Nick Nelson

Mays and (possibly) Gonsalves being injured are not "decisions." Santiago is a solid pitcher whose presence does nothing but add SP depth. I don't necessarily agree with the projection that Danny Santana will break camp but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. So the only actual decisions you're criticizing here are keeping Santiago (perfectly defensible) and changing Jay's role, which I would argue is a proactive move that does contrast against the previous leaders. Doogie was relaying a quote from Tyler Jay's agent. Take it with a grain of salt.

It doesn't change it, but what good does it do for people to expend so much energy complaining about it? For the team to be formulating its view of how to handle Jay or what's best for him based on where the last regime drafted him would be the exact wrong approach. Frankly, you should be a lot more concerned about #4 overall pick from two years earlier showing few signs of being able to help in any meaningful way.

um, yes? I would like to see them both up quickly. When have I said otherwise?

The point that people keep overlooking, I think, is that a big part of the reason he was drafted there (and a big part of the reason we ranked him as the org's #5 prospect) was because of his high floor as an impact late-inning reliever. You can argue that they're opting for that route too quickly, but this is not a worst-case scenario or even IMO an unexpected one. And the downside of continuing to push him along as a starter is that you endanger his health (his small frame did not hold up well to the workload last year) while also further acclimating him to a role and routine he probably won't permanently fill. Some guys only have so many bullets. How many do you want to waste on this experiment before unleashing his true potential?

You realize the people making this decision are not the ones that drafted him, right? I think you'll find the entire ordeal less taxing if you come to terms with that. I was not a huge fan of this selection when it was made. I'm not calling it a good pick and I don't really see anyone else doing so. But the hand-wringing over what a big mistake it was is moot. And if Jay fulfills his potential in the bullpen it's not going to look like a terrible draft pick in hindsight. It's just not.

I like it. Bayou Blaze?

What evidence is there of this being true? Honest question. His numbers last year were OK for a college first-rounder in Single-A, nothing more. He has two excellent pitches – which played down in a starting role – and beyond that, meh. What gives him the makeup of a #1 or #2 starter in your mind? The Twins might be painting this publicly as a move toward getting him to the majors faster, or a capitulation to his desires, but they wouldn't be doing it if they believed he had a good chance to become a 1/2 starter. I guarantee you that.

With his long curly locks and laid back attitude, JT Chargois fits the description you'd expect for a guy with the nickname Shaggy. On the surface, though, he doesn't quite match the prototype for an imposing late-inning reliever. At least, until he lets loose that incredible fastball.Back in October, I wrote about the righty's heater, which measured up against some of the game's best in 2016. A glance at what others on that list managed to achieve on the mound is beyond encouraging. Among those who were able to throw that hard while avoiding tons of walks, there was basically universal success. Hitters aren't going to do much with consistent 97 MPH fastballs that find the zone, especially if there's any secondary pitch to play them up. Chargois has that: a hard slider that registers in the upper-80s and keeps hitters from keying on his red-hot fastball. He also has shown the ability to keep both in the zone, though that wavers. His command certainly wasn't there in a disastrous MLB debut last June that saw him cough up five earned runs while recording only two outs and throwing less than half of his 30 pitches for strikes. Ask the righty about that Saturday afternoon, and his easygoing smile evaporates. "That kind of performance is not acceptable," Chargois said. "I don’t feel like that’s who I am, it’s not what I’m about." What went wrong? "Everything. Your dream’s coming true right in front of your eyes, and I have to do my job? That seems impossible." The moment Chargois had long dreamed of quickly turned into a nightmare as a loaded Red Sox lineup turned a one-run ninth-inning lead into a blowout. Following a brilliant two-month run in the minors that earned him his promotion, he couldn't find any answers. The 25-year-old faced eight batters and six reached base as a carousel spun around him on the Target Field mound: three singles, two walks, a hit batsman, a run-scoring wild pitch. Immediately after the game, he was optioned back to the minors. In Rochester, he picked up where he left off by limiting hits, missing bats and – most importantly – throwing strikes. In 17 outings after returning to the Red Wings, he walked only four of 93 batters faced. Two months later, he was back up in the big leagues and this time he was ready to show what he was about. Appearing 24 times the rest of the way, he posted a 2.82 ERA, and finished strong by allowing just one run on six hits in his final 13 trips to the hill. The impressive rebound put Chargois in a position where he now has a very realistic shot at winning a bullpen job this spring. But unsurprisingly, the manager wants to see more consistency and efficiency. "We saw a little bit of both sides of that last year," Paul Molitor noted. "Strike thrower and aggressive, and the results were usually pretty good. And other times, you look up and he’s at 28 pitches to get through an inning." This issue has nagged at Chargois at times in Grapefruit League play. Last Monday, he came on in relief of starter Justin Haley in the third inning and got two quick strikeouts, but things began to drag with several deep counts and an HBP before he finally wrapped it up. "We had him slated to pitch two today," Molitor said afterward, "but he had a long inning, so I didn’t send him back out there for just seven or eight pitches." Pitch economy was rarely a problem for Chargois after he made it his focus last year. Following that clunker debut, he averaged fewer than five pitches per out recorded the rest of the way, in both the minors and majors. That's where he wants to live. If he does, he can certainly set his sights on a late-inning role – perhaps the most coveted one. Glen Perkins is destined to start the year on the shelf. While there is a general assumption that incumbent Brandon Kintzler will open as closer, Molitor has been reluctant to make that official. "I'm not going there yet," the skipper responded when I asked him about it last weekend. One wonders if the door is being left open for Chargois. In one sense, his level of experience lags behind guys like Kintzler and Ryan Pressly, who've spent much more time in the majors. But in another sense, he has a significant edge. Kintzler had never recorded a big-league save prior to 2016 and his pitch repertoire is hardly tailored to the gig, though he performed admirably when called upon last summer. Pressly brings gas but has no closing experience and Molitor seems disinclined to mess with the setup role where he proved capable. Chargois, meanwhile, is a closer through and through. He dominated in that capacity as a junior for Rice University, and in the Cape Cod League, before the Twins made him the 72nd overall draft pick in 2012. Though he was selected during a time period where Minnesota was infatuated with trying to turn collegiate relievers into starters (they did so with Rice co-closer Tyler Duffey, whom they drafted three rounds later), there were never such inklings with Chargois. After signing, he went to Elizabethton and closed. Injuries cost him the next two seasons, but when he returned in 2015 he went to Fort Myers and closed, then moved up to Chattanooga and did the same. Last year, he recorded 16 saves in Double-A and Triple-A. So it was fitting that his ill-fated first taste of the majors came in the ninth inning. Sooner or later, it feels inevitable that Chargois will own the final frame for the Twins. And if the precedents set by other MLB closers who bring velocity in the same range – such as Aroldis Chapman, Craig Kimbrel, Edwin Diaz and Ken Giles – are any indication, he could become one of the league's best. But before he lands the job, he must prove that he can tame that big heat, and the key to doing so might be keeping his cool. Luckily, that seems to come naturally to Chargois. Click here to view the article

Ok, so you can say you don't like the SP depth in the minors. Fine. Calling this a "major setback" is false, it doesn't really change the outlook much.

I can't vouch for what you're reading elsewhere, but the reassurances about the future rotation options at Twins Daily have never been particularly reliant on Tyler Jay. If you read the prospect profile on him that I wrote a month ago, it was quite clear that he was far more likely to end up in the bullpen than to pan as an SP: http://twinsdaily.com/_/minnesota-twins-news/minnesota-twins-minor-leagues/td-top-prospects-5-tyler-jay-r5367 That still leaves the Twins with Romero, Gonsalves, Mejia and Stewart in the Top 10, and I think all are pretty good bets to stick as starters.

Yeesh, let's scale back the "wasted pick" grumbling. An overpowering lefty bullpen fireman is a very valuable piece. Did you all sleep through the playoffs last year? Is it an ideal outcome for a 6th overall draft pick? No, but I bet half of the others taken among the Top 10 of that draft will end up yielding less MLB value than Jay will if he reaches the level we're hoping he can. The story here isn't that the Twins blew it with a draft pick 2 years ago. It's a sunk cost and that GM is gone. The story is that the new regime is being proactive and making the right move to facilitate the fastest possible impact from Jay.

This is an interesting aspect. Hunter is now back in the organization, capable of once again serving as a mentor as he did during Buck's rookie year. Torii was, of course, known for the same kind of max-effort spectacular displays in center field. It was never really costly for him, with the exception of one fateful encounter with the wall at Fenway. Hopefully he can continue to enlighten Buxton on wall awareness and protecting his body while still going all-out.

A few years ago when I was talking to a Twins pitcher in the clubhouse, I made the point about Santana's versatility and ability to play a bunch of positions, and the pitcher responded with an eye roll, "Yeah, but does he play any of em well?" That's what a pitcher playing in front of the guy thinks. It's not just fans that are mystified by the team's continuing allegiance to DS. And with new leadership in place, I do believe it ends. Unless it's truly Molitor's call.

In the fifth inning of last Wednesday's WBC tuneup exhibition, Team USA's Adam Jones got a hold of one from Ryan Vogelsong, sending a drive to the deepest part of center field in Hammond Stadium. Twins center fielder Byron Buxton raced back at full speed and leaped into the air, corralling the ball before crashing into the wall and landing with a thud. Applause erupted throughout the stadium, but Minnesota's new top baseball executive, recognizing that Buxton is perhaps the single most important asset he's inherited with his new organization, had a different reaction. "Everyone in the stands is clapping, and my reaction up in my seats is I’m holding my breath for about 10 seconds," Derek Falvey told me. Paul Molitor said much the same postgame.The CBO and skipper exhaled as the young outfielder sprung up and lobbed the ball back into the infield, but it was a play that highlights both Buxton's dynamic capabilities and his nerve-racking tendency to put his body in harm's way. Buxton has no plans to change. His credo is akin Popeye's: I yam what I yam. Unlike the cartoon sailor man, though, Buxton can't gain invincibility by chugging down a can of spinach. We've seen this reality play out more than once. ~~~ Buxton is a rare breed. That statement obviously applies to his freakish athleticism and uncommon aptitude for the game, but also to his demeanor. In the clubhouse, the outfielder can usually be found sitting quietly at his locker, occupying himself but remaining approachable. He speaks softly and politely, frequently deflecting praise onto others. Most strikingly, the prep superstar who went on to become a No. 2 overall draft pick before developing into the consensus top prospect in the game and centerpiece for a franchise, exhibits almost no trace of an ego. Maybe it's because he's still young, or because he hasn't yet turned the corner in the majors. But this genuinely seems to be his nature. That reserved disposition certainly doesn't manifest on the baseball field. Buxton is a ferocious force in all aspects: barreling around the base paths, careening through the expanses of center field, swinging the bat like he's trying to fell a tree with one hack. Asked about his approach this spring, Buxton said he's keeping it simple, which proved effective for him last year when he came back in September from a second minor league demotion and blasted nine home runs. "I can’t worry about where my foot’s landing, where my hands are. I just go up there and see the ball, hit the ball. As long as I’m comfortable, that’s all that matters to me. And that’s what I’m gonna stick with." "Just coming up there and being aggressive," he added, "ready to attack the baseball." Two days after I chatted him with him at his locker, Buxton led off a game against Baltimore by turning on a 93 MPH heater from Dylan Bundy and crushing it far over the wall in left-center. He later added a double. Afterwards, bench coach Joe Vavra used a familiar word to describe what he was observing: "He continues to be in attack mode." Yes, the unassuming kid from Georgia, whose tentativeness at the plate was a constant frustration while he struck out at a ludicrous 35 percent rate in his first two MLB seasons, is on the attack. That's true both at the plate and in the field. But of course, going on attack tends to mean leaving oneself vulnerable. The Twins are rightfully doing nothing to discourage Buxton's all-out mentality – "It’s hard to take away a guy’s aggressiveness, and I don’t think you ever want to," said Falvey – but the new regime is certainly aware of Buxton's history. ~~~ In June of 2015, a 21-year-old Buxton became the third-youngest player to ever debut in a Twins uniform. This was made all the more impressive by the fact that nearly his entire 2014 campaign had been wiped out by injuries. A trying season opened with a left wrist sprain suffered on a diving attempt in the outfield during spring training. He missed the first month, and then in his fifth game back, reaggravated the injury diving into third base. That cost him another two months. He returned to the field in July, received a promotion to Double-A after 30 games, and then in his first game with New Britain he collided violently with fellow outfielder Mike Kvasnicka at full speed, an extremely frightening incident that left the top prospect unconscious on the field for 10 minutes before he was carted out in an ambulance. Buxton was fortunate to come away with only a concussion, but his season was over. He did make it back for the Arizona Fall League, which was once again cut short, this time by a dislocated finger suffered while – you guessed it – diving for a ball in the outfield. The next summer, in his 10th game with Minnesota following a big-league promotion, Buxton sprained his thumb while sliding on a stolen base attempt. Undoubtedly frustrated after all he'd been through, he tried to push through, but struck out four times against Chris Sale the next afternoon and was placed on the disabled list. He wound up sidelined for another two months. All of this missed time during the crux of his development is probably an underrated contributor to the young outfielder's troubles finding his way at the plate. But now, he has finally been able to put together a sustained run of health. He played 141 total games last year and has reported no issues this spring. Still, the threat lurks, leading to justifiable anxiety amongst the team's brass each time he goes into the wall. But it's who he is. "I can’t really be worrying about getting hurt out here," Buxton said. "I'm focused on being myself between those lines instead of trying to be somebody I'm not." The Twins aren't asking him to be anyone else. But they are cognizant of the inherent risks presented by his style of play, and so it's important to have contingencies in place in case of emergency. ~~~ A desire to build quality depth behind Buxton may have played into the team's decision to sign Drew Stubbs to a minor-league contract during the offseason. Different people pointed to different attributes when discussing what the veteran outfielder brings to the table. Falvey, whose Indians rostered Stubbs in 2013, pointed to character and clubhouse impact. Molitor was interested in the potential for his right-handed bat on the bench with lefty swingers starting in both corner spots. But the 32-year-old recognizes a big part of his own appeal. "I’m a natural center fielder," Stubbs said, "and those are kind of hard to come by when you’re looking for a guy who can fill in." Of course, Eddie Rosario and Max Kepler can fill the spot in a pinch, but shouldn't be there for prolonged periods. Danny Santana was the primary backup last year but may not make the roster as his mistakes continue to pile up. Zack Granite is in big-league camp for the first time this year and has certainly been drawing some attention, including from the manager. On Saturday, Granite made a play in the center that was positively Buxton-esque, sprinting about 100 feet to the warning track in right-center to snag a ball that looked uncatchable coming off the bat. "He went a long way for that ball," Molitor said after the game with a hint of wonderment. Granite was the organization's Minor League Player of the Year in 2016 and clearly the team likes him. Eventually he could be an almost ideal backup for Buxton. But for now, the 24-year-old hasn't played above Double-A and needs everyday at-bats, so he'll get more time in the minors. In the present, Stubbs looks to be the front-runner to join Robbie Grossman in the outfield reserves and to serve as a backup if things should go amiss with Buxton. Of course, we're all hoping that the Buck never stops. But if they can install solid depth behind him, the Twins can breathe a little easier while Buxton stays in attack mode. Click here to view the article

Over the offseason, it came to light that Minnesota's slugging Korean first baseman wanted his first name written differently than it had been previously. No space. No dash. Just ByungHo. It's not the only difference we've seen with him this spring. *** I'll be handling this week's Write of Spring newsletter, a special in-depth report breaking down a particular topic from Twins camp, along with a notebook dump of quotes and rumblings. The only way to get it is by making sure you're on the mailing list. It's free! *** Park went from hitting long shots last March to becoming a longshot this time around after losing his 40-man roster spot. But with Kennys Vargas away at the World Baseball Classic, the 30-year-old is taking advantage of his opportunity to pile up at-bats. Sure, the thump has been there – he leads the team with three home runs (I mean, #ParkBangs). But that’s nothing new, as it was clear from the moment he arrived that his prodigious power was legit. Now, it’s the subtler things that are gaining notice. He drew yet another start on Sunday and once again made the most of it. No, there was no 500-foot moonshot. But Park did fight off a tough pitch for a bloop single over the second baseman’s head, and laid off a borderline offering on a full count to draw a walk. Therein lies the most conspicuous distinction between this spring and last. In his first camp, Park displayed plenty of pop but the ghastly plate discipline – evidenced by a 17-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio – was an unshakably ominous harbinger. This year, his improved approach at the dish is evident in a K/BB that stands at 6-to-4 following Sunday’s contest. Manager Paul Molitor has certainly taken notice of this adjustment. "I like that he’s swinging at a lot of strikes,” Molitor said over the weekend. "We haven’t seen the huge expansion of the zone, or the panic. It seems like there’s a lot more calmness to his at-bats and trust in his approach.” While he’s not one to make excuses on anyone’s behalf, Molitor noted that the foreign import faced a variety of exacerbating factors as an MLB rookie. “The microscope was fairly intense," as he put it. The Korean media throngs that swarmed through Hammond Field last year have now dissipated to a sparse contingent. The widespread attention and notoriety attached to a KBO superstar arriving in America have faded. Park has been humbled, first by a midseason demotion to the minors that proved season-long, and then by a trip through waivers – unclaimed – during the offseason. Setbacks like these can be a driving force in self-actualization. Add in the surgical repair of a finger tendon issue that hampered him for much of the summer, and there’s a strong basis for belief that some key circumstantial changes will make Park’s second go at it far more fruitful. But one thing that’s not going to change is the speed of those major-league fastballs. The data on Park’s lackluster production against pitches buzzing in 93+ MPH, which he rarely if ever saw in South Korea, is stark. "He was a little bit intimidated by last year,” bench coach Joe Vavra suggested. “The excessive velocity compared to what he’s used to, that was in his head.” Now? The former Twins batting instructor detects an unmistakable shift. While the blazing heaters won’t cool off, a mellower mental state could make them more manageable. "His mind has slowed down, if anything, and that really relaxes him at the plate,” said Vavra. "You don’t see him too anxious and overexcited in any one at-bat." Molitor opined that the relentless speed of the game at its highest level, in conjunction with the team’s horrendous season-opening slump, contributed to sending the first-year big-leaguer into a spiral. Park was one of five Twins appearing in an Opening Day MLB lineup for the first time last April, the manager pointed out, and "although he’s an experienced player, it was new for him.” The former KBO MVP had grown accustomed to carrying his club. “That’s the kind of guy he is,” Molitor said. "I think it’s part of his makeup and part of his culture that they have a huge accountability factor.” All the more reason to believe fierce efforts over the winter are playing into this early success. Park is visibly more comfortable in the batter’s box. But, then again, it’s spring training. When the games don’t matter and the pitchers aren’t going full bore, it’s much easier to manage emotions and stay on an even keel. Can he do it in the regular season? Will he get the chance, with the non-roster barrier now standing in his way? Even if he keeps doing encouraging things on the field, the Twins can still easily justify sending him to Triple-A, where he failed to distinguish himself last year. This would enable the front office to delay tough DFA decisions involved with re-adding him to the 40-man. He doesn't exactly have the largest obstacle blocking him though. Well, in the literal sense, yes, Vargas is a big man. But he isn't exactly doing much to stymie Park's advance. Vargas went 1-for-13 in Grapefruit play before reporting to Puerto Rico for the WBC, where he has started one of three games (and went hitless). Either way, it's starting to feel like it won't be long before Park is back... with a bang? Click here to view the article

You seem to have a dubious understanding of how spring training works, my friend. Hughes was intentionally going to perhaps his weakest pitch in bunches (Vavra said he believes it's the most changeups Hughes has ever thrown) in order work on it. The 103 games the Twins lost last year mattered and this one did not. Yes, it was encouraging. He took a clear step forward in some meaningful ways. He was getting whiffs with his slider. It's not immaterial that he's working at 91 with the FB and hitting 92 when we're not halfway through March. That pitch averaged 90.7 and 90.5 the last two years.

I believe it was pretty pervasive for him last year. It's a standard symptom of TOS, also reported by Matt Harvey and others.

Well, he had the surgery so theoretically that won't be an issue anymore. If it doesn't have the desired results, I'm sure that would be a consideration.

The ball was flying out of Hammond Stadium on Sunday, as the Twins and Orioles combined for five long balls in an 8-6 loss that snapped Minnesota’s eight-game spring win streak. We’ve got everything you need to know below the fold.* Home runs have been a problem for Phil Hughes frequently throughout his career, and certainly over the past couple of underwhelming seasons. He led the league with 29 allowed in 2015 and coughed up 11 in just 59 innings last year. Today, Baltimore’s lineup took him deep three times en route to this final pitching line: 5 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. Outside of the homers, it was mostly an encouraging outing. And afterward he noted that two of the three came on changeups, a lesser pitch he’s been working on extensively this spring. His fastball showed some life, flashing 92 on the gun several times, and finally the righty started to generate some whiffs. He had struck out only one batter total in two previous Grapefruit League appearances. “Obviously I have a tendency to (allow) home runs, so people are going to say what they’re going to say in spring training about it,” Hughes said, “but I did what I wanted to do. You’re going to make mistakes with a pitch you don’t throw very often.” * Asked how his arm strength feels relative to this point last March, Hughes explained that this was the first start in which he really would have noticed a difference. The symptoms of his thoracic outlet syndrome, which was surgically repaired last year, would typically set in over the course of a game when he would be sitting between innings and going back out. As his first two official spring starts were only two innings apiece, that didn’t really come into play. So, how did he feel about today’s five-inning assignment? “I felt good. I didn’t have any of the tingling and numbness in my fingers, which is obviously a good sign. I’d say I feel a lot better than I did." * Byron Buxton led off the game with his first home run of the spring and it was a no doubter, sailing well beyond the wall in left-center and bouncing off the concourse. Buxton worked the count to 2-2 before turning on a 93 MPH fastball from Orioles righty Dylan Bundy and obliterating it. He later added a double. “He continues to be in attack mode, seeing the ball good,” said bench coach Joe Vavra, serving as acting manager with Paul Molitor and the split squad facing the Pirates in Bradenton. “That’s encouraging." * Jorge Polanco’s defense at shortstop has been the subject of much scrutiny, and that will continue to be the case, but there aren’t many questions surrounding his bat. He has been stinging the ball consistently this spring, and in the second inning today launched a grand slam from the left side, pushing his team-leading RBI total to 11. Does Vavra, a former hitting coach, like the infielder’s swing better from either box? “I don’t know,” he said pensively. “Pretty good from the right side, that’s his natural side. But from the left side, he handles that bat pretty well. Obviously the reps he’s had from the left side over the years are a lot more.” * In Mexico, World Baseball Classic pool play rolled on with Puerto Rico taking on Italy. Jose Berrios got the start, his WBC debut, and worked five innings. The rotation contender gave up only two hits, but Italy made them hurt, putting up three runs with a pair of homers. One of those came off the bat of old friend Drew Butera in the second inning. But all in all, the Twins are probably happy with what they saw. Berrios worked ahead and proceeded efficiently, needing only 62 pitches to get through five frames and placing 43 of them in the zone (69%). He stuck out six and walked only one. Yesterday, I asked Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey about the challenge presented by evaluating players like Berrios and Kennys Vargas, who are heavily in the mix for roster spots, from afar. He said he feels that seeing players compete at a high level, at this point in the year, is a good thing. “I like the idea that they’re going and playing in a really competitive environment,” Falvey stated. “It’s not that spring training isn’t competitive and guys don’t want to do well, but we all know that as the games wear on it’s a little bit more of a practice environment.” “We have scouts at each of the WBC events, so we’re getting reports from them. We’re also really well involved with the leaders of those teams." * Tomorrow, the Twins will host the Tampa Bay Rays at Hammond Stadium. Starting for the Rays? None other than Jose De Leon, the young right-hander who was of course at the center of Brian Dozier trade talks between the Twins and Dodgers before Los Angeles dealt him to Tampa for Logan Forsythe. De Leon has been limited by back tightness this spring and has made only one appearance, in which he gave up four runs while recording only two outs. He’ll look to get on track tomorrow. Wonder if Dozier will be in the lineup? * If you’re subscribed to the Twins Daily “Write of Spring” newsletter, I’ll have a special report hitting your inboxes on Monday night, featuring exclusive insights, quotes and analysis you won’t find anywhere else. If you’re not subscribed, what are you waiting for? It’s free! Click here to learn more. Click here to view the article

A beautiful Saturday at Hammond Stadium got off to an inauspicious start, but the Minnesota Twins thrived under the sun against their crosstown Grapefruit League rivals, laying down a 13-0 whooping on the Boston Red Sox. Plenty of inside tidbits following the break...* The events of the day were overshadowed by this morning’s news that right-hander Trevor May, who had positioned himself to claim Minnesota’s fifth starter job, suffered a tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. You can get the whole story in our report, which includes thoughts from May and general manager Thad Levine. * The Twins rotation desperately needed some good vibes following that devastating blow. Kyle Gibson delivered them with five scoreless frames against the Red Sox, his finest outing this spring. If Gibson is to rebound and put it together this year, he’ll need to do exactly the things he did on the mound today. The righty attacked the lower region of the strike zone relentlessly, allowing only one walk and working efficiently enough that he needed to throw a few extras on the side after wrapping up his five innings. He notched four strikeouts, all swinging, with three coming on the slider. “It was terrible in the second start, so I’ve been working on it quite a bit in the pen,” Gibson said of his featured put-away pitch. “It’s more getting the motion right and getting my hand to the right position, it’s not necessarily when I’m using it or what my body’s doing.” * As you’ve probably heard, Gibson has been implementing some new training techniques in an effort stay strong and healthy throughout the summer. On Wednesday night we tweeted some footage of the hurler going through one of his new routines during a bullpen session: He was turned on to this regimen over the offseason at the Florida Baseball Ranch, a center in nearby Plant City that specializes in altering mechanics to eliminate preventable arm injuries. Mike Berardino had a good piece last month in the Pioneer Press discussing the innovative and quirky throwing program. “When I went to see this guy in Plant City, one thing I was kind of worried about was how he had me throwing and how we wanted me to throw, if it was going to still sink,” Gibson explained after today’s start. “He said what most guys find is as you get – not more extension, but they call it late launch – as you get the late launch your hand gets into that position to where it actually gets you a little bit later sink or a little bit more sink.” That would certainly be welcome for Gibson. Last year, his performance sank in part because his pitches didn’t, at least not enough. His 48.8 percent grounder rate was a career-low following a 2015 campaign in which he was among the game’s Top 10. Download attachment: Gibson Pitch.jpg * As I wrote on Thursday, Miguel Sano had been flailing in the early going down here. He broke out of his slump loudly today, driving a pitch from Boston lefty Henry Owens into the right-center gap and then racing around the bases for a two-run triple to open the scoring. Yes, the big slugger legged out a triple, diving into third base after reminding us that he’s a bit quicker than he looks. Seth snapped a great shot of it, pictured above. "Freight train running," Molitor said with a smirk. "He gets going." * Jackie Bradley Jr., who was in center for the Red Sox today, serves as an example that Minnesota’s own young center fielder might hope to follow. A former high draft pick and heralded prospect, Bradley struggled mightily through his first two big-league seasons with a .196/.268/.280 slash line in 530 plate appearances with a 29 percent K-rate. He turned the corner in Year 3, and in 2016 he was an All-Star, hitting .267/.349/.486 with a 26 homers to go along with exceptional defense while reining in the whiffs. In other words, exactly the kind of evolution the Twins would love to see from Buxton. * On Friday night, Team USA kicked off its World Baseball Classic pool play with a dramatic 10th inning walk-off win over Colombia. Not present for the action, of course, was Brian Dozier, who expressed surprise and disappointment over not being invited following a career year. “I thought it was a done deal,” he said. It’s particularly striking to hear from a star player who’s more than wiling but was left off the WBC roster, on the same day where Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports publishes a story tying to the idea that U.S. players don’t care about the tournament. Click here to view the article