Cory Engelhardt

I can't be the only person coming back and just wishing for the title of this thread to change, can I?

I'm in New Zealand, which is 17 hours ahead of Minnesota time. It's almost 8am Friday as I type this. I will attest, as I'm from the future, that Jenkins has not yet been called up.

Rojas is so exciting. Just more strikes thrown, and he will be good

True. Look at the ops since mid or even early July to now though. Really poor since about mid July. I have a theory that he just hunted fastballs solely for the first 2-3 months, and now teams know that.

I would have really enjoyed seeing a push to have Riley Quick’s name mentioned here. I don’t think it’s necessarily plausible, but Toronto did bring up Trey Yesavage last year for the playoff run. I mean, the chance that Quick pitches in the majors this year isn’t negative, right? It probably is 0,8%, but still :)

This again? I thought we were over this

I mean, Larnach has been a below average hitter for going on 2 months now and Roden, while having good aaa numbers still hasn’t shown much of anything at the mlb level. And both arguably are worse defenders in the outfield. All of this is for me to say that it’s probably not that far away.

So Jenkins DID homer in the game that was cut short. Does that count in real life or no?

Yup, I think I would pick Lopez to extend over Ryan. Depending on if there is a season or not next year, that will be an interesting talking point.

Minter is very much someone I hope gets a new deal. But that's actually becoming a fairly longer list in my head of what I would do if I were in charge of extending players.

I actually think Wallner does have a better chance of helping in the bullpen for a team than he does on defense in an outfield. His best position player position at this point is probably dh, so why not try pitching again in the kbo. Have him hit too, why not? If you could find a 6th inning reliever AND Matt Stairs 2.0 in one position, that would be fun to cheer for right? I'm probably nuts, but it makes sense to me.

Maybe Wallner could pitch too?

I still doubt that. Let's say Larnach is somewhere else in 2027 (I'd be shocked if he isn't.) If both Buxton and Keaschall are here (their bats obviously deserve it) then is Mendez going to hop all of Jenkins and Rodriguez and Roden to get playing time, when arguably Mendez has both the least amount of power among those options and is arguably the worst defender? The hit tool is good. I hope they can turn him into an arm they are interested in.

Ok, Mendez can go to the kbo too

He will be 29 in a few months. I imagine both he and Sabato will be lights out in the kbo in 2027

If Buxton is available and Keaschall is on the team, then there is only room for one other starting outfielder. There will be a lot of trades, or should be, of outfielders for pitching in my opinion

I agree with everything you said. I also think, IF they don't truly believe in Houston's bat to be mlb ready, that if Tom Pohlad TRULY wants to show he is a legit owner and will try to win, maybe they do attempt to make a good move this offseason for either a really good 2B or a really good SS to pair with Culpepper. Not that this has to be a ton about money or trading all the prospects. More I think even, someone like Michael Massey from the Royals at 2B, or Masyn Winn from the Cardinals at SS; either of them would dramatically help the up the middle defense with Culpepper playing the other position. Not that it HAS to be those guys. Heck, maybe they go back to the Angels and ask about Zach Neto if they truly believe he can be a SS here. To me, that is the kind of move that solidifies the up the middle defense that would have such a great affect on run prevention in 2027. That said, maybe they do love Marek Houston. That could be. But they need upgrades at more than a few spots defensively in the lineup for 2027 compared to now, and getting a truly good defender at one of the 2 up the middle infield spots would be so good for this team. I also agree with you that defensively Brooks Lee at 3B and Royce Lewis at 1B is pretty much fine. I just want a lot better defense up the middle than what we have currently.

I don't know that Bell needs to leave. He's productive as the dh only. But I can see that argument. Moving Larnach this past deadline should have happened, most likely because his value will never ever be that high again as he isn't a great defender by any means. Non-moves (like not finding a deal for Larnach at this deadline) make me question the ability for forward thinking by this front office. My hope for a team that longer term both A) spends payroll space with an focus on improving the on field product and B) prioritizing defense a whole heck of a lot more than it currently does. I mean, there are way more moves that people can and should argue about. That's why sports is fun. But Larnach is one of the many players on this roster that their best position defensively is either LF or DH. i HAVE to think that Jenkins and Rodriguez, with Keaschall focusing an offseason on defense, would all be a step up from Larnach in left field. And IF Buxton's hip can be ok in center (I guess there is hope there, but we'll see) then the outfield defense in 2027 (if there is a season) SHOULD be improved over this season. Run prevention would certainly help with getting average to above average defenders at quite a few more spots than the lineup currently has in place. Anyway, yes, I do think Keaschall's bat will play long term in the majors and I hope they keep him around. I also hope they spend the offseason truly having him focus and work on his defense at a position, either outfield or back at 2B. It's players like Keaschall, I would argue, that you shouldn't be as flexible with in needing to learn multiple positions. Hopefully he can focus on one position and become even average at it. He has the athletic ability and the work ethic, so I think he can.

Theo Tollefson just reported that he cleared waivers and has been outrighted to St. Paul. I'm glad they could keep the catching depth he is with the team.

Keaschall has played well but he needs a lot of work on defense. Larnach is over his hot start and isn't a great defender. Not certain what to make of Martin, but he should only hit lefties. Buxton looks like a shell of himself with his hip stuff, and now Martin is on the injured list. I'd play Jenkins over any iteration of all of the players you listed because of the injuries to Buxton for sure.

This series sucked, and this game was a gut punch. Also, hard to read knee jerk reactions/comments after a loss. But yeah, if Buxton is not able to run or play cf, he should be shut down. I'd very much be ok with both Jenkins and Rodriguez up at this point too. We are past the point now that players would keep their rookie status for the start of next year if that's a problem, and I'd like to see some of the younger guys who they are going to build with get some run together.

This article was FANTASTIC. I always truly enjoy your writing Parker. Thank you for sharing. And it is a fascinating look into players they acquire and what they might look to “update” in a sort of way.

If he can be a strong defender at 2b, and not just average to below, then he very much should get a shot. 3b too frankly. If his defense will be sub par, then it’ll be hard to find a fit

The chalk outline of him on the Metrodome wall should be hung in a museum somewhere. RIP. That's entirely too young.

When I lived south of Boston and worked in minor league baseball 2005-2006 (the Brockton Rox at that time were also owned by Mike Veeck and the Saints ownership group) there were so many die hard Boston Red Sox fans that also came to the Rox games. The atmospheres were great, similar to Saints crowds at the time, but maybe a smidge less of the between innings stuff because that's not what that crowd wanted. I remember a season ticket holder specifically named Virginia. She was the best. She could name every Red Sox team from the past 30-40 years in good detail. She also asked if Minnesota was near St. Louis. Baseball mattered to her more than geography, but I thought that was funny. Anyway, there are diehards everywhere, but larger markets with more people sometimes show differently. The culture around the Cubs or Red Sox or Yankees or Dodgers on a Tuesday night in June against a non-rival team is still loud all the time at games. The Twins, when they are actually winning, are very much like that. Otherwise, how people cheer or take in baseball is ok with me. Hopefully you have fun at the park and get into it. I also know I was very excited seeing the Donaldson signing go across social media. And I was also very ok with him being sent out to the Yankees. I think they were a better team without him on it for the defense and production he actually provided compared to the name recognition and wanting him to be what he had done already before his time in Minnesota. Baseball is about stories and connecting with people as much as it is the competition on the field day after day or year after year. I'm glad I got to enjoy it with my grandpa, my dad, and now my kids and all the other friends I've gotten to meet because of the game.