stringer bell

I don't think that is too big of an emergency with the All-Star break looming and two consecutive 7-inning outings separated by an off-day. If there is a short start, Paredes should be able to go 80 pitches. I haven't seen any mention that Prielipp would be limited today, did I miss something? Gleeman said this was the fifth time the Twins have signed Bowman to a minor league deal. He was really effective for the Saints earlier, but was hit hard while pitching for the Jays AAA club in Buffalo.

So Keaschall is now the backup center fielder, and perhaps the everyday guy until Buxton returns. It never appeared to me that the Twins were thinking of Roden as a center fielder.

Prielipp hasn't pitched in over a week and won't pitch again until after the All-Star game. Ober is scheduled to start tomorrow and the Twins will have Zebby, Ryan and Taj for the Angels going into the break.

A couple more days, according to Shelton. He didn't catch a full nine-inning game yet. I believe the plan is for that to happen before he is activated.

Right now, it would be apostasy to sell. The club is playing well and they are well-positioned to not only make the postseason, but win the AL Central. Cleveland and Chicago are beatable head-to-head and the deficit is a miniscule three games. The defense is improved with Kreidler at short and Keaschall in right field. More bullpen help is needed. Trading Ryan Jeffers for a haul could and probably should happen. He's a fine player and seems like a good guy, but free agency is out there and it's unlikely the Twins can meet his price. As long as the Yankees are in the bidding, there should be some quality brought back.

As a change of pace I don't mind having four ex-player analysts in the booth. They have a lot of insight that we fans don't have from their experience. Three games will be a great plenty I think, but I enjoyed a lot of the banter. It's like playing golf with my buddies--even if I shoot 100 I have a good time. As far as the game, I don't think I've ever seen so many balls hit gloves and not turned into outs by Cleveland. Combined with only getting one run and three hits, I'm sure Guard fans are inventing new ways to pummel the team. Bradley was great again on the new backend of the bullpen did the job. This is the kind of game Cleveland has managed to steal from the Twins this decade. Win one of the next two and it's a successful series, win 'em both and we're tied and maybe only one or two games out of first place.

Keaschall never had a good read on Aleman. He was going back to first on every pitch.

Fedko again.

Get Fedko that first hit so he can go back to St. Paul on a high note.

I’m a little surprised they didn’t activate Jeffers today. Also it appears that Ober is going to make one more rehab start, so the Twins aren’t rushing their experienced players back and they’re taking the cautious path with Buxton. I’d love to see them win the series with Cleveland.

Here are some generalizations: LH hitters and pitchers get more chances than RH hitters and pitchers. High draft choices get more chances than undrafted or low draft choices. Guys with above-average tools get more chances than guys without such tools. That is the unfair world of MLB. Fedko was a low draft choice, he hits right handed and his tools are more average than above average. He's gotten a chance because of good numbers in the high minors, but the window is pretty small to climb through.

Really not sure if this is the right thread for this but, Darrell Jackson died this month. He had a pretty short career all with the Twins in the 70s and early 80s. He had one year where he mostly started and worked over 170 innings for a poor Twins team, finishing 9-9 with a 3.87 ERA. Another former player who is younger than me deceased.

Gray has an option. As far as the 40-man goes, Banda, Abel or Sands could go to the 60-dsy list to make room, I would think Banda first. I'm okay with Roden getting another chance, but I don't think he'll be a world beater, although probably better than Gray. The Twins have an Alex Jackson problem first and the roster spot that could/should go to Roden or Jenkins might belong to Jackson for a few weeks.

Is Roden really a center fielder? It would seem he hasn't been preferred there over Rodriguez or Jenkins. I suspect, like Clemens, Martin and Repko he "can play center". He's also 5-38 in his last two weeks plus.

Offensively, Caratini’s production is in line with his two seasons in Houston, after a really sluggish start to his season. He’s been solid behind the plate, although not much help in limiting the opponents’ running game. I hope he can put together a good season and a half to complete his contract. Maybe all of the play he got at first early in the season hurt his performance, he hasn’t played any first base since the Jeffers injury IIRC.

I would add that it kind of made sense for Gray to head north with the team after Spring Training because he would be a platoon backup to Keaschall and Lewis at his two best defensive positions, with Lee being a switch hitter. That's all changed now--Lee is the third baseman and Clemens is playing second. If the primary position for the utility infielder was going to be shortstop, Gray may well have started the season in AAA.

Culpepper was injured twice in the last month and isn't playing yet. He has missed a bunch of time and might not be sharp when he returns. I believe that is what is keeping Gray in the major leagues. According to the beat writers and Twins announcers, the Twins liked what was under the hood for his hitting--bat speed, hard hit rate etc.--and for a minute it looked like they had uncovered a diamond in the rough. Not lately. Defensively, Gray looks okay at second and third, but he's stretched as a shortstop so his increased playing time there has yielded predicable results. Gray has an option remaining and even though the Twins have a full 40-man roster, they have several guys who could move to the 60-day IL. I think that when Culpepper is ready, he will be recalled and that Gray is the most likely demotion.

The current setup for rosters often leaves a spot for a guy with no direct way to get at-bats. Nine starters, a backup catcher, a backup utility infielder and platoon-type outfielder and .......the 13th guy. That's Fedko today and has been other guys in the past--Outman, Keirsey, McCusker. Health and platoon advantage can get more time on the field. If Fedko had the platoon advantage, he probably would have gotten those starts over Gray, but the Twins faced right handers when Buck was out.

In the last two years, the Twins have employed Keirsey Jr., McCusker, Outman and Fedko as last man on the bench outfielders. None really had a chance to play a lot and none were able to graduate from that role to gain more playing time. In 2023, Willi Castro started the season in that role, but due to extreme versatility and good performance he eventually became a regular player. Outman had the longest leash since he had had some success in MLB, but he just didn't hit enough. McCusker had the shortest run because his only real tool was power and he never got a ball over the fence. Fedko is closer to McCusker than Outman or Keirsey Jr. He runs okay and "can play center", but he really isn't a center fielder IMHO.

At this point a year ago, the Twins were a middling at best offense. At the trade deadline, they subtracted Willi Castro, Harrison Bader, Ty France and Carlos Correa. In those trades they netted only one position player that has played for the Twins--Alan Roden--and he hasn't seen the major leagues in 2026. Yet, on July 6th the Twins lead the American League in runs scored. The Twins added two notable free agents, Victor Caratini and Josh Bell, plus they made waiver trades to get Tristan Gray and Ryan Kreidler. They may not finish the season with the most runs, but they are a pretty good bet to be in the top two or three. How have they gotten there? Here are some possible reasons: 1) Bell and Caratini help more than their stats show. In not-quite full-time usage, Victor Caratini leads MLB in sacrifice flies and in full-time play Josh Bell leads the team in RBI. Both guys are switch hitters and I think, particularly in the case of Bell, they lengthen a lineup. Bell is what he is, a bat-only hitter who almost always ends up with above-average hitting numbers. The swing looks long and awkward until it doesn't and he produces. Caratini is a below-average #1 catcher, but he's an okay hitter with enough power to get the ball over the fence. Not having to platoon either guy helps with the short benches that populate MLB these days. 2) 12 guys are at least okay hitters. Currently, not counting Kyler Fedko, the Twins worst OPS is Tristan Gray at .601 and Gray had a hot start where he hit two grand slams and was hitting over .300. James Outman and Fedko have occupied that thirteenth position player spot and provided almost nothing, the rest of the guys have a chance to help the offense. 3) Hitting with RISP and hitting with two outs. Going into the weekend the Twins were the top team hitting with runners in scoring position and they were doing quite well even when there were two outs. This produces a disproportionate number of runs when compared to team OPS. When a team is going well, they get those hits, when they are struggling, it is almost an automatic out. I'll add a couple of observations here: Baserunning has improved. The Twins don't have a lot of fast guys, but they have done a pretty good job of avoiding unnecessary outs on the bases while taking a fair number of extra bases. RBI should not be ruled out of hand and Bell and Brooks Lee in particular have seemed to find ways to plate runners. The Twins have more than adequate power through their team. They are seventh in home runs in MLB and they've not all been solos. I'll probably jinx it, but position player health has been pretty good. If they really want to contend for the division or a wild card, the Twins will need to keep scoring runs more than any other AL team. The bullpen and defense can't be totally fixed on the fly in-season. The Twins' offense has been fun to watch so far this season--a lot of games like yesterday where three or more guys were all crucial to providing a winning margin.

Ronny Henriquez, Brent Headrick, Steven Okert. I'm sure there are others. It's hit and miss with a lot of relievers. I do believe Topa is cooked, but I thought the same with Okert and he's done well two straight seasons for the 'Stros.

I think they find a way to keep Jackson. In a small sample size, he's shown himself to be capable behind the plate and not a sure out when hitting. It wouldn't surprise me if either Caratini or Jackson has a minor injury and they go on the IL for the minimum number of days. If they can't do that, I do believe they will go temporarily with three catchers. Jackson has played a bit of outfield in the minors. He could be an emergency OF. I posted in another thread that from what the beat writers are posting and what Shelton and Buxton have said, I don't think they will put Buxton on the IL. Should they? Tough question. We, the fans, don't know the extent of the injury or the time it will take to heal acceptable or completely.

From reading what Buxton, Shelton and the best writers are saying and posting, I don’t think an immediate IL move will be made for Buxton. That might change, but the choices aren’t easy and again, I think that All-Star start figures in, even if it shouldn’t.

Up and down, then back up again. Last week I was ready to throw in the towel on 2026, now I'm not so sure. It seems that critics and naysayers dominate this site, but wins like today and yesterday offer a lot of hope. The team is certainly not buried and adding a crucial piece or two might really help.

Similar career paths, but not similar skill sets.