tony&rodney

Bullpens are tenuous even in a good year. Guys get hurt, have ineffective outings from time to time, and overuse is a constant concern. For example, Jax was used too often just recently, Stewart went on the IL, and Thielbar has been inconsistent. The Twins seem to have enough arms but will need to find ways to spread out the workload amongst relievers who are effective. The Twins were counting on Topa but he has been injured or not good for most of the last decade. Jackson might be a mirage as well. There are guys like Sands, Staumont, Funderburk, and more who could be decent through the year and support the pitchers we hope stay solid like Duran, Stewart, Jax, Thielbar, and Okert. It is a long season and there are going to be times when the bullpen is in a down phase. Hopefully that can be minimized. Perhaps one way to reduce stress on the relievers is to allow the starters to go another inning when they are throwing free and easy. Ober has been lifted several times with only 80 plus pitches thrown and the game well in hand. Perhaps he needed to be lifted but when the schedule has an off day it seems like Lopez, Ryan, and Ober would have little trouble going another inning after an easy stretch in the game where they reached 80-9- pitches.

To just add to this comment, there were a number of people who were interested in the Twins signing Rhys Hoskins. I never sensed the distaste for signing Santana but rather a preference for other players. To be clear, in lieu of the payroll crunch, I didn't expect any signing. As an aside i have wondered whether Kirilloff has been affected by the lack of confidence shown in him. That said, all players need to earn their playing time.

We are 3-4 weeks away from this conversation and plenty can happen in the interim. When Royce Lewis is ready to play again he will likely get some DH time. Miranda is a step slow at third base but makes most of the plays. He will need to hit in order to stay on the roster. As much as I like Kyle Farmer, he needs to show more with the bat. His roster spot will not be in any danger but those people who are still clinging to his defensive value are missing how much the previously awkward Julien has improved with the glove. Julien has better lateral movement than Farmer at second base. Farmer still looks smoother. If Julien can hit better, especially versus lefties, that position is his to hold. Julien needs to be more reliable at the plate. The pitching has been pretty solid from week to week and management will be looking for effective bats when the time comes for decisions. These decisions usually are made by how the position player is hitting. Right now, Austin Martin is struggling a bit. This is an important week for the Twins, playing New York and Cleveland. People have to be reasonably pleased with the Twins record right now, especially with the slow start to the year and the injuries to Lewis and Buxton.

Games like this happen almost every year to every team. Unless the Twins flail and become futile in the next week, we can just flush it.

One start. It is a long season. If the bullpen shuts down Toronto, we might not even be concerned. Vladdy is nitro right now. Look up on June 15 and assess the team at that time.

Jaylin Nowlen is improving.

Wichita has some good second basemen playing shortstop and the ball keeps finding them. I'm wondering if DeAndrade will be ready for a promotion in June.

The pitching for the Twins has been really fun to watch recently and I enjoy their starting pitching. It doesn't make any difference to me where those guys come from and how their journey brought them to Target Field. "..... their history ...." Slow down a little there. Maybe just go with "in awhile". The ghosts of 1970 and some others were pretty staunch in their day. From a wider point of view it isn't necessary to make these comparisons to appreciate the current pitching staff. We see the same out there opinions on Terry Ryan versus Derek Falvey or going back further even, Calvin Griffith versus Carl Pohlad. It is possible to laud a performance without making references or comparisons.

I'm always a little confused why some folks identify Falvey as a guy who was hired to develop a "pitching pipeline". It just doesn't stand up and also doesn't really matter. As TwinsDr2021 states, Ober is it thus far for Falvey. If people want to pursue the idea it might be useful to compare The drafting, signing, and development of pitchers within the AL Central and across baseball. Personally I think one of the main roles of the PBO (Falvey) is putting together a competitive team. The record indicates that Falvey has done that. However, almost any way one looks at past or current Twins starting pitchers in the Falvey era the idea of a "pitching pipeline" where the Twins sign and develop starting pitchers needs to be put to rest. I'm pretty happy to have Pablo Lopez starting for the Twins even if he wasn't signed and developed by the Twins.

McCusker is a really big dude and like most very tall hitters has some issues with maintaining contact. The thing that makes him a little different is that he is extremely athletic and strong. He has been improving bit by bit every week and last night was a show of his power. The Twins will have some thinking to do by June/July if McCusker continues to have good at bats for Wichita. Brandon Winokur, another tall athletic player, has looked smoother than I expected in his first month of A ball. A ton of swing and miss but also steady improvement from week to week and playing good defense at both shortstop and centerfield.

Comcast is no longer sending any money to Bally for Twins broadcast. Is that correct? How will Bally make money and meet deadlines for paying the Twins per their contract? I'm lost on this. It seems like Bally will eventually (July?) cease any payments to the Twins. Admittedly, my knowledge of the contracts, payment dates, and other details are missing, but this all seems like a repeat of the debacle Bally began last season. To be clear, I'm not weighing in on the budget. Despite my abhorrence of the deals last offseason, I did feel a payroll of $110-120 million was not going to doom the team if sound roster/trades were completed. My question is what happens when Bally tanks and cannot pay the Twins? Will people be surprised? I do agree that the loss of access to the Twins via television can only hurt their brand. I have no idea how much.

When I saw this come on the front page I had many thoughts about a response or two, but successfully stifled those urges ... well, until now. Twins Daily is a great site and has increasingly added to its range. If someone has other ideas they can always start their own blog or submit articles through various existing platforms. I believe it is one of the finest fan blogs in existence for baseball. Twins fans are lucky. My only real suggestion has been mentioned numerous times already. The thumb down button (which could potentially be useful) should be removed. There are readers (no reason to call anyone out) who have virtually no knowledge of anything related to baseball who use the button frequently to draw attention to themselves. Naturally, some will disagree with this opinion. My own journey into blogs began around 2001. I stumbled onto Aaron Gleeman's blog and was #11 on his counter, a funny memory. From there I began to write for a friend's blog for another team on the East Coast, essentially covering teams from the rest of the country. I phased out of that because work, coaching, and playing left little time for decent research to provide fair articles worth reading. From Gleeman I stumbled on to Seth, TwinsGeek, and many others. I joined TD early but quit it after a few years, although I continued to read occasionally. I rejoined TD (new byline) about four years ago and have added to the comment sections at times since rejoining. I'm sure I will continue reading at times but feel my comments should stay in my own head. I only add the above because perhaps others also face burnout from following a site or being active within the comments. That seems normal. Some people love becoming a part of a community of fans and participating at times. Some take the opportunity to meet up with those who are also fans, creating friendships. That is a wonderful thing. Others prefer to remain separate and anonymous, which is fine too. Sites such as Twins Daily are bound to attract a few people who are bitter about life, which spills over into their comments. Such is life. I mostly feel bad for those people who run the site and keep the content going when a few folks hijack a post or conversation or insist on their expertise to the detriment of an ongoing conversation. Keep up the good work and don't be too frustrated by the occasional downs because when I look over the articles or member's comments, they are mostly positive and generate fair discourse. Twins Daily is a real success story.

Santana, Margot, Farmer, and Kepler will undoubtedly be working elsewhere next season. Having Willi Castro as a utility player for around $6 million next year will not break the budget if that is what happens. Seems like this idea/conversation is jumping way ahead of where we are right now. It is May of 2024.

Emmanuel Rodriguez is being pitched around, no question. He might see one or two fastballs in some games and most are off the plate. The breaking stuff is almost always on the edges of the plate with a number of low pitches called strikes. Yes, Em-Rod still has to work on some things, but it is looking like even highly rated pitchers are just pitching around him in AA, thus a move to AAA might be necessary for him to work on his game. On a separate note, where is Walker Jenkins? I saw the play when he was injured and he came off the field looking normal but also with what appeared as a hamstring injury. Apparently the injury must have been worse than it appeared. Having witnessed many hamstring injuries of varying degrees, I cannot recall someone running so normal and walking off the field in such a relaxed fashion suffering a serious tear. I haven't found anything to clarify or explain his current condition and Jenkins is a pretty high profile prospect. I guess I'm just curious when Walker will return to the Ft. Myers lineup.

Excellent, even better. I guess I heard that on the radio but forgot about it. Good add. Martin has plenty to prove at the MLB level but I must admit I like his game.

No reason why Austin Martin should sit tonight. St. Paul faces Connor Phillips (#4 Reds RHSP) tonight and the at bats versus a bonafide pitcher can only help Martin improve his game. He can show up tomorrow (Friday) afternoon in the Target Field clubhouse and slip into his Twins uniform prepared to face some good Red Sox pitching. It's not far from St. Paul to Minneapolis, as far as the distance driving goes. I doubt Martin wants a day off.

I'm confused by this line. I believe Em-Rod has 73 PA in AA this year. This is his first year at AA. Simple mistake or are you referencing something else? A few other Emmanuel Rodriguez points: Health is the biggest gift for an athlete. Currently, Emmanuel is out with a hand injury of unknown seriousness (day to day). With good health and continued production it is doubtful that Rodriguez stays longer than mid June in AA. While the pitchers in the Texas League have equal velocity and great stuff, there is a big difference in the command and control at AAA. Em-Rod needs to see some stronger pitching. How Rodriguez progresses in his focus and consistency in addition to how he manages versus better off speed pitches should determine whether he is near MLB ready. Emmanuel has some potential unseen by previous Twins prospects. An OBP of .500, extra base pop, hitting for a decent average, stolen base potential, a big arm and the ability to play good defense in centerfield provide quite an impressive list of talents. I can't think of a comparable Twins prospect in recent times. Of course, every young phenom needs to produce when their opportunity arrives or get sent back to the minor leagues for additional experience (see Jackson Holliday). Hopefully the Twins are paying close attention every single thing that Emmanuel Rodriguez is doing on a baseball field. He may be ready to play in The Show sooner than projected. Someone mentioned that they were unaware of naysayers concerning Em-Rod. I can only say that he was suggested in a couple of dozen trades last winter even as pretty much everyone rebuffed any suggested trades of Brooks Lee and the mere mention of thinking about what Royce Lewis could return was discouraged. I'm not suggesting anything, merely noting that there was a fair amount of skepticism concerning Rodriguez last offseason.

FWIW, Justin Topa looked very hittable this afternoon. His pitches has predictable movement and he was actually lucky to get anyone out. He can still be fine, but based just on today Topa needs a few more outings to prove he is a professional baseball pitcher worth a call to MLB. There shouldn't be any hurry to promote him and if he uses up all of his rehab days, there is always an option to use for Topa.

Last year I watched a ton of Em-Rod's at bats and commented in the winter that there was plenty of room for growth, primarily in the area of consistent focus from plate appearance to plate appearance and from game to game. I had him as the Twins best prospect. This season, Emmanuel has started off with a more consistent approach. The number of uncontrolled swings is down as are the occasions when he just gives away the at bats. Baseball is a slog across six months of games. The youngster has a ways to go but right now he is looking really good. Having watched most of the games via milb.com, I cannot attest to the small details available to someone watching the games from the dugout or front row. I can state that Em-Rod has been the most impressive baseball player in AA to this point in the season that I have watched. There is a ton to love in his game. The guy has style, plays great defense with an arm that shuts down players from taking the extra base, he is aggressive on the bases, and already draws outsized respect from pitchers when he steps into the batter's box. If Emmanuel maintains his focus and stays healthy, he should be in AAA by July at the latest. Consistency and endurance are difficult in baseball and necessary for success. Another month (maybe two) of the current performance would force the Twins to move Rodriguez up a level to provide another measure of the young man's promise.

Emmanuel Rodriguez is an intriguing prospect. I have seen most of his at bats this season. There have been some changes from last year and a few lingering habits. Briefly, Em-rod has tightened up his swings and been more focused in his at bats when games are already decided. I felt he gave away a ton of at bats last season. The eye for the strike zone remains superior. There are moments when we still see Emmanuel still pull off the ball with some zealous over swinging but much less than last year. When he stays clean with his approach, Rodriguez really has good swings. Focus and repeating a controlled swing path will be critical to future success. It seems likely that the Twins would keep Em-rod in AA until early June, but I agree with chpettit19 that a promotion to AAA will be instructive for evaluating the young athlete and providing a level of competition for applying the needed adjustments that will carry him forward in his career. Rodriguez has a mature body and I doubt that he will be overmatched at the AAA level. The issues that Jamie so adroitly identifies, related to contact, can best be answered at AAA. Whether Em-Rod is emotionally ready is not so easily determined but right now he looks more dominant than any other AA player. The rigors of day to day focus and the strain of being tuned in for every at bat and pitch remain a challenge for Em-Rod but he has the eye and the swing to continue to improve.

The usual routine is that the rubber arm pitchers can throw a couple of days in a row (one reasonably quick inning) before a day off. Three days in a row is not that common for effective (just so we understand we are not referring to 6.00 ERA types) pitchers. When a pitcher goes three innings the usual time off is a minimum of 3-4 days or more depending on pitches, velocity, and stress of game pitches thrown. Pitchers respond differently to usage.

I understand that a large number of people on Twins Daily wanted the Twins to sign a free agent pitcher this offseason. They would sign any of the guys mentioned to minor league contracts to hold in AAA in case of an injury. The names mentioned are not going to sign those contracts or it seems extremely unlikely. Thus it is a done deal, over.

Are you looking for a starting pitcher to throw three innings? Jhoan could maybe do that in the post season. Duran would not be able to transition mid year; very unlikely. The reason Jhoan was put into the bullpen was because of too many frequent nagging injuries suffered while trying to be a starting pitcher. Some guys cannot be starting pitchers and others cannot be relievers. The stresses and recovery are different for every pitcher and in those different roles. If the Twins believed it was in the best interest for their team to have Duran in the starting rotation, there would be a program put in place for a series of workups for Jhoan to work on all during the offseason. As always, never say never .... but no.

We can all agree that it wasn't clear what Seattle would do if the negotiations went into March. We do know they had a strong feeling for the veteran player, Jorge Polanco, who was the main target of their offseason. Dipoto intended to push every button to acquire him. While also not clear, it seemed apparent that the Twins faced a self-imposed deadline for shedding Polanco's contract. Water over the dam - it is done. As others have already said, the trade could be decent if the two minor league players ever contribute at the MLB level. It is an example of how money impacted this year.

Perhaps I wasn't clear enough. Clearly. I am a big fan of Alex Kirilloff and have posted many times my belief that he has shown the possibilities of his swing if fully healthy when he destroyed AAA pitching in 2022 and 2023. While I am of the belief that Brooks Lee will have a fine MLB career, it looks at the moment that the four guys currently manning are all potential stars. The bottom line is that the players need to perform, but sorry that I was so sloppy to convey a less than full confidence in AK.