Hans Birkeland

Image courtesy of © Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images Box Score: Starting Pitcher: Bailey Ober: 4 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K (56 Pitches, 37 Strikes, 66 %) Home Runs: Royce Lewis (2) Bottom 3 WPA: Mick Abel (-0.59), Matt Wallner (-0.17) Byron Buxton (-0.15) Win Probability Chart (Via FanGraphs): The Twins entered the third game of the new season with a chance to take two of three games from the Orioles in Baltimore. The bats have been predictably inept thus far, but the pitching had been decent, and the team managed to manufacture four runs despite just four hits in Saturday's 4-1 win. On Sunday, Bailey Ober took the mound looking to fight back against allegations that he is "cooked," working with lower velocity, struggling to reach 90 MPH in spring training, and coming off a brutal 2025 season. He shied away from the fastball early, throwing a barrage of changeups and sweepers to keep the Orioles hitters off balance, inducing numerous grounders and pop-ups. The fastball didn't return to his 2023-2024 peak by any means, but the exit velocities were low, and he was efficient early. The Twins hitters were up against Shane Baz, who has been a hot prospect for approximately 15 years, first sent to the Rays in the Tyler Glasnow and Austin Meadows-for-Chris Archer trade of 2017. He was dealt to Baltimore this winter and signed a five-year, $68-million contract extension this week, a big bet on his potential despite just one healthy season in his five years in the big leagues. He throws hard and has a wicked breaking ball. He showed his upside in a 1-2-3 first inning, including two weak fly outs from Kody Clemens and Luke Keaschall and a challenged strike three call to Byron Buxton that was upheld. The Twins got to work in the second inning, however. Matt Wallner roped a single to center, Josh Bell was hit by a pitch, and Victor Carratini checked in with his second hit as a Twin. The much-maligned Trevor Larnach bounced a ball to the hole between first and second, reaching an infield single to score the game's first run. Royce Lewis then got ahead in the count before striking out looking for Baz's 99-MPH fastball; it was a well-located 92-MPH cutter instead. No matter, Tristan Gray was up next and clobbered a 107-MPH double to right, clearing the bases and giving the Twins a surprising 4-0 lead. Gray, 30, is a journeyman who has shown some power in the minors but hasn't gotten much run in the big leagues. If the Twins are planning to outperform logic and reason this year and actually compete, it will take a couple of Willi Castro-style success stories to provide the necessary variance. Maybe Gray can be that. Who knows? Ober took that four-run lead into the fourth inning, but the Orioles were ready for him the second time through the lineup. Pete Alonso singled, as did Samuel Basallo. The hulking Tyler O'Neill then worked the count to 3-1 before unloading on an 88.8-MPH fastball at the top of the zone from Ober. His 391-foot blast cut the Twins' lead to one run. Baz struggled with his command in his tragic second inning, but otherwise was sharp with his knuckle-curve, tying Twins hitters into knots. The most the Twins could muster were bloop doubles from Bell, Larnach and Buxton in the fourth and fifth innings, but Bell was cut down unnecessarily trying to advance on a grounder to short in the fourth, and Buxton overran second base and was caught trying to scamper back in the fifth. Mick Abel made his 2026 debut in the bottom of the fifth, a major yin to Ober's yang. He began by striking out Jeremiah Jackson on a challenge fastball and dotting another 97-MPH fastball on the corner to catch Taylor Ward looking (after a nice ABS challenge by Caratini). The sixth was more of a struggle, as Abel was unable to put away numerous Orioles hitters with two strikes, letting O'Neill come back from 0-2 to draw a walk; getting ahead of Coby Mayo before allowing a bloop double; and seeing Dylan Beavers rope a 3-2 changeup into right field for a two-run double to flip the game. That lead would not last long, as Royce Lewis jumped all over a breaking ball from Yaramil Hiraldo, launching a 377-foot home run to tie the game. He'd also given the Twins the lead in Saturday's tilt with a two-run blast. That WPA is looking pretty good early on. Perhaps a bit shaken by that, Hiraldo proceeded to walk the bases loaded for Wallner, who showed there is something worse than a typical strikeout in 2026: a strikeout where you challenge the call on an obvious strike, costing your team the ability to challenge the rest of the game. That proved costly right away, as Abel walked Gunnar Henderson in the bottom half of the inning on a clear strike to put two men on with no outs following a Ward single. Alonso then poked a single just over Keaschall's outstretched glove to reclaim the lead. Adley Rutschman delivered a pinch-hit double off the wall in dead center field to further the unraveling. The Twins didn't quit, at least. Bell walked and Caratini singled against righty Tyler Wells to bring the tying run to the plate, but that tying run was James Outman. He walked somehow, which brought up Lewis—who struck out on a high change. Gray then singled up the middle to keep the line moving and add to his legend. Clemens struck out, bringing up Buxton with two down to face old friend Yennier Cano. It was a lengthy battle, but Buxton ended up swinging over the top of that patented sinker Cano throws to end the inning. Running on fumes, Abel was brought back for the eighth and allowed a single and a walk, bailed out by Blaze Alexander getting caught stealing by Caratini. Anthony Banda was finally brought in to face Henderson with one on and one out. He was able to retire Henderson on a fielder's choice, then caught him taking off early from first to end the frame. Keaschall led off the ninth against All-Star closer Ryan Helsley with a single, but the rally fizzled from there, despite a Henderson fielding error. Things to Watch: -Brooks Lee sat in favor of Gray after starting the year 0-6 with three strikeouts. -Trevor Larnach made his second straight start in left field, as Twins manager Derek Shelton has shown his preference early on is to have Josh Bell DH against righties with Clemens at first base. I question the defensive upgrade of DH-ing Larnach over Bell, since Clemens could conceivably play a better left field than Larnach, but what do I know? -Abel began warming up in the top of the fourth, with Ober having not had much trouble to that point. That invited the question of how much the Twins trust Ober even when he is "cruising." Was the intention to get Abel some work with all the early-season off days, or is Ober getting the Simeon Woods RIchardson treatment, i.e., not being trusted to go through a lineup more than twice? On that note, Abel was allowed to stay in the game and take a beating, throwing 71 pitches over his three innings, allowing multiple runs in two of those. With the game hanging in the balance, it was a little surprising a fresh reliever was not brought in for the seventh, and again when Abel got into trouble that inning. But wait, there was more! Abel came out to start the eighth for some reason, his velocity dropping down to 94 MPH with the fastball. He didn't get anyone out outside the caught stealing, and ended up with twelve baserunners allowed in 3 1/3 innings. -Josh Bell reached four times with two doubles. He runs hot and cold, so it's nice to see him coming out of the gates getting results. -Austin Martin pinch-hit for Larnach in the sixth, and was pinch-hit for by Outman in the eighth. This could be Shelton getting cute with the logic of playing the platoons and improving his left field defense more as the game went on. The problem is that Outman can't hit, and are we even sure Outman is an upgrade defensively at this point? What’s Next: The Twins head to Kansas City for the first time in 2026 with Simeon Woods RIchardson (7-4, 4.04 ERA in 2025) opposing Kris Bubic (8-7, 2.55 ERA). SWR finished 2025 on a high note, perfecting his new splitter and showing the ability to put away hitters for the first time in his career on a consistent basis. Bubic was dominant for Kansas City, with nasty stuff from the left side, his only weakness being health, never surpassing 130 IP in his six years in the majors. Postgame Interviews: (Coming soon) Bullpen Usage Chart: WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Abel 0 0 0 0 81 81 Topa 0 18 0 12 0 30 Funderburk 0 17 0 13 0 30 Orze 0 0 0 21 0 21 Banda 0 0 0 15 3 18 Sands 0 0 0 16 0 16 Rogers 0 10 0 0 0 10 Laweryson 0 0 0 0 0 0 Kent 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

Image courtesy of © Eric Hartline-Imagn Images Box Score: Starting Pitcher: Simeon Woods Richardson: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K (81 Pitches, 58 Strikes, 71.6%) Home Runs: None Bottom 3 WPA: Christian Vázquez (-.236), James Outman (-.233), Génesis Cabrera (-.189) Win Probability Chart (Via FanGraphs): Well, the nightmare is finally over. Or maybe it's just beginning? Either way, the Twins had a chance to take a series against the Phillies in Philadelphia, against a team that had lost just three home series all year to this point. Of course, with yesterday's loss, the Phillies had absolutely nothing to play for, with Milwaukee clinching the top seed in the National League. They had their de facto ace, Cristopher Sánchez, pitching in his final tune-up for Game 1 of the NLDS Saturday, and he looked the part, not throwing a single ball until the third inning, 22 pitches in. Sánchez is a dominant pitcher, throws left-handed, and the Twins lineup (absent Byron Buxton, Matt Wallner and Luke Keaschall) was never going to have any answers. The Twins also were battling the Pirates for the second-best odds for the number one pick in next year's draft, one game "better" than Pittsburgh at 70-91. Simeon Woods Richardson took the ball for the visitors, and looked similar to what he has shown since his return from the IL in August: throwing strikes, sitting 93-95 with his fastball and baffling hitters with his newish split-changeup. He struck out nine while only allowing a cue-shot single from Bryson Stott over six dominant innings. He had more strikeouts against the Yankees in his other recent gem, but that was a New York team with major jet lag. Today may have been his best showing of the year; the Phillies had absolutely no solution for him. Sanchez left after 5 2/3 innings, having allowed two hits while striking out eight. The second he left, with no runners on in the sixth, Lou Trivino proceeded to walk Austin Martin, who would score on a sharp double off the bat of Ryan Jeffers for the game's first run. The 1-0 lead would hold until the eighth inning, when Génesis Cabrera served up a game-tying home run to (who else?) old friend Max Kepler. Extra innings ensued, and the Twins quickly went down 1-2-3 against Philly right-hander Orion Kerkering. Weston Wilson got his bunt down in the Phillies half, and Nick Castellanos hit a fly ball deep enough to win the game off Cody Laweryson. Other trends I'm tracking: Woods Richardson is starting to look like a building block, and will play a big part of any gutted, low-expectations team somehow managing to contend next year. If you heed the recent words of Cory Provus, and the Twins see Pablo López and Byron Buxton traded, then the 2026 rotation would be Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Woods Richardson, Zebby Matthews and Taj Bradley, with Connor Prielipp, Mick Abel and Andrew Morris around for some depth (assuming David Festa isn't able to return next year). That's no 2011 Phillies rotation, but this version of Woods Richardson significantly improves that calculus and perhaps the returns on a hypothetical López and/or Buxton trade supplement it further. I also personally like the idea of having Abel replace Jhoan Duran as the closer—if only to make the trade look like a win within a year, while Eduardo Tait marinates in the minors. The lineup has high upside guys on the way, as well, but they also have to hit right away, and that has not been a trend for young Twins hitters in recent years. Royce Lewis was a little better in the second half this year, but still posted just a .289 OBP in that time. He hit 11 second-half home runs, played good defense and stole 12 bases, but that is a far cry from the Kirby Puckett comparisons he garnered just 24 months ago. Trevor Larnach made a pinch-hit appearance, delivered a chopper turned double, and then was lifted for a pinch-runner. I'm probably in the minority on this, but I think Larnach gets better as he becomes an older hitter. He hits too many ground balls, but he doesn't go into many major slumps and can hit a ball 450 feet at a moment's notice. Through the lens of him being a first-round draft pick who was supposed to hit 30 bombs and bat .275, he's a bit of a bust. Through the lens of a guy who has had two straight solid years with the bat and who can improvise and battle against tough pitchers, I do kind of like him as a platoon bat. The defense has been pretty rough, though. James Outman and Brock Stewart, what a trade. Austin Martin and Woods Richardson: the roller coaster of this trade for José Berríos is maybe at its high point, with Berríos shifting to the bullpen for the Blue Jays' playoff run. We wanted a leadoff hitter and number-three starter out of that trade, and although it took a while, we may just have it. What’s Next: The Pohlads trim payroll to 75M. The front office will trade Buxton and López, acquiring three more post-hype prospects with big-league experience. The Pohlads release a statement using the Chat GPT prompt "deliver a message to the fans of our baseball team that conveys that we know more than them, if you had any brains you would cut payroll too, then use a bunch of corporate jargon to describe absolutely nothing while totaling over 250 words. Say something about like community and tradition or something." Baldelli is retained as manager, and the team makes one free agent signing: reliever Kyle Finnegan for one year and $5 million. Season ticket holder figures are revealed to have been cooked by including deceased fans of the old Washington Senators. Derek Falvey calls it an accounting error, while expressing "optimism about our group." Matt Wallner is visited by the ghosts of Richie Sexson, Adam Dunn and Dave Kingman, and becomes even more predictable. Due to a baserunning error on a home run, he becomes the first hitter in league history to hit more home runs than he has RBIs. Aaron Gleeman bursts a blood vessel defending him, while insisting it's just a bit and he's totally chill. Postgame Interviews Coming soon Bullpen Usage Chart WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Adams 16 0 30 0 9 55 Funderburk 0 14 0 31 0 45 Ohl 0 20 0 22 0 42 Cabrera 11 0 12 0 17 40 Sands 0 12 0 0 11 23 Laweryson 12 0 0 0 6 18 Misiewicz 0 0 0 0 15 15 Tonkin 0 0 11 0 0 11 View full article

I want him to be Gene Larkin so bad!

Image courtesy of © Matt Blewett-Imagn Images Box Score: Starting Pitcher: Simeon Woods Richardson: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K (80 Pitches, 47 Strikes, 58.8%) Home Runs: Brooks Lee (16), Royce Lewis (13) Top 3 WPA: Lee (.365), Lewis (.170), Pierson Ohl (.095) Win Probability Chart (Via FanGraphs): If you still needed proof that the Guardians simply play a better brand of baseball than anything the Twins could possibly approximate, this series provided it. Guardians pitchers know exactly what Twins hitters are trying to do and countered them perfectly, and Guardians hitters are similarly inside the heads of Twins pitchers. It helps that they are the hottest team in baseball and about to complete one of the greatest division comebacks in recent memory. Well, not so fast. The Twins threw their hottest pitcher, Simeon Woods Richardson, at them today. That immediately went south, like (seemingly) everything these days. Steven Kwan got a fastball to his liking and smoked it 373 feet to begin the game 1-0. George Valera, who among Guardians fans ranked in the Jose Miranda/Edouard Julien space in terms of being just a massive, useless bust that wouldn't amount to anything just a few months ago, was hitting second, and walked. He reached third on a Kyle Manzardo single; Bo Naylor hit a sacrifice fly to bring him home and double the lead. Classic Guardians. Twins hitters had to contend with Joey Cantillo, who struck out nine the last time he faced them. During that game, Cantillo was actually rocked pretty hard, before settling in and reverting back to dominance. He looked good again today, outside of allowing a bloop double to Byron Buxton and a subsequent RBI single to Kody Clemens in the third. Woods Richardson kept the Guardians off the board the rest of the way, and in the sixth (following a double from Luke Keaschall), Brooks Lee launched a 411-foot home run to flip the game and give the Twins the lead. This came after Guardians manager Stephen Vogt chose to take out his lefty, Erik Sabrowski, to flip Lee to his "weaker" side with Matt Festa. It's weird when a strategy backfires against Cleveland. They always seem to have a horseshoe handy. This time, they got kicked. Strategy backfired again for Vogt in the seventh. Following a Clemens squibber and another infield single from Austin Martin, Royce Lewis was called upon to hit for Trevor Larnach against lefty Tim Herrin with two outs. Vogt called for his setup man, Hunter Gaddis, and Lewis made him pay, jumping all over the fourth straight slider of the at-bat and launching it 402 feet to extend the lead to 6-2. Lewis seemed pretty pumped: Kody Funderburk, Pierson Ohl, Cole Sands and Travis Adams pitched scoreless frames to seal the win. Other tidbits from this game: Remember when Ron Gardenhire batted Nick Punto second? I've been trying to find the logic behind the Guardians insisting on hitting their worst hitters in the number two spot in the lineup. Will Brennan and Amed Rosario have been assigned this duty in the past, and during this series, we've seen Daniel Schneeman and the aforementioned Valera in that spot. My theory on why teams like the Guardians and Brewers have done so well lately is that their analytics have gotten so advanced that they've moved past the need for some of them and are able to exploit other teams' over-reliance on said analytics. Perhaps there is an element of human psychology in putting a crappy hitter between Kwan and José Ramírez? Here are my best guesses: A bad hitter is 100% okay with giving himself up, either by sacrificing himself or by taking pitches without being concerned about falling behind in the count. That gives Kwan a couple of chances to steal a base if needed. Teams that game plan to focus entirely on Kwan and Ramírez might take the number two hitter for granted, especially if he has crappy numbers. The hitter prepares as if that is the case and waits for a fat pitch he can swing out of his shoes at. If he doesn't get it, it's no big deal; no one expects him to do anything anyway. How many clutch home runs have we seen the Quad-A Brennan hit over the years? Far too many. The ability to pinch-hit in the later innings is there. Jhonkensy Noel is always lurking, and being able to pinch-hit him late in the game has proven to be a winning formula. Not having to take a good player out in order to do so is the icing on the cake. Is Ryan Fitzgerald making a case for a role next year? Fitzgerald famously took forever to make his major-league debut, and even when the Twins brought him up after the fire sale, he wasn't playing much. But he has made the most out of limited opportunities, played decent defense, hit a few nice homers and has an .800-plus OPS to show for it. Brooks Lee certainly has more present upside, but the Twins aren't long on guys who can play competently at third, short and second and who possess a bat that isn't a pool noodle. Then again, if Lee doesn't amount to anything, maybe FItzgerald is one of those guys who figures something out after they turn 30. Maybe not José Bautista style, but maybe he can be a poor man's Scott Brosius? SWR: 2026 Ace of Staff? Stay with me here: If Joe Ryan and Pablo López are traded away, and Bailey Ober requires surgery to fix a hip labrum or something, I don't think the Twins have a starter more accustomed to getting big-league hitters out than Woods Richardson. His splitter is still new, and might get better. On that note, the Guardians really didn't swing at his splitter at all, and still couldn't score in innings two through five. Of course, the start against New York last week lingers in our minds and paints the righty in a better light, but he threw by far the best out of the starters against Cleveland, a team that cannot be denied. He's just been good since his recall (outside of that crazy parasite that sidelined him in August). The splitter plays, and with a newfound ability to miss bats, he might be a breakout candidate for 2026. Edouard Julien: Not that Bad? Stay with me again: Julien hasn't been particularly impressive, but he is striking out less than he ever has, his BABIP is the lowest of his career, and he hasn't seemed as overmatched as he looked earlier in the year. His batted-ball metrics indicate more of an average hitter than the black hole his surface-level stats would imply. He had competitive at-bats today. Maybe learning the league a little more has had an impact on a guy who does tend to get down on himself. If he is a .230/.330/.420 guy, that isn't the worst player to have at the end of your bench. I also think a confident Julien can act as something of a mascot for the team, a little like Bartolo Colón or José Iglesias. What’s Next: The Twins are off Monday, before heading to Arlington, Texas to play the fading Rangers. Zebby Matthews (4-6, 5.97 ERA) takes the ball. He was absolutely awful his last time out against the Yankees. Whether he was tipping pitches is irrelevant, because he was throwing batting practice against a New York team eager to make amends after getting shut out the night before. The Rangers were showing some life in August, but are now losers of six in a row and all but mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. Their starter hasn't yet been announced. Postgame Interviews: Coming soon Bullpen Usage Chart: WED THU FRI SAT 1 SAT2 SUN TOT Abel 0 0 0 0 71 0 71 Sands 15 0 25 0 0 20 60 Hatch 0 0 0 52 0 0 52 Funderburk 10 0 20 0 0 14 44 Adams 14 0 0 0 0 14 28 Cabrera 23 0 0 0 0 0 23 Ohl 13 0 0 0 0 9 22 Laweryson 0 0 20 0 0 0 20 Tonkin 0 0 17 0 0 0 17 View full article

Image courtesy of © Matt Blewett-Imagn Images Box Score: Starting Pitcher: Bailey Ober: 6 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 9 K (101 Pitches, 71 Strikes) Home Runs: Matt Wallner (22), Mickey Gasper (2) Bottom 3 WPA: Ober (-.201), Carson McCusker (-.159), Matt Wallner (-.148) Win Probability Chart (Via FanGraphs): It's roster evaluation season in Minnesota! (Also yard waste collection season. Coincidence?) The Twins welcomed the Arizona Diamondbacks to Target Field, and after a fairly exciting first two games, they had a chance to take a series against a team fighting for a playoff spot. Bailey Ober made the start and carried over some of the swing-and-miss success from his last outing against Kansas City, striking out nine over six solid innings. His velocity once again peaked at 91 MPH, and outside of James McCann, who destroyed the Twins in a similar point of the year in 2024, he kept the desert denizens thirsty. The Diamondbacks have some excellent hitters, but it was the backup catcher, McCann, who singled in the game's first run in the second, and delivered a two-out, three-run homer in the fourth to give Arizona the lead. Hopefully, the Twins front office doesn't get enamored with that dominance and sign McCann on for significant at-bats in 2026. There are worse catchers out there, but Ryan Jeffers deserves to put up numbers in his walk year. (Of course, if Jeffers is traded, that calculus may change. And heck, they need a backup for him, either way.) Outside of McCann, Ober had six scoreless innings and two hits allowed. We're researching the feasibility of a rule change to disallow one hitter in the opposing lineup each day; we'll update you ASAP. The early offense from the Twins was mostly thanks to Arizona prospect Jordan Lawlar, long considered a can't-miss guy who has mostly missed over parts of three seasons. In the second, Royce Lewis delivered a one-out single, and with two outs and Lewis on second after a steal, Mickey Gasper grounded to Lawlar, who was (perhaps) screened by Lewis and booted the ball. After Edouard Julien laced a single to left that scored Lewis, Byron Buxton chopped a ball to Lawlar, who had to rush the throw and committed a throwing error, allowing the second run to score. Gasper hit a homer, and the rest of the lineup kept the pressure on, but the bullpen couldn't give them any margin for error, as they allowed runs in the seventh and eighth innings. The Twins had a chance in their half of the eighth, with Carson McCusker pinch-hitting against a lefty with the bases loaded, but he would ground out to end the threat. They loaded the bases in the ninth, as well, but Wallner flied out to end it. Since it's all made up and the games don't matter, here are some other things I'm tracking: Buxton's pursuit of 30/30, or 25/25, or just having a nice, healthy year: Buxton was in swing mode, making an out on the first pitch in the first, and chopping a reached-on-error on the first pitch in the second. He fought a bit more in the fifth, but ended up striking out on a changeup from starter Nabil Crismatt. I wonder where his mind is at, knowing the team is going nowhere and may purposely get worse over the offseason. He has figured out a way to stay healthy-ish, and I wonder if he is doing himself a disservice with admirable levels of loyalty to an organization that deserves no loyalty whatsoever. I just feel like if he played for the Phillies, he could have some great October moments. It is such a shame that he has played on four playoff teams and been healthy for half of one game during the playoffs—injuring himself on a catch at wall in 2017, then being hurt for 2019, producing one of the most depressing playoff moments in Twins history in 2020 as he tried to play through a concussion, and then pinch-hitting on one leg in the elimination game against the Astros in 2023. Brooks Lee providing any optimism for his future: There have been plenty of instances of guys who come into the league and take a while to adjust on both sides of the ball, before settling in as a two- to three-WAR player. Lee has popped 14 homers, provided some clutch moments, and kept his head above water at shortstop. But that has come with bad numbers as far as defensive metrics, a sub-.300 OBP, and a somewhat sleepy disposition. Having said that, he has struggled initially at all minor-league levels, and it wouldn't surprise me if he started hot in 2026 and rides that into a .275/.330/.450 season with average defense. Would some sort of mechanical or mental adjustment make that sustainable? Or is his real skill level something like .250/.300/.380, with below-average but acceptable-looking defense? I don't think that plays on a winning team. But hey, we may not see a winning team for a year or two, anyway. Today, Lee had a weak ground out, a weak pop out and a strikeout, while making every play at shortstop. What is Matt Wallner? I was initially very skeptical about Wallner as certain media members frothed at the mouth about him taking the place of the incumbent right fielder in 2023. Said incumbent was one of the team's MVPs down the stretch, but Wallner surprised me with his ability to make some adjustments, bouncing back from brief slumps to post great rate stats down the stretch. He's been up and down since, but I still think Wallner can be a good hitter in the right situation. He just needs to learn how to Anthony Rizzo his way into messing with pitchers' plans against him. If he can find a way to get fooled and still flip a single the other way when behind in the count, he can develop into a real problem for pitchers—instead of a puzzle with an easy solution (fastball up, offspeed for chase). He has put up a fight against lefties, though, with a .794 OPS, including a battle in the last at-bat of the game. As it stands, the Twins are suddenly flush with high-upside Triple-A outfielders, with Gabriel Gonzalez, Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez all nearly ready for their shot. Wallner is still minimum-salaried for now, but he's set to turn 28 in December (right when Joey Gallo began his sharp decline). If the Twins aren't convinced he can be a reliable regular, they should trade him while his value still exists. He delivered a big home run today, cutting the deficit to 4-3 in the sixth inning with a 421-foot blast. What is Royce Lewis? Lewis took good at-bats today, delivering a rally-starting single, and has quietly been an above-average player in the second half, with a .764 OPS including 10 home runs and a .464 SLG. That's fine. If he can be a poor man's Matt Chapman, he'll have a long career. It just seemed, for a while, like he could be a Ryan Braun-caliber slugger who was able to stick at third. Now there seems to be some risk that he's a Ryan Braun-caliber personality who slugs like a shorstop. How good can Luke Keaschall be? Keaschall has done a little of everything. His fielding still leaves plenty to be desired, but he's hitting .310 with speed and a little power. I wonder if he thrives on adrenaline like Lewis, and once the shine wears off and he settles into the grind, he's more of a .270/.340/.420 type hitter. He has a sub-700 OPS for September after going 1-3 today, although he did steal a base, his 13th. What will the bullpen look like in 2026? The bullpen hasn't looked great since they traded five really good relievers at the trade deadline. Cole Sands has been pretty good, outside of a recent blowup, and Kody Funderburk has settled into a maybe-okay sixth-inning guy. The walk and strikeout numbers ain't pretty, though. I wonder if Mick Abel is being groomed as a potential option, given his high-octane stuff and struggles with control. Connor Prielipp and Marco Raya also are options at Triple A, but Raya has been pretty bad as a starter and Prielipp has had so many health issues since high school that it's hard to project him for anything. Perhaps Michael Fulmer is available on a minor-league deal? Today, handed a 4-3 deficit, Génesis Cabrera (probably the highest-upside of the waiver claims the Twins have shuttled into their bullpen) looked pretty bad again, allowing a run and not getting through his inning before Michael Tonkin came on in relief. Cabrera has a great name, and his stuff looks kinda nasty, but matching 17.4% strikeout and walk percentages are about as brutal as it gets. Tonkin stayed on and loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth, before settling down and allowing just one run. Thomas Hatch pitched the ninth, and didn't look great, falling behind hitters and allowing two hard hits, although his inning was scoreless. Also, check out the season Geraldo Perdomo is having for Arizona: 19 homers, a 132 OPS+, great shortstop defense, and 26 steals in 32 attempts (Hatch did pick him off). He also has an 11.2% strikeout percentage, and walks 13.2% of the time. He's in 2009 Ben Zobrist territory for under-the-radar great seasons. He also leads the NL with 6.3 bWAR. Imagine this team without its entire bullpen getting hurt! What’s Next: The Twins welcome the Yankees to Target Field Monday, as Simeon Woods Richardson (6-4, 4.58 ERA), takes on Carlos Rodón (16-8, 3.11 ERA). New York has been better lately, as they fight for playoff positioning. They have an outside shot at the division, 3.5 games back of Toronto. Rodón was hurt, bad and pouted during his first year in the Bronx, but has been pretty good since, and has owned the Twins since becoming a Yankee. Woods Richardson is looking to finish the year strong, as he auditions for a spot in the 2026 rotation. Postgame Interviews: Bullpen Usage Chart: WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Sands 18 0 21 26 0 65 Tonkin 0 0 20 0 19 39 Ohl 0 0 0 35 0 35 Funderburk 0 0 7 15 0 22 Cabrera 0 0 0 0 22 22 Laweryson 0 0 0 20 0 20 Adams 0 0 17 0 0 17 Hatch 0 0 0 0 17 17 View full article

Image courtesy of © Denny Medley-Imagn Images Box Score: Starting Pitcher: Bailey Ober: 5 1/3 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K (85 Pitches, 54 Strikes, 63.5%) Home Runs: Byron Buxton (30), Kody Clemens (16) Top 3 WPA: Ober (.206), Clemens (.144), Cole Sands (.097) Win Probability Chart (Via FanGraphs): It's a race to the bottom now for the Minnesota Twins. After a nice series win against the Padres, they got swept at home against the White Sox and lost the first two in Kansas City against the Royals. The way things stand, they have the second-best odds for the first pick in next year's draft—but hey, even if they got it, the Pohalds would probably try to sell it. Sunday's tilt featured Bailey Ober against Michael Lorenzen as the starting pitchers. Ober has been a tough story this year. His velocity has been down, at least partially due to a hip issue that appears to still be lingering, and he's allowed a truckload of home runs as a result. Lots of folks want him shut down for the year, but as a second-year arbitration guy, Ober surely has no designs on allowing that to happen. He showed it Sunday. While his velocity was down again (he exceeded 90 MPH just thrice), his changeup was the sharpest I've seen it in months. He played that off of his sweeper, which also played up a tick, and the result was tons of weak contact and even some swings and misses. The first inning featured two groundouts and a pop-up. Then, he struck out four of the next six hitters. His first baserunner reached in the fourth, in the form of a leadoff double from Mike Yaztrzemski. He even worked around that, with Matt Wallner making a nice catch in foul ground to retire Maikel García; a soft liner from Vinnie Pasquantino; and a strikeout of Salvador Perez on a sweeper to escape with no damage. The Twins played from out front, as Byron Buxton lifted off against a Lorenzen fastball at the top of the zone to make the game 1-0 after one batter. Lorenzen did look pretty sharp, and generally kept the ball under the bats of Twins hitters with his slider, sinker and changeup. He allowed a softly hit Royce Lewis double in the second, but Edouard Julien lined into a tough-luck double play to end the frame. After a quiet third inning, the Twins mounted a rally in the fourth. Austin Martin began the inning with a single, and Wallner produced a single of his own. That brought up Luke Keaschall in a spot to do damage, but the rookie second baseman grounded in a 5-3 double play to temporarily squelch the rally. Then, blessedly, Lorenzen left a changeup in the middle of the zone to Kody Clemens, who demolished it 451 feet to dead center field. Ober got the first two outs in the fifth quickly, before allowing a double to Nick Loftin. Kyle Isbel would then walk, which brought up waiver claim catcher Luke Maile. He battled Ober to a 2-2 count before swinging through an 88-MPH fastball to end the inning. The Royals would pay the next frame. Keaschall punched a one-out single to end Lorenzen's day, and after a steal of second, Lewis beat out an infield single. He appeared to get caught off of first base, but Keaschall darted home as Lewis got in a rundown and the throw home was late, allowing a fourth run to score while Julien stood at home plate. It was probably a designed play, and if so, Lewis and Keaschall executed brilliantly. Kansas City would chase Ober in the sixth. García hit a one-out double, and Pasquantino poked a single the other way to score the Royals' first run. Cole Sands came on to face Perez, and retired him on an easy ground ball double play. I wonder if Kansas City fans care that Perez doesn't run out ground balls, or is he just so slow that it just looks like he doesn't run them out? The Twins would add on in the seventh on a single, two walks and a hit by pitch against Daniel Lynch IV. Sands pitched a scoreless bottom half of the inning, including yet another double play—this time, a 5-4-3, including a great scoop at first by Clemens. The Royals threatened in the eighth against Kody Funderburk, even after leadoff hitter Isbel (who had reached on a hit by pitch) was successfully back-picked by Jhonny Pereda. Maile and Yaztrzemski singled, and García drew a walk after fouling a ball directly off his toe earlier in the at-bat. But Funderburk struck out Pasquantino, and Justin Topa came on to retire Perez on a grounder. Topa got the first two outs of the ninth before exiting due to what appeared to be a leg injury. Génesis Cabrera came on and recorded the save. Stray Observations: -Buxton left the game after being hit by a Lorenzen fastball on his left knee. He initially stayed in the game both to run and play center field in the bottom half of the inning, but exited in the bottom of the sixth in favor of James Outman. Buxton's career is truly a Greek tragedy: getting healthy and playing 100 games two years in a row only to have the team collapse around him, and now hitting his 30th home run only to exit with injury in the very same game. -I know some folks think because Wallner can consistently post decent OPS numbers he is infinitely undervalued, but it's 2025, not 2005, and I don't think there is anyone on the Twins who puts up less of a fight when the pitcher executes his plan. With him struggling lately, I also would love to see what a certain cherry-picking media member has to say if Larnach finishes with a higher OPS. -Jhonny Pereda ain't much, but he has two pick-offs in two starts this year, making a great scoop and throwing out Isbel at first in the eighth. -James Outman looks cooked. What’s Next: Simeon Woods Richardson (5-4, 4.53 ERA) takes the hill Monday, as the Twins head to Anaheim to take on Caden Dana and the Angels. Woods Richardson was pretty good his last time out, and will be making his third start since returning from dealing with an intestinal parasite (a literal one, not the figurative one you've been fighting since around the time this team's 13-game winning streak ended). The Angels are four games "behind" the Twins in the race to the bottom of the standings. Postgame Interviews: Coming soon Bullpen Usage Chart: WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Hatch 0 0 0 66 0 66 Topa 18 0 13 0 28 59 Funderburk 11 0 15 0 22 48 Sands 18 0 0 0 14 32 Adams 0 31 0 0 0 31 Cabrera 0 20 0 0 8 28 Tonkin 0 11 0 12 0 23 Ohl 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

for this bullpen yea

Image courtesy of © Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images Box Score: Starting Pitcher: Joe Ryan: 7 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K (104 Pitches, 75 Pitches, 72.1%) Home Runs: Byron Buxton (29) Top 3 WPA: Ryan (.276), Buxton (.180), James Outman (.050) Win Probability Chart (Via FanGraphs): As their listless, depressing season enters its final month, the Twins have given a surprising amount of fight to the division-leading Blue Jays and (now) the recently NL West-leading Padres. And, in a sentence I haven't been writing much lately, the Twins had the advantage on paper, with Joe Ryan taking the mound at home against a Padres team without the IL-bound Xander Bogaerts, running a bullpen game. The Twins went quietly in the first two innings against right-handed reliever David Morgan, but the Padres turned to lefty Kyle Hart to start the third. Austin Martin drew a one-out walk (his OBP is up to .363, in case you weren't paying attention), and Byron Buxton pulverized a 2-2 change-up on the outside edge for his career-high 29th home run. Ryan looked back to his old self after a few uncharacteristically rough outings, relying mainly on his fastball but keeping hitters honest with his offspeed stuff. He ran into a bit of trouble in the fourth following an error by Royce Lewis that allowed leadoff batter Manny Machado to reach. Ryan O'Hearn followed with a single, and you started to wonder if history was repeating itself. But Ryan rebounded to strike out Ramón Laureano (who has 22 homers and a .900 OPS?) and Gavin Sheets, before getting Jake Cronenworth to pop out weakly to end the threat. The Twins even decided to add on! After working ahead of Luke Keaschall 0-2, Hart plunked the Twins second baseman. Ryan Jeffers then worked a tough one-out walk against stud reliever Jeremiah Estrada, before James Outman lined a single into the gap to extend the lead to 3-0. Ryan worked a nine-pitch fifth inning, setting the Twins up to feast against new reliever Wandy Peralta in the bottom of the frame. Peralta's first pitch was driven to the right-center gap by Buxton, and only a fine play by Fernando Tatis Jr. prevented it from becoming a triple. Keaschall singled to bring home Buxton, Kody Clemens produced a sacrifice fly, and Royce Lewis singled up the middle to take the lead to six. Ryan walked Machado in the sixth and allowed a two-out hit to Laureano to put runners on the corners for Sheets, but the resurgent former White Sox flied out harmlessly to left to end the inning. He hung a breaking ball to Cronenworth to begin the seventh, and Cronenworth advanced to second on a grounder. Ryan was upset at a couple of borderline ball calls to Freddy Fermin before striking him out on a high fastball at 96 MPH. He battled Tatis, and eventually struck him out on 96 down the middle to complete his seven scoreless innings. Michael Tonkin took over for the eighth and worked a clean inning, but began the ninth by allowing a single to Sheets, hit Mason McCoy with a pitch and fell behind 3-0 to José Iglesias. Tonkin battled back against Iglesias to induce a grounder to Lewis at third, who stepped on the bag and fired to first for a nice double play. Fermin then doubled in McCoy to break the shutout. Another run would score before Tonkin finally sealed the game via flyout by Arraez, on his 37th pitch. Stray Observations: -I feel like so much is made of Martin's poor defense at every position he plays that we forget what he actually contributes offensively. He had a few good moments last year and kept his head above water, with a 90 OPS+. His slash line for 2025 now sits at .271/.363/.371. For all those clamoring for Luis Arraez to return, the Padres' first baseman sports a .282/.316/.386 line, for comparison. Martin can contribute on the base paths, too. It would be a weird DH profile, but this figures to be a weird team no matter what happens this offseason. -Today's game was broadcast on Roku, who curiously pair one team's color commentator with the other team's play-by-play analyst. It's pretty interesting to have someone calling the game who is plugged into the inner workings of the opponent, and having Cory Provus diplomatically explain the Twins to an innocent bystander is a pretty fun watch. The Twins seem to play on Roku a lot. What’s Next: The Twins welcome the White Sox to town for four games beginning Monday. Bailey Ober (4-7, 5.14 ERA) starts for the home nine, while Chicago will scrounge up someone from the minors after losing would-be starter Aaron Civale on waivers earlier Sunday. First pitch is at 1:10 PM CT. Postgame Interviews: Coming soon Bullpen Usage Chart: WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Abel 0 0 0 59 0 59 Tonkin 15 0 0 0 37 52 Kriske 0 0 0 44 0 44 Cabrera 11 0 0 31 0 42 Funderburk 18 0 23 0 0 41 Sands 17 0 17 0 0 34 Hatch 26 0 0 0 0 26 Topa 0 0 24 0 0 24 View full article

Image courtesy of © Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images Box Score Starting Pitcher: Taj Bradley: 5 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 1 BB, 1 K (88 pitches, 54 Strikes, 61.4%) Home Runs: None Bottom 3 WPA: Bradley (-.364), Luke Keaschall (-.035), Kody Clemens (-.033) Win Probability Chart (Via FanGraphs): It could have been an exciting weekend—almost as exciting as games could be, for a team that has gone in the tank. The Twins won a thriller on Friday, then had the debuts of Mick Abel and Taj Bradley to look forward to. Well, Abel got obliterated yesterday, and today, Bradley was even worse, at least at the start. He began by allowing a base hit to Mike Tauchman, followed by singles to Miguel Vargas and Kyle Teel, the latter scoring the game's first run. Eventually, Edgar Quero singled in two more, and there were no silver linings. Bradley couldn't locate his fastball and was hesitant to throw his splitter, which the White Sox hitters picked up on right away. His fastball has good velocity, but it's hittable, especially when the hitter knows it's coming. Bradley tried emphasizing his curveball a little more, but he missed the zone with it more times than not, and only got one swing and miss. Meanwhile, Twins hitters were up against Yoendrys Gomez, a journeyman swingman on his third team of the year. He looked good, though, sitting in the mid- to high 90s with a moving fastball. The Twins really had no answer for him, outside of a Trevor Larnach double in the first and an Austin Martin lineout in the fifth on which Luis Robert Jr. made a great diving play deep in the left-center gap. The bottom of the second inning began lineout-single-walk-single for Bradley, before the impressive rookie Colson Montgomery jumped all over a fastball on the inner half of the plate, making it a 7-0 game for what felt like the 13th game in a row. The third began with a single to Andrew Benintendi, but Bradley was bailed out with a double play off the bat of the next hitter, Chase Meidroth. He got out of that inning unscathed, and actually pitched a decent fourth inning, giving up fairly hard contact but retiring Tauchman, Vargas and Teel in order. His fastball started burning more edges, and he emphasized his secondary pitches early in counts, getting some weak contact and efficient outs. After throwing over 50 pitches in the first two innings, he finished the fifth at just 88 total. It's historically been hard to read a lot into a starting pitcher's performance against the White Sox, but they are getting a little more fun, with Teel, Quero, Vargas and Montgomery offering a legitimate glimmer of hope for the long-suffering Sox. They also seem to have rejuvenated Robert, who is hitting like a decent player again since the All-Star break. Bradley has historically struggled in the early innings, and he did legitimately look better as the game went on. But the hitters never made a dent against Gomez, drawing a couple of walks but otherwise playing into his hands. They worked counts at times, but in the few instances in which they actually made hard contact, the ball found Sox defenders' gloves. Gomez was done after a dribbler of a single from Byron Buxton in the fifth, finishing with four and two-thirds innings, allowing no runs on two hits while striking out six. Facing reliever (Brandon Eisert) in the sixth, Brooks Lee walked, and with two outs, Ryan Jeffers roped a double over the head of Tauchman in right field. Somehow, Lee barely made third base on the play. Is he really this slow? The metrics certainly think so, with a 16th-percentile sprint speed; it just doesn't seem like he's ever really sprinting. Even a slow runner should really score on a two-out double to the wall, though. Anyway, Royce Lewis struck out on three pitches to end the threat. Pierson Ohl finished the game with three solid innings, while a trio of Sox relievers kept the Twins lineup on silent mode. Stray Observations: -Pierson Ohl threw a couple more knuckleballs. I guess his search for a secondary pitch to complement his changeup has arrived at the gimmick stage. At least he understands the assignment for the stretch run with this team: do something interesting. -Luke Keaschall made two errors. One came on a relay throw that flew over Edouard Julien's head; the second was a booted ground ball. Hopefully, this is not the start of a trend. He did record a double and a walk to keep his OPS above .900. His fielding percentage is above that, too—for now. -Kody Clemens went 0-4, and although he has been a nice story, if he finishes the year with an OPS under .700, it becomes a little harder to justify handing him a roster spot for 2026. What’s Next: Joe Ryan (12-6, 2.77 ERA) takes on Max Scherzer (4-2, 3.60 ERA) as the Twins make their annual trek to Canada to take on the AL East-leading Blue Jays on Monday. Scherzer has been reborn into a serviceable starter once more at age 41, allowing just eight runs over his past five starts and going at least six innings in each turn. Ryan had one of his more regrettable starts last time out against the A's, and will be looking to bounce back against one of the best lineups in baseball. Postgame Interviews: Bullpen Usage Chart: WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Hatch 0 0 0 54 0 54 Topa 20 0 32 0 0 52 Ohl 0 0 0 0 46 46 Cabrera 20 0 17 0 0 37 Tonkin 0 32 0 0 0 32 Sands 17 0 14 0 0 31 Funderburk 7 0 21 0 0 28 Kriske 16 10 0 0 0 26 View full article

Image courtesy of © Matt Krohn- Imagn Images Box Score: Starting Pitcher: Thomas Hatch: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K (81 Pitches, 46 Strikes, 56.8%) Home Runs: Royce Lewis (6), Byron Buxton (25), Brooks Lee (12) Top 3 WPA: Lee (.182), Buxton (.157), Lewis (.127) Win Probability Chart (Via FanGraphs): Well, things have certainly taken a turn over the past week. A week ago, the Twins were playing inspired baseball (relative to how much talent was left on the roster). Fast-forward to today, and the team had lost five of the past six games, while their charming ownership group decided to pull the team off the market and sell an undisclosed amount of equity in the franchise in exchange for paying off the Pohlad's substantial debt. Fans who were heartened that, at least, the Pohlads would no longer be in charge after this dismal season were left looking for new coping strategies. I'm sure that can't feel great for the players, either. Nobody wants to play for the Pittsburgh Pirates 2.0. They lost the first three games of a four-game set against the Detroit Tigers, from whom they took a road series a week and a half ago. And if they could have lost four out of those three, they would have. Today, all the Twins had to throw at the Tigers was fungible waiver claim and swingman Thomas Hatch. Hatch has shown some gumption, to his credit, but his low-90s sinker-cutter combo can only survive for so long—or so it would seem. He looked good at the start, including an impressive strikeout of Barry Kerry Carpenter on a biting cutter, and catching Spencer Torkelson looking on a nice two-seamer to end the first. The second inning began with a walk and a single, before Javier Báez rapped into an easy double play and Trey Sweeney eventually flied out to end the threat. Royce Lewis hit his first home run at Target Field this year in the bottom of the inning, teeing off against old friend Chris Paddack, who is just trying to give the Tigers innings at this point. Paddack would work his way out of that inning, but in his Jekyll-and-Hyde season, he would prove to be the latter this afternoon. Hatch allowed a ringing double to Colt Keith in the third, and after Carpenter singled him home, one had thoughts that perhaps another jaunt through Detroit's order would not come without a lot of pain for the veteran journeyman. But Hatch wriggled out of it again, walking Torkelson but retiring Riley Greene and the hot-hitting Wenceel Pérez to end the frame. It proved to be Paddack who couldn't handle the Twins the second time through. Byron Buxton greeted him with a second-deck home run to left field, and Trevor Larnach scorched a double into the right-center field gap. Luke Keaschall got a bloop single and, after an out, Ryan Jeffers also contributed a jam-shot single. Lewis worked a long at-bat, coming back from 0-2 to draw a walk, loading the bases for Brooks Lee. Lee got ahead in the count 2-0 and then looked foolish drawing a sword against a Paddack cutter. Glen Perkins, on the broadcast, thought this indicated that Lee was cheating to the fastball. As is typical of Paddack, he was bullheaded and threw a four-seamer up and in on Lee that the shortstop demolished to the right-field overhang, giving the Twins their first grand slam of the year, and a 7-1 lead. Hatch seemed to appreciate the rest, and set down the Tigers quickly in the fourth. Buxton recorded his third hit in the Twins half of the inning, stole second, and scored on an attempted double play relay, giving the Twins ownership another reminder that they don't deserve his loyalty. Hatch worked an even quicker fifth inning, and has now looked pretty great in two of his three appearances for the Twins thus far. Paddack finished his outing with five and two-thirds innings and allowed eight earned runs. If Enrique Jimenez so much as makes the majors, getting him for two months of Paddack and Randy Dobnak's salary is a legitimately great value trade. Michael Tonkin and Cole Sands lived up to their new roles, striking out the side in the sixth and seventh innings, respectively. The rest was cruise control. Stray Observations: -Lee has an outside shot at 20 homers this year after hitting his 12th today in 360 at-bats. His defensive miscues and sometimes lifeless at-bats have been pretty annoying, but contributing 15-18 home runs despite that would be one silver lining. Power was his biggest question mark as he rose through the minor leagues, and with his defense looking decent at shortstop, we might look back at his 2025 season as a harbinger for the kind of success that was once projected of him. -James Outman did a lot of swinging early in counts. His third time facing Paddack, he did launch a triple off the outstretched glove of Pérez in right. I don't think there is a more favorable matchup than a lefty facing Paddack for a third time when he isn't on his game. -Making his Twins debut was Génesis Cabrera, once a top prospect for the St. Louis Cardinals, who has bounced around since then with control issues capping his upside. The lefty reliever hit 97 MPH and recorded a 1-2-3 eighth inning. What’s Next: The Twins welcome the Sacramento A's to Target Field beginning Tuesday, with Joe Ryan (12-5, 2.75 ERA) taking on Jacob Lopez (6-6, 3.30 ERA). The A's are one of the few teams behind the Twins in the American League standings, so this may become a battle of 2026 draft position. It is a pretty good pitching matchup, though, with Ryan having one of the better starting pitcher seasons in the Target Field era, and Lopez working his way into the rookie of the year mix, not allowing a single run over his past four starts while striking out 28. Postgame Interviews: Coming soon Bullpen Usage Chart: WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Hatch 0 0 0 0 81 81 Ureña 0 0 76 0 0 76 Topa 26 0 0 27 0 53 Kriske 0 11 0 29 0 40 Tonkin 0 9 0 15 16 40 Sands 0 25 0 0 14 39 Ramírez 0 11 8 0 16 35 Funderburk 6 13 0 10 0 29 Cabrera 0 0 0 0 9 9 View full article

If I were to expand on this piece, I would delve into how expectations have historically not been good for this club. The Twins have always had their most success when they catch lightning in a bottle while also playing with house money. Correa is the antithesis of both of those (admittedly highly subjective) concepts. But you're right he can't be entirely to blame- he was enabled by the entire coaching staff and even the front office calling him an "assistant gm."

Its quite possible that's what got him there if my theory is correct. But it is just a theory. I also think Miranda getting hit in the head right out of the All-Star break in 2024 may have effected him more than was let on. Sad story either way.

Image courtesy of © Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images Box Score: Starting Pitcher: José Ureña: 3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 1 K (73 Pitches, 36 Strikes, 49.3%) Home Runs: Ryan Fitzgerald (1), Luke Keaschall (2) Top 3 WPA: Michael Tonkin (.619), Keaschall (.429), Pierson Ohl (.224) Win Probability Chart (Via FanGraphs): Well, the team has been showing positive flashes lately, and it's definitely due to my own prognosis. Or, maybe it's just Luke Keaschall, who had (ahem) a pretty decent game. The Twins finished up the series against Kansas City today, going for a second straight series win against a team ahead of them in the AL Central standings. I was at Friday's game and witnessed more key RBI hits than occurred in all of 2024. Alas, yesterday, Noah Cameron shut them down, which was a reminder that they are still going to struggle against lefties in the absences of Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa, Willi Castro and Harrison Bader. It looked like they might be facing a huge early deficit with José Ureña on the mound. He allowed a leadoff walk to Mike Yastrzemski, followed by a sharp single to Maikel García. Fortunately, Vinnie Pasquantino then scorched a ball to Kody Clemens at first, who recorded the out and stepped on first for a crushing double play. Especially crushing because a walk and a single would follow. All in all, just the one run would score. The second inning looked even bleaker for the Twins and Ureña, who walked the first two hitters he saw. Kyle Isbel then bunted the runners over, bringing up the top of the lineup. Yastrzemski hit a sharp line drive... right to Luke Keaschall at second base. Ureña then fooled García with a weird, screwball-type pitch to set him down looking and end the inning. The Royals countered with a much more impressive arm, Ryan Bergert, whom they acquired from the Padres by trading away one of the heirs apparent to Salvador Perez, Freddy Fermin. Bergert has a couple of nice pitches, but stalled in the high minors before the Padres gave him a look in a swing role. He excelled in that capacity, with a 2.78 ERA over 35 innings, and shut down Boston over 5 2/3 innings in his Royals debut, allowing just two hits and two runs. Bergert made quick work of the Twins in the first two innings, showcasing an impressive changeup-slider combo, but committed the cardinal sin of walking Mickey Gasper to begin the third. That brought up Ryan Fitzgerald, still looking for his first big-league hit, and he capitalized, crushing a cement-mixer slider into the flower beds in right field for a two-run home run and giving the Twins the lead. Ureña was done after three innings, throwing a whopping 73 pitches and walking four batters. Any gambler knows to quit while you're ahead, and Ureña leaving with a lead was nothing short of a miracle. Kody Funderburk threw a scoreless fourth inning and gave way to Pierson Ohl in the fifth, who pitched 2 2/3 uneventful, scoreless innings of his own. It should be noted that the Royals were sitting Bobby Witt Jr., and without him, this offense is just a wannabe Whitey Herzog team: fast, contact-oriented, lousy. Meanwhile, Bergert was racking up strikeouts (eight in total) with exceptional command and efficiency. He had Twins hitters playing defense, working the edges with his fastball and then mixing in the changeup and slider to great effect. Keaschall and Jeffers, two of the better two-strike hitters on the team, were both fooled by changeups right down the middle for strikeouts. He would exit after 5 2/3 innings, and looks like a steal for Kansas City—without factoring in the other pitcher the Royals got in the Fermin deal, Stephen Kolek, who also figures to contribute at the back half of the rotation in the near future. Now the Twins got to a scenario we were all worried about: a slim lead in the late innings. Ohl began the seventh inning with two quick outs, and was relieved by Cole Sands. García singled, though, and Pasquantino then launched a two-strike curveball to flip the game. The Twins had an opportunity to answer back in the eighth. With one out, Austin Martin hit a sinking liner that scooted under the glove of left fielder John Rave and ended up as a triple. Kody Clemens hit a pop-up, not quite deep enough to score Martin, and things looked bleak. Fortunately, Jeffers was up next, and the hot-hitting catcher roped a single to left to tie the game against Royals relief ace Lucas Erceg. The ninth began innocently enough, with Justin Topa retiring Isbel and Yastrzemski on called strikes. The relentlessly troublesome García doubled, however, and Pasquantino was put on intentionally. Certainly, Perez was ready to punish them for such a decision—but he was hit by a pitch, bringing up Adam Frazier, who already had collected four hits to that point. Frazier was all over the next Topa sweeper, but lined out to deep right field. Crisis: averted. The Twins went down in six pitches in their half of the ninth, so it would be an extra-inning affair. The Twins called on Michael Tonkin, and he was effective, inducing a groundout that didn't advance the runner from Jonathan India, striking out Rave and working around a walk to pinch-hitter Nick Loftin by getting Isbel to pop out to end the inning. Gasper began the home 10th by drawing a 3-0 count. He tried to bunt on each of the next three pitches, and was unsuccessful each time. The Twins would also go scoreless, pushing the contest to 11 frames. That's fine, because Tonkin was made for extra innings, apparently. He would strike out Perez to end the top half of that inning scoreless, as well. He's been shelved most of the year by injuries, but when right, he's a rubber-armed multi-use reliever. In a sentence I didn't think I would ever utter, number two hitter Kody Clemens was walked to bring up number three hitter Ryan Jeffers to begin the bottom of the 11th. It started well, as Jeffers went ahead 3-0. Eventually, Jeffers would fly out, but Manfred Man Martin did not tag immediately, and was thrown out trying to advance to third. Things weren't looking good, with Martin walking off the field even though the Twins (unsuccessfully) challenged the call. Never fear; Luke Keaschall hits fourth now. He launched a Carlos Estévez fastball over the big wall in right-center field for a walk-off home run. This team has juice, if nothing else, and there truly may be nothing else. Stray Observations: -This was Mickey Gasper's first game starting behind the plate, and the first time anyone besides Ryan Jeffers or Christian Vázquez has started there since 2022. Needless to say, Gasper does not possess much of a throwing arm, allowing two early steals. He didn't miss any balls and his framing looked decent, however. -In the eighth, following Jeffers's tying hit, Royce Lewis (out of the lineup to begin the day) was in the on-deck circle. However, the batter at the time, Keaschall, popped out to end the inning. The next inning, Edouard Julien got the at-bat instead. I suppose it makes sense, as you would prefer Julien to begin an inning and Lewis to finish one, but with Julien struggling, it was eyebrow-raising, especially once Lewis was used as a pinch-runner for Brooks Lee in the 10th. Postgame Interviews: Coming soon What’s Next: Zebby Matthews (3-3, 5.17 ERA) takes on Will Warren (6-5, 4.44 ERA) as the Twins take their yearly sojourn to Yankee Stadium. The Yankees have had some of the same issues as the Twins these past few years (put pressure on the other team? Nah, look how optimized my swing is), but thanks to Aaron Judge in the regular season and Giancarlo Stanton in the playoffs, their results have looked a bit better. Bullpen Usage Chart: WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Ohl 61 0 0 0 36 97 Tonkin 0 0 0 18 38 56 Hatch 54 0 0 0 0 54 Kriske 14 0 17 0 17 48 Adams 0 0 43 0 0 43 Topa 0 0 0 15 20 35 Ramírez 0 0 0 21 0 21 Funderburk 12 0 0 0 9 21 Sands 0 0 9 0 9 18 View full article

Image courtesy of © Ken Blaze-Imagn Images My first reaction to last Thursday was denial. Surely there were other prospects thrown into the Griffin Jax and Brock Stewart trades. Then came anger—because there weren’t. I even wrote a screed blasting the whole thing as a conspiracy to sell the team to a private equity conglomerate of ghouls who’d move the franchise to Nashville. Thankfully, the good editors at Twins Daily politely declined to publish it. Then came coping: “If Pablo López comes back and Connor Prielipp shoves out of the bullpen, we’re really only seven games back of the Wild Card…” Nope. That was bargaining. Any series in Cleveland is depressing, but this one gave me some clarity—or at least enough to revisit my own theory: this team has been maddeningly inconsistent because it’s full of J.D. Drews. Drew was a tinkerer. Talented, but not exactly a spark plug. That, to me, has been the Twins' hitting identity for a while now. We didn’t expect this offense to be dominant coming into the year—not even with Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa, Matt Wallner, Royce Lewis, Trevor Larnach, Willi Castro, Ryan Jeffers, and more waiting in the wings. We figured that if the team succeeded, it’d be on the back of the pitching staff. Other fanbases might look at that same group and see a potentially strong lineup. We knew better. We knew the lineup would be less than the sum of its parts—and I’d argue that’s been a defining feature of the Correa era. I’m not saying the team will be better now that he’s gone, but I do think the offense might be. Correa was never the type to just roll out of bed and go 3-for-4. He needed the right conditions: good health, a hitting coach he vibed with, a long ramp-up period, warm weather, and some BABIP luck. Like J.D. Drew, he’d be great on a team where he wasn’t the guy. But as the centerpiece? It doesn’t work. And you don’t really want younger players modeling themselves after that. How many times have we heard guys like Brooks Lee, Wallner, and Jeffers say their swing “sucks,” or that they’re making some minor tweak, or trying a different bat? That’s the culture Correa brought in, intentionally or not. During his peak in Houston, Correa wasn’t the alpha. The tone-setters were José Altuve and Yuli Gurriel—guys who saw the ball, hit the ball, and adjusted on the fly. Correa complemented that. After pitchers were worn down by Altuve and Gurriel slapping hits on balls a foot outside the zone, Correa would punish the mistake. He often did his best work lower in the lineup. It’s like a golfer who plays "golf swing" instead of playing golf. A team can survive having one or two of those guys. Some teams have so many resources that they can field a whole lineup of swing technicians and still win—like the Yankees. But even they caught backlash in 2024 for leaning too hard into metrics, swing mechanics, and defensive WAR, instead of just… playing the game. They were even exposed in a minor scandal for rewarding minor leaguers based on batted-ball data instead of actual results. That’s not inherently a bad thing. If you have a lineup full of guys who smash the ball, great. I get that. There’s just a spectrum here. On one end, you’ve got the Yankees and Correa. On the other, you’ve got guys like Doug Mientkiewicz preaching baseball instincts. You can’t skew too far in either direction. Can we at least agree on that? Too many Twins hitters are playing against themselves, focused on process while smart teams are focused on results. Anecdotally, I think Austin Martin and José Miranda have been hurt by this philosophy. Miranda in particular was Correa’s protégé. Their natural strengths—reacting and putting the ball in play—got pushed aside in favor of swing optimization and decision trees. Which is why I’m okay with Correa leaving. It already feels like the hitters are freed up. Martin got caught stealing third the other night, and yeah—it looked bad. But the team was ahead, and he was trying to force the issue. (Maybe just don’t run on Jake Rogers next time.) On Sunday, Kody Clemens dropped down a bunt to drive in the winning run. Not because bunting is part of his offensive profile or the numbers said to do it, but because he recognized the moment. That’s playing the game. And wouldn’t you know it—the team’s leader again is Byron Buxton, the ultimate see-ball-hit-ball guy. I like the idea of Emmanuel Rodríguez and Walker Jenkins coming up and learning from him. If they need to make technical tweaks, that’s what the coaches are for. I’m not saying the Twins are going to win this year or next. And I’m not naïve enough to think the technocratic Correa philosophy will vanish overnight. Correa is a proven winner, a champion, and he made some critical high-IQ plays that helped break the team’s playoff curse. But his presence shaped the team’s approach in a way that didn’t work for everyone—especially for younger players like Miranda and Lee. Without him, those guys now have the option to go back to being who they were. Whether that’s a hair-on-fire type like Luke Keaschall, or a passive mistake-hitter like Rodríguez. Everything now hinges on the next ownership group. The roster still has talent, and it’s suddenly cheap. We could get bought by Scrooge Capital, trade away Joe Ryan and López, and become the Cayman Island Twins. Or we could get an owner who invests—say, $10 million in bullpen help, signs a real first baseman, and locks up a couple of core guys. If we get that owner—or even just get the payroll to $120 million—I’ll be jazzed about next year. The curse is still broken. The Pohlads are gone. Sign me up. View full article

Image courtesy of Ken Blaze-Imagn Images Box Score Starting Pitcher: Jose Urena: 4 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K (69 Pitches, 62.3%) Home Runs: None Top 3 WPA: Matt Wallner (.146), Kody Funderburk (.137), Trevor Larnach (.130) Win Probability Chart (Via Fangraphs): A new era of Twins baseball has begun, and it has looked pretty similar so far, with two one-run losses to the Guardians on Friday and Saturday. They've been a more interesting watch, however. In my mind, frisky baseball is a lot more watchable than the lawyer ball that represented the Carlos Correa era in Minnesota. With the bullpen arms they have now, I doubt we'll see a lot of winning, but it will hopefully be more fun. The Guardians are the kings of pesky small ball, so we may have to give the Twins (players, not owners) some grace while they acclimate to putting some actual pressure on an opposing pitcher. Today began promisingly, with Austin Martin getting a leadoff single, Ryan Jeffers dropping in a blooper, and Matt Wallner lining a single up the middle to score Martin. Royce Lewis brought in third baseman Jose Ramirez by showing bunt and then lined a double over his head for the game's second run. Baby steps. Joey Cantillo was pitching for Cleveland, and after a mound visit following Lewis' double, started emphasizing his curveball and struck out Kody Clemens and Brooks Lee. That felt familiar, but Trevor Larnach then pulverized a hanging curveball into the gap in right center field to score two more runs. Jose Urena started for the Twins, and if you aren't familiar with his work, you clearly have no appreciation for the 2017-2018 Miami Marlins, where Urena started 59 games with a 3.90 ERA. But his strikeout percentage peaked at 18.3% during that time and hasn't reached that level since. This despite a a fastball that can reach the upper 90's. I remember the Twins facing Urena when he was with the White Sox in 2023 and thinking it must feel rotten to have to watch Urena pitch for your team. Well karma giveth and taketh away, and Urena got absolutely rocked the first few pitches in a Twins uniform. Steven Kwan barreled up a fastball that would have easily left the yard were the wind not blowing in at Progressive Field. Daniel Schneeman laced a single and Jose Ramirez jumped all over a Urena fastball and launched it 406 feet through the wind to cut the lead in half. Urena settled down from there and actually showed some positive signs as his outing went along. Meanwhile Cantillo focused on his changeup and curveball while the Twins swung in vain hoping for his very hittable fastball. He has reverse splits and proved why, as he allowed five hits and two walks to the contingent of lefties the Twins trotted out in Wallner, Larnach and Clemens. He would strike out nine over five and two thirds innings. Urena was done after four innings and 69 pitches, and kept the Twins ahead by inducing some weak contact featuring a ton of sliders and sinkers. As auspicious as the start to his day was, he gave Baldelli what he needed and may have bought himself another week or two on the 40-man roster. The teams traded zeros, with both lineups taking an aggressive approach early in the count. It wasn't a winning strategy on either side, however. After twelve straight scoreless half innings, Wallner reached out and poked a triple to right center field off of Jakob Junis to begin the eighth, with the ball deflecting off of center fielder Angel Martinez's glove. Lewis struck out, but Clemens dropped a bunt up the first base line that drew a throw home far too late to retire pinch runner DaShawn Keirsey Jr. as the Twins scored their first insurance run in Cleveland since 2019. Cole Sands pitched a scoreless eighth inning, and Michael Tonkin was brought in to protect the 5-2 lead. It didn't go that well. .216 hitter Nolan Jones drew a walk and rookie CJ Kayfus hit his first career hit, just over the outstretched glove of Alan Roden in right field. Bryan Rocchio singled to left and all of a sudden it was a 5-4 game. Tonkin retired Steven Kwan and was then relieved in favor of the legendary Erasmo Ramirez. He retired Schneeman and Ramirez on pop ups like it was nothing. Stray Observations: The back of the Twins bullpen has obviously been eviscerated. However, last year at this time Cole Sands was an ascendant eighth inning guy, while Justin Topa was acquired from Seattle to pitch late in games as he did successfully in 2023. Michael Tonkin quietly has his best season in 2024, throwing 79 1/3 innings with 85 strikeouts. For a team that just traded away its five best relievers that could look a lot worse. Yeah, I'm coping. Wallner has shown some life lately, going 7-21 over his past seven games with three homers, a triple and five walks. What’s Next: The Twins travel to Detroit to take on the division-leading Tigers. Simeon Woods Richardson (5-4, 4.24 ERA) was set to oppose Casey Mize (9-4, 3.43 ERA) to start the three game series. However, SWR has a stomach issue and Monday's starter is TBD. Mize is a former number one overall pick and is having his first real run of sustainable success following some initial struggles and Tommy John surgery that knocked out his 2022 and 2023 seasons. He has been terrible lately though, with a 6.32 ERA over his past four outings, and lasting only an inning and a third his last time out against Arizona. Postgame Interviews: Coming soon Bullpen Usage Chart: WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Ureña 0 0 0 0 69 69 Sands 13 0 20 0 21 54 Ohl 0 0 0 52 0 52 Topa 22 0 13 0 15 50 Funderburk 0 0 11 0 35 46 Davis 31 0 0 0 0 31 Tonkin 0 0 11 0 14 25 Ramírez 0 0 0 0 9 9 Adams 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article