stringer bell

Uh-oh Sonny's got it going.

Pablo had the "at 'em" ball going in inning #1.

Santana has a .665 OPS against right handers, below average, but not helpless. His OPS vs. right handers is better than Farmer, Margot, Lee and Kirilloff.

For today, Santana is the best defensive option and an okay option on offense, especially against left handed pitching. To start the season, the Twins were counting on Kirilloff and that didn't pan out, but Miranda has been good. It wasn't a mistake to sign Santana for comparatively small dollars. I do think it is a different story in 2025 and betting on a 39-year old to sustain his performance is asking for a lot.

Marmol said that they wanted to run on Festa. Jeffers really had no chance on anyone even the catcher trying to steal third.

I think Royce has broken his bat in all three at-bats.

So do I.

Kepler would have been safe if his foot hadn't been off the ground.

Send him!!

Festa mixing his pitches well so far and the change-up is nasty. Nootbar didn't have a chance.

Pallante gets lots of ground balls according to the broadcast. Highest ground ball rate in the majors. Maybe sending runners to avoid the GDP.

100% chance that a player will beat the odds during the game.

Festa so far keeping the ball out of the middle of the zone. Two Ks and a line out in the first.

I agree that the Twins will try to keep payroll where it is or slightly lower as evidenced by the "right sizing" comment and their refusal to add payroll at the trade deadline. We know that Pablo López is due for a big increase in pay and that Ober, Ryan, Lewis and Jeffers all will get big increases due to arbitration, which should eat up the savings by cashiering Kepler, DeSclafani and Farmer. Certainly Santana has been worth his salary this year, but expecting the same in 2025 is far from a sure thing.

Matt Bowman will get work with another major league team. His contract was selected by the Orioles.

That is the first news on Kirilloff in a long while. He'll get 20 days (maximum) in St. Paul to show that he can help the club. With Santana ahead of him at first base and Wallner and Larnach both doing well, it might take an injury for him to score a place on the active roster. Teams can only add two players after September 1, and most likely Lee, Buxton and Correa will need to be added as position players.

Tyler Mahle is back on IL with shoulder issues. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/08/rangers-to-place-tyler-mahle-on-injured-list.html

Carlos Santana seems to have won over the Minnesota Twins' fan base. After a slow start, he has hit well and has been given credit for being an outstanding defender at first base. Santana has been among the most durable baseball players among active players and has logged regular time for fourteen consecutive seasons, logging more than 500 plate appearances each season. Since becoming a free agent after the 2017 season, Santana has changed teams often--Philadelphia, Cleveland, Kansas City, Seattle, Pittsburgh and Milwaukee and lastly he signed late in the off season with the Twins. At each stop, he was well regarded, but teams have chosen to look for other options at first base. The seeming answer is that Santana has a well-established floor, but really no ceiling. In looking a little deeper, Santana has notable platoon splits, hitting better against left handed pitchers every year since he had his first free agent contract. His productivity from the left side has been below average more often than not. Since he is a first baseman, better hitting should and could be found to replace him. In other threads, posters have made mention that Santana should be signed again to man first base in 2025. His contract this season was very reasonable ($5.25M for the season) and I would think that he'll be looking for more after defying Father Time for another season. I remain skeptical of relying on a 39 year old, who is not above average against three quarters of pitchers. At some point, Santana will fall off. If he were to agree for a similar contract and less than full-time duty, it might be worth it to bring him back.

Yet another lefty. I thought they were supposed to start 25% of games. Seriously though, this is probably the best chance for the Twins to beat SD.

It sounds like Gio will land on his feet. Braves lost Riley and are negotiating a major league contract with Gio. Good for him.

The same is true for Trevor Larnach. He’s slightly less than a year older than AK, so next year age and options will line up for Larnach in ‘24 and Kirilloff in ‘25. Nothing will or should be promised to Alex Kirilloff next spring and it will be up to him to show he can help the Twins next year and beyond, as Larnach has done this year. I’ve believed in Kirilloff for a long time, but his inability to stay healthy and productive has lowered my expectations. He probably will get one more chance and that is more than many players get.

Hindsight is 20-20. I was sure Rocco should have pulled López, but it worked out. Equally certain they should have pulled Alcalá, and it seems he should have.

Alcalá’s ERA went up almost a full run—2.15 to 3.09 in one appearance. He looked dominant yesterday, not so much today.

Provus doesn’t believe in jinxes, but he was tempting fate by talking about how well Alcalá was throwing.

I’ve never felt comfortable in this game. And now Garcia ties it.