stringer bell

He has, more than once.

I don't think the nature and duration of his injury called for rehab time, especially since he was out close to the minimum time. It's too bad that he's not hitting, but there is no guarantee that things would be better if he had gone to St. Paul for a few games. I'm sure Buxton thinks he can help the team, but right now he's not hitting at all.

Celestino has been activated off the 60-day IL as of today. Optioned to St. Paul. To make room on the 40-man roster, Alcalá has been transferred to the 60-day IL.

There’s a long-term commitment to Correa and Buxton. Both Kepler and Gallo can be free agents after this season. The Twins are definitely committed to Buxton and Correa. I’d be shocked if they don’t improve their numbers over the remaining 90 games, and if they don’t improve I’d be even more shocked if they won the division.

I'm a bit concerned about Lewis at third and holding my breath with Julien at second. Lewis has shown plenty of athleticism, but has booted a couple balls and made a few bad throws. Julien just isn't a natural fielder. I know he works hard, but he's already cost a few outs and he's been replaced in the late innings when the Twins have a lead.

I'll drive the bus!!

For the last couple of weeks they've alternated Jeffers and Vázquez with Jeffers getting the odd extra start. I think Jeffers has been the better player in about every respect. I'm pleasantly surprised that Jeffers' throwing hasn't been a real weakness. That was the one area where I thought Vázquez would be clearly superior.

Each of the three games turned on a base running play early in the game. The Tigers not scoring and losing their challenge really changed the game. The Twins played good defense, turned two DPs and gunned a guy down at the plate. That's a winning formula when the offense is slumping. I haven't been one to advocate coaching changes and still don't think Rocco is a bad manager, but Popkins' seat has to be warm. The whiffs are happening at an epic rate, with no letup in sight and the offense just doesn't put the kind of sustained pressure on pitchers that they should.

The club believes a healthy Buxton is essential if they have any chance in postseason. Watching Buck at this point is painful. If someone wants to be critical of the team and of Buxton, now is a perfect time. The more he slumps the more the TD fan base is clamoring for him to play center field. I don't see it happening until at least the All-Star break. I'm confident he'll come out of it and again be a much above-average hitter with plenty of power. We've seen this before and almost certainly will see it again. I don't know if the Twins will succeed with Buxton at DH. I have a hard time believing they can be competitive without him and I'm certain that they won't make the playoffs and be competitive with both Correa and Buxton having BAs in the low .200s and OPS in the low .700s. It really doesn't figure that Correa (28) and Buxton (29) would fall of the table offensively. The Twins have put their bets on those two guys and if they fail, there isn't enough talent to be a winning team.

Sánchez is doing quite well for the Padres.

No. Floyd completes the Megill trade. He's a minor leaguer, not on the 40-man roster. A pitcher couldn't replace a position player anyway. The corresponding move will see Buxton activated from the IL.

Gets the go-ahead and is sent down. Don’t disagree, but it is a tough call.

Only five hits, but seven walks and only seven strikeouts. How many games have the Twins won this year when they hit zero homers and their opponents hit two or more?

Agree that injuries are really the key for Polanco. To me, he seems like an "old" almost 30 year old. He definitely seems like he is more pull-happy from both halves of the plate. The increased homers pretty much evens out less contact. He's still a really good guy to have in the box with the game on the line. If the Twins can get good value, I think they need to make a move to trade him. They have options with high ceilings to replace him, but there are no guarantees.

The problem is that aside from Kirilloff, the outfield is where the left handed hitters play, particularly if Buxton is considered a DH. In the infield, we have Correa, Lewis, Farmer and Solano covering all four spots and with Famer and Solano able to play multiple positions. Miranda currently isn't outhitting Donnie Barrels, so there is no real place to play him except DH.

Well, if there's no place to tailgate........

Twins commentators say they will have the bullpen edge tomorrow. That’s right because Jorge López and Emilio Pagán are tested and ready. 😅🤪

Julien fits for me and he is enough of a running threat to at least keep opponents aware.

The prototypical lead of hitter sees a lot of pitches and draws a fair number of walks. Lewis so far has been the most impatient hitter this side of Williams Astudillo.

From his short stay so far this year, Wallner is the one who deserves a longer look. Julien will get PAs for probably the next two weeks and if he hits, he deserves to stay. As it is, it's a judgment call. He obviously isn't a strong defender, but he fills needs as a lefty infielder who gets on base. Counting Kirilloff as a first baseman and Gallo as a corner outfielder, we have Kepler, Gallo and Larnach, none of whom are hitting for high average. Kepler plays good defense at a position low on the spectrum, as does Gallo, and Larnach is decent. Gallo has enough slug and walks to have a respectable OPS, Larnach is below average and Kepler is well below average. More production is needed and I don't see it coming from that trio. It would appear that Garlick leaves for Gallo tomorrow and probably Larnach for Buxton, again maybe as soon as tomorrow. It doesn't solve the corner outfielder problem at all. Giving Kepler a DFA and finding a respectable RH bat to mix in with Wallner and Gallo would be my prescription--on another thread I suggested Jo Adell from the Angel system for Larnach--to get more production out of the corner outfield spots.

I could make the comments I'm going to make in a lot of other threads, but I'll put them here. The Twins, much like last year have been ahead of a mediocre field in the AL Central. The Royals are already out of it, IMHO, and Detroit is on a long losing streak and probably won't contend either. That leaves three teams with a chance to win the Central. The focus of this thread is the White Sox. Let's cover them: Chicago has quite a bit of front-line talent. Moncada, Anderson, Vaughn, Robert, Jiménez and Binentendi make a better foundation for a lineup than either the Twins or the Guards. Their starting staff has been inconsistent this year, but Cease, Giolito and Kopech are a nice trio who could throw a shutout at any time. Their bullpen has been poor, but Hendriks is back and that will help a lot. The Sox have weathered early injuries and a tough schedule. I expect that they will be pretty formidable (by AL Central standards) going forward. BTW, the Pale Hose defense isn't bad overall, but they have tended to break down when it matters. Cleveland is in second place. They have the best position player in the Central in Ramirez and Josh Naylor has been a great clutch hitter for them in the last year and a half. Their pitching is off from what is was last year, both the rotation and the bullpen. The Guardians have made more late inning rallies than their competitors and Francona is a definite plus as a manager. If they can get their second tier of players to improve as they did last year, they'll be right there. The Twins have the best rotation 1-5 in the division and it isn't close. Their closer is also the class of the division, but that is close. They have a roster dotted with guys who get injured and if they could find good health, there is a lot of talent there. The high strikeouts are unsustainable, but they have the talent to beat anybody. Improved health and the establishment of some young players (Kirilloff, Lewis) would keep them on top. My thought going forward is whoever does the best in the division will win it. The Twins have six games left with Cleveland and seven with Chicago. If they win a majority of those games, I think they win the Central. They will need to win low-scoring games and continue to out-homer their opponents. Finding key bullpen arms and keeping the starters and Duran healthy are essential.

Credit to the home run hitters, but also credit to the table setters. Taylor started the big inning with a bunt hit and Julien and Solano both reached to set up the huge inning.

Buxton and Gallo are both eligible to come off the IL on Tuesday. I have presumed they both will come back as soon as that day.

Who has been struggling more than Kepler, Correa and Larnach? Today, all three hit long balls to give the team a big victory.

To tag on to Brian's post, I believe Garlick had had success against Kikuchi, something like three for five with two homers. The Twins really need a corner outfield upgrade.