tony&rodney

Thank you for the great roundup of the minor league games. Kaelen Culpepper is hitting everything hard. I know he is only at AA but I wonder if he can be plugged in to the Twins lineup in a similar fashion to how the LA Angels promoted Neto and Moore. Hopefully, Culpepper does get some time with St. Paul in August. Brandon Winokur is a special athlete. There is no doubt he needs plenty of work on his swing and pitch recognition. He may take next year at AA and then another full year at AAA after that before he is ready for the majors. Still, he is really fun to watch. Thank you for including the highlight of the double play. People who wonder about his speed and athleticism can see it on display there. Winokur comes from deep in the hole, deftly grabs the ball, gets his footwork in sync, and fires a BB to first base. There are questions about his hitting but Winokur can play a high quality CF or SS in the majors right now.

Bobby Bonds (father of Barry Bonds, the player who was tested more times than any MLB player ever and never tested positive) was never associated with steroids. Give a little credit to his son who either beat the system or was innocent. Perhaps Barry found something better. Also, always remember that it was Bud Selig who rewarded and thus ultimately drove the usage of steroids. Also remember that David Ortiz, who failed tests, is in the Hall of Fame. The media can be very powerful.

Great comment. MLB teams cannot operate with fear. I'll add that Tampa Bay also lost a guy who was their best player for no return due to that player's youthful ignorance (Wander Franco). I have been stunned by the Twins total failure to reimagine the roster each of the last two years. I sat 10 feet from Dusty Baker and thought as I watched .... the Twins are 2-3 trades away from being a good team. There weren't any players available in free agency unless you believed that Judge or Soto would sign with the Twins. Now, I'm wondering if the Twins even have any substantial conversations with other front offices regarding potential tranactions. Trevor Richards type deals and Bader/France signings aren't an answer. I'm in need of help in understanding how folks can watch Wallner in the outfield and not see that his defense is the equal or worse than what we saw from Julian at second base. Perhaps I'm being too rough on those two but the defense in general is subpar as is the base running and situational hitting. These flaws can only be solved through roster moves and trading with other teams is needed. The Twins don't have any untouchables.

Jax must be highly sought after by several teams. Listen to the offers and bite only if delicious. Starting? That was clearly an offseason decision .... that ship has sailed. Soon, before August most likely, the Twins will have Matthews back and perhaps Ober. The Twins waited too long to find a buyer for Paddack.

Tampa Bay for 3 games followed by the Cubs for 3 games could have easily been an 0-6 line. The Twins played some of their best baseball of the season. Skenes is no picnic on Friday night, but the Twins have a good opportunity to roll into the All Star Game break with some positive vibes.

The bottom line remains .... How does another team value Joe Ryan in terms of completing a transaction to reel him in? I mentioned Nick Kurtz and Jackson Holliday in other posts. Those will not happen. Someone mentioned a requirement of both Anthony and Mayer from Boston. That will not happen either. I'm intrigued by the Dodgers and what they might offer, but perhaps they are more focused on a relief pitcher or bats. If the Twins can gather talent that will play, they need to assess the situations. The poor outfield play was on display today as was the lack of speed and hitting. This needs to be addressed in some manner. Maybe Keaschall and Culpepper make a difference. Maybe a trade occurs. Right now the Twins have Ryan, Festa, Woods Richardson, and Paddack as starting pitchers with Lopez, Matthews, and Ober returning at some point, perhaps before August 1. We all know that there is no such thing as too much pitching. Nevertheless, at some point, either through rookies promoted or players acquired the Twins will absolutely need to escape their current condition as described so aptly by chpettit19 in the comment above. It isn't going to hurt the Twins to find trading partners for most or all of Paddack, Vazquez, France, Bader, Larnach, and Castro. Obviously, some of the returns will be light. The Twins should listen on every player. While the most optimal time to trade is in November or December, anything that improves the talent should be welcome.

Totally different players but Wallner seems like he has carried his plate appearances into the field very similar to Julien.

We are watching why too many of the players are strictly platoon bats.

I don't think payroll budget will be an issue next year. There will likely be less veteran types around unless on France or Coulombe level contracts. I do not expect the Twins to pay reserves or back-end starters the salaries received by Paddack, Vazquez, Castro, or Bader. Even with raises, the Twins should be around the same number, roughly $147M, next year. The issue will be if ownership wants to get below $120M. The ownership-front office discussions should be ongoing and this may influence trade discussions. Correa and Buxton have no trade contracts. I don't see them going anywhere. Ryan is the topic here because of his All Star status, but players like Jeffers, Lewis, Larnach, Lopez, Ober, Duran, and Jax come into the conversation if payroll is an issue. In any event the Twins do have options if they seek to make some changes to the roster. Change happens and it can be a positive thing.

The Twins are below .500. They are well behind the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central. The Twins are not currently a young team. They are still among the weaker teams defensively and they have the slowest team in all of baseball. In consideration of these factors all options must be on the table and absolutely no player in the organization is untouchable. The return, however, for a starting pitcher like Joe Ryan MUST be fantastic and not merely speculative. That will be extremely difficult to pull off.

That was pretty much my point, although the Dodgers could force the hand. Baltimore isn't going anywhere until they find pitching and the Athletics are in the same predicament. No way those trades happen, but those are the types of players I want. FWIW, I suggested trading Lewis in November of 2023. I didn't ever think Lewis was in the superstar category. I'm ready to eat crow and very hopeful for Lewis still. I just don't see him meeting expectations.

The offers would need to come to our front office. Agree that conversations around prospects are not very conducive to 2025 or 2026, which is why I mention players like Kurtz and Holliday, players not likely available. I do think the Dodgers can potentially be persuasive. I'm in favor of keeping Ryan, but I'm also listening to all offers.

The Twins do have an opportunity to get back in the Wc race. Despite the inconsistent and often poor play, there is a lot of baseball left on the schedule. Although I doubt it is under consideration, I have wondered if Kaelen Culpepper is an option this year. He has been hitting the ball hard all year.

Add my voice to those who appreciate a seeming slight change in play. Wonder where or why this hustle and using all options to win was previously?

McCusker went into a total dive after the Twins sent him back to St. Paul. It was, undoubtedly, a humbling experience. Nevertheless, Carson remains a force that the Saints look to for runs. Watching McCusker, he has problems laying off some sliders and has some swing and miss. Pitchers are very careful though with him, more so than any other batter I have seen in minor league games. A slight issue is that it seems the strike zone is a couple inches lower and a couple more inches higher for McCusker. He already has the largest zone in baseball. I also cannot remember him challenging a call, although he may have. It was wonderful watching him crank out that missile last night and run the bases in such an old fashioned manner. The Saints were lost against the Iowa pitchers and then .... victory in one swing. Fun player to watch.

Trade Joe Ryan? That totally depends on the return. The heavy pile of prospects type of deal would indeed signal a complete rebuild. I'm looking at the organization and wondering what return is needed to plug holes. Nick Kurtz for Joe Ryan would solve first base. Jackson Holliday would be a good second baseman to roster. Cam Smith and a couple of others from Houston might be reasonable. The Dodgers? I want all of Dalton Rushing, Emmet Sheehan, River Ryan, and Zyhir Hope. I don't think Duran is enough. The Cubs, Mets, Yankees, or some others lack the right pieces. I don't expect the Twins to trade Joe Ryan unless the return is far better than some of the prospects named in the article. No player is untouchable but if a team wants a playoff Game 1/7 starter, pay the price.

I have questioned whether Royce Lewis was healthy when he returned on this site. Royce looked off balance and slow in his rehab games with St. Paul. Tonight, Lewis looked good running the bases .... the best he has looked all year. He also looked solid at the plate in his long fly out to right field. This could be good for the Twins. I will quibble and say Royce has to catch that throw from Correa for the force-out and he should know to go home instead of trying for a double play on a fast runner. Still, pleased to see RL look better all around and seemingly healthier.

The challenge system is Manfred playing games again. If MLB is totally solid on the technology to call balls and strikes accurately all the time, use it. I'm fine with the umpires until such time as the technology is ready to work full time. Why use a system part time if it is superior to the current system? I watch too many minor league games and the umpires sometimes get a little testy when there are multiple successful challenges in an inning. Eventually teams run out of challenges and then we see some sloppy calls which cannot be challenged. Use ABS or don't - the challenge system is lame.

Joe Ryan has value and the talk would need to be guys like Jackson Holliday, Nick Kurtz, and that type. Pitchers are incredibly unpredictable but guys like Ryan seem to have the types of arms that are good for several years, which is hard to find. The last couple of games versus a very good Cubs offense gives fans a glimpse of how Woods Richardson, Festa, and Matthews can be important pitchers now and going forward. The injuries to Lopez, Matthews, and Ober tell us that pitching is tough to accumulate. After watching Kaelen Culpepper this summer, I'm wondering whether the Twins could elevate him in the practice of the LA Angels, calling up college draftees who look mature and capable of taking care of themselves.

Hard to add catchers during the season. This feels like a conversation for November. Nevertheless, I'll throw out some names - Christian Vazquez, Griffin Jax, and Emmanuel Rodriguez for Dalton Rushing, Emmet Sheehan, and River Ryan. Seems balanced enough.

Lewis moving as well as he has all year. Good news. Sweet hit too.

Royce needs to hit to cover up for his defense.

What has impressed me about Sabato this year is how he never seems to get all juiced trying to pull the ball or crush home runs. His swing is (seemingly) quicker and to all fields. Having said that I have not looked at the data but have watched him at the plate a fair amount.

There are opportunities. The question is how aggressive and at what cost do the Twins pursue players? The Dodgers could use all of Stewart, Bader, Castro, and Paddack but won't want all of them. What can be pried loose from LAD? Emmet Sheehan and/or River Ryan? Add pieces to push for Dalton Rushing? The Rays could use Bader and Stewart and I like the OBP and glove of Tre' Morgan. Milwaukee could use an infielder and a relief pitcher. I'm asking what needs to go their way for Jeferson Quero. There are opportunities. Bader, Castro, Paddack, and Coulombe should have some value to other teams.

Emmanuel is an interesting prospect, one who gathers widely divergent views and expected outcomes from various people. Value is strictly according to another team's viewpoint. EmRod probably has 3 times the value of Royce Lewis right now but those evaluations change continually. The bottom line is always the return for any player. I would think that Trevor Larnach has quite a bit of value, both to the Twins and to many other teams. Wallner is cold at the moment, but he is pretty much a similar player with more potential power. Seems like the Twins should find a team that offers a useful player for one of the two big left-handed hitters.