stringer bell

2-0 does seem like 6-0 given the opposition pitcher and the Twins lineup.

Two "soft" runs.

What, no Houston Astros trash can lid?

They'll be lucky to get five out of Ryan. Too bad. Joe isn't getting many swings and misses either.

I recall a Red Sox player (maybe Yaz) hitting a broken-bat homer against the Twins.

I admire Byron Buxton and marvel at his skills. Everything I’ve seen or heard about him indicates he works hard and plays hard. He’s not a malingerer or anything like that. I’m more disappointed with each injury. I question the plan to rest him and particularly to use a platinum glove center fielder as a DH. I don’t have any answers, but it sure doesn’t seem like the plan is working.

At least Verlander had to work a little in the second. I have a hard time believing the Twins will score more than one or two runs tonight.

Here we go! Go Joe.

I just don’t know what to think. I am not sure that the idea of DH time and scheduled days off would reduce or eliminate injuries. Here we are a month in and he’s missed a third of the games—knee, hand, hip—suffered from running out a pop fly that turned into a windblown double, getting hit by a pitch and running out a grounder. None of those things occurred from being in center field.

I was going to make the same comment with a slightly different spin. My optimism is slowly diminishing.

I’d really like to see Kirilloff break out.

Contreras should have options so he wouldn’t be automatically DFAed if he is sent down. Cotton would have to be exposed via DFA if he is removed from the active roster.

That still doesn’t allow the club to go outside the 40-man. It probably gives them time to determine Paddack’s status.

Not according Levine. There has to be a minimum of three players out with COVID to allow the club to go outside the 40-man roster. It wouldn’t surprise me if Arraez gets activated tonight, with Godoy being optioned. I expect Sanó is being moved to the 60-day list and the other space will be made by DFA.

Correa and Paddack to the IL, Cotton and Contreras selected. Welcome to MLB Mark Contreras!

Gilberto Celestino has 42 plate appearances with the Twins so far. I'm not quite ready to say that he's ready to be a fourth/sometimes third outfielder just yet. Do remember that Rob Refsnyder was hitting over .400 in a similar number of plate appearances last season. He regressed hard to the mean. Gilberto is certainly a better prospect and some of the deeper stats are encouraging. He's only struck out 16.7% of his PAs, he's hit a fair percentage of balls on the barrel and he's a legitimate center fielder.

I beg to differ with the poster that suggested Garlick would/should be DFAed when all the outfielders get healthy. He provides punch against left handed pitching that Celestino does not. Garlick should have a job with the Twins as long as he slugs lefties.

According to BBRef, Larnach is second on the team in WAR and has positive defensive ratings this year (negative last year). My eye test of Trevor is that he has been a different hitter this year—using the whole field, chasing less and working the count better. Defensively, I see improvement in positioning to make throws and taking better angles to balls. I’m guessing Larnach is in the second quadrant in spring speed (25-50 percentile). He isn’t going to get to some balls that faster guys can reach.

Also on the starting pitching--there doesn't seem to be anyone in St. Paul that is pushing to make the Twins' starting rotation. Sands has been mostly ineffective, Balazovic has only made one start (and allowed seven base runners in 3.2 innings), Smeltzer got knocked around his last start and no one else has stepped forward. There looks like a couple of guys at AA who might move up pretty fast, but expecting them to help the Twins this year is a large gamble. A lot depends on health. If Paddack's injury isn't major and everyone else holds together, the need won't be too great, but having rotations go a full season without going eight or nine deep is a rarity.

As far as the original topic, I do believe a team can't have enough pitching. The apparent depth of having seven starters may be down to four, although Ober seems on track to boost the number to five soon enough. I am presuming that Paddack will go on the Injured List and that Bundy is cooked, although with Ober still on the IL, Bundy will get at least one more shot to redeem himself. There have been a couple of bullpen surprises, but I think there is a need to add at least one high-leverage arm and it would be nice if the guy was a lefty. Getting Alcala back would help to reduce the role for Pagan, which I think would benefit the club.

Also, you don't see teams dropping out of contention 30 games in, but Cincinnati has managed to do that.

Players flame out or don't pan out. However, the Twins currently have Jeffers, Kirilloff, Polanco, Arraez, Lewis, Miranda, Larnach, Gordon, Celestino, Buxton and Kepler on their roster. All home-grown and under 30. The earliest any of these players could be a free agent is 2024 and the Twins have options to keep both Kepler and Polanco longer. It appears that at least three pitchers have arrived to stay with the Twins and there are more on the way. This looks like the nucleus of a contending team for the rest of the decade. Edit to add: I know that Celestino was acquired in a trade, but he was a Low A ballplayer when acquired and only 19 years old IIRC. In my book, that makes him home-grown.

I don't recall Coulombe's "shoulder shimmy" from previous seasons. It seems like a balk to me when runners are on base.

Looking forward to the rest of 2022, the guy I see playing the most first base on this team is..............Miranda. Right now, Alex Kirilloff seems to be in need of either another stint on the Injured List or a trip across the river to St. Paul. He's not hitting the ball hard and he doesn't look like he's enjoying himself on the field. It's a long season, but this is starting to look like every bit as much a lost season for Kirilloff as it has been for Sano. Arraez is going to be in the lineup almost all the time against right handed pitching. He can DH, play first, second or third. Barring a bunch of injuries, I don't see much playing time available for Gordon. With Celestino and Larnach advancing, and Garlick doing exactly what he has been pegged to do, again Nick doesn't have much of an avenue for consistent play in the outfield. We all know that injuries will continue and they tend to cluster. Gordon's ability to play both outfield and infield make him pretty valuable to the Twins.

I haven't been a huge Nick Gordon fan and pictured him "on the bubble" to make the Twins out of spring training this year. In paying attention to the Twins last year after they were hopelessly out of the running, and this year, when things have so far gone very well, I have an increased appreciation for Mr. Gordon. He has demonstrated that he is a capable outfielder and he's not a sure out at the plate. Nick has good speed, something in short supply on this Twins team. Injuries seem to have cemented his position on the active roster. As for his versatility, Nick Gordon is not going to play many, if any, innings at third base or in right field. The key to his value is whether he can be trusted as a shortstop. Last year, when winning mattered, Rocco preferred Jorge Polanco over Gordon as a shortstop. This year, Gordon has played one full game there and played a few innings where the score was lopsided. When Carlos Correa got injured, Gordon was the in-game replacement. I guess, on balance, the Twins seem to look slightly more favorably on Gordon as a shortstop. During spring training, I opined that Nick Gordon was no more than the third choice at any defensive position on the Twins team. If he's the second choice on the active roster at shortstop, his value is enhanced and I think that is the case if Royce Lewis is sent back to the minors when Correa is ready to play again. Gordon has gotten starts in center field and left field, so he seems to have improved his value due to his outfield play. The bat, however, continues to be bottom of the order at best. In summary, an out-of-options Nick Gordon is likely to last the season as a Minnesota Twin. If the Twins would try to sneak him to St. Paul via DFA, I now think he would be claimed and lost to the organization. I doubt that there is regular playing time in his future and wouldn't be surprised if he was on another team in 2023, but Nick Gordon is a major league player and has the skills and versatility that will keep him a major league player for some time.