stringer bell

Yes, I agree, but I doubt the Twins will do this

The Twins are actually behind Cleveland in the loss column! The Guardians have played seven fewer games than the Twins and they have been taking advantage of a soft spot in their schedule. There will be ebbs and flows in the standings. The Twins are getting healthy and if they play like they are capable, I don't think Cleveland can stay with them.

The Twins 26-man roster is in permanent flux, as most major league rosters are. They have run a lot of players on the Injured List, but there are several players on the road to return to the active roster. Within this week, Kyle Garlick and Sonny Gray should be added back to the roster. In addition, Alex Kirilloff is absolutely mashing for the St. Paul Saints. I am of the opinion that it is past time to bring Kirilloff back to the Twins. His stats in the past weeks are beyond excellent. He is crushing there and has shown that right now he is dealing with whatever residual wrist issues he might have. Assuming there are no new injuries, the Twins will be hard-pressed to choose players to option or be designated for assignment. Adding Gray, Garlick and Kirilloff would require demotion or designation of three players. Who might that be? Here's my take: Jose Miranda--Miranda has had a good month of June and is getting pretty consistent playing time. He plays first and third base (but not well). Miranda's overall stats are below average and IMHO his defense has been a disappointment. With Garlick providing a right handed bat, I think Miranda is the #1 candidate to be removed from the roster. Nick Gordon--Gordon's left handed bat really isn't needed, however his defensive versatility is of some value and he does have plus speed. Further, Gordon has no options remaining. To be demoted, he would have to be exposed to the other 29 major league teams. Trevor Larnach--The new, improved version of Trevor Larnach had a WAR of 2.0 about two weeks ago. He has demonstrated improved plate disciple, used the whole field and really has looked like an improved defender in the outfield corners. However, he's the flip side of Jose Miranda. His hitting has dried up recently. He is 5-44 in the month of June. On balance, Trevor has taken a step up, but it only figures that Kirilloff would produce more at this point. Kyle Garlick--Garlick is a 30-year old outfielder with limited upside. He is passable as an outfielder, but his reason for being on a major league roster is his ability to hit left handed pitching. So far, in a limited sample, he is again mashing against lefties. Garlick has the "lefty killer" role with the Twins and there is really no one available to fill that role if he were demoted. Like Gordon, he can't be optioned and would have to be exposed to waivers. Among the pitchers who could be demoted, only two can be optioned, I believe. Jovani Moran has performed well for the Twins and is left handed. Trevor Megill also has performed quite well, but he has two options available. Otherwise the Twins could DFA Thornberg or Cotton. The long-shot that would appeal to TD readers would be to release Tyler Duffey. There are more pitching returns on the horizon. Danny Coulombe and Bailey Ober will have spent their IL time and should be healthy by the end of the month. Of course, this is probably a fantasy exercise. By far, the most likely event is Injured List assignments to players currently unknown. Opinions on what the Twins will/should do are welcomed.

Gray is scheduled to start this afternoon. Assuming he survives the start uninjured, the rotation is Ryan, Gray, Smeltzer, Archer and Bundy. Should Winder bump any of those? Most likely a pitcher is demoted/optioned before the game today.

I don’t think there would be any problem finding at-bats for Kirilloff. However there are no easy demotions to make roster room for AK.

It is true that there are a lot of guys like Chi Chi Gonzalez out there. Outcomes are varied. Most move around and get occasional opportunities (guys like Andrew Albers and Aaron Slegers), some find a home in an organization. Most don't make much of a mark. It looks like Gonzalez will get an opportunity with the Brew Crew. Good for him.

After a run of really good offense, the Twins have scored a grand total of three runs in their last 27 innings.

I don’t know how much Jeffers can be fixed in-season, and I think most of the time Twins pitchers haven’t given him much of a chance. That said, his poor throwing performance is unacceptable.

If you’re talking about struggling players, you can add Larnach. He has looked much better in the field and he isn’t chasing as much as last year, but he’s 5-41 in June.

Max, how’s that leg injury? Nick, is your hamstring okay? Kirilloff was 3-4 with a grand slam today. Probably past time to bring him back. AK’s season season line with the Saints: .368 BA, 1.130 OPS.

I was watching Padres-Cubs until the Twins game started. The Pads were down 5-0 in the sixth, and won 12-5. This game isn’t necessarily over, but I doubt I’ll stick with it much longer. It’s past this senior citizen’s bedtime.

If there’s anything worrisome about Ryan, it is that his velo diminishes by the middle innings. Today, his secondary pitches weren’t as good. Maybe it’s the COVID layoff, maybe just one of those days.

In 61 games last season, Buck had 4.5 WAR. He isn’t outperforming that this year, although if he does get into 120 games, he’ll easily eclipse that 4.5 aggregate WAR total. Since the start of 2021, his HR frequency is on top of the charts, but the OBP and slugging are down from last season. He’s been basically an “all or nothing at all” hitter this year. To me, he’s only using a fraction of his skills and yet he’s a very good baseball player. I want to add that load management and injury are why he’s only using a fraction of his skills, not lack of effort or anything else.

The Twins' website has Ryan on the active roster and Soto is not listed. However, I count 41 on the expanded roster and Palacios is still on that roster. Is that correct? If so, how can they carry 41 on the 40-man?

Baldelli has done a decent job with the Twins so far. He was the right fit for the unicorn that was the 2019 regular season. 2021 didn't go well and I think Baldelli has to take some blame for the poor performance. However, I think Rocco adjusted to the non-competitive team. I really have no opinion about 2020 because the season was so weird due to the schedule and starting so late in the year. I think Rocco has used his bullpen heavily without overusing anyone. He is pretty quick with the hook for the starters, but it seems that is necessitated by the fragility of the arms in the Twins' starting rotation. I think he's more tuned in to the right amount of rest for players and using his bench. All in all, he's done a good job. As far as postseason, it is pretty hard to give someone no blame when their team loses six straight games. I do believe the Astros were better than their record in the crazy 2020 season and the Twins' pitching staff was depleted in 2019. Let's see if the third time is the charm this year. The more I see the White Sox struggle this year, the more I think the Twins are the best team in the Central.

Patrick knows and appreciates baseball. I appreciate his knowledge and like his stories of Minnesota town-team baseball including the Southern Minny League. Yes, he is often critical, but I don’t think that makes him totally negative. I think he likes to take down those who get too full of themselves and I don’t think that’s a bad thing either.

If there are no injuries, it will be tough to find a place for Sanó. Most likely in a month, someone will be injured and a logical place can be found.

Chi Chi Gonzalez was claimed by the Milwaukee Brewers. For the record, Chi Chi got what he wanted by invoking his opt-out clause he on a major league team and also a contender at least for now. Best wishes to Chi Chi until and unless he faces the Twins.

With Garlick nearly ready to return, there already is a position player crunch. Assuming Soto goes down plus two pitchers when Gray, Ryan and Garlick are activated, who is demoted to bring up Kirilloff? Gordon and Garlick would likely be lost to the team. Larnach has done well and has played a good corner OF, Celestino is hitting well over .300 and is Buxton’s primary backup. Miranda has come on and provides an alternate at third and first against lefties. No easy choices. I do expect AK to return fairly soon. I expect a decent contributor once he gets here with plenty of at-bats.

Miranda needs to be more selective. He chases too many out of the zone.

They manage to boo pretty loud for Correa.

Glove save by Gio!

The Twins won 5 of 9 games against Toronto, New York and Tampa Bay without four starting pitchers, all of whom should be back this month. The front office shouldn’t rule out a deep playoff run with Carlos Correa. If they have more season-ending injuries before the trade deadline, they could then consider trading Correa, but they an win this year.

I don’t want to be defensive but I do want to say, I wasn’t dissing Matthew Lecroy or Lecroyfan24. I merely pointed out that it was ironic that someone who (by his moniker) is a fan of a catcher noted for his inability to throw out base stealers should criticize Jeffers for the same thing.

I was wondering about Steer, as well. Glad that his absence isn't injury related. I guess the Saints don't need him!