jmlease1

I'd say any "rep" is overblown, considering the twins aren't very different in handling starting pitchers than most other clubs in MLB. fewer and fewer starters are getting shots at the 3rd time through the order, and the ones who do are ones who have stats to back it up that they can handle it. The idea of FA being scared away from coming here because of the way the twins manage a pitching staff feels like a construct based on fan dislike of the process, rather than based on any evidence. Gray pitched great last night and bullied a poor team. As he should. But if he wants more cracks to pitch into the 6th & 7th innings then he can't give up back-to-back hits to start that last inning, especially when it's still only a 3-run lead. he might have gotten a chance to pitch around it if it had already been 6-0, but the offense didn't start pushing runs across until late. Great job by Thielbar cleaning it up, and nice to see Sands getting a good inning out there and miss some bats. Sands has talent, but he's got to keep missing bats. His K-rate makes me think it's possible. Jose Miranda continues to impress. He should get some ROY consideration. What he's done since the start of June is really terrific, and he looks like a hitter to fear. We'd be in big trouble without his offense. Please stay healthy, jose!

I think this assessment of Sano underrates his 2019 season, but over all it's a pretty fair assessment of his time in MN. the hope was he would develop into a perennial all-star contender and he had the ability to get there with his prodigious power and good patience. You hoped he would be a 30-40 HR guy at 3B who would eventually transition to 1B-DH later in his career. he wasn't far off on the HRs, clearing 30 twice and 25 two more times. he moved off 3B sooner and reduced his overall value faster. The injuries started piling up, and reduced his effectiveness at the plate. (It's odd to think that 2021 was his "healthiest" season where he played the most games) We took a loss on the contract during the contract years (too many injuries with diminished ability) but more than made up for it in earlier team-controlled years, so it's not like we lost money here. The RF experiment was a dreadful one and one of the moves that suggested the previous regime needed to be turned over, so...thanks for that? I think "mixed" is the right final assessment. there were some big moments and great stretches. there was never the sustained success, but the great runs at the plate always raised expectations which always seemed to fall short. It's time to move on. I expect someone will take a flyer on him for 1 year and $1-2M next season. He doesn't have significant splits as a hitter, and I don't know how other teams will view that. Less because he won't have a clear platoon role as a lefty masher, or more because he can just fill in as a power bat without needing to care about platoon advantage? But He's probably worth taking a flyer on at that kind of price...it just won't be here. And that's the right move.

One of the benefits of moving Varland up to AAA is guys from the MLB staff can see him work in person if they want to and get some instant feedback on things for him to work on to get ready for MLB hitters. I think there's an advantage for us in having our AAA club in Saint Paul. Maybe a small one, but I'll take every advantage, and I love being able to see our advanced prospects easily before they come up to MLB. It'll be interesting to see how Varland does. He's still got some work to do, but has met the challenges before. Brooks Lee is definitely a player I expected to climb the ranks quickly, but I will admit I was mildly surprised to see him jump from rookie ball to high A this way, but it makes sense if they still want him playing SS every day and Miller also playing SS every day. Lee has such an advanced hit tool that he's more likely to be able to jump in there and go. Wouldn't be surprised at all for him to be in AA by midseason next year. If Brent Rooker can't get a call up from KC, it'll say a few things about where his career is at. He only got 2 games with the big club in SD and they badly needed hitting, yet didn't see him as a real option and got dumped for a backup catcher. Maybe KC will give him a shot (because he really has nothing to prove at AAA); he certainly wouldn't have gotten one in SD after their trades.

A tough loss, especially with the replay insanity at the end. But it was really good to see Sands fill a long relief role like that. I think a lot of us have been wanting to see someone like him (or Winder, perhaps) stepping in after Archer (or others) only goes 4-5 innings and giving us a planned 2-3 innings. If Sands can be that guy and come in every 3-4 days and give a longer stretch, that will play up nicely. Offense will need to do better than this, though. (The injuries are getting tough) Hopefully Kepler is actually healthy enough to be a hitter and not just gutting through it. Maybe Larnach will be back soon?

Really helpful to understand what's going on with Kirilloff and what this surgery means (and doesn't mean). It's a shame he's having to deal with this. He's a really talented hitter and had a big future with the team either in the OF or at 1B, but if he can't swing the bat effectively for more than a few weeks without pain making him ineffective again that role diminishes quickly. Hopefully this medical intervention will resolve it so he can resume his career as intended. Hate to lose him, and we need the offense he can bring when healthy, but if you're injured, you're injured. He wasn't going to be able to have much of an impact if he had tried to keep playing through it and we're too far away from the offseason to make waiting until then a realistic option. Better to deal with it now and hopefully this procedure will be a long-term solution that will keep it from cropping up every few months. Good luck, Alex. Glad the medical team has come up with a plan!

Palacios is doing a great job with his opportunities and should get a chance to win a spot on the MLB roster next season. If Correa leaves, it'll be interesting to see if the team will give him a shot to hold down SS while Royce works his way back from injury. (I suspect they'll at least bring in a veteran to compete, but why not Palacios? he certainly looks like he can field the position) I'm just happy to see Enlow getting innings. All I want from him is to finish the season healthy and start finding his command again. it's a big injury to come back from, but he looks like he still has the stuff to compete and just needs time and innings to get back as a pitcher. Confused to see Alex Isola hitting a dinger back in rookie ball; is he rehabbing an injury at the complex? He's been playing well in AA, and I'm curious to see what kind of future he has at catcher for us.

Jose Miranda is absolutely crushing it. So happy the Twins didn't include him in a deadline deal. He still needs a little work on his defense, but he hits enough that his bat will play almost anywhere on the field. He had a rough start and a challenging May, but since then he has been a terrific hitter. He's going to be a pillar of this team for years. I'm really happy with what we're seeing from Nick Gordon, who I wasn't sure was going to hit enough to be anything other than "last man" roster spot who hung on through positional flexibility, but he's proving me wrong. He's hitting RHP well enough to add value rather than just fixing an injury problem, and surviving well enough on lefties that you don't need to pinch hit him immediately against a LHP. He's a quality baserunner with aggression out there, which is valuable. even if he was a little lucky on the squeeze play, that will happen because aggression forces mistakes. Bundy is just too hittable for me. I get why he's still in the rotation, but he's easily our worst starter. I appreciate his health, but he's not bringing a lot more to the table right now, and he always gives up loud contact. Fortunately, I see little chance they'll pick up his option next year. A good win. Be great if they can get the series win on sunday!

Fire Rocco. Amazing that he mismanaged the pitching staff in this game so badly. If he was a better manager, we would have won by three easily. #sarcasm

seems unlikely, unless they decide to DFA Pagan...but I'm just not sure they're going to do that. And I'm not sure Sands would be much of an upgrade anyways, at least not yet. But we'll see. I have more faith in Moran than either and hope they bring him back when they can. But people need to be prepared with Moran: he's got talent, but he can get wild and he might drive people batty. I can live with Pagan being the 8th guy in the bullpen, for now. But it's going to be rough if the offense can't get it going again, because inevitably we're going to ask guys like Pagan, Megill, and Moran to hold slim leads and get pressure outs. Lopez, Duran, Jax, and Fulmer (and Thielbar) can't pitch every game.

Pagan has also been showing better stuff and more ability to miss bats, even if their overall results have been pretty similar. but his leash is probably fairly short as well at this point. It's too bad about Duffey. It was reasonable to look at him as a guy who might have a bounceback season after being not so great last year and showing real decline, but it just didn't happen. His fastball and his curve are getting pounded, and without those two pitches, his other offerings aren't good enough to compete. I wish him luck, but this was a move they really had to make.

I likely mixed up in my head which garbage pitch he's using when he gets into "just throw a damn strike" mode, which is a bad mode for him to be in. Our catchers might need to help him out on that one: "No. we're not throwing that pitch any longer. you can work on it in the offseason, but it's fired for now."

Truth. it's why you have to be ok with trading pitching prospects for MLB talent, especially dudes down in A-ball or lower. Glad that Brooks Lee debuted already. I'm assuming they want him to get acclimated to pro life in rookie ball (the complex league) rather than move to the FSL out the gate? He's got the talent and advanced hit tool to move quickly, so hopefully he does well. Good to see Varland following up a breakout year with more success. he hasn't dominated as much, but he's also stayed healthy and it's good to see him on track to pitch a full season in AA. Hopefully he can get another 4-5 starts and finish the year at 125-130 innings pitched. I'd say he's on track to start next season in AAA and be an early injury call up.

Gray was at 96 pitches, had just come off a difficult inning where he threw a ton of them (31 to be exact), did not have his best command and had already walked 5 guys in 5 innings. If he'd gotten through the inning on 15-20 pitches I'm sure he goes out for the 6th, but considering where he'd been and what was going on, of course he came out after 5. He wasn't yanked "early", he gutted his way through 5 against a good lineup. (and I'm sure if he'd gone out for the 6th and gotten lit up the same people would be on this board crushing the manager for not realizing that his starter was gassed) The bullpen bombed, and it was disappointing to see Pagan groove one like that when he started missing his spots and no one was chasing. That's been his downfall the whole year, losing command and then when he's fallen behind and doesn't want to issue the walk he tries to throw a "get over" pitch that gets sent over the fence. His fastball is very hittable if he takes anything off it. Duffey really does look cooked, though. It's a shame, but they should move on there and ride with Moran at this point. Loyalty is nice, but he simply doesn't look like he can get it done any longer. The offense is a wreck right now, and it's looking like a real problem until everyone gets healthy, but even that doesn't explain where some of these guys are. 2 runs and then tacking on a late one after the game is out of reach is just not good enough. Toronto is a good team, but the Twins need to play better. Front office got them reinforcements, and didn't sell off the MLB club. Not is not the time for an August swoon.

Any time you can get a guy to be at the top of the leverage index, you strengthen the entire bullpen. I'm still not wild about Fulmer, but I'm hoping to be wrong and he got the job done out the gate, so we'll see. As a 7th inning option he seems reasonable? I'm still not a fan of the "designated closer" because I want my best relievers facing the other team's best hitters in the late innings, rather than save the best pitcher to throw the 9th. I'd rather have Duran or Lopez lock down the other team's 3-4-5 hitters in the 7th or 8th with the score tight than hold them back for a 9th inning "save" situation...that might not materialize. I want my best pitchers pitching. But I do think that there's better depth and potential for the bullpen to return to being a strength instead of a glaring weakness. It's fair to question whether it can stay good if the starters are all in a "5 and Fly" for the rest of the season, but outside of Archer, I have to believe that we can get more 6 inning starts from the rotation especially with Mahle, Ryan, and Gray. Duffey is probably the weakest link right now (he just doesn't have the stuff any longer and is getting by on guts...and always at-risk to get blown up). Pagan (much like the dreaded Colome) seems to be doing much better in a lower leverage role. He's got better stuff and can get outs. Thielbar is the designated lefty. pecking order feels like: Lopez, Duran, Jax, Fulmer, Thielbar, Megill, Pagan, Duffey. I think I'd rather have Moran than Duffey at this point, but it's fair to be scared of Moran's control too. the back end is much much stronger now.

I'm really very pleased with the team's moves at the deadline. I like prospects as much as anyone, and I love it when guys matriculate through the system to MLB (it's a personal preference that i enjoy getting to know a player as a player and see them and follow them as one of "our guys" for longer periods of time as opposed to churn and burn, especially at the MLB level). But we made what look like a lot of smart choices to fill immediate needs that also support the club's ambitions going forward as well, as if you're going to move prospects I'd much prefer they not be spent too much on pure rentals. Regarding the guys being brought in, in order of least to most impact (IMHO): Leon. as a backup catcher I don't see this as being a significant impact move and if Jeffers is ready to come back in a month he probably goes away, but as insurance against Jeffers not being ready to return, he's fine. We gave up little. Fulmer. Haven't been impressed with him lately, but he's a reasonable set-up option who wasn't too expensive and we've had a lot of...volatility in the bullpen. If he can take Duffey's role, then it's a solid move, and again it didn't cost much Lopez. I think this is going to pay off very well. He's a power arm that fills a major need and is under team control through 2024. Pairing him with Duran should help shorten up the end of games, and there's real reason to believe that his success this season is real and not fluky. (I expect some regression, because he's been so elite, but even then he's terrific) We gave up some talent to get him, but it doesn't feel like an overpay to me, especially considering all the variance with low minors pitching. Mahle. A great acquisition that fits the rotation immediately and looks great for 2023 as well. We gave up significant assets for him, but he's a really significant asset all by himself, and I feel a lot better about a rotation that is headed by Gray, Mahle, & Ryan than trying to count on Bundy/Archer/Smeltzer/Sands/Winder to fill a 3rd slot, especially with Ober not returning soon. The 2023 rotation is already much stronger: Gray, Mahle, Ryan, Maeda and Sands/Smeltzer/Winder et al fighting for the 5th slot? Better. Who we gave up: I like Hajjar & Povich as pitching prospects, but a lot of things can go wrong for guys between A-ball and MLB (hi, Jordan Balazovic). they've had good results so far, but if Big Ten pitchers can't come in and kick some butt against A-ball guys out the gate, then they're in real trouble from the jump. That's seniors vs sophomores stuff. Cano is 28 and is so wild he couldn't consistently crack the twins bullpen this season, and his AAA results this year are likely SSS. The other two kids we gave up are lottery tickets. We gave up surer things in Steer & CES, but we dealt from areas of depth there. Steer has faded a bit since coming up to AAA, and while I think he'll be a MLB contributor, it's more likely that he's going to be a useful utility bat then a quality starter, and was unlikely to find much opportunity in MN. He may have been our #6 prospect here, but I kind of feel like we sold high on him. CES is the one that hurts the most, because I think he might be a special hitter, but again: you have to give to get, and we got a known quality MLB starter in that package. CES is a pretty bad defender and seems destined for 1B, and while I think his bat will play there, it's also one of the easier positions to fill and you really need to hit there to be a success. I love his bat and the twins did a great job developing him, but we needed the pitching. Beyond that, we just added Brooks Lee as a guy who will likely jump in quickly, so again: we're dealing from strength here. It's exciting that we addressed so many needs without eating up many of our top ten prospects. I feel like these deals show the depth of our system and how there might not have been a lot of difference between #6 and #16. We also showed that we can develop players who aren't first-round picks and turn them into quality prospects; that ability will be critical to maintaining a talent pipeline, but shows this regime is doing some good work in drafting. It is really odd how we stripped the 2021 draft for MLB players in trades, but also shows that maybe we drafted really well that year.

It'll be interesting to see if the Twins try to refine his pitch mix further (maybe dropping another option entirely), especially since they've organizationally been fans of the slider. But Lopez's success is just another reminder that you can make bullpen weapons out of failed starters quite often.

I like this trade quite a bit. Mahle has been a quality starter now for the last couple of years, he's only 27, and he's under team control for next season. If he were a 1-year rental then it would have been an overpay, but...it's not. He's going to slot in very nicely right now, when the team has a serious need, and he prevents them from needing to go bargain bin shopping next offseason or praying 2-3 young pitchers step up immediately. next year's rotation looks like: Gray, Ryan, Mahle, Maeda, and Ober/Winder which is solid, and if a better FA is signed, it lets us deal someone like Winder for another need. Mahle has gotten better at keeping the ball in the park in recent years, and that's even pitching in Cincy. (He's going to love having Buxton & Correa behind him for the rest of the year!) We gave up some quality prospects, but none of them were likely top 100 guys going into next year. Steer is a useful player, but still profiles to be a backup/platoon player in the infield. He's slipped back a bit upon promotion to AAA, and while I still like him as a player, he's going to be 25 next season. He isn't great defensively anywhere. CES is the one I like the most; he might be a special hitter. But he's also not good at all in the field, and might be looking at shifting down to 1B in the future, meaning he really needs to hit to get it done. Now, I think he might be one of those hitters, but you have to give to get and he's still spent less than half a season in AA to this point. Who knows how he'll end up. Hajjar is a nice player, but he's doing well at 22 in A-ball, not pushing for a shot in AAA. He might be a solid rotation piece in 2-3 years, but also might be a guy who struggles when he gets to AA and discovers that his 3rd pitch isn't good enough at that level. Or an injury could derail him. He's a good prospect, but not a great one and if you have to let him go to get Mahle then I think you have to do it. Mahle fills the need immediately for a team that (when healthy) has a contending lineup. Steer might have been our #6 prospect, but he was also a 3rd round pick that grew into that. If we're able to keep developing non-first round picks, then our talent pipeline will be just fine and we'll have improved our MLB club faster.

I'm a fan of this. Povich was a decent prospect, but there's a real chance that in a few years the Twins would be doing the same thing with him that the O's had to do with Lopez: move him to the bullpen and hope that shorter stints with a reduced pitch mix gets him success. They have an opportunity to win now with a quality lineup (when healthy) and needed a quality RHP to help shut down games close & late. Lopez fits the bill and isn't just a rental. He's worth it. Cano is awfully wild. He'll get some guys out and have some blowups. I expect him to bounce around. No big deal. The other two pitchers are just lottery tickets. It's fine. Tough move for the O's: they're still contending, and seem to have given up. Even if they have a low chance to pull it off, their fanbase is so beaten down that pulling the rug out from under them is pretty cruel.

Probably the move I like the least from the deadline deals. Fulmer just doesn't do much for me, and I liked Gipson-Long. It's not a terrible deal or anything, but I just don't know that Fulmer moves the needle much. It's...fine. I guess.

Meh. Hamilton didn't seem to be in the Twins plans, but this is basically an insurance policy that will likely have no meaningful impact. Pure backup, only here until Jeffers gets back and insurance against Jeffers not getting healthy in time. Frankly, I hope to see him as little as possible.

Castillo would have cost more, based on what the Reds ended up getting for him, and when you look at the two of them as a comps...they're not that far apart. yes, Castillo has been better overall, but Castillo is also 2 years older. Mahle's first season was a cup of coffee (a very promising one, but it was 4 games). His 2nd season (first full) he struggled, but since then he's been very good, even with that crappy band box of a park to throw in. Mahle & Castillo have basically the same K/9 & BB/9 over their careers, and the H/9 have been very similar over the last 3 seasons as well. Castillo has a solid edge in terms of keeping the ball in the park, but Mahle's numbers there are hardly disastrous. The twins system right now is marked by a lot of depth, but less high-end talent, which is one of the reasons why it feels like we gave up a lot: there's not as much difference between our #6 prospect and our #16 prospect. But we traded from positions of strength (bat first 2B-3B types) and the pitcher we gave up will need things to keep going his way consistently to get that cup of coffee by 2024 and was unlikely to be a serious factor until 2025. And we've all seen how easy it is for a pitching prospect to get derailed fast by injury or ineffectiveness. All it takes is finding out that your 3rd pitch that worked just fine in A-ball can't get AA guys out consistently. Or spending 2 months on the IL with a ding in your shoulder. I was a big fan of CES and he's the prospect I hate to see go...but you gotta give to get and the other great thing in this is the twins turned their 4th round pick into a major trade asset. If the twins can keep developing the players they're drafting in rounds 3 & 4 (like Steer & CES), they'll be able to keep bringing in players to fill holes in the MLB team and make trades as needed, even if their farm system isn't getting ranked as highly.

I like all three of our prospects that we moved here, but CES is the only one where I get a little squidgy about letting him go. Steer is a nice player, but we're trading from depth there with Miranda looking strong. Hajjar might be a quality starter, but has a ways to go. CES is the guy that I thought might be a special hitter, though, and I hate to give that up. That said, we needed more pitching, and Mahle isn't just a rental. He'll slot in nicely right now when we need him to right the ship and be good to go for next year's rotation too. It's the right move, i think. And like how they're not willing to let this season slip away. I like how they are adding in players that aren't just rentals. Mahle. yeah, I like that guy.

Few teams have any real depth at catcher? And what do we want to give up for a 1-month rental of a player who again, is likely to only be a backup. regardless of what Rosenthal reported, the Twins aren't going to lose the AL Central because of a lack of offense at catcher. I'd like to see them supplement Lopez with another bullpen arm, but I'd be even happier if we're able to put together a deal for Mahle, who would also plug in next season just fine. I'm always a little more interested in giving up real prospect capital for guys who are more than a short rental.

I'm more hopeful here, because this is the first year Lopez wasn't asked to start at all. The full-time conversion to the bullpen looks like it's really helped him out (and why you're better off drafting starters and turning them into relievers if they crap out). And the additional team control the Twins get with this deal makes me happy: even with arbitration he's still going to be an affordable reliever next season. I like it when the team makes moves that aren't just rentals. He should be a good relief arm. He's filling a big need right now, but should be a quality option next season too. I like this move more all the time.

Lopez has been excellent this year. Hopefully it's not just a small sample aberration, because until this year he's been very hittable. But he should get slotted in immediately to the back of the bullpen.