Nate Palmer

And if my Googling abilities aren't failing me, that manager would be eventual Twins manager Gene Mauch. At that time was managing the Phillies.

The Minnesota Twins, 101 wins, and the 2019 season will be one that many of us will tell stories about to our children, grandchildren, and maybe even great grand-children if we are lucky or young enough. We will tell them about Bombas and Nelson Cruz naps. There may also be some sour-faced remarks about the New York Yankees.Twins fans before me, in an era before I was thought of (I was born the year of the Twins first World Series), would have spoken in a similar way we will about 2019 of the 1965 club. That season the Twins broke the 100 win mark for the first time on their way to 102 wins and a World Series appearance. Those were the days where there was no such thing as a playoff outside of the World Series so the Twins had to win the American League outright to make it to the championship. While 2019 era fans will have names like Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco, Jose Berrios, Taylor Rogers and others roll off our tongues. Fans who were around for 1965 would speak in similar tones of players like Zoilo Versalles, Bob Allison, Jim Kaat, Tony Oliva, and Harmon Killebrew. Looking back on that year, it was a pretty exciting group and we are only scratching the surface in our list here. In the organization's fifth season after moving to Minnesota from Washington, the Twins as they were led by their manager Sam Mele sent six players to the All-Star game. The six included Harmon Killebrew, Zoilo Versalles, Tony Oliva, Jimmie Hall, Earl Battey, and Mudcat Grant. The All-Stars didn’t have to travel far as the game was played in the Twins home ballpark, Metropolitan Stadium. This era of Twins baseball and specifically this ‘65 team has always been an interesting group to me personally. Now, since we do not have any live baseball to follow, it seemed as good a time as any to spend "social distancing" reading up on this historic group. It also feels to be a team we overlook as we mention the great teams of 1987 and 1991. The ‘65 team did miss out on that coveted ring which is the obvious reason they aren’t rattled off as often. From the point of dominating a league they deserve serious attention even half a century later. I hope you join me along this journey as I hope to continue to uncover fun bits of information about this team. Even maybe draw some connections between this 100-win club and the one we watched take the field this past season. Of course your favorite facts and memories about this team are always welcome. Maybe you even have something you are curious about that we could explore together. My hope is that as it is turning out to be for me, that the 1965 Twins may be able to fill part of the baseball void that the 2020 version can’t right now due to events bigger than baseball. Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Not registered? Click here to create an account. To stay up to date, follow Twins Daily on Twitter and Facebook. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

I do want to be clear that this isn't my idea or just from my brain. Stark found this as he spoke with a number of managers around how strategy will adjust with the three-batter rule. The question managers will ask if this plays out as outlined is do I prefer one of my best bats to potentially be walked or that he gets to hit with a potentially less favorable matchup. There is no certainty in how any of it will play out. Maybe managers will just ask their lefty to pitch to righty and see what happens. The Twins may be one of the better lineups assembled to absorb whatever comes their way, but teams with only one or two clear cut impact bats won't want that guy consistently skipped over in big moments. It ultimately sounds like enough managers are asking the question so we may see something come out of it this season.

Love seeing you in the comments gagu! Miss being able to chat baseball as much as we once did!

That would be the point of the stack is to eliminate the intentional walk and ensure that your big bats get pitched too. Even if it is no longer that opposite hand matchup that might be preferred.

Lots has been discussed about how the new three-batter rule will effect the pitching side of the game. What hasn't been discussed as much is how it could effect hitting strategies as the new rule is implemented in 2020. So just how could it affect the Twins 2020 lineup?The Minnesota Twins and the rest of the MLB will soon see how the new three-batter minimum rule for relief pitchers will affect in-game strategy. This past weekend Jayson Stark put out an interesting article on how managers may use different strategies in reaction to this rule moving into 2020. Something I hadn’t considered seriously enough was how the three-batter rule may affect lineup construction outside of how valuable being able to alternate lefties and righties might become. Stark explains that there is the potential that intentional walks may be utilized more often to avoid bad matchups. This would allow the continuation of the same-handed batter/pitcher matchup. This is where a new strategy Stark calls a “stack” might become a valuable strategy in regard to lineup construction. A stacked lineup would move managers to construct lineups in a way that would put right-handed or left-handed bats in bunches. Better ensuring that one of their top hitters wouldn’t be intentionally ushered to first base simply because of a bad matchup based on handedness. Shortly after Stark posted said article and strategy we saw a Twins spring training lineup that would fit the stack mold. One of the many strengths of the Twins lineup we have been able to marvel at has been its pretty remarkable strength from both sides of the plate. Because of that, projected lineups for the Twins often have more of the traditional lefty-righty mix. Something like: LH Luis Arraez RH Josh Donaldson RH Nelson Cruz LH Max Kepler S Jorge Polanco RH Miguel Sano LH Eddie Rosario RH Mitch Garver RH Byron Buxton By no means am I saying this is my Opening Day lineup. It is simply for illustrative purposes and one way the lineup could be constructed. I would guess most of the season the Twins will use this sort of lineup construction. What could a stacked lineup look like if the Twins do face a team who tries to beat the three-batter rule by using intentional walks? Say, Terry Francona and the Cleveland Indians. S Jorge Polanco RH Josh Donaldson RH Nelson Cruz RH Miguel Sano LH Max Kepler LH Eddie Rosario LH Luis Arraez RH Mitch Garver RH Byron Buxton This lineup, in the event intentional walks begin to be utilized more, helps to protect some of the big bats from getting skipped if teams attempt to avoid bad matchups with a good hitter all from a handedness stand point. Only in playing the games will we truly see if this becomes a thing. With a manager like Francona and his history of using his bullpen creatively in the division, it seems that much more likely the Twins could see some unique scenarios this season. It will be interesting to see what, if anything, Rocco counters with. Can you see this becoming a thing in the MLB this season? Listing out these lineups does continue to reinforce one thing. This Twins lineup is deep and should be very fun to watch in 2020! Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Not registered? Click here to create an account. To stay up to date, follow Twins Daily on Twitter and Facebook. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

The Minnesota Twins used to be marked by the "Twins Way" and a very prescribed way of developing major league players. In recent years, we have seen the shift in philosophy where the team is now much more focused on finding the right, individual process for each player to help him succeed. This spring has brought forth several examples of that process in action.As the Minnesota Twins have moved into Fort Myers and gotten well on their way with spring training in preparation for the 2020 season, we have begun to hear some great insights on how players' offseasons have gone. What has caught my eye in the last week are all the stories on how so many Twins pitchers have been preparing for the season and how the Twins are encouraging their personal growth. One thing stands out in each story. Each pitcher is being coached to try to find his best individual approach. A team that just a decade ago was known for the “Twins Way” of playing has in the new regime fully embraced an approach where they don’t want a specific best type of player. Instead they are trying to make the best of whatever types of players they have on their roster. That isn’t to say there are not some traits this front office targets, but long gone are the days of a prescribed method on how to bring them up. Long gone are the horror stories of batting stances and approaches that encourage simply hitting the ball the other way. Long gone are the days of the dreaded “pitch to contact” conversations. With the new approach there is a strong willingness to experiment and find the little things to put a player in a position to improve and succeed. Aaron Gleeman highlighted Trevor May speaking to that approach as he described his transition from starter to back-end reliever. The biggest change he made was to move away from his curveball as his primary breaking ball and embrace his slider more. A change of a grip, plus confirmation from the technology the Twins have implemented, and May was on his way to an improved approach. Taylor Rogers recently spoke to the Twins' new way of helping players improve and joked that the Twins may have more technology than the military. Here is more from that interview where he highlights all the approaches the Twins are using with that technology. With a high emphasis early in the clip on individualizing the process. Another interesting read over at FanGraphs focused on how Zack Littell has really developed and used two sliders in his approach as a reliever. What I found great about this is that there is no cookie-cutter way of how Littell can employ his sliders. It is a feel thing and a reading of specific situations. There is clearly a thought process on how to decide what to use but the prescription is not readily available to everyone. In fact, only Littell knows exactly which slider he will throw when the catcher puts down the sign. Of course, technology and personal conversations with pitching coach Wes Johnson were part of Littell’s journey to using two sliders. As humans we are much more comfortable living in black and white ways of living. That way is predictable and much easier to follow. The old “Twins Way” thrived on a “this is the way to do it” mentality it seemed a majority of the time. Now the Twins embrace the gray area in order to find what is best for each individual. Because of that approach we have already seen many break-out performances from Twins players. It can also help us have faith that those players can continue to grow and perform and that others like Kenta Maeda, Matt Wisler, Lewis Thorpe and Jose Berrios can take some steps forward in 2020 and help the Twins contend and win in the playoffs. Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Not registered? Click here to create an account. To stay up to date, follow Twins Daily on Twitter and Facebook. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

Part of the reason why I wanted to unpack the numbers of that '91 group is what you are pointing out. The Cy-Young finishes are also quite incredible regardless of how flawed award voting can be. I did personally like how good Johan was in addition to Radke being at that higher level as the #2. Thanks for the good thoughts!

I so badly wanted to put this group in the conversation. The memories of how dominant it felt the team could be with the one-two punch of Johan and Liriano are pretty cool. I just couldn't when the WAR was lower at every level of the trio for the whole of the season. I sure gave it a long look though!

The Minnesota Twins have set out this offseason to assemble a rotation that can compete for a World Series championship in 2020. Jose Berrios, Jake Odorizzi, and Kenta Maeda look to form a great top-three for the starting rotation. Who was the last great trio of Twins pitchers?The last time the Minnesota Twins won a World Series. the year was 1991 and they had a pretty good trio of starting pitchers in Kevin Tapani, Scott Erickson, and Jack Morris. With the World Series in their sights for 2020, the Twins have assembled what looks to be another pretty good trio of pitchers in Jose Berrios, Jake Odorizzi, and Kenta Maeda. In his coverage of spring training for The Athletic, Aaron Gleeman in addressing the Twins excellent depth, correctly calls this season’s trio potentially the best the Twins have had in some time. What seems to be the next logical question to that assessment is, just when was the last time the Twins had a trio of starting pitchers this good? That 1991 group is a natural place to look first. Tapani (6.8 WAR), Erickson (4.4 WAR), and Morris (4.3) combined for a total 15.5 WAR. Tapani pitched his way to a 2.99 ERA, 143 ERA+, and finished seventh in Cy-Young voting. Erickson upped Tapani by finishing second in Cy Young voting with a 3.18 ERA and a 135 ERA+. Morris came in 4th for Cy Young voting a 3.43 ERA and 125 ERA+. The pure depth of that 1991 group is impressive. Although that group pitched almost three decades ago. The most recent trio that likely rivals the hopeful output of the 2020 version has to be one of the staffs led by Twins great Johan Santana. In 2004, Santana put together a season which according to WAR is only topped by Bert Blyleven’s 1973 performance in Twins history. Santana (8.7 WAR), was joined by Brad Radke (5.9 WAR), and Carlos Silva (2.6 WAR) which totals 17.2 WAR and made that trio worth more than the ‘91 trio. That season Santana won the Cy Young (but wasn’t an All-Star), had a 2.61 ERA, and 182 ERA+. Radke added a 3.48 ERA and 136 ERA+ over 219.2 innings pitched. Then Silva also topped 200 innings (203.0 IP), had a 4.21 ERA, and a 112 ERA+. It is those Johan Santana led and specifically 2004 rotation that Berrios, Odorizzi, and Maeda will be trying to make us forget. In order for the 2020 trio to in actuality place themselves among the performance level of the ‘04 and ‘91 group they will need to up their career best performances. If we pull each pitcher’s best season according to WAR it only totals up to 10.4 WAR. The easiest way to for this group to improve would be to see Berrios take the step to become the leader of this rotation closer to the level Johan was. Of course one of the X-factors of this rotation is they have a fourth starting pitcher in Michael Pineda and possible fifth in Rich Hill which makes the rotation have incredible depth as the season winds on. Both of those guys could also realistically challenge to be in that top trio as well. Can Berrios, Odorizzi, and Maeda challenge 2004 Johan, Radke, and Silva as a great Twins trio of starting pitchers? Is there a different more recent group I should have named in this “greatest since” conversation? Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Not registered? Click here to create an account. To stay up to date, follow Twins Daily on Twitter and Facebook. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

I don't think our points are as far off as you have made them. The point is that we shouldn't be afraid to trade even top tier prospects because a past trade of one didn't turn out well. It at the same time recognizes that as a whole it seems we have some fears when it comes to seeing talent and prospects leave Minnesota and what they might become. It is OK if you disagree with that take. That is the beauty of TD.

I am sorry if that is how the post came across. Not my intentions. My hope instead of simply writing why we should be OK with a trade of a top prospect is to look further down the line and ask why may we as fans struggle with trading top prospects. As I asked that question this post outlines what I see as potential explanations to why we react the way we do. We fear the repeat of the "ones who got away." I don't intend to in anyway try and put myself on some other tier than everyone else. The reality is I am a dude in Wisconsin with a keyboard who chooses to spend some of his free time digging through and writing about baseball. And I do that to further conversation with other baseball and specifically Twins fans. Especially since I live in Wisconsin and all anyone wants to talk about is the Packers. So I am sorry if I came off in anyway as an elitist. I am simply a nerdy guy looking for answers to questions and writing about them. I pinch myself to make sure this is real that I am allowed to post thoughts and ideas on a platform like TD.

Trades have the ability to catapult or scar fan bases. The Minnesota Twins latest acquisition of Kenta Maeda seemed to reveal that Twins fans are likely still scarred from the 2010 trade deadline deal for Matt Capps.As the saga of Kenta Maeda making his way to Minnesota unfolded one name got discussed and analyzed a lot. To the point where if Brusdar Graterol was a fine cut of steak he would have looked like a lump of hamburger in the end. One thought came to my mind as I read tweets, comments, and the like surrounding the trade...are we still haunted by Matt Capps? If you remember back to the summer of 2010 the Twins felt the need to trade for then “proven closer” Matt Capps and did so by sending off one of their top prospects of the time, catcher Wilson Ramos. Ramos was ultimately blocked by Joe Mauer but what still seems to be the critique of that trade is not necessarily that he was traded. It is that he was traded for a relief pitcher. Capps did finish 23 games for the Twins in 2010 with a 2.00 ERA and earned 16 saves over 27.0 innings pitched. Capps did help lead the Twins into the playoffs. No matter how good Capps performed, short of a World Series ring there was a high likelihood that fans would wonder if Ramos could have been packaged to bring Cliff Lee, Dan Haren, or another top name to position the Twins even better for the playoffs and beyond. Is it this trade that has created a group that has become lovingly been referred to as the “Prospect Protectors?" The old regime of the front office had some clunkers of trades and it seems those of us who were around for those days may have become a bit gun shy of seeing trades made because of what could be with our prospects. The hard thing is there have been several missed trades that are quickly available in our memories more than ones that have been successful. Denard Span for Alex Meyer didn’t end up working out. We finally in 2019 saw the first true fruits of Ben Revere for Trevor May and Vance Worley. The Twins were left standing with nothing after trading away Johan Santana and botched trying to turn Carlos Gomez into J.J. Hardy and eventually Jim Hoey. All of that and Capps for Ramos still likely tops the list for memorability. As painful as the memory of that trade is, we must remember that was the previous front office regime. There were still some good trades when it comes to the Terry Ryan-influenced front office so we don’t want to let the bad ones completely scar our memory of that regime. Where we can try and exorcise the ghost of the Matt Capps trade is acknowledging that the team is under the leadership of a different regime. And this front office is already proving to have a bit of a knack for pulling together some smart moves. We have seen success already from the Jake Odorizzi trade. The sell-off of veterans like Brian Dozier and Eduardo Escobar has helped build up the farm system into a strength that can be dealt from. Specifically without Jhoan Duran, trading Graterol may have been a full no-go. Hopefully acquiring Maeda by trading Graterol will help us become more comfortable with Falvey and Levine’s ability to make this sort of move. I say hopefully because there is a good chance more trades will need to come due to the volume of prospects the Twins will need to make decisions on soon. Hopefully we are no longer haunted by the ghosts of Matt Capps. Do we dare start trying to work on the ghost of David Ortiz’s release yet? Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Not registered? Click here to create an account. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

Well Done, Matthew! I do wonder if we undervalue Kepler at times due to Buxton's amazingness. It is hard to figure exactly how to, but I might try to bump centerfield up the list.

Minnesota Twins fans still are waiting for a significant upgrade to the starting rotation. Here is a look based on rumors of who may be available of the top 10 arms for the team to target between now and the trade deadline.It seems the Minnesota Twins will at some point return to the trade market for an improvement on the 2020 starting rotation. We may be waiting until the trade deadline for that move to come, but in the time until then let’s rank who may be available for the Twins to explore. 1. Joe Musgrove 4.44 ERA, 3.82 FIP, 3.3 fWAR 8.30 K/9 (21.9 K%), 2.06 BB/9 (5.4 BB%) Contact Rates: Med 43.8%, Hard 37.3% Swinging Strike 12.0% Musgrove looks ready to take a step now to fit in the #2-#3 place in the Twins rotation. He may not have elite velocity all the time but averages around 93 mph and tops out at 95-97 mph. Who knows what Wes Johnson might be able to add to that mix to help him take those next steps to join Odorizzi and Berrios at the top of the rotation. 2. Matthew Boyd 4.56 ERA, 4.32 FIP, 3.3 fWAR 11.56 K/9 (30.2 K%) , 2.43 BB/9 (6.4 BB%) Contact Rates: Med 41.8%, 40.7% Swinging Strike 14.0% I very easily could have put Boyd #1. His average velocity is similar to Musgrove but to this point has better swing and miss stuff. Call it a gut call and know I won't hate anyone for disagreeing with me especially on this ranking. 3. Jon Gray 3.84 ERA, 4.06 FIP, 2.9 fWAR 9.00 K/9 (23.6 K%) 3.36 BB/9 (8.8 BB%) Contact rates: Med 45%, Hard 39.8% Swinging Strike 11.7% I may kick myself for this ranking. For what feels like ever Gray has been my target and hope for the Twins to acquire. His velocity is a bit better than the first two but doesn’t have the swing and miss capabilities yet. What I think knocked him down was his 50.4% groudball rate in 2019. That works with Trevor Story and Nolan Arenado, but even with Josh Donaldson in the mix, does it work as well for the Twins? 4. Marco Gonzales 3.99 ERA, 4.15 FIP, 3.7 fWAR 6.52 K/9 (17.0 K%), 2.48 BB/9 (6.5 BB%) Contact Rates Medium 48.6%, Hard 33.3% Swinging Strike 7.9% Outside of the simple assumption that the Mariners won’t be competitive this year we haven’t heard Gonzales’ name nearly as much. He is not nearly as sexy of choice as the others before him on the list but just seemed to get things done in 2019. 5. Robbie Ray 4.34 ERA, 4.29 FIP, 2.4 fWAR 12.13 K/9 (31.5 K%), 4.34 BB/9 (11.2 BB%) Contact Rates: Med 40.3%, Hard 43.4% Swinging Strike 13.6% After the Diamondbacks acquired Starling Marte this seems like an even less likely trade at least until mid-summer. The one year deal also doesn’t feel like the sort of trade this front office would want to pursue. So maybe likelihood is creeping into my ranking but he also has the highest walk rate so far out of the pitchers we have looked at. 6. Sandy Alcantara 3.88 ERA, 4.55 FIP, 2.3 fWAR 6.89 K/9 (18.0 K%), 3.69 BB/9 (9.7 BB%) Contact Rates Medium 45.7%, Hard 34.6% Swinging Strike 11.0% The Twins have certainly been linked to the Miami Marlins this off-season. Alcantara seems to be the most attractive arm available. He doesn’t currently have the results of huge swing and miss stuff, but the tools seem to be there. Here is a deeper look into Alcantara. 7. Chris Sale 4.40 ERA, 3.39 FIP, 3.6 fWAR 13.32 K/9 (35.6%), 2.26 BB/9 (6.1%) Contact Rates Medium 47.1%, Hard 36.0% Swinging Strike 14.2% Sale is probably hard to get, but if he would be made available he continues to pitch well. We have also seen in the past his ability to be a true frontline ace. Is that ability still there? That would be the gamble that would be taken. 8. David Price 4.28 ERA, 3.62 FIP, 2.3 fWAR 10.73 K/9 (28.0%), 2.68 BB/9 (7.0%) Contact Rates: Med 43.4%, Hard 36.9% Swing Strike 11.2% Second Red Sox pitcher in row, similar story. Difference is we know Price is much more available due to his 3 year, $96 million contract. Is there enough in the tank to trade for that price tag is the question teams continue to ask. 9. Chris Archer 5.19 ERA, 5.02 FIP, 0.7 fWAR 10.75 K/9(27.2%), 4.14 BB/9(10.5%) Contact Rates Medium 43.5%, Hard 40.1% Swinging Strike 12.9% This will feel very low to many for Archer. On contract alone I considered flipping him and Price, but unlike many I don’t think Archer’s problem is just pitching in Pittsburgh. I wrote more here about how the signs were there for decline before the trade. 10. Caleb Smith 4.52 ERA, 5.11 FIP, 1.0 fWAR 9.86 K/9(26.0%), 3.52 BB/9 (9.3%) Contact Rates Medium 45.9%, Hard 37.4% Swinging Strike 12.6% Smith burst onto the scene a bit last season. The buzz around him made him feel much better than the numbers do. Nothing stellar but if the Twins see something that can be adjusted to get even more results the left-hander he is certainly an arm worth exploring. Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Not registered? Click here to create an account. To stay up to date, follow Twins Daily on Twitter and Facebook. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

If you are referencing the title, that is more a throwback to the comments made by the front office. I have gone as far on Twitter to wonder aloud if Pineda can be that better than Odorizzi impact arm the Twins were seeking. So the title is not meant to bring down the value of Berrios or Odorizzi.

The Minnesota Twins are starting the season without their full complement of preferred starters. Just what is ahead of the Twins until Michael Pineda returns from suspension and can they weather whatever storm could head their way?As the Minnesota Twins made their pivot from “impact pitching” to an impact Bringer of Rain, something became glaringly obvious. With Michael Pineda and Rich Hill not starting the season in the rotation, as the roster stands, two rotation spots are going to be open for one of the young guys to grab hold of. There is still time for the Twins to add another pitcher to bring that number down to one, whether through a trade or a nice little nonroster-invite signing like say, Taijaun Walker. There is no guarantee either of those things will happen or work, so in how bad condition are the Twins regarding their rotation? Michael Pineda has another 39 games to serve on his suspension as 2020 kicks off. If we divide 39 games by five rotation spots we get a nice round 7.8 games. For our purposes let’s round it and make it 8 games per rotation spot or 16 games total the fourth and fifth rotation spot may be responsible for before Pineda joins the team. Every year, to survive the dog days of summer, teams end up having to find games from outside their planned five starters. So how many of those did the Twins need in 2019? Exactly 16 games. They came from Devin Smeltzer (6), Randy Dobnak (5), Lewis Thorpe (2), Kohl Stewart (2), and Cody Stashak (1). The good news for 2020 is that three of those five names are the first three in line to get starts again. They’ve been there. The Twins were incredibly healthy for 2019, with 26 starts from Pineda being the lowest number among their preferred five starters. In 2018 the Twins needed to find 35 starts from outside of their preferred five. And we all know how that went. The 2018 Twins were given the relatively late blow that Ervin Santana was hurt and would not be able to start the season. That resulted in a heavy dose of Fernando Romero as the fifth starter and six games opened by Gabriel Moya. Trevor May, Zack Littell, Tyler Duffey, Stephen Gonsalves, Adalberto Mejia, Chase De Jong, Aaron Slegers, and Phil Hughes also recorded starts. The difference between 2018 and 2020 seems to be twofold. First, the Twins are currently walking into the season prepared to fill those fourth and fifth starter spots from within. And one of them for a determined period of time. The Santana injury in 2018 came out of nowhere and there was no clue exactly how long it would affect the right-hander. Second, the Twins are now much better equipped to fill gaps even if something does go horribly wrong. Thorpe, Dobnak, and Smeltzer are much more battle-tested. Jhoan Duran and Jordan Balazovic don't seem far away. Also Brusdar Graterol has been declared an MLB player for 2020. While the bullpen is his destination, maybe early in the season he fills some sort of opener-type roll. That is 16 games not counting any snow or rainouts or the ability to skip spots in the rotation. This team seems built to withstand 16 games. Ultimately some of those early season starts may help the Twins later in the summer as others need to skip a start and take some maintenance rest. That said, a trade for an impact starter would absolutely be welcomed right now. If it doesn’t happen until later at the trade deadline, the Twins should be fine. Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Not registered? Click here to create an account. To stay up to date, follow Twins Daily on Twitter and Facebook. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

The Minnesota Twins signed the guy for whom Miguel Sano was willing to move to first. Now the question looms of just how well will Sano field his new position. The verdict is ultimately still out but there are some positive signs for the previous defensive liability.Minnesota Twins fans first learned that Miguel Sano was signing his brand new three year contract. We then heard the interviews. Where time and again Sano mentioned he had been working on first base among other aspects of baseball. Then came the official news of Josh Donaldson coming to Minnesota and the official start to Sano’s move across the diamond as a defender. We all know at this point that, albeit being very athletic for a man his size, Sano was not a good defensive third basemen. Now that he is on the move, what can we piece together about Sano, from the eye test as well as the numbers that may give us a clue to the type of first baseman Sano may be in 2020 and beyond. When watching Sano highlights there are moments where he looks absolutely incredible. He sprawls out for a zooming line drive, collects himself, and rifles the ball across the diamond. In watching, it may simply be his arm that makes some of these lateral plays look tremendous. At the same time he has these plays where he just seems to almost stumble around. That is where the concern comes in as Sano moves across the diamond. First base requires good foot work and does he have that? Trying to look through game highlights of Sano as a first baseman it is clear he can receive the ball well. It is also clear he hasn’t truly learned the craft of being a first baseman, but the ability is there. Within the same game last season against the Yankees on July 24th we can see Sano not quite get a good stretch on a play in the fourth inning that allows DJ LeMahieu to reach safely. Then later in the game he makes a better (although slightly unorthodox) stretch to record an out in the fifth. When using OAA to zone in on Miguel Sano we learn that our eyes do not totally deceive us and that he does lack lateral movement. What is good news in comparison to his third base numbers is that he sits much more in the “OK” range at first with OAA ratings of +2 (2017 on 11 attempts), 0 (2018 on 15 attempts), and -1 (2019 on 11 attempts). Very small sample size, but that's what we have to work with since Sano hasn’t spent much time at first. The first basemen skill that we worry about the most with theTwins infield in the past is how well can an errant throw be picked. Fangraphs Scoops stat ranks Sano favorable in his small sample size with +2 (2017), +2 (2018), and 0 (2019). Now scoops is another imperfect statistic where Sano is likely being compared most against his teammates and is a stat that is figured to only show us about 25% of a first baseman's defensive worth. (Read more in this explanation of “Scoops”) Sano does project as likely getting a plus on his ability to scoop compared to other first baseman solely due to his size. As the linked explanation of Scoops states, players who are right-handed and are over 6’1” see a 1.2 increase in runs saved on average. Sano standing at 6’4” has that working for him. Putting all these pieces together, it seems Sano has all the tools, and now with first base as his focus, to become an at least average first baseman. He may not win Gold Gloves, but his value is his bat. If Sano carries defensive abilities that don't hurt the team he will still individually translate into a very good player since his bat does wonderful things like hit 34 home runs with a .923 OPS. The looming question may be: Do the Twins have too many players like that in their infield as a whole? Individually though, Sano should be fine defensively which translates into a good player. What are your thoughts on Sano moving to first? How will he perform? Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Not registered? Click here to create an account. To stay up to date, follow Twins Daily on Twitter and Facebook. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article