stringer bell

Given the current OF injuries (Kepler & Gonzalez dinged, Buxton on IL), I would expect Wade to be added on Sunday along with Astudillo, who could possibly get a start in the OF, too. Pitchers--bring everyone who was here back. I believe Poppen was injured and the Florida weather spoiled his rehab. Romero has been nothing special in AAA and a total disappointment in the major league bullpen. I don't know if recalling him is the right call for his development. Kohl Stewart has become someone to give innings, but I don't know if he'll be in the organization after October. Smeltzer and Thorpe can provide length out of the bullpen or a spot start. I think there are four candidates from off the 40-man roster to join the club--Ian Miller as a pinch runner and late inning defensive replacement, Ryan O'Rourke as a LOOGy, and Alcala and Graterol as young flamethrowers in the bullpen. O'Rourke and Miller were acquired in August and both seem to be specialty guys. If more than one of them are added, someone has to leave the 40-man. I was thinking during the game yesterday, that it would be ironic if they DFAed Dobnak and his 0.00 ERA and first MLB save, but then they could have a fresh arm from off the 40-man today.

The addition of both Romo and Dyson really deepens the bullpen. The newfound competence of Duffey and May makes the whole 'pen look much better.

Some interesting numbers. It looks like they've had some bad luck (26th in BABIP and a big disparity between ERA and FIP). With five guys getting some degree of trust (Dyson, May, Duffey, Romo and Rogers), they should be able to hold leads and not be overworked.

The Twins have 39 on their 40-man, so they can get one "free add" before DFAing or putting someone on the 60-day list.

There was speculation that Ian Miller, who is not on the 40-man roster was acquired last month for the purpose of being a pinch-runner and possible defensive replacement. Another player with a similar projection would be Ryan O'Rourke as a lefty specialist out of the bullpen.

Same on the pitching side -- while Graterol and Alcala are intriguing additions, we have about a bazillion other pitchers already. A ton of relievers, including some promising ones who can't even fit on our 25-man right now (Littell), and several capable of starting too (Lewis, Smeltzer, Dobnak). I can't see any circumstances where you would need to reach down for Duran coming off a non-dominant AA performance. Referring to "Lewis", you were meaning Lewis Thorpe?

No option would be burned this year is a guy is promoted now. The service time considerations would also be minor IMHO. I can't find the link, but didn't Falvey say that bringing up Graterol was not a sure thing? On a couple of other notes, with the roster construction in place, the Twins could use both a pinch runner/defensive replacement and a left handed relief specialist. O'Rourke would figure to have a shot as the lefty specialist and it appears he has been effective in Rochester. Ian Miller? Maybe.

May was my pick to have the most saves in the Twins' bullpen at the start of the year. That won't happen, but having him as a reliable setup guy would be huge down the stretch.

Never mind. Duffey has been awarded the win, as he should have.

Future Rocco probably won't be available for awhile, so I'll try to answer for him. Good points! Starting with the last point, injuries are a part of the game and most are unavoidable. Nelson Cruz isn't likely to hold up, even as a DH, for a full season. That said, getting and keeping Byron Buxton healthy is the #1 goal going forward. He means so much to the current team and no one has the skills to replace what he has to offer. Gallons of virtual ink have been spilled detailing and analyzing his injuries. It will be up to the team to find the "sweet spot" of keeping Buck aggressive, without needlessly banging into walls and turf. Buxton's health impacts team defense. Since Buxton has been on the shelf, Marwin Gonzalez has played mostly outfield, and he is a capable outfielder. Gonzalez also happens to be the best corner infield defender on the team and he can't be used in two places at once. This has put Sanó at third and he's a liability there (not terrible) and Cron at first where he is probably average at best. Sanó to first base makes sense next year and perhaps when everyone is healthy this year. Middle infield is another matter. Yesterday's sharp play at short (and two hits) demonstrates Ehire Adrianza's value. Currently he is both hitting better and fielding better than All-Star Jorge Polanco. Jorge is too good a player to be benched, but he was a lot better player when he was hitting .320. Arraez is OK at second base and will continue to get most of the reps there. Finally, the bullpen. The Twins now have three trusted late-inning bullpen arms. None of them is Mariano Rivera or even Joe Nathan, but all three are capable. Taylor Rogers can be elite, but can't be overused. With Dyson and Romo on board, the urge to use Rogers in every pressure situation can be reduced. Three guys--Harper, Duffey and May--can supplement the late guys, and since there are three of them, they shouldn't have to be overused either. To further reduce overuse of Rogers, a lefty specialist would be helpful. Ryan O'Rourke might be that guy. If the starters can give the club around six innings per start, the bullpen will be much improved and much less of an issue going forward.

It's probably happened in regular season games. It did happen in the 50s in an All-Star game. The pitcher was Dean Stone of the Washington Senators and he was credited with the win when a runner tried to steal home.

The game you're referring to was the win against the Yankees at Target Field? Duffey was not the pitcher of record when the Twins took the lead. They led throughout and Pérez (the starter) only went four innings. My understanding of the hold rule is that it has to be a save situation (seventh inning or later) and leave with the lead. IIRC, Duffey pitched earlier than the seventh in that situation. It is certainly debatable if Duffey should have gotten the win on that day. IMHO, it is not debatable that he should have gotten the win last night.

I am not going to gush about the bullpen's performance yesterday. They got the job done for 3+ innings and each guy showed they aren't close to invincible. These are veteran guys who rose to the occasion, which is good and there are three of them who can be trusted with a lead late. There are many bullpens that are in worse shape. I think the trade deadline acquisitions were what the club needed. I hope they were enough. Oh yeah. A rested Taylor Rogers against 90% of left handed hitters is a severe mismatch. Ask Mr. Odor.

Right now (and really since June), the only area where Polanco is superior is power, especially from the left side. Jorge has really not been that good for two and a half months. Whatever can be done to "fix" Polanco is needed and the dropoff to Adrianza isn't much of a dropoff at all.

I don't want to argue, but I don't ever recall a situation like this and I've been following baseball since the early '60s. Can you supply any examples?

Dufffey may have gotten a win in a similar situation, but recently there was a discussion about who was awarded the win for the Twins' win against the Yankees at Target Field. That win was awarded to Thorpe and Duffey also was a candidate for the W.

My understanding was the "brief and ineffective" rule only applied when the starter couldn't get the win and the winning team led from the point the starter exited the game. This win should have been Duffey's. Dyson and Rogers should both be credited with well-deserved "holds" and Romo gets a save.

Small nit to pick, Dyson is the winning pitcher? I thought Duffey was the pitcher of record.

What does this have to do with yesterday's game? Anyway, Toronto is not in contention, saving an odd million on Galvis' salary is fine for them and he doesn't have a future with the Jays. The Twins are in a pennant race and an injury away from playing Schoop every day at second. Different situation.

I agree that the chances of Cron returning next year have diminished in the second half of the season. Also agree that Sanó is eventually going to end up at first, so playing him there now makes sense. Gonzalez has been very good defensively at third, but has barely played there since Sanó's return. I'd like to see Marwin at third and Sanó at first against RH pitching. I'm expecting Marwin to pick up his offense in these last six weeks. Garver at first? I am not sure about the defense. I am sure that Mitch's production is diminishing perhaps from his catching workload, perhaps from regression to the mean. Mitch is 7 for his last 52 with three walks and 16 strikeouts. Overall he's had a fantastic season, but he's not hitting well enough right now to force himself into the lineup on a daily basis.

Marwin Gonzalez is a very good, versatile player. He has been the "10th regular" when everyone is healthy. While Gonzalez' defensive stats in right are not great, it is one position that he hadn't played much prior to this year. With more time out there, I think he will be good to very good. As an example, Gonzalez' metrics at third were the worst of the infield positions going into this year. With some regular reps, Margo showed that he was a quality defender there. Why should right field be different. Add in a very good outfield arm and I am pretty comfortable with Gonzalez playing a lot of right field the rest of the season. As a hitter, Gonzalez has been noted as a decided second half guy. In the last week he has been very good and did get the biggest hit of the season so far (IMHO). Marwin should be in the lineup almost every day no matter which hand the opposition starter throws with.

Polanco has mastered the charge and flip on slowly hit grounders. Other throws have been more of a challenge. I still think his future is elsewhere than shortstop, especially if Lewis is all that he's supposed to be. With subpar defenders at each and every spot in the infield (Sanó, Polanco, Arraez, Cron), it is hard to see a way that defense will improve dramatically. However, I think fatigue is an issue with Polanco. I don't think that using Adrianza at short frequently in the near future is a bad idea. Addressing defensive deficiencies in the off-season should be a must.

The other team that got multiple relievers is Washington. We see them later this year.

In the past two weeks, we've seen Rogers get hit for a four-spot vs. the Indians, Dyson get knocked around twice and Romo dinged for a three-run homer and a long solo homer. While it is unfortunate that it occurred, it is equally to be expected. All three are good major league pitchers, but they aren't unhittable. May was impressive in his inning yesterday. What the Twins need more than anything for their bullpen is for the starters to go six or more innings. Until yesterday, Texas was struggling, but they scored seven runs yesterday.

Add in that he is freshly off the Injured List and I would say "no chance".