stringer bell

I know Ohtani will be MVP, probably in a unanimous vote, but Corey Seager is having a monster year and would be an MVP candidate in another year. He's not on the batting average leaders because of injuries, but he's hitting .350 with a 1.076 OPS while playing a key defensive position. In fact, due to obscure rules about qualifying for batting titles, Seager would be the AL batting champion, if the season ended today. With a more than 20 point lead, he is a pretty sure bet unless he suffers another injury. Seager struggled early last year and has suffered injuries, but he's really at the top of his game. Maybe Correa will get it going in his second year of his contract.

Several.

Really good play by Correa and probably only 5% of hitter/runners would have been out.

Ugh. Miggy up as the tying run.

Big league defense from Polanco. Seeing him running (tried to steal three times in Kepler's AB and then stole third a couple of innings later) and making good defensive plays bodes well for the rest of the season.

Strike three to Taylor was about the same distance out of the zone as strike three to Bohm in Philly.

Now hold the lead!! BP has been a bit leaky lately.

Ka-Boom!!!!!

Kep and the Kid with key hits. Now the middle of the order needs to get a couple more.

The ump's strike zone has been very consistent. He's been better than most veteran umps.

Didn't Andrus get his 2000th hit in a game against the Twins earlier this year?

Time for a little revenge against the Motor City Kitties. They have hit the Twins surprisingly well and pitched well against them (a lot of teams have done that).

Pretty much agree with this take (and Souhan's). To be specific, offering criticism is fine with me and should be accepted by all for what it is. However, waiting for something to go wrong so the player/manager/front office can be raked over the coals is beyond the pale if you ask me.

Andrew McCutchen?

How about Nelson Cruz? Does he count?

All reports are saying that Lewis will be activated today. Someone will have to be taken off the active roster. In order of probability, here are the possible moves (IMHO): 1) DFA Keuchel. 2) Option Luplow 3) Castro to IL 4) Option Sands 5) Correa to IL. Are there any other roster moves possible to clear space for Royce? Discuss please.

First of all, as to adding two players on September 1, I doubt the Twins bring up a player who is not currently injured and is not on the 40-man roster. The possible activations of Nick Gordon, Brock Stewart and Chris Paddack might cover the two spots that can be added on 9/1. A clue to the future of Gordon is if and when he goes on rehab assignment. Twenty days from the start date the Twins would either have to add him to the active roster or DFA him. Stewart was moved to the 60-day IL and would be eligible to come off late in August. No word on progress for him. There are five more players on the major league IL with at least a chance of being ready to play yet this year. 1) Buxton--the disabling injury is a hamstring. The underlying injuries (hip and knee) might also be healing with the time off. There is still plenty of mystery about Buxton's injuries and the resulting inability to play defense. 2) Kirilloff--No reports since he had a cortisone injection. I am starting to doubt his return this year. 3) Ryan--No report on Ryan either. His fifteen days will be up and it was reported that he would continue throwing while trying to get healthy. 4) Miranda--No report since July. It would appear that if even if he returned to health that there would be no place for him on the active roster and an option to the minors would be the next step. 5) Alcalá--The Twins say that they hope he will pitch again this year. It would seem probable that he, too, would require a rehab assignment and so far no word on that. As a fan, I'm totally frustrated with the lack of news about all of these players. Several could be key performers in the postseason and we just don't have any timetables or firm estimates on their return.

With a four and a half game lead on Cleveland and a bunch of home games coming up on the schedule, I don’t think it is time for a panic move. The puzzle of where all the players will play is interesting, but projecting “the solution” is just speculation. Injuries or disappointing performance usually make the decision. If Alex Kirilloff can’t play for the rest of the season, then the club might need to do something for the short term (or just continue with Gallo). AFAIK, Kirilloff should be closer to the end of his stint on the IL than the beginning. The “emergency” (non-40 man) options probably include old friend Kyle Garlick, Chris Williams and Yunior Severino. Does Lee have such a potent bat that he can just move to first base and be better than all of the other options? I don’t think so, as far as this year is concerned. Adding Lee to the 40-man roster will also likely expose someone the Twins don’t want to lose via a DFA.

I'd respectfully disagree with your thoughts. Julien has not converted more than one double play, including one play where he double-clutched before throwing. He's made several bad throws and has not made plays where a hit was ruled. Also he missed a catch on a steal attempt in an effort to make a quick tag. His body of work as a major leaguer has been pretty poor. That said, he is not hopeless. He made a nice play today on a ball to his right and turned it into an out and made all the other plays. Combined with a hit and a walk today, Julien had a good game.

Thanks for providing the age data for all the teams in the Twins’ system. BTW, the date should be 8/13.

Yeah, I think Baldelli's decision to pull Gray was mildly defensible. The bullpen was well rested, with Thielbar and Jax available after pitching on Saturday and all the other higher leverage guys fully rested. Gray was very good, it was quite hot and Gray has had a few "out of the blue" innings late in his starts. The other factor, I think, is keeping the rotation guys as fresh as possible.

September 1 allows the Twins to add two players, but there are a lot of players that could/should be available by that date. Alcalá, Gordon, Paddack and Miranda have all been out quite a while (Paddack and Gordon are on the 60-day IL). Miranda was optioned once this year, so an option to St. Paul would be pretty painless. Gordon doesn't have any options remaining, so if he goes on rehab he would have to be activated or DFAed. Space would have to be cleared to add back Gordon or Paddack. Meanwhile Kirilloff and Buxton could be ready to be activated this month or early in September. Ryan's 15 days are up in less than a week, so all of them could be back. Lewis is set to be activated on Tuesday. I think Keuchel's days are numbered, but the position player crunch is severe. It would be on brand for the '23 Twins to DFA Gallo after he reached base on five consecutive plate appearances, including two homers. Usually, new injuries make space. Solano and Kepler both played today, so it doesn't look like either of them will go on the IL. Castro might end up on the IL due to his back issues and perhaps it will be determined that Correa would benefit from a minimum stay on the Injured List. The future transactions will be fascinating.

Headrick optioned, Sands recalled.

Schwarber might get over .200 before the Twins leave town. No comparison between him and Gallo as hitters despite both having a sub-.200 batting average.

Taylor may have kept the Phillies from a double-digit lead.