stringer bell

Unfortunately Bumgarner hits right handed.

All of the left handed relievers who were non-tendered should get a look. With the three batter minimum, they need to be able to have some success against right handed hitters, though. Given the Twins roster construction, they already have three utility types (Gonzalez, Adrianza & Astudillo) and a regular for every position except first base (or third if Sanó is moved). A right handed hitting outfielder who can play center field well (as well or better than Kepler) would be a good add. There were also a number of catchers non-tendered, although none of them hit left handed. If the Twins are interested in Garver getting reps at first, they should be interested in adding major league catching.

My vote is to move Sanó. Sign Shaw and have Marwin available at third, particularly against left handers.

First base is a far less demanding position. There are many, many examples of players being moved to first from more demanding positions. I can't think of a single player who was moved to first and then moved back because he couldn't handle it. The one "skill" that a first baseman really needs is scooping low throws out of the dirt. With the manicured infields and the level of skill needed to make the majors, just about every major league player is adept at this. I would expect Sanó to likewise be able to scoop his fair share.

The 10 duplicate entries are deleted. Sometimes it does take a while for a posting to happen, particularly when on a phone.

A one-year deal for Shaw makes sense. According to BBRef, he's a plus defender at third. Good power and a little bit more L/R balance.

Other than Grandal, I don't think there were many (if any) catchers that move the needle for teams. I like Castro and Avila to provide a LH bat in the lineup on occasion, but mostly I'd like to see solid run-prevention in all aspects of the backup catcher's defensive game--handling pitchers, framing, throwing and preventing wild pitches.

At the end of May, I said that Schoop had been inconsequential, since his offensive production was almost completely done when the Twins were comfortably ahead or hopelessly behind in games. He provided some key hits and defensive plays, but mostly remained inconsequential as mostly a spare part after Arraez was promoted. He was, by all reports, a good teammate and a positive presence. Good luck to him in 2020 and beyond.

I think that would make sense except that the Twins already have Gonzalez and Adrianza to be alternates at multiple positions. Granted Gonzalez is an option in the outfield, but adding Arraez to the alternate list would make it really tough for anyone to get sufficient at-bats. I was a proponent of Polanco to second base last year, supplanted by Iglesias. Seems even less likely this year.

The way I see it is that Kirlloff is projected as being the best hitter of the host of prospects (Larnach, Raley, Rooker) all in the upper minors. He would have to demonstrate his "eliteness" over the others and show that he is too good a hitter for the IL or maybe the AA Southern League. IIRC, he was outstanding in the playoffs for Pensacola, which was another reason why the rumors of a recall were being heard. With that number of bat-first prospects, at least three of whom have played first base, I can see why bringing back Cron might not happen. Further, that is a lot of material for a trade. My guess on trade value would be 1) Kirilloff 2) Larnach 3) Rooker and 4) Raley.

I do think that there could be internal improvement from the existing players. I would dispute that either Cron or Schoop are good defenders. While the number of errors committed is one small part of overall defense, they both made a lot of errors compared to others at their position. Neither Cron nor Schoop would be described as having superior range so I can't see that they are good fielders.

I think Sanó will continue to improve, but that he also will continue to frustrate. He'll have periods of time, where he's a huge force and then strike out 50-75% for a couple series.

Garver's 2019 was so good and comparitively out of the blue. He would be an obvious choice. At 40 for most of next season, Cruz can't be expected to continue to put up the numbers he had in 2019. I've always expected Kepler to hit for a higher average, although I doubt he can slug as many homers consistently. Regression also has a lot to do with health. Cruz missed about 25-30 games with his wrist problem (and sat out essentially the entire road portion of interleague play). That might have been just enough rest for the rest of his body. Garver wasn't overrused and did miss about three weeks with his ankle injury, again perhaps conditions kept him fresh until late September. On the other hand, I believe Kepler's injury late in the season kept him from serious consideration for a Silver Slugger and doomed the Twins' playoff chances.

Mmmm, that would mean changing every infielder from a team that won 101 games the previous year. That, on it's face, seems to be a bit over overreaction. Here's my take on all of the infielders--Sano is range-limited, has a superior arm, and does not have soft hands. First base or DH are his future. In a larger sample, I would guess Sano's defense at first will be below average, but less so than his work at third. Polanco has been stretched at shortstop, but that is where he has been for the bulk of his major league career. While he was the starting shortstop in the All-Star game, there are a half-dozen other shortstops that are at least as good, if not better overall. Despite a number of fine defensive plays, I would rate him in the bottom half of shortstops defensively.Moving him to a less-crucial position makes sense, but I'd like to see what he can do for part of another year with his new throwing motion, since arm strength and accuracy are his biggest defensive problems. Arraez is young, gives great effort, but isn't particularly adept as a defender. His arm would appear to be a problem if moved to the left side of the diamond. Each of the players I listed are better hitters than fielders. All three of those guys would be helped by an outstanding defender beside them. Last year I advocated picking up Iglesias and moving Polanco to second. I wouldn't be opposed to the same move, but now we have to deal with Arraez/Sanó. Another factor to consider is shifting. A third baseman spends probably 30% of his time as the only defender on the left side and playing in the traditional shortstop position most of that 30%. I would think an adequate arm would be a must for whoever plays third. Finally, the Twins figure to return both Adrianza and Marwin Gonzalez who have and would enhance the infield defense. If Gonzalez is freed from spending the majority of his time in the outfield, he is the best internal answer at third base defensively. Adrianza is the existing team's best shortstop and probably second best third baseman. Neither of these guys hit like the starting trio, but they stayed around league average and both will be over 30 next year. To me there aren't any easy answers, but that there are a lot of possible ways to go forward. The Twins gave away far too many outs with their infield defense last year. Something needs to be done to improve that. If one move is made, I would say non-tender Cron and move Sanó across the diamond.

The Badgers are “vincible” away from Camp Randall, I think that game will be interesting, but the next two Saturdays will provide tests on the road that will determine how big the Axe Game will be.

BTW, the oldest person in American is 114, so there isn’t a person in the country that was alive the last time the Gophers were 9-0.

Each remaining regular season game brings its own challenges including playing in an obvious trap game at Northwestern. I'd love to see an undefeated Gopher team take on an undefeated Ohio State for the B1G championship, but it will take considerable focus and improvement by an already good football team to get there. As a Gopher football fan since the days of Bobby Bell and the Minneapolis Star Sports Peach, this is tremendous fun. I don't want the ride to end.

I think Rosario is a good player overall, but I don't think he's invaluable. Most of that comes from the position he plays and the prospects coming in the high minors. The chance that one of those guys can play acceptable defense and OPS above .800 is pretty high. I don't want to minimize the HR and RBI numbers totally, but some of that is a function of batting behind Kepler, Polanco and Cruz most of the season. To some degree, Eddie is what he is. He is going to have stretches where he is one of the most dynamic offensive players in MLB, but he won't ever be selective and he'll have frustrating snags too.

Thanks, Brian. I just watched the postgame press conference. PJ is a salesman, for sure, but it seems to work for 18-23 year olds. To get Minnesota on a par with all of the schools in the West of the Big Ten is doable. Row the Boat!

I like MadBum and think the Twins could use a solid lefty. I think the good-hitting Bumgarner will prefer to stay in the NL, but go for the best available talent.

Two equally matched teams. Other than the missed Delay of Game call, the Gophers got the bulk of the calls (and non-calls).

I don't think the QO guarantees anything about Odorizzi returning to the Twins. I do think that his slide in the second half, along with the limited number of innings will make him a bit less attractive to other teams and that the Twins have a decent chance of signing him to a multi-year deal. Odorizzi had his best year last year. I would expect he could back it up with another (or a few more) good seasons.

I mostly agree with Brian on this--I want to see Buxton in a Twins uni in 2022 much more than I needed to see him in September of 2018, when the Twins were out of contention. Further, Buxton's option to the minors was justified by his play on the field and his play in Triple A was not a golden ticket for return to the majors. To me, the Cubs were blatant in the Bryant case, while the Twins were ambiguous in Buxton's case. I don't think we can blame Buxton for recklessness, it is not like he's driving dirt bikes at 150 mph, he happens to run faster than 99.99+% of us which makes his collisions with the ground or a wall much more dangerous. I hope he is able to stay on the field next year, although my faith is slipping with each new injury. Also, recovery from injury is something that can't be standardized for each person. Some heal faster than others. It isn't on Buxton that some of his injuries have taken longer to heal than similar injuries have for others. Finally, I think it is unfair to demean Buxton's character. I've never seen video of his "rant", but from what was said, while it was ill-timed, I think the volume of Buck's dealing with management and media makes that incident an outlier and not a disqualifier.

Perhaps it is true of Rosario as it was of Sanó, that unrealistic expectations are being placed on the player. IMHO, Rosario was more frustrating as the season moved along and his remaining in the cleanup spot exacerbated the frustration. I don't think Eddie is a cornerstone of the franchise. The defense has certainly suffered in the past couple of years. There weren't many great catches and a lot of catchable balls were not caught. Teams have learned their lesson about running on Eddie's arm, so his outfield assists which somewhat canceled out his less-than-stellar results tracking down fly balls have become more scarce. If the Twins can't get value in trading Rosario, it makes sense to keep him. Paying him big money the next two years may or may not make sense and the progress of other hitters who can play the corner outfield will probably determine how long #20 is wearing a Twins uni.

IIRC, Travis played on the Cedar Rapids team with Buxton and Polanco. Best wishes to him in his life outside of baseball.