Nate Palmer

The Minnesota Twins showcased a storybook return from Royce Lewis on Memorial Day. Lewis performance and an extra-inning Ryan Jeffers home run highlighted a series opening win. Image courtesy of Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports Box Score SP: Sonny Gray: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K (79 pitches, 46 strikes (58.2%) Home Runs: Royce Lewis (1), Ryan Jeffers (3) Top 3 WPA: Royce Lewis (0.543), Ryan Jeffers (0.340), Jhoan Duran (0.325) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) As our nation celebrates Memorial Day and those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country, the Minnesota Twins also played a baseball game. While Memorial Day ultimately ruled Monday this week. There was another memorable day on Monday focused around one Royce Lewis. Lewis did his best with his play to try and overshadow everything else going on Monday. A year to the day Lewis tore his ACL for the second time, the first-round pick returned to the big leagues to start for the Twins at third base alongside Carlos Correa. It was a Correa injury that allowed Lewis to break into the big leagues initially in 2022, where Lewis went on to slash .300/.317/.550 with a .867 OPS and two home runs over 12 games and 41 plate appearances. Lewis got everyone’s excitement flowing early as he came to bat in the first inning with runners on first and second and two outs. Lewis gave a J.P. France slider a ride to deep left field, which flirted with home run status but ultimately would fall short. Defensively later in the first, Lewis was involved again as he began a double play to help starter Sonny Gray get out of the inning facing the minimum. The play went from Lewis to Correa to Gallo, and that Lewis-Correa combination is one Twins fans would be happy to see regularly. It was then in the third inning that Lewis put his “I’m back” mark on the game. Once again, coming to bat with runners on first and second, Lewis wouldn’t leave them stranded this time. Instead, he sent the ball to the opposite field, securing a three-run home run right into the corner to put the Twins up 3-0 in the third inning. Castro Continues to Show His Value Willi Castro continues to prove he has value on this roster, even as many of us are trying to find ways to get him out of the lineup. Monday afternoon, we again saw his speed on display to score the Twins' fourth run of the game. The events began with Castro beating out the throw at first base to keep the Astros from turning a double play. During Michael A. Taylor’s at-bat, Castro looked poised to try and steal second base, and instead, his presence may have caused France to throw a wild pitch creating the same result. Shortly after that, Taylor pushed the ball through the right side of the infield, giving Castro just enough time to fly around third base and slide under the tag at home. Once again, Castro proved his value through his flexibility and production in timely situations. Castro ended the game by going 2-for-5 and scoring that critical run in the fourth inning. Another Sonny Day It may not have felt like an overly dominant outing with strikeouts, but Sonny Gray pitched very well again for the Twins. There were a few innings where Gray had to work out of jams, namely the fourth, where the Astros secured their first run, but the right-hander still made it through six innings with only 68 pitches thrown. While Gray cruised well through those six, this game will be remembered for when Gray stepped back onto the mound to pitch the seventh. Gray struggled early with the low pitch count and found himself with runners on first and second. The Twins then and there chose to turn away from Gray, and Brock Stewart took the ball to try and pitch out of the scoring threat. Stewart Did It Until He Didn’t. As Stewart took over for Gray, he was somehow on his way to getting out of the jam and making a solid appearance again. With two outs and Jose Altuve up to bat, there was one last battle left to move the Twins into the eighth inning. Instead, Altuve changed the game's trajectory by hitting a grand slam and putting the Astros up 5-4. Lewis to the Rescue! Lewis wasn’t finished putting up numbers and big at-bats just yet. In the 9th inning, with former Twin Ryan Pressly on the mound, Lewis came to bat with runners on first and second, again! This time Lewis hit a two-out single to bring around Kyle Farmer to score. What led up to the Lewis at-bat was an Alex Kirilloff walk. While Kirilloff didn’t have any truly impactful at-bats as Lewis did, he quietly was very effective for the Twins as he collected two hits, three walks, and scored on the Lewis home run. The Twins could only get the score even at five in the ninth, and after Jhoan Duran held off the Astros in the ninth, it would take extras to see if the Twins could finish off this storybook game. Jeffers Delivers Winning Blow As extra-innings began, Max Kepler took his place on second base, and Ryan Jeffers took his place in the batter’s box. It didn’t take long, and Jeffers put the Twins back in the lead as he took a first pitch, an 86 mph slider from Bryan Abreu, and hit a line drive home run to left field. Duran came back in to pitch the tenth. He pitched through the inning, going three up, three down. The culmination of the outing was a face-off with Yordan Alvarez in which Duran got the slugger to strike out looking. A great way to punctuate a fantastic day of baseball. Lewis grabs the headline today, but many others were critical contributors. What’s Next? The Minnesota Twins will look to secure the series win in game two as they send Joe Ryan to the mound. The Astros will counter with right-hander Brandon Bielak. Bielak has pitched in five games this season with four of those being starts and holds a 3.55 ERA with 22 strikeouts over 25 ⅓ innings. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT De León 0 19 0 27 0 46 Durán 0 0 12 0 29 41 Stewart 0 0 13 0 18 31 Pagán 0 21 0 7 0 28 López 0 0 22 0 6 28 Sands 0 0 0 16 0 16 Jax 0 0 0 12 0 12 Morán 0 0 9 0 0 9 View full article

The Minnesota Twins had a Giants bullpen game served up on a platter for them to take game one of the homestand. Instead the night was filled with an uncharacteristic opening for Bailey Ober and a non-existent offense which led to a Twins loss. Image courtesy of © Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports Box Score SP: Bailey Ober: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K (76 pitches, 49 strikes (64.5%) Home Runs: Kyle Garlick (2) Bottom 3 WPA: Bailey Ober (-0.247), Kyle Farmer (-0.128), Michael A. Taylor (-0.123) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Before the game's first pitch, the Twins shared great news after a weekend filled with injuries. That news was that Byron Buxton would, in fact, be able to play Monday night in the series opener against the Giants. As the lineup struggles, it cannot afford to miss Buxton’s bat. Walks Will Haunt Over his first five starts, Bailey Ober has been very good at two things. He has limited walks and home runs. Coming into Monday’s game, Ober had allowed two home runs and seven walks to opposing batters, giving him a fantastic 1.78 ERA and making him a valuable part of the Twins starting rotation. It is those pristine numbers that made the sloppy first inning Monday so strange. Ober handed free passes to the first two batters, which set the table for J.D. Davis to double home the game's first run. In the next at-bat, Michael Conforto took Ober deep for a 3-run home run putting the Giants up 4-0 before an out was recorded. Haunts to Flaunts While the first inning was a nightmare, Ober deserves a truckload of credit for settling in and working quickly through the rest of his start. Over the next four innings, Ober only allowed one hit and no walks. The right-hander did great work at saving the bullpen and giving time for the offense to try and chip away at the lead. (More on that later.) Put Me in Coach… Edouard Julien was set to get time at second base and hit cleanup for the Twins. Well, he did play second base but never had the opportunity to hit. In the second inning, after the Giants pulled their right-handed opener John Brebbia and turned to left-hander Sean Manaea. Rocco Baldelli made his move. The Twins turned to Donovan Solano over Julien. While Solano got a base hit to lead off the inning, the Twins could not do anything with it. It is an interesting managing decision not to let a young hitter get any chance against a struggling Manaea, even if he's a left-hander. The Twins had a plan for pinch hitting against the Giants and stuck to it. Not only was Julien lifted early, but so was Alex Kirilloff in favor of Kyle Garlick. While we will focus mainly on the Twins plan for their own offense, credit to the Giants for their plan. The Giants had a clear blueprint to try and neutralize the Twins bench moves, and that plan was executed masterfully. There was quite a level of gamesmanship that went into the Giants plan. Dan Hayes offered up on Twitter that Manaea threw a bullpen session pre-game. A pre-game bullpen would cause any team to assume he wouldn’t be the long arm after the opener. Where’s the Offense? As has plagued the Twins all season long, the offense disappeared. What is most frustrating on a night like tonight is that they did so against a pair of pitchers that have performed more like replacement pitchers than anything. Manaea and Tristan Beck are the type of pitchers a competitive ball club should feast on, and the Twins did the exact opposite of that. Garlick did get Beck for a solo home run in the eighth inning in a righty vs. righty matchup. While the home run prevented the shutout, that was all it was good for. Injuries have certainly been an issue for the Twins, but even with the injuries, this lineup is talented enough to have put up crooked numbers against the pitchers they faced Monday. What’s Next? In the second game of the series the Twins will send Sonny Gray to the mound who is still carrying a 1.64 ERA this far into the season. The Giants will counter with their best starter as Alex Cobb takes the mound who has his own sub two ERA AT 1.94 nine starts into his season. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Jax 0 33 0 0 17 50 Sands 0 0 0 0 44 44 De León 0 0 0 31 0 31 J. López 0 0 19 12 0 31 Pagán 0 0 0 0 23 23 Durán 0 0 20 0 0 20 Stewart 0 11 5 0 0 16 Morán 0 0 9 0 0 9 View full article

The Twins and Dodgers went back and forth into the early hours of the morning. Eventually the Dodgers lineup, fueled by Max Muncy's thunder, was too much for the Twins as they lose in 12 innings. Image courtesy of Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports Box Score SP: Pablo Lopez: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 4 K (92 pitches, 68 strikes (73.9%) Home Runs: Jorge Polanco (4), Trevor Larnach (5) Bottom 3 WPA: Pablo Lopez (-0.293), Alex Kirilloff (-0.264) Griffin Jax (-0.241) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The Minnesota Twins roll into Los Angeles looking to answer the test of a West coast road trip. While the Dodgers may not be the Dodgers of the past several seasons, their roster still will provide a tall task for the Twins. The Twins thought they found the answer to the test in a bases-loaded walk by Christian Vazquez to put the Twins up 8-7. That wasn’t the answer. Instead, it was the Dodgers who aced the test with their own bases-loaded walk with Trayce Thompson at the plate. It was a wild ride of a game even in a loss, so let’s take a closer look at it. Dodgers bats get going early The first inning was not good for the Twins as the Dodgers bats got off to a hot start against Pablo Lopez. Veteran Freddie Freeman started the hitting with a single through the right side of the infield, setting up Will Smith. Smith took a Lopez four-seamer and put it in the seats for a two-run homerun—his seventh of the season. In the next at-bat, Max Muncy did the exact same thing. He took a Lopez four-seam fastball and turned it into a home run to put the Dodgers up 3-0. The three-run first continues a trend from Lopez of giving up runs in the first inning. Lopez has given up runs in the first inning of each start since his clean opening day outing. If the first inning wasn’t enough of a nightmare. Just as the Twins thought they had ended the inning on a ground out of Jason Heyward. The Dodgers challenged the play, and the officials ruled catcher's interference on Christian Vazquez. Thankfully, it didn’t lead to any more runs, and Lopez was able to retire Miguel Vargas for the third out. Hustle and Power With one out in the second inning, Jorge Polanco hit a grounder to Dodgers first baseman Freeman which he fielded in foul territory. In a foot race with the starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard, Polanco was just able to beat him to the bag with a feet-first slide. With Kyle Farmer at the plate, Polanco successfully stole his first base of the season. Now in scoring position for Farmer, the Twins third baseman hit a single up the middle giving Polanco ample time to score the Twins first run of the game, making it 3-1. Polanco didn’t only show off with his hustle. He flashed his power too. In the fourth inning, Polanco took Syndergaard deep to right field for his fourth home run of 2023. He hit another ball hard in the eighth which had a chance to be a home run but ended up as a double. Polanco finished the night 3-for-4, with two runs scored. Rough Outing for Lopez Lopez has largely been reliably consistent for the Twins this season. Monday night, the Dodgers chased the right-hander after 4 2/3 innings—his second-shortest start of the season. As was mentioned on the television broadcast several times, the difference between a solid start and the one we saw was likely one bad changeup to Muncy, who took Lopez deep for his second home run of the night and his 14th of the season. Mixed Bullpen Results Former Dodger Brock Stewart came in for the Twins in relief of Lopez. Like he has shown an ability to do early in his time with the Twins, Stewart held the Dodgers scoring at bay. In 1 1/3 innings, Stewart only gave up two hits while striking out one. Emilio Pagan was the next arm up, and while he has found his groove comparatively to last season. He couldn’t hold off Freeman, who got to him for a hard shot off the outfield wall—allowing Mookie Betts to score. Griffin Jax also struggled as he gave up some hard and loud outs until they weren’t outs any longer. David Peralta doubled in a run on a questionable fair or foul call down the first base line. Maybe Jax is truly the most unlucky pitcher. As the arms were used up, both Jhoan Duran and Jorge Lopez were asked to stretch into a second inning of work. In the end, both wound up giving up runs after getting through their first inning of work. It will be interesting how game one’s bullpen usage impacts the rest of the series. Larnach Trusts the Process It has been well documented that Trevor Larnach has not had a good time at the plate lately. That carried well into Monday evening as he started the game 0-for-2. What must have been frustrating for Larnach was he was making excellent contact on the ball with exit velocities of 107 and 108 mph on line outs to right field and left field. That all turned around in the 8th inning. With two runners on, Larnach got a fastball from Yency Almonte and took it deep to right-center field to tie the game 6-6. The result was better, and so was the exit velocity as the ball got up to 112 mph. The At-Bat that Altered the Game Now rarely does it seem write to blame the umpires or officials for the outcome of a game. In such a close back and forth contest, Phil Cuzzi certainly put himself in that place. While Alex Kirilloff was up to bat in the 10th innings, Cuzzi called two pitches on either side of the plate as strikes that were well off the plate. Two pitches that Kirilloff took expecting to get a ball and instead got two strikes and a strikeout. It was so bad even the Dodgers announcers recognized what was going on. What’s Next? Tuesday night, veteran ace Clayton Kershaw will take the mound for the Dodgers even after losing his grandmother over the weekend. When the Twins saw Kershaw at the beginning of last season, he tossed seven no-hit innings. Something the Twins will hope not to see repeated as they send Bailey Ober to the mound. Ober will look to continue his strong performance since stepping into the rotation. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Sands 0 0 54 0 0 54 Pagán 12 0 0 23 18 53 Stewart 25 0 0 0 28 53 Lopez 15 0 0 9 26 50 Alcala 0 33 0 13 0 46 Jax 0 26 0 0 13 39 Morán 0 9 24 0 0 33 Durán 0 0 0 0 18 18 UPDATE: Added the Phil Cuzzi Ump Scorecard for fun... View full article

Are we just going to disrespect Eduardo Nunez like that?

Kepler, Gallo, Larnach, and Jeffers each launch home runs as the Twins offense exploded for eleven runs on Monday night. Tyler Mahle continued the pitching parade as the Twins easily handled the opener in Miami. Image courtesy of Rhona Wise-USA TODAY Sports Box Score SP: Tyler Mahle: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K (83 pitches, 53 strikes (63.8%) Home Runs: Max Kepler (1), Joey Gallo (3), Trevor Larnach (1), Ryan Jeffers (1) Top 3 WPA: Joey Gallo (0.124), Tyler Mahle (0.110), Max Kepler (0.109) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Minnesota Twins fans saw the new guy, Pablo Lopez, start the season opener in Kansas City. On Monday night, as part of the season’s second series, fans got to see the old guy, Luis Arraez. Coming into the series, Arraez has been performing very well, collecting nine hits for a .563 average and a 1.213 OPS. His old teammates will try to slow him down while visiting Miami, and Tyler Mahle got the first crack at the task Monday. Kepler’s first hit, first home run Plenty of attention has been pointed in Max Kepler’s direction to see if he can get his bat back on track in 2023. The results weren’t good throughout the weekend in Kansas City, but the trip to Miami must have done something as Kepler hit a 411-foot home run off of Johnny Cueto to get things started in the first inning. That home run was Kepler’s 14th career leadoff home run. Kepler collected another hit in the form of an infield single. On the close play at first, Kepler visibly grimaced and was removed from the game with knee discomfort. Hopefully the move was an exercise of caution with the Twins holding a sizable lead. Offense doesn’t stop there The offense didn’t stop in the second inning. Miranda walked, and Gordon collected his first hit, a single, to put runners on the corners. Then Joey Gallo continued his hit streak like he never left Kansas City. He hit another three-run bomb to put the Twins up 4-0. After Cueto was removed from the game with injury concerns (sounds like a bicep injury), Jeff Lindgren stepped on the mound for the Marlins in his major-league debut. After some success getting several Twins batters to pop out, Trevor Larnach welcomed the Marlins righty to the big leagues with his first career triple, scoring Byron Buxton. Larnach added a two-run home run in the seventh inning and finished the game 2-for-5 with three RBIs. Carlos Correa, whose bat lacked production in the Twins first three games, also joined the hit parade. As the Twins figured out Lindgren, Correa added his own two-run double, which gave the Twins an 8-0 lead in the fourth inning. Correa went 2-for-4 Monday evening after adding another single. Mahle continues pitching parade The storyline over opening weekend was how good the Twins starting pitchers were. Tyler Mahle continued that trend Monday night. He tossed five innings and gave up only one run. He threw 83 pitches and struck out seven batters. The right-hander ran his fastball up to 95.4 mph and induced nine swings and misses while also freezing a couple of Marlins hitters as part of his seven strikeouts. Mahle did get a bit shaky in the fifth inning as eventually none other than Arraez got to Mahle for the Marlins lone run. Arraez singled to right field to score outfielder Bryan De La Cruz. Even with the run scored, it was good to see Mahle pitch well after his season was cut short by an injury last season. Two Innings from Alcala There are many hopes for Alcala to claim a valuable role in the Twins bullpen, and Monday evening, he was given two innings of work to prove that he is back and ready to contribute. His first inning (the sixth inning) included a single stuck between three strikeouts. The 10-1 lead and a desire to save other bullpen arms must have given Rocco Baldelli confidence as he gave Alcala a second inning. The inning started rocky as De La Cruz hit a double over Willi Castro’s head in left field. Thankfully, the Twins took advantage of some aggressive baserunning and threw the outfielder out at third base. Alcala was able to go on to induce two harmless ground balls for outs. Cole Sands made his 2023 debut Monday night after the Twins very much had the game in hand. Sands didn’t give up any runs but allowed plenty of batters to reach base, even loaded the bases in the 8th inning. Sands did rebound in the 9th with an inning that was much more comfortable although, allowing two singles along the way. Sands ended with 28 pitches, five hits, no walks, and one strikeout. What’s Next? In the second game of the series, we will see the first regular-season action from Kenta Maeda since August of 2021. It will be an excellent test for the veteran starter after an up-and-down spring training. The Twins bats will also be tested as the Marlins send Sandy Alcantara to the mound. The 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner gave up three runs in his first outing of the season to the New York Mets, but the righty was a 2.28 ERA pitcher last season. Game time is set for 5:40 p.m. central time. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Alcala 0 0 12 0 25 37 Thielbar 11 0 18 0 0 29 Sands 0 0 0 0 28 28 López 5 0 8 11 0 24 Jax 9 0 11 0 0 20 Moran 0 0 0 20 0 20 Duran 16 0 0 0 0 16 Pagan 0 0 0 16 0 16 View full article

Carlos Correa, one of the top free agents of the offseason, is back with the Minnesota Twins. How long and what does he need to accomplish to be considered the greatest to ever play shortstop for the Twins? Image courtesy of © Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports If you haven’t heard, the Minnesota Twins pulled off the improbable and signed Carlos Correa to a long-term deal. With Correa in the fold as the Twins shortstop for the next six seasons and potentially ten and carrying the richest contract in franchise history, it feels safe to ask one question. How long until Correa can be considered the best shortstop in Twins history? To open the answer to that question, we can state the obvious: it won’t take much. In case you missed it, the shortstop position has been a bit of a revolving door over the years. While that is true, it has also been filled by some Twins favorites like Christian Guzman . While we have loved many of those players over the years, the position has lacked some much needed star talent until the arrival of Correa and the numbers show that. In Correa’s one season in Minnesota, he put up a 5.4 bWAR. In what felt like a pretty mediocre season by Correa standards after a slow start to 2022. Still, that WAR number landed third on the Twins all-time single-season list (when sorted for players playing at least 50% of their time at shortstop). Correa finds himself behind only the incredible 1965 MVP season produces by Zoilo Versalles that tops the list at 7.2 bWAR. Roy Smalley is between Versalles and Correa with his 5.9 bWAR in 1978. Correa has already put himself firmly in a place where his name will have to be mentioned amongst some of the best to play shortstop for the Twins. Correa should only continue to put up similar, if not better, numbers as he returns to Minnesota. Correa has twice in his career put up WAR numbers above 7, with his 2021 season matching Versalles’ 7.2. While that is impressive, the greatest of all time assumes some longevity. So who tops that list for the Twins, and what will it take Correa to get there? Before we talk about the top of the list, there are some fun names on this all-time list to highlight. Two shortstops put in one season with the Twins and rank 14th and 15th according to WAR. Number 14 is Andrelton Simmons (1.5 WAR) and at 15 J.J. Hardy (1.4 WAR). Even Pedro Florimon makes the list at 12 with his 2.0 WAR from 2012 to 2014. Not exactly the start of a storied history. The focus of the present already finds himself 10th on this all time ranking. At the top is the guy with the longest tenure, Smalley. Over his career with the Twins and multiple positions, he accrued 20.9 WAR. Greg Gagne comes in second with 17.9 WAR over his career. Gagne's claim, over everyone else on this list, is that he was the shortstop for both World Series titles. Coming in tied for third, but with plenty of WAR accrued at another position, is Jorge Polanco with 15.3 WAR. Almost half of those numbers have come after his switch to second base. The aforementioned Versalles is tied with Polanco, with almost half of his total coming from his one MVP season. If we make WAR the benchmark for Correa, three more identical seasons to 2022 puts him 0.1 WAR shy of Smalley’s mark with the Twins. Outside of the shortened 2020 season, Correa’s lowest total for a single season was 3.1 WAR in 2018. If Correa even performed at that level over the next six seasons he would become the Twins all-time WAR leader at shortstop at 23.8 WAR. Numbers are part of the story but may not mean everything when discussing the best shortstop of all time for the Twins. There is a lot of love for the players who have brought the two rings to Minnesota. Because of that, it would help Correa’s case to bring the Twins back to that level of play finally. He may not even need to win a championship, but serious contention for one will be needed in order to hurdle Gagne and Smalley when considering more than purely numbers. The best WAR total is very much within reach for Correa. The question will be how those other achievements fit into the equation and what team achievements he will lead everyone in accomplishing. Correa is already a well-rounded baseball player hitting for average, for power, providing good defense, and great leadership. It would be hard to see Correa not fill out those superlatives one would look for when crowning the greatest player at the franchise’s shortstop position. Whether it is only six years or the length of the full reported contract, Carlos Correa could very easily be considered the best shortstop in Twins history by the contract’s end. View full article

The point of addressing the weaknesses is to be honest. I don't want to try and sugar coat an idea just to make it sound better than it maybe is. The reason a team would consider something like this is to get the player that is already something instead of waiting for the prospect to become something that they may never become. Devers is a very good bat who can play third for the moment but would be moved defensively in favor of someone like Brooks Lee at some point.

The Minnesota Twins could really use another impact bat in their lineup. While third base isn't the most obvious fit, there are options on the trade market that could fill that need for some offense. Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports The Minnesota Twins officially (again) lost Carlos Correa and one of their most impactful bats to the New York Mets. That still leaves the Twins with a huge void to fill in the middle of their lineup. It will be impossible to replace Correa truly, but there may be a path to replace some of his value by acquiring a few different third basemen that could be available via trade. Rafael Devers , Red Sox Stop me if you have heard this before. The Red Sox have an impact, all-star level player ready to hit free agency, and we aren’t sure if they will keep them in town on a new contract. We have seen the team in Boston dance this dance with both Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts , only to see one traded and the other walk. Should the Twins maybe try and benefit this time around? Rafael Devers has been an excellent hitting third baseman in the middle of Boston’s lineup and is in his last year of arbitration. This past season he hit .295/.358/.521, which was good for a 141 wRC+. Defensively he may not stay at third base long term as his defensive numbers are already looking a bit ugly, but that didn’t prevent him from putting up a 4.9 fWAR in 2022. While the last thing the Twins need is another left-handed bat, Devers is in that top tier where handedness matters little. He isn't as bothered by the platoon splits as he only drops to .272/.315/.424 and a .739 OPS when facing lefties. Devers power does drop but overall, but still continues to hold his own. The sticky part of a trade for Devers is that the acquiring team would want to be assured they could sign him to an extension. Maybe the Twins would be willing to put that Correa money toward the 26-year-old Devers. If so, a package around Jose Miranda could make sense for both sides, especially since the hope is that Miranda would turn into a right-handed hitting version of Devers, but isn’t that quite yet. Anthony Rendon , Los Angeles Angels Those who listen to Gleeman and the Geek will have heard the guys talk about the Twins going after “depressed assets.” Anthony Rendon very well could be the poster child of a depressed asset. Bad enough that the Trade Simulator gives Rendon a -132.3 value. By comparison, Trevor Story comes in at -37.4. Rendon has certainly earned that ranking entering the 4th year of his 7-year, $245 million contract. The past two seasons have seen Rendon’s offensive numbers dip dramatically. The one-time All-Star has only been slightly above replacement level in recent seasons. As his K-rate has gone up and walk-rate down, he only slashed .229/.326/.380 this past season. So why would the Twins want to gamble on an expensive, declining player? The conversation would start and end with the front offices' confidence in being able to bring Rendon back to his earlier career performances. He already has two things going for him versus the rest of the Twins roster: he is right-handed and hits left-handed pitching well. Last season he sported a .873 OPS when facing lefties. A mark that jumps to .900 over his whole career. A Rendon acquisition is an absolute gamble, but with Gio Urshela in the fold, the Angels may be willing to get rid of their third baseman. A move that would also clear the payroll in preparation to try and keep Shohei Ohtani . Eduardo Escobar , New York Mets In case you missed it earlier, the New York Mets just signed a $315 million third baseman. With that move, rumors are circulating that they may be willing to move the veteran infielder and old friend, Eduardo Escobar. Someone that Cody Christie also highlighted when exploring some former Twins the club could bring back. Escobar is the most likely out of this list the Twins could acquire and, unfortunately, the one that moves the needle the least. He would bring in another bat to mix into the lineup against left-handers. Eddie’s numbers against lefties in 2022 were .259/.299/.519 with a .817 OPS. and nine home runs. The tricky thing about Escobar is he is hardly a third baseman at this point in his career. He recorded a -11 DRS and a -7 OAA. So while he could play the position, he may be more of a bat at this point than carry any value as a fielder. Considering how bad the Twins were against left-handed pitching last season, he could still be a valuable addition to the team. View full article

Both would be great. I also once had myself convinced for a hot minute that the Twins could land both Darvish and Ohtani.

Out of the trade options, Manny Pina always made the most sense to me for who the FO would go after. He is coming off an injury but is easy to have him share time with Jeffers. He has also shown his bat can get just hot enough for stretches to help carry a lineup. He also shouldn’t cost much in prospect capitol to acquire.

The beginning premise was that Pham is an option if the Twins spend big money on Correa or other SS or a starting pitcher. If this is the only move, I agree that would be very disappointing.

I just saw 1 yr, $6MM floated. Considering how big a problem hitting LHP was last season, duplicating Garlick's ability to hit LHP seems like a good thing.

A bulk of the Minnesota Twins payroll could go to filling needs other than a right-handed bat. If that is the case, Tommy Pham could be a more affordable option with some upside. Image courtesy of David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports It is Big Bat Week at Twins Daily, and this player may not indeed qualify in that category, but it is a veteran right-handed bat. Since the Twins will potentially be big-game hunting in the shortstop and pitching markets, they may need to fill the need for a right-handed bat in a slightly less expensive way. Tommy Pham, who was traded mid-season to the Boston Red Sox, could represent that sort of bat. Pham started the 2022 season with the Cincinnati Reds, and the Red Sox brought him in at the deadline to try and salvage their season. Over his career, Pham has been a respectable bat, but 2022 wasn’t the type of year he likely expects of himself. He slashed .237/.312/.374 (.686) and hit 17 home runs. What is intriguing about Pham is that he could provide a similar ability to hit left-handed pitching as recently-resigned Kyle Garlick does. In 2022, Pham hit .273/.338/.446, a .784 OPS, and six home runs against lefties. The difference between Pham and Garlick is that Pham has shown a much higher upside than Garlick. Pham has also, at age 34, been showing some discouraging signs of decline. In 2022, Pham’s walk rate dropped to a low 9.0% while his strikeout rate climbed to 26.8%. One likely contributing factor to those shifts is that Pham has been diagnosed with keratoconus, a cornea-thinning eye issue. He believes he is beyond the issue and has it corrected. If the Twins believe the same, they could buy low on Pham and at least get another platoon outfield bat and maybe more. In addition to another right-handed bat to roll out against left-handed pitchers, Pham would also allow Gilberto Celestino time to finish refining his game in the minors. Pham is also a more realistic replacement as a starter for Max Kepler if the worst-case scenario presents itself. That being that Trevor Larnach or Alex Kirilloff struggle to return to the lineup, and Kepler doesn’t find more success with his bat even after the changes to defensive shifting. A Pham signing certainly would come with some risk. Seeing that the Red Sox already declined his $12 million option for 2023, he would seemingly come at a price tag well below that. That lower price tag will prove valuable if the Twins pull off a Carlos Correa or similar signing and, at the same time, address the glaring need for a bat that can hit left-handed pitching. If the Twins do sign Pham, they will want to be careful that they review all the Fantasy Football league rules ahead of his involvement. View full article

Thanks bighat! Appreciate your support and kind words!

From everything coming out of Rocco's interview it seems he is simply just that hurt. The interview is added to the article now for easy listening.

The Minnesota Twins were able to watch Bailey Ober have a good outing. Gio Urshela and Carlos Correa also provided some offense. It ultimately wasn't enough as the White Sox took the first game in season's final series. Image courtesy of © Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports Box Score SP: Bailey Ober: 5 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K (82 pitches, 54 strikes (65.8%)) Home Runs: Gio Urshela (13) Bottom 3 WPA: Griffin Jax (-.168), Nick Gordon (-.103), Mark Contreras (-.093) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The Minnesota Twins entered into their final series for the 2022 season Monday night. A series with the division foe Chicago White Sox that was circled at the beginning of the season as a series that should have had the two heavyweights of the division duking it out for first place. That isn’t the case, with both teams licking wounds and looking towards the offseason. The Twins and us fans do have one thing to keep an eye on tonight, Bailey Ober. Last time out against this same White Sox lineup Ober struck out 10 batters. Since returning from the IL, Ober has thrown 17 ⅓ IP, collected 18 strikeouts, and walked only three batters on his way to a 1.56 ERA. With nothing to play for, the storyline for the Twins will be to see how Ober can follow up his ten strikeout game against that same lineup. A task that usually leans in favor of the offense. Urshela hits career mark in the first inning The Twins offense got an early jump by spotting Ober a 2-0 lead. It could have been larger if Carlos Correa hadn’t been thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double. Instead, with Nick Gordon on base after his own double, Gio Urshela hit his 13th home run of the 2022 season. It also happened to be his 140th hit for the Twins this season, setting a career-high for the third baseman. With Urshela also flashing his leather in the third inning, he is doing his best to make a case that he is well worth what his arbitration number will be this offseason. It will undoubtedly be one of the many off-season decisions we will all keep our eyes on. Ober solid in five innings While it was not dominant like his last outing, Ober still put together a solid five innings against the White Sox. Josh Harrison got to Ober with a two-run home run which tied the game up 2-2. It was a great way to see Ober finish out the season. Especially after missing so much time on the IL. The Twins will certainly be looking for him to fill a role next season, and this stretch to close the season should only add to Ober’s confidence as he does so. Cueto hits a groove, works fast Something that was obvious and commented on during the broadcast was that Johnny Cueto was working fast. Every good dad would have likely asked him if he was late for a date as fast as he was moving. Whether he was getting ready for the new pitch clock rules or something else, Cueto found a groove and kept the Twins off the scoreboard beyond the first inning. Even after Cueto's exit, the White Sox bullpen kept the Twins off the scoreboard, leading to eight scoreless innings. All it took was Griffin Jax allowing a run to cross the plate in the seventh inning to give the White Sox the 3-2 win to start the series. The Twins did show up in the ninth inning to make things interesting against White Sox closer Liam Hendriks. The Twins loaded the bases with two outs and sent Mark Contreras to the plate. Even though Hendriks seemed to be struggling to command some of his pitches, he was able to strike out Contreras to close out the win for Chicago. What’s Next? The Minnesota Twins will send Josh Winder to the mound for Tuesday’s game. He will face off against Lucas Giolito, who overall has had a disappointing season and would love nothing other than to shut down the Twins one last time. Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Jax 14 0 0 12 21 47 Henriquez 0 0 40 0 0 40 Pagan 0 30 0 0 5 35 Thielbar 18 0 0 0 15 33 Lopez 14 0 0 18 0 32 Fulmer 5 0 0 26 0 31 Moran 0 23 0 0 0 23 Megill 17 0 0 0 0 17 Duran 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

The Minnesota Twins continued to be a magnet of bad news Monday afternoon. Starter Sonny Gray left early after re-injuring his hamstring and the Guardians dominated the Twins by scoring eleven runs. Image courtesy of Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports Box Score SP: Sonny Gray: 2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K (44 pitches, 26 strikes (59.1%) Home Runs: Nick Gordon (9) Bottom 3 WPA: Sonny Gray (-.281), Mark Contreras (-.243), Ronny Henriquez (-.121) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Guardians grab lead early The Guardians wasted no time in putting runs on the board Monday afternoon. Quickly Amed Rosario and Jose Ramirez found themselves in scoring position. It didn’t matter where they were on the base paths as Josh Naylor got a hold of a Sonny Gray curveball and launched it into the right field seats giving the Guardians an early 3-0 lead. Gray exits after second Not only were the Twins behind early 3-0, but there were other signs that Gray's outing was going poorly. The radar gun showed that his average fastball speed was down about two miles per hour. We later learned what was ailing Gray was a return of the hamstring tightness that recently plagued him. Henriquez debuts With Gray out, Ronny Henriquez came into pitch, making his major league debut. Early on, his stuff was on display. The movement that the 22-year-old pitcher creates is impressive. Henriquez even flashed his glove as he was welcomed to the big leagues by a screaming Ramirez liner right back at him. The gloves behind him could have been a bit more sound as they helped create a bases-loaded situation that Henriquez was able to escape without allowing any runs to score. Henriquez is currently ranked as Twins Daily’s #16 prospect in the Twins system after coming over to the Twins in the Mitch Garver trade with the Texas Rangers. Since the trade, there has been an eye on Henriquez as a possible bullpen arm for the Twins in 2022. Finally, here in September, he is getting his chance. The debut was promising through three innings as Henriquez was able to hold Cleveland scoreless. In his fourth inning of work, the opposing bats were able to get to him. Including the exclamation point of an Amed Rosario three-run home run. Twins find some runs in the fourth Carlos Correa led off the fourth inning with an opposite-field single. Jose Miranda followed up with a similar opposite field hit for a double, setting the Twins up with runners on second and third with no outs. In a game full of infield hits, it was two hits that stayed in the infield that would bring both Correa and Miranda in to score. Those two runs cut the Twins deficit down to two with a 4-2 tally on the scoreboard. Opportunity missed in the sixth With the Twins down 4-3, they had the perfect opportunity to take the lead. With the bases loaded and one out, the Twins chased Guardians starter Cal Quantrill from the game. Nick Sandlin took his place, and Mark Contreras came in as a pinch hitter for Caleb Hamilton to try and drive in some runs for the Twins. Instead, Contreras lined out to first baseman Naylor, and Matt Wallner was doubled off to end the inning and the scoring threat. In the end, Cleveland would score two more runs after Rosario hit his three-run home run, bringing the final score to 11-4. In a week following the "official" end to the Twins playoff chances, there wasn't much to be excited about. Nick Gordon hit his ninth home run, and the first three innings of Henriquez's debut were good to see. Beyond that, any Twins fans watching got another look at why the Guardians are poised to win the division, and the Twins are not. What’s Next? The Minnesota Twins will make their way to Kansas City to open up a three-game series against the Royals. Dylan Bundy will take the mound for the Twins, while the Royals will send veteran Zach Greinke to the mound. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet TUE THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Henriquez 0 0 0 0 0 73 73 López 0 0 0 32 0 34 66 Moran 40 0 0 15 5 0 60 Jax 0 18 22 13 0 0 53 Duran 0 19 16 0 17 0 52 Sanchez 0 0 0 49 0 0 49 Fulmer 0 21 11 17 0 0 49 Pagán 0 0 0 31 0 15 46 Thielbar 0 12 15 0 0 0 27 View full article