Nashvilletwin

But we also got Salas and a teenage lottery ticket in the deal too… What a joke.

I’ll bet you a nickel, respectfully, he never sees the majors. It’s the third player, whose name I can’t recall, who is the true wild card.

Lee should be a star (if he keeps listening to his father and can avoid going the Austin Martin hitting reeducation route for which our system is becoming infamous). I hope we keep moving him quickly and he is at worst a September call up with a chance to break camp next year as an everyday 2B (or 3B, depending on where Lewis plays). If Prielipp can get and stay healthy (which, unfortunately, possibly seems less likely than when we drafted him), he could be a member of the rotation in 2025 - but still A LOT to prove. Schobel is probably behind Miller in the important battle for the 2025 “versatile, reliably defensively, utility infielder” role once Farmer (who, btw, is a real pro with a ton of game) moves on.

Zzzzzzzzzzzz…….. This team is just so boring. It’s just meh pretty much day in and day out at the plate. No quality starts at home vs. the lowly Tigers is not a good sign. This team will be in serious trouble without the superior starting pitching we experienced in the first two months of the season: our offense and relief pitching cannot carry this team. I just fear that the tough decisions that the FO needs to make will be postponed by being seduced by the siren call of our weak division.

Larnach, Wallner and Miranda (and Celestino is probably not that far behind given he plays a premium position of need) have nothing left to prove at the AAA level. They are at the age with the performance proof that it is time for all of them to get the innings and ABs they need in the majors to be ready to be everyday players for the Twins next season and beyond. If that is not going to happen because their path is clogged by one year rentals or the organization doesn’t believe in their abilities, then they and their agents should be actively looking hard for a trade that would give them that opportunity. After all, in the last 12 months the Twins minor league prospect who has had the most success is undoubtedly Spencer Steer and that is not lost on them. I wonder how Steer and CES feel about their trade a year or so in?

I’m beginning to think that hitters who have a superior understanding/recognition of the strike zone are at a disadvantage. They might as well hack at those pitches two - six inches off the plate if those very clearly balls are going to be called strikes anyway.

Hate to say it, but he’s probably our best trade asset at this year’s deadline when we finally realize we should be investing in our prospects (whether we are competing for the division or not),

Best thing that could happen to Williams (from his perspective) is that he is traded to a franchise that will actually give him a chance for regular major league ABs. It’s probably what he hopes comes out of his good season this year. Of course, we might be able to say the same thing for several other of our “top, but somehow won’t ever get a true opportunity” prospects. We all could name several who would likely jump at a Spencer Steer type of deal.

Quite possibly. And quite possibly you could insert several other young players names into the first part of your comment as well. These kids look like they are playing with constant fear - one mistake and they could get shipped out (again). The Twins need to make a commitment to these prospects - both in terms of playing time and coaching - at the major league level. If they won’t do that, then, yes, these prospects would likely benefit from a change of scenery and would probably welcome the opportunity elsewhere.

How do you solve a problem like Miranda? By playing him. He needs experience and confidence. The only way to get those things is thru major league ABs and innings in the field (mostly at 1B). Funny, these are the same things Lewis, Julien, Kiriloff, Larnach, Wallner and Jeffers also need. The sooner we invest, the sooner and, most likely, the bigger the return will be.

Way to protect our home turf from all those visiting Cheesehead fans cheering “Let’s go Brewers” in our house. Let’s get ‘em tomorrow too.

Exactly. Move the “one year rentals” and/or the “certainly won’t be here next year” vets. Give the ABs and innings to our new young core who are producing as much, if not more. They deserve the playing time and need to be shown the confidence from the FO/manager. Let’s see what we have while investing in the future.

Sorry, but I couldn’t help but disagree. If Julien gets the ABs this year he deserves/merits, next season he has the potential to be the best hitter on this team, actually in the entire organization. He’s 100% a major league hitter and should be looked at as our top of the order replacement for Arraez. In a year he’d hands down be a more valuable DH than Buxton (for sure against RHers) just for his hitting, not even counting his ability to at least give us innings in the field. We ran Arraez out of town because of inane objections to his fielding and/or his knees. Julien has the potential to win batting titles and to be an all star - just like Arraez has done and will likely continue to do.

Here is the positive of today. We played four of our young prospects -Lewis, Kiriloff, Larnach and Julien - and this team had life. I was anxious to watch each of their ABs. They played well, outside an iffy play by Julien and the throwing error by Lewis. They so need to be in the lineup every day they can. Now, let’s get the next two - Wallner and Miranda - in there and let this young cadre of talent get the valuable experience they need/deserve and gel as a unit. Lee can be a September call up.

Wow. That’s unbelievable.

Beating a dead horse here, but I honestly don’t care if I ever see another AB in a Twins uniform from Kepler, Solano, Garlick, and Gallo. I wouldn’t cry if Castro and MAT were included as well (but for one reason or another, they are pretty much earning their keep). I’m just not interested in developing any further fan-player attachment with a player who will certainly not be a Twin next season and continues to flail away while taking critical ABs away from what should be our more quickly developing future core. Joining Lewis and Kiriloff getting regular ABs and innings should be Miranda, Larnach, Julien and Wallner. Lee should join this group in September. It’s time to invest and give these kids the experience and show them the confidence they deserve. Moreover, they’d be way more interesting to watch and do we honestly believe they could perform much worse than the players they would be replacing? Except for Wallner, but including the injured Gordon, I think all of these prospects have been consensus Top 100s at some point. I have no idea why young player development at the MAJOR LEAGUE level is not one of, if not the single, most important criteria for our manager and his staff. We have a treasure trove of talent and at some point someone needs to be held responsible for developing it. I’m afraid we are letting it atrophy while also losing the opportunity to build deep fan enthusiasm by playing a bunch of one year, mediocre at best vet rentals. At the end of the day, it appears the buck will have to stop with the Nephew.

Nice win - let’s get ‘em tomorrow!

I agree with this. Let’s hope it happens. However, the overall makeup of the offensive talent on this team has been suspect from the beginning. What we are seeing may actually be closer to the norm than we hope. After all, other than Correa, Buxton and Vasquez - who are all way underperforming, the other vet players are kind of proving out to be who we all thought they were. Ultimately, the offense of this team will likely go as far as Correa and Buxton will carry them. There just isn’t anyone else who at this point can carry this team over an extended period of time, if at all. And it’s asking too much of this lineup that, absent our two expensive “stars”, the rest of them can ham and egg it among themselves consistently enough to be a true contender.

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Bremer today: “Kyle Garlick has stepped into the on deck circle. Apparently he will be hitting for Kepler.” Hahahahaha.

First Base and the occasional DH batting lead off - every day.

Ok, I’ll take the bait. First, I completely understand the rationale behind the trade. The FO understood how high the risks were re Mahle and Maeda being able to accumulate IPs, let alone quality IPs. Unable, and rightfully so, to be willing to trust in a few up and comer SPs, and realizing that with an offensively challenged lineup predicating a pitching led strategy for the campaign, they felt the need to add an innings eating quality starter. Got it. Perfectly reasonable. Check. Second, the issue is whether this was the right trade for personnel, strategy, and fan support reasons. On this front, I’d argue no on all three. A. Lopez prior to the trade had been a solid, yet unspectacular performer. Chourio has a better chance to see a major league park in the field than Salas (and even that’s huge leap). We all know about Arraez. It’s ok if some people, myself included, did not like the trade on face value. Was this the only option for a quality starter of that ilk? Maybe, but who knows, B. Given our offensive woes, and the inability of our starting staff and bullpen to overcome them, the loss of Arraez as an everyday fixture at the top of the lineup is devastating. That’s, right, devastating. Arraez at first, Kiriloff in the OF, and cash to help fund an additional SP beats Gallo hands down all day long. C. Many fellow TDers, and I respect their position, argue that fans are not interested in watching a “singles” hitter. I disagree. Arraez was a fan favorite. He brought a spark, which this club do badly needs, to the park each and every day. He remains an exciting player and was the only Twin whose every AB I made sure to watch. In a season in which none of our position players can even spell All Star, he’s a shoo in for the NL squad. If he keeps up his pace (and he probably won’t, but a batting title seems assured), do my fellow TDers think fans will be interested? Of course the genesis of the the Arraez trade was the Mahle trade disaster. The inability of Mahle to play his projected role led to the need to acquire another starter late in the off season (precluding us for possibly playing in the FA market). In addition, even if we still wanted to acquire another starter, who’s to say a package including Steer, CES and possibly others could have been utilised instead of Arraez. The FO had excellent intentions and a defensible strategy for both deals, one precipitated by the other. One definitively hasn’t worked and the other, well, we shall see. But this club and fan base clearly miss Arraez.

Dad to his kindergartener: “How was baseball after school?” Kindergartener to his dad: “I was doing fine until the older kids got out.” Does it just seem a little bit like that watching the game tonight? Oh well, let’s get ‘em tomorrow.

That would be ideal. CF is our biggest hole now and going forward. The second derivative is that Lewis in CF also opens up additional positional opportunities for others. As much as we all wish it would happen, it just doesn’t seem probable at all.

100% agree Ted. Correa has been superb defensively and Lewis, in his brief recent appearances, has flashed both leather and arm. Twins fans should not be losing any sleep over the left side of our infield hopefully for several years. Lewis at 3B sets the dominoes in motion. Lee, therefore, looks like the 2B of the future. Ideally, Miranda and Julien battle it out for 1B and DH (when BB is unavailable). Miranda can sub at 3B and Julien at 2B when needed (and, btw, Lee and Lewis can sub at SS when CC needs a break). Kiriloff, Wallner and Larnach are your three corner outfielders with the occasional DH role against RH pitching. They all hit lefty, but with only Julien (and Gordon if he stays as a super sub utility player) a purely left handed bat among the rest of the team (Jeffers and Vasquez are both RH bats), it should be ok. Now, we (sadly) need to find a CF of the future - ideally probably one who bats RH. Rodriguez?