stringer bell

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.

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.

Wasn't he nominated in the utility player category? That's what he won the Silver Slugger for.

Nominated, did not win.

These are the last two guys in the bullpen who could be easily replaced and probably won't be on a postseason roster. I worry a lot more about Floro, Pagán, and Balazovic. For what it's worth, Ortega and Sands would get my vote as better options in the bullpen right now. I do think Headrick has a chance to stick as a starter.

Austin Martin 3-3, with a walk and stolen base. Keep it up!!

The Twins four biggest contracts for position players (this year): Correa--$33M, .689 OPS, .9 WAR. Buxton--$15+ M, .731 OPS, .8 WAR. Gallo--$11M, .726 OPS, .4 WAR. Vázquez--$10 M, .592 OPS, -.2 WAR. If they were getting value from their highest paid players, we wouldn't be in a race for a division crown. Does it mean the Twins will sour on big contracts for position players? I dunno.

I think that''s AK's best position, but if they have to put a guy with a suspect glove at first (Julien, Miranda, Severino, Prato), Kirilloff would be acceptable in an outfield corner.

I've speculated that there's a pretty good chance that the Twins would pick up the option for Polanco and then trade him. He's a better-than-average second baseman, but his recent injuries have to have decreased his value. I don't think the Twins get more than a prospect or relief pitcher for him.

I think Kirilloff is at least written in the plans in pencil. His performance this season has been shortened by injury, but he has shown he is a good hitter. His current injury is completely unrelated to the career-threatening wrist miseries that ended his 2021 and 2022 seasons.

I was going to comment on the good strike zone by the home plate ump, but forgot to do so. I checked Umpire Scorecard and found out yesterday's home plate ump (Pat Hoberg) is the best in the game this year.

I’ve been thinking about this for some time. Since late June, Kepler has been a fine right fielder. Health might have been an underlying factor in his poor performance idk, but he’s been very good for about six weeks. It appears they have a cheaper, more powerful replacement in Matt Wallner. Tough call, for sure.

I understand that argument, but for three guys (Luplow, Solano and Farmer) if they’re not starting against a tough lefty, why are they on the team? Jeffers is a hot hand and should be in the lineup. Yes, I’d like to give Julien and Wallner more chances against lefties, but the way the team is structured, the right handed bats should be in there.

Well, they do have options for right field. The injury didn't appear serious, but last year a broken toe really messed up his season. They could put out an all-righty lineup. Vázquez (c), Solano (1b), Polanco (2b), Correa (ss), Farmer (3b), Castro (lf), Taylor (cf), Luplow (rf) and Jeffers (dh). That would leave a bench of Kepler, Wallner, Julien, and Gallo.

By my count 15-14 vs. the NL.

I am as sick of watching Joey Gallo strike out as everyone else, but I am highly skeptical of AAA breakouts like Williams, Prato and Stevenson (BTW Williams hit 9th in St. Paul's lineup yesterday). I do believe the Twins should have made moves that would lead to a Gallo DFA, and that is a lot more than claiming Jordan Luplow. It is about three and a half weeks until September 1st and there appear to be 40-man roster issues on that horizon. Adding Williams or Prato only add to that issue and I don't think they make the club any better.

A slightly higher ! percentage than Joey Gallo's K percentage (43%).

What I saw was that Julien tried to catch the ball and then swipe at the sliding runner. The ball went off the end of his glove and he should have kept it in the infield. Misplay by Julien? Absolutely (IMHO), but that alone doesn't make him a latter-day Nishioka.

I believe 2022 was the first year they awarded a Gold Glove for a utility player (Arraez was a candidate, but LeMahieu won). I really believe Castro has a chance to win. He’s certainly played all over, committed few errors and made some highlight reel plays.

In most respects, the Twins stole one today. They didn't let the Diamondbacks break the game open and in fact stranded a whole bunch of runners in scoring position. Big hits from Correa, Kepler and Wallner and a lot of good defensive plays. I commented in the game thread that Willi Castro should win a Gold Glove as a utility player. I hope he's at least considered.

I just looked at the box score and they gave the error to Vázquez!