stringer bell

Two corrections from posts above—Dobnak exceeded rookie limits in 2020 and there are 92 games remaining.

And the Twins go 1-2-3 in the top of the first. Texas gets a lead off double.

The Rangers entertain the Twins in Texas in the middle game of a three game set. Buxton is back! La Tortuga is gone (for now), but not forgotten. Dobnak gets one last chance to show he can be in the rotation. Play ball. Pitchers: PLAYER W-L ERA WHIP IP H K BB HR R. Dobnak 1-6 8.38 1.73 38.2 56 24 11 10 K. Allard 2-2 2.91 1.12 34.0 29 37 9 4 Twins: J. Polanco 2B 0-0 0 0 0 .254 TODAY'S AT BATSFull Player Profile No at bats in this game B. Buxton CF 0-0 0 0 0 .370 N. Cruz DH 0-0 0 0 0 .300 T. Larnach LF 0-0 0 0 0 .259 R. Jeffers C 0-0 0 0 0 .221 M. Sano 1B 0-0 0 0 0 .179 M. Kepler RF 0-0 0 0 0 .204 A. Simmons SS 0-0 0 0 0 .241 L. Arraez 3B 0-0 0 0 0 .273 Rangers: HITTERS H-AB R RBI BB AVG I. Kiner-Falefa SS 0-0 0 0 0 .288 N. Lowe 1B 0-0 0 0 0 .242 A. Garcia CF 0-0 0 0 0 .273 J. Gallo RF 0-0 0 0 0 .218 N. Solak 2B 0-0 0 0 0 .233 W. Calhoun DH 0-0 0 0 0 .249 E. White LF 0-0 0 0 0 .169 J. Heim C 0-0 0 0 0 .195 C. Culberson 3B 0-0 0 0 0 .218

Tortuga is what he is. I’m glad they didn’t option Gordon or one of the two rookie corner outfielders. I’m guessing Donaldson is good to go or that Sanó will be playing some third base.

Agree, and this is the same with the current angst about “giving up LaMonte Wade for nothing”.

We might see Sanó over there for a day or two. I’m not opposed to it FWIW.

For some reason Celestino is listed twice on my version, as well as Anderson remaining on the roster, but I count 39 plus the guys on the 60-day IL.

That leaves a spot open on the 40-man roster. Many possibilities as to who could fill a need for the major league club.

Currently Cruz is with the Twins and Garver is injured. In 2022, I believe it is a near-certainty that Cruz will be playing elsewhere and I hope that Garver is healthy, regardless of whose team he is playing for. Having Kirilloff available to play first base or outfield and having Garver as an option at catcher, first base and DH gives the club a lot of flexibility since all starting players are seldom on the field at the same time. I do agree that Kirilloff looks better at first base and that Garver's reps behind the plate could be limited. Perhaps the bigger question relates to how much of a makeover is required to give the Twins a chance to contend in 2022. I don't think they can hang on to every player with value and sign free agents and play rookies and still contend. My thought is that in areas where there is redundancy, they need to move good major league talent, such as Garver. Also in that category would be a second baseman (Polanco or Arraez) and a left handed corner outfielder (probably Kepler). I'm not believing that the Twins necessarily have to move three front-line players, but that one or two should be moved in order to bring back major league talent where the club is lacking (pitching, pitching pitching). The catching situation is murky because Jeffers has only played 68 games with 139 plate appearances and Garver has some positional flexibility. The fact that both struggled when the job was shared tells me that one or the other should be moved and have his role changed.

I think Garver would have more value than Sanó, because of his standing as a catcher, hence I think he is the guy to move. Garver didn't qualify for arb last year, so he must have had less than four years service. If the labor contract doesn't change the team control numbers, having Garver for two years under team control is really important. I'm actually thinking the best time to deal Garver would be in the off-season and the presumption is that he catches and hits after he returns from his injury. I think the Twins have Sanó for the guaranteed length of his contract. That doesn't mean he has to play every day and he has an injury history too.

At the major league level, catching is a position where lack of offense is accepted in exchange for good defense. The Twins, in the midst of a terrible season, have two catchers who profile as above average hitters for their position, but they don't appear to complement each other. To start the season, Ryan Jeffers and Mitch Garver were basically alternated as the starting catcher and neither player thrived. Garver hit .151 through April 27 with an OPS of .517, while Jeffers struggled mightily to a .147 average with a .393 OPS before he was sent down to Triple A. From April 28 until the end of May, Garver had a great five weeks, hitting over .280 with an OPS above 1.000. Since Garver's injury, Jeffers has hit .292 with an OPS of .992. So, it seems that if one of these guys is the principal catcher, he will hit well above league average, but if they are alternated, it seems to drag both guys down. Both Garver and Jeffers would profile as bat-first catchers who can frame pitches. IMHO, Jeffers looks to be the superior defender, much better at both throwing and blocking low pitches. Garver does have some experience playing other positions, mostly first base, while Jeffers has been only a catcher in his career. Two additional players figure into the Twins plans for the future. Ben Rortvedt is reputedly a fine defensive catcher with a good arm. Rortvedt hits left, which would complement either Garver or Jeffers. As soon as next year, Rortvedt could figure to be the prototypical backup catcher, who wouldn't hurt the club and if he finds a hot steak with the bat, he could be an asset. Willians Astudillo aka La Tortuga is a utility player who is nominally a catcher. In brief spurts, Astudillo has looked adequate behind the plate, but his full body of work is substandard defensively. As a hitter, Turtle is extreme--extreme contact and extreme impatience--his walks yesterday were his first in well over 100 plate appearances, but he seldom strikes out. Astudillo is best suited to being a third catcher who plays the corner infield positions and until he shows some plate discipline, he'll never be a major league regular. All of this information (all IMHO obviously) is prologue to starting a discussion about what should be done with the catching position in 2022. Keep both Jeffers and Garver on the major league roster? Trade Garver for much needed pitching? Perhaps make Garver a swing man (DH, 1B and C) with Jeffers the primary catcher and Rortvedt the backup? Use Astudillo and Garver as backups and utility guys and Jeffers as the primary catcher? I am of the opinion that given Jeffers age and upside both offensively and defensively, he should be the primary catcher in 2022. With the likely exit of Nelson Cruz, there are at-bats to be had for Garver at first base (Sanó at DH or riding the pine) and DH. If the Twins can get sufficient value, perhaps they can trade Garver, if not, he could get a lot of at-bats at first and DH, and this doesn't even begin to allow for injuries. Are there any other scenarios and do you fans on Twins Daily agree with me? Let's start a discussion.

What short round guy is wearing #64. That guy walked, so it couldn’t be Astudillo.

Donaldson is injured? Calf? Hamstring?

My point is that you can pull 20 different threads of what is wrong with this team. They haven't produced runs in line with their OPS, they have been pitiful in close and late situations and equally bad in situational hitting. The starters in early April looked relatively solid, but the bullpen betrayed them and then the starts seemed to get worse.

We can all vent. The team has been terrible and every they have lacked in every component of the game. Bremer has chosen to blame lack of offense late, I would blame inability to hit with runners in scoring position, the starting rotation is in shambles and there is one reliable bullpen arm. The defense has been a disappointment, particularly at key times. Should I go on? Way down the list of causes for this failure is injuries. That's my take.

The Twins visit Seattle in the second game of their series with the Mariners. They lost last night 4-3 as the bullpen yielded three runs in four innings. The Twins continue to hit and allow home runs. They are (were) second in MLB in homers and third in allowing home runs. If you want to see home runs, go to a Twins game. JA Happ takes the hill versus a pretty weak Seattle lineup. Happ has struggled, as almost all of the Twins pitchers have, with allowing homers. The Twins bullpen leads MLB in losses, not a stat to lead the majors. Luis Arraez returns to the Twins starting lineup, hitting leadoff and playing second base. Nick Gordon gets another start in center field and apparently Byron Buxton is not yet ready to go. OK, diehard fans, enjoy another late night watching two below .500 teams square off. Pitchers: PLAYER W-L ERA WHIP IP H K BB HR J.A. Happ 3-2 5.75 1.37 56.1 60 39 17 10 C. Flexen 5-3 4.68 1.39 59.2 71 36 12 7 Lineups--Twins HITTERS H-AB RBI HR SB AVG L. Arraez2B 39-142 14 1 0 .275 J. Donaldson3B 45-186 26 10 0 .242 T. LarnachLF 27-99 9 3 0 .273 N. CruzDH 58-195 31 13 1 .297 J. PolancoSS 56-224 30 9 3 .250 A. KirilloffRF 31-122 19 5 0 .254 M. Sano1B 32-177 32 13 0 .181 N. GordonCF 11-32 2 1 5 .344 B. RortvedtC 6-40 4 1 0 .150 Mariners HITTERS H-AB RBI HR SB AVG J.P. CrawfordSS 64-234 23 3 2 .274 J. FraleyCF 14-51 15 4 4 .275 T. France1B 52-210 22 3 0 .248 K. Seager3B 55-255 40 13 2 .216 D. Moore2B 24-132 22 6 9 .182 T. MurphyC 23-127 14 6 0 .181 J. BauersRF 24-119 9 3 0 .202 L. TorrensDH 16-90 6 2 0 .178 S. Long Jr.LF 3-20 0 0 0 .150

If the Twins were going to use two bench players in the top half, they should have run for Sanó with Gordon.

One hour 20 minutes in, we are one-third of the way through a nine inning game on the west coast. At this rate the game will be over at 1:10 AM. I don’t think I can last nearly that long.

No Buck or Arraez today. Could someone please post the lineups?

The Twins visit Seattle on the first leg of a two-city road trip. The Mariners are three games under .500 despite having a poorer run differential than the Twins, who are 13 games below the break-even mark. The Mariners started the Twins slide off a cliff in April when they came back from a 6-0 deficit in the middle innings and beat the Twins. The Twins really haven't been the same since. Yesterday's game marked another low point as the Twins gave up 14 runs and 20 hits to a good Houston lineup. The three relievers who followed Pineda to the mound yielded runs in every inning, totaling nine runs and 14 hits in five innings. The way those three pitchers are throwing, they should not be on a big league pitching staff. There will be reinforcements. Kenta Maeda is scheduled to start tonight and the return of position players Luis Arraez and Byron Buxton seems imminent. Max Kepler is rehabbing in St. Paul and probably will be ready before the team returns to Minnesota. A week from today, the roster figures to look considerably different than the squad that faced Houston. Only Maeda can pitch among the returnees and that is where the Twins have fallen apart. Further it looks like there isn't much help available in the minor leagues. There will be a crunch particularly among the outfielders. Adding back Buxton and eventually Kepler will give the Twins a lot of choices to play the corner outfield spots. Given how the season has gone, there probably will be an injury or two to current players. This is not the season I expected, but watching the progress (or lack thereof) of players is about all a fan can do. Go Twins! Lineups to follow. Twins Kenta Maeda (R) 1. Jorge Polanco (S) 2B 2. Josh Donaldson (R) 3B 3. Nelson Cruz (R) DH 4. Trevor Larnach (L) LF 5. Ryan Jeffers (R) C 6. Miguel Sano (R) 1B 7. Alex Kirilloff (L) RF 8. Andrelton Simmons (R) SS 9. Gilberto Celestino (R) CF Mariners Marco Gonzales (L) 1. J.P. Crawford (L) SS 2. Jake Fraley (L) DH 3. Ty France (R) 1B 4. Kyle Seager (L) 3B 5. Dylan Moore (R) 2B 6. Jake Bauers (L) RF 7. Tom Murphy (R) C 8. Shed Long Jr. (L) LF 9. Taylor Trammell (L) CF

I think release of Shoemaker makes sense. Creating a 40-man roster spot would be helpful and he's not going to fetch anything in a trade. DFA for Dobnak wouldn't be a bad idea either, again opening a spot on the 40-man and I doubt he'd be claimed so he could be outrighted to perhaps get right in the minors. Or maybe he'll go on the IL with his fingernail issue. I'm guessing Pineda goes back on the IL with his forearm stiffness and Columé continues to work in low leverage situations hoping to rebuild value. If the Twins open 40-man spots they may be able to come up with someone serviceable who get DFAed or make space to promote someone not on the roster (or both). The pitching staff is a total mess right now and prospect for improvement aren't very good.

It is a different game. The emphasis now is maximum effort on every pitch for 90-100 pitches per start. The oldtimers used to throw maybe 88-90 mph but could do that for 120 pitches and could come back and do the same three days later. Hitters made contact much more, so a well-pitched game might be 90 to 100 pitches. Relievers roles have changed too, of course. The norm is one inning every other day, with an occasional two days in a row.

The chances of trading Pineda for something substantial are sinking, sinking sinking.

See you in St. Paul Randy.

Big Mike with a quick inning.