stringer bell

Alcalá DFA?

Lewis doesn't look comfortable out there.

Besides using four relievers, if one guy is off, it could turn the game on its head. I would expect that Coulombe will be available tomorrow if they need him and if any guys are under 15 pitches they could work on consecutive days.

Exactly. Around 100 pitches in five innings. Lots of deep counts, fouls and strikeouts.

Probably will only get 5 from Pablo. Bullpen is rested, but we will most likely see four relievers to close out the game, even if the lead stay comfortable.

Boom!!

Nice hitting RJ.

1-0. Now get those guys in.

Larnach with a knock against a lefty.

Looking forward to Royce's first AB.

Making Pablo work.

Andrew Vasquez (10 appearances for the Twins in 2018-19) is back in the US, signing a minor league deal with the Angels. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/05/angels-andrew-vasquez-agree-to-minor-league-contract.html

IIRC, Willi had a better OPS against left handers for the first half of '24, but went in the tank the second half of the season. His R-L splits when he was with Detroit were pretty neutral.

The Twins have struggled against Baltimore for two years. Time to turn that around.

Tickets to the minors are usually not one way, but it does feel like the Twins are close to moving on with Julien. He needs to improve at all facets of the game, including base running and fielding. This year and last year make 2023 seem like a long time ago.

I doubt Larnach starts tomorrow. I don't think it is "Larnach's start" against a left hander.

Disagree. If he can hit like he did in his rookie season, they can use him as the DH. I would expect he'll get quite a bit of DH time regardless. More to say, but this is the roster utilization thread. I still don't see how Bride fits as a part-time player given his severe reverse splits in over 600 PAs. He had a really bad day hitting and was part of the short fly ball not being caught. Prior to that, he looked solid both in the batter's box and at third base. Clemens can back up at first and second as Gasper did and Bride is the third catcher with a fair amount of minor league experience. Until Wallner returns (and maybe beyond), it looks like Bader is a full-time outfielder. It will be interesting to see the lineup tomorrow against the lefty for Baltimore.

The roster is constructed differently this year and there's no regular slot for Keirsey to get at-bats. He's on the team because he has very good speed and would appear to be at least an above-average outfielder. He's 28 years old in a few days and very few 28-year old rookies become mainstays. Maybe he's an exception, but I'm very skeptical. I've had the chance to watch more minor league baseball in the last few years and it is striking to me how different it is from the major league product. Balls aren't fielded that routinely get turned to outs even for the worst defensive teams in MLB. Mistake pitches seem common and few pitchers have the command to exploit weak spots that we see routinely with the major leaguers. I have close to zero faith that good numbers in AAA will translate to the majors. Keirsey put up very good numbers last year, but hasn't hit at all as a major leaguer Every year there are examples of this and maybe Mickey Gasper is another example. Minor league field staff see guys and recommend who should be promoted. If they don't do a good job of evaluating talent, they don't keep their jobs. Despite pretty average numbers the Twins were quick to promote Keaschall, but not Keirsey or Yunior Severino, who put up good numbers in the previous two seasons. I imagine the Triple A field staff saw red flags for the latter two, but not for Keaschall. Underdogs like Keirsey, Eeles and McCusker have to beat the door down harder and produce more than guys with pedigrees and they probably get fewer chances.

Until after the All-Star break Lewis' bat was good enough to play anywhere. That isn't a large sample size and probably some of his struggles post-All Star break were regression to the mean, but all of his numbers were outstanding from '22, '23 and the first portion of '24. There are guys that thrived as DHs after continually getting hit by the injury bug. One of the best examples is Paul Molitor. There are no guarantees that moving Royce to DH will curtail the endless parade of injuries. The larger question might be who is a good enough hitter that a position must be found for them. I'm pretty sure Keaschall is and I believe that a healthy Lewis is as well. Add in Brooks Lee and there is a full infield of good hitters to be put around Correa. I think the eventual positions should be Lewis at first, Keaschall at second and Lee at third.

Catchers: Running wild has much more to do with the pitchers than the catchers. Alcalá in particular gave the catchers absolutely no chance to throw out runners and Brock Stewart doesn't have a slide step and is slow to the plate. The best way to stop the running game is not allow fast guys to get on base, The second best is to be far enough ahead that they don't even try. Julien: He had major league success but that now is two years ago and what he has done in the last two years is just not enough to justify his iffy at best defense. Clemens and probably Bride are placeholders, but they are better defenders and more versatile and not prospects.

There have only been 15 of them, but I think this was the Twins' best win of 2025.

Over/under for hits? I’d guess 6.5. For runs, probably 2.5. I would bet the under on both.

Hmmm, wasted two guys to pinch run. Probably the right call, but didn’t work out.

Quality pitches from Jax against the 8-9 hitters.

Bride looks very capable at third.