Nick Nelson

Image courtesy of Matt Blewett-Imagn Images The Weekly Nutshell: For a second consecutive week, the Minnesota Twins opened up with an impressive victory, and then it was pretty much all downhill from there. They dropped four of the next five, sinking further below .500 as their leaky relief corps turned the late innings into a recurring horror show. There have been some small positive developments and positive signs mixed in for this club, but they are being vastly overshadowed by setbacks and failure. Sunday's series finale against Toronto brought yet another devastating gut-punch; the modest morale boost of a split-clinching victory was derailed by Joe Ryan exiting with right elbow soreness after just two batters faced. Vibes are bad, and the season already feels like it's on life support here in early May. Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 4/27 through Sun, 5/3 *** Record Last Week: 3-4 (Overall: 15-20) Run Differential Last Week: -5 (Overall: +5) Standing: 5th Place in AL Central (4.0 GB) Latest Game Results Game 29 | MIN 11, SEA 4: Bats Awaken as Twins Snap 5-Game Losing Streak Clemens: 2-5, 5 RBI Game 30 | SEA 7, MIN 1: Bullpen Collapses Behind Ryan, Lineup Gets Shut Down Twins offense: 0-10 RISP Game 31 | SEA 5, MIN 3: Bullpen Caves in Late Innings Again, Wasting Bradley Rebound Orze: 0.1 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 3 ER Game 32 | MIN 7, TOR 1: Ober Combines with Relievers to Keep Blue Jays in Check Ober: 6 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 K Game 33 | TOR 7, MIN 3: SWR Struggles Again, Twins Can't Escape Early Hole Woods Richardson: 4.2 IP, 9 H, 6 R (4 ER) Game 34 | TOR 11, MIN 4: Bullpen Surrenders Eight in the Eighth to Lose Yet Again García, Banda: 1 IP, 8 R (7 ER), 5 H, 2 BB, 0 K Game 35 | MIN 4, TOR 3: Twins Salvage Split with Win, But Lose Ryan to Elbow Injury Morris: 3.2 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 3 K IF YOU'D RATHER LISTEN TO THE WEEK IN REVIEW THAN READ IT, YOU CAN GET IT IN AUDIO FORM! FIND THE LATEST EPISODE ON OUR PODCAST PAGE, AS WELL AS ON APPLE AND SPOTIFY. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNELS SO YOU DON'T MISS OUT! NEWS & NOTES Nine pitches into his eighth start of the season, Ryan motioned to the dugout for trainers and quickly headed for the clubhouse. Soon after, the Twins announced that the right-hander was removed due to soreness in his right elbow, which is obviously quite alarming. As we anxiously await details regarding the official prognosis, it's difficult not to despair, given how these things tend to go and how this season has gone. Needless to say, in the event this is a significant arm injury for Ryan, it's going to place a lot of heat on the front office's questionable call to hold both him and Pablo López heading into a doomed campaign. For at least a while, the rotation is going to have to proceed without its top pitcher, and that's also true of the bullpen, which lost Cole Sands to the injured list with a forearm strain on Saturday. Sands hasn't been very good this year but was undoubtedly the team's most trusted option, and his loss stretches an overmatched relief corps even thinner. Earlier in the week, the bullpen lost fellow right-hander Garrett Acton to a shoulder strain. Replacing Acton: 39-year-old right-hander Luis García, who'd been signed to a minor-league deal days earlier after being released by the Mets. Replacing Sands: 24-year-old righty John Klein, one of the last remaining healthy depth options on the 40-man. Klein tossed a scoreless inning in his MLB debut on Saturday. Zak Kent was designated for assignment to make room on the roster for García. Eric Wagaman, who was DFA'ed the previous week to make room for waiver pickup Christian Roa, was himself claimed off waivers by the Mets. HIGHLIGHTS The rotation has been the clear and decisive strength of this team through 35 games. This past week we saw Connor Prielipp build upon his impressive debut, Taj Bradley bounce back admirably from his stumble on the prior road trip, and Bailey Ober continue to defy convention with a sub-90s fastball. Let's take a closer look at each of their performances. Prielipp recorded his first big-league win on Monday against the Mariners, allowing two runs over five innings, and he posted the same line on Saturday against Toronto. His control wasn't as sharp in these two starts as in his debut, as Prielipp issued five walks across 10 innings, but he continued to look comfortable and confident on the mound, allowing just four hits. His slider has proven to be a dominant pitch thus far, as anticipated, and his changeup shows great promise as well. Bradley's last outing against the Rays, in which he allowed four home runs, raised some concerns of a major regression backslide getting underway. He quelled those fears with an excellent outing on Wednesday, holding the Mariners to two runs over seven innings with seven strikeouts, two walks, and four hits allowed. The overall numbers from Taj this year have obviously been impressive, but what has really stood out to me about the right-hander — even when he struggled during his initial stint with the Twins late last year — is his durability and stamina. He's gone on the injured list only once in his major-league career, back in spring of 2024. He's completed five or more innings in 11 of his 13 starts with Minnesota, including six-plus in five of seven turns this year. Bradley not only throws the hardest fastball for a starter in Twins history, but he's able to maintain upper-90s velocity very deep into games, even beyond 100 pitches. He has surpassed that threshold four times this year, and his 114 pitches thrown against Seattle on Wednesday were the most by a Twins starter since Kenta Maeda back in 2020. Traditionally-inclined fans are surely loving this shift. Speaking of appeal to old-school fans, Ober is turning back the clock with his stunning level of success despite a lack of velocity. Against the Blue Jays on Thursday, his fastball averaged 88 MPH and never topped 89.1 MPH. His average FB velo is the lowest in the major leagues, but it hasn't mattered lately. On Thursday he worked through six innings of one-run ball, with a solo homer representing the only damage. Ober's ERA is now down to 3.55 on the season, including 1.47 in his last three starts. We'll see how long he can make it last, but right now Ober is effectively offsetting the death of his fastball by embracing his offspeed arsenal. Opponents are batting .173 against his changeup, and .125 against his sweeper. Nothing short of remarkable. Offensively, it was an absolute monster week for Byron Buxton, who was 10-for-30 with five home runs in seven games. For whatever reason he just seems far more locked in when he's hitting leadoff; he shifted there after batting second in his first eight games (with a .415 OPS), and since the switch has batted .288 with a .615 slugging percentage. A few other hitters worth highlighting from the home stand: Trevor Larnach is starting to see steadier playing time as the parade of opposing lefty starters dissipates, and he's still not losing steam. He notched eight hits, including a pair of doubles, in 21 at-bats last week and kept on controlling the zone with four strikeouts against three walks. His fielding has also been drastically improved, providing a rare defensive bright spot for the Twins. Sticking it to the skeptics who wanted to see him shipped out during the offseason, Larnach's been one of the team's most valuable players thus far. Ryan Jeffers is up there as well, tied with Larnach for second among Twins position players behind Buxton in fWAR (0.9). Jeffers opened the week with three consecutive multi-hit games, finishing 7-for-20 with a homer and five RBIs. Kody Clemens posted a five-RBI night on Monday, and during the home stand he tallied three extra-base hits (two doubles and a home run). His OPS had dropped down to .581 entering the week, but is back up to a more reasonable, albeit unexceptional, .675 following Sunday's game. Austin Martin went 6-for-17 (.353) with two walks and two stolen bases. His .484 on-base percentage leads all big-leaguers with 90+ PA, and nobody else is within 40 points. LOWLIGHTS The consistently strong work from Minnesota's rotation and occasional flashes from the offense are too often going to waste thanks to a bullpen that is predictably one of the least dependable in the game, and in recent Twins history. The late innings have been full of misadventures, featuring a rotating cast of culprits. On Tuesday night Ryan exited in the seventh inning with the score tied 1-1. Kody Funderburk allowed his inherited run to score, and then combined with Sands and García combined to surrender five more, turning a close game into a lopsided loss. The following night saw Bradley in position to pick up the win before Eric Orze melted down in a save opportunity, entering with a one-run lead in the ninth to cough up three earned runs while recording just one out in an eventual 5-3 loss. Saturday's game really took the cake though. The Twins were once again on track for a potential victory, leading 4-3 in the eighth before handing the ball over to García up one. The Jays went single-walk-single-single to chase the veteran from the game. In came Anthony Banda, who committed an error on a comebacker before yielding a walk, a double and a home run. By the time the Twins were able to record a single out in the inning, Toronto had scored eight times and taken an 11-4 lead. García had been released by the lowly Mets a couple weeks earlier. Banda had been designated for assignment by the Dodgers in February despite posting a 3.18 ERA last year. Orze was likely at risk for a DFA by the Rays if Minnesota hadn't acquired him in a low-wattage trade in November. These pitchers had been essentially rejected by their previous teams and were not in demand. For the Twins to be turning to them in high-leverage situations this early in the season is simply an embarrassing reflection of how the team was constructed. And you know, it'd be just as well if it aligned to a coherent larger strategy. When you're not even trying to compete, a capable bullpen isn't going to make much of a difference. The problem is that the Twins openly held onto this notion that they would be competitive despite their lack of investment and effort, and elected not to shop either of their top veteran starters during the offseason as a result. Pending a prognosis on Ryan, this aimless decision-making is at risk of looking like a total disaster, made all the more upsetting by how foreseeable the outcome was. The pitching staff has been mediocre overall, mainly thanks to starters pulling weight, but will be hard-pressed to maintain even that level in the absence of Ryan and Sands. In order to make any inroads back toward .500, the offense — rarely able to muster more than four runs — will need to come alive, and too few hitters appear up to the task. Josh Bell has spiraled after a strong start, with a 4-for-25 week dropping his OPS to .640 on the season. Victor Caratini, the other "big ticket" signing from the offseason, is slashing .217/.317/.265. Matt Wallner snapped an 0-for-19 skid with two hits on Sunday but is still treading dangerously close to a demotion. Royce Lewis looks utterly hopeless, and was justifiably batting ninth in three of his five starts. He managed just two singles and a walk in 19 plate appearances. It's a bad team with a bunch of players performing dreadfully. Aside from Buxton and a few bright spots in the rotation, there's not much here to stoke interest or create a compelling experience for fans. On top of it all, top prospects Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez were both forced out of games for the Saints due to injuries over the weekend. (Rodriguez jammed his thumb sliding into first base on Saturday, and Jenkins hurt his shoulder colliding with the wall on Sunday.) TRENDING STORYLINE Joe Ryan's health is clearly the biggest topic for the Twins heading into a new week. Presumably we will learn on Monday or Tuesday the severity of what he is dealing with. I'm mindful that we've already had a false-alarm health scare with Ryan this year, when he came out of his first spring start with what turned out to be a minor back issue. But of course, elbows are a different animal. And the initial indicators — how quickly he signaled for trainers, how brief the discussion was before he came out of the game, how defeated he looked coming off the mound — all point toward bad news. For now, the Twins and their fans will have to hope for the best and prepare for the worst. No matter what imaging tells us, it seems all but certain Ryan will at least be landing on the injured list for some period of time. It's a major blow for a rotation that has already seen its admirable preseason depth whittled away by injuries to López, David Festa and Mick Abel. We can look to Abel as an optimistic example vis-à-vis Ryan's situation. He was scratched from his scheduled start on the previous road trip after experiencing some elbow soreness in a bullpen but his scans came back clean and he was diagnosed with light inflammation. He's already started playing catch and could advance to a rehab stint soon. In the meantime, though, the Twins are probably going to need to find someone else to fill Ryan's rotation spot. They've already called up their top pitching prospect in Prielipp, whose grasp on a rotation spot just got firmer. Andrew Morris, who threw 57 pitches in relief of Ryan on Sunday, could theoretically shift back into a starting role, but that would subtract from a bullpen that is already woefully short on anything resembling power arms. As of now, Zebby Matthews is the most likely candidate to get the call. Really the only credible candidate. He has shaken off a rough start at Triple-A with a string of solid outings, including his most recent on Saturday: 5 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 7 K. His stuff has been ticking up and unlike, say, Kendry Rojas, Matthews is built up to handle the rigors of starting and pitching five-plus innings in the majors, LOOKING AHEAD The Twins are back on the road, heading to Washington after the day off on Monday to face a Nationals team that has gone 4-12 at home so far this year. Next up will be their first showdown of the season with Cleveland. We'll see who gets the nod for Ryan's turn on Saturday, since it feels safe to assume it won't be him. TUESDAY, MAY 5: TWINS @ NATIONALS — RHP Taj Bradley v. RHP Cade Cavalli WEDNESDAY, MAY 6: TWINS @ NATIONALS — RHP Bailey Ober v. RHP Miles Mikolas THURSDAY, MAY 7: TWINS @ NATIONALS — RHP Simeon Woods Richardson v. RHP Jake Irvin FRIDAY, MAY 8: TWINS @ GUARDIANS — LHP Connor Prielipp v. LHP Parker Messick SATURDAY, MAY 9: TWINS @ GUARDIANS — TBD v. RHP Tanner Bibee SUNDAY, MAY 10: TWINS @ GUARDIANS — RHP Taj Bradley v. RHP Gavin Williams View full article

Image courtesy of William Liang-Imagn Images On Tuesday night against the Mariners, Joe Ryan threw six innings of one-run ball before surrendering a leadoff double in the top of the seventh. He exited in a very winnable 1-1 tie game. Before long, the score was 7-1 and the Twins were lopsided losers. Kody Funderburk quickly allowed the inherited runner to score. In the eighth, Cole Sands gave up a three-run homer to Josh Naylor. (Who pimped the living hell out of it.) In the ninth, newly acquired veteran Luis García — recently waived by the Mets after posting a 7.11 ERA through six appearances — allowed two more runs to cap off a bullpen meltdown that torpedoed Minnesota's chances of locking up a series win. On Wednesday, Eric Orze entered in the ninth to protect a one-run lead and gave up three earned runs while recording one out, sealing another series loss. These were the the 10th and 11th losses in 13 games for the Twins, dropping them five games below .500. For the season, their relievers rank 25th in baseball with a 5.31 ERA and 27th in Win Probability Added at -1.58. It hasn't quite been the worst relief corps in the league, but it's been close, and costly. As expected. Making matters worse: Louis Varland is reaching new levels of dominance in Toronto. After setting a record for reliever usage in the playoffs last year, and prompting Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman to call his deadline acquisition "one of the greatest trades we've ever made," Varland is further elevating his game here in 2026. Through 16 innings, he has a 0.56 ERA and 26-to-4 K/BB ratio with zero home runs allowed. His fastball is averaging 98 MPH. His strikeout rate (43%), FIP (0.63) and fWAR (1.0) all lead the American League. In fact, Varland's WAR is more than double that of the entire Twins bullpen (0.4). It's hard to overstate what a difference he could be making as leader of this reconfigured unit. Alas, Varland is now a Blue Jay, due to the controversial decision to ship out the breakout reliever and his five remaining years of control as part of last year's deadline teardown. Whereas the Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran trades were fairly conventional rebuild moves, the Varland trade was much more of a head-scratcher. Up until he was dealt just minutes before the deadline, he seemed likely to stick around as the long-term leader of a rebuilding relief corps. We're seeing now why that may have been a good idea. Instead, we're seeing the downside of an audacious, risk-laden decision. Varland is starring in the Blue Jays bullpen while the Twins flounder in part because of their complete lack of late-inning weapons. Alan Roden seemed like an odd fit when Minnesota's front office targeted him and only looks more so now — he was buried in the minors on the LH-hitting OF depth chart before suffering another significant injury last week. Roden is out for the next month at least and possibly much longer. Ouch. Which brings us to Kendry Rojas, the other half of the Varland return. He was always the centerpiece of the deal from the Twins' view, and we're seeing why this year. Rojas looked great in camp and has been stellar in his handful of appearances for the Saints. He's already debuted for the Twins, tossing two scoreless innings of relief while filling in for Funderburk last week, and as long he stays healthy it won't be long before he's back. With his upper-90s heat and whiff-centric stuff from the left side, Rojas is a high-caliber arm with the realistic potential to flip the narrative (at least somewhat) on the Varland trade. Fair or not, there's going to be a lot of pressure on him to do so. Right now, the contrast is impossible to ignore. Varland is becoming exactly the kind of late-inning force the Twins desperately lack — dominant, reliable, game-altering — just in someone else’s bullpen. Minnesota is left searching for answers in the innings that matter most, hoping Rojas can eventually help bridge that gap. View full article

Image courtesy of Brad Penner-Imagn Images The Weekly Nutshell: The week opened on a positive note, with the Twins pulling off an impressive comeback win over Nolan McLean and the Mets. From there, it was all downhill. Minnesota dropped the next five straight, scoring two or fewer runs in four of the losses as the bullpen and defense repeatedly let them down. Any lingering good vibes from their surprising 8-1 hot streak were quickly erased by a counterbalancing 1-9 cold spell, and sadly the latest sample feels a lot more reflective of who this team is — for now, at least. On the bright side, we did get some previews of a more favorable future during this rough road trip, and hopefully there's more of that to come soon. Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 4/20 through Sun, 4/26 *** Record Last Week: 1-5 (Overall: 12-16) Run Differential Last Week: -12 (Overall: +0) Standing: 3rd Place in AL Central (2.5 GB) Latest Game Results Game 23 | MIN 5, NYM 3: Twins Break Through Against McLean, Top Spiraling Mets Twins bullpen: 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 6 K Game 24 | NYM 3, MIN 2: Mets End Skid Despite Strong Debuts from Prielipp, Rojas Prielipp: 4 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K Game 25 | NYM 10, MIN 8: Exciting Comeback Falls Short as Bullpen Erases Momentum Jeffers: Game-tying GS Game 26 | TB 6, MIN 2: Bradley Gives Up Four Home Runs in Return to Tropicana Field Bradley: 6.1 IP, 6 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 4 HR Game 27 | TB 6, MIN 1: Familiar Story as Pitchers, Bats Struggle in Fourth Straight Loss Rogers: 0 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 3 ER Game 28 | TB 4, MIN 2: Rays Complete Sweep in Series Where Twins Never Held Lead Woods Richardson: 4.1 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K IF YOU'D RATHER LISTEN TO THE WEEK IN REVIEW THAN READ IT, YOU CAN GET IT IN AUDIO FORM! FIND THE LATEST EPISODE ON OUR PODCAST PAGE, AS WELL AS ON APPLE AND SPOTIFY. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNELS SO YOU DON'T MISS OUT! NEWS & NOTES The week opened with a flurry of roster moves, including a couple of high-profile prospect promotions. On Tuesday, left-hander Kendry Rojas was called up from Triple-A, and a day later he was joined by fellow southpaw Connor Prielipp. Ranked eighth and fifth respectively on Twins Daily's top prospects list, these are the two top arms in the high minors for the Twins. Both pitchers debuted on Wednesday against the Mets. The exciting promotions came at a cost. Mick Abel, coming off back-to-back excellent starts, was placed on the injured list Monday with right elbow inflammation, which flared up during his latest bullpen session. Fortunately, an MRI showed no structural damage and the team is viewing it as a best-case scenario for the emerging young righty. Hopefully he won't be sidelined for too long, but every precaution should be taken with this hopeful rotation staple. With the Abel IL move opening up one spot on the pitching staff, Kody Funderburk's transfer to the paternity list (congrats!) opened the other, at least for a few days. Funderburk was reinstated on Friday, sending Rojas back to the minors, but Prielipp remains on the roster and in the rotation for the time being. Royce Lewis returned from the IL after the minimum 10 days, confirming that his knee sprain indeed proved to be very minor. Ryan Kreidler returned to Triple-A in (essentially) a corresponding action. I'd have rather seen James Outman shipped out personally, but for now the Twins are keen to avoid exposing him and his .115 batting average to waivers. A few other quick roster notes: The Twins claimed reliever Christian Roa off waivers from the Astros, designating first baseman Eric Wagaman for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster. Roa has a similar profile to Garrett Acton: 27-year-old righty who's barely played in the majors but has posted big strikeout numbers in Triple-A. Wagaman, acquired from the Marlins during the offseason, was basically a flop, missing out on the Opening Day roster and then posting a .538 OPS in Triple-A before being cut from the 40-man. Travis Adams, who's been out since spring due to an elbow issue, moved his rehab up to St. Paul on Wednesday and is in line to become a bullpen option very soon. He appeared twice for the Saints, allowing three earned runs with five strikeouts and a walk over 3 ⅔ innings. The Twins signed veteran reliever Luis García, a 39-year-old righty with more than 600 appearances in the majors, to a minor-league contact. He also could factor into the bullpen depth equation pretty quickly, given his experience. A final unfortunate note: outfielder Alan Roden suffered a torn labrum in his right shoulder, and will be sidelined for at least the next month. The hope is that he won't need surgery but as we're all aware, shoulder injuries are pesky and pernicious. It's a big downer for Roden after a thumb injury knocked him out down the stretch last year. HIGHLIGHTS While the Twins have flirted with competitiveness during the first month, this season was always going to be about getting a real glimpse of the future and ushering in the next wave of talent. That's why games like Wednesday's against the Mets are so invigorating, even if that one ultimately turned out to be a tough 3-2 loss. Prielipp was as advertised in his MLB debut, piling up whiffs with a power slide en route to six strikeouts with no walks over four innings. An exciting preview of things to come. Prielipp is going to be a force on this staff for some time as long as he can stay healthy. Rojas was not nearly as sharp when he made his own first MLB appearance, entering as a reliever later in the same game. He got through two scoreless frames but issued three walks with no strikeouts and labored a bit at times. That said, he was touching 98 with his fastball and got through the outing cleanly, so all in all it was far from a disastrous first impression. He was optioned back to Triple-A after one appearance but we'll surely see Rojas again soon. On offense, Austin Martin has been the clear standout and it's earning him more trust from his manager. This was best demonstrated on Friday when Martin found himself starting in right field and batting third against a right-handed starter in Drew Rasmussen. Martin still isn't quite starting every day, but he's moving well beyond the strict platoon role, and it's well deserved as he keeps getting on base in literally half of his plate appearances. Four hits and four walks in the past week leave Martin sitting with a .327/.500/.455 slash line, and he leads the team with 0.9 fWAR despite ranking eighth in plate appearances. He's also making far more of a defensive impact than we've seen in the past as he appears to grow comfortable and confident in the outfield. LOWLIGHTS There were some poor individual hitting and pitching performances over the course of the week, but what continues to really stick out as a negative for this team is the defense. Just excruciating to watch, night after night. Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) shared on Friday a list of the best and worst defenders in the major leagues, per Defensive Runs Saved. The Twins had three different players ranked as the least valuable fielder at his position: Ryan Jeffers at catcher, Brooks Lee at shortstop, Matt Wallner in right field. As a team the Twins have the third-worst defense in the majors by DRS. Jeffers is probably being underrated a little by defensive metrics that aren't fully accounting for the impact of his ABS challenging proficiency, and his bat is definitely adding value on the other side (he hit a big grand slam to briefly tie Thursday's game in the eighth), but the rough patches in his game have been evident. Earlier in Thursday's game he let a passed ball get by him in the second, costing Joe Ryan a strikeout and leading to three unearned runs scoring. Opposing baserunners are 15-for-19 on steals against Jeffers. He's been very good overall, but there are warts. The defensive metrics definitely check out on Lee, who is constantly letting grounders sneak past him at short. Statcast pegs his fielding range in the 3rd percentile. He was at least able to get his bat going to pull out of his latest slump, posting back-to-back three-hit games on Thursday and Friday. He's going to need to bring a lot more of that to be a useful player because he lacks the skills to be anything more than a liability at short. Wallner, at negative-5 DRS, is one of the worst overall defenders in all of baseball. He's getting terrible jumps in right field, his running speed has declined from last year, and his big arm hasn't yielded much value. Making matters worse is that Wallner also hasn't been able to find his groove at the plate. He's slashing .190/.281/.329 with a league-leading 36 strikeouts. He was 2-for-20 over his past seven games before sitting against a right-hander in the finale at Citi Field, which is perhaps a precursor to a more significant move if things stay as they are. Wallner does notably have an option remaining. Luke Keaschall doesn't quite make the cut as baseball's worst at his position, but he has not looked good at second base. Any hope that his arm strength would improve significantly as he distanced from elbow surgery hasn't really come to fruition. Keaschall's lackluster throwing ability — illustrated by a pattern of floating, fluttering, bouncing deliveries across the diamond — doesn't even meet the relatively low demands of second base. He's also been a complete mess at the plate, stranding 12 runners in Wednesday's and Thursday's losses alone, part of a 4-for-20 week that leaves his OPS hovering around .500. I'm cautiously optimistic that his offensive game will turn around, but I just don't see it working out for Keaschall in the infield, which is non-ideal for the Twins who are far deeper in the outfield. Rounding out the infield malaise is Lewis, who returned to the fold with a thump. At the plate he went 3-for-20 with six strikeouts and zero walks, and Lewis is tied for the worst Outs Above Average in the majors at negative-six. I'm pretty close to losing hope at this point. Lewis still sprinkles in the occasional reminder of his former prowess, including a home run and a nice defensive play down the third base line last week, but they are heavily outweighed by bafflingly inept play. It was entirely too easy to see this coming. The Twins were one of the worst defensive teams in baseball and did little to remedy that during the offseason. In fact, they actively worsened their state of affairs for the sake of saving money. They're paying Carlos Correa $10 million to play at an All-Star caliber level for another team — his 3 DRS and 2 OAA would both lead the Twins, as would his 1.0 fWAR through the first month of action. TRENDING STORYLINE How soon is too soon to take action on this rapidly unraveling ballclub? It seemed like their charmed 8-1 run was going to at least set them up to hang around the .500 mark even after regression inevitably set up, but the fall has been harder than anyone could've foreseen. Now they find themselves four games under, with no end to the losing in sight. What options are available to provide a jolt? Swapping Wallner out for someone like Emmanuel Rodriguez is the most straightforward lever to pull at the moment. Then again, Wallner is also one of the team's highest-upside bats and slumps are part of his game. Sending him to Triple-A at age 28 would be rough. Gabriel Gonzalez is a name to watch. He's batting just .202 for the Saints, suppressed by a .188 BABIP, but hit three homers this past week and has been seeing time at first base as the Twins seek to boost his defensive versatility. Kaelen Culpepper looms as a possible solution for the woes on the left side of the infield, but he probably needs to find more of a sustained groove before that's on the table — Culpepper ended the week in an 0-for-14 skid and his OPS is below .700. On the pitching side, Rojas should be back sooner than later, and I'd also like to see Prielipp stick around even after Abel recovers. He's clearly one of the staff's highest-caliber arms, and sending him back to the minors to waste bullets seems senseless at this point. Minnesota's optimal rotation probably includes Prielipp in favor of Simeon Woods Richardson, whose ERA inflated to 6.30 with a couple more ugly starts this past week, but that's not as straightforward since SWR is out of options. Would they consider a bullpen move if he keeps churning out clunker starts? A potentially relevant and related note here: Zebby Matthews delivered his finest start of the season on Sunday, striking out six over five shutout innings with just one hit and one walk allowed. After a brutal spring and start to the season at Triple-A, Matthews is maybe starting to round into form, with a 2.57 ERA and 16-to-2 K/BB ratio in 14 innings over his past three starts. LOOKING AHEAD The two clubs that faced off in the American League Championship Series last year are coming to Target Field in a jam-packed week that should hopefully feature some good weather and entertaining baseball. Prielipp and Ryan are both scheduled to start twice during the home stand. MONDAY, APRIL 27: MARINERS @ TWINS — RHP Luis Castillo v. LHP Connor Prielipp TUESDAY, APRIL 28: MARINERS @ TWINS — RHP Logan Gilbert v. RHP Joe Ryan WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29: MARINERS @ TWINS — RHP George Kirby v. RHP Taj Bradley THURSDAY, APRIL 30: BLUE JAYS @ TWINS — RHP Kevin Gausman v. RHP Bailey Ober FRIDAY, MAY 1: BLUE JAYS @ TWINS — RHP Dylan Cease v. RHP Simeon Woods Richardson SATURDAY, MAY 2: BLUE JAYS @ TWINS — LHP Patrick Corbin v. LHP Connor Prielipp SUNDAY, MAY 3: BLUE JAYS @ TWINS — LHP Eric Lauer v. RHP Joe Ryan View full article

Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images The Weekly Nutshell: Coming off a 6-1 week, the Minnesota Twins kicked this one off with their most impressive showing of the season, clobbering Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet for 11 runs in a blowout win to keep the good times rolling. They followed on Tuesday by knocking around old friend Sonny Gray, notching their eighth win in nine games. That's where the charmed run finally came to a halt. The Twins dropped the finale against Boston and then got swept by Cincinnati with poor defense, unreliable relief pitching, and a lack of timely hitting all playing a role in the rapid cooldown. With four straight losses, Minnesota has dropped back to the .500 mark as they prepare to embark on a challenging East Coast road trip. Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 4/13 through Sun, 4/19 *** Record Last Week: 2-4 (Overall: 11-11) Run Differential Last Week: +4 (Overall: +12) Standing: 3rd Place in AL Central (1.5 GB) Latest Game Results Game 17 | MIN 13, BOS 6: Red-Hot Twins Obliterate Crochet, Launch 4 Homers Jeffers: 3-4, HR, 3 RBI Game 18 | MIN 6, BOS 0: Abel Spins a Gem and Buxton Goes Deep Twice Buxton: 4-5, 2 HR Game 19 | BOS 9, MIN 5: Woods Richardson Hit Hard as Sox Cool Off Twins Woods Richardson: 5 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 3 K Game 20 | CIN 2, MIN 1: Slumping Keaschall Strands Seven in One-Run Loss Keaschall: 0-4, GIDP, 7 LOB Game 21 | CIN 5, MIN 4: Late Leads Slips Away as Bullpen and Defense Lapse Bradley: 6 IP, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K Game 22 | CIN 7, MIN 4: Bullpen, Defense Melt Down Again as Red Complete Sweep Morris, Acton: 3 IP, 6 R, 3 ER IF YOU'D RATHER LISTEN TO THE WEEK IN REVIEW THAN READ IT, YOU CAN GET IT IN AUDIO FORM! FIND THE LATEST EPISODE ON OUR PODCAST PAGE, AS WELL AS ON APPLE AND SPOTIFY. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNELS SO YOU DON'T MISS OUT! NEWS & NOTES When Royce Lewis went on the injured list with a low-grade knee sprain last weekend, the hope was that his absence would be a short one. Sure enough, he initiated a rehab stint with the Saints on Saturday, just seven days after landing on the IL. Lewis homered in his first at-bat with St. Paul and then homered again on Sunday, looking plenty healthy while starting at DH and then third base. He is eligible to return as soon as as Tuesday. The big question in my mind: when Lewis is activated, who exits the 26-man roster to make room? The straightforward answer is Ryan Kreidler, who was called up as Lewis' replacement, but I'd prefer to see Kreidler stay with James Outman shipped out. HIGHLIGHTS After shaking off a slow start, which was undoubtedly impacted by his WBC-related lack of regular spring playing time, Byron Buxton is finally locked in at the plate. It's a joy to behold. Buxton homered on Monday and then launched two more on Tuesday as part of an 8-for-21 week that raised his OPS by 171 points. Buxton also flew around the outfield and made some nice defensive plays. By the weekend, though, something did appear somewhat amiss for him. He started at DH on Saturday and twice in the game he was seemingly unable to run out grounders on close plays at full speed. Is he okay? Worth keeping an eye on. For what it's worth he was back in center field on Sunday and did appear to be moving fine. Aiding Buxton at the top of the order was Austin Martin, who continues to provide exactly what the Twins need from him as a table-setter. Martin notched five hits, including two doubles — one of which tied the game in the ninth on Sunday — and his first home run of the season. He also drew four more walks, keeping his on-base percentage up near the .500 mark, and crossed the plate five times. Martin leads the team in fWAR through 22 games. Kreidler's arrival as a (short-term?) roster addition has provided a defensive boost, as expected, but also a surprising boost to the offense. The 28-year-old utilityman homered just twice in 89 games for the Tigers over the past four years before homering twice in his first week with the Twins. His 438-foot nuke to the upper-deck against Crochet on Monday proved to be the final straw for the left-hander. Kreidler also doubled and drew four walks on the week. If you didn't know anything about Kreidler and his history, you might start to think, hey, maybe we've got something here. Sadly, we're witnessing a bit of an anomaly. Kreidler has been one of the worst hitters in the majors during his limited opportunities and it's unlikely he's suddenly figured it all out at the plate as opposed to running into a few mistake pitches with good swings. But Kreidler's defensive value is such that he really doesn't need to hit much at all to be a valuable roster piece. A week like this here and there would be more than enough. The rotation excelled once again, and has been a strength that few others can match. Entering play on Sunday, the Twins ranked third in the majors in fWAR from starting pitchers (behind Detroit and Seattle). Taj Bradley and Joe Ryan ranked fifth and seventh among individual starters, respectively, and both shined again in their latest outings. Ryan held the Reds to two runs (one earned) in six innings on Friday, striking out six and walking none with three hits allowed. He's allowed two or fewer earned runs in four of his five starts this year. On Saturday, Bradley also went six innings in a quality start, allowing two earned runs and handing a lead to the bullpen that disappeared in the late innings. Bradley's ERA sits at 1.63 and his FIP at 1.97. He has yet to allow a home run through five starts. Commendably, Bailey Ober is finding a way to get it done with sub-90 fastball velocity. He was nothing short of dominant on Sunday against the Reds, leaning heavily on the changeup and breaking ball to strike out 10 over 6 ⅓ innings with just one unearned run allowed. He's keeping hitters off balance and keeping the ball in the yard. Can he keep it going? Who knows, but we'll certainly take it for now. While Ryan, Bradley and Ober were good, Mick Abel stole the show with his brilliant performance on Tuesday night, striking out 10 with no walks over seven shutout innings in a win over the Red Sox. It was Abel's second start in a row holding the opposing lineup scoreless, and he's lowered his ERA from 11.05 to 3.98 in the process. Beyond encouraging. LOWLIGHTS For a second consecutive week, the ugliest pitching moments came with Simeon Woods Richardson and Anthony Banda on the mound. It was an otherwise mostly successful home stand for the staff, but these two in particular are struggling here in April. In Wednesday's series finale against Boston they combined to allow nine runs (eight earned) on 12 hits in six innings, negating any chance for a sweep over the Red Sox. Five days earlier, that same duo coughed up eight earned runs over 5 ⅓ in Toronto. The Twins are 0-4 in Woods Richardon's starts this year and Banda has quickly found himself on the lower end of the bullpen hierarchy with an ERA now sitting at 10.38. It's especially unfortunate because the Twins are lacking for relievers they can trust in key spots. The bullpen in general is getting a reality check. On Saturday three relievers combined to progressively blow a two-run lead in the late innings. On Sunday it happened much more rapidly, with Andrew Morris surrendering three runs in the ninth before three more scored (unearned) against Garrett Acton in the 10th. A sure win turned into a crushing loss with a rookie (pitching a second inning in his second career appearance) and recent waiver claim on the mound. Neither of these guys should be pitching in such a situation. Obviously. Then again, it's hard to have a whole lot more faith in the mediocre likes of Justin Topa, Eric Orze and Cole Sands, who each gave up a run on Saturday as the 4-2 lead built up behind Bradley turned into a 5-4 defeat. We wondered last week how long the patchwork bullpen could hold up and it turns out, not long at all. In fairness, the pitchers were not helped at all by the defense, which has been atrocious. The past week we saw two different plays where multiple errors were committed, and in both cases the spiraling misplays were highly damaging. Luke Keaschall — who is also struggling mightily at the plate — bobbled and threw away a double-play ball with the bases loaded on Wednesday, letting in two and setting up a three-run blast. On Sunday, things unraveled in the 10th on a grounder that Tristan Gray failed to stab and then Martin failed to cleanly pick up in the outfield. Sloppy, sloppy baseball. No different from what most of us expected, but painful to watch nonetheless, especially when these botched plays are proving more costly than anticipated with the offense and rotation both contributing strongly. Winnable games keep slipping away and early-season momentum is being dashed. I wish I could say I was confident that help was on the way. TRENDING STORYLINE Is there anything the Twins can do about their bullpen and defense? Right now the team is so bad in both areas that it's pretty much impossible to envision them as a consistent winner. Watching quality starts get wasted in every game against the Reds was brutal, and the type of thing that's going to quickly sour fans who were attempting buy into this team's surprising April energy. Derek Shelton needs better options in the bullpen. Asking Morris to throw the eighth and ninth with a two-run lead in his second MLB appearance, when he's barely been tested as a reliever, was ridiculous. Claiming Acton off waivers and throwing him into extreme high-leverage situations right off the bat, ridiculous. Unfortunately, they are no easy fixes. The collection of relief arms at Triple-A is uninspiring. Minor-league signing John Brebbia was pitching pretty well before giving up three home runs on Sunday. John Klein has a 7.36 ERA for the Saints and Marco Raya 9.64 as two of the only readily available 40-man roster options. Dan Altavilla, who almost made the Opening Day roster, has a 9.31 ERA and 12-to-11 K/BB ratio. I guess you could think about giving a shot to 35-year-old Matt Bowman, owner of a 1.54 ERA through seven appearances, but that's not a needle-mover. There's just little hope on the horizon for this relief corps, unless they try something drastic like converting Connor Prielipp or Zebby Matthews at the expense of their starting depth. UPDATE: Well how about that. They're calling up Kendry Rojas, fresh off the injured list, with Prielipp reportedly joining on the taxi squad for the road trip. More to come. The dreadful Twins defense feels just as hopeless. They have sub-par fielders in most of the starting positions, including a couple who rank among the league's worst. Matt Wallner has been the least valuable defender in baseball, per Defensive Runs Saved, and Brooks Lee has no business playing shortstop regularly in the big leagues with 6th percentile range and 19th percentile arm strength. Speaking of dismal arm strength, Keaschall is skipping routine throws to first from 70 feet away at second. Keeping Kreidler on the roster would be helpful, but only so much. No one else the Twins can call upon or swap in soon is going to be any kind of savior with the glove. This a fundamentally bad defensive team and we're probably going to have to live with it. We'll see how they intend to address this crippling weakness over time. There is going to be a lot of pressure on prospects like Emmanuel Rodriguez and Kaelen Culpepper to come up and be impact defenders in a hurry. LOOKING AHEAD The suddenly slumping Twins are off to New York to face a Mets team with the second-highest payroll and worst record in baseball. Can Minnesota get the vibes back on track by capitalizing on the rotten ones in Queens, or will this prove to be the matchup that gets the Mets right? From there it's off to Tampa for three games against the Rays, starting with a showdown between Bradley and the team that is probably second-guessing their decision to trade him at the moment. TUESDAY, APRIL 21: TWINS @ METS — RHP Mick Abel v. RHP Nolan McLean WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22: TWINS @ METS — RHP Simeon Woods Richardson v. RHP Clay Holmes THURSDAY, APRIL 23: TWINS @ METS — RHP Joe Ryan v. RHP Kodai Senga FRIDAY, APRIL 24: TWINS @ RAYS — RHP Taj Bradley v. RHP Drew Rasmussen SATURDAY, APRIL 25: TWINS @ RAYS — RHP Bailey Ober v. LHP Shane McClanahan SUNDAY, APRIL 26: TWINS @ RAYS — RHP Mick Abel v. TBD View full article

What stats are we talking about that would be meaningful in the sample of MLB time he's played. Do you have defensive stats from the minors? Kreidler made several outstanding plays in center in spring training. People throughout the org have remarked about his defensive ability. I don't think they're infallible but I also trust my eyes and ears. And yeah, the ability to roster him as versatile defense-first depth with options is what makes him preferable to someone like Outman. No one's making him out to be a viable MLB starter.

Come on. Are MLB front offices just idiots who can't evaluate defense as well as you? The Tigers were well aware of his inability to hit. Why did they roster him for part of the past 4 years, including out of camp last year? Why did he get grabbed quickly off waivers when DFA'ed? If what you're saying was accurate he'd be nowhere near a major-league roster. I'd love to see Trevor Larnach make a play like this in the outfield at some point in his entire life.

Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images Amid a largely encouraging start for the Minnesota Twins, there's been no shortage of grousing and grumbling about James Outman, whose start has been anything but encouraging. Here in mid-April, the backup outfielder is still searching for his first hit of the season — through 20 plate appearances he's gone 0-for-18 with 10 strikeout and two walks. It's no isolated slump. Outman also struggled mightily down the stretch last year after being acquired in exchange for reliever Brock Stewart at the deadline. In total, he's batting .124 with a .485 OPS and 44% strikeout rate as a Twin. Turning 29 next month, he's not exactly a youthful upside play at this point. The promise Outman showed as a rookie back in 2023 has vanished from sight. It's understandable why fans are eager to see Outman ousted. The case for sticking with him rests on two factors: His role is extremely limited. Outman has started only four of Minnesota's first 17 games, and his 20 PAs rank 13th on the team. Nobody who's been on the roster since the start of the season has played less. You don't want to call up a legitimate player or prospect like Emmanuel Rodriguez, Walker Jenkins or even Alan Roden to languish on the bench and get a handful of ABs each week. His skills for that limited role are suitable. While he hasn't hit at all, Outman can play all three outfielder positions well and the Twins trust him in center. He also runs well and is 2-for-2 on stolen bases. That's really the primary function of his pure bench role, and he excels with these specific skills more than most alternatives. There's also the matter of Outman being out of options, meaning he'd have to be DFA'ed and put through waivers if removed from the active roster. It's likely the main reason he made the team out of camp, but it's becoming less and less of a consideration. Would Outman even be claimed by another team at this point? If he does, would it really be a big deal? The reality is that Kreidler offers everything that Outman does and then some. Need a glove-first (glove-only?) player you can count on all over the outfield, including center? Someone who can run reasonably well if needed as an in-game sub? A guy who you don't mind using sparingly as a bench piece? Check, check, check. Kreidler is a very good defender all over the field. He might not be quite as good as Outman in center, but he's close; keep in mind that Kreidler started there on Opening Day for the Tigers last year. Additionally he can back up every infield position, and he'll be an upgrade over the starter at each. Right now, the Twins lack any purpose-fit defensive replacements for their lackluster infield unit. The big knock on Kreidler is that he's been one of the worst hitters in baseball. His initial stint with the Twins, which has included two homers and four RBIs in his first three games, has been intriguing on this front, but it's too early to invest much belief in his offense on this basis. Dating back to 2024, Kreidler's .191 wOBA is sixth-worst among 593 MLB players with 100+ PA. Outman is only slightly better, with his .229 wOBA 22nd-worst. You're looking at two offensive non-factors, and one is bringing far more to the table as a versatile utilityman versus a player whose sole value is being able to handle center field. Royce Lewis is eligible to return from the injured list as soon as Monday, and is scheduled to scheduled to start a rehab stint on Saturday. He's in line to return at some point next week. Whenever Lewis is activated, the corresponding move should not be to send down Kreidler, who was brought up as his replacement, but rather Outman, whose ostensible value has been replaced by the Kreidler. View full article

Image courtesy of Jordan Johnson-Imagn Images The Weekly Nutshell: Well okay then! Through their first nine games of the season, the Twins much looked like the team most expected to see, opening with a 3-6 record that placed them at the bottom of the Central division. Looking ahead to matchups against Detroit and Toronto, the Twins were going to need to step it up to avoid sinking deeper here in April. They did indeed step it up, and in a big way, seizing a rare four-game series sweep at home against the Tigers before heading to Toronto and taking two of three from the defending AL champs. The Twins hit for power, pitched well, and played much more cleanly than we saw in the first few series. They took advantage of lapses while their opponents struggled to do the same. Suddenly, they've won six of seven and eight of their past 11. Now we're having some fun. Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 4/6 through Sun, 4/12 *** Record Last Week: 6-1 (Overall: 9-7) Run Differential Last Week: +16 (Overall: +14) Standing: 2nd Place in AL Central (0.5 GB) Latest Game Results Game 10 | MIN 7, DET 3: Keaschall's First Homer Sparks Win in Frigid Temps Keaschall: 1-3, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB Game 11 | MIN 4, DET 2: Bradley Outduels Skubal in Dominant Performance Bradley: 6.1 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 10 K Game 12 | MIN 8, DET 6: Twins Ambush Valdez, Hang On to Clinch Series Win Buxton: 3-4, BB Game 13 | MIN 3, DET 1: Abel's Strong Start, Lee's Clutch Hit Secure Sweep Abel: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 6 K Game 14 | TOR 10, MIN 4: Wheels Come Off for Woods Richardson and Banda Woods Richardson: 4 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 2 K Game 15 | MIN 7, TOR 4: Ryan Cruises and Larnach Delivers Three-Run Blast Ryan: 7 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 5 K Game 16 | MIN 8, TOR 2: Twins Jump All Over Scherzer, Take Road Series in Rout Gray, Lee: 5 RBIs IF YOU'D RATHER LISTEN TO THE WEEK IN REVIEW THAN READ IT, YOU CAN GET IT IN AUDIO FORM! FIND THE LATEST EPISODE ON OUR PODCAST PAGE, AS WELL AS ON APPLE AND SPOTIFY. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNELS SO YOU DON'T MISS OUT! YOU CAN ALSO WATCH OUR LIVESTREAM WITH LOU HENNESY BELOW. NEWS & NOTES The Twins made their first IL moves since the season began on Saturday, placing third baseman Royce Lewis and reliever Cody Laweryson on the shelf. Utilityman Ryan Kreidler and right-hander Andrew Morris were called up from Triple-A as replacements. Lewis tweaked his knee on a swing in Thursday's game, later diagnosed as a sprain, while Laweryson is dealing with a forearm strain. Some fans expressed dismay to see Kreidler called up instead of, say, Kaelen Culpepper, but the reality is that Culpepper has only played about a dozen games at Triple-A. He's a very important prospect and his timeline should be dictated by development rather than the major-league team's needs, especially if those those needs are short-term in nature. That is hopefully the case for Lewis, who sounds likely to miss the minimum 10 days if things go to plan. Laweryson's timeline is less clear. Forearm strains are always concerning. The timing is tough because he was coming off a couple really strong appearances in the Detroit series, including his first career save on Monday. Morris, ranked by Twins Daily as the #12 prospect in the system, will provide length with the ability to pitch multiple innings. He did so in his MLB debut on Sunday, throwing two-innings of one-run ball while firing a fastball in the upper 90s. HIGHLIGHTS The Twins were failing to get anything done against left-handed starters ... up until they faced Tarik Skubal and Framber Valdez — the $50 million duo atop Detroit's rotation — and knocked them around for 12 earned runs in 9 ⅓ innings, defeating them both on the way to a stunning sweep over the Tigers. Some of Minnesota's righty bats finally came alive. Luke Keaschall hit his first homer of the season on Monday and added RBIs in the next two games. Byron Buxton broke out of his slump with a three-hit game on Wednesday, with Lewis also driving in a pair. Brooks Lee delivered a clutch go-ahead hit on Thursday, and channeled the momentum into two home runs and a two-run double in Toronto. He lifted his OPS from .417 at the start of the week to .694 by the end. A desperately needed awakening for Lee at the plate. There were plenty of good signs from the offense, which averaged 5.9 runs per game on the week and now ranks second in the American League in scoring. But the rotation led the way against Detroit, with Minnesota's four starters combining to allow just five earned runs on 18 hits in 23 innings (1.95 ERA), with zero homers. Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober were good, Mick Abel was very good, and Taj Bradley was once again great. Bradley continues to look better and better each time out, and was flat-out dominant on Tuesday, holding the Tigers to one run in 6 ⅓ innings with 10 strikeouts and zero walks. After outperforming one of the best pitchers in the game on Tuesday, Bradley followed up by outperforming one of the best pitchers of this generation on Sunday, picking up another win against Max Scherzer and the Blue Jays. Bradley battled major control issues in this one, walking four and throwing just 62 of 106 pitches for strikes. But in a way it was maybe his most impressive start yet, because he worked out of self-created jams and found the zone when he needed to. It was a great indicator of how far he's come. Minnesota's patchwork bullpen is getting it done for now. They held close leads in the Detroit series, with contributors emerging from every corner and a different reliever notching the save in each win. Laweryson got five big outs to close out Monday's game. Newcomer Garrett Acton picked up the win on Thursday, tossing two critical innings in relief of Abel to set up Lee's late-game heroics. Taylor Rogers, Eric Orze and Kody Fundeburk were all effective in their opportunities, and Derek Shelton seemed to be putting them in the right spots. I'm not sure how long this grab-bag relief corps will be able to sustain its performance, but you've got to commend them for what they've been able to get done thus far. A few other performances worth highlighting from an outstanding 6-1 week for the Twins: Ryan Jeffers was a run-producing machine, driving in seven across his four starts behind the plate while impacting games with his prolific and proficient pitch-challenging. He tallied three hits, including a homer, in the opener against Toronto, and is taking a lot of high-quality at-bats. Trevor Larnach hasn't had a ton of opportunity to play due to the frequency of left-handed opposing starters, but he's definitely taking advantage of his spots. He launched a big three-run homer off lefty Eric Lauer to break Saturday's game open, and on the season he has seven walks compared to four strikeouts, reflecting masterful control of the zone. Austin Martin is getting on base relentlessly, which is exactly what the Twins need him to do. He recorded five walks and four hits last week, boosting his batting average to .300 and his OBP to .500 in the young season, and his defense in the outfield has looked much-improved. On Friday he doubled for his first extra-base hit of the season; we'll take whatever glimpses of pop we can get. Finally, Josh Bell continues to anchor the lineup with consistently fantastic production. He started in the middle of the order for all seven games and went 8-for-24 with a double, a homer, and five RBIs. Bell has been all that was advertised and then some. LOWLIGHTS Simeon Woods Richardson pitched really well through his first two starts, but felt like a little bit of a ticking time bomb. His swing-and-miss rate was among the lowest in the league, and his stuff was grading out very poorly according to qualitative models. In Toronto, the bottom fell out. Staked an early lead on home runs from Jeffers and Lee, Woods Richardson was hit hard in a four-run fourth that erased the team's advantage. He was replaced by Anthony Banda, another guy plagued by quality-of-stuff issues — his fastball is down nearly three full MPH from last year. Banda was touched up for three earned runs in 1 ⅔ on Friday, after yielding four earned runs while recording just two outs against Detroit on Wednesday. His ERA sits at 9.39 through eight appearances. Maybe we're seeing why the Dodgers were willing to let him go. While many hitters are coming around and finding success at the plate, James Outman is not among them. He's still searching for his first hit of the season after going 0-for-9 with six strikeouts last week. Outman has been overmatched and doesn't really appear to have much of a chance up there. To some extent I can give him some lenience — he's playing somewhat rarely and it can be hard to find your timing or get into any groove with such sporadic opportunities. But that's the role. And while it's not a role that demands much offensively, the Twins need someone who can pose some kind of threat at the plate when he's in the lineup. Lou and I discussed some possible options and solutions in the livestream and podcast. TRENDING STORYLINE We'll see how the Twins handle the left side of their infield in the absence of Lewis. Kreidler and Tristan Gray have traded off starts based on matchups thus far, and that's probably a fair expectation going forward. I wondered if we might see Kreidler step in at shortstop with Lee sliding to third against lefties — probably a better defensive alignment — but so far Shelton has seen fit to keep Lee home at shortstop. Kreidler made a very slick play in his first start at the hot corner, showcasing what he brings to the table defensively. Depending on how long Lewis is out, this could be a great opportunity for Gray to get some playing time and show what he can do. He's always been bit of a fringy player who's struggled to get consistent playing time in the majors, but he's got a really intriguing power tool and we've already seen that on display. He hit another big three-run homer on Sunday and has driven in 11 runs through eight games played, helping key the surprising early success of this offense. Unfortunately, the nature of the upcoming schedule might make it hard for the lefty-swinging Gray to draw regular starts in the near future (see below), but with each eye-catching moment he's establishing himself as a legitimate top backup behind Lewis at third, which as we've seen is a pretty important role. LOOKING AHEAD The parade of left-handers continues, with four more the docket next week, starting with one of the game's best in Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet. The Twins seem to have turned a bit of a corner against southpaws this past week, so we'll see if they can channel that forward into their lefty-stacked matchups against Boston and Cincinnati at Target Field. MONDAY, APRIL 13: RED SOX @ TWINS — LHP Garrett Crochet v. RHP Bailey Ober TUESDAY, APRIL 14: RED SOX @ TWINS — RHP Sonny Gray v. RHP Mick Abel WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15: RED SOX @ TWINS — LHP Connelly Early v. RHP Simeon Woods Richardson FRIDAY, APRIL 17: REDS @ TWINS — LHP Brandon Williamson v. RHP Joe Ryan SATURDAY, APRIL 18: REDS @ TWINS — LHP Andrew Abbott v. RHP Taj Bradley SUNDAY, APRIL 19: REDS @ TWINS — RHP Brady Singer v. RHP Bailey Ober View full article

Thank you so much for the kinds words Chief! Loving these features.