Cory Engelhardt

I was putting the idea together about the infield along with Tom saying they would raise payroll. A different thought/article could look at different position groups.

Being from Minnesota, the afternoons in July were actually really nice for golf. Not the mornings, unless you like brisk. But the sun, we are so much closer to the equator, 14-16 degrees Celsius here feels warmer than that did in Minnesota

You should take that advice :)

Not Twins related necessarily, but watching this game, it does seem like the home plate umpire has actually had a pretty good game with balls and strikes.

There we go. First good outcome for Lee with the bat in what feels like forever.

First one was opposite field, 2nd was pulled to right and LONG.

I'd like both. Hugs are great. :)

Jenkins just homered to left in his first at bat. Sharing that here for no reason whatsoevet

Agreed. 100% I mean, I look at just the royals and this series. Obviously Witt is amazing. But after that it’s not like have a whole lot of other talent on their position player side (Garcia is good too but he is out.) But they have a true identity with their defense. What in the world is our identity? Now I’m rambling and all. I get it. But I still think they should look hard at the infield in 2027 along with pitching

Course maybe the answer that the front office and Tom takes is that player development on the position player side just isn’t up to snuff. To me, I worry that Lee is another in the line of Miranda and Julien and others who started out ok and then couldn’t hit anymore. That may be that baseball is just hard. It also is annoying watching other terms have young players come up and be ready to contribute (it feels like) more consistently.

Do you have a player or a player type for a position that would greatly affect the quality of the infield specifically for 2027? Just curious. Thanks

I could see that. I like Keaschall’s bat a lot though. Clemens as a utility guy intrigues me but I could see that too.

I guess I’m assuming Keaschall is one of the outfielders. I agree with you if he is moving back to the infield though

Yeah, so maybe that’s what I am getting at. It all ties back to Tom Pohlad’s comments about raising the payroll. I think the infield definitely has at least one opening where acquiring a real defensive asset for one of the spots would help the team immensely next season. As of now the position is still fluid.

That's where I'm flexible to be honest. If I can get a strong defensive player that can be closer to a mlb average hitter than Lee has been for going on 2 months now, that's what I do. I don't care if it is 2b or ss or 3b. Once I get that player, I think the rest can be figured out. OR Brooks Lee makes his adjustment he needs to and gets back to what he was for April and May. I guess that'd be perfect world in that sense right? His bat has been lost for a bit now. Maybe there is an adjustment he is working through and he'll get there?

See, I can see ALSO trading for or buying a good infielder to add to the group. They should have money to add a good starting pitcher to go with Pablo and Bradley and Abel and Kremer and Prielipp and Ryan (and maybe even Rojas) in that regard. Could Ober get you a good fielding infielder? Could Ryan?

So no outside changes? Would that equal an ownership group that wants to win?

If the defense is above average I'll take it. It's not the world's strongest arm, but it's functional. With his bat, he definitely started the year stronger than he has been going. Prior to May 31, he hit .255/310/430 for a wRC+ of 106. Since June 1 he has hit .225/287/402 for a wRC+ of 91. It's been even worse in July. Since July 1 he has hit .208/279/337 for a wRC+ of 72. Since July 1, the only hitters lower than that on the Twins are Tristan Gray, Alan Roden, Victor Caratini and Ryan Kreidler. I'm hopeful he can make adjustments and get back to 100 or more. But he isn't hitting with enough authority at all in my opinion.

What has Lee done this year to show you that he is a mlb caliber infielder?

See, I think there is a path where both Keaschall and Lewis are on this team. Both still need work on defense, but both have shown enough with the bat this year for me to be ok with them being here. IF Keaschall can really focus on 2B defense, then I think that fit can be good. If he is trully more comfortable in the outfield and can work on his outfield defense, that's ok too. Lewis, he is right on that line of good enough but not star. Maybe that's ok for a 1B. There's no promise he is here in 2028, but for 2027 I'd be ok with him being the leader in the clubhouse for 1B.

Oof, having Clemens defensively at 2B all the time would not be a good thing. I'd much be in favor of him as a utility playing 1b/2b/of.

This is a topic that really was obvious to me in the Royals series, as it was clear that the Royals infield defense was so many times stronger than the Twins infield defense. It was even more apparently when Lewis wasn't at 1B and Caratini was. It was downright bad, if not embarrassing, how far behind the infield defense was. This is JUST about the defense, but not hitting overall made me focus on that a bit. So my question is, what would you do to improve the infield defense in 2027? I think there are a number of paths... 1) I think Lewis can be a good 1b defensively. I don't know if he is the BEST answer, but his bat has been solid overall since he came back from the minors, and I think I'm ok with seeing how this year plays out and using pencil to write his name into the lineup. For now, he is the only current player that I write in pencil for the lineup at their position for 2027. 2) After that, I determine if Luke Keaschall is going to try to focus on 2B again and throw himself into learning defense there. IF that is the plan, I could see him becoming an average defensive 2b over time. That said, I'd almost try and lean towards him just being the left fielder and be comfortable there. 3) I don't know what to do with Brooks Lee. He is ok defensively there there, but to me he is kind of a flash point for the offseason. Does he have room to grow offensively? I'm not certain. Does he have room to gain arm strength? I don't know. To me, he may be a world class teammate, and IF there is room to improve both offensively and defensively, then I'm ok still having him here. Otherwise, I'd look into moving him for something that either can help the major league or for a prospect. To me, he isn't playing well enough to be a core player ongoing right now. Certainly his bat for months now has been well below league average. Since June 1 his wRC+ is the lowest on the team by anyone not named Alan Roden or Ryan Kreidler or Austin Martin. So either he has to get his bat to be above average to be a core player, or he has to drastically improve his defense. Do you see either happening? 4) Kaelen Culpepper and Marek Houston. I do think by all accounts that both of them would be a defensive upgrade to Brooks Lee. I THINK Houston is the best defensive SS they have, and I do think Culpepper's arm would be strong enough to be a good 3b, but I also think he could be a good 2b. It's possible he is a better 3b though, and he does have the arm and the athleticism to be next to Marek Houston and make a strong defensive left side of the infield. I'd love to dream about the possibility that they both can be up and ready to perform offensively either tomorrow or even opening day. That's up to the Twins to decide. I do believe the defense they both would add today, together, would be an upgrade either at SS or 2B, or at SS and 3B, collectively compared to what is currently out there. So then, how quickly do they come up? How quickly would you have them up? 5) Free agency and trades; to me, if Tom Pohlad is big on adding to a winning team, this offseason (or at least prior to the whenever the next season will start) will have to determine a number of things, but among them will be the infield makeup ongoing. Their pitching and run prevention will very much improve IF they can get to even average as an infield defensive unit. Does that mean they target and acquire a 2b or 3b or SS via trade or free agency? Does that mean they target 2 of those positions? 3 of those positions? Is Culpepper or Houston the answer at 1 or 2 of those positions in the infield? Is Lewis? Pie in the sky for me would be to get Bo Bichette to opt out of his deal with the Mets and pay him good money to be our 2b. Like I said, pie in the sky. But then I also think Houston coming up to play SS and Culpepper to play 3b, without taking into account their offensive production, at minimum would upgrade the infield defense. But there are other paths to this. Bob Nightengale seemed to think they were in on Zach Neto, and maybe that's something they thought of too and he would take a spot at SS or 3B? Maybe they make a different play for someone else to fill in one of those spots? Frankly, Michael Massey of the Royals would look REALLY good at 2B here for his defense. I don't know what that would take in trade, but pitchers would certainly love it if he were behind them defensively. I also think they still need a real middle of the order type bat. That's a different discussion. And then, more pitching is always good. Overall, a true infield option in the offseason is going to be a need in my opinion. How big they address that and in what fashion will show how much room for growth this team has. How would you fix the infield defense problem this team has had for years now?

I do if you determine that player isn’t getting extended and he won’t be there in your winning window (if you are trying to win.) But I can also see why they didn’t last year too

What if that happens in 2026 once Culpepper is promoted?

I think it’s possible and I think it would also raise the floor for our infield defense