stringer bell

This is precisely the problem with the Twins. Who would you play every day and hit #1-5? Ask 10 more posters and you'll probably get 10 more answers. Aside from Buxton, no one has taken the step to be an established regular, much less a star. I think that is on Rocco and is the best reason to show him the door.

They were lovable losers. Underdogs in every game. Calvin took apart the Met Stadium teams and went with a bunch of rookies and “never will be” players (as opposed to has-beens). Out of the ashes came the cornerstones of the two World Series winners. I remember the ‘82 Twins fondly despite their 100-loss season.

Ron Washington is out as Angels manager. Maybe it’s the (baseball) end of the line for Wash, who was a member of the terrible 1982 Twins (60-102). Best wishes and good health.

Kody Clemens season with the Twins includes a hot month of May and the rest of the season where he performed pretty close to his career norms. I don't think his good month should be ignored, nor should we fans expect him to hit like he did in May for a sustained period of time. In Clemens' first season where he got fairly regular playing time, he hit 19 homers and had a .715 OPS. He played more than acceptable defense at four positions and provided more than his share of clutch hits. IMHO, if he was to replicate his 2025 in 2026, he would deserve a roster spot and hold it for the entire season. I'd hesitate to make him Option A at first base, but he does represent a backup plan.

Only 11 teams had team batting averages of .250 or above and only five were above .253. More than 50 players in MLB had more than 502 plate appearances and hit less than .250, including Mr. 60 home runs Cal Raleigh. If you were talking 20-30 years ago, you might have a case, but getting a high batting average is difficult these days. Today's .270 hitter was a .300 hitter in earlier eras.

I don't think the role of minor league managers is necessarily to win the most games. They are there to try to develop the talent they have. One could argue that if they had a worse record than the Twins that Toby didn't do a very good job of developing talent. I don't think that bringing in a guy who has never managed or played in the major leagues is the way to go. Tingler does have major league experience as a manager if they want to stay in the organization.

Correa had a .785 OPS for the Astros. Better than his '25 Twins numbers for sure, but not up to his career numbers.

I think Baldelli is a pretty good baseball man, but as many have said here, since he has been at the helm he hasn't had enough players make the next step in their development. Since the 100-win team in 2019, there haven't been enough guys that should have been written in the lineup probably in the same place in the batting order. I'm neutral on criticisms of strategy, but I know that more talent means that managers can take gambles to try to cut off one run or play for a big inning or steal bases. I also don't believe the talent has fit together well for the last several years. I actually thought Rocco did a decent job handling his bullpen and was able to maximize availability without overuse. The next manager will have a lot of deficiencies to address and depending on what happens to the few who are making significant money, the team might be in a total rebuild. I'll pull for the next manager to be successful, and by successful that means making it to postseason and having a chance to win in October. He'll need better help than Baldelli received from the front office since 2020.

Yes.

Since the trade deadline, I've been thinking that trading Buck would be the right thing for both the player and the team. If the Twins aren't going to contend until after an indeterminate work stoppage, it might be in Buxton's interest to get to a team that has a chance and the Twins could both save salary and get a haul of players who could help the team after a lockout. People aren't coming to watch the team with Buxton so it probably wouldn't hurt attendance much. As an avid fan, I'd be sick to my stomach for a few days, but I know I'll come back.

Michael A Taylor retired. I wonder if he is interested in coaching. He was a fine defensive OF and good base runner. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/09/michael-a-taylor-announces-retirement.html

José De León had his contract purchased by the Red Sox. The Rose Hose have clinched a wild card, but could move ahead of the second AL Central team to the #5 seed. I suppose it is one day and done for him, but still surprising that a playoff team would make that transaction. De León appeared in 12 games for the ‘23 Twins before having TJ surgery. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/09/red-sox-select-jose-de-leon.html

It’s a meaningless game played on the road. We can invent milestones for him to surpass, but it’s probably just as well to get one last look at someone like Outman. Given Buxton’s injury history, I’m just glad he can go into the offseason healthy.

I really don’t think 30-25 is a thing.

I would hope Baldelli asked Buxton whether he wanted to play or not.

Just need three scores in 11:17.

I'm probably starting this thread a day early, but it's a lot easier going from the bottom of the roster and removing players to project who will be fighting for roster spots in March in Fort Myers. I hope there will be a robust discussion of who stays and who is shown the door. Here is the current 40-man roster plus 60-day IL: Pitchers--Abel, Adams, Bradley, Cabrera, Festa, Funderburk, Hatch, Laweryson, López, Matthews, Misiewicz, Ober, Ohl, Raya, Ryan, Sands, Tonkin, Topa, Woods Richardson. Catchers--Gasper, Jeffers, Pereda, Vázquez. Infielders--Clemens, Fitzgerald, Julien, Keaschall, Lee, Lewis, Miranda. Outfielders--Buxton, Keirsey Jr., Larnach, Martin, McCusker, Outman, Roden, Rodriguez, Wallner. Here are the players I predict the Twins will cut loose: Cabrera (FA), Hatch (DFA), Misiewicz (non-tender), Tonkin (non-tender), Topa (declined option-FA), Gasper (DFA), Vázquez (FA), Fitzgerald (DFA), Miranda (non-tender), Keirsey Jr. (DFA), Larnach (non-tender), McCusker (DFA), Outman (DFA). That is about as many as the Twins traded away at the deadline and would turn over well more than half of the roster. Add in a couple trades and it will be a new team for whoever is managing the Twins in 2026. Some comments: Edouard Julien makes the cut IMHO because he has hit pretty well in September and he looks like a possible option to partially fill the first base hole. Gasper, Keirsey Jr. and McCusker were all promoted as old rookies and haven't shown they can hit major league pitching, Topa and Tonkin are older with pretty long injury histories and little upside. Larnach will get more expensive and has put up .1 WAR in a healthy full season. The Twins twins, Outman and Fitzgerald, are intriguing offensively only because of home runs. Outman is a strikeout machine and I doubt Fitzgerald can sustain anything close to a 8% home run rate. Fitzgerald is the toughest call, but he turns 32 before the All-Star break. If the Twins do perform radical surgery on the roster, it would be the biggest turnover in my memory, rivaled only by Calvin's selloff in 1982.

I haven't seen anything announcing a move, but on the Twins web site, Misiewicz is listed as active and Ohl is listed as in the minors.

I think he'll get a DFA and be offered a minor league contract. The "good" in Fitzgerald's numbers are his home runs and he's not shown anything in his minor league career that suggest he could sustain that.

They traded their top five bullpen arms. It isn't just the closer that has to be determined, they need a minimum of four reliable bullpen pieces. It is possible that any of Sands, Topa and Funderburk could be one of those arms and perhaps two of them can take a spot, but they need much more to be even an average BP.

Nice story, but I hope they go for more. It's hard to judge players on September at-bats but Fitzgerald hasn't shown much upside in his minor league career. I would hope the Twins pick up a really good defensive shortstop as Plan B for Brooks Lee and hope that the alternative to Lee is Culpepper by Memorial Day 2026.

I'd much rather keep López. I like him better off the field--dedication to his craft, outreach to the fans--and I think he's a slightly better pitcher. Ryan would net more in a trade because of his contract status and they are both the same age.

Grudging respect to the Cleveland Guardians, who qualified for the postseason and may well win the AL Central. I don't like them, but they have pulled off one of the great comebacks in the wild card era.

Yeah, there is some hope. Bradley and Abel are live arms, to be sure. Austin Martin might just be a major league left fielder and the Twins best position player prospects are on the cusp.

Reminiscent of the shutout win over the Yankees, the Twins looked like a good big league team. Can't help but be impressed by Abel's stuff. The Phillies were playing for the top seed, but with not a lot of hope that they would get it.