jmlease1

and, of course, by 1990 they were in last place again. Part of the problem with a full-on rebuild in MLB is it might be less likely to truly work than any other team sport and certainly take longer than any other. In the NFL (a league with much better and smarter revenue sharing) teams turn it around in 1-2 seasons all the time. How often does an MLB team go from being a 60 win team to an 85 win team in a season? I do think this is closer to a tear down than a re-tooling, unfortunately. They really decimated the bullpen, and if they were re-tooling there's no way they sell off all 5 guys. There's not enough guys in the lineup that have proven they can either stay healthy and/or produce as quality MLB players to say they're only 1-2 guys away from being a quality MLB lineup. Maybe a couple of guys like Martin/Keaschall/Lewis/Lee/Larnach/Roden/Julien change that perception by season's end, but they got a lot of proving to do. (and I like some of those guys. Some of them...less) The rotation has the potential to be very good next season...if there's not another Pohlad-driven cost-reduction sale executed in the off-season. If Pablo & Joe get sent out, we're 100% in tear-down and rebuild. And you could argue that if either goes, we're in that mode, regardless of what we get back.

It's not a complete teardown, because Ryan, Lopez, Jeffers, and Buxton are still here (not that some of them could have gotten traded easily) but when they included Varland in the bullpen flips it pushed them much closer, and it's exceptionally reasonable to be afraid that further moves to make this team cheap and uncompetitive will be coming in the offseason without a change in ownership. I have zero faith that the Pohlads won't instruct that Lopez be traded in the offseason, flipped for prospects and salary savings if they keep the team. Jeffers would likely be dumped as well, since he'd have some value and a contract that would pay him somewhere in the $7-9M range in arbitration. At that point Ryan probably goes too since he'd be making $7M and have real value. There's nothing to suggest that the Pohlads wouldn't strip this team down to the studs, pocket the money, and drop the payroll down under $70M. That's the real concern. That if the team isn't sold, we're not done selling off players. The Pohlads are clearly uninterested in investing any more money in the Twins, and if they keep the team it will only be if they can find a way to make a consistent and significant operating profit on it again. And since they're never going to open the books to anyone, I simply don't care about their claims of $400M in debt that are sitting on it, as I have have no idea how it got there. (I suspect a great deal of it is from either business incompetence or through real estate deals they've involved the franchise in, but we will never know...and I no longer care. Screw them) The cupboard isn't exactly bare here: we have the makings of a real rotation still, and there are some key positions in place, but we haven't seen the advancement and/or health from the young position players we need, we don't know if players like Keaschall, Rodriguez, Gonzalez, Lee, etc will be ready/healthy/good enough to make a difference. Jenkins & Culpepper might still be another season away, despite their promise. And the bullpen is going to need a lot of work, even if I do think they can reconstruct a new bullpen fairly efficiently. But it's probably going to take more than 1 off-season. And losing Correa, even if he was slipping at SS while struggling with health and at the plate blows a hole in the team in a variety of ways. Total tear-down? Not quite yet (and the Varland deal sure pushed it closer to the line). But it might be coming. In conclusion, Eff the Pohlads and Sell the Team!

Sure, blame the manager for this roster. That's logical. Try and relax: if the team gets sold you'll have a new manager that you can complain about soon enough.

Ed Julien isn't one of the top 20 things wrong with this team right now. At least he got a freakin' hit last night. And as "shaky" as he supposedly was, he was still part of turning 3 DP's. But get used to seeing him: he's going to be playing for the rest of the season (which absolutely should happen, regardless of when Keaschall comes up). Hell, the way people treat young players around here I'm guessing people will be ready to dump Keaschall after he boots a couple grounders, wings a throw over someone's head, or has a 3 K day at the plate. Suddenly, there will be a clamor for Eeles or DeBarge...

I love Byron Buxton as much as anyone, and I refuse to act like his many injuries are some kind of personal failing (which often seems to be hinted at when discussing him), but the idea that the Twins failed Buxton doesn't really fit very well here. This season is really the only one where you can say it, where he's been healthy and playing great and the team hasn't been playing near his standard. Even last season he only played 102 games. Notably, in 2023 (when the team was quite good) he was injured and when he did play had one of his worst seasons as a pro. As good as he was from 2019-2022, he was hurt in every one of those seasons, and the teams were good in both 2019 & 2020...and could have used more of a healthy Buxton. The Twins failed the fans by ratcheting up the payroll in 2023 and then yanking the rug out from all of us in 2024, which led to the failures in 2025 which featured an excellent and mostly healthy Buxton season. Not really sure they failed Buxton specifically. But I'm glad he still wants to be here. I'm glad he wants to be a Twin for life and doesn't want to run from the hills. I'm glad one of the most exciting baseball players I've ever seen will still be here and give me a reason to go to the games I already paid for. In conclusion, Eff the Pohlads and Sell the Team!

Look, I don't want to see Noah Davis out there either, because he doesn't look like he belongs on a major-league roster. But let's not pretend that there are a lot of options in the bullpen right now. Who exactly was supposed to come in and throw? They wiped out the bullpen and the most competent remaining arms all threw the night before, so where exactly were they going to (hopefully) get some length? Rocco's getting fired along with everyone else if the team is sold, so maybe skip the gratuitous insults. Adams actually looked like a prospect. He's got a lot of pitches that he can throw for strikes, just not sure that he has enough quality on any of them to consistently get guys out. But it was a pretty good outing, and he was fun to watch the first 4 innings and battled through the 5th. Happy as I am to see some big flies going out, it would be nice to get some guys on base in front of them. Need to get more baserunners, draw some walks to go along with the hits, but when 5 guys have an OBP under .300 it's going to be hard. Roden looking like a Quad-A player right now; 1-13 with 6 K's and zero walks since joining the Twins. Oof.

The rankings seem fine, I guess. Notably, there is no hope in 2026 unless the team is sold. Even if all these prospects kick butt next year, they won't be up fast enough to make enough of an impact next season. (Bradley hopefully will be different, but he's not a prospect. Roden is showing nothing so far and I'm unclear why he was sought after) Mendez is off to a nice start, and you have to hope that he mostly needed a good run of health to start showing some power production. It's a reasonable possibility, but I'd like to see it stick all season before I get too ramped up on him. I'm as excited as I can reasonably be for Tait under the circumstances; I'll probably be more excited about him once we're further past this dreadful mess of a deadline and hopefully the pathetic Pohlad ownership. He does look like a high ceiling prospect at least, but as an A-ball catcher he feels pretty far away. I hope Rojas really is a prospect on the rise who was undervalued by Toronto, because that's the only possible way to make dealing Varland semi-reasonable. I guess his rank here is...fine? But I hate this trade right now, and it's definitely the sort of move that gets an entire front office fired and if this guy flames out they're going to look awful and without any cover from the stench of the Pohlad Family to cover them, because this didn't save money and was unquestionably a Falvey & Co move. Right now my confidence levels in them isn't high. In conclusion, Eff the Pohlads and Sell the Team!

Curious to learn more about Hendry Mendez; it'll be interesting to find out what kind of hitter he really is. He's clearly having a bit of a breakout season, and he's hardly old, but he didn't impress in A-ball that much, so a little curious to see AA going better. But maybe it's mostly because he seems to be healthy/playing? Is the power increase this season for real or a mirage? We can certainly use all the hitters we can find right now...

They'd have been better off saying nothing that sending out that drivel. I don't want to beat up too much on the PR department for the team, because they do well at the smaller stuff, which suggests that in the rank and file there are good professionals and all the failure and tone-deafness is coming from the top ranks (mostly ownership). But this was dumb and stupid, and shows little understanding of crisis management, which is what a deadline fire sale IS for a baseball team. They might have been able to sell this as a re-tolling with some hope for 2026 if they hadn't sold off Varland at the very end; that's the star on top of the tree that topples the whole structure. You could argue (maybe wrongly but it wouldn't be laughable) that the bullpen could be function in 2026 with Varland, Sands, and Topa as being the core to build around...but without a single proven back-end guy? Hardly. There's absolutely zero hope of re-investment without a team sale. I suspect Gleeman is right that if the Pohlads keep control into the offseason, Ryan and Pablo will also be sold off (maybe Jeffers too) as they grab every dollar they can. Joe Pohlad might like baseball, but he's only nominally in charge, hasn't shown any actual competence, and the rest of the family wants the cash. Disappointed in Falvey that he was willing to put his name to that pile of crap. Must have a nice golden parachute in place? Because there's zero chance that new ownership is keeping anyone in this regime's senior ranks at this point (maybe some of the senior folks in scouting could survive, the recent drafts have been pretty good).

I love Culpepper, and he's doing everything right so far this year, but this is literally his first full professional season. Slotting him in as the starting SS for 2026 is probably asking a bit much. It'd be great if he's so awesome in spring training that they decide to skip him another level and bring him up already, but seems a little unlikely. He's doing great, and at this rate he'll be in MLB in 2026, which is amazing (and a reflection of how much the sell-off and payroll limitations from our dreadful ownership has stripped out proven talent) but I wouldn't expect him to be slotted in from the jump. A more likely alignment will be: Lewis, Lee, and Keaschall (and who knows at 1B, but Clemens might be a possibility). Unclear how good Keaschall will be at 2B; franchise seems to have confidence he can stay on the dirt, but increasingly hard to trust their evaluations on some things. Lee is capable enough defensively at SS I think, but he's not a plus defender there. Lewis certainly has the range at 3B and has shown flashes that impress...but how consistent will he be? That might be more about his lack of health enabling him to simply play the position every day. Could be a good enough infield defense that has both questions and upside.

I think GG has shown more than Rosario, but there still might be a role for Rosario? He just turned 23, so it's not like he's exactly old, so there's still time to find more there. When he's going good, he limits K's to a reasonable level, takes walks, and flashes solid power. But he hasn't shown consistent power in a big way that his lower BA will be supported by consistent homers. So he's maybe not a traditional slugger, but at the same time he doesn't make enough consistent contact that you can't be sure he can be a different kind of hitter, bit of a tweener, maybe? He really started the season horribly. Had a fine May and an excellent June, before slumping in July. I think he needs to finish strong this year. I suspect he will not get protected in the Rule 5 upcoming...but I also don't think he'll get plucked, since he's not a plus defender, strong runner (he's ok), won't be ready to hit MLB pitching, and doesn't add much defensive flexibility. But if he finishes 2025 well, I can see him in Saint Paul to start 2026. I'm concerned that he's more like Yunior Severino than a real prospect. I'd like to be wrong there, because I've been on Team Rosario, but there are some unfortunate similarities.

I'm uninterested in seeing Urena much more and hope he's relegated to long relief (or off the roster) when other starters get back and healthy again. He's definition of organizational filler. Wallner is who he is: big power, good patience, low BA. He's still having a decent season (OPS+ of 115) in this mess of a year and has a place for the future. Nice to see Martin and Julien getting another chance; they did the work in AAA to earn their way back up even without the fire sale, so I'll be curious to see where they end. This is a good opportunity for Sands to find his form of last year and make the back end of the bullpen not a total disaster. I don't mind Topa, but wish Tonkin would go away. I didn't like bringing him back in the offseason much, and he's been injured and bad this year. I've been wrong about plenty this year, but wasn't wrong on that one. In conclusion, Eff the Pohlads and sell the team!

Twins have had some success adding/working a splitter into a pitchers mix as a weapon before, so maybe they'll be able to work Bradley's up into a better position that he can keep it working effectively. It sounds like if he has that working it makes a real difference for him. TB has an excellent development program, so it's a little chancy to say that we're going to be able to "fix" Bradley better/faster than TB would, but sometimes a player needs a new voice and new environment to have things sink in or just hearing the same message in a different way helps someone put it together. We've plucked a good from them before, worked with him to make adjustments in pitches and mix to see great success, so while presuming we can do what TB did not is probably a little too arrogant, you also shouldn't presume that anyone who TB will trade isn't salvageable or that they can't be improved either. There's a lot of talent there and it'll be interesting to see if he can put it together. I'm less concerned about the infield defense behind him right now, even if it means he's giving up some extra hits right now. Process will matter a bit more than results for the rest of this (lost) season, so if he's getting ground balls and limiting the dingers again, they can look at infield defense in the offseason. In conclusion, Eff the Pohlads and sell the team!

Man, I go on vacation and the Twins get a new pack of a prospects. This is going to take a while to sort through. (that said, I do believe I'll be starting or ending most of my comments with Eff the Pohlads until they sell the team) Looking forward to getting to know the new kids, but it's nice to see that Kaelen Culpepper and Walker Jenkins continue to roll along at AA. Jenkins seems to have found some of the power stroke that some people were starting to worry over (I assume some naysayer will be along to tell me that we shouldn't be happy about it because he plays in Wichita and therefore it doesn't count?). Both of these guys will be in AAA next season for sure, which is pretty great and fast development. (Thank god, because MLB is looking a little dire) I'm excited to see what the new catching prospects can do, but it's probably going to take some time with these guys. But it is nice to have some high/higher end prospects at that position. If the Pohlads can't get the team sold, Jeffers will probably get dealt in a further cost-cutting move, so we'll need at least one of these guys to develop quickly. In closing, Eff the Pohlads...sell the team!

No, most fans want a team that wins like MKE is doing right now. Most fans loved the Bomba Squad Twins, and they stole waaaay less bases than say the 2024 Twins. Most fans don't care how they get there, and no one was whining about how "boring" the baseball was. The team isn't good enough right now. They're not hitting enough homers; they're not hitting enough period. The starters have too many injuries and some of the young pitchers simply aren't showing out enough yet. If the Twins stole 200 bases but finished 78-82, people would be clamoring for more homers, I guarantee it.

SWR pitched pretty well overall, but could not finish off Bregman, who clobbered him. Was not his best inning, but he did some other good things out there. Alcala still gonna Alcala. He'll look great for weeks and then have a game like this that will tear your hair out. Nice to be on the other end of it I guess? Clemens made a bad read on Wallner's deep fly, but the BoSox Duran made a good play on the ball as well with a quick throw. If France comes through there or Vazquez doesn't GIDP it wouldn't have been a big deal. (still hoping France will get moved out, since I see no future for him here) A good win against a good team. Sort of encapsulates the team's season: good enough to beat good teams, bad enough to lose to bad ones, never know which squad will show up.

I think that's fine, and I agree that he should be expected to have command issues as he's finally getting back on the mound for real baseball after years of missed time for injuries. But it's a reminder that maybe he's not ready to get thrown up to MLB just yet, even though the stuff is elite. I think he's a really exciting prospect, and would be fine with him coming up to AAA. But I'd pump the brakes on him joining the MLB bullpen

Look, by missing the playoffs for the 4th time in 5 years (which is certainly the way this season is going), Falvey is probably going to be on the way out with a new owner. But most of what's in here...where are the facts? What specifically did Falvey stab the fans in the back with? That suggests he lied to people at TwinsFest, and I'm pretty sure that telling them he thought this team could compete wasn't a lie: a lot of people thought this team could compete. Where's the evidence that other teams and/or their players are out of Falvey? Twins fans may be done with him (mostly for not actually winning) but there's zero evidence that Twins player or other teams or other team's player's dislike or mistrust him. Where's the evidence that he grabs credit when things are good and hides when it's bad? He meets with reporters regularly, and that's never seemed to change. Where's the supposed "closed door" policy? Because he hasn't gathered up fans and given them the opportunity to throw rocks at him this year? Falvey and his team are probably all going to lose their jobs when new ownership comes in, and while I like a lot of things they've done here, the record doesn't give them enough to say they deserve more time and a new regime to work under. (I still blame ownership the most for where we're at; they totally pulled the rug out from Falvey and the front office by cutting payroll after the 2023 season) They've done some good things in rebuilding a barren farm system, and broke the playoff losing streak. But it's more than fair to say they haven't won enough to keep going. That said, some of these accusations are ridiculous.

How many useless outs did each guy have by bunting to move a guy from first to second? How many times did they attempt to bunt for a hit and make an out? It's lovely that Hrbek bunted for a hit once a year or so, but hopefully he didn't attempt it very often, because dude was not fast and it wasn't going to work. No one is complaining when a guy bunts for a hit. but as valuable as runs are, you score more of them when you don't sacrifice outs for a base. Weaver's teams don't make the argument for the tactic you think they do: look at who was actually making the sacrifice hits: Belanger and Blair, two fast guys (and Belanger was a terrible hitter with zero power, while Blair became a terrible hitter with little power) who were on the team for their defense. Before the DH like half of the O's SH's were from pitchers, and after the DH like half of them were from Belanger & Blair, because they couldn't do much else. Notably, by the end of the 70's Weaver's O's teams were consistently under 50 SH's in a season, not in the 70's. The people who want the next GM to build a team that bunts a lot are going to be disappointed. The people who want a manager playing for 1 run in the 4th inning are also going to be disappointed. Can they add more speed and guys who have a more varied skill set at the plate? Sure. And we've seen with picks like DeBarge that they're not opposed to drafting a fast guy who is going to add his offense by stealing bases, etc. And yes, having more guys who can lay down a bunt when you only need 1 run to win it in the 9th or extras is probably helpful (notably, it's just as useful to send the ball well into the OF with a runner on 3rd and less than 2 outs in the same "just need 1 run to win" situation) But there's this obsession over bunting around here that's simply inconsistent with winning.

When dealing with a sell-off at the deadline, how much impact does Falvey's theory on game management matter? That's a different discussion on whether or not the manager should be fired as part of a larger reshaping of the team, I think. Which isn't going to happen under current ownership, who seem highly unlikely to eat any salary on their way out the door even if it's just for the rest of this season. We can fight about who stays and who goes after the team is sold. (seem likely at this point most of the senior decision-makers will go, and it's hard to say they've done so much they deserve to stay. I suspect, however, that the next group still won't bunt enough to make some people happy...)

Ross will need to get his velocity up or have something else in his arsenal to do more as he advances. He's fine, I guess, but at 22 in low-A he should be pushing around those kids, and so far he's just been ok, really. He's been fine in his first pro season, but still looks more like a suspect than a prospect to me. Hidalgo is better positioned with his stuff, but he's still clearly working his way back from the injury and needs a lot of work on his command & control. He's got the stuff to hunt K's, but also doesn't always know where the ball is going, and that WHIP needs a lot of work. Maybe he can crack the Twins top 30, but I'd want to see more. Prielipp is the real prospect here: he's finally staying on the field and letting his talent shine. The stuff is filthy and you can see exactly why the Twins took a risk on him despite the injury history. He's been oddly hittable this season, however, and it's something to watch with him. Curious to see where his splits end up at the end of the season; he hasn't crushed LH hitters like you might expect, but it's also a pretty small sample. If he can stay healthy, he's a real guy, but until he gets a couple of healthy seasons under his belt it's going to follow him like a dark cloud unfortunately.

I've been outspoken around here that I would consider selling Joe Ryan to be franchise malpractice. I maintain that view: even with a great offer, it'll still won't be enough to replace a frontline, deserving all-star starter any time soon...if at all. But I do think the team should be looking to move guys like Bader & Castro, even if the returns aren't jaw-dropping. Bader will be in line for a multi-year deal int he offseason the way he's played for us and shouldn't really be int he twins near future plans. Castro is a valuable and fun player, but he's getting too expensive for the role, might be aging out of being an effective infielder, and his value at the deadline might be as high as it'll ever get. I would strongly consider moving either Duran or Jax (whichever would bring the most) but wouldn't back off what I consider a fair return just to move them. Their value would still be high in the off-season. I would look at the market on Brock Stewart or Coulombe if there's any real value to be had there, because I think the Twins know how to build a bullpen and considering how volatile relievers can be...that's not where you generally want to be paying out significant cash. It's the best spot to flip guys, and I'd be happy if the Twins made someone pay through the nose for one of their better relievers. I'd entertain offers on Larnach, who would be a useful LF platoon bat to a contender. Or Clemens, who put a jolt in the Twins at a good time, but is unlikely to be a core piece. By fumbling out of the all-star break against Colorado & Washington (two very beatable teams) the Twins haven't done enough to be buyers, since we know ownership isn't going to add significant salary to bring in the kind of difference-making bat they need right now. Move the pending free agents (including France), take serious offers on the relievers, promote some guys from AAA and use the rest of the season to get guys healthy and evaluate what you have in players like Lewis, Lee, Julien, Keaschall, Wallner, Sabato, Martin, Matthews, Festa, SWR, Raya, etc

I still like SWR quite a bit as a pitcher, and I like how he's constantly working to evolve. He might never become a guy who is considered a frontline starter, but he can also be more than just back of the rotation filler too. He's still unfinished as a product and his mindset suggests a player than won't be satisfied or stop trying to improve. If he can induce more chase with his breaking stuff and the new split, I think he can be very successful. When he's finishing off hitters efficiently, he can really get rolling. Plus, I just like the dude.

I'm less off on Lee than you seem to be, but I generally agree. I think there's more room for someone like Sabato to get actual PT than Eeles (I wouldn't swap Lee for Eeles at this point; while I'm rooting for him, I think there's a bit of "backup QB syndrome" going on with Eeles where he's being overestimated because we haven't seen him and he's the new shiny toy than enough indicators that he's actually going to be better than someone like Lee) I would trade one of Jax/Duran if there's a strong market with real value there, and which ever one commands the most return would be the one I would deal...but only if it's a good return. I'm not interested in something like the idiot Bowden kind of trade where we throw a team both of those guys (Bowden had us giving them Castro too!) for 1 real prospect, a suspect, and a lottery ticket.

I think the biggest downside to a "light sell" at this deadline is if the team isn't sold and we remain stuck in the mud for another off-season. I'm honestly not particularly worried in a real decline in value for Jax, Duran, or Ryan over the next 2 months; the track record is strong enough that it won't impact their value much. But trading Ryan in particular is a signal of surrender for 2026 and potentially beyond, and making that kind of deal needs to happen under new ownership. Beyond that, all three of those guys will have substantial trade value in the offseason. YMMV on whether it will be more or not right now, but I think it will have more varied interest where different types of talent would be available. Deal them now and it's prospects only. The upside to selling now on relievers in particular is you might get someone to overpay.