Matthew Taylor

The Minnesota Twins missed the boat at the trade deadline, but a waived right-handed bat on Saturday presents the Twins with a second chance at acquiring just the player they need. Image courtesy of Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports Author's note: According to Jon Heyman, Ramón Laureano has been claimed by the Cleveland Guardians following the posting of this article. The biggest need that the Minnesota Twins had at the 2023 trade deadline was a right handed corner outfielder. With Max Kepler, Joey Gallo, Alex Kirilloff and Matt Wallner, the Minnesota Twins have a surplus of left handed bats, yet nothing to speak for in terms of right handers. As we know, the Twins didn’t make a move at the deadline to acquire a right handed corner outfielder, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t still bring one in. On Saturday afternoon, the Oakland Athletics announced that they waived 29-year-old outfielder Ramón Laureano, and he is now eligible to be picked up via waivers. Laureano is a right hander who has a career OPS+ of 110 and has played all three outfield positions over his six-year career with the A’s. Laureano burst onto the scene as a 23-year-old with Oakland in 2018 when he posted an .832 OPS in 48 games as a rookie before following it up with a .860 OPS in 123 games in 2019. Laureano’s bat has fallen off a bit since his first two seasons, but even in a down season in 2023 he is doing what he has always done — hitting left-handed pitching. The Minnesota Twins’ struggles against left-handed pitching this season have been well documented. Currently the Twins rank last in all of baseball with a .662 OPS against left-handed hitting. Ramón Laureano is a career .790 OPS hitter against left-handed pitchers. Even in a down year in 2023 he is still performing well against southpaws, posting a .793 OPS. In addition to hitting left-handed pitching, Laureano runs well and has the flexibility to play center field as well. Laureano is owed about $1 million for the rest of the 2023 season and has an additional year of team control following the season where he will be in his final year of arbitration. Additionally, Laureano still has minor league options remaining, which would give the Twins even more flexibility. If the Twins were to put in a waiver claim on Ramón Laureano and add him to their roster, he would likely take the spot of Joey Gallo or newly acquired Jordan Luplow. Laureano would be a better fit than either of them and would be the perfect addition to this Minnesota Twins roster. View full article

Prior to the Carlos Correa signing this past offseason, Joe Mauer’s $184 million extension was the largest contract in Minnesota Twins history. As we celebrate Mauer’s inauguration into the Twins’ hall of fame this weekend, let’s look back at that extension and evaluate if it was worth it. Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports Coming off of the 2009 season, Joe Mauer was on top of the baseball world. He had just completed a season in which he slashed .365/.444/.587 with a career-high 28 home runs and 96 RBI. Mauer was voted American League MVP, one vote shy of earning the honor in unanimous fashion. Mauer also found himself one season away from becoming the most sought after free agent in all of baseball. However, in March, heading into the 2010 season, in what would have been his final year under team control, the Twins signed Joe Mauer to an eight-year, $184 million contract extension. The contract was the fourth-largest contract ever handed out in MLB history at the time. The reasoning behind the Twins inking Mauer to such a large contract was not difficult to understand. Mauer had been playing like a Top-5 player in baseball over the first five seasons of his MLB career, and at just 26 years old, Mauer had not even hit his athletic prime yet. Mauer was hitting better than a catcher had hit in a long time, and brought value to the Twins on both sides of the ball. Additionally, the Twins signed Mauer to the contract extension just one month before they opened their brand new stadium, Target Field. There was no move that would have excited a fanbase and opened up a new stadium better than extending the hometown hero, Joe Mauer, to a massive contract extension. For an ownership group that was constantly criticized for being tight with their money, their paying up to keep Mauer in Minnesota was a massive boost to a fanbase at the perfect time. So, the contract extension was definitely the right move at the time, but how did things play out after Mauer signed the extension? In the season immediately following his contract extension, Mauer proved to the Pohlads that their investment was well-spent, as he was an all-star, finished Top-10 in MVP voting, and won his third consecutive Gold Glove and Silver Slugger from the catcher position. Things took a bit of a turn in 2011, though, when the infamous “bilateral leg weakness” began for Mauer. He only played in 82 games that season, and he started to get his first action at first base. His gradual transition to first base continued in 2012 and 2013 until he became a full-time first baseman in 2014 after Ike Davis's foul tip off of Mauer's face mask caused him to abandon catching for good, just four seasons after signing his extension. After becoming a full-time first baseman in 2014, Mauer would never go on to make another all-star team, earn MVP votes or Gold Gloves, while averaging just 1.4 fWAR per season through his final season in 2018. Aside from being an elite hitter, what made Mauer so valuable and worthy of such a large extension was the fact that he played the catcher position. It’s so rare to find a catcher with elite batting skills, and that Mauer was such a great hitter was invaluable. When the Twins signed Mauer to the $184 million extension, they did so assuming that they would be getting an elite catcher for most, if not all, of the contract. How things turned out, though, was that Mauer was only a full-time catcher for the first season immediately following the extension. For five years of the extension, Mauer wasn’t a catcher at all. If we look at Fangraphs’ financial value metric, Joe Mauer provided $125.7 million of value, despite earning $184 million over that timeframe. From that metric alone, one would conclude that the extension was not worth it. Although the dollar value says the money wasn’t worth it, the contract extension was still one that was ultimately the right move. The contract extension was worth it because it launched the opening of Target Field. It kept the hometown kid home. It signaled that the Pohlads weren’t, in fact, “pocket protectors”. It showed that the Twins were willing to spend money and ready to compete. In the end, it was injuries that kept Mauer’s extension from providing the value they thought they would get when they inked him to the contract. But even though they didn’t get that value that they had hoped, the contract provided value for the Twins that went beyond the diamond. Do you think Joe Mauer’s contract extension was worth it? Leave a comment below and start the conversation! View full article

On Thursday afternoon, the Minnesota Twins purchased the contract of former Cy Young award winner, Dallas Keuchel. To make room, the Twins have placed Joe Ryan on the injured list with a groin strain. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints On Tuesday afternoon, Dallas Keuchel informed the Minnesota Twins that he would be opting out of minor-league contract with the St. Paul Saints. With that news, the Twins had 48 hours to add him to the major-league roster, otherwise Keuchel would become a free agent. Then on Thursday, at seemingly the last minute, the Twins announced that they have purchased Keuchel’s contract, officially making the left-hander a Twin. Dallas Keuchel has been a popular name in Twins Territory after the team signed him to a minor-league deal earlier this summer. Since joining the St. Paul Saints in June, Keuchel owns a 1.13 ERA across 32 innings. Keuchel is 35-years-old with a fastball that fails to reach 90 miles-per-hour, but his ability to keep the baseball in the ballpark has aided him in posting stellar numbers in his short stint with the St. Paul Saints. Because of the Twins depth and health in their starting rotation, it really appeared as though the Twins were going to lose Keuchel. All five rotation spots were spoken for, and the Twins have never shown a desire to go with a six-man rotation. In a somewhat surprising move on Thursday, though, the Twins announced that they would be placing Joe Ryan on the 15-day injured list with a groin strain, making room for the team to add Keuchel to the major-league roster. The injured list move for Ryan comes on the heels of his disastrous outing on Wednesday in St. Louis where he threw 103 pitches in just four innings, allowing seven earned runs on four home runs. Since his complete game shutout at Target Field against the Red Sox, Ryan has an 8.63 ERA in seven starts, surrendering 17 home runs in 32 1/3 innings. The groin injury would certainly help to explain Joe Ryan’s struggles as of late, however, the move could also be a way to get Ryan some rest and get a chance to see Keuchel in the big leagues after how well he’s been pitching with the St. Paul Saints. The injury did come as a surprise to manager, Rocco Baldelli, who had this to say: There is still no news as to when we can expect to see Keuchel make his first start with the Twins. If he were to simply take Ryan’s spot in the rotation, his next start would come on Monday, August 7 against the Detroit Tigers. What do you think about Dallas Keuchel joining the Twins? Leave a comment below and start the conversation. View full article

Twins fans might not have agreed with it, but the Minnesota Twins’ front office had reasons for their inaction at the trade deadline. As a first-place team in the American League Central and favorites to win the division, many expected the Minnesota Twins to be active at the trade deadline and bring in help as they prepare for their first playoff run since 2020. To the surprise of many, though, the Twins didn’t make a single move on Tuesday afternoon and instead decided to compete for the American League Central with the same roster they had coming into the August 1 deadline. Whether or not standing pat at the trade deadline is certainly fair to wonder, and is currently being discussed at Twins Daily here, here and here. But whether you agree with the front office’s inaction on Tuesday or you don’t, it’s worth exploring why the front office did what they did (or didn’t do). Here are three potential reasons why the Minnesota Twins stood pat at the trade deadline: 1. The landscape of the trade market changed In his statement following the passing of the trade deadline, Derek Falvey noted that the landscape of the trade market changed in the week leading up to the trade deadline, which impacted their ability to make trades. Teams like the Cubs, Angels and Padres seemed like sellers a week ago, but recently changed their tune to become buyers at the trade deadline. Whether it’s a valid excuse or not, the changing of the trade market hampered the Twins’ ability to get a trade done at the deadline. 2. The rest of the American League Central turned out to be sellers While the Minnesota Twins weren’t active at the trade deadline, the rest of the American League Central was very active at the trade deadline, as all four teams outside of the Twins turned out to be sellers. Each of the Tigers, Royals, White Sox and even the Guardians sold off present-day assets at the trade deadline. With the knowledge that the rest of the division, and most notably the Guardians not only weren’t going to be buying at the trade deadline, but would actively be selling, it left the Twins in a position that they didn’t necessarily need to be buyers in order to solidify their playoff chances. Whatever odds that the Twins had coming into the trade deadline went up just from the fact that all of their competition sold off assets that would have helped take down the Twins in their hunt for the American League Central. It’s clear that because of the decreased competition in the division, the front office didn’t feel the same amount of pressure to load up their roster for an August and September run and that they feel confident in their ability to win the American League Central. 3. The Twins didn’t feel that this roster was worth investing in While the front office might have felt that the Twins didn’t need to add to their roster in order to win the American League Central, there is still an argument to be made that the Twins should have bolstered their roster in an attempt to make a run in the playoffs. By their lack of action at the trade deadline, the front office made it pretty clear that they don’t think that the Minnesota Twins’ roster has much of any shot to make a run in the playoffs. If the front office had confidence in the Twins’ roster as currently constructed, they would have done what they could to support that roster with additional pieces that would aid in a playoff run. With the roster that the Twins have, though, it’s not outlandish to have the mindset of “why would we add to a roster that is just going to lose anyways?” The Twins added to a roster in 2022 that didn’t end up being strong enough to even make the playoffs. They didn’t want to double down and add to a roster that wouldn’t be making a run once again. Do you agree with the reasons why the Twins didn’t make a move at the trade deadline? Leave a comment below and start the conversation. View full article

The trade deadline is approaching quickly and rumors are swirling. The latest rumor is that the Twins are receiving calls on Sonny Gray and Kenta Maeda. Trading either of them, or any starting pitcher, would be a big mistake. Image courtesy of © Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports Because of the depth of starting pitching that the Minnesota Twins have this season, a common take from Twins fans this summer has been that the team could afford to trade away some of that starting pitching depth in exchange for hitting or relief pitching. That take has only garnered more supporters after the latest piece of news from Dan Hayes that the Twins have been receiving calls from rival teams on both Sonny Gray and Kenta Maeda. While the principle of the idea sounds rational, trading from a position of strength to acquire positions of need, it would be extremely unwise to make such a move. The first reason why it would be unwise to trade away a starting pitcher is because of how much the Twins have invested to get the starting rotation that they have. For years and years, the Twins have struggled with both high-end starting pitching as well as starting pitching depth. After multiple trades over the past two seasons, the Twins have finally built a starting rotation with both top-end talent and depth, and now there is clamoring to trade that away. Starting rotation is the hardest thing to acquire in baseball, and the Twins gave away some key assets to get what they have. They should not trade that away now. The second reason why it would be unwise to trade away a starting pitcher is because of the lack of return they would get from those starting pitchers. The two starters that would make the most sense to trade away would be their two impending free agents, Sonny Gray and Kenta Maeda. However, because both of them are impending free agents, the return for either of them would not be something so great that it would be worth trading away one of your top-end starters (Gray) or your key depth pieces (Maeda). Third, the Twins shouldn’t trade away any of their starting pitchers because of how quickly things can flip when it comes to major-league pitching. The moment that you think you are flush with starting pitching depth is the moment that two pitchers get injured and you’re scrambling to fill their spots with AAA players. Go back to 2019 when the Minnesota Twins had what appeared to be a solid playoff pitching rotation before Michael Pineda got suspended and the Twins found themselves with Randy Dobnak on the mound in Yankee Stadium. Finally, while the Twins have their best starting rotation in years, the group that was once elite isn’t looking quite as elite as they looked a month ago. Since June 1, the Minnesota Twins have the ninth ranked rotation in the American League with an ERA of 4.44. We should no longer look at the starting pitching as a huge strength from which we can afford to trade away. The Twins will need every piece of their rotation down the stretch to eke out the American League Central and put forward the best possible playoff rotation. Do you think the Twins should consider trading away a starting pitcher? Leave a comment below and start the conversation! View full article

The Minnesota Twins are in need of hitting help and could consider using the trade market to bring in some help. One player stands above the rest in regards to a target this July. Image courtesy of Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports Several interesting names figure to be available on the trade deadline, names that will be covered extensively by Twins Daily throughout the month of July. But the player who would make the biggest impact to this Twins team is first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. The Minnesota Twins have struggled at the plate all season. They rank 20th in baseball in both OPS and runs scored. With a pitching staff that has been outstanding all season, it has been their hitting that has kept the Twins from running away with the American League Central. Enter Paul Goldschmidt. Paul Goldschmidt is quietly having yet another outstanding season at first base for the St. Louis Cardinals. Through 329 plate appearances, Goldy is slashing .287/.377/.493 with 13 home runs and 38 RBI. Goldschmidt ranks in the 95th percentile in both average exit velocity and hard hit percentage. Additionally, the right-hander is great at handling the strike zone, with a K% of just 21.6 and an excellent chase rate of just 24.3%. Goldschmidt’s bat would fit perfect with the Twins for a few reasons. First of all, as a right-handed hitter the reigning NL MVP would help the Twins immensely with their struggles against left-handed pitchers. On the season, the Twins rank second-to-last in all of baseball against southpaws. While Goldschmidt has actually hit better against right handers this year, over the course of his career he has proven that he is much better against southpaws. Over his 13-year career, Goldy owns a 1.032 OPS against left-handed pitchers. Adding that right-handed bat into this lineup, especially against lefties, would be a total game changer. Another reason that Goldschmidt would be the best possible addition for the Twins at the trade deadline is that he would fit perfectly into the Twins’ lineup. With Goldschmidt playing first base, the Twins would be able to move Alex Kirilloff to left field (or right field depending on what the Twins do with Max Kepler). Left field has been the worst position for the Minnesota Twins this season, receiving a lowly .596 OPS from the position this season, worst in the majors. By adding Goldy, the Twins would upgrade their first base position as well as left field, and would be able to move on from a struggling Joey Gallo. Finally, Paul Goldschmidt would be an excellent addition to the Minnesota Twins because he is a darn good baseball player. The slugger has produced an above average OPS+ in every single season of his career and never posted an OPS lower than .821 in a full season. While Goldy is already 35-years-old, he is showing no signs of slowing down as he is coming off of an MVP season in 2022 and is continuing to hit at his career rates. With the St. Louis Cardinals mired in a season-long slump, they just might consider trading away their all-star first baseman. Currently, the Cardinals are last in the National League Central with a 31-45 record and stand more than 11 games back of a playoff spot. Goldy is owed $22M this year and next year before becoming a free agent in 2024 and the Cardinals may be looking to recoup whatever assets they can get as they begin a new rebuild. The question that the Minnesota Twins will be asking themselves over the next handful of weeks is “should we be trading away future assets for a team that may or may not be destined for greatness?” The answer to that might be no, but there’s also a decent argument that if you can make the playoffs (no matter how poor your division), you should construct the best roster possible because anything can happen in the postseason. And for the Twins to construct the best possible roster, a trade for Paul Goldschmidt would be a great first step. Do you agree that Paul Goldschmidt would be the best addition that the Twins could make at the trade deadline? Leave a comment below and start the conversation. View full article

Emilio Pagán’s time with the Minnesota Twins has featured meltdowns, blown leads and mistakes at the most inopportune times. Let’s count down the five biggest meltdowns from Emilio Pagán during his time with the Twins. Image courtesy of Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports Emilio Pagán meltdowns are like car accidents, they are awful to look at, but you can’t look away. That’s why we’re going to count down Pagán’s five biggest meltdowns with the Minnesota Twins. 5. April 26, 2022 versus the Detroit Tigers WPA: -0.510 The first entry on the countdown comes in what was just Emilio Pagán’s fifth appearance with the Minnesota Twins at home against the Detroit Tigers. The appearance came on the heels of back-to-back saves for the right hander as he appeared to be working his way up the bullpen pecking order. Pagán entered the game with a 3-1 lead in the eighth inning, but with some trouble on the base paths with two runners on and one out. Pagán wasted no time in letting the lead slip away as he served up a three-run home run to Javier Baez which gave the Tigers a 4-3 lead. The home run decreased the Twins’ winning percentage in that game by 53% Thankfully for Pagán, the Minnesota Twins were still able to pull out a win in the bottom of the ninth inning when they scored on a walkoff error from the Tigers’ defense. This being the only meltdown on the list that ended in a Twins win. 4. June 2, 2022 at the Detroit Tigers WPA: -0.563 The next entry on this list came last season against the same Tigers team. Pagán entered the game in the bottom of the eighth inning, nursing a 2-1 lead. After allowing a single to Eric Haase , Pagán served up a two-run home run to right-hander Daz Cameron . Cameron’s homer gave the Tigers a 3-2 lead and lowered the Twins’ winning percentage by 57%. The Tigers went on to win the game 3. June 28, 2022 at the Cleveland Guardians WPA: -0.604 Number three on the list of Pagán meltdowns came in what has been probably the most memorable series of Pagán’s tenure with the Minnesota Twins (memorable in a bad way!). In a two-day span, Pagán gave up two earned runs in back-to-back games, raised his ERA one and a half points, and contributed in a big way to the Twins dropping three out of four games to the rival Cleveland Guardians. The entry on this list, though, came in the June 28 game against the Guardians in which Pagán entered in the bottom of the eighth inning, with a 2-1 lead against Cleveland. After beginning the inning with back-to-back walks, followed by a wild pitch, Pagán surrendered a single to Amed Rosario which put the Guardians back in the lead and gave them a 3-2 lead by which they would ultimately win the game. 2. May 17, 2023 at the Los Angeles Dodgers WPA: -0.611 After three consecutive entries coming from last season, the two biggest meltdowns from Pagán’s tenure with the Minnesota Twins have come in this current season. Number two on the list comes from their series in Los Angeles against the Dodgers when Pagán came into the bottom of the seventh inning, trying to protect a 3-2 lead. After having won the previous day, the Twins were looking to be in a good spot to take the series against the Dodgers on the road, which undoubtedly would have been massive. José De Leon started off the inning for the Twins with back-to-back strikeouts. After allowing back-to-back singles, Pagán came into the game to try to get the final out of the inning. The bottom of the seventh inning went completely pear-shaped, though, when Pagán surrendered back-to-back walks (the second of which forcing in a run) followed by a grand slam from James Outman. After entering the inning up a run, the Twins exited the inning down 7-3, ending the game and their hope at a series win against the Dodgers. 1. June 11, 2023 at the Toronto Blue Jays WPA: -0.680 Number one on the list of the biggest meltdowns from Emilio Pagán with the Minnesota Twins is one that is fresh in everyone’s mind right now, his Sunday meltdown in Toronto. Pagán entered this one in the bottom of the eighth inning with a two-run lead. Immediately, Pagán showed that he did not have it at all, as he surrendered back-to-back singles, followed immediately by a 423-foot bomb by the ever-struggling Cavan Biggio . The three-run shot gave the Blue Jays a 7-6 lead that they would not surrender and gave the Twins a loss, preventing them from taking a sweep of the Jays. Which Emilio Pagán meltdown eats at you the most? Leave a comment below and start the conversation! View full article

After a miserable start to the season, the Chicago White Sox have been on a roll and are quickly closing in on the Minnesota Twins in the American League Central. Image courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports The Chicago White Sox had about as bad of a start to the 2023 season as you can have. Through the first six weeks of the season the Sox found themselves with a 14-28 record — nine games behind the first place Minnesota Twins in the American League Central. Their poor record featured a 10-game losing streak and talks of trading their young stars had already begun. Since their 14-28 start, the White Sox are 13-7 with a +23 run differential. Chicago has won five of their last seven series, including a series win that they just capped off on Thursday evening in the Bronx against the New York Yankees. Their recent run of wins, coupled with the struggles seen by the Twins have helped the White Sox dig out of a nine game deficit in the American League Central and now find themselves just three and a half games back of the first place Twins. The Chicago White Sox recent surge has come largely due to their tremendous pitching. Since May 15, the White Sox are third in all of baseball with a 3.13 ERA. This includes a starting rotation that ranks sixth in baseball with a 3.63 ERA and a bullpen that ranks fourth in baseball with a 2.35 ERA. On the hitting side, the White Sox have struggled all year. In fact, the White Sox rank 17th in baseball in runs scored this season, just one run more than the Minnesota Twins. Typically strong hitters like Andrew Benintendi and Tim Anderson have to find their groove at the plate and their once powerful lineup ranks just 20th in baseball with 67 home runs on the season. Similar to the Twins, the Chicago White Sox have struggled with injuries for much of the season, however Chicago’s recent surge has coincided with many of their injured players getting healthy again. Hitters such as Eloy Jiménez, Tim Anderson, Yoan Moncada and Jake Burger have all found themselves on the injured list this season. Injuries have also struck the pitching side with players like Joe Kelly and Mike Clevinger being shelved for parts of the year. And then there’s their stud closer, Liam Hendriks, who made his emotional return back to the White Sox on Memorial Day, following his cancer recovery. Now healthy, the Chicago White Sox might just be the most dangerous team in the American Central. The Twins should fear the White Sox more than other rival teams like the Guardians and Tigers because of the amount of star power that Chicago can put out on the field every night. With players like Luis Robert, Andrew Vaughn, Eloy Jimenez and Lucas Giolito in addition to struggling stars like Dylan Cease and Tim Anderson who are primed for rebounds, the White Sox have the upside of a team that can hit and pitch with the best teams in the American League. After the first six weeks of the season, the American League Central looked as if it would be a two-team race between the Twins and the Guardians. After the Detroit Tigers made a brief appearance as a possible threat to the division crown, we’re now looking at a three-team race between Minnesota, Cleveland, and perhaps the most dangerous of them all…the Chicago White Sox. Do you fear the Chicago White Sox in the American League Central? Leave a comment below and start the conversation! View full article

On Tuesday afternoon, the Minnesota Twins added Byron Buxton to the 10-day injured list, five days after taking a pitch to the ribs last Thursday. This represents the latest case of a frustrating trend from the Twins. Image courtesy of © Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports After Byron Buxton was struck with a fastball in the ribs on Thursday night against the Cleveland Guardians, the Minnesota Twins were left with two options: put Buxton on the injured list right away or wait and see how he responds. The Twins opted to go with the latter and waited to see how his ribs would respond. In fact, the Twins waited the entire weekend before making a decision, leaving them with a short bench the entire weekend series against Cleveland and putting them in a spot on Friday night where they only had one bench player. In Major League Baseball when a player is injured, a team has a three day window to retroactively place someone on the injured list and still get “credit” for those days serving towards the 10 days that a player must wait before returning from injury. As such, it can be common for teams to wait and see if a player can return within three days before making the decision of whether or not to add them to the injured list. While this is likely what the Twins were trying to do by holding off on the injured list decision for Buxton, it was unequivocally the wrong decision and one that may have ultimately cost the Twins this past weekend. The first reason why the Twins misplayed this injury situation over the weekend was that Carlos Correa was also injured for the Twins with his flared up foot. As such, a “wait and see” decision with both Correa and Buxton meant that the Twins would be operating with two men down on their bench all weekend. The Twins could have waited on one of the two players and sent the other to the IL, but by waiting on both, they actively chose to play the weekend series against their division rival with one hand tied behind their back. Secondly, Byron Buxton had been in a massive slump leading into the rib injury. Over his past 10 games played, Buxton is hitting .147 with one extra base hit and 12 strikeouts compared to just three walks. The Minnesota Twins were choosing to lessen their depth over the weekend series so that they could potentially cut the number of games missed for a player who hasn’t been hitting the ball well at all lately. A big-time risk for a low payoff. Additionally, the ribs are not the only issue that had been ailing Buxton. Over the course of the season, Buxton has been having issues with his knee pain. In fact, it’s been because of his knee pain that the Twins have seemingly been limiting Buxton to a designated hitter role this season. With Buxton being experiencing so much pain in his ribs that he wasn’t even able to lie down, in addition to the knee pain that he had been experiencing all year, an injured list decision seemed like a no-brainer the whole time. The decision was made even worse by the fact that the Minnesota Twins had the reigning AAA hitter of the week available to be called up in Matt Wallner. Wallner currently has a 1.100 OPS with the Saint Paul Saints this season and has a .414 batting average since being demoted last week with two of the three starting pitchers coming up set to be right handers. The Minnesota Twins scored a total of four runs after they decided to leave Buxton and Correa up with the team and play with a short bench. It’s certainly fair to wonder if the weekend series would have wound up any different had the Twins been operating with a full roster. In summary, the Twins decided to play short handed all weekend against a division rival so that they could potentially save a few days off of an injured list stint for a struggling Byron Buxton with ailing knees rather than just calling up Matt Wallner who has been hitting the snot out of the ball. A troubling decision to say the least. This isn’t an isolated incident with the Twins this season either. Earlier this season the Minnesota Twins did something similar with Joey Gallo when he had an injured hamstring. With the amount of talent that the Minnesota Twins have in the Minor Leagues the Twins should not hesitate to move players to the injured list and give their struggling offense every bit of a chance to succeed. The Twins are struggling enough at the plate with a full roster that playing with a limited roster just leaves this team with no chance on offense. Do you agree that the Twins need to be more decisive with injured list decisions? Leave a comment below and start the conversation! View full article

The Minnesota Twins came into the 2023 season with a clear plan for keeping Byron Buxton healthy — make him the everyday designated hitter. While Buxton has indeed stayed healthy, this experiment has not been a successful one. Image courtesy of © Matt Blewett-USA TODAY Sports When he’s healthy, Byron Buxton is one of the best players in all of baseball. In an effort to keep him healthy, the Minnesota Twins traded for Michael A. Taylor this offseason and made Buxton the everyday designated hitter. While this has worked from a health standpoint (Byron is currently tied for the team lead in games played), the plan has been a net negative for the Twins. The first reason why the Byron Buxton experiment at designated hitter needs to end is because Buxton’s bat just hasn’t been successful enough to be taking up the designated hitter spot every day. On the season, Buxton has a .771 OPS (113 OPS+), which would be his lowest number at the plate since 2017. The American League average OPS at the designated hitter position this season is .742. While Buxton has been better than the average designated hitter in the American League, there are still six teams that have gotten better production at the DH position than what Buxton has provided for the Twins this year. Aside from poor overall performance, Byron Buxton has shown a propensity to fall into deep, deep slumps at plate. In April, Buxton went through a 15 game stretch where he hit .170 with 23 strikeouts and six walks, and he is currently going through a twenty game stretch in which he’s hit .162 with just four extra base hits. Slumps you simply cannot afford to have from your designated hitter. A domino effect by Buxton playing the role of full-time DH is that Michael A. Taylor has become an everyday player at center field for the Twins. In fact, MAT is tied with Byron Buxton for the team lead in games played this season. While an excellent fielder, Taylor has been a below-average to bad hitter for his entire career. This season has been his worst. On the season, Michael A. Taylor has posted a .633 OPS with a miserable 53/7 K/BB ratio. What’s worse is that includes Taylor’s better-than-usual performance at the plate in April. Since the calendar turned to May, MAT owns a .498 OPS with 21 strikeouts compared to just three walks and just three extra base hits. Michael A. Taylor as a fourth outfielder and backup center fielder is an excellent weapon. Michael A. Taylor as your everyday center fielder and leading your team in games played, while your offense sputters day after day is an absolute disaster, and it’s a direct result of Byron Buxton being locked into the designated hitter position. Finally, Byron Buxton being locked in as the everyday designated hitter costs the Minnesota Twins a tremendous amount of lineup flexibility by not allowing other players to cycle through the position. With a locked-in designated hitter, the Twins are unable to give guys regular days off without sitting on the bench, they’re unable to keep guys like Matt Wallner up with the big league club, and they’re unable to stack an additional platoon hitter into the lineup. It’s also fair to wonder if injuries to players like Carlos Correa, Jorge Polanco and Joey Gallo could have been prevented if there was a designated hitter spot to give guys a break. Taking Byron Buxton out of the full-time designated hitter spot and moving him back out to center field is undeniably a risk. If Byron Buxton were putting up Nelson Cruz-level production at the plate, the conversation would be different, but the reality is that the Twins are suffering at the plate night after night, with the designated hitter position being an easy way to generate more offense. The Twins could certainly still shuffle Buxton through the DH spot a couple of times a week, but we need to end the Byron Buxton experiment as a full-time designated hitter. Do you think it's time to take Byron Buxton out of the designated hitter spot and move him into the outfield? Leave a comment below and start the conversation! View full article

While the month of May wasn’t the prettiest for the Minnesota Twins, there were a handful of pitchers that stepped up and put themselves in the running to be named the Pitcher of the Month. Come find out who took the title. Image courtesy of Thieres Rabelo, Twins Daily The Minnesota Twins built on a strong April of pitching and put together another strong month on the mound, finishing fourth in all of baseball in pitching ERA in May. The Twins got strong performances from a handful of starting pitchers as well as a certain reliever who can apparently throw 105 MPH now. Let’s dive into the Pitcher of the Month honorable mentions and find out who ultimately was named Twins Daily’s Pitcher of the Month. Honorable Mention 3: Jhoan Duran 10 2/3 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 15 K, 3 BB Jhoan Duran continues to be an absolute godsend for the Minnesota Twins’ bullpen. In a month when the Twins ranked 23rd in all of baseball in win probability added and faced saw meltdown after meltdown, Duran posted one of the best months of his young career with 10 2/3 shut out innings and gave the Twins someone they could consistently trust at the back end of the bullpen. Duran led all Twins pitchers in WPA in the month of May and raised his K% from where it was in the month of April. Oh yeah, and he threw a 105 MPH pitch. Honorable Mention 2: Louie Varland 35 IP, 3.34 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 31 K, 7 BB In his first full month in the starting rotation for the Minnesota Twins this season, Louie Varland showed everyone that he is here to stay. Mixing high velocity with tremendous control, Varland is making a case to be the first big-time success story from the Derek Falvey pitching pipeline. In the month of May, Varland led Twins pitchers with 35 innings pitched and a team low BB% of 4.9%. Varland started six games in the month of May, with four of them coming in wins. No start was bigger, though, than the one that came on Wednesday night, the final day of the month, when he threw seven shutout innings on the road against the Houston Astros, allowing just four hits while striking out five. Not bad from your “number five” starter. Honorable Mention 1: Bailey Ober 29 IP, 3.10 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 27 K, 6 BB The continuously underrated Bailey Ober quietly put together the second best month from any Twins pitcher in May. Ober started five games, with three of them being quality starts and only one of them allowing more than three earned runs. Ober never allowed more than six hits in any of his starts this month and started producing more strikeouts than we are used to seeing from the right-hander. Ober started out the year in the Minors, but since joining the Twins at the end of April, Ober has a 2.68 ERA with a 37/11 K/BB ratio. Safe to say that Ober will be contributing to the Twins’ starting rotation for a long time. Pitcher of the Month: Joe Ryan 33 IP, 2.73 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 40 K, 9 BB After a stellar month of April in which he posted a 2.81 ERA across 32 innings, Joe Ryan improved upon those numbers in the month of May with a 2.73 ERA in 33 innings. Joe Ryan finished second amongst Twins pitchers in innings pitched and led all pitchers in strikeouts and wins above replacement. The young right hander also continued to show elite pitch control as the team-leader with a K/BB ratio of 5.85 on the season. Ryan’s best pitching performance last month came on May 2 against the Chicago White Sox when he pitched six shutout innings, allowing just one hit and striking out seven. Unfortunately the performance came in a loss, but Ryan did all he could do to lead the Twins over their division rivals that night. In six starts in the month of May, Joe Ryan produced four quality starts and only allowed more than two earned runs in one of those starts. After another stellar month from the prized right hander, Joe Ryan is more than deserving of being Twins Daily’s Pitcher of the Month in May, and as long as Joe Ryan continues to make improvements every month, he’ll continue to find himself in the Cy Young conversation. Do you agree with our choice for Pitcher of the Month? Do you think Joe Ryan has a chance at winning the Cy Young Award? Leave a comment below and start the conversation! View full article

So far this article has aged well pretty lol. Spencer Steer hit a two-run home run tonight and CES just mashed a grand slam.

At the 2022 trade deadline the Minnesota Twins traded for starting pitcher Tyler Mahle. While Mahle’s elbow injury threw water on the blockbuster deal, the stellar play from two of the prospects the Twins traded away will be what could haunt them for years to come. Image courtesy of Ray Acevedo-USA TODAY Sports While the Minnesota Twins paid a steep price when they traded for Tyler Mahle (three top-20 prospects), most considered the deal to be a good one as the Twins avoided trading away any of their top-five prospects in the deal. After all, there’s nothing more haunting for a fan base (or a front office) than trading away a future star and watching that player do damage for years on another team. Unfortunately for the Twins, not only did the Mahle Era in Minnesota go completely sideways, but it’s looking like two of the prospects that the Twins gave up in the trade could be guys who do damage on another team for years to come. Spencer Steer was the prized prospect that was traded away to the Cincinnati Reds in the Mahle deal. At the time of the trade, Steer was the sixth ranked prospect in Twins Daily’s prospect ranking as he was performing well at Triple-A at the time and was extremely close to the Majors. Steer got his feet wet in the big leagues late last season, but didn’t knock anyone’s socks off with a meager .632 OPS in 28 games to end the 2022 season. The 2023 season has been a completely different story for the right-hander. Through 50 games, Spencer Steer is slashing .288/.353/.485 with seven home runs and 26 RBI. Steer’s 23 extra base hits and .838 OPS would be first and second, respectively, on the Twins this season. Perhaps the most impressive part of Steer’s offensive numbers is that he had a slow start to the year. Through May 2, Steer had a .699 OPS. Since then, over his last 23 games, Steer has posted a .984 OPS with 14 extra base hits. While Steer’s defense certainly leaves more to be desired, his offensive arrow is pointing upward, and he is certainly someone that the Twins could be kicking themselves for trading away for a long time. The next highest-rated prospect that the Twins traded away for Mahle last July was corner infielder/designated hitter, Christian Encarnacion-Strand. At the time of the deal, Encarnacion-Strand was Twins Daily’s 16th ranked prospect. His bat was always a strength, but his limited defensive abilities hampered his ability to climb higher up the prospect ranks. While Encarnacion-Strand is still likely headed for a career at first base or designated hitter, his numbers at the plate in Triple-A this season have lessened the concerns about his defensive future and instead heightened the excitement about his future at the plate. In 31 games with the Louisville Bats, Encarnacion-Strand is slashing .341/.387/.710 with 13 home runs and 32 RBI. His 1.097 OPS leads all active minor leaguers and his call-up to the big leagues appears to be imminent. CES certainly needs to work on his eye at the plate, as his 39/9 K/BB ratio is less than ideal, but Encarnacion-Strand is mashing at the plate right now unlike any other player in the minors and, similar to Steer, is looking like a guy that could haunt the Minnesota Twins for years to come. How do you think that Steer and Encarnacion-Strand’s careers will play out in Cincinnati? Do you think these players will haunt the Twins? Leave a comment below and start the conversation! View full article