stringer bell

Berríos placed on IL yesterday, which might explain his lack of effectiveness in the second half of this season.

With all the disappointment this year, only individual awards are left. Buxton should be in line for a Silver Slugger.

Yeah, most personnel decisions can be picked over. Any one decision can be defended I think, but overall Falvey has way too often bet on the wrong horse. I have personal biases I guess. I don’t trust RH hitting left hand throwers (Celestino) and I want to see more lefties on the pitching staff (Headrick) and I distrust older prospects (McCusker, Eeles, Keirsey Jr.). It seems to me that Falvey/Levine took hit tool and power over athleticism and speed. They’ve wasted options on guys like Henriquez and Headrick and then lost them to DFA. If their use of retreads is keeping options in play for some guys, I can accept that, but the result has been a mish-mash of poor talent and leftovers that didn’t have a chance after the trade deadline.

I was going to use the exact same term. I go back to two trades that Falvey/Levine made a while earlier in their tenure. 1) They traded LaMonte Wade Jr. to the Giants for a run at a power arm (Shaun Anderson). The situation was that the Twins had several left handed hitting OFs with more on the way and they opted to keep Jake Cave and move on from Wade, mostly because Cave could stretch into center field. Wade became the better player by a considerable margin. 2) They traded Spencer Speer and CES in the package for Mahle. First of all, Mahle is a fine pitcher if healthy, but he just doesn't stay healthy, but I would assume the Twins could have substituted Miranda for Speer. Speer has been a much better player than Miranda. In both cases Falvey/Levine chose the wrong person to hold on to. On the pitching side, the Twins have kept questionable arms and lost Jeff Hoffman and Danny Coulombe to upward mobility clauses as well as losing younger pitching arms Brent Headrick and Ronnie Henríquez to DFAs, to name a couple of examples.

Who was the Twins closer to start 2019, the year the team won over 100 games? Hints--he had only one partial season with the Twins and was paid $1.8M in 2019. My point is there will be many veteran relievers trying to make good in 2026 who will jump at a chance to be a high-leverage guy even on a bad team. The Twins closer may well have been DFA'd or non-tendered this offseason. My hope is that a homegrown arm takes the role at some point in 2026 and guys like Festa and Bradley look like pretty good options at this point, but I think it is pretty unknowable who will emerge. I've only seen three of Bradley's starts with the Twins. His first was very poor and I saw his best two starts. I think he could be excellent in the rotation--a guy who could start playoff games--so I hope he isn't selected to go to the bullpen. I have similar thoughts about Zebby Matthews. If Festa is assigned to the bullpen for health reasons, I wonder if he could be available on a reliever's schedule. Someone who hasn't been mentioned is Abel who looks to have the stuff, but hasn't converted it to effectiveness in the majors to this point. BTW, the Twins nominal closer at the start of 2019 was Blake Parker who was released before the trade deadline by the 2019 Twins.

A surprise non-tender could happen due to medical reasons. The biggest possibility of this is Bailey Ober. If there is some chronic ailment that is limiting his velo, the Twins could bid him farewell especially with getting a nice arbitration bump. BBRef says that Kody Clemens is not eligible for arbitration until 2027. He had 1.134 years of service time coming in to 2025 and may have lost a few days in DFA purgator and the Super 2 threshold changes year to year. Regardless, I think he's done enough to be tendered a contract.

I agree 100% that Lewis is tradable and if the Twins can get value for him they should consider moving him. I really doubt that this offseason is the ideal time to move him coming off a .240 BA and less than .700 OPS. The bigger picture here is that the club has failed to harvest prospects to their ceilings. Many have come to the Twins with independent analysts predicting stardom and the player doesn't get there. It would seem to me that this is the fault of either the front office or the field staff (probably both). Lewis is yet another example of this at this point. We Twins fans have waited and hoped for a whole host of players from Miguel Sanó to Brooks Lee to become stars and been disappointed almost every time. Royce Lewis looked the part of superstar in those brief flashes, but now after finally getting healthy he hasn't taken that step up.

Kody Funderburk has pitched very well since the trade deadline and seems to be pitching better and better as he has been given higher leverage opportunities. IMHO he has passed the audition.

Pagan recorded his 30th save today for the Reds, who are vying for a playoff spot. Too many walks and too many homers for my blood pressure, but he's been pretty good every other year.

Keaschall placed on the 10-day IL and Keirsey Jr. recalled.

If winning games this year mattered............

And.....a two run double. 5-1 Cleveland.

Meanwhile, in a game that matters, the Guards have a chance to break it open. Bases loaded, two outs and Ramirez up.

No matter what his final numbers look like, there is a lot to like in Taj Bradley's repertoire.

As soon as it becomes a battle of the bullpens, the Twins are at a disadvantage against every team.

Rocco says that surgery is likely for Keaschall.

I've been willing to give up on Martin a few times in his Twins tenure. I haven't seen all of his games this year, but he does appear to have turned a corner. His defense is much improved and he is a capable base stealer, but he has made too many base running mistakes to be considered a real asset on the bases. He's reaching base at an above-average rate and if he can continue to do so, he has a role for the 2026 Twins. There isn't much utility there--his best defensive spot is far and away left field and he can only play three positions in total Martin's skill set fits with the direction I hope the team goes with their position players--more speed and contact and less "three true outcomes".

I didn't see today's game. Was Zebby's stuff that much better? He's had quite a few nice starts, but he's also been used for batting practice a few times. It would be nice to win a series this week. It hasn't happened much of late. Cleveland has made a monumental comeback. Again in the second half of the season, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Detroit was everybody's best story, but it certainly seems that celebrating them was premature.

Both Vázquez and Jeffers have been activated from the IL. Pereda and Keirsey Jr. optioned to the minors.

I'm trying really hard not to cherry-pick stats for Lewis, but 11 HRs and 12 SB since the All-Star break (60 games) is a 30-30 pace, something no Twin has ever done. Hitting is the main thing and his numbers for the entire season are poor, but he was obviously not right when he returned to the lineup. He has looked reasonably comfortable since he came back from his second IL stint and as the season has dwindled he's looked more and more comfortable and athletic on the field IMHO. I don't think 2 BWAR is his ceiling, but I don't think he is elite either. If he stays healthy, he should put up very good numbers and be an everyday asset. I do believe he has a high-maintenance swing with a lot of moving parts making him slump (and hot streak) prone.

Royce Lewis is certainly an interesting young baseball player. At the tender age of 26, he has looked the part of superstar, face of the franchise, scapegoat, great example of dealing with adversity and immature whiner all in the course of about three years. Honestly, I think he might be a bit of all of those things, but on balance he's enigmatic and a bit of a tease. Royce broke into MLB in 2022 with a buzzworthy cameo filling in for Carlos Correa and then famously re-injuring himself in his first and only game in center field. I would say the fan consensus was "he looks like a tremendous talent", but can he stay healthy?" Lewis had already endured one ACL surgery and the second knee injury was a redo--same injury, same knee. Royce returned in mid-2023 and in 58 games performed like a superstar--.921 OPS, 15 homers and 52 RBI with a penchant for grand slams. Despite a muscle pull, Lewis carried the Twins through their first postseason series victory in 20 years with two homers against the Blue Jays. Royce hit two more homers in the series against Houston, but was only 3-16 overall against the Astros. At this point the fan base had Lewis on a pedestal--Kirby Puckett with Killebrew power and the like. Projecting him as a perennial All-Star and face of the franchise didn't seem outlandish. Another injury on Opening Day of 2024 set Lewis back and certainly increased hand-wringing about his ability to stay on the field. Royce came back in June and continued to hit like a Hall of Famer--10 homers in 24 games and then yet another injury. This time the return didn't go quite so swimmingly. Lewis famously said "I don't do slumps" and proceeded to slump hard. Royce's second half was poor. In the 58 games after the All-Star break, he hit .207 with a .620 OPS and he was part of a second half slide that saw the Twins go from solid playoff contenders to also-rans. On to 2025. Yet another muscle pull put Lewis on the shelf in Spring Training and he didn't make his '25 debut until May and again he struggled mightily. He hit .130 in May (.403 OPS), but seemed to come out of it in June until he was injured yet again costing him the last two weeks of June. Lewis hasn't missed any time with injury since July 1, his longest stretch of good health since he broke in. He hasn't been a star in the second half of 2025, but he's been a capable player (.757 OPS, 11 homers and 12 steals with good defense at third). Besides the slumps quote, Lewis has said some things in interviews that make people ponder. He said that he has to be concerned about his hitting stats because he's in arbitration years. He's seemed to question his own ability and his future with the team. The once always sunny and optimistic persona seems to have changed into something else. According to the Star-Trib (behind a paywall) he admitted he returned too early this year and also questioned whether he might be traded in the offseason. I do regard most of what Lewis says as a youngish player who opens a vein quite easily, but I don't think it gives him the best look. On balance, I'm encouraged by Lewis' post-All Star break performance. The numbers aren't great, but he has seemed more and more healthy and athletic, not just slugging, but running the bases and playing defense. I think mechanically Royce will be prone to slumps because there are a lot of moving parts in his approach and swing and it seems like he can get out of whack pretty easy. Much like Byron Buxton a year ago, Royce can go into an offseason healthy for the first time where he isn't rehabbing one injury or another and maybe, just maybe he'll come back a much better player for that. I hope he can rein in some of his offputting quotes without losing his genuineness. I still believe he can be a big asset for the Twins going forward, but like almost everyone else, his struggles and quotes serve to knock him down off his pedestal.

Nope, today's game was the 60th after the break. Prorated for a 162 game schedule, it's 29.7 homers and 32 steals.

Here are the current stats for the eleven players traded in July with their new teams: Correa ..291 BA .348/.434/.782 triple slash 6 HR 19 RBI Bader .331 BA .389/.517/.906 triple slash 5 HR 16 RBI Castro .177 BA .255/.250/.505 triple slash 1 HR 6 RBI France .280 BA .324/.376/.700 triple slash 1 HR 8 RBI Paddack 2-2 W-L 6.12 ERA recently sent to the bullpen Stewart 0-1 W-L 4.91 ERA still on IL Varland 1-0 W-L 6.05 ERA 4.05 FIP Coulombe 1-1 W-L 6.52 ERA was on IL, activated 9/16 Jax 0-2 W-L 4.00 ERA 8 consecutive scoreless outings and counting Durán 1-2 W-L 1.53 ERA 15 saves The Phillies say "thank you". Mixed results for everybody else.

Since the All-Star break, Royce has hit 11 homers and stolen 12 bases. That is almost a 30/30 pace. He was brutal when he returned to the Twins and he’s had quite a few dry spells even in the second half, but there is progress IMHO.

24-year-old Brooks Lee hit a big homer, 26-year-old Royce Lewis also hit a big homer while 24-year-old SWR provided five more decent innings. These three guys will be important in the next year and beyond. Ending their seasons on an upward swing is nice and might help their confidence going forward. Funderburk has had a very good run after the relief pitcher purge. Depending on who is acquired, Fundy should have a leg up on being a lefty piece in ‘26.