TopGunn#22

I was 10 years old when Tiant won his first A.L. ERA title in 1968 with a 1.60 ERA. He was phenomenal that season but was over shadowed by Bob Gibson's historic 1968 season in the N.L. and Denny McClain's 30 win season in the A.L. The Twins were an extremely poorly run ballclub in those days. Not only did we see the decline of Tony Oliva and Harmon Killebrew beginning in 1972, but we also saw Jim Kaat get the same treatment as Tiant. In 1969, after the tremendous season Tiant had in 1968, on a poor Cleveland team, he went 9-20 with a 3.71 ERA. He also threw 250 innings that season and in starting 37 games gave up 37 HR's. His arm clearly wasn't right and he got by on guts and guile. Still, the Twins sensed an opportunity and traded for him, giving up Graig Nettles, Dean Chance and Ted Uhlaender for Tiant and Stan Williams. Williams was outstanding for the Twins in 1970 going 10-1 with a 1.99 ERA as the set up guy for Ron Perranoski. Tiant only threw 84 innings for the Twins but went 7-3. Kaat, on the other hand was having a great 1972 season going 10-2 with a 2.07 ERA before coming up with an arm issue. The Twins didn't have the patience to wait for either Tiant or Kaat to get healthy and let both pitchers go. So in 1972 Tiant went 15-6 for the Red Sox and won his 2nd A.L. ERA crown at 1.91. He then went on to be a 20 game winner and the Ace of the Red Sox throughout the 70's. Kaat went on to win 20 games in two seasons for White Sox in the 70's. Imagine a pitching staff with Tiant, Kaat, an emerging Bert Blyleven and Dave Goltz in the 70's for a club that had hitters like Rod Carew, Lyman Bostock, Larry Hisle and others. Tiant belongs in the HOF. Just wish he could have been alive to experience it.

Interesting article. It's always fun to propose and discuss possible trades. That said, I'm 100% in the "No Way I'm Making a Trade Like This" camp. EVERY major league baseball team needs starting pitching. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. You can't just cavalierly say the Twins don't need Jax in the rotation. Plus, Jax is our most consistent pitcher. I'm not parting with him in virtually any circumstance. So let's say the Twins give Jax a chance at starting like the Royals did with Seth Lugo and the Braves did with Reynaldo Lopez. Here's your rotation: Lopez, Ryan, Jax, Ober, (Festa, SWR, Matthews). That's pretty darn solid. And teams that get solid starting pitching are always "in the game." This would create a problem in the bullpen. You've just taken your most reliable pitcher and put him in your rotation. I will point out that it's much easier to add bullpen arms than rotation arms, especially when your ownership group is more concerned with profitability than on field success. I also do not think it's worth giving up Jax for an outfielder (even though he hits right-handed) when you've got a host of OF prospects getting closer to the major leagues led by Emmanuel Rodriguez and Walker Jenkins. We're talking about a PLATOON option for our OF. Not a fulltime player. For our most consistent pitcher who has the potential upside of being an All Star caliber pitcher. And if you doubt that Jax has that potential, simply look at what Lopez and Lugo accomplished this past season. Neither of them has had the success out of the BP that Jax has (Lugo is close). Find a better RH outfield bat than Margot this time. Give Jax a shot at the rotation. Fill in the BP with quality options.

It's not really a "rebuild" if the foundation of your team is essentially already built on young talent ascending to the big league team. But I think much of the frustration of Twins fans is in the apparent lack of progress of many of these young players and the continued injury problems YOUNG guys seem to have. Shouldn't those "young bodies" be more limber and less prone to muscle pulls etc... Is it a flaw in their training regimen ??? I will also beg to differ with Nick on the prospect of trading either Correa or Buxton. Given a trade to a contending club, I don't think either player would waive their no trade clause. I don't believe Correa would be traded, but I DO believe the chance exists for Buxton. Byron finally played 100 games for the 2nd time in his career and while the batting average was a pleasant surprise and the defense was excellent the power was a little light and face it, his speed in terms of stolen bases has always been a non issue with the Twins given Rocco's aversion to stealing bases. His salary is a mere $15 million dollars per year. WE make a big deal about that, but there are a LOT of teams who look at that as a drop in the bucket. It may have been back in August that I suggested a possible trade of Buxton to the L.A. Dodgers. I won't PAY for the Baseball Trade Values tool but I had fun using it while it was free. As a result, I don't know what "surplus value" various players have but I have to believe that Buxton built back a good deal of his negative value. The Dodgers need a legit CF. $15 million a year is nothing to them. If they would part with one of their young SP's and one of their highly rated minor league catchers who is ready for the big leagues but blocked by Will Smith, I'd make that trade. I won't name specific players because I have no idea what would be reasonable based on the BBTV's system. But I remember how the Pablo Lopez for Luis Arraez trade was graded and it strongly favored the Twins. I look at Ryan Jeffers 2023 season and see it as an outlier. If I made this Buxton trade to the Dodgers and got a promising young catcher to pair with Vasquez and a young SP, my next move would be to turn around and make a deal with Miami centered around Jeffers for a SP like Luzardo or Alcantara. The deal could be Jeffers and Julien for one of those two SP's and something else. Good pitching can keep teams in games night in and night out. If you PITCH, you will always COMPETE. We have enough power to score runs and with a new hitting coach coming in (Nelson Cruz? Justin Morneau?) we may finally become better than an atrocious "situational hitting" team. We have young OF's on the way with Emm-Rod and Walker Jenkins. We have Wallner and Larnach ascending. I would dump Buxton's contract with an eye on acquiring more pitching and adding one more reliable bullpen arm to a bullpen with Jax, Duran and Sands and hopefully Alcala and Varland. It's not a "rebuild." It's a "re-tooling."

Maybe A-Rod and his partner would rather own the Twins...

I agree, EVERY year is a year a manager should be on the hot seat, unless you're Dave Roberts. I don't think Rocco has any more rope because they have fired their entire set of batting coaches. I think it makes it that much easier to clean house if there is another disappointing year like this one. I'm really surprised that 3rd Base coach Watkins is still employed. If the Twins get off to a slow start in April & May we could see the hammer come down hard. At that point Target Field will be a mausoleum and Rocco would be the convenient scapegoat. If that is the case, and I'm Glenn Taylor, I'm calling the Pohlad's and making an offer.

At this point I don't think AK has any trade value. The other thing to consider is that Santana, who played for 5x the salary AK had is NOT going to be willing to re-sign with the Twins for a discount. Especially if he wins a Gold Glove. Personally, for me, I just can't seem to allow myself to give up on Alex Kirilloff. THAT SWING.... I think he's eminently worthy of another chance at 1.8 million. Look, we carried a terribly ineffective Caleb Thielbar at almost twice that salary this past season. Kyle Farmer for far more. The payroll blunders this front office made this past season were epic. I will agree on this: This coming 2025 season will be Alex Kirilloff's last chance to make an impact with the Minnesota Twins. Guys like Emmanuel Rodriguez and Walker Jenkins are just on the edge of the horizon and will be pushing guys like Kirilloff out if he doesn't have a resounding bounce back season. This off season has a LOT of questions that need answers. From whoever will replace Falvey to our managerial approach, our hitting philosophy, player payroll, acquisitions and final roster determinations. The only thing we know for sure is that the Pohlad family will still own the Twins. At this point the Pohlad family has lost their fan base. Maybe they realize this but maybe they are clueless. After all, David St. Peter is still a part of this mess. They have fans that want to watch them on TV but who can't. They are an ownership group who are clearly not universally liked or respected. Contrast them with the Wilf family who own the Vikings. Do they realize this baseball business they operate is at a crossroads? This off season will be very interesting indeed.

Just got back from a trip to Italy with my wife and thankfully missed the last 10 games of the season. There was a guy in our group who was a Reds fan from Cincy. We talked about what a good fit Francona would be for both the Twins and the Reds. I wasn't surprised the Reds won out there. The Twins and Reds are actually very similar teams. Both have young, up and coming position players and pitchers. Both have suffered tremendously from injuries to key players and pitchers. Both had key young players fall flat on their faces after a promising 2024. I have to call out Matthew for his "strong vocal minority" statement. Nice try. It's "strong" and it's "vocal" but it's absolutely NOT a minority. Most good managers have clearly defined roles for their players. Whether it's the bullpen or the lineup, players thrive under a clearly defined structure that plays to their strengths. Rocco is the most disorganized manager I've ever seen for the Twins in this regard. I would say that a bullpen, based on how this season unfolded, that would employ Duran as the closer, Jax as the 8th inning setup guy and Cole Sands as the 7th inning guy would have thrived. Clearly defined roles. Instead, we had games where Duran came in in the 7th or 8th inning in a non save situation. Near the end of the season the TV broadcast put up a graphic that showed Duran's effectiveness in "save" and "non-save" situations. It was stunning. He's a beast when it's a "save" and terrible in the "non-save" situation. I understand the theory of "leverage" situations, but when you're a slave to the spreadsheet, that leads to a disorganized mish-mash of bullpen roles. Wallner and Larnach showed some real progress this season while other young players regressed badly. I don't think young guys can develop in a system where they are in the lineup to begin a game and then when the opposing manager removes his right handed "opener" and inserts a lefty our current manager removes the young LH hitter for a pinch hitter in the 2nd or 3rd inning. THAT is not conducive to development. Not every young LH hitter is destined to be Rod Carew or Tony Oliva, but they will only learn to hit lefty's by facing them. Finally, we chop a bunch of coaches but leave Watkins as our 3rd base coach??? How many rallies does Watkins have to kill before we realize he's not the guy for that job?? Just bring Toby Gardenhire up as a manager in waiting and put him at 3B. That's what he's currently doing as the Saints manager. So, No. This is not a "vocal minority." We had a chance at Francona (who our FO should be quite familiar and comfortable with) and with the immediate vote of confidence for Rocco took ourselves out of the running. I don't doubt for a minute that the reason was the Pohlad's didn't want to pay 2 managers firing Rocco/hiring Francona. In Minnesota, the competition for sports revenue is intense. The Twins are being effectively boxed out by the Vikings and T-Wolves. On a scale of 1-10 right now, how excited is the Minnesota sports fan for the Vikings (currently at 4-0) and the T-Wolves? How excited are they for the Twins off season and outlook for 2025? You couldn't have a more stark contrast. And the Twins are on the wrong side of it.

Happy Birthday RiverBrian !!!

That's a good point 1985Fan. The situational hitting on this team has been and still is atrocious. It's not just that they can't get the clutch 2-out hit. It's that they strike out SO MUCH and seldom ever make a "productive out" by advancing the runner on 2nd base with nobody out to 3rd base. We don't bunt. We don't hit-and-run. We rarely steal bases. We are seldom are aggressive on the base paths. These are all "in-game" situations that we consistently fail at that are frustrating. We need a philosophical change in how we approach these situations at bat by at bat. We seem to be a team of "guess hitters." Julien looks completely out of synch. Buxton seems to "pre-determine" that he's going to swing at whatever the 2-0 pitch is because "it's gotta be a good pitch to hit...right??"

GREAT point LambchoP !! AJ Puk should have been at the top of our "shopping list" for all the reasons you just stated. Yet he wasn't. The comparison of the Twins and Padres is excellent. We are two, very similar franchises heading in different directions. They really ARE what we COULD be. Maybe that's because the Padres realize that they are in the same division as the mighty Dodgers. And a Giants organization that spends as well. You have the D-Backs, who miraculously made it to the World Series last year. San Diego can't take anything for granted. And then you have the often maligned A.L. Central, which now seems to have 4 teams capable of making some noise. Three of those teams are doing everything they can to win the division or make the playoffs. We know who they are, and the Twins are not one of them. We had a similar thread in which I expressed my frustration for accountability. Is it ownership or the front office? The front office, when given the chance has made some truly BAD moves. They clearly, if given the opportunity, have a lot of cognitive dissonance when it comes to making trades. The back and forth the fan base gets from ownership and the front office as to who ultimately determines what moves are made is frustrating. Ownership "says" Falvey & Levine are free to do what is needed to better the team and the front office "says" ownership is not holding them back. But then you acquire Trevor Richards at the deadline and act like you brought in Mariano Rivera. My frustration with this lack of accountability is obvious. The bottom line is that when there is any doubt, you go to the top. Ownership is the real problem with this franchise. They run the Twins like they would a bank. The Twins are not a bank. Nobody has feelings for Wells Fargo like they do for the Twins. I'm frustrated with ownership but I know we're probably stuck with them. I'm frustrated with the front office because they have an Eddie Julien batting average on trades. I'm frustrated with Rocco because he manages by spread sheet and seems to have no feel for the game. But even if the Twins cleaned house and brought in Terry Francona to manage (a proven winner). If they replaced the entire front office...we'd STILL be stuck with the Pohlad's. Maybe we could succeed with a better manager and a front office with a better track record on trades. But with the Pohlad's...maybe not.

There is no doubt a position change is in Correa's future at some time during his contract. But I think he's our SS next season for sure. He still makes plays few SS's can make. Brooks Lee is the obvious heir-apparent at short, but he will probably be playing 2B next year and SS on days Correa DH's. In 2 or 3 years, when a change seems more possible, why not a move to 2B?? One thing Correa has that Ernie Banks didn't is an absolute cannon for an arm. I'd like to see Correa making the throw from 2B on a double play. First baseman DO need to make throws on relays, but it seems less and less nowadays. Correa as a 2B would still be involved in a lot of relay throws. Who knows? Maybe Danny Andrade has a big year next year and barges into the "SS of the Future" discussion, allowing Lee to stay at 2B or move to 3B. Culpepper may continue to shine and advance more quickly than we anticipate. He's already turning heads. Next year for sure, Correa is the primary SS. Possibly even in 2026. But 2 years from now, with the way the Twins draft SS's we may have an excellent replacement ready to roll.

You are the King of Satire !! Well done once again.

Much like how I felt with Mike Taylor and Donny Solano last year, I feel the same about Santana. You were able to get a career year out of Taylor and Solano but they weren't likely to repeat those (and they didn't) and with Santana approaching 39 years old you just can't bring him back. As others have said, the $5-$8 million that would be spent on Santana needs to go to our pitching staff. You probably can't get a good SP for that money unless a real solid SP is willing to sign for the M.L. minimum, but you could look to shore up a bullpen with a couple of veteran arms to go with Jax, Duran and Sands. The Twins plan all along has been to begin promoting their young players. Miranda, Julien and Kirilloff (if he can ever stay healthy) should be the plan at 1B. Correa at SS, with Lewis and Lee to play 2B/3B will be the plan with Castro backing each of them up. The outfield will have Buxton, flanked by Larnach and Wallner with the need to acquire a RH bat that is capable of playing all 3 OF positions. Martin hasn't done enough to just hand him that spot. They at least need to explore what options are available. Somewhere in there is possibly a spot for Emmanuel Rodriguez, but not until All Star game or August 1st. This late season collapse is sharpening the focus on many changes that need to happen this off-season. As others have said, even if we make the playoffs, the likelihood of a first round defeat is high. I think our aspirations for this season were higher than a first round exit. If the Twins FAIL to make the playoffs, then some big changes need to happen. This is similar to the end of the Zimmer/Spielman regime with the Vikings. It was time for a change of leadership, philosophy and strategy. If the Twins fail to make the playoffs, BIG changes need to happen.

If there is a Silver Lining in this late season collapse it might be that we can bid farewell to Watkins as the 3B coach (and hopefully promote someone like Toby Gardenhire as the new one). We can contemplate whether the Twins ownership will replace Rocco "Mr. Spreadsheet" Baldelli as manager and Pete Maki as the pitching coach. Maybe get a hitting coach that can do a better job of teaching situational hitting. We strikeout too much and we do not move baserunners well. This is obvious with the large number of runners we leave on base. If the Twins do not make the playoffs, changes are in order. Unfortunately, we can forget about replacing ownership. We're stuck with the Pohlad's. But this manager and this front office have left the Twins in a situation where we're depending on 3 rookies in the starting rotation and a bullpen that has had only TWO reliable performers ALL YEAR (Griffin Jax and Cole Sands) and some hitters that just can't hit. And look, somebody has to be held responsible. Either the Pohlad's are not letting the FO plug holes by limiting the money that can be spent, OR, the front office doesn't see the holes or understand the reasons they should have been more proactive. SOMEBODY needs to be held accountable. This back and forth that the Pohlad's are more than willing to spend if the right opportunity presents itself, yet we're cutting payroll as a priority and the front office's big move at the deadline was to bring in retread Trevor Richards just screams "LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY." Which is it? Do the the Pohlad's WANT to spend or want to CUT? Does the the front office HAVE the ability to make any move they deem necessary? Or they can't because of budget constraints?? Which is it?? It's harder to find an honest answer to that, than it is to actually know where Kamala Harris stands on various issues or to know what her economic plan for the next 4 years IS. Cleveland, Kansas City and Detroit ALL made some aggressive moves at the deadline. We brought in Trevor Richards. To which Twins fans were left feeling like Charlie Brown felt in "The Great Pumpkin" when his friends looked in their Trick or Treat bags and said "I got a Snickers bar," I got a Hershey bar," and Charlie looked in his bag and said "I got a ROCK." (and maybe in this case...I got a Rocco !!)

Nothing this FO or ownership or manager does nowadays inspires much confidence in me. I understand they are much smarter than me. Goodness, they have spreadsheet after spreadsheet to prove it.

This should be a big boost, and it appears Correa will also be back soon. I'm glad they kept Kiersey. Better defense and arm, and better power and speed combo than Martin. With Buxton available and Margot NOT a good option to play CF Kiersey makes sense.

This is an interesting article and it has spurred many comments and many disagreements. The core of this article is correct...the Twins are very reliant and have invested the highest salaries in 2 players that consistently "miss time" due to injuries. Correa is the highest salary and is obviously the hardest to move. I believe with Brooks Lee the Twins have an excellent way of dealing with Correa's availability going forward...Lee can play SS to give Carlos some days off and Correa could and probably WILL eventually need to move to 3B. This is no different than Cal Ripken Jr. or Manny Machado or A-Rod moving to 3B later in their careers. Buxton only has a $15 million dollar per season contract. That's chump change to most baseball teams but seems to be a burden to ours. It was rightly pointed out that Buxton's performance this year would place his "value" to the Twins at $23 million. That's a pretty good case for keeping him. It's also a pretty good case to (if he's willing to waive his no-trade clause) deal him to a team that needs him and would have assets the Twins would be interested in. For example: What if the Twins traded Buxton to the L.A. Dodgers for minor league catcher Diego Cartaya and one of LA's young SP's like Bobby Miller, Dustin May, Gavin Stone, Jason Wroblewski etc... The Dodgers would be interested because they need a CF. Kiermaier is done after this year, Mookie doesn't play CF, and none of their prospects has proven they can play it. The Twins get a nice catching prospect who has been blocked at the Major League level by Will Smith and Austin Barnes as well as a SP could fill a rotation hole. I'd gamble on Dustin May who many here could point out is an injury challenged pitcher similar to what we've gambled on in the past, but that I would counter has BIG upside and is worth taking a gamble on. A rotation in 2025 of Lopez, Ryan, Ober, May and options like Festa, Matthews and SWR would be young, talented and deep. This is all predicated on Buxton waiving his no-trade to go to the Dodgers, but with E-Rod and Jenkins pushing for promotion and Castro, Martin and Kiersey available the opportunity to add a Catcher to compete with Jeffers and a still young/high upside SP like Dustin May, I would take that gamble.

I think Twins fans have to be aware that as Walker Jenkins and and Emmanuel Rodriguez climb closer to the major league roster, and as guys like Wallner and Larnach continue to develop and HIT, you may be seeing a very different outfield for the Twins in 2025, but certainly by 2026. One of the positives of 2024 has been the bounce back of Buxton. He's stayed "relatively" healthy. It DOES matter that our future outfield bats are all LH hitters. Buxton is that lone RH bat in a sea of lefties. But both E-Rod and Jenkins can play CF. Maybe not to the level of Buxton, but probably pretty decently. As Twins fans, we also have to be constantly aware that our penurious owners will be endeavoring to cut payroll. This is why Buxton's resurgent season opens the possibility for a trade. Buxton is not making prohibitive money for teams like the Dodgers, Yankees or Phillies. But he IS for the Twins. If he can come back and finish this season strongly it is certainly possible that a trade could come at the deadline next season or in the 2025 off-season. I'm NOT advocating this. But if E-Rod and Jenkins keep wowing in the minors and Wallner and Larnach keep hitting in the majors a trade of Buxton is a distinct possibility to a big market team that would just shrug at a $15 million dollar per year price tag. I would speculate that the goal in a trade would be to get a young SP prospect and/or a young catching prospect. The benefit to the Twins and Twins fans is that if Buxton stays healthy (or at least is "healthier" ) we get the benefit of seeing him play well for the Twins and possibly see a nice return in a trade. 99 out of 100 Twins fans don't want to see this happen. But this is how the Pohlad's operate and it is a distinct possibility.

Mikelink45 nailed it. We need to make some trades because the Twins farm system has never been in better shape. We have talent and it's pushing for advancement. Some tough choices will have to be made and I hope we make the right ones. With Keaschall needing Tommy John it may cloud his development somewhat, but with Lee, Lewis, Castro and Julien I see Julien as the odd man out. Julien's value has taken a hit, but he looks like a prime trade candidate. E-Rod and Jenkins just add to our overwhelming surplus of LH hitting OF's. E-Rod will be up sometime in 2025, and Jenkins will be pushing hard for August 2025 or opening day 2026. Kepler will be playing elsewhere. That leaves Wallner and Larnach. (there is also Kirilloff although his chances are diminishing). That's a logjam. So as mikelink45 said, trades will have to be made and hard choices as well.

My wife's favorite player is Max Kepler. I like him a lot too. I'm sure we will be pulling for him no matter if it's for a team NOT called the Twins...(unless he's playing for Cleveland) :) Big Dog is exactly right regarding Tony-O. It was painful watching him try to run in his 3 seasons of DH'ing in 1973, 1974 and 1975. But he could still swing the bat. On one leg, he hit .291 Imagine that, in a pitching dominated era like the 1970's. I agree that this is a chance to get a peek at 2025. This is an extended audition for Wallner, Larnach, Martin, Kiersey and Helman. It's just too bad that Kirilloff can't be a part of this either. In regards to next season and a continued lowering of our payroll: I'd like to think we have enough offense with young bats like Lewis, Wallner, Larnach, Miranda, Lee and Julien. Especially with Emmanuel Rodriguez a possible addition after the All Star break. But I'd like to see them try to get one established veteran SP rather than head into next season relying on 3 2nd year SP's (Festa, Matthews and SWR). They all have potential, but expecting all three of them to succeed in 2025 is unrealistic.

I was typing my comment while tony&rodney's comment had just been posted. So glad to see tony&rodney has noticed this as well about Lewis.

It's clear to me that the knee injury has been bothering Kepler for quite some time. They should have given him an extended time on the IL much sooner and had Kiersey/Helman up much earlier. I wonder if there is enough time for Max to get healthy enough to help in time for the playoffs. Something else I've noticed is how slowly Royce Lewis coasts down the first base line after hitting a groundball. It's REALLY noticeable when you see how hard other guys motor down the line. I believe the team is telling him to take it easy, not a lack of hustle on the part of Lewis. It has not been addressed by Cory Provus while calling the games but if you haven't noticed it, check it out the next time Lewis hits a groundball. On the one hand, I get it. His bat is hugely important to the Twins and they want to keep him healthy during a possible playoff run. On the other hand, if he's NOT healthy enough to "play the game" there are many who believe he shouldn't be playing until he IS. In another era, Lewis would be called out for this, or Rocco would be, for allowing the perceived lack of hustle to occur. Even though I can understand the reasons, and probably agree with them, I just can't help cringing every time Lewis takes a slow jog down the first base line.

Yeah, I don't remember Buxton ever getting ejected in an MLB game. maybe he has, but I don't recall it. This is unfortunate and I think this young umpire will find this is making the "wrong" name for himself. The better question is how much will Buxton and ultimately, Correa, help us when they make it back? Games like last night are becoming far too common with young pitchers getting shelled and the Twins falling hopelessly behind. The Twins seem to be insistent on Varland remaining a SP. How much more evidence do they need that he's a 1 to 2 inning pitcher?? He belongs in the bullpen where he could have a positive impact. Some would call this "patience." I call it "stubbornness" that is detrimental to the team AND the the player (Varland). Sure he's more valuable as a SP...IF HE'S EFFECTIVE. As a SP it's clear to me that he lacks the command of the necessary repertoire to ever be an "effective" SP. In a one or two inning bullpen appearance?? He can be "effective." He's got a 98 mph fastball and a slider that breaks occasionally. THAT'S a BULPEN GUY. Whether this is a miscalculation by the front office or manager is unclear to me. But it's clearly trying to jam a square peg in a round hole by somebody and it could cost the Twins a playoff berth.

Here are the players I would single out: #1. Jose Miranda--I had all but given up on Jose. I was throwing him into every off season trade I could to try to acquire a SP better than the DeSclafani-esque options. He has shown that his injury last year really affected him and that he can be a reliable middle of the order hitter. He's fully back in the Twins plans in my opinion. And I didn't see this coming. #2. Trevor Larnach--Once again, I had all but given up on Trevor. After seeing him be "The Man" who led Oregon State to a College World Series Championship I had high expectations for him. Year after year I was disappointed. Finally, this year, he has remained healthy and he has impressed. I never heard an exit velocity for his 3-run homer yesterday, but it looked like 130 mph. It. Was. A. Rocket !! #3. Griffen Jax--Jax should be #1 based upon what he's done this year. I knew he was a good RP. Solid and dependable. I expected him to have a good year. I did not expect him to be GREAT. He should have been an All Star. It's that simple. The two guys ahead of him I had much lower expectations. You could make an argument that the Twins should make Jax their closer and Duran the setup man. Duran has the eye popping fastball but nowhere near the command Jax has. Jax is dependable. Duran (this year) has not been. #4. Cole Sands--Again, my expectations for Sands were quite low. He had done little to give me any kind of confidence that he would even be on the roster. With all our bullpen issues, the kid has been a ROCK. Where would this team be without his solid, steady, and consistent contributions? I expected Willie Castro to be what he's been this year. I could be accused of taking him for granted but that's not the case. I just simply "expected" him to be right where he is. Buxton has been better than I thought he'd be. I expected Correa would bounce back, and he has. We just need these two to be healthy for the stretch run. Now to those who have disappointed: Julien--BIG drop off from what I expected. Kirilloff--Hurt again. But I wouldn't give up on him yet. Miranda taught me that. Pablo Lopez. His last 4-5 starts are what we expected all year. It took waaay to long for him to get there. Duran--He's capable of so much more. He needs better command. I wish he'd throw more fastballs. Finally...The Pohlad Family--Yes, you guys saved baseball in Minnesota when Bud Selig wanted to contract us and we've got 2 World Series Championships under your ownership. But after the momentum the team created heading into this year from 2023 you consistently disappointed your fan base by acting like bankers instead of owners who would be willing to accept a little risk for a larger payoff. INVEST. IN. YOUR. TEAM. Your penurious ways have us relying on THREE rookies in the starting rotation. I can't remember a contender having that kind of situation in baseball. We have a great farm system, but the penny pinching on the major league level is hurting your product. Just take a look at what Cleveland and Kansas City have been willing to do compared to us.

What SHOULD happen is that as soon as Brooks Lee is brought back up Farmer should be DFA'd. Farmer is not needed with Lee on the roster. Lee is the future. Farmer is not.