stringer bell

Both Gray and Kreidler have option years to use. Arcia will have to be DFA'd if they want to send him down. I think the verdict is that Culpepper isn't really ready and will benefit from more time at AAA (I agree)

I think the biggest part is randomness, but I also think calling a game and working with a pitcher are skills that can't be easily measured. The "working with the pitcher" piece might vary widely between pitchers. For example. maybe Jeffers really connects with Ober while Caratini brings out the best of Bradley or vice versa. Pitchers working with catchers they trust might have just enough more confidence to slip a strike on the inside corner with a 90 mph fastball.

Getting to this thread after 4:30, so I don't have time to read all of the comments. There is a lot to chew on--first Lewis did have to be sent down. I have wanted to believe in him for a while when the numbers were saying I shouldn't, but there was too much failure and seemingly no way to climb out of the pit. A few weeks in St. Paul might be the ticket for him. One of my favorite maxims is "the true test of a human being is what they do when they get knocked down" I want to say I invented it, but I'm sure similar things have been said forever. Royce now gets that test of his ability and his mindset. A guy who burst on the scene whose only worthy opponent was his inability to stay heathy is now facing a real test. The Jeffers-Caratini-Jackson shuffle will be interesting as well. It appears that Jeffers will be back in time to show he is healthy before the trade deadline, but it isn't completely certain. Caratini has not thrived as a hitter, but has shown some receiving chops and actually has played a good first base. He needs to hit well over the Mendoza Line and he'll get his chance. Jackson intrigued me with his defensive skill and decent power. I hope he'll be a good backup for Caratini until Jeffers returns. If the Twins had any real hope of contending it would be with a healthy Ryan Jeffers. Losing him for 5-7 weeks might seal the deal that the Twins aren't contenders and it would make it easier to trade Jeffers and Joe Ryan at the deadline. Finally, the bullpen. The veteran guys must be on the edge. While there aren't a bunch of high-leverage arms waiting to take over the BP, Woods Richardson has been added, Sands and Laweryson are on the verge of returning from the IL and Funderburk can and should be recalled pretty soon. Morris looks to have found a home in the bullpen so there aren't unlimited spots to be filled. The Twins apparently haven't purchased either Bowman or Brebbia's contracts so likely they will lose one or both of those guys to a free agent declaration.

I remember one of the years that Jeffers and Vazquez alternated religiously that Jeffers had a slightly better cERA. Over a long season the randomness should be squeezed out. I think Jeffers is a pretty good handler of pitchers, he doesn't throw particularly well and at best average blocking and framing, but calling a good game makes up for most of his deficiencies. I don't know how long he'll be out, but for his and the Twins' sake it is before the trading deadline.

Martin and Larnach have essentially the same arm strength according to statcast. Buxton also has similar arm strength (all within 1 mph). When Martin came up in 2024, his arm wasn't yet at full strength (like Keaschall) but he now is listed as having 59th percentile arm strength.

The Twins aren’t the only team to not score with the bases loaded and no outs.

Graterol is younger, but he seems to be healthy about as much as Brock Stewart.

I just read that the Astros have the worst worst bullpen ERA. I would have thought either the Twins or Rockies would have that “honor”. It looks like it will be “the battle of the bad bullpens”.

Among players with 100 plate appearances, Clemens ranks 15th in OPS for first baseman. That is middle of the road production. He is adding value with his glove and has recently done a good job against left handed pitching (SSS). At this point, he should be playing every day and certainly in there against right handed pitching. I'm not overly confident he'll sustain his good hitting, but for now Clemens at first base is not a problem. Will Clemens continue the Twins run of one-off Gold Glove winners? It seems it is more possible than the surprise of Ty France winning the hardware last year. He's easily the best defensive first baseman the Twins have and according to BBRef and The Fielding Bible, he is among the best in MLB. It is amazing how fast perceptions change. When the Twins went on their nice run in April and briefly were in first place, Bell and Caratini were certainly a big part of their success. Now a month and a half later, both are being dismissed as horrible off-season signings. Bell and Caratini are both in their early 30s with substantial track records. Bell has always been an above average hitter and Caratini has been about average as a hitter while mostly being a backup catcher. As much as I suspect Clemens will regress to the mean, I am about equally confident that the two veterans will also move closer to their career norms. Caratini figures to be a key guy in 2027 if there is a season and he is a Jeffers trade or injury away from being the Twins primary catcher. He should play less until he gets the bat going. Bell really isn't part of the future at all since he has a one-year contract and has negative value if he doesn't hit.

Veteran guys like Bowman and Arcia put up good numbers at AAA, but then can’t do it in the big leagues. Somebody will probably give Bowman a chance and I guess the Twins should be Team #1 to consider giving him a chance, particularly given the bullpen’s struggles.

They are not going to score, are they?

That is correct. The last time there was big discussion about the rule was when George Brett had his monster year and hit .390. It wasn't certain he would get to the required 502 plate appearances and everyone was informed that he wouldn't need to because he was so far ahead of everyone else.

Austin Martin is seven plate appearances short of qualifying for percentage stats like batting average and slugging average. Even if he went 0-7 reaching base, he would still have the highest OBP in Major League baseball.

Bradley last pitched on 5/5, so he wouldn't be eligible to pitch until 5/21.

Impressive outing from Matthews. As many are saying, there really is no such thing as too much starting pitching. Obviously, there will be injuries and disappointments, but Matthews, Abel, Bradley, Ober, Prielipp and Ryan should be the envy of most teams in terms of upside and cost control. Reading through the game threads, there are plenty of negative comments. Many are deserved and the Twins have a boatload of players who are producing far below expectations. I try to temper my complaints by looking at other teams and seeing if they are similarly afflicted and most teams are. It's far from automatic to get a runner in from third with less than two out and hitting with runners in scoring position comes and goes for every club. We live in a high strikeout era and many teams have bad defenders. The last three teams the Twins have played all are behind the Twins in defensive runs saved. Shelton is in a bit of a honeymoon phase right now, but he'll eventually be criticized for pulling (or not pulling) a pitcher and using the "wrong" players.

Golden opportunity and they are 2/3 of the way to blowing it.

In 2026 Martin has faced righties about half the time and has an .815 OPS including a .422 OBP. There is room for quite a bit of regression before he should lose playing time. In 2025, Martin had a .668 OPS with a .361 OBP vs. RH pitching, which would figure to an OPS+ around 90, below average but certainly not a black hole.

Lewis had a fielding slump before going on the IL, and was at -3 DRS at one point. He's at -1 now, (as is Gray as of 5/13) so I don't think defense has been the main issue with Lewis. That said, Gray has outhit Lewis considerably and on merit should be playing as much or more than Royce.

Just past a quarter of the way through the season, there are several players who have struggled mightily. Who is in a death spiral and who will come out of it? Here is my list and course of action for each: SWR--Bullpen now. He's got enough to be a back of the rotation guy. He needs a reset and he's out of options. Wallner--Send to St. Paul. The Twins have better options and Wallner looks as lost as he ever did. Fedko should be up. Outman--It looks like he will never be able to hit acceptably, but if there is space for a pinch runner/defensive replacement, he fits the role. Keep him in that role. Lewis--Short leash--start him two out of three games for the rest of May and hope there is some improvement. If not, a trip to St. Paul is in order. Keaschall--Hang with him for now. The regression has been sharp and his power seems to be gone, but he's young and shown he can help the club is he hits a little bit. Topa, Rogers, Garcia, Banda--That is half the bullpen and they've been dreadful. Maybe someone will want one of them, but get them off the roster. Bell--A proven hitter. I expect he'll come around, but he should be gone by the trading deadline. Caratini--Another guy with a track record of decent hitting who hasn't hit much for over a month. Reduced playing time, but he will be the primary catcher after the trading deadline. That is one starting pitcher, four bullpen guys, and six position players who are dragging the team down, about 40% of the roster. It's hard to have a winning team with so many guys performing poorly.

The difference between a great Silva game and this game for Ober is that the soft contact Silva would allow would be ground balls. Ober had a variety of pop flies and cans of corn to the outfield.

Twins are now tied for third place in the rough and tumble AL Central. By the way, the Central isn't the worst division in MLB, the AL West has a considerably lower winning percentage.

When Jeffers hit his homer, he looked like a jumbo Harmon. The same glance at the ball with a couple of walking steps towards first base.

You called it!

Exciting to do the double steal, but it would have been really bad for Buck to be out and Jeffers not get a chance to blast one upstairs.

He'll be a pretty good backup if/when Jeffers is traded or one of the catchers is injured.