Nate Palmer

Thanks! That is very kind and means more than you know.

Almost included him. I am worried if he could be a starter for the Twins and then is redundant to have with Marwin and Ehire on the roster. Certainly still another solid option from the group today.

The Minnesota Twins made non-tender decisions on C.J. Cron and Trevor Hildenberger before Monday night's deadline making those two players available to other MLB teams to sign. Other teams made similar decisions which has added to the free agent market. Here are a few interesting names for the Twins.SP Aaron Sanchez Aaron Sanchez was a name linked to the Twins at the trade deadline but wound up with the Houston Astros instead. Sanchez has lacked consistency but shows enough flashes that makes him intriguing. This season between Toronto and Houston Sanchez compiled an unimpressive 5.89 ERA over 131 1/3 innings. Biggest issue with Sanchez is that his season ended after he neeed shoulder surgery and likely will delay the start to his 2020 season. Sanchez will certainly attract some suitors as someone will want to see if they can get something out of a starter who can throw in the mid-90s. RP Blake Treinen After being one of the most dominant relievers in 2018, all things fell apart for Treinen in 2019. The high velocity, sinker ball pitcher just was not able to produce at the same level of effectiveness. He is still only one year removed from a season in which he had a 0.78 ERA. He also went to college at South Dakota State so that is close to a homecoming, right? Treinen's former teammate, lefty Ryan Buchter could also be worth a look after turning in three straight seasons of sub-3.00 ERA. He doesn’t have high velocity but could be the lefty to pair with Taylor Rogers the Twins have been needing. OF Kevin Pillar Call it Byron Buxton insurance, a quality fourth outfielder to mix in, or even someone to have in the case of an Eddie Rosario trade, but Kevin Pillar could be a solid addition for the Twins. Pillar had long manned center field in Toronto until being moved to San Francisco at the beginning of 2019. There he was a centerpiece of the Giants offense with a .264/.293/.442 slash line and .735 OPS and 21 home runs. While DRS has shown a downturn in Pillar’s center field defense the past two seasons, he is still a capable defensive outfielder. Domingo Santana is another outfielder non-tendered who could provide a similar bat but not the same level of defense. SP Taijuan Walker and SP Jimmy Nelson Both of these pitchers have big red flags after some injury-plagued seasons. Walker had Tommy John and a shoulder injury. Nelson hasn’t quite recovered from a shoulder injury of his own that held him out of all of 2018 and he struggled to get back from in 2019. Both have shown some dominant flashes. Nelson especially looked like ace material before his injury. What names have caught your eye? Any of these names fit for a Twins team that is pushing to improve and make a push into the 2020 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 — The Three Biggest What-Ifs from the 2019 Season — What the Early Twins Offseason Rumblings Tell Us — One of the Greatest Trades in Twins History Click here to view the article

Josh Donaldson has been filling up Minnesota Twins related rumors over the weekend. Should he be the only third baseman the Twins are kicking the tires on? Mike Moustakas might be a free agent worth getting to move a state westward for 2020.The Minnesota Twins will certainly be linked to a number of players over the next several weeks as the offseason is truly under way. This past weekend, Darren Wolfson of KSTP linked the Twins to free agent third baseman Josh Donaldson. This confirms to some extent the front office is willing to consider a position change for slugger Miguel Sano. After struggling through injury in previous seasons, Donaldson turned in a very good season at the age of 33 for the Atlanta Braves. His average was down from his 2015 MVP season, but he still slashed .259/.379/.521, a .900 OPS, and hit 37 home runs. Placing that right-handed power bat in the Twins lineup would certainly add to an already dangerous lineup. Is Donaldson the best option for the Twins if they choose to move Sano to first base? Another free agent the Twins could look at is the former Royals and Brewers infielder Mike Moustakas. When it comes to the bat, Moustakas isn’t too far behind Donaldson. He's also been both healthier and more consistent the past three years. Last season, Moustakas slashed .254/.329/.516 with an .845 OPS and 35 home runs. That followed 28 home runs in 2018 and 38 in 2017. Those offensive numbers would look good slotted into the Twins lineup, even if coming from the left side of the plate. Now the real reason Sano would be moved from third is to improve upon his -5 DRS performance in the hot corner. Considering his age and injury history, Donaldson performed very well defensively, turning in a +15 DRS this past season. Moustakas would bring the defense back to “not hurting” level as he had a 0 DRS in 2019 and a +2 in 2018. Donaldson is clearly the better third basemen based off of 2019 performances, but that also comes at a cost. The Offseason Handbook placed his contract at two years, $40 million while MLB Trade Rumors projects him for three years and $75 million. Meanwhile, the Handbook puts Moustakas at three years, $36 million and MLBTR two years, $20 million. That average annual salary difference is enough to allow the Twins to consider most or all of a contract for another pitcher. That is enough for me to consider Moustakas over Donaldson. I will admit that it isn’t as obvious a decision as I initially thought it might be, mainly due to Donaldson’s far superior defensive numbers. If their money comes in closer to each other, I certainly want Donaldson in those new Twins baby blues. If the Twins are moving Sano to first for 2020 who are you hoping the Twins add for third base? Is it one of these two? Let us know in the comments! 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 — Best Case Scenarios for New Twins 40-Man Additions — The C.J. Cron Conundrum — Do Any of These Underrated Free Agents Fit in Minnesota? Click here to view the article

The Minnesota Twins have had some pretty notable players take the field for them since the turn of the century. Joe Mauer, Torii Hunter, and Johan Santana just to name a few. A struggle for the Twins in that same time span has been to find consistency on the left side of their infield. That may finally be changing in 2020 with Miguel Sano and Jorge Polanco set to start the season on that left side once again.As has been noted many times over the years, outside of back-to-back years of Pedro Florimon (2013 and 2014) making the Opening Day lineup the Twins had a different player playing the position ever since Cristian Guzman left the team. Barring any injuries or suspensions, Jorge Polanco should start on Opening Day for the second consecutive season at shortstop for the Twins in 2020 and will have been the starter three out of the past four seasons. While third base has had a bit more consistency, it can certainly be argued the the performance level hasn’t been quite what it could or should be there either. Trevor Plouffe had some seasons of note while he held down the hot corner from 2013-2016, but it can be argued that the Twins haven’t had a real difference maker consistently at that position since Corey Koskie was playing. This coming season looks to be the first in a long time the Twins will look to return both starters at those two positions. Both of those players have the potential to be real difference makers on a competitive club. For nostalgia's sake, let's just remember some of the names that have seen some notable time at those positions for the Twins. Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Brian Buscher, Mike Lamb, Jamey Carroll, Tony Batista, Joe Crede, and we could keep going but I can hear the cringing as I type so I will stop there. The 2019 Polanco-Sano pairing could be the best performances from those two positions in a season since the 2001 Koskie-Guzman pairing both attracted MVP votes. There is no debate that offensively Polanco and Sano were as good a duo as any this century for the Twins. Polanco’s .295/356/.485, .841 OPS, and 22 home runs paired with Sano’s .247/.346/.576, .923 OPS, and 34 home runs is something that certainly raises the performance level of those positions. Positions that often were defense-first when Twins rosters of the past were assembled. Defense may be the one place where we can pick apart this duo in comparison to duos of the past. Now Polanco has done a lot to improve himself. Turning in a +1 DRS in 2019 at shortstop. It is Sano’s defense that is the biggest blemish of this tandem turning in a -5 DRS in 2019. That is why many of us will continue to wonder if or when the Twins will be forced to move Sano across the diamond to first base. For the time being his offensive production has continued to outpace any defensive liabilities, but when sporting World Series aspirations every little edge needs to be gained and defense at third could be one. Defensive change or not, we are witnessing something that we haven’t seen for some time. The floor for production of the 2020 left side of the infield is much higher than it has been in for most of the century. That raised level is just one of the many markers that show how far the Twins have come and forms part of the foundation that will allow the Twins to look at making some bigger moves this offseason. 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 — Who Could the Twins Trade this Offseason — Offseason Blueprint: Bet the Farm — Offseason Blueprint: Run It Back Click here to view the article

Thanks John! So on 1 can only speak for myself. Balazovic seems to have some perceived value and isn't Graterol. It seems Boston is going to ask for this offseason some manner of young, controllable pitching if they can get it. Every team will probably ask for Graterol so Balazovic seems like the natural pivot from there. I do see how it is strange based on the fact Balazovic's rise is similar to Graterol's in many ways and Graterol has been protected/coveted in a way that Balazovic isn't. On 3, Gray has simply been speculated on a ton. Not just this offseason but in others as well. Haven't seen anything publicly from the Rockies that he is available so I guess ultimately only they know if he is.

I really hope it could be done for less. I just have my doubts that the Red Sox are truly that serious about cutting payroll without getting a decent return. Like I mention it would be much easier to swallow if it is say Rosario and the two prospects. So as negotiations went if that is where the deal can be made, great! As a fan trying to "make" a trade this one hurts a bit which has been a good barometer for me over the years that it might be closer to what it may actually take. Thanks, Seth

The Minnesota Twins are going to have money to spend and will need to spend to replenish the roster. What feels most Minnesotan is that the Twins will stretch those dollars as far as possible and sign a number of mid level free agents. What if they didn’t do that? What if the Twins were the team to bring in big salary and big names in a big trade. Here is what an offseason might look like if the Twins are able to bring in current Red Sox outfielder and former MVP Mookie Betts.This blueprint looks at capitalizing on one team's need to cut salary to avoid the luxury tax threshold and enter into the free agent market themselves. Before going too much further, lets lay out the big move and then explain why it may make any sense for the Twins to attempt to put together an offseason centered around such a move. 1. Trade Eddie Rosario, Miguel Sano, Jordan Balazovic and Nick Gordon to the Boston Red Sox for OF Mookie Betts and LHP David Price Un-Minnesota right? The Twins get a top-10 MLB player in Betts who can hit, field and has an MVP on his resume. The major downside for anyone trading for Betts this offseason is that they will only get him for one season. Price may not be the dominant David Price we remember, but if he is healthy, he still has the ability to contribute to a major league starting staff. While his ERA was 4.28 in 2019 his FIP was 3.62 and still has a swinging strike rate above 11%. The concern with Price is his contract and a decrease in velocity. The biggest return the Red Sox get is nearly $60 million in contracts off the books in 2020 and and additional $32 million per season owed to Price the next two seasons. Boston also gets two major league ready pieces in Rosario, who steps into Betts' role, and Sano, who fills their need at first base. With a vacancy at second, Gordon becomes a candidate there, and Balazovic gives the Red Sox a talented and controllable young arm that they covet. It would be great if the Twins didn’t have to give up both Sano and Rosario, but it sounds like the Red Sox are going to want a good haul for Betts to move him. Now for the rest of the moves that help fit those big contracts into the Twins payroll. A payroll that will obviously need to increase but will try and do so within reason. 2. Tender all arbitration-eligible players This becomes necessary to fill roster spots in a relatively affordable way with the extra salary being brought on board. 3. Sign RHP Jake Odorizzi for three years, $36 million Odorizzi will never be an ace but has proven that he can still be a very valuable part to a playoff rotation. The Twins staff also clearly knows how to get that out of him and to continue to allow them to work with Odorizzi will hopefully help maintain if not improve on those results. 4. Sign RHP Sergio Romo for one year, $3 million At $3 million Romo comes in relatively affordably when it comes to quality playoff caliber arms. His personality and experience is also always welcome and with the bulk of the Twins payroll going elsewhere, Romo can continue to mentor and lead the bullpen. 5. Sign Kyle Barraclough for one year, $1 million I personally highlighted Barraclough last week but didn’t expect to actually use him anywhere in a blueprint. Here I am trying to find a bargain bin arm that could bounce back and have an impact for the Twins in the bullpen. The hope here is that Barraclough would be able to reduce his hard hit rate and continue to create swing and misses but with much better results than he had in 2019. 6. Trade OF Akil Baddoo and 2B/3B/OF Travis Blankenhorn to the Rockies for RHP Jon Gray This trade has the potential to be similar to what the Twins did with Odorizzi. Gray had a better season in 2019 than Odorizzi did before the Twins acquired him which is the reason for two prospects in this deal vs. the one when Odorizzi was acquired. Gray pitches with good velocity (96.1 mph) and induces ground balls at a high rate. He certainly can be a back end of the rotation starter, but hopefully the Twins could find the front-line starter the Rockies once thought they had in the right-hander. Gray has team control through 2021 and is projected by MLB Trade Rumors to make $5.6 million this coming season. SUMMARY The lineup does look to lose a bit in the way of depth in comparison to the 2019 version of the Twins. There is no doubt that Betts makes the top end of the lineup much better. A healthy Cron hopefully contributes more to this lineup than he did down the stretch this past season. If not, there are the likes of Alex Kirilloff and Trevor Larnach that the Twins could figure out how to get in the lineup in his place. Download attachment: Screen Shot 2019-11-11 at 10.19.42 PM.png The starting rotation may still be lacking the true ace that is being sought. Berrios, Price, Odorizzi, and Gray each represent pitchers who have the potential to carry a team. Brusdar Graterol is also a possibility to figure in here. Graterol and Berrios likely represent the best chance for an emerging and dominant ace. Download attachment: Screen Shot 2019-11-11 at 10.34.09 PM.png The hope here is that the bullpen was much better than what we saw of it in the playoffs, whether it was misuse or just bad execution. The 2020 Twins according to this blueprint will mostly need to see continued growth from many of these arms since it is mostly the same group returning. Download attachment: Screen Shot 2019-11-11 at 10.34.19 PM.png Including the $0.5 million buyout for Martin Perez this puts the Twins payroll at $144.8 million. What would make this approach soar is if the front office got permission from ownership to spend even more to make the most of the one year of Betts. Maybe winning baseball for a second season would at least allow for payroll to be added at the trade deadline mid-summer. This approach would admittedly be a gamble. There is a lot going into 2020 and an added contract in Price’s that has the potential to soak up a large chunk of the payroll for the next three seasons. Betts is the type of player that may just be worth the gamble. Check out these other Offseason Blueprints: Building a Bullpenner What would your blueprint look like for the Twins this winter? Download your copy of the Offseason Handbook and use it to construct a champion. Share your vision for discussion in our Create a Blueprint forum thread. Meanwhile, stay tuned to TD as our writers will be formulating offseason plans from different perspectives all week long. Click here to view the article

With qualifying offers news coming out and options being declined, the free agent player pool is becoming much more clear. Here are four players who either didn't have a qualifying offer extended to them, or had an option declined, that could interest the Minnesota Twins.In an offseason where the Minnesota Twins should be very active, these recent qualifying offer and option decisions have created some buzz. There are a number of players that are either a level more signable as they will not have draft pick compensation attached to them or have newly become available. Here are four names that could be intriguing options for the Twins. Cole Hamels LHP Free agent not extended qualifying offer Cole Hamels will turn 36 before the 2020 season begins. While that number isn’t trending in the right direction, Hamels has continued to produce even as his age advances. Spending 2019 with the Chicago Cubs, Hamels tossed 141.2 innings with a 3.81 ERA and 9.1 K/9. While Hamels' velocity has dipped by one or two mph since his last All-Star season in 2016 he has remained effective. Hamels in 2019 still held a swinging strike rate of 12.2 % and continues to limit the hard contact, allowing hits of that sort only 36.4% of the time last season. Hamels may not be able to carry a rotation on his back anymore, but next to Jose Berrios and maybe Jake Odorizzi he should easily challenge for the number two or three spot in the rotation depending on who else is added. Julio Teheran RHP $12 million option declined Julio Teheran is not the top-end starter the Twins need to get this offseason. What Teheran is, is very consistent. He can be relied on to take the ball for his turn in the rotation. Because of that he continues to pop up in some pretty decent positions on pitching leaderboards. Among pitchers qualified for the ERA title in 2019 Teheran was 35th in strikeouts (162), 41st in innings pitched (174.2), 24th in earned runs allowed (74), 25th in ERA (3.81), and 25th in ERA+ (119). Again, not ace level but still respectable. Teheran does seem to have a knack for blowing up and allowing some long balls. With the Twins needing to fill four rotation spots currently, the veteran right-hander could be an interesting option. He will have a ugly game regularly throughout the season but will come back to hold teams to two runs or fewer for stretches as well. Edwin Encarnacion 1B/DH $20 million option declined Edwin Encarnacion, Nelson Cruz, and Miguel Sano. Can you imagine how opposing pitchers would feel if they needed to run into that trio? Encarnacion is also one of those players it'd be nice for the Twins to simply not have to face, as he just seems to always come up with a big hit against them. Encarnacion only managed to play in 109 games in 2019 but still hit 34 home runs. While another 30+ home run bat would be fun in the Twins lineup, the struggle would be finding him a spot. Could Edwin and Cruz exist on the same roster? While this situation could be video game type fun it may not be a likely option. Still, an intriguing name as the hot stove heats up this winter. Kyle Barraclough RHP Elected free agency after DFA Kyle Barraclough looked to be headed towards closer greatness as a member of the Miami Marlins. That is why the Washington Nationals traded for Barraclough last offseason. Something has happened to the once dominant relief arm which has led to him being designated for assignment twice in the past calendar year. Before being DFA’d by Washington, Barraclough tossed 25.2 innings, held a 6.66 ERA, but still managed a 10.5 K/9. After working his way back to the majors after joining San Francisco, he rebounded with a decent eight innings on the surface with a 2.25 ERA and a 11.3 K/9. His FIP though came in at a much higher 5.71. With Barraclough's past success he looks to be worth a chance after a down year. What are the names you were tracking as news has come out the last couple of days? Make sure you share below. Not registered? Click here to create an account. To stay up to date, follow Twins Daily on Twitter and Facebook. Also if you haven’t already, take your armchair GM-ing to the next level and be sure you go grab the Offseason Handbook! And now an odd request from the Twins Daily community: if you found this page via Facebook, can you please add a comment telling us from which Facebook Page you followed it? It's getting quite a bit of traffic, and we would love to know who is sharing it. Thanks. Click here to view the article

All the excitement of AL Central Division championship and 101 wins seemed to disappear quickly in New York Friday night. Some unfortunate events in the field and some unfamiliar bullpen results left the Twins once again losers to the Yankees in a postseason game.Box Score Starter: Jose Berrios 4.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 61.4% strikes (54 of 88 pitches) Bullpen: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 7 ER, 5 BB, 6 K Home Runs: Jorge Polanco (1), Nelson Cruz (1), Miguel Sano (1) Multi-Hit Games: Jorge Polanco (2-for-4), Marwin Gonzalez (2-for-4) Top 3 WPA: Jorge Polanco (.248), Nelson Cruz(.105), Miguel Sano (.062) Bottom 3 WPA: Cody Stashak (-.151), Mitch Garver (-.123), Eddie Rosario (-.122) Download attachment: WinChartALDS1.png Bomba SZN starts early It didn’t take us long to find out who would hit the first postseason home run for the Twins in 2019. After a Mitch Garver strikeout, Jorge Polanco took James Paxton deep to put the Twins up 1-0 in the first inning. Then as the Twins got into the third inning, Nelson Cruz did what he has done all season to left-handed pitchers. Cruz took a ball to right field and took full advantage of that short wall in Yankee Stadium to put the Twins up 2-0. Berrios looked up for the task, until undone by errors As Berrios took the mound it looked like we were going to get a few innings of the energetic, strike-throwing Berrios we have been looking for. As fastball after fastball registered 95 mph on the gun things were going well. The one concern was the pitch count which was already at 48 pitches after two innings of work. So while far from perfect, Berrios was getting the job done. Then in the third inning Luis Arraez, who may have bumped into an umpire, looked unsteady as he headed for a short pop up and missed it as it fell to the outfield grass. That was the first of two missed opportunities to put an out on the scoreboard. It was followed by Twin-killer Edwin Encarnacion hitting his second double of the game to drive in DJ LeMahieu. Arraez was involved in the second missed opportunity as the relay from second to first during a double play did not connect. The second play looked to be more on C.J. Cron than on Arraez even though the throw was by no means perfect. Arraez redeemed himself as he would double in the fifth inning. Allowing Polanco to come back to the plate and collect his second hit of the evening and drive Arraez in to tie the game up 3-3. Bullpen wasn't quite the same The most questionable move of the night may have came at the beginning of the fifth inning. Berrios had just been taken out of the game after going four innings and giving up four hits, three walks, and one earned run. After Tyler Duffey had been warming up earlier, Baldelli turned to Zack Littell to face the heart of the Yankees lineup. Duffey came in after Littell walked Judge and hit Gardner with a pitch. By that time it gave Duffey little wiggle room and he eventually gave up a bases-loaded double to Torres off of Sano’s glove. The second questionable bullpen move came when Cody Stashak was put in the game and gave up two home runs to let the Yankees go up 7-4 in the sixth. It seems especially strange at this stage to have Stashak in against the top of the Yankee lineup when Taylor Rogers, Sergio Romo, and Trevor May are all sitting out in the bullpen. After Stashak, Baldelli turned to Kyle Gibson to likely save some of the other arms in the pen. LeMahieu continued to have a good night as he hit a bases-clearing double to go with a home run, two runs, and leaving him 3-for-5 on the night. This wasn’t a good start in an attempt to “slay the dragon” as the Twins droped the game 10-4. Thankfully we don’t even need to wait 24 hours before we will see how the Twins rebound from their Game 1 loss. Postgame With Baldelli Pitching Staff Spreadsheet Here's a look at the pitching staff usage: Download attachment: PitchingStaff.png Click here to view the article

Thanks Steve. Absolutely defer to your knowledge on the other players on the roster. The AFL does create a unique situation for getting prospects into games!

Royce Lewis was one of the Minnesota Twins prospects selected to participate in the Arizona Fall League. While his home runs are turning heads, so are his starts at third base and center field over his usual shortstop. What might this mean long term for the Twins top prospect?Overall 2019 was a down year for Minnesota Twins top prospect Royce Lewis. While calling it a down year, it is labeled so with a bit of hesitancy. While it is an absolutely appropriate label as Lewis slashed .236/.290/.371 between High-A Fort Myers and Double-A Pensacola. There are more factors to a prospect's development at times than pure and linear statistical output. Lewis is also only 20-years-old and had other outside influences contributing to a lower production at the plate. He did struggle with an oblique strain early in spring training and also has been tinkering with his approach at the plate. All of which seem to have contributed to a lower output at the plate. Regardless of how we frame Lewis’ 2019 numbers, they did cause Lewis to stumble a bit lower on national prospect rankings, but he is still clearly one of the best prospects in baseball. Something that now is being showcased in the Arizona Fall League. Offensively Lewis has been doing things like this: And defensively like this: And that is where the heads begin to turn. That is Lewis in center field. Which isn’t all that strange, but the shortstop hasn’t in four games started at his regular position once and has seen all his time split between center and third base. So what does this all mean? We ultimately have no idea, but we can sure have some fun speculating. So let’s start with the most exciting option first. The Twins really like his bat now It is no secret that the Twins have a really good lineup right now. Maybe the Twins would like to add their former number-one pick to that lineup. The problem is that right now the middle infield spots look to be secured by Jorge Polanco and the emergence of Luis Arraez. Third base is also technically occupied, but it seems possible the Twins could roll with an infield that puts Lewis at the hot corner. And then goes around the horn with Lewis-Polanco-Arraez-Sano. Lewis could also wiggle his way into a crowded outfield situation. There is plenty of speculation about Byron Buxton’s long term ability to stay healthy. There is also a good dose of speculation surrounding Eddie Rosario as a trade piece in trying to bolster the Twins pitching staff. It seems absolutely plausible that at some point there will be a new face in the 2020 starting outfield compared to this year’s go-to group. It makes imagining a starting group next season as three of Rosario, Buxton, Kepler, and Lewis (or name your outfielder) feel very realistic. This scenario does feel like a stretch as I write it. Lewis’ scenario feels like one that no matter what he does in the AFL or spring training he will find more time in the minors in 2020. Since he has already made it to Double-A we also know that a promotion to the majors can happen quickly once a talented player hits that level. So while we as fans aren’t used to seeing 21-year-olds in the big leagues we know it isn’t impossible either. Versatility is King If there is anything we have learned about baseball in 2019, next to guys who can hit the baseball really far, it is that teams value defensive versatility. Marwin Gonzalez, Ehire Adrianza, Luis Arraez, and Willians Astudillo are all guys on the Twins roster that greatly increase their value by their ability to field multiple positions. Generally superstars (which I think we all hope Lewis becomes) find one position and are able to lock into it. That may still be true, but maybe we are seeing that the Twins will also value that versatility out of even a superstar. This is AFL specific The last and least exciting option is this. This is just how the roster of the Salt River Rafters has worked best when it comes to day-to-day lineups to this point in the AFL season. So while Lewis is still viewed as a shortstop it just works best with the players on the roster to have him see time at third or in center. Lewis is still a better prospect than Arizona Diamondbacks Geraldo Perdomo who has seen time at short instead of Lewis. Which maybe only fuels speculation about what is happening in Arizona right now and what it means about the long term fate of Lewis and other Twins players. Do-Hyoung Park recently wrote that he has been told Lewis will return to his regular work at shortstop after the AFL. Which adds to this being the likely reasoning behind what we are seeing from Lewis. Not to mention Steve Lein wrote that this exact situation was a very strong possibility in his AFL preview not quite a week ago. Time will tell where Lewis plays once he gets a shot in the majors. Right now we can enjoy improved production at the plate from him as in four games Lewis has slashed .333/.412/.800 with a 1.212 OPS and two home runs. Lewis continues to look like one more very talented bat that isn’t far from plugging in somewhere and working to keep playoff-level baseball in Minnesota. Click here to view the article

Considering that the Yankees and Astros are right there with the Twins in smashing lefties it seems like a setup for disaster to send Perez out there. Seems we need to hope for a better Gibson but plan for a short start from him and ride the bullpen the rest of the way.

I will admit "depressing" is a little strong. I originally had some words to soften its impact but took them out. More of "meh, that kinda stinks" then a "the sky is falling!" sort of depressing.

After a big series win in Cleveland, the Twins welcomed the White Sox to town Monday night. The lineup continued to get healthy as Marwin Gonzalez returned to the lineup and Jose Berrios looked good again as the Twins won 5-3.Box Score Starter Jose Berrios: 7.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 69% strikes (65 of 94 pitches) Bullpen: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K Home Runs: None Multi-Hit Games: Luis Arraez (3-for-4), Mitch Garver (2-for-3) Top 3 WPA: Mitch Garver (.205), Jose Berrios (.204), Luis Arraez (.182) Bottom 3 WPA: Jake Cave (-.197), Eddie Rosario (-.109), Sergio Romo (-.002) It took Jose Berrios some time to get locked in, resulting in the White Sox taking an early 2-0 lead. The first coming off of a sacrifice fly from Jose Abreu and the second from a Jame McCann home run. That lead didn’t last long as the Twins strung some singles together to get runners on base and tie the game up 2-2 after a Jorge Polanco sac fly and a Nelson Cruz single. It was from that point on that Berrios settled in and wouldn’t allow the White Sox to produce any more runs off. A Garver RBI double in the fifth and the strangest two-run single by Luis Arraez put the Twins up 5-2 after six innings. That lead backed Berrios as he continued to pitch well with good velocity and made it into the eighth inning before giving way to the bullpen. Romo giving up a home run late is depressing but all in all a solid game by the Twins. It was fun watching Marwin play again especially his reaction to the successful pick-off from Berrios. The big take away as we look to the postseason is that Berrios is looking more and more like a pitcher who can help lead the team in some big games. And apparently the Twins don't need to hit home runs to win games. Who knew? Postgame With Baldelli Coming Soon Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet Click here for a review of the number of pitches thrown by each member of the bullpen over the past five days. Click here to view the article

The second contest of Saturday's doubleheader provided another bullpen game, but that is about where the similarities ended. Things didn’t look to be going the Twins way early, but a five-run eighth inning ensured, and the Twins secured, the double-header sweep, beating Cleveland 9-5.Box Score Starter: Lewis Thorpe 3.2 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 6 K, 59% strikes (49 of 83 pitches) Bullpen: 5.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K Home Runs: Eddie Rosario (29), Nelson Cruz (37), Miguel Sano (28) Multi-Hit Games: Jorge Polanco (3-for-5) Top 3 WPA: Jorge Polanco (.256), Eddie Rosario (.243), Miguel Sano (.213) Bottom 3 WPA: Lewis Thorpe (-.302), Max Kepler (-1.00), Luis Arraez (-.077) Eddie Rosario started game two of the doubleheader off right as he hit his 29th home run on the season to score Jorge Polanco and put the Twins up 2-0 early. That early lead wouldn’t hold nearly as long as one had hoped. Lewis Thorpe continued the parade of bullpen arms that passed over the mound Saturday. While game one resulted in a shutout, Thorpe wasn’t as sharp. Instead the Indians scored two runs in the first and another three in the fourth before Thorpe left the game with the Indians leading 5-2. In the sixth inning the Twins began to chip away at the Indians' lead with a Cruz home run. It was then in the eighth inning when all of Twins Territory could exhale and then celebrate as the Twins erupted for five runs. With Sano’s first career grand slam being the biggest of exclamation points on the Twins' night and putting the Twins up 9-5. While Sano will be the one remembered, Polanco and the relievers should not be overlooked. Polanco, along with going 3-for-5 on the night also scored three of the Twins nine runs. After the exit of Thorpe, the Twins pitchers allowed only one hit, issued no walks or runs, and struck out six Indian batters. That puts the Twins 5.5 games up in the Central and the Indians are now in danger of missing out on the playoffs all together. I will allow your imagination to insert an earlier tweeted premature farewell tweet here... Postgame With Baldelli Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet Click here for a review of the number of pitches thrown by each member of the bullpen over the past five days. Click here to view the article