tony&rodney

Sabato is in a tough spot. Josh Bell is the DH and there is a line of guys ideally suited to fill the DH position behind Bell. The Twins are using Royce Lewis at first base most of the time and Lewis is having a nice run since his return from St. Paul. There just isn't a place for him. Could he be called up as the 14th bat in September? Seems unlikely, which means that Sabato, like Wallner, will need to find an opportunity elsewhere next season. I wish them all the best.

Love how Culpepper plays the game. He was really nervous in his first game and the Twins winning allows him to reflect on how he can approach tomorrow's game. MLB is a big step above other baseball and while everyone knows that, the players are the people who live it and the experience is always a learning curve

Can you or anyone else please explain why you believe that baseball will be cancelled for 2027. I don't understand that thought process. This is not a criticism, per se, but I'm not seeing it. I'm not a Vegas guy but if I had to bet on either the Twins winning the 2026 World Series or MLB being cancelled in 2027, my money is on the Twins. I posted this earlier in another thread.

True, teams like keeping that balance. We are in the last two months of the 2026 season though and a quick glance over the 40 roster shows a couple of clear decisions looming on the horizon. One is that there are a few pitchers signed as depth who really do not have a path back to the Twins team. Every team loads up on ST invites and adds some peripheral pitchers to try out, hoping for improvement/surprise and protecting against the expected injuries. These guys usually do not survive the pruning of the 40 roster done after the season. Secondly, the Twins continue to carry a load of outfielders. Some of those will not be found on the roster later this year. The Twins do not have any difficult decisions to make concerning their 40 person roster at this time. They can add a couple of guys if that helps the team. The difficult part is the discussions with the players that have worked all year, been a part of the team and/or organization. Baseball is a tough occupation.

Tristan Gray is not up to a level of shortstop we should want. However, Kreidler is a very good defender. We will hope Culpepper makes all of the routine plays and is smooth on relays. The Twins can put Kyler Fedko on the 60 day IL I think. There are other players who could be DFA'ed off of the 40 person roster. Go, Orze, or Rashi are just three obvious players who can be put off of the 40 roster.

Congratulations to Kaelen Culpepper. Hopefully he plays within himself. There really is no reason for him to feel as if he needs to be spectacular. I did feel like he was taking a few uncharacteristic big hacks at pitcher's pitches in the last week. What he did after those big swings was impressive though. Kaelen took hard swings at strikes and drove the ball. I'm hoping he gets comfortable quickly.

Clever fellow.

Can you or anyone else please explain why you believe that baseball will be cancelled for 2027. I don't understand that thought process. This is not a criticism, per se, but I'm not seeing it. I'm not a Vegas guy but if I had to bet on either the Twins winning the 2026 World Series or MLB being cancelled in 2027, my money is on the Twins.

Mendez and Wallner are primarily DH. Using either in MLB is not healthy for pitchers or a positive step towards winning baseball games. If the Twins can clear the log jam of DH types this offseason there may be a path for Mendez. Walker Jenkins will be called if he puts together another good week.

Hoffman or Morris? I say Morris.

Rambling is ok. The Twins need better talent. It would be nice to see Culpepper, Jenkins, and Houston fill three spots next season. Can they give solid results like a few rookies have around baseball most years. The outfield might benefit from a free agent (Walker Jenkins just hit his second HR of the game), maybe Randy Arozarena brings a little spice to the team. I like the pitching pretty much but do think a trade is in order to bring in some talent. That may mean that some good player goes the other way. I have no idea now what that looks like, maybe one or more of Ryan, Ober, Matthews, Rojas, Keaschall, Larnach, Lee, Martin, Roden, and Gonzalez. Not more than one pitcher and one position player.

The best possible outcome for the Twins would include promotions and full time duty for Marek Houston and Kaelen Culpepper. Royce Lewis is new to first base and it seems like as his lower half gains strength he is more mobile. Lewis has made mistakes but has improved. Brooks Lee is ok at third base but he needs to hit to hold his spot in the lineup down the road. For now, Lee doesn't have any competition barring Culpepper playing third base unless the Twins acquired a player or two for first or second base. Luke Keaschall is done as an infielder. The two huge barriers being a very weak infield arm and, more glaring, a very slow initial reaction to batted balls. The delay is not an end-all in the outfield but it just doesn't work on the dirt. We should hope that Kody Clemens and Ryan Kreidler return next season as solid utility players. I believe the infield defense will be better next season and also more productive.

You are correct. If Walker Jenkins has not been added to the 40 well before that time, the Twins have a major problem. A quick look at the current 40 roster shows six (6) players on the 60 day IL. Even after adding back those players, the Twins should not have any problem getting down to 34 or less players should they wish to make those calls. Right now, the Twins can IL Kyler Fedko for 60 days to open a spot on the 40 roster. Spots on the Twins roster are not exactly dear at this point in time.

MLB teams take/make their own note/statistics on every play. When the coaching staff decided that Royce Lewis needed a reset to clear himself of some unfortunate habits, which were due in part to legs/ poor foundation, they also discussed his future as a defender. Thus the move to third base for Brooks Lee, who clearly was/is not near the caliber of defender needed to play shortstop at the MLB level. The scouting reports on Lee, almost from the beginning, projected him as a regular at third base with the potential to hit well enough to hold a corner infield job. Brooks Lee has accepted his move although he did state that he still saw himself as a shortstop since that was almost the only position he ever played in baseball. No doubt, Lee was shown the notes and knows that his future is as a corner infielder. Lee has a pretty thick body type. Luke Keaschall has played primarily as a second baseman and outfielder as a baseball player. His most notable asset is as an on base machine who can run, takes a walk, and does not strike out very much. Defensively Keaschall is extremely challenged. Part of this is due to a poor arm and any improvement hoped for there was set back when he had Tommy John surgery two years ago. A broken arm sure didn't help him. The biggest problem for Keaschall as a defender is instinctual reaction to swings. Plainly put, Luke has a delay that nearly makes it impossible for him to play in the infield because many balls are already by him before he reacts and balls hit right at him can handcuff Keaschall. The quick feet and foot speed thus largely negated as an infielder. In the outfield Keaschall has used a strategy of playing deeper to give himself a better chance to use his speed. We have seen where said speed is used to track down a few balls. However, it seems unlikely that Keaschall will improve enough to reach an average level. Teams that value defense would want Luke to be their DH. His ability to get on base is good and it is also likely that power is improved with experience. 15 home runs and 40 doubles are not out of the range of where one could see Keaschall's production reach. The defense will remain a problem if he plays in the field, although he is hidden better in right field than elsewhere. The post was about Marek Houston though and it will be interesting to see how aggressively the Twins promote him. He could be the Twins shortstop next season. As I have written elsewhere, Houston has made impressive changes to his game at the plate. He won't be able to run wild in MLB as he has in A+/AA, but he is pretty fast and is a good baserunner. The glove is good and plays. He isn't elite as a shortstop but rather quite smooth and very dependable with an excellent internal clock on how quickly he needs to get rid of the ball based on the runner. I'm hoping Houston leaps forward next year. I also think Houston is a player who will improve from year to year.

Every game a team is allowed to use one (1) DH. There are a few exceptions but 99.9% of the time the DH is hitting in the place of the pitcher. Currently the Twins have Josh Bell, Luke Keaschall, and Trevor Larnnach who are best serving as a DH, but Bell holds the job which pushes two guys to the outfield, which is less than ideal. They also have others who might/could serve in that role depending on what team they worked for at the time. Ryan Jeffers, Victor Caratini, Byron Buxton, Royce Lewis, and Alan Roden have served or could serve as a DH from time to time as well. There is no doubt that the numbers will tell us that Aaron Sabato and Matt Wallner could serve as a DH for the Twins. Who gets sent down or released? Does that actually make the team better? Matt Wallner cannot play in the major leagues in the outfield any more than Nick Castellanos. This isn't about liking a player. Personally, I have no "favorite" player on the Twins team. I also do not personally know any of the players. I find myself liking all of the players in the organization but feel that roster construction is important. Right now, Wallner is held off by Bell, just as Larnach and Keaschall are not serving in the DH role. Sabato is held off by Lewis. Kaelen Culpepper and Walker Jenkins make some sense, but only if they are to play every day for the rest of the year. Despite what some people believe there is a reason both were drafted in the first round and have been promoted aggressively: talent. The history of baseball has shown that many stars (including a ton of Hall of Fame members) struggled in their introduction to MLB. Adjustments take time and the decision facing the Twins is whether one or both of those two players will deliver better all around production than a player currently in place. There is zero chance the Twins are concerned with the next CBA or rookie status at this point in the year. My guess is that the Twins want to see a couple of weeks of solid play on both offense and defense and that both players are building strength and not suffering from any lingering injuries. Additionally, how the currently rostered players perform has a factor in the decision as well. If all of Roden/Martin, Keaschall, Kreidler, Gray, and Larnach are playing well, it is unlikely they are replaced if the team is winning. The Twins kept Jeffers and Ryan to make an attempt at winning the division. The decision to promote will be based on that. Moving Wallner back to righfield, Keaschall back to second base, Lee back to shortstop, Lewis back to third base, and Bell back to first base would a rush for a better draft choice. It isn't happening.

Which is the obvious reasons we have what we have. There are some who wanted expanded rosters and multiple DH guys in the lineup at the same time. Doesn't seem like a plan.

You can also compare Sabato and Wallner to Ryan Kreidler, or if AAA is your thing, use Kaelen Culpepper as an example. The numbers work for you. They absolutely do not work for the Twins.

Wallner and Sabato are each displaying the same talent. Where would you use Wallner? Sabato?

Walker had three Mauer base hits, which will irritate the h out of some people. Two hard ground ball singles and a slashing double down the left field line.

Best news of the evening is that there is another game tomorrow. Detroit is coming on.

First off, Luke Keaschall is doing the best he can. He had to be moved out of the infield. The arm is not playable for starters. Luke takes a second before he reacts to a batted ball. In the infield that just doesn't work. The ball is either by you or you are surprised by the ball and it handcuffs you. Instinctual first step quickness is necessary for an infielder. Keaschall doesn't have it. The outfield is proving to be pretty difficult as well but he does have closing speed to make some, plays/ catch the ball. His best position is DH. It would be a good idea for Keaschall to play shallower. He is too deep. To be fair, which current Twins is a good outfielder? Buxton could be out the remainder of the year and so Keaschall will get some time out there.

You are doing your thing again. You make these pronouncements on players when you have never seen them play. Looking at stats will just weaken your eyes and obscure whatever you are trying to accomplish. Did you watch the Saints game tonight? Did you watch Wichita? How about Cedar Rapids. Ft. Myers? They all have prospects playing and you can either watch the games or look at the stats. I'm not sure why you want to question a top prospect like Jenkins, but you do and when you say he is the same as every other AAA player, you lose all credibility. I don't get why you choose to attack certain players or prospects but at least watch them play a little bit.

How many DH players can the Twins fit on the roster?

Did I miss a comment? Was that ball in LC catchable? We either need to hit much better or find some guys to catch the ball.

Both players need to show their best in the next two weeks. Injuries and blah performances won't work. I don't think the potential lockout has anything at all to do with whether a team is willing to call up a player. I just don't see that as an issue.