Thrylos

Pending further review down the road, Graterol is a starter with top of the rotation potential...

Gee!

I think that for the Twins to content, this pen needs: a. Two arms better than Kintzler, hopefully one from each side who can strike out about a hitter an inning (only Duffey has that K/9 in the pen, btw) b. The Killer Bees (Belisle, Breslow, Boshers) to go away so Molitor cannot use them in high leverage situations like yesterday. Unfortunately I don't think that anyone listed, maybe with the exception of Neshek, might fit the bit. If Busenitz and/or Hildenberger get there this season, it will be a nice surprise, but the Twins need more. Who else might be available: The duo of rentals righty Addison Reed (2.82 ERA, 3.20 FIP, 9.2 K/9, 1.2 BB/9, 1.148 WHIP) and lefty Jerry Blevins (2.45 ERA, 2.68 FIP, 13 K/9, 4.2 BB/9, 1.169 WHIP) from the Mets, would definitely fit the bill. Braves' 34 y.o. RHP Jim Johnson (3.86 ERA, 2.55 FIP, 9.9 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, 1.041 WHIP) is signed through 2018 for $5M/yr Similar situation with the A's 36 year old righty Ryan Madson (2.45 ERA, 2.83 FIP, 8.6 K/9, 1.8 BB/9, 0.989 WHIP) who is signed thought 2018 for $7.7M/yr Speaking of the A's, 30 year old lefty Sean Doolittle (1.98 ERA, 2.04 FIP, 14.5 K/9, 0.7 BB/9, 0.512 WHIP) might be a nice little acqusition. The video game like numbers are only in 15 games and came back from the DL (shoulder issues) recently. He is signed through 2018 for $4.3M and he has 2 options for 2019 and 2020 for $6M and $6.5M Lefty Brad Hand has 2 years of arbitration left, is 27 and has put good numbers with the Padres (2.59 ERA, 3.09 FIP, 11 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, 1.008 WHIP), but will be more expensive than the others. On the other hand he could be a building block for the future. 30 y.o. righty journeyman Kirby Yates (2.28 ERA, 2.76 FIP, 13.7 K/9, 3.0 BB/9, 1.268 WHIP), also of the Padres who is under team control for 3 years might be another addition. If I were the Twins, I'd go hard after Hand (other than Jay really the LHRP pipeline is dry; well R.Rosario, but...) and Reed, because I really think that at least one of Burdi, Chargois, Curtiss and Bard, and likely more than one, will be good long term, and the last 2 should get opportunities in 2017. This is how I see it. I just don't want to see them doing it half-rear ended again, like they did in 2015 and rather see them go for it, but being cautious of the future.

They don't need to DFA Chargois, just add him to the 60-day DL...

His K% in AA was 30.4 % which is by no means "mediocre". Just behind Turley (52.3%), Bard (36.9%), Curtiss (35.4%) & Gonsalves (32.1%). His BABIP (.220) was low, but so is Gonzalves's (.226) and Curtiss's (.231) Are Curtiss and Gonsalves "mediocre" as well?

Who said that Porcello was ever an Ace? R.A. Dickey, Bartolo Colón, Pat Hentgen, Mark Davis, Brandon Webb, and Twins' very own Steve Bedrosian won a Cy Young award and they have never been "Aces". About that word, Ace. It means different things to different people. I use it to mean a top 5% pitcher who will be the best pitcher in his team in almost any team. People use it sometimes to describe the best pitcher of a particular team, and usually modify the word, by indicating the team. As in DickNBert's: "Scott Diamond is the Twins' Ace". So: Gibson is not an Ace and is not close of being the "Twins' Ace". Same with Porcello and Boston.

I think Perkins.

Good stuff. Smells like it might be a certain undisclosed rehab reliever... Hint: He is a lefty

He is throwing harder than both Boshers and Breslow and about as hard as Rogers at this point, FWIW

Is that the new facility down there? Looks great

Alejandro. Not Holy. And his record is 2-0. One of those Ws came in relief. That DSL squad has not lost many games. Probably the best overall team in the organization. Their record is 12-4 right now, and 2 of the losses were by a guy who allowed 18 runs in six appearances. Team ERA 3.19 and team OPS .820, with 4 players with OPS > 1.000 will do that. Lots of talent there

Have you checked the attendance in the last 2 Twins' home games at TF? Pathetic. At least in PR people are passionate about baseball and will fill the ballpark. And guess what? They might become Twins' fans. Really smart move for the Twins to expand the Twins' Territory from the frozen tundra...

Before TJ he was throwing 95-97. After TJ I saw him throw up to 93 in 2016 ST, his first season back; did not see him throw in 2017. He did not regain his pre-surgery velocity afterwards. And, yes, he has been bothered with an oblique. That is that. However, 30.4% K% in 26 AA innings, tells me he was pretty effective.

High enough. Let's not forget that Wheeler in a similar situation went to the Dodgers a couple weeks ago

Turley is one thing, Breslow is another. Clearly Breslow is not part of the Twins' future. Turley and Melotakis can be. I was surprised that Randy Rosario got the call over Melotakis a couple weeks ago. If they are trying to see what they have, makes zero sense not to have Melotakis up there to try. So the comparison should be with others on the 40 man roster who deserve to get cut more than Melotakis (I'd add JR Murphy to the list btw) Frankly, I'd rather have Melotakis than Buddy Bo, as well, in addition to Breslow... Unless, there is something brewing. Re: injuries/velo/infrequent appearances etc: He has been nursing an oblique injury. Those can be a nagging pain in the rear. I guess we shall see what they have in mind soon.

Surprised here as well. The only way that this might make sense, is if they already have an agreement on a trade with some team.

This is kind of a shocker to tell you the truth. Even though his velocity has not returned after him TJ surgery (was 96-97 now 91-93) he was very effective in both AA and AAA. 31% K% in AA is not spare change. Something must be going on...

Wimmers and JR Murphy (of .228/.305/.360 slash in AAA) are the 2 obvious choices for me...

Reality check: We are talking about an 103 Loss team in evaluation mode. Not a .500 team in evaluation mode. Contingency plan? You see it in action: Revolving door between MLB/AAA/Waiver Wire. Turley is part of the contingency plan

a. Got rid of Plouffe so Sano can be an everyday third baseman b. Installed Jorge Polanco, as the everyday shortstop c. Ditto with Buxton, as the everyday centerfielder. d. Have been managing the roster aggressively keeping a revolving door for 2-3 pitchers with AAA on a weekly basis e. Ditto with the waiver wire and DFAs. f. Brought in veterans with positive attitude (Gimenez, Breslow, Belisle) who even though they underperform, they can help in general with the attitude of the team and maybe get someone with a pulse at the deadline. I do not think that there was a single Twins' fan who thought that this team will content this season. If it were me, I'd be a more aggressive seller (Dozier, Santana, Santiago, etc.) last off-season than they were. I would had also cleared house throughout the organization, unlike they did. However, they chose to have 2017 as a season of evaluation. As such, the more assets (on the field, on field management and on the Front Office) they evaluate, the better. I think that we will see more action coming this off-season and as soon as the deadline...

In that scenario, Rooker should be in the conversation as well. Jaylin Davis as well. Wade kinda took a step back this season, as far as contact and power goes...

Yeah. This is the team that had the opportunity to go 6 games up in the division, but got swept by the team they trailed at home. "Playoff" (sic*) mode? Laughable. (*) There are no playoffs in baseball. There are play-ins if necessary to get a team in the post-season.

a. What's wrong with Sano at 3B? What more does the guy need to do? b. Supposedly the issue with Lewis @ SS is his arm. This will make a move to 3B worse.

Last time I checked, this is the 2017 All Star game, not the 2016/2017. Should they consider David Ortiz' second half of 2016 (.294/.371/.547) and vote him in from retirement, as well? Different season. Previous season numbers do not count.

The guy looks pretty impressive, like he can play RB Vikings impressive, up close. Jax is a big wildcard for the Twins. He might be a waste of a $1M drafting bonus and not pitch an inning for them based on his personal dual career choices.