring out exactly what's causing the struggles. Buxton has always been a streaky hitter, so it's hardly unprecedented for him to go through an extended cold stretch. He's also been one of the more injury-prone players in baseball, which makes it difficult to determine whether a struggling Buxton is simply in one of his slumps or whether something physical is preventing him from being himself. In this case, it appears to be a combination of the two, but there are enough signs to make it clear that his hip is still bothering him. First, Buxton has not attempted a stolen base since the break, after attempting eight before the break. For a player whose speed is such an important part of his game, the complete absence of stolen base attempts is notable. He has also grounded into two double plays in his 16 games since the break. To put that in perspective, Buxton did not ground into a double play all last season. Neither statistic proves by itself that Buxton is injured, but when combined with his struggles at the plate, the eye test, and all that we know of his hip injury, it's pretty easy to connect the dots. If this were simply a slump, the Twins would be wise to wait it out. Buxton has earned that patience; everyone knows what can happen when he gets hot. He's one of those players who can flip a switch and become one of the most dangerous hitters in baseball. A hot Buxton can carry an offense for weeks, and the Twins would be foolish to take that possibility away from themselves. But this isn't a simple slump. If Buxton is playing through an injury, the Twins can't afford to assume that continuing to play him every day will eventually fix the problem. They don't know how long the hip will bother him; they could spend the rest of the season waiting for the healthy version of Buxton to return. As admirable as it is that Buxton continues to play through the injury because he wants to help his team, there comes a point where playing through it starts hurting them. The Twins' offense is struggling, and right now no player is hurting the team more than their center fielder. That is not a criticism of Buxton's effort or his desire to play. It's the reality of what's happening on the field. The Twins are trying to win games with Buxton in the lineup, but they're not getting the production they need from him, and there's little evidence that his situation is improving. What makes this decision more palatable is that the Twins have a natural replacement waiting at Triple-A. Walker Jenkins is doing everything possible to knock the door to the majors off its hinges. He's slashing .387/.457/.694 with a 1.151 OPS in 15 games in August in St. Paul. There's very little left for him to prove in Triple-A—although that has been said for the past three weeks. If the Twins had no capable replacement for Buxton in center field, continuing to play him would be much easier to defend. Instead, they have one of the best prospects in baseball playing at Triple-A and putting together one of the hottest stretches of his season. Making the swap with Buxton and handing center field to Jenkins full-time down the stretch would give Buxton an opportunity to properly recover, while giving the Twins another dynamic offensive player. The timing makes the decision even more important. The Twins are currently two games back in the American League Wild Card race, and beginning this weekend, they're scheduled to play 15 consecutive games against division opponents. This is the part of the season where every game matters, and the Twins can't afford to sit around and hope that an injured player eventually gets healthy enough to start producing again. They need to play the players who give them the best chance to win right now. Usually, that player is Buxton. The first half of this season, that player was Buxton. Unfortunately, Buxton isn't healthy right now, and the Twins aren't getting that version of him. The Twins don't need to give up on Buxton. They just need to give him time to get healthy. At the same time, they need to take advantage of the opportunity sitting in Triple-A. Walker Jenkins is ready, Buxton is not himself, and the Twins are running out of time to wait for that to change. What do you think the Twins should do with Byron Buxton? Leave a comment below and start the conversation! View full article

Image courtesy of Jordan Johnson-Imagn Images When Derek Falvey and the Twins mutually parted ways at the end of January, it marked the end of a nine-year run for the executive who had helped reshape the organization. Before leaving, Falvey made three free-agent signings for the Twins during the offseason: Taylor Rogers, Victor Caratini, and Josh Bell. Rogers has struggled for much of the season, albeit usually in low-leverage spots, while Caratini has had his moments. Bell, however, has turned into something much more valuable. The designated hitter has been one of the Twins' most important offensive players, and his signing is looking more and more like Falvey's parting gift to the organization. Bell's overall numbers tell a big part of the story. He currently owns a 110 OPS+, putting him on pace for his best offensive season since 2022, when he split the season between the Washington Nationals and San Diego Padres. He leads the Twins with 499 plate appearances, 26 doubles and 77 RBI, providing a level of consistency in the middle of the lineup that the team has desperately needed. But Bell's impact goes beyond his overall numbers. He has been particularly outstanding when the Twins have needed him most, hitting .349 with a 1.039 OPS with runners in scoring position. In a season in which the Twins have struggled to consistently produce offense, Bell has repeatedly come through in the biggest moments. That wasn't necessarily what anyone expected when the season began. Bell got off to a brutal start, something that has become somewhat of a calling card throughout his career. Through May 31st, he was hitting just .219 with a .619 OPS, five home runs and 32 RBI through 57 games. At the time, it was fair to wonder whether the Twins had signed a veteran whose best days were behind him. Instead, Bell has completely turned his season around. Since June 1st, Bell has posted a .869 OPS with 12 home runs and 45 RBI over 66 games (entering play Friday). His best stretch has come at exactly the time the Twins have needed it most. In 16 games during August, Bell is hitting .361 with a 1.041 OPS. That performance has been massive for the Twins because the offense around him has struggled badly this month. Minnesota ranks in the bottom third of Major League Baseball in runs scored in August, making Bell's production even more important. Without him in the middle of the lineup, it is difficult to imagine how an already-struggling offense would have survived this stretch. That is particularly important considering where the Twins are in the standings. With Minnesota fighting to keep its playoff hopes alive, there isn't much room for an extended offensive slump. Games are becoming increasingly important, and when the Twins have needed a big hit with runners on base, Bell has consistently been the guy delivering it, like he did on Tuesday with a first run blast to the third deck with a runner on second base to give the Twins a big first-inning lead. Falvey signed Bell in December to a one-year, $7 million contract. For an executive who typically preferred to wait until late in the offseason, and sometimes even into spring training, before making significant free-agent additions, the timing of the deal was notable. It was clear that Bell was someone Falvey wanted from the beginning of the offseason, and he didn't wait around to see if the market would bring the price down. And for a while, that decision looked questionable. Bell's slow start made it seem as though the Twins had committed $7 million to a veteran whose best offensive years were behind him. But the Twins stuck with him, and Bell has rewarded that patience by becoming one of the most productive and important players on the roster. According to FanGraphs, Bell has already provided roughly $6 million in value to the Twins this season. That alone makes the contract look like a strong investment, but it doesn't fully capture what Bell has meant to this team. The timing of his production matters. His best baseball has come while the Twins have desperately needed offense, and his ability to drive in runs has been particularly valuable. Add in the veteran leadership he has provided in the clubhouse, and the signing has turned into a slam dunk. That makes Bell an interesting final chapter for Falvey, whose best previous most was arguably the signing of another veteran DH with stellar clubhouse vibes in Nelson Cruz. Falvey's tenure with the Twins ended before he could see the full results of the moves he made during his final offseason. Rogers hasn't provided the results the Twins hoped for, and Caratini has been a mixed bag. Bell, however, has become a legitimate success story. The player Falvey targeted from the very beginning of the offseason has turned into one of the reasons the Twins are still hanging around the playoff race in August. It may not have been the most exciting signing when it happened. It certainly didn't look like one when Bell struggled through the first two months of the season. But with the season entering its most important stretch, Josh Bell has made that $7 million investment look awfully smart. In the end, perhaps the best way to remember Falvey's final offseason with the Twins is through the player he went out and got before he left. Josh Bell was one of Derek Falvey's final moves as a member of the Twins. Now, he is one of the biggest reasons Minnesota still has a chance to make something out of this season. What do you think? How would you grade Josh Bell's signing now, and has he become the best free-agent addition of Derek Falvey's final offseason with the Twins? Leave a comment below and start the conversation! View full article

Image courtesy of Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images The Minnesota Twins have once again found a creative solution to a roster problem. This time, the club has decided that what its 26-man roster really needs is another catcher. Almost out of nowhere, they're selecting the contract of St. Paul Saints catcher David Bañuelos and promoting him to the major leagues. The fan base has clamored for days for the promotion of top prospect Walker Jenkins, perhaps to replace little-used outfielder Alan Roden. Instead, the club has elected to add its fourth catcher, with Bañuelos joining Ryan Jeffers, Victor Caratini and Alex Jackson on the active roster. Jenkins has game-changing potential, and the team has playoff odds just south of 40%, so it seems like a good time to go for broke. However, according to Twins General Manager Jeremy Zoll, the organization ultimately decided that there was simply too much value in carrying a fourth catcher. “We looked at bringing up Walker,” Zoll said. “Obviously, he's a very talented player and he's doing everything you could possibly ask him to do in Triple-A. But then we looked at the roster and realized we only had three catchers. That just didn't feel right.” Zoll explained that the Twins' internal discussions eventually centered around a simple philosophy. “Two catchers is necessary,” Zoll said. “Three catchers is a luxury. Four catchers is where you start seeing the real value. Four catchers is like two houses and a private plane. Billionaire [stuff].” The decision to add Bañuelos also appears to be influenced by the success of the Twins' current three-catcher strategy. Alex Jackson, who was designated for assignment just four days before being recalled to the majors, has already demonstrated the effectiveness of the plan. The Twins have reportedly been thrilled with his usage, which has involved appearing in a game approximately once every seven or eight days. When asked how Bañuelos would fit into the catching rotation, Zoll suggested that fans shouldn't expect the Twins to suddenly abandon their successful formula. Bañuelos isn't particularly likely to receive playing time. But the Twins believe that is actually a feature, not a bug. “People are looking at this the wrong way,” Zoll said. “It's not about how much he plays. It's about having the option to play him.” That option, apparently, was too valuable to pass up. The decision also means Jenkins will remain in Triple-A, where the Twins believe he can continue to develop and prepare for his eventual major-league debut. If at all possible, the team would love to see him move behind the plate and take some reps at catcher. Think about it. If one catcher gets injured, the Twins still have three catchers. If two catchers get injured, the Twins still have two catchers. If three catchers get injured, the Twins still have one catcher. And if all four catchers somehow get injured, the Twins will finally be able to promote Walker Jenkins—as long as he's ready to play catcher. As for Bañuelos, the veteran catcher will now get to experience the thrill of being a major leaguer, while simultaneously wondering why exactly he has been promoted. “We're really excited about David,” Zoll said. “He's earned this opportunity, and we're excited about what he brings to the roster.” What does he bring? Zoll paused. “A fourth catcher.” Sometimes, that's all a baseball team really needs. View full article

It would be foolish to draw any sweeping conclusions from the first week of Kaelen Culpepper's major league career. The Twins called up their top prospect on August 7, and through his first eight games, we're talking about a player who has barely had enough time to get comfortable in a major league clubhouse, let alone establish what kind of big league player he is going to become. Culpepper was a first-round pick and entered the season as a top-50 prospect in baseball for a reason, but none of that guarantees that he will live up to those expectations. Eight games certainly aren't enough to know that, but they can give us our first look at some of the tools that made Culpepper such an intriguing prospect in the first place, as well as some of the adjustments he'll need to make if he's going to turn those tools into major league success. So far, there have been plenty of reasons to be encouraged. The most obvious one is that the underlying swing numbers on Culpepper are every bit as advertised. Culpepper has developed into a violent swinger as he has worked his way through the Twins' minor league system, and that violence has carried over to the majors. His Statcast numbers back it up, with Culpepper's 74 mph swing speed ranking in the upper quartile of major league hitters. While plenty of his other statistics are impossible to trust as they're based on an extremely small sample size, swing speed is one of the measurements that stabilizes relatively quickly. Bat speed also has a strong positive relationship with exit velocity and barrel rate, so seeing Culpepper come out of the gate with a swing speed in the neighborhood of hitters such as Byron Buxton, Miguel Vargas and Pete Alonso is certainly encouraging. We've also seen that swing speed translate into some legitimate impact. In just his second career at-bat, Culpepper launched a home run to left-center field after hitting the ball 100.2 mph, and a few days later doubled off Jesus Luzardo with a 103.4 mph line drive. Those are obviously just two swings, and it would be silly to extrapolate them into anything more than that. However, seeing Culpepper pair the elite swing speed with the ability to produce 100-plus mph exit velocities is exactly what you want to see from a young hitter with his profile. The power is not simply theoretical. We've already seen glimpses of it against major league pitching. The other side of the coin has been his plate discipline. Culpepper has struck out 11 times compared to just two walks through his first eight games, while his 42.5% chase rate would rank among the bottom 10 hitters in baseball if he maintained it over a full season. That's an area that will need to improve, but it's also an area where some growing pains should be expected. Plate discipline is often one of the biggest adjustments for young hitters making the jump to the majors. Major league pitchers throw harder and locate more consistently. Breaking balls that might have been strikes in Triple-A suddenly finish outside the zone, while fastballs are coming in quicker than ever before. Young hitters have to learn which pitches they can damage and, perhaps just as importantly, which pitches they need to let go. Culpepper is learning that lesson in real time, but the encouraging part is that he has already started to look more comfortable. After going 1-for-9 to begin his career, Culpepper has recorded a hit in each of his last five games. That's still an incredibly small sample, but he has looked more confident at the plate as the week has progressed, which is exactly what you'd hope to see from a young player trying to make one of the biggest adjustments of his baseball career. The defensive side has provided a similar mix of excitement and growing pains. Culpepper got an immediate introduction to the difficulty of playing shortstop in the majors during the fifth inning of his first career game, when he had two ground balls turn into singles that had sub-.200 expected batting averages, meaning they were plays that should have been outs. The first came from David Hamilton, who hit a ground ball that Culpepper wasn't able to range to quickly enough. Culpepper was forced to backhand the ball and couldn't complete the play. A few batters later, Garrett Mitchell hit another ground ball, and Culpepper took some extra time gathering himself before making his throw. The hesitation proved costly against a player with Mitchell's speed, as the throw was late and Mitchell beat it out for another single. Neither play is something the Twins should panic about, but both are good examples of what Culpepper is going to have to learn at the major league level. Shortstop is an incredibly difficult position, and the difference between Triple-A and the majors can be exposed quickly. Runners are faster, balls are hit harder and the window to make a decision and execute a throw gets smaller. Culpepper got a taste of that immediately. There have also been some clear positives defensively, particularly when it comes to his arm. That was one of the tools we knew Culpepper had coming into the season, and it has already translated to the major league level. He has recorded a max throw velocity of 86.3 mph, although he doesn't yet have enough throws to establish a reliable overall arm-strength measurement. Still, the arm is clearly legitimate, as we saw on a strong throw to get Coby Mayo at first base. That's ultimately what makes this first week so interesting. We're not learning that Kaelen Culpepper is going to be an All-Star, that he's going to be the Twins' shortstop for the next decade or that his current strikeout and chase rates are going to be permanent. What we are learning is that some of the tools that made him a first-round pick and a top-50 prospect are real. The violent swing is real. The ability to generate impressive bat speed is real. The raw power is real. The arm strength is real. At the same time, we've seen some of the areas where he still has work to do. His plate discipline needs to improve, and he needs to become more comfortable with the speed and demands of major league defense. That's perfectly normal for a young player making his debut. And, to borrow an Aaron Gleeman-ism, perhaps the most important thing we've learned about Culpepper through his first week is that he has passed the lemon test. He certainly hasn't looked like someone who doesn't belong on a major league field. Culpepper has already connected on some big hits, shown off his elite swing speed, made some impressive throws and, yes, made some mistakes. But there has been enough good mixed in with the bad to suggest that the Twins' top prospect isn't simply being thrown into the deep end and hoping he can survive. He looks like a young player who has some legitimate major league tools and is now figuring out how to put them all together. That's about as much as we could reasonably ask for after one week, and now comes the fun part: watching what he does with it. What do you think of Kaelen Culpepper's first week in the majors? Are you encouraged by what you've seen so far, or are there areas that still concern you? Let us know in the comments. View full article

Image courtesy of Jordan Johnson-Imagn Images Box Score SP: Bailey Ober 4 1/3 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 4 K, 1 BB (94 pitches, 62 strikes) HR: None Top 3 WPA: Bell 0.15, Adams 0.14, Hoffman 0.08 Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs): The Minnesota Twins came into Monday night’s series opener against the Atlanta Braves with plenty of pressure on their shoulders. After being swept by the Philadelphia Phillies over the weekend, the Twins fell six games behind in the American League Central and dropped to five games below .500. They remained just one game out of the AL Wild Card, but with the season quickly running out of runway, another series sweep would have been a difficult hole to climb out of. The Twins were also looking for a bounce-back performance after blowing a five-run lead against the Phillies on Sunday. They got exactly what they needed Monday night, although it certainly did not come easy. The game itself started later than usual after the Twins and Braves called for a preemptive rain delay. The tarps eventually came off, and after waiting an hour, the two teams began the game without a drop of rain falling. The Twins were tasked with facing an old friend in Braves starter Martín Pérez, who spent the 2019 season with Minnesota. It looked like a challenging matchup on paper, especially considering the Twins entered the night ranked 22nd in baseball in OPS against left-handed pitching. They certainly didn't play like it in the first inning. Luke Keaschall got the offense started with a leadoff double, and the Twins quickly loaded the bases after Pérez walked Byron Buxton and Ryan Jeffers. That brought Josh Bell to the plate, and the veteran first baseman delivered with a two-run bloop double down the first base line to give Minnesota an early 2-0 advantage. The Twins weren't finished. Royce Lewis followed with an RBI single, and Kody Clemens added another RBI single to make it 4-0 before the Twins had even recorded their first out. After struggling to generate offense against left-handed pitching all season, Minnesota couldn't have asked for a better start. Bailey Ober took the mound for the Twins looking to rebound from a rough outing against Baltimore last week in which he allowed five earned runs. Ober looked sharp through the first four innings, but things began to unravel in the fifth. Austin Riley led off the inning with a single before reigning Rookie of the Year Drake Baldwin doubled to put two runners in scoring position. Ronald Acuña Jr. then delivered a two-run single to cut the Twins' lead in half. With Acuña on base and just one out, the Twins decided they had seen enough from Ober. The right-hander was pulled after just 4 1/3 innings, leaving Minnesota's bullpen with a tall task: protect a two-run lead for the final 4 2/3 innings. Considering what had happened less than 24 hours earlier, it was easy to wonder if the Twins were about to watch another big lead disappear. Instead, the bullpen saved the day. Taylor Rogers was the first man through the door, and he entered in a difficult situation. Acuña was standing on first base, there was only one out, and the heart of Atlanta's lineup was coming to the plate with the Twins clinging to a 4-2 lead. Rogers worked his way out of the jam to keep the Braves off the board, giving the Twins exactly what they needed after Ober's abbreviated outing. Travis Adams followed and provided perhaps the biggest contribution of the night. Adams has struggled considerably of late, but the Twins needed him to provide length and bridge the gap to the back end of the bullpen. He responded with two scoreless innings, striking out three without allowing a baserunner, allowing Minnesota to preserve its two-run advantage. That set the stage for the bullpen's heavy hitters. Jeff Hoffman, who has quickly become the Twins' most important bullpen piece since arriving at the trade deadline, tossed a scoreless eighth inning, aided by a massive defensive play from Kody Clemens. Then Yoendrys Gómez came in for the ninth and shut the door, albeit not without some nerves, securing a 4-2 Twins victory. After scoring four runs in the first inning, the Twins couldn't push another run across the plate despite creating several opportunities. The biggest came in the bottom of the eighth, when Minnesota loaded the bases with nobody out and had a chance to put the game away, and came away empty-handed. It didn't matter. The four runs Minnesota scored in the opening frame were enough because the bullpen refused to let Atlanta answer. After Ober's early exit, the Twins' relievers combined for 4 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing Minnesota to survive a game that could have easily gone the other direction. The Twins improved to 61-65 with the victory and, thanks to losses by both the Baltimore Orioles and the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays having the day off, moved to just a half-game back of the AL Wild Card. After the way the weekend went, the Twins desperately needed a win to start this series, and they got exactly that. What's Next The Twins will look to capture a series victory on Tuesday evening at Target Field. The Twins will be facing another old friend in Tyler Mahle, with Zebby Matthews taking the rubber for the Twins. First pitch will be at 6:40 pm (assuming no rain delay this time). Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Chart THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Morris 0 0 23 28 0 51 Adams 42 0 0 0 18 60 Hoffman 0 0 17 0 20 37 Minter 0 0 12 14 0 26 Rogers 10 0 0 16 11 37 Funderburk 0 0 16 4 0 20 Nance 16 0 0 0 0 16 Gomez 0 0 0 0 19 19 View full article

Image courtesy of Reese Strickland-Imagn Images Luke Keaschall has quickly become one of the more fascinating players on the Twins roster. There is a very clear reason to want him in the lineup, and an equally clear reason to wonder whether the team can actually afford to play him. The good news is that Keaschall has continued to show that his rookie season was not a fluke. After posting a terrific 130 OPS+ during his rookie campaign, Keaschall got off to a slow start in 2026, but he's been much better at bat as the season has progressed. Since June 1, he's posted a .826 OPS, bringing his OPS+ for the full season to 108. Through 164 games as a Twin, Keaschall has shown that he can be a productive major-league hitter. Keaschall gets on base, and when he does, his speed can immediately become a problem for opposing teams. He has the ability to create value without hitting for a ton of power; there's plenty to like about what he brings to the Twins offensively. The problem is that finding a place for that offense has become increasingly difficult, because of his defense. The issues initially surfaced at second base, where Keaschall played all of last season and began the 2026 campaign. It did not take long for the Twins to decide they were uncomfortable with him there. By the end of June, Minnesota had moved him off the position, and other than one emergency mid-game appearance in July, Keaschall has not returned to second base. At this point, it's fair to assume that chapter of his career is closed. Over the last two seasons, Keaschall has accumulated -9 Outs Above Average at second base, and the Twins clearly do not believe the position is a viable long-term home for him. When Keaschall moved to the outfield, the idea was that things would get better. His speed could become an asset, and playing in the outfield would seemingly allow him to use his athleticism without asking him to handle the responsibilities of the middle infield. That has not happened. Since moving off second base, Keaschall has bounced between center field (filling in for Byron Buxton) and right field. He's struggled defensively in both spots. Defensive metrics are far from perfect, especially when a player has limited time at a position, but when multiple metrics are telling the same story, it becomes difficult to dismiss the numbers. In just two months as an outfielder, Keaschall has posted -3 OAA and -3 DRS in center field and -2 OAA and -4 DRS in right field. Combined with his work at second base, his defensive metrics paint a pretty ugly picture. Keaschall currently ranks as the sixth-worst defender in baseball in terms of Outs Above Average this season. Again, OAA is not a perfect statistic, and there is plenty of room to debate exactly how much weight should be placed on any individual defensive metric. But the numbers also match what has been visible on the field. Keaschall has looked overmatched at every defensive position he has played for the Twins. Moving him from second base to the outfield was supposed to solve the problem, but instead, it has created the same questions in a different part of the diamond. That leaves the Twins with a very interesting problem. What do you do with a player who can clearly hit, but cannot seem to find a defensive position? The obvious answer is to put Keaschall in the outfield and live with the defense. The problem is that there may not be a natural opening for him, long-term. Byron Buxton is going to occupy one of those spots, and Walker Jenkins appears destined to occupy another once he inevitably debuts next season. That leaves one corner outfield spot for a Twins system that has plenty of options. The Twins could give that spot to Keaschall and simply accept that they're going to sacrifice defense in order to keep his bat in the lineup. There's a precedent for teams doing exactly that. Players such as CJ Abrams and Junior Caminero have significant defensive shortcomings, but their offensive production is MVP-level and their teams live with those defensive problems. If Keaschall's bat develops to anywhere near that level, the defensive concerns become much easier to overlook. The question is whether Keaschall's bat is good enough to justify doing that, or can get anywhere close to it. A 108 OPS+ is certainly useful. His OBP is exactly .400 since the start of May; that carries great value. But that's not necessarily the level of offensive production that makes a player with significant defensive deficiencies an obvious everyday player. If Keaschall is going to be a liability wherever he plays, the Twins need his offense to provide enough surplus value to make the tradeoff worthwhile. There is also another possibility: designated hitter. A DH role would allow the Twins to put Keaschall's best skill on display without worrying about where to hide his glove. With Royce Lewis establishing himself at first base, that position does not appear to offer an obvious alternative. The DH spot may ultimately be the cleanest way to get Keaschall's bat into the lineup. But that comes with its own problem. A player who is going to occupy the designated hitter spot has to really hit. There's little value in carrying a full-time DH who is merely a good (as opposed to very good, or great) hitter, especially when the Twins could use that lineup spot to rotate players through the position or to keep another regular healthy. For now, Keaschall's role is likely to stay the same, but it should be modified to tip the share of his contributions to the game from defense toward offense. Since July 1, he's batted second once and fifth once, but otherwise, he's slotted in sixth or lower in the batting order. That's the worst possible way to handle a bat-first player. If the team believes enough in what Keaschall has done at bat over the past three-plus months to keep him in the lineup, he should bat higher. Move him up three spots, and you raise the chances of him getting one extra plate appearance in a game by 33%. He also gets each of his at-bats earlier that way, so if you get a mid-game lead and want to switch to a defensive mode, you can lift Keaschall after (say) three plate appearances in six innings, rather than only getting two from him by then or needing to play him an extra frame or two in the field to get a third. This question becomes even more pertinent as we look to the future, though. Do they put him in the third outfield spot next season and simply accept the defensive shortcomings in hopes that his offense can outweigh them, withholding someone like Emmanuel Rodriguez in the meantime? Do they move him into a full-time DH role and bet on his bat taking another step forward? Or is there another solution the Twins should explore? Keaschall has proven that he can be a productive major-league hitter. Now, the Twins have to figure out how to get the most out of that production without allowing his defense to overwhelm everything else he brings to the table. What do you think the Twins should do with Luke Keaschall? Let us know in the comments. View full article