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Why would we say things so controversial, yet so brave? We're just built different. Image courtesy of © Jonah Hinebaugh/The News-Press/USA Today Network-Florida / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images In the runup to Opening Day, we asked Twins Daily writers to come up with bold predictions for the 2025 season. These aren't hot takes, though. The assignment was clear: bring us something you earnestly believe. Be able to cogently defend it. As they always do, the team came through. Get ready to have your world rocked by the truth and temerity of these bits of soothsaying. @Peter Labuza: Derek Falvey will trade for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at the trade deadline. @Lou Hennessy: The Twins will have three All-Star pitchers—and none of them will be Pablo López. @Eric Blonigen: Zebby Matthews supplants multiple healthy starters and forces his way into the playoff rotation. @Matthew Trueblood: Carlos Correa will lead the team in innings at third base, and he'll never go back to shortstop on a full-time basis. Short-form bold predictions from other authors: @Greggory Masterson: Ty France will lead the team in both plate appearances and hits. He's going to play every day, rather than being platooned at first, and he's played a ton for most of his career to date. @Sherry Cerny: Amid Lewis's latest spate of injuries, this will wind up being Austin Martin's breakout season. @Seth Stohs: For the first time since the 2019 Bomba Squad, the Twins will have two different hitters drive in 100 or more runs: Trevor Larnach, and Matt Wallner. @Cody Pirkl: Larnach will outhomer Wallner, with at least 35 dingers. @Steven Trefz: The Twins will stop pinch-hitting (before the 8th innings of games), and their offense will improve by 1.8 runs per game. We want to hear your bold predictions, too. Let us know who went too crazy, and whose takes were too mild—and enjoy Opening Day! View full article

Gather round, read it here first. The season will go like this, see. Image courtesy of © Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images Ok, soothsayers we (probably) aren't, but 33 writers across the DiamondCentric family of sites tried their hands at predicting the season to come. Here's how it shook out. The Standings AL East There's no question that the Red Sox won the winter, among the teams vying for supremacy in the league's traditional powerhouse division. They traded for Garrett Crochet to raise the ceiling on their starting rotation, then signed Walker Buehler to fortify the back end of the same group. The coup, though, came when they won a multi-team bidding war for Alex Bregman. With Bregman and Rafael Devers as the anchors of the lineup, the team is more well-rounded than it's been in the past. They also have three of the best prospects in baseball. That said, this remains an intensely competitive group. The Sox won the plurality of votes from our writers, but every team except the Rays garnered at least one vote. Even after losing the Juan Soto sweepstakes, the Yankees had an active winter. Without Gerrit Cole, they're not the favorites, but New York remains dangerous. It's the Orioles, though, whom our group collectively views as the greatest threat to the Sox. Their young hitters will have to make up for an underwhelming pitching staff, but Baltimore gets Félix Bautista back as the anchor of their bullpen. AL Central We have a lot of Twins familiars in our sample, but in this case, there's no detectable bias in the predictions. Maybe that's the result of many Minnesotans being frustrated by the team's lack of high-visibility additions and uncertainty about the sale of the club, but it's also about the shifting power dynamic throughout the division. Everyone but the White Sox has a chance to win this division, and everyone but the White Sox got some support. The Tigers got nearly as much support as Minnesota, thanks (presumably) to defending AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal and reunited partner in crime Jack Flaherty. Their offense remains high-variance (to put it mildly, and perhaps too nicely), but Detroit proved they have lots of ways to beat you. The Royals, too, have a superstar at the center of their success, but a bit less depth and a bit more risk of regression than Detroit. Undersold here, perhaps, are the defending champion Guardians. AL West Somewhat stunningly, this is the one division where all five teams earned at least one vote in the survey. I wouldn't have guessed that even the Angels' mothers love them that much, by now, but someone who works here loves them enough to believe they'll shock the world and get back to October. If they do, DIsney should make Angels in the Outfield 2, and every deadbeat dad should be required to relinquish his parental rights to a golden-hearted stranger who really loves their kid. In fairness, though, if there's been any division in the history of baseball the 2025 Angels could actually win, it might be the 2025 AL West. The Astros aren't intentionally leaning into a rebuild, but they might end up in one by the All-Star break. The Rangers seek a rebound after a disappointing defense of their first-ever World Series title. Some major offseason investments have turned the West Sacramento Athletics into a more competent version of themselves, and they're a relocated version of themselves, but they're still very much themselves. The Mariners, meanwhile, did nothing this winter to supplement their roster, but it's a good roster; there's a reason they've won 353 games over the last four years. NL East Juan Soto defines the Mets' offseason, but it's Clay Holmes who might define them as a team and a project. He was fairly expensive, by any standard this side of New York, but he's also unproven in his new role. He's indispensable to the New York starting rotation, and they're a smart and well-equipped outfit. They might very well turn him into the frontline starter they envision, even though his success to date has come as a late-game reliever. The Mets are a very high-upside, very modern, slightly strange outfit. At least that last thing reassures us that some things never change. They're not the favorites in this group, though, at least by the reckoning of our pundits. Instead, the defending champion Phillies and the Atlanta club that backed into (and then fizzled out in) the playoffs last year are more or less the co-favorites. Both of those semi-dynastic teams are getting a little harder to hold together, but each currently has enough youth coming up to reinforce their veteran cores. NL Central Nationally, the Cubs are considered obvious favorites, but it's the Brewers who have had the run of the place in recent years. That could certainly change, but it's not guaranteed to be a change in favor of the Cubs. The Reds hired Terry Francona last fall to increase the viability of their own designs on the division, and will have the benefit of dynamic infielder Matt McLain back after he missed 2024 with various injuries. Even the Pirates have support in some corners, presumably because Paul Skenes is Paul Skenes. He won't be enough to get that anemic offense over the hump this year, but the division just gets more chaotic by the year. Our group still feels the Cubs are most likely to win, but the voting reflects the unpredictability of the whole network. NL West So many of the divisions yielded fascinating vote distributions. So many of the divisions offer at least some degree of fascination. This one is the exception. I can't even bring myself to show you this chart. It's just a circle. All 33 writers voted for the Dodgers, which is really the only rational prediction. The defending World Series champions added the defending NL Cy Young Award winner, re-signed their slugging corner outfielder and brought in another. They won the non-monetary bidding war for Roki Sasaki and the very monetary bidding war for both Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates. There's no other team in the league who can match them for pure talent. That doesn't mean they'll win it all, but expecting anyone else to win—at least in the division, over 162 games—would be foolish. AL Wild Card Berths With the Rangers, the Red Sox, and the Twins as our projected division winners on the junior circuit, the competition for the other three places in the American League playoff bracket still looks intense. The AL is such a muddle that only the barely-lovable Angels and the White Sox failed to secure at least one vote as a playoff hopeful. My biggest takeaways are: Collective confidence in the Rays is surprisingly low. After not getting any votes as division champions, they also only received five tallies as a Wild Card contender. They're always easy to underrate, but this also seems fair. It's hard to argue that they're better than any of the Orioles, Red Sox, and Yankees, and once you're fourth in your division, there's zero margin for error on the path to the postseason. Our writers see the Rangers either as a boom or as a bust. Unlike the Twins (7) and Red Sox (9), Texas only got four votes as a Wild Card team. If they don't win the division, our staff seems to think, they're out altogether. NL Wild Card Berths As a group, we're much more confident about who will take the remaining spots after the division winners in the NL. New York, Philadelphia and Arizona are the kinds of teams you're used to seeing win division crowns, and although none of them are technically likely to do so this year, we still view them as having a very strong chance to make the tournament. That's bad news for our writers and fans of the Cubs and Brewers, since the lane for either of them to make it seems narrow—but by the same token, that raises the stakes of the showdown between those two teams for the NL Central title. We largely view the league as follows: Locks for October: Dodgers, Atlanta, Mets, Phillies Very Likely, But Frozen Out from Certitude by Dodgers: Diamondbacks Others in the Mix: Cubs, Brewers, Padres, Reds If it's just one playoff spot to divide between those last four teams, it'll have to be the winner of the Central, which is bad news for the Padres. Pennant Winners We asked our writers to predict who will play in the World Series, and as you'd expect, it was a true free-for-all in the wide-open American League. In the NL, by contrast, chalk prevails—although several brave souls dared pick against the Dodgers. Since the legend doesn't quite show all the teams who got support, here's how voting broke down on the AL side: Red Sox/Orioles: 9 votes each Yankees/Rangers: 5 votes each Royals/Tigers: 2 votes each Twins: 1 vote This chart is absolutely screaming for the first Mariners pennant ever, or the Guardians to sneak through somehow. It's the most logical distribution, though, based on the makeup of this weird, wild circuit. Maybe it's best to just think of the AL Central collectively as a wedge the same size as those of the Yankees and Rangers. This captures the difference between the two league dynamics nicely, doesn't it? No chaos here. The Dodgers got 25 of the 33 votes; the Phillies took half of the remainder; and the Brewers, Mets, Diamondbacks and Atlanta claimed just one vote apiece. It's the Dodgers' world. We're all just living in it. Can the Dodgers Repeat? Next, naturally, we asked who will win the Series. Given that our voting shows a lack of profound faith in any particular American League team, it's probably not a surprise that writers also showed a strong belief that (should they get that far) the Dodgers will finish the job in the Fall Classic. Of the 25 voters who said they;ll win the pennant, 19 see Los Angeles taking home the piece of metal at the end of the season. If they don't, things get more interesting. Somehow, the Phillies got more support (five votes) as Series champs than as pennant winners (4). I'd say we'll have a stern talk with the writer who chose them to do the former without the latter, but who knows? Maybe they're projecting some kind of vacated championship situation. It's that, or Google Forms is a frightfully limited piece of software. You decide. Also receiving support as predicted champions: Red Sox - 3 Orioles - 2 Yankees, Blue Jays, Mets, Brewers - 1 As was true with the Twins, I'll remark that our heavy representation of Cubs knowers didn't seem to engender undue confidence in them. No one selected Chicago to win the pennant, let alone the Series. Awards We got a wide variety of answers on who will win each MVP award, including a whopping 12 different players in the American League. Only three players got three or more votes, though, and one lapped the field: Bobby Witt Jr.: 13 votes Aaron Judge: 4 Gunnar Henderson: 3 Julio Rodríguez, Mike Trout, Corey Seager: 2 Adley Rutschman, Alex Bregman, Brent Rooker, José Ramírez, Rafael Devers, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.: 1 In the NL, the field was more limited, because it was even more dominated by the favorite: Shohei Ohtani: 19 votes Juan Soto: 4 Bryce Harper, Kyle Tucker, William Contreras: 2 Elly De La Cruz, Francisco Lindor, Ketel Marte: 1 Since Ohtani is (ostensibly) going to pitch again this year, he really is hard to pick against. That Witt gained such a commanding upper hand (in our estimation) over Judge is a mild surprise, but then, Judge will turn 33 years old in April. It might be about time for age to lend Witt the edge. Another 12 different people received votes for each Cy Young Award, and again, there was a much more even mix of opinions in the AL than in the NL. American League Garrett Crochet: 7 votes Logan Gilbert, Tarik Skubal: 6 Cole Ragans: 4 Eight others: 1 each National League Paul Skenes: 14 votes Zack Wheeler: 5 Shota Imanaga, Corbin Burnes, Spencer Strider: 2 Seven others: 1 each Crochet's status as the favorite is in keeping with our group's general confidence about the Red Sox. That Skubal and Ragans got so much support is a good reminder of how tough (if only inconsistently so) the AL Central is. Catch either of those guys, Seth Lugo, Joe Ryan, Pablo López, Bailey Ober, or Tanner Bibee, and you're in for a long 0-4 day. Skenes's phenom status is untarnished, so far. If he can stay healthy, it's not at all unfair to expect that he'll contend for this award. However, he'd be the first player to actually win it in their first full season since TIm Lincecum in 2008. The Rookie of the Year votes were equally interesting and even more varied, but there are too many names to walk through all of them. Let it suffice to say that Jackson Jobe (5 votes), Roman Anthony and Jasson Dominguez (4 each) are the co-favorites in the AL. Roki Sasaki (13 votes) is a relatively prohibitive favorite in the NL, but Matt Shaw (6) and Dylan Crews (5) are both viable candidates, too. Sasaki seems to have some important hurdles to clear en route to becoming the frontline starter the Dodgers expect him to be, but his raw stuff is too good to ignore—not least because we've already seen how well it plays against high-level pros in Japan. Alex Cora (6 votes) has the narrowest possible lead over A.J. Hinch and the Mariners' Dan Wilson (5 apiece) in the voting for the AL Manager of the Year, while Craig Counsell (8 votes) beat out Terry Francona (5) and Torey Lovullo (4) more handily in the NL. No matter what the question, our group is more certain of the answers in the National League—not because we're any less familiar with the American, but because that league is so much more balanced and (therefore) unpredictable right now. When it comes to the Manager of the Year Award, specifically, though, the right answer might be the one one writer gave to both league's questions: "Who cares?" The season ahead will be full of extraordinary performances by talented young players. and with good races in tight divisions. These predictions won't all come true, but trying to guess what's coming is part of the fun of this game. The good news is, starting Thursday, the bigger, more constant fun of the game is on tap: Games. Glorious, everyday, non-hypothetical games. Happy Opening Day. View full article

If you enjoy the community of Twins fans that gather daily at Twins Daily, you might want to check out another community that gathers around the Twins – literally. This week, Delaware North, who provides concession, retail and other services at Twins games, will be having two job fairs at Target Field. If you’re interested in being inside the gameday experience – and getting paid, including a $200 sign-on bonus – you might want to check them out.The events are Tuesday April 17th and Thursday April 19th from 4:00 – 7:00, with doors opening at 3:30. You can enter the ballpark at the street level entrance on the south side of building where 7th St intersects with Twins Way. (Here is the Google Map view of the door to use.) They’re hiring a number of positions, and you can find the whole list right here. There are all kinds of perks, including free meals, paid training, a rewards and recognition program, and team retail store discounts. Plus, for a limited time, there is a $200 sign-on bonus valid for new hires until 4/30, that you can learn more about at this link. You also get to be part of the behind-the-scenes group that is responsible for the Twins game day experience. The job can be especially appealing because of its flexibility. It’s part time. It’s a great second income working in a great place. It is a limited commitment, perfect for students and retirees and the scheduling is flexible. What have you got to lose, other than a few hours of your time? You missed being able to go to Target Field this weekend. Instead, see it in a way that few people do, and you don’t have to miss any Twins games to attend. For more information: Learn about the job fair here.Check out SportServiceTargetField.comOr review all the jobs available and pre-apply here. (Just click through on the position in which you are interested.)You can also email TFHire@DelawareNorth.comOr call 612-659-3984You’re a baseball nut. You love the ballpark. We get it. So why not be part of the actual industry and get paid while you do it? Check out the information above and the job fair and decide for yourself. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: miguel-sano.jpg Update: We're LIVE! (cue sappy Eyes of an Angel music) Every year, dozens of Twins prospect toil away in relative obscurity asking for nothing more than a little recognition. You can make their dream come true. With "Adopt a Prospect" you pick one prospect, and you'll be the only one that can adopt that player. They belong to YOU. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Best of all, it's not going to cost you 80 cents a day. Instead, on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, you check in on them, find out how they're doing, and proclaim their successes to the world on our Adopt a Prospect Forum. Imagine the joy on their face - and those of their parents - when they see that their hard work is recognized. You can make that dream come true. Just stop by the Adopt A Prospect Forum any time after 10:00 on Monday and sign up. Do it for the kids. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: gavel1.jpg Recently, we've had a lot of internal debate about how to handle some challenges in the forum, partly due to increased traffic. As a result, we have updated our Comment Policy. The changes address two areas and are bolded in the updated policy: 1. A more robust definition of trolling, along with some examples and 2. An explanation of why we don't want users to "police" threads themselves. Please stop by HERE and reacquaint yourself with the policy as well as view the new changes. You'll also find a link there where you can provide feedback and thoughts. Thanks as always for your input, participation and cooperation. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Click here to view the article

Download attachment: draftstreet_300x250_MLB_1.jpg Our friends at DraftStreet are giving away more money to TwinsDaily members. $300 to be precise. It's free. It's legal. It's easy. Just draft a team for one night and get paid out as soon as the games end that night. DraftStreet.com is at the forefront of this new trend in the fantasy world and is promoting it by giving us a FREE one-day fantasy league with $300 in prizes. Just click here now to sign up.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] I signed up last time - and there's nothing nasty like asking for a credit card. Give them your age, state and pick a password. The game is also pretty easy. Our contest will be Pick 'em style drafting and runs on Friday nigth (the 17th). The way Pick 'Em leagues work is you have 8 tiers of players and each tier will have players to choose from. All you have to do is select 1 player from each tier. You even have your choice of several Twins (or Red Sox, who face the Twins) that night. It really is simple. If the weather changes, you can also adjust your roster up until the contest starts at 7:05 CT. At that time your rosters will lock - but then the Live Scoreboard will be available. The Twins Daily guys will be trying it too, so even if you're not one of our readers that wins their share of $300, you'll get some bragging rights. Unless, of course, you lose to us. In which case you will never hear the end of it. Last chance to try it. CLICK HERE to sign up for free and join the Twins Daily $300 Freeroll on DraftStreet.com. What have you got to lose? The only obstacles are internal. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: draftlogo.jpg Twins Daily will be starting draft player profiles tomorrow, since the Minnesota Twins have the #4 pick in the upcoming MLB draft. However, Thrylos has contributed his own lists - a total of 345 names to know for the upcoming draft: 129 college pitcher names everyone should know for the 2013 MLB Draft. 114 college position player names everyone should know for the 2013 MLB Draft.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] 101 high school player names everyone should know before the 2013 MLB draft. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Thielbar_Caleb_Betsy_Orig.jpg Left-handed relief pitcher Caleb Thielbar, who played in Randolph, Minnesota and pitched for the St. Paul Saints as recently as 2011, will be called up by the Minnesota Twins today. To make room on the roster, the Twins are demoting fifth starter Pedro Hernandez to Rochester. That would open up a spot for Twins starting pitching prospect Kyle Gibson to make his big league debut on Friday. Thielbar was signed by the Twins out of the independent Northern League in 2011 and raced through High-A and AA up to AAA-Rochester in 2012. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]He began this year fairly slowly, but, most recently, has had eight straight outings without an earned run. His overall numbers include more strikeouts (34) than innings pitched (26.1) and good control (just 8 BB). (For more on Thielbar, check out his "Adopt-A-Prospect" page on Twins Daily.) The Twins travel to Atlanta this week, a National League city, where they will be unable to use a designated hitter. American League teams often like to add a bullpen arm for such trips. With Hernandez's demotion, the Twins are shorting themselves a fifth starter until Friday, when they next need one. If that's the case, Theilbar's promotion to the big leagues could be short-lived. For Friday's start, the assumption is that Kyle Gibson would be first in line to join the Twins rotation. Gibson, a first-round draft choice who missed most of 2012 coming back from Tommy John surgery, has thrown two complete game shutouts in his last three outings. Gibson is also on the 40-man roster. The only other AAA starter on the 40-man is Cole DeVries, who is also just coming back from an injury. He too pitched on Sunday, so his next turn in the rotation could also fall on Friday. For more photos like the one above, follow @BitzyBetsy on Twitter Click here to view the article

Once again, this year's Offseason Handbook will include a 30+ minute interview with Minnesota Twins General Manager Terry Ryan. It was conducted Tuesday, shortly after it was announced that Paul Molitor would be joining the Twins coaching staff. Ryan talked about the Molitor hire and very candidly about the decision to bring back Ron Gardenhire, how he evaluated the coach of a 90-loss team and how much it reflected on himself. Download attachment: Ryan_Terry_Dugout_US_720.jpg Parker: Switching gears: Ron Gardenhire had a very successful run, followed by three straight very bad years. How do you evaluate a manger’s performance that goes beyond the record? Ryan: If Ron wasn’t coming back, I probably shouldn’t be back. Now, Jim Pohlad and Dave St. Peter invited me back, so I brought Ron back with me. A lot of time you should evaluate a manager on the personnel he has. And unfortunately, we’ve fallen a tad short here as far as productivity. And I take total responsibility on that, so I shouldn’t pass the buck on the manager and the coaching staff. So, you evaluate him on discipline and respect and organizational skills and how the clubhouse sets up and are we prepared – all that stuff that you evaluate anybody’s job on. Same stuff. How does he handle the media? How does he handle a player that doesn’t want to get in line? How does he run spring training? How does he set up strategy? What does he do with his bullpen? Now I’ve never managed. And it’s easy to sit up there about 50 yards from the game and second-guess everything that goes on. I’ve got a lot of respect for him. And he’s an up-front guy. He’s accountable. I think players enjoy this organization. I don’t have any problem ever in luring a guy here if we’re close in the dollars and stuff like that. They never say “I wouldn’t want to play for him.” If I would’ve gone a different direction and somebody would have said “What are you looking for in a manager?”, I’d say “A lot of traits Ron Gardenhire has.” Parker: Speaking of your coaching staff, you just added Paul Molitor to it. What is he going to bring? Ryan: He’s a very good baseball mind Parker. He’s a very smart guy. He looks at the game differently than a lot of people. He and Tom Kelly watch games different than I do. I’ve always respected that, his baserunning intelligence, bunting and he’s going to be responsible too. He’s going to be in the dugout with Gardy and [Terry] Steinbach. He’s been with us for quite a long time. He knows our minor league system and stuff like that. He’s got a lot of knowledge that I think will benefit the organization. That’s why I put him on here. Parker: You guys got seven guys now in the dugout? You going to have to expand the dugout? Ryan: No. Almost all of the clubs – not almost all, but most of the clubs – have seven coaches now. Major League Baseball changed the rule early April, which was funny timing. They allowed teams to go. We didn’t. We chose not to and now we’re going to do it. We’ve got Paul in the system here, so it makes sense. He’s a good baseball man. He’s been our baserunning and infield instructor for the last – I don’t know – eight, nine years. There’s some continuity here with bringing [Miguel] Sano and [byron] Buxton and [Eddie] Rosario and those types of guys. They’re very familiar with him. I don’t think that’s all of a bad thing. Parker: Was that a big factor? Ryan: Not a big factor. It happens to be a convenient factor. No, his baseball IQ is the big factor. You can find a lot more in the Offseason Handbook from this far-ranging interview, and it will be shipped to you on the first day of the World Series if you order it today. TwinsDaily would like to thank Terry Ryan for taking 45 minutes for a very candid interview, as well as the Minnesota Twins for their recent efforts to reach out to and accommodate independent media and bloggers. Click here to view the article

Twitter TwinsDaily Seth Stohs Nick Nelson Parker Hageman John Bonnes TwinsCentric Twins Daily Facebook Page RSS Feeds You can find RSS feeds at the top of most pages in TwinsDaily, just look for this: Download attachment: rss_40b.png Click here to view the article

Download attachment: 101_6142.jpg Aaron and John talk about Miguel Sano's promotion to Double-A, first-round pick Kohl Stewart and the rest of the Twins' draft, John's incredible bus-dancing ability, Mase as a unit of time measurement, Kyle Gibson being trapped in Rochester, turning pro out of high school, Alex Wimmers' comeback, Jamey Carroll nearing the end, and heckling golfers from party decks. Here are: the podcaststhe rss feed if you want to subscribe and the podcast on iTunes. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Or, just click on the link below: <iframe style="border: none" src="http://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/2352814/height/325/width/325/theme/legacy/direction/no/autoplay/no/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/preload/no/no_addthis/no/" height="325" width="325" scrolling="no"></iframe> Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Arcia_Oswaldo.jpg According to Phil Miller, the Star-Tribune's Minnesota Twins beat reporter, Oswaldo Arcia will be called up on Monday to fill-in for Wilkin Ramirez, who will go on paternity leave. Twins Daily ranks Arcia as the #4 prospect in the Twins system, is only 21 years old and is currently hitting .414 with a .793(!) slugging percentage in Rochester. According to Miller, he will be the youngest player to debut for the Twins since Joe Mauer. How much playing time he'll have remains to be seen. Ramirez is a bench bat, but the Twins are unlikely to be calling up Arcia to sit on the bench. He has played mostly right field for the last two years, but Chris Parmelee is relatively young and healthy and also hits left-handed, like Arcia. The other corner outfield, Josh Willingham is a veteran who hit 35 home runs last year. It seems most likely Arcia will serve in one of those spots or as designated hitter, and the positions will rotate, giving Parmelee, Willingham, Joe Mauer, Ryan Doumit or Justin Morneau some time off. It's also unclear how long he will remain with the team. Ramirez should only be gone for a few games. For Arcia to remain much longer would require an injury, some serious roster re-shuffling or a change in position. Last year in AA-New Britain, Arcia did play 10 games in center field and played their full time in rookie league. His move to a corner spot supposedly had more to do with the organization's depth than his inability to play the position. So the Twins could try for a game in center field. If he can handle the position defensively, it might make things interesting for the Twins. Current center fielder Aaron Hicks has struggled from the left side of the plate in the past and has just two hits and two walks versus 17 strikeouts from that side this year. The Twins could platoon the two as they learn the ropes their rookie years. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: nerd.jpg Twins Daily's mission is to bring attention to Twins bloggers and independent baseball writers, whether they are writing here or not. Why? Because we've been there - hollering into the void. We actively encourage Twins baseball writers to use Twins Daily to recruit more readers to their sites. Here are a couple of ways: Put a link to your posts in our forum All kinds of links to media stories and blogs are added to our Minnesota Twins forums. These threads get several hundred and sometimes thousands of reads. So put a link to your latest post, along with a good (or controversial) quote from the story in our forum to let our readers know about it. For instance.... a. "Over on Buteriffic.com, I've written a story that discusses......" b. Add a quote you're proud of from the story c. Add the link d. Finish with another note about the story that gives people a little more info or another reason to click over. Or just "I'm really interested in what the Twins Daily community things about my analysis/opinion, etc....." Double-post In Your Twins Daily Blog When you register for Twins Daily.com, you automatically get your own blog. Some independent bloggers will "double-post" stories, which means take a story on their site that they like and then copy it and paste it onto the blog on our site, along with lots of links back to their blog or other stories. The blogs on TwinsDaily get some traffic - but if it's good, we'll promote it to our front page where it will get hundreds to thousands of reads. Just a couple of aspects to keep in mind.... a. We'll only promote a full story to the front page. So you can't write a half story and then link back to your own for the whole story and expect it to be promoted. We just don't feel that is fair to our readers. b. Feel free to include links back to your site like "Originally published on Buteriffic.com" or whatever. Another tactic is to link to additional related content like "For more on XXX, check out my story last week on Buteriffic.com." We may move these links around in the story when we promote and edit it because we don't want them cluttering up the preview on the front page, but we'll try and keep them if they don't distract from the content too much. The bottom line - we want you to get as much attention as you can, but you need to be the proactive one. That's where we always fell down in the past - too often we would link to someone but forget to check in with them because we got too busy with our own blogs. But if you try to stay in front of us, we'll try to keep letting people know about you. Indeed, it is why we started Twins Daily. Click here to make this your default homepage Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Worley_Vance_Landscape.jpg Immediately following today's 8-3 loss to the Braves, the Twins demoted Opening Day starting pitcher, Vance Worley, to AAA-Rochester. Worley had given up eight runs in 3.2 innings in today's game, raising his ERA to 7.21 on the year. The Twins did not announce a corresponding move, though they have announced that Samuel Deduno will pitch on Friday and has not been called up. However, he will be taking Hernandez' - not Worley's - spot in the rotation. Worley joined the Twins this offseason when he was acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies along with pitching prospect Trevor May for outfielder Ben Revere. With the Phillies, Worley had posted 3.50 ERA over 2+ seasons with a 7.7 K/9 ratio. However, his 2012 season had been cut short for elbow surgery to remove bone chips. With the Twins, his K/9 is just 4.6. If he has had any injuries this year, neither he nor the team has revealed them. Worley's turn in the rotation would come on Monday the 27th. The Twins have not announced who will ultimately take his place in the rotation. Earlier this week, they chose Deduno over Kyle Gibson, Andrew Albers and PJ Walters to replace Hernandez. Prospect Kyle Gibson, who has thrown two complete game shutouts in his last three outings, was originally scheduled to have his next start in AAA this weekend. If he makes that start, he would not be available for Monday, so that might be an indicator whether the Twins are leaning towards calling him up for his major league debut. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Punto_Nick_720.jpg Aaron and John talk about why their Minnesota Twins podcast was dumped off of the radio this week and whip through several dozen small topics. These include a discussion the Twins winning pace, the debate the meaning of "lucky", Ticket King's local focus, Joe Mauer's slump, the tragedy of losing Nick Punto, why Aaron likes girls who make bad decisions, road tripping to St. Cloud and Kevin Correia, Mike Pelfrey, Ryan Pressly, Kyle Gibson, Aaron Hick, Oswlado Arcia, Justin Morneau, Joe Benson, Clete Thomas, Brian Dozier and Trevor Plouffe. Whew. Here are: the podcaststhe rss feed if you want to subscribe and the podcast on iTunes.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Or click on the link below: Click here to view the article

Download attachment: 5vRUJEe5.jpg Happy Opening Day! Again! Today is Opening Day for the Cedar Rapid Kernels, which explains the site takeover today (Thurs). This year, Twins Daily and the Kernels will partner to promote each other to midwest-based Minnesota Twins fans. Seth Stohs will be in Cedar Rapids this week to cover their season kickoff and Jim Crikket will provide us with weekly updates on the ballclub. Also, Twins Daily will sponsor the Twins Organizational Report and Twins Highlight Segment, shown on the Kernels new scoreboard before every game. Listen for us on the radio broadcast, too. Cedar Rapids is just four hours from the Twin Cities, and as the new Twins Low-A affiliate, they'll likely feature several of the Twins top prospects this year. It's an affordable way to see players like Byron Buxton and Jose Berrios up-close before they become MLB All-Stars. (editors note: knocking furiously on wood.) We think it's a match made in heaven (or Iowa) and hope the rest of the Twins Daily community thinks so too. Please join me in welcoming the Kernels to Twins Territory and to Twins Daily. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Twins+Blue+Jays+Baseb_Thom.jpg The Minnesota Twins have reached agreements on one-year contracts with all three of their arbitration eligible players, according to Phil Miller of the Star Tribune. Brian Duensing, who was in his second turn at arbitration, will earn $2 million in 2014. Trevor Plouffe and Anthony Swarzak, both eligible for the first time, will earn $2.5 million and $935K, respectively. With that, the Twins have wrapped up one of their last internal procedures of the offseason. Now, the focus shifts to remaining free agent targets and preparing for spring training, which is suddenly only about a month away. The salaries for Minnesota's three arbitration eligible players are basically in line with expectations. The agreements serve as a reminder that in many cases compensation is determined more by role than effectiveness. Duensing and Swarzak both had better seasons than Plouffe, but as full-time relievers they received much smaller raises than the regular third baseman. One interesting wrinkle is that Swarzak's contract includes a $25,000 bonus if he makes 10 or more starts this year, another indication that the Twins may still view him as a starter despite his success in the bullpen. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: 1kframedcr0806.jpg The Twins draft two arms - well, technically, they got four arms - but they got two pitchers out of the first night of the draft. Jeremy, Seth and John talk about the selection of Kohl Stewart, how that came down, whether he was really the BPA (best player available), his first press conference with the Twins and how soon fans could see him in Target Field. Then they move to the second round selection of Ryan Eades and ... well, who is Ryan Eades. They finish by mentioning a couple of other Minnesotans who were drafted in the first two rounds. You can listen to the audio here. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] We would really appreciate any feedback you have, both on the topic as well as the production. This is something we're playing with and we're looking to improve it. So please fill up that comment section! How is the sound? Which person sounds the best?How is the music? Did you have any problems with playing it? How was the interaction of the hosts?How would you like to see this used? What kind of podcast would you like to hear?What would you change? What would you keep? Click here to view the article

He’s Kind Of A Catcher As a 23-year-old, after a couple of years in the Marlins organization, Willingham began playing catcher. Over the next few years he spent most of his time in the minors behind the plate, playing 60 of 66 games there in AAA. In fact, his first promotion to the majors happened because an ex-Twins catcher was experiencing back stiffness. It was Mike Redmond. Download attachment: josh+willingham.jpg But catching didn’t last. The plan going into 2006 was for Willingham to get extensive catcher-specific coaching from manager Joe Girardi and bench coach Gary Tuck, who is often credited for molding Jorge Posada into a capable catcher. They worked with him all spring, but on Opening Day he was their left fielder. Even then they planned on him catching a couple of days per week, but by the end of April, he was the full time left fielder. He hasn’t caught since. In the majors, he’s been almost completely a left fielder, laying there 662 in 799 games. While he’s only played first base for four innings in the majors, it’s worth noting that he played all around in the minors, including 119 games at 3B and 68 games at 1B. In fact, in the minors, he was viewed as a possible utility player, though not a middle infield utility player. Of course, the Twins need a right fielder, since it makes zero sense for Ben Revere’s exceptional range and suspect arm to play in Target Field’s tiny right field. Willingham has only played right field 35 times in his professional career. If the move to right field is a deal breaker, the Twins are going to need to do some roster shuffling – or still go get a right fielder. He’s Been Injured, But Not THAT Injured Looking at Willingham’s injury history, one sees lots of indeterminate injuries like a bad back, sore knees and stiff neck. These aren’t exactly injuries that play to the Twins medical (limited) strengths. But the good news is that while his injuries often sideline him for a couple of days, he hasn’t lost too much time to the DL. Not that there haven’t been some serious issues. He had a brutal September in 2007 due to a herniated disc and it sounds like he needs to lots of maintenance to keep his back strong and healthy. In his first year of catching (2003), he ended up have meniscus surgery on his right knee. Just a couple of years ago his season ended in mid-August because of surgery on his other knee. He’s also been on the DL for an Achilles strain (last year) and a stress fracture in his arm cost him a couple of months back in 2005. But the reports almost always have him coming back from lesser problems after a couple of days of rest. Given the organization’s frustrations with players sitting out with nagging injuries, it’s easy to speculate that Willingham is viewed a gamer who toughs things out. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: ogt-06-20-2012.jpg The Twins bats were shut down again last night, this time by the Pirates pitching staff. Which Liriano do you expect to see tonight against the struggling Pirates offense? Which Twins bat do you expect to come through tonight, if any? And when did the Pirates get good? Box Score - 6/19/2012 - Pirates 7, Twins 2 Minnesota Twins (26-40) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (35-31) [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Twins Lineup Denard Span 8 Ben Revere 9 Josh Willingham 7 Justin Morneau 3 Trevor Plouffe 5 Brian Dozier 6 Jamey Carroll 4 Drew Butera C Francisco Liriano, P (1-7, 6.24 ERA) Pirates Tabata LF Harrison RF McCutchen CF McGehee 1B Walker 2B Alvarez 3B Barmes SS McKenry C Bedard, P (4-7, 4.36 ERA) Click here to view the article

~~~ Sponsored by Ticket King ~~~ Download attachment: Food_Macncheese_TD_600.jpg Buy me some peanuts and cracker jack. And a pork chop. And a gluten free snack. And a Walk A Taco. Things were a lot simpler when Take Me Out To The Ballgame was written, but they were also a lot less delicious. (And, admittedly, probably a lot thinner.) So how do you keep track of all delectables that Target Field has to offer? Easy – you just ask the Ticket King. Where your ideal Minnesota Twins tickets are depends on what it is you’re looking for….. Wanted: High-End Minneapolis Meat [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Got a friend coming to town who likes their steak and chops? Now you don’t have to choose between taking him to Murray’s Steak House for a steak sandwich and JD Hoyt’s for their legendary pork chop. Instead, you can take them to Target Field and have a taste of both. Murray’s has a special steak sandwich (Secton 105 and 319) they developed just for Target Field, complete with a slice of that crispy garlic toast. Meanwhile, you can get Hoyt’s Pork Chop On A Stick at the State Fair Classics stand in center field. Yeah, they’re both expensive - but so is the meat at Murray’s and JD Hoyt’s. Wanted: Special Occasion Got a special someone that loves the Twins and a special occasion? If so, consider reserving a couple of deck seats at the Metropolitan Club. It’ll cost you, but you’ll be treated to a buffet of gourmet food while overlooking the game from the first base line. The only trick – you need to be a season ticket holder to access the Metropolitan Club. Wanted: Pacifiers You would think taking small children to a Twins game would be super enjoyable. In reality, there is a good chance that they’re going to become bored quickly, at which point it’s not dissimilar to taking kids on a long airplane ride, only with 30,000 more people and less leg room. However, this year, the Twins have brought back a parent’s best friend: The Malt Cup. When you want a couple of innings of peace and quiet in your Twins seats, just have the kids start looking for a vendor hawking this treat. It will take your little treat-mongers forever to chip away at this rock-hard frozen concoction with the provided wooden “spoon.” And they LOVE it. If you feel like really pushing the envelope, when they’re thirsty afterwards, follow it up with a Lemon (or Berry) Chill, which is almost the exact same thing, yet somehow even colder and harder and pokier. Alleluia. Wanted: Mini-Donuts They’ve become ubiquitous wherever Minnesotans meet, but unlike Target Field’s cheese curd canoe (which just makes me sad), these are almost exactly as good as they are at the State Fair. They’re in right center field (Section 134), and I recommend the bag, not the bucket, as overly stuffed kids won’t have room for the Malt Cup ploy. Wanted: The Basics To some people, a ballgame isn’t a ballgame without a hot dog, and I’m in those ranks. The Schweigert dogs Target Field serves now are fine, but stay with the “original” dogs candy-striped vendors throughout the park will deliver to your seat. Many of the concession windows only sell “Big Dogs” which sound like they would be awesome, but come in a bun that is way too bready. Don’t make that mistake or you’re going to feel robbed. Wanted: More Tubular Meats If you’re looking to move beyond the basic hot dog, you’re covered by the choice of sausages and bratwursts around the ballpark. Sheboygan’s is a new purveyor at several concession stands, but the legendary ones are the Kramarczuk’s Sausage kiosks at sections 113, 116 and 312. Their polishes and brats are big, delicious and covered with onions and/or sauerkraut. About the only downside is that you might have trouble eating them with your hands and maintaining any dignity. Which has never stopped me. Wanted: Impress Your Kid You can get Killebrew Root Beer all over the ballpark, but if you really want to see your kids eyes grow wide, make your way to the Townball Tavern and order the Killebrew Root Beer Float. It’s served in a German beer hall sized mug and is sure to impress your kids and their friends, or that sweetie with a sweet tooth. Plus, it’s made to share, so you get some too. Wanted: Off The Beaten Path If you want something a little different, you’ll be happy to hear that the chefs at Target Field have tried to mix in some gourmet items. Behind home plate, you’ll find a selection of spicy mac n cheeses (cajun, buffalo and jalapeno) branded by The Food Network. And down the first base line (section 120) is Andrew Zimmerman’s AZ Canteen, where you can get a burger made out of blended goat and lamb meat. I know, I know – but it’s really good. Trust me on this. Wanted: MORS. Believe it or not, I’ve only scratched the surface. There are at least 25 or 30 other unique offerings. If you want to get the full list, stop by an information booth at Target Field and ask for the “Concessions and Retail Guide.” It’s small, it’s free and in it you’ll find 30+ foods as well as where they’re located. Then just make sure you have a full wallet and an empty stomach. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Plouffe.jpg The Minnesota Twins have announced that they will activate third baseman Trevor Plouffe in time for Saturday night's game. To make room for him on the 25-man roster, they optioned Chris Herrmann to AAA-Rochester. Plouffe has been out of the lineup since he suffered a concussion on May 21st when he was hit in the head with a knee while sliding into second base. He had been placed on the 7-day concussion disabled list, and activated back on 5/29, but suffered a calf injury in warmups and was put on the 15-day DL. After recovering, he's been playing in Rochester since Monday. His return adds a right-handed bat to the Twins lefty leaning lineup, and a decent one at that. At the time of his initial injury, Plouffe was hitting .254 with a 758 OPS. Chris Herrmann will return to Rochester after being called up on 5/26. He served as the team's third catcher and backup center fielder, with six hits (and his first major league home run) in sixteen at-bats. Herrmann is an interesting choice, as the Twins are adding an infielder but losing a catcher/outfielder. It also isn't clear what options they'll have as a backup to Clete Thomas in center field, should they need one. Click here to view the article