Nick Nelson

The Twins officially released their 2023 schedule on Wednesday. As a means of distracting ourselves from the depressing current state of the team, let's take a look through it in search of notable tidbits and road trip opportunities for next summer. The most immediately noteworthy aspect of this schedule is that 2023 will be the first year in which Major League Baseball adopts a new model in which every team faces all 29 other teams at least once. This diversification corresponds with a reduction in the number of intra-division games. This is good news for those of us who tire of watching 19 games every year against the Tigers and Royals, albeit while diminishing Minnesota's competitive advantage of playing in the typically weaker AL Central. The Twins now just face each division opponent 12 times, which frees up space to include every series against every National League team in addition to the usual full American League slate. Read on for some specific nuggets of interest from a look over the 2023 Twins schedule. Getting Goliath Out of the Way Early The dreaded showdowns against the New York Yankees will be over with quickly, as the Twins face seven times in their first 25 games, concluding their regular-season engagements with the Bronx Bombers by April 26th. Minnesota's fifth series of the season is a four-gamer at Yankee Stadium, so they won't have much time to get comfortable. National League Road Trips In addition to their usual ventures to every AL city, the Twins will now have far more variety in their road destinations by virtue of the scheduling change. Notable away series next year take place in Miami (April 3-5), Atlanta (June 26-28), St. Louis (August 1-3), Philadelphia (August 11-13), Cincinnati (September 18-20), and a season-closing trip to Colorado (September 29-October 1). Midweek Milwaukee Trips ... Again In what's become a familiar tradition, the Twins also play a "home-and-home" split with the NL team that's been deemed their interleague rival: the Milwaukee Brewers, with two games here and two games there. And in what's also unfortunately become a tradition, both are midweek series: Tuesday and Wednesday, June 13th and 14th at Target Field Tuesday and Wednesday, August 22nd and 23rd at American Family Field This happens pretty much every year and it's one of the most vexing quirks of the schedule from my view. Minneapolis to Milwaukee is a nice easy drive and while it might not feel like a true "rivalry" the dynamic between these two fan bases is fun. The midweek scheduling makes these trips impractical for a lot of people, however. No Late-Season Divisional Showdowns In a stark contrast to this season, where the Twins have a September schedule loaded with AL Central foes, including six of their final nine games against the White Sox, the Twins face zero divisional opponents have only seven such games after August 31st next year, and they are all on the road: three games at Cleveland (September 4-6) and four at Chicago (September 14-17). It'll put the Twins in a somewhat tough position if they need to make up ground or create distance in the standings late in the year. As you look over the 2023 schedule, what strikes you? Which road trips are you plotting for next summer? What are your thoughts on the new scheduling convention? Sound off in the comments. View full article

He's been so consistently amazing at what he does that it's become easy to take for granted. Been when you consider where Jhoan Durán came from, what he's been through, and what's he's doing – especially within the context of the Twins franchise and its history – the right-hander's rookie season is worth taking a step back to appreciate. When the Twins acquired a relief pitcher by the name of Juan Morillo in 2009, it was considered a big deal. "New Minnesota Twins relief pitcher Juan Morillo can throw 96 mph" remarked the headline for a Phil Miller story in the Pioneer Press at the time. Quaint as that number seems by today's standards, it turns out the headline was underselling the newcomer's velocity. Although Morillo ended up throwing only two innings for the Twins, and was done as a big-leaguer after that, his name hung around as a quirky bit of trivia – he became the first Twins pitcher to ever touch 100 MPH, a distinction he held up until Brusdar Graterol came through more than a decade later. Minnesota infamously lagged way behind in Major League Baseball's pitching velocity movement, which makes it all the more noteworthy they now have three relievers in their bullpen who have touched triple-digits this year. The leader of that pack is a rookie who has quickly emerged as one of the best relief pitchers in baseball – a consistently reliable performer in a bullpen that's been volatile and erratic around him. This certainly hasn't been true of all flame-throwing pitchers – with Morillo being a great example – but Jhoan Durán has translated his premium velocity into true dominance on the field. Through 53 ⅔ innings, he has a 2.01 ERA, 2.86 FIP, and 0.99 WHIP. His 70 strikeouts and 12 walks are good for a 5.83 K/BB ratio, putting him in the range of a prime Joe Nathan. He's been an essential outlier in a bullpen that has rarely risen to the occasion, ranking third among MLB relievers in Win Probability Added behind only David Robertson and Emmanuel Clase. If you take away Durán's contribution, the Twins bullpen as a whole drops from ranking 17th in the majors in WPA to ranking 27th. According to the statistic Championship Win Probability Added (cWPA), which is designed to measure "how a player impacts their team's chances of winning the World Series," Durán ranks #1 in all of baseball. This astounding level of success is made all the more impressive by these three facts: He's pitching in relief for the first time. Usually, even the eventual success stories for starters-turned-relievers take a little time to reach fruition. Durán's transition was sharp and seamless. When he got the ball in the fifth inning of a close game on Opening Day, he looked like he'd been doing it for years, notching four strikeouts over two scoreless frames. It was very much a sign of things to come. Not only has Durán acclimated instantly to the change of routine and altered dynamics of pumping it up for one-inning stints, he's also handled the rigors of regularly pitching in extreme high-leverage spots with aplomb. Recognizing his greatness, Rocco Baldelli quickly placed Durán atop his bullpen hierarchy – the go-to option when games are truly on the line. That'd be a tall order for most rookies but Durán has thrived under pressure, as evidenced by his nearly unrivaled impact among relievers on winning games. He threw only 16 innings over the past two seasons. It's easy to forget now, but Durán's health was a huge concern coming into this season. After getting no official game action in 2020, with the minor-league season canceled, he made only five appearances last year and didn't pitch after June 15th due to an elbow strain that the team trusted to heal up without surgery. That approach hasn't always worked, as we are all painfully aware, but so far it's paying dividends with Durán. While reaching new heights with his velocity and accruing more relief innings than any Twin, sans Griffin Jax, Durán has remained healthy and strong all year long, with not a whisper of any physical issues. He was acquired for two months of Eduardo Escobar. Back in 2018, the Twins were going nowhere at the deadline so they dealt a few veterans, including Escobar who was an impending free agent. In that deal they got back three prospects: outfielders Ernie De La Trinidad and Gabriel Maciel, and Durán. La Trinidad and Maciel never did much of note, and are now gone from the organization. But Durán alone is enough to make that trade a slam-dunk. Between this and last year's acquisition of Joe Ryan for Nelson Cruz, the front office has certainly made the most of its opportunities to add young impact pitching when in a seller position in its two non-competitive seasons. Both pitchers have played integral roles in keeping this one from turning into a non-competitive season, and in Durán's case it's especially impressive once you zoom out and look at the state of his position across the league. We've been reminded this year of just how quickly things can turn for top relievers and closers across the league. Guys like Taylor Rogers, Josh Hader, and Clay Holmes were amazing until they very quickly weren't. These are established, respected names and All-Stars. The rarity of Durán's unyielding steadiness becomes all the more distinct against this backdrop. Even with the likes of Jorge López and Michael Fulmer aboard, Durán remains the heart and soul of this bullpen, enjoying one of the better seasons we've seen from a Twins reliever and doing it in a way that leaves little room for doubt or skepticism. This team has had some great relief pitchers over the years, but never someone so visibly, obviously, undeniably dominant as the imposing 6'5" hardest thrower in franchise history. If the Twins going to find a way to pull it together and win this division, they're going to need their miraculous rookie sensation to be the gift that keeps on giving. View full article

The Twins came into this past week needing a surge, and things started out promisingly with four straight wins. But the mild hot streak was snuffed out by a pair of ugly losses on Saturday and Sunday that left the team reeling. Too often this year, the pitching or hitting showing up as been a mutually exclusive proposition. Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 8/15 through Sun, 8/21 *** Record Last Week: 4-2 (Overall: 62-57) Run Differential Last Week: +8 (Overall: +25) Standing: 2nd Place in AL Central (1.5 GA) Last Week's Game Results: Game 114 | MIN 4, KC 2: Kepler and Twins Break Their Slumps Game 115 | MIN 9, KC 0: Gray Dominates in Much-Needed Blowout Game 116 | MIN 4, KC 0: Second Straight Shutout Seals Sweep Game 117 | MIN 2, TEX 1: Pitchers Lead the Way Once Again Game 118 | TEX 4, MIN 3: Lack of Clutch Hitting Leads to Late Loss Game 119 | TEX 7, MIN 0: Twins Lifeless in Embarrassing Blowout NEWS & NOTES Alarms started going off immediately on Wednesday afternoon when Tyler Mahle came out throwing with noticeably diminished velocity. That's a scary sign for a key deadline acquisition who already spent weeks on the injured list this summer with shoulder issues, and sure enough, Mahle was pulled in the second inning due to what was described as soreness and fatigue in his shoulder. After getting back clean scans, the Twins were relatively optimistic about Mahle's outlook, but he still landed on the IL and will miss at least a couple of starts. Devin Smeltzer was called up to take his spot on the roster. In more positive news on the health front, the team seems optimistic about Kenta Maeda, Bailey Ober, Trevor Larnach and Kyle Garlick back in the relatively near future, with all four ramping up on the road back to MLB action. Meanwhile, Randy Dobnak tossed three scoreless innings across two appearances in the Florida Complex League, and should be taking his rehab stint to Triple-A in the coming week, barring setbacks. A final roster move of note: On Wednesday, the Twins claimed relief pitcher Jake Jewell of waivers from Cleveland, adding him to the 40-man roster and optioning him to St. Paul. He's a 29-year-old with a 7.75 ERA in 38 ⅓ innings, but he's more interesting than those details suggest. Jewell has been excellent at Triple-A all season. In 44 ⅓ innings for the Guardians' Triple-A affiliate, he posted a 2.49 ERA and 48-to-15 K/BB ratio with zero home runs allowed. He made his debut for St. Paul on Friday and tossed a clean inning with two strikeouts. The right-hander has a good chance of getting a shot in the Twins bullpen at some point in the last six weeks. A fun fact about Jewell is that, according to Baseball Reference, his nickname is for some reason "Bob." HIGHLIGHTS It was a much-needed big week for the pitching staff, with starters bouncing back and the bullpen (mostly) locking things down. A sweep over the Royals was fueled by 26 consecutive scoreless innings, with Sonny Gray and the relief corps guiding back-to-back shutouts. Gray was at his best on Tuesday, allowing only three singles and a walk over six innings. He struck out 10 and induced a season-high 14 swinging strikes. Gray pitched into the seventh for the first time since June, reflecting a bit of a trend for the week: Rocco Baldelli easing up on his stringent opposition to letting starters pitch deep. One day earlier, Joe Ryan had been sent out to pitch the sixth in a circumstance where Baldelli might have otherwise turned to the bullpen. Granted, in both these cases the wisdom of the Twins' typical strategy was reaffirmed – both Gray and Ryan created dangerous situations that Caleb Thielbar had to defuse – but hopefully the showings of confidence will prove positive for these and other pitchers. Even Chris Archer was allowed to complete five innings on Saturday, for just the fifth time in 21 starts, and he uncharacteristically talked his manager out of pulling him during a mound visit. Luckily, turning to the bullpen wasn't as hazardous a proposition as it was the week prior. Prior to Sunday's lackluster performance from Trevor Megill and Emilio Pagán, Twins relievers had combined for to allow just two earned runs in 22 innings (0.82 ERA), with a 24-to-5 K/BB ratio and no home runs allowed. Thielbar was a huge factor with his fireman outings, and as usual Jhoan Durán was lights-out, firing three scoreless frames with five strikeouts, no walks, and two singles allowed. Speaking of standout rookies who keep on getting it done (and then some), José Miranda was once again a driving force in the lineup, finishing 8-for-19 with two home runs and six RBIs. I feel like I've been mentioning Miranda in the "Highlights" section of this column every week for the past three months or so, which speaks to the incredible consistency of his impact. LOWLIGHTS Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa are having fine seasons, but the inconsistency of this offense as a whole feels strongly tied to the inability of each to deliver hits in timely spots. This severe weakness of the lineup was on full display Saturday night, when the bats went 1-for-10 with RISP en route to a 4-2 loss in 10 innings, with Buxton and Correa combining to go 0-for-4. The game left Buxton with a .145/.270/.355 RISP slash line, and Correa .227/.322/.280. The Twins need more opportunistic hitting out of these players who are critical to their chances at rallying for a division title; since the start of July, both are in the negative for Win Probability Added. In fact, over the past two months, Buxton's WPA is lower than any Twin sans Tim Beckham, Kyle Garlick, Jake Cave, and Max Kepler. The name that stands out in that list of negative difference-makers is of course Kepler, who is supposed to be a cornerstone fixture. His once-promising season is tanking and steering toward being one of his worst as a big-leaguer. The patience he showed early on (13.5% walk rate through July 4th) has evaporated (4.2% since), along with his power (1 HR in his past 31 games). These are big problems because Kepler's staggering BABIP woes have once again taken center stage: he has a .118 average on balls in play since the All-Star break, dropping his mark on the season to .244, which is right on par with his dreadful career norm (.247). Kepler is playing through a broken pinky toe, which earns him a bit of grace, as does the fact that Baldelli has had no choice but to run him out against a bunch of lefty pitchers lately. But frankly this is all nothing new. Kepler's continual lack of evolution as a hitter is frustrating and tiresome. When your starting right fielder is producing at the same level as your backup catcher (Kepler's OPS is now almost identical to that of Gary Sánchez) it's a big problem. TRENDING STORYLINE Mahle was lined up to pitch the series opener in Houston on Tuesday, but now he won't. It's unclear who will be taking his place, but the decision looms fairly large amidst a tight division race and against one of the league's most dangerous lineups. Mercifully, the replacement won't be Smeltzer, who tossed three innings in relief Archer on Saturday night. The other obvious options – Aaron Sanchez, Cole Sands, a bullpen game – aren't too much more appealing. Simeon Woods Richardson is also not available, having started for St. Paul on Sunday, but fellow recently-promoted Saint Louie Varland could theoretically be in play. One thing is for sure: the Twins need to run out someone they feel can give them a remote chance against Justin Verlander and Houston's powerhouse offense. LOOKING AHEAD The three-game series in Houston is probably the most difficult remaining on the Twins schedule, and unfortunately they will be throwing the worst of their rotation at the Astros, with whoever replaces Mahle on Tuesday to be followed by Dylan Bundy and Archer. This intensifies the urgency of getting a win on Monday behind Gray and salvage a split in the series finale against Texas. MONDAY, 8/22: RANGERS @ TWINS – LHP Cole Ragans v. RHP Sonny Gray TUESDAY, 8/23: TWINS @ ASTROS – TBD v. RHP Justin Verlander WEDNESDAY, 8/24: TWINS @ ASTROS – RHP Dylan Bundy v. LHP Framber Valdez THURSDAY, 8/25: TWINS @ ASTROS – RHP Chris Archer v. RHP Luis Garcia FRIDAY, 8/26: GIANTS @ TWINS – LHP Alex Wood v. RHP Joe Ryan SATURDAY, 8/27: GIANTS @ TWINS – RHP Alex Cobb v. RHP Sonny Gray SUNDAY, 8/28: GIANTS @ TWINS – RHP Jakob Junis v. TBD View full article

This is a fair perspective. I guess the way I approached it was "which of these players would be most painful/devastating to lose" and ranked them that way. Which is not to say we won't look back in October at some of the lower guys as being more consequential.

The race is on. While many fans are understandably frustrated the Twins haven't put themselves in a pole position, no one can deny the stage is set for a riveting battle in the AL Central. Three teams are separated by three games atop the standings with seven weeks to go. If Minnesota is to come out on top, which players will need to carry the load? In order to beat out Cleveland (leading the division by one game entering Friday), and Chicago (trailing Minnesota by a game and a half), the Twins will need contributions from across the roster. But they'll really need their cornerstone stars to step up and lead the way. I took a shot at ranking the 15 players who are most critical to the team's success in these final 46 games. 1. Luis Arraez If the Twins are gonna win this thing, they need the offense to do the heavy lifting. Even in a best case scenario, the pitching staff will probably only be good enough to play a supporting role. Arraez is – as they say – the straw that stirs the drink. He might not be as explosive or electric as some others on this list, but he's been the most consistent hitter on the team all year long. Continuing to grind down opposing pitchers day in and day out will be paramount to the Twins playing consistent baseball. 2. Carlos Correa Is the best from Correa yet to come? That's what the Twins are banking on. Correa's been fairly underwhelming for much of the summer but we all know what he's capable of – it's been demonstrated time and time again. The past couple series have offered hopeful signs that the shortstop is beginning to catch fire; he went 8-for-19 against the Angels and Royals, although seven of those hits were singles, and we're still waiting on some big signature moments. Now is the time for Correa to make good on the front office's $35 million investment. 3. Byron Buxton At full strength, Buxton would be atop this list, but the knee injury that has continually limited his performance and availability figures to be a reality the rest of the way. Buxton's impact is greatly reduced when he's hitting well as a DH as opposed to hitting amazingly as a center fielder. Even still, his elite power and clutchness will be vital. The Twins need him on the field as much as is reasonably possible. 4. Tyler Mahle The front office spent big to acquire Mahle at the deadline for a reason: they needed a frontline starter who could go toe-to-toe with high-octane lineups. The presence of a similar caliber starter in Sonny Gray somewhat lessens the importance of Mahle in isolation, but both are key, which is why they're right next to one another below the team's top stars. Needless to say, the outlook for Mahle's shoulder weighs heavily right now. 5. Sonny Gray Gray is arguably a slight step behind Mahle in terms of quality and upside, but they are more or less interchangeable, and about equally important on their own. If this analysis were extended into the postseason, where the impact of top starters is heightened, these two might be #1 and #2 on my list. 6. José Miranda Some will surely argue that I've got Miranda too low. There's no doubt he's crucial to this lineup, and has been the offense's savior for the past couple months. But realistically, we've got to expect a bit of regression, and the team's dependence on Miranda will hopefully be lessened by the top three carrying the load, as well as bats like Trevor Larnach and Kyle Garlick potentially returning to the fold. 7. Jhoan Duran Another guy who would've ranked much higher on this list before the trade deadline, which speaks to why the front office's moves were so very necessary and so important. Duran remains the team's best reliever – and one of the best in the league – but the team's hopes are not quite so singularly hinging on his continued health and effectiveness with Jorge López and Michael Fulmer in the fold. 8. Jorge Polanco He's firmly fifth in the pecking order in terms of offensive contributors, but Polanco is a veteran fixture who's shown the ability to get hot and go on torrid runs to propel the offense. I'm not necessarily expecting one now, given that he's been steadily good-not-great this year and is currently dealing with a knee issue, but as a guy who will bat at the heart of the order everyday (if healthy), Polanco is obviously someone the Twins need to perform. 9. Jorge López Closers are critical during a stretch run. That's a lesson Twins fans have learned the hard way before. (Sorry LaTroy.) López has a unique ability to impact outcomes given his role, though I suspect Duran will routinely pitch in more decisive spots. Obviously López could totally derail things if he blows a few more saves, but the presence of other high-leverage options gives Rocco Baldelli a fallback should trust be shaken. 10. Max Kepler This feels like a big moment for Kepler. He's been with the Twins for seven seasons. He's had his ups and downs, with some legit high points, but has been a complete zero in the postseason (0-for-15 in the 2019/20 ALDS). Following a good start this year, he's fallen into a dire midseason lull, slashing .199/.281/.290 since the end of May. Kepler could really put a new spin on his legacy here by flipping a switch and making a big positive difference the rest of the way. Of course, I don't expect it, based on his recent track record, and that's why he's 10th on this list despite his potential for two-way impact. 11. Joe Ryan I've cooled quite a bit on Ryan, who has a 4.73 ERA/4.63 FIP since the end of April, and hasn't gotten through six innings in a start since July 1st. He's a mid-rotation starter with strikeout stuff and a propensity for giving up hard contact. The righty is clearly not on the same level as Mahle or Gray, but also a clear cut above Dylan Bundy and Chris Archer, making him integral to the rotation's sustainability – especially if Mahle has to miss time. 12. Caleb Thielbar After seven appearances this year, Thielbar had a 15.19 ERA. It doesn't get much worse than that. Since then he has a 2.43 ERA and 51-to-11 K/BB ratio in 37 innings. It doesn't get much better than that. His last two appearances have demonstrated Thielbar's ability to play the fireman role, and right now he's got more trust than any Twins reliever not named Duran or López. He also brings the unique ability to neutralize lefty hitters, who have a .499 OPS against him this year. 13. Michael Fulmer Fulmer is a very solid setup man, and having him fourth in your bullpen hierarchy is a major luxury. You've got to have guys who can reliably bridge the gap from the middle to late innings if you want to rattle off wins, and thus Fulmer's veteran stability is very valuable. 14. Griffin Jax Everything stated about Fulmer above basically applies to Jax, except that he's a rookie who's been struggling lately. Given how much the Twins lean on their bullpen for innings, they simply need all of these relievers to get it done in the final weeks. One thing I really appreciate about the deadline deals is that they took some pressure off of Jax, who's still acclimating in his first year as a full-time reliever. 15. Nick Gordon Circumstances have pushed Gordon into an everyday role, more or less – and he's been capitalizing, with a .309/.356/.489 slash line since the start of July. That's as good as anyone could have reasonably expected from Royce Lewis or Alex Kirilloff, whose voids the fellow first-rounder has been left to fill. If he can keep doing so, he'll be an instrumental factor in the team's success. View full article

A road trip to the West Coast only brought more despair for a team that is in a very bad way. After holding first place for much of the season, the Minnesota Twins now find themselves looking up in the standings and unable to stop the bleeding. Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 8/8 through Sun, 8/14 *** Record Last Week: 1-4 (Overall: 58-55) Run Differential Last Week: -10 (Overall: +17) Standing: 2nd Place in AL Central (2.5 GA) Last Week's Game Results: Game 109 | LAD 10, MIN 3: Ryan Roughed Up, Dodgers Dominate Game 110 | LAD 8, MIN 5: Twins Once Again Can't Keep Up with LA Game 111 | MIN 4, LAA 0: Mahle Plays Stopper in Shutout Victory Game 112 | LAA 5, MIN 3: Bullpen Blows Late Lead, Twins Fall in 11 Game 113 | LAA 4, MIN 2: Twins Go Out with a Whimper, Drop Series NEWS & NOTES A bitter finish to the previous week carried over into Los Angeles, where the Twins were trounced twice straight by a team Dodgers team that completely outclassed Minnesota in all four match-ups on the season. Now 1-9 against the Dodgers, Astros and Yankees, the Twins have done nothing to counter their rep for shrinking on the big stage, which is troubling because road trips to Houston and New York still lie ahead in this final 50-game stretch. It'll be a suspenseful seven weeks as the Twins run neck-and-neck with Cleveland and Chicago toward the finish line. Lapses and missteps now become extra costly, which made the missed opportunities in Anaheim so very frustrating. The Twins are short-handed and could use some help. They won't be getting it from pitching prospect Matt Canterino, who's getting Tommy John surgery to address his persistent elbow issues, but they are hoping to get a handful of important players back in September, including Kenta Maeda, Bailey Ober, Josh Winder, and Trevor Larnach. All are at various stages of the comeback trail. Meanwhile, Randy Dobnak is ramping up to in hopes of making it back to the mound in what's been a lost year. HIGHLIGHTS With their rotation looking wobbly in July, the Twins knew they needed some help at the top. They went and got it by acquiring Tyler Mahle from the Reds. After an underwhelming debut against Toronto, Mahle took the hill in Anaheim on Friday night and looked the part of a stopper and #1 starter, firing six scoreless innings to lead a shutout for the pitching staff in the week's only victory. The right-hander unleashed a barrage of fastballs, splitters and cutters against the Angels, inducing 12 swings and misses on 86 pitches. Notably, manager Rocco Baldelli came out for a chat with two outs and two on in the bottom of the sixth, but let Mahle stay in to finish the inning. Offensively, Luis Arraez keyed the lineup, with seven hits in 16 at-bats, lifting his league-leading batting average to .333. After starting the month of August in a bit of a slump (just 2-for-19 in his first four games), Arraez notched three hits apiece in four of his next give games, mixing in a solid dose of power with five doubles. What a freakin' hitter. LOWLIGHTS No matter what happens from here, the Joe Ryan trade was a success. His initial run in the majors alone was well worth the price: two months of Nelson Cruz at the very tail end of his effectiveness. I do think Ryan will settle in as a quality mid-rotation option. But the dream of him emerging as a frontline pitcher is fading fast. We're starting to see the flaws and limitations that made Tampa feel okay with letting him go, despite spectacular minor-league numbers. Ryan's latest outing in SoCal wasn't as brutal as the last, when he was hammered by San Diego for 10 runs on five homers, but it sure wasn't good. The Dodgers teed off against Ryan for six runs (five earned) on nine hits over five innings. Granted, it's one of the best lineups you're going to see, but they made the rookie right-hander look flat-out overmatched, just as he did against the Padres, and the Mariners, and the Astros. The fact is Ryan hasn't been very effective for a while now – his ERA is at 4.83 since the end of April – and the biggest hiccups seem to come against playoff-caliber lineups. That's bad news for a guy who would likely be slotted to start in a theoretical postseason series ... if the Twins get there. It'll be a moot point if he and the rest of the pitchers don't step it up. Mahle aside, the Twins are repeatedly getting let down by the arms they brought in to bolster this staff. On Wednesday Sonny Gray fell apart in the fifth inning, surrendering a two-run lead in an eventual loss. On Saturday against the Angels, Jorge López blew his second save in three tries since coming aboard – a staggeringly ugly outing that saw him cough up a two-run lead against the bottom of a bad Angels lineup. Emilio Pagán came on to pitch in extras and, true to form, gave up a walk-off home run. Gray, López, Pagán ... these are all pitchers the front office brought in with big trades, and now the team's fate has been tethered to them in significant ways. If things continue to trend the way they have, we know where the accountability will lie (beyond the players themselves). Of course, the bats need to do their part too, and haven't been. The lineup went 0-for-14 with RISP in Saturday night's loss, striking out 15 times. They followed by going 0-for-4 with RISP on Sunday, managing two runs in six innings against Angels starter Tucker Davidson, who entered the game with a 7.91 ERA. The Twins have scored more than five runs just twice in 12 August games, with the explosiveness they showed so frequently in the first half going amiss. The loss of Alex Kirilloff is felt, and magnified by other key players mired in deep funks. Max Kepler is 0-for-27 since coming off the injured list. Carlos Correa has been a non-factor for the better part of two months, although he started to show some life over the weekend in Anaheim. Byron Buxton is frequently unavailable (we learned last week that his knee injury flared up during a leap at the wall in the Padres series) and failing to deliver sufficient impact when he plays. Pitchers have begun to take full advantage of Buxton's uber-aggressive approach – reflected in a .206 average and 36% K-rate since the beginning of July. By his own admission, Buck's approach has been off in recent weeks: "Taking a lot of strikes, swinging at a lot of balls." Incidentally, Buxton and Correa have both been among the biggest culprits for the team's lack of timely hitting. The AL Central remains a very winnable division but to be frank, these guys aren't playing like they want or deserve it. TRENDING STORYLINE Can the lifeless Twins regroup and re-energize in front of their fans at Target Field? That's the banner question entering a stretch with 13 of the next 16 games at Target Field. Once the calendar flips to September, Minnesota will face perhaps its most daunting and consequential portion of the remaining schedule: three games at White Sox, four at Yankees, and then back home for three against Cleveland. What kind of position will they be in once that stretch comes around? That'll be decided in the remainder of August, starting with a pair of series against lesser opponents in the week ahead. LOOKING AHEAD The Twins faced left-handed starters in all five games last week and they'll get them in three of the first four next week. They are really missing Kyle Garlick right now. Alas, there's no room for making excuses. Facing two lackluster teams at home with their season hanging in the balance, the Twins absolutely need to go win both of these series at a minimum. MONDAY, 8/15: ROYALS @ TWINS – LHP Kris Bubic v. RHP Joe Ryan TUESDAY, 8/16: ROYALS @ TWINS – RHP Zack Greinke v. RHP Sonny Gray WEDNESDAY, 8/17: ROYALS @ TWINS – LHP Daniel Lynch v. RHP Tyler Mahle FRIDAY, 8/19: RANGERS @ TWINS – LHP Martin Perez v. RHP Dylan Bundy SATURDAY, 8/20: RANGERS @ TWINS – RHP Glenn Otto v. RHP Chris Archer SUNDAY, 8/21: RANGERS @ TWINS – TBD v. RHP Joe Ryan View full article

Per the official MLB.com story, "The preliminary expectation is that Larnach could return to the field for the Twins in six weeks." And that wording would even suggest that a rehab stint was built into that timeline. But as Falvey said in the following paragraph, "That’s what’s been reported to us, but again, probably have to do the surgery and get on the back end and make sure we feel good about how it went." Maybe just a slower road back than hoped, without any setbacks necessarily. I will say that estimate seemed quite optimistic to me when I heard it, albeit without much direct knowledge of the procedure. Kyle Garlick underwent sports hernia surgery last July (which I believe to be the same thing by a different name?) and never made it back. One way or another, it'd be good to get a firm update on Larnach soon.

It was an eventful week that saw the Twins make several key additions at the trade deadline, part with multiple bullpen fixtures from the first half, and put forth a winning week on the field – dampened by a sour finish. Let's get caught up on all the action. Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 8/1 through Sun, 8/7 *** Record Last Week: 4-3 (Overall: 57-51) Run Differential Last Week: +1 (Overall: +27) Standing: 1st Place in AL Central (1.0 GA) Last Week's Game Results: Game 102 | MIN 5, DET 3: Miranda and Urshela Deliver in the Clutch Game 103 | DET 5, MIN 3: Active Deadline Day Ends in Quiet Loss Game 104 | MIN 4, DET 1: Newcomers Contribute in Series Clincher Game 105 | TOR 9, MIN 3: Bullpen Breaks Down as Blue Jays Roll Game 106 | MIN 6, TOR 5: Twins Walk Off Toronto in Wild Win Game 107 | MIN 7, TOR 3: Revamped Pen Provides 5 Strong Innings Game 108 | TOR 3, MIN 2: Comeback Falls Short in Controversial Finish NEWS & NOTES The Twins front office made an emphatic statement at the trade deadline, leaning into the buyer position like never before with a string of significant moves while their competitors in the division were largely quiet. Here's a rundown of the prospect-for-vet deals that took place on Monday and Tuesday: Acquired starting pitcher Tyler Mahle from the Reds for IF Spencer Steer, OF Christian Encarnacion-Strand, and LHP Steve Hajjar. Acquired closer Jorge López from the Orioles for LHPs Cade Povich and Juan Rojas, RHPs Yennier Canó and Juan Nunez. Acquired setup man Michael Fulmer from the Tigers for RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long. Acquired backup catcher Sandy León from Guardians for RHP Ian Hamilton. Through this assertive series of trades, the Twins effectively addressed every glaring weakness on their roster, fortifying their standing in the AL Central while the two teams chasing them – Chicago and Cleveland – showed minimal initiative. With a historically aggressive deadline coming on the heels of signing Carlos Correa just before the season, Derek Falvey and Thad Levine are redefining a traditionally passive franchise's mettle. The Minnesota Twins are officially swimming in the deep end, albeit perhaps struggling to stay afloat. Their deadline haul came at a cost. While the Twins were able to avoid parting with any of their very best prospects, they had to give up several good ones, some of whom are sure to haunt them down the road. But that's the cost of doing business. Speaking of which, the business side of baseball was felt be a couple of veteran relievers supplanted by these deadline additions. Joe Smith, the team's lone MLB free agent bullpen during the past offseason, was released after posting a 9.22 ERA in his last 18 appearances. Tyler Duffey was designated for assignment, his 11.81 post-break ERA convincing the Twins there was nothing left in the tank. Fellow veteran pitchers Aaron Sanchez and Jharrel Cotton were also ousted from the 40-man roster, but stuck in the organization at Triple-A after clearing DFA waivers. It's good news for the Twins from a depth perspective, because Cotton's been a solid piece when called upon and Sanchez actually looked mildly intriguing in his spot start on Monday. We could see either (or both) yet again this year. We probably won't be seeing Miguel Sanó, who landed on the 60-day IL with a flare-up of his knee injury. And we definitely won't be seeing Jorge Alcalá, who underwent season-ending elbow debridement surgery. Alex Kirilloff, sadly, is also done for the year. He's undergoing a rare surgery that involves deliberately breaking his ulna bone, shortening it, and then reconnecting it with plates and screws, in an effort to create space and reduce the painful friction impeding his swing. Needless to say it's a highly invasive procedure, of which Kirilloff said earlier this year, "I really hope it doesn't get to that." Well, here we are. The Twins are hopeful that Kirilloff will be ready for spring training next year, but there is no guarantee this course of action will deliver the desired results. It's rarely been done for baseball players. Hard as it is to say, this really feels like a last-ditch effort to save the 24-year-old's promising career. If it doesn't take ... then what? All we can do now is wait and hope, while reckoning with the reality that Minnesota will be without one of its most crucial bats the rest of the way. A colossal bummer. In other roster news: José Godoy was claimed off waivers by Pittsburgh. He was no longer useful to the Twins following the addition of León. Kyle Garlick was placed on IL due to a ribcage injury suffered in a wall collision. Gilberto Celestino returned to the roster in his stead. Caleb Thielbar was activated from IL, with Jovani Moran optioned to Triple-A. Cole Sands was also recalled in place of Sanchez. Max Kepler was activated on Saturday, sending Mark Contreras back to Triple-A. HIGHLIGHTS Nick Gordon stole the show in Friday night's victory over Toronto at Target Field, delivering a huge three-run homer against José Berríos early on and sliding across home with the winning run in the 10th. Finally healthy after long bouts with digestive issues, Gordon is showing the power that made him a top draft pick and highly touted prospect in the low minors. While swinging at almost everything, he keeps on barreling up with amazing frequency, causing the ball to consistently jump off his bat. Starting all seven games last week, he went 10-for-30 with the homer, three doubles, five RBIs, and – most refreshingly – four walks. Also instrumental in Friday's victory was Fulmer, who's making his impact in the late innings felt since being acquired minutes ahead of Tuesday's deadline. After firing a scoreless inning in his first Twins appearance on Wednesday, Fulmer drew the tough assignment of pitching the 10th Friday with a runner starting on second. He worked around a walk and a single to strike out the side and set up a walk-off in the bottom half. The Twins found themselves needing to win in the 10th because the new closer López had experienced a blown save in the ninth. However, it wasn't the type of performance that raises alarm. Toronto was able to string together a few singles and get a run across, without much in the way of hard contact. Two days earlier, in his Minnesota debut, López pitched a 1-2-3 ninth on seven pitches to secure his first save as a Twin and a series win. He followed up with a clean ninth on Saturday, despite having thrown 30 pitches the previous night. It's immediately evident the Twins see in their new closer a rubber arm that hasn't existed in their bullpen up to this point. While the new guys flashed their stuff, the incumbents at the back end of the bullpen made sure to remind us they're still here, and still important. Jhoan Durán was his usual dominant self, tossing 3 ⅔ scoreless innings while unveiling a new intro experience at Target Field. With López (who also got a light-dimming walkout treatment) now aboard, Durán has been fully fitted into a fireman role where he can be deployed in the highest-leverage of situations at any time, without a thought to hold him back for a later tight lead. This was evident on Friday night, when he came in to pitch the eighth inning of a one-run game, and on Saturday night, when he relieved Griffin Jax amidst a threat with two on, one out, and a couple heavy hitters coming up. Durán leads all AL relievers in Win Probability Added and he only figures to further extend his margin in this role, so long as he can stay healthy and keep dominating. Pending the former, there is little doubt of the latter, given how Durán has managed to make us all forget about his one supposed weakness (proneness to home runs – remember that?). An unsung hero and emerging weapon in this bullpen is Thielbar, who came off the IL and immediately made his presence felt. The lefty tossed a scoreless seventh in Wednesday's series-clinching win over Detroit, and looked dominant while mowing down four Blue Jays hitters on Saturday. Thielbar has had a few random blow-ups on the mound this year, but he's nearly two months removed from the last one and has otherwise been downright excellent. His Statcast measurables portray a guy who is throwing top-notch stuff and stifling opposing hitters. Finally, we can't run through the week's bright spots without once again mentioning rookie sensation José Miranda, who just keeps on cooking. Now routinely batting cleanup against lefties, Miranda's living up to that billing as a run-producing machine, with eight RBIs in an 8-for-26 week that included a double and home run. Miranda has the third-highest OPS on the team, trailing only All-Stars Byron Buxton and Luis Arraez. He is 24 years old. LOWLIGHTS Even with all its upgrades, the pitching staff still has its warts. Those definitely showed through on Thursday, when Emilio Pagán, Trevor Megill, and Duffey gave up three runs apiece in relief of Sonny Gray, turning a 1-0 lead into a 9-3 blowout loss. Duffey's dud performance proved to be the final straw, as his DFA was announced the following day. Subtracting from the bottom of the bullpen while adding at the top is a good way to turn around a drastically underperforming unit, but the fact remains: lower-tier guys are going to need to throw some innings and the Twins need better out of them than we saw against Toronto. When you play a lot of close games, as Minnesota does, everyone's going to have to pitch in relatively high leverage at times. With Canó shipped out, and Alcalá and Danny Coulombe down for the year, reinforcements have grown thin. Pagán came out of Sunday's game after wincing on a pitch, so he might be at risk of joining the fallen. The long ball, which bit Pagán and Duffey on Thursday, has been an all-too-common culprit for the entire Twins staff. They've surrendered the second-most home runs in the American League. This affliction touched the newest member of the Twins rotation on Friday, when Mahle narrowed a 5-0 lead to 5-4 by giving up three homers against the Blue Jays. It was the most allowed in a start by Mahle since May 2nd of 2021 – kind of ironic given all the steam about escaping from Cincinnati's homer-happy ballpark being his ticket to the next level. Ultimately, it is not memories of any home runs allowed that leave the Twins and their fans shaking their heads in the wake of this eventful week. It's the way it ended: a highly controversial and game-altering overturn of an out call at home plate, after Tim Beckham threw a pea from left field that beat Whit Merrifield. Gary Sánchez's successful tag-out was denied on the grounds that he violated MLB's nebulous home-plate collision rule – a notion that manager Rocco Baldelli took issue with to say the least. He immediately charged on the field, whipped his hat, and exploded into an animated tirade like we've never seen from him before. In his post-game rant, the typically even-keeled Baldelli pulled no punches. I'm inclined to agree with his viewpoint. This sour finish to an otherwise entertaining and compelling series against one of Minnesota's key rivals in the American League leaves a bad taste as we turn the page to Monday. TRENDING STORYLINE Trevor Larnach is now officially six weeks removed from undergoing a surgery that was estimated to have a six-week recovery time. On Sunday, the Twins lumped him into a larger group of players they are "hopeful" to get back in September, which is interesting since there've been no reports of a setback (to my knowledge) and we've still got three weeks left of August. The Twins could certainly use Larnach's pre-injury bat because they've been thinned out significantly in the outfield with Garlick and Kirilloff both on the shelf and Buxton continuing to be limited by his knee (he's started in center field just three times since the All-Star break). While outfield fill-ins like Gordon, Contreras, and Jake Cave all deserve credit for stepping up at various moments, getting back Larnach would make a huge difference. For a stretch early on, he was arguably the best hitter in the lineup, slashing .300/.375/.511 in his first 30 games before the core injury seemed to start taking its toll. If that issue is fully corrected by the surgery, and Larnach quickly returns to full strength ... look out. Hopefully in the coming week we'll get a little more clarity on his specific situation and rehab timeline. LOOKING AHEAD Another week of ample rest lies ahead, with days off on both Monday and Thursday bookending a two-game road series against the Dodgers. The Twins would be wise to savor them, because after this they won't have another scheduled break in the month of August. With left-handers on the docket for at least four of five games in the coming week, Garlick's bat will be missed and Gordon's offensive impact will be negated. Can guys like Celestino and Tim Beckham step up on a big West Coast road trip? TUESDAY, 8/9: TWINS @ DODGERS – RHP Joe Ryan v. LHP Julio Urias WEDNESDAY, 8/10: TWINS @ DODGERS – RHP Sonny Gray v. TBD FRIDAY, 8/12: TWINS @ ANGELS – RHP Tyler Mahle v. LHP Patrick Sandoval SATURDAY, 8/13: TWINS @ ANGELS – RHP Dylan Bundy v. LHP Reid Detmers SUNDAY, 8/14: TWINS @ ANGELS – RHP Chris Archer v. LHP Tucker Davidson View full article

Do people understand how bad the optics would be -- for fans and especially for players -- if the front office decided to "sell" while in first place? It'd be unforgivable. It's not an option. No kidding. A year ago today the Twins were 44-62 and 18 games out of first place. We've got an exciting stretch run ahead. Keep expectations in check, and enjoy it!

The Minnesota Twins are falling apart and bottoming out as the trade deadline bears down, underscoring the desperate need for impact help in order to maintain their thin lead in the division and position themselves as a credible postseason threat. Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 7/25 through Sun, 7/31 *** Record Last Week: 1-4 (Overall: 53-48) Run Differential Last Week: -14 (Overall: +26) Standing: 1st Place in AL Central (1.0 GA) Last Week's Game Results: Game 97 | MIL 7, MIN 6: Bundy, Bullpen Let Down Bats in Loss Game 98 | MIL 10, MIN 4: Tellez Sinks Twins with Pair of 3-Run Homers Game 99 | SD 10, MIN 1: Ryan Gives up 5 Home Runs in Laugher Game 100 | MIN 7, SD 4: Sonny Plays Stopper, Correa Steps Up Game 101 | SD 3, MIN 2: Offense Goes Quietly, Twins Drop Series NEWS & NOTES Miguel Sanó was back ... then he wasn't. Following a three-month rehab from knee surgery, the slugger was activated ahead of Tuesday's game. Appearing in three games, he went 0-for-6 with four strikeouts, then went back on the injured list with knee inflammation. Evidently the injury flared up during a slide in the final game of his rehab. For Sanó, whose career was basically on the line this year, it's another terrible break. He was in need of a good season to resuscitate his sagging stock ahead of his date with free agency. Instead, his body is letting him down and he may find himself settling for a minor-league deal in the offseason. It seems likely (to me, anyway) we've seen him for the last time in a Twins uniform. Sanó was far from the biggest loss for the lineup. Max Kepler went on the injured list alongside him, with his fractured pinky toe proving too much to play through. Most perturbingly, Alex Kirilloff came out of Saturday's game with wrist soreness. More on that later. Filling in these key roster spots are names like Tim Beckham and Mark Contreras. They're deserving of chances, and both great stories in their own right, but it's tough to be leaning on unproven Triple-A players at a time like this. The Twins are in the grinder right now. Alas, the pitching staff also keeps getting blindsided by crushing blows. Danny Coulombe, who's been unable to fight his way back from a hip injury, is now out with season-ending surgery. Meanwhile, Josh Winder landed on the injured list again due to his recurring shoulder impingement. He's been shut down and sent to Fort Myers as the team tries to figure out what's going on. They aren't calling this a season-ending move for him, but it very well could be. HIGHLIGHTS For me personally, the biggest highlight of the week was traveling to San Diego and taking in a couple of games at Petco Park. The stadium lived up to the hype, and the downtown gameday experience far exceeded all expectations. Admittedly, it felt a lot easier to ride out a rotten week for the Twins while enjoying an incredible city and soaking in the vibes of sold-out summer games in perfect weather. I realize this does little for any of you. I'm sorry. My own experiences aside, there were some legitimately good moments on the field, even as the Twins bumbled through a sloppy 1-4 week. José Miranda stood out as the biggest bright spot, starting every game and going 8-for-19 with two homers and five RBIs. He has suddenly become the pivotal force in the middle of the order, with an aggressive free-swinging approach that yields powerful drive after powerful drive. Opposing pitchers just can't find a way to stop the kid. He even made a few nifty plays defensively at third base. Byron Buxton was the other explosive performer in a generally underwhelming week from the offense. He homered three times and stole a base (notable after the previous week's PRP injection in his knee). On the pitching side, Sonny Gray was good. LOWLIGHTS Gray's solid outing on Saturday – 5 IP, 1 ER – was much needed in the wake of three straight duds from the rapidly unraveling Twins rotation. Dylan Bundy and Chris Archer were bad against Milwaukee, but Joe Ryan's clunker to open the Padres series took the cake. In 4 ⅔ innings, the right-hander was knocked around for 10 earned runs on FIVE homers. It was a very odd game for Ryan, who also struck out seven and set a career high with 15 swings and misses. His stuff was either really working or really not working, and that's a scarily unpredictable proposition for a guy who'd likely be starting in the postseason. One could argue that Rocco Baldelli hung Ryan out to dry on Saturday night, but who can really blame him with a bullpen that continues to inspire zero confidence. Tyler Duffey has fallen back into the pits after a modest run of effectiveness – he took the loss with a brutal ninth-inning appearance in Milwaukee on Tuesday, and then endangered a six-run lead in the ninth on Saturday by coughing up a three-run HR. Caleb Thielbar is gearing up for a return, which will be helpful, but this bullpen continues to look direly undermanned, with a void of trustworthy options beyond Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax. The pitching staff needs impact reinforcements, and they'll likely get some within the next couple days. Even then, the Twins are clearly gonna need the offense to carry the load if they're going to hang on for a playoff berth and hope to make any noise. That's where the past week proved most unsettling. The team pitched well enough to win on Sunday for a change, but the offense could not answer the call in a 3-2 loss, coming up empty outside of solo homers from Miranda and Luis Arraez. Carlos Correa had a big two-run homer on Saturday night, but otherwise went 1-for-20 on the week. Gary Sanchez went 1-for-10 with seven strikeouts, wrapping up a month of July in which the now-starting catcher slashed .149/.245/.234. The lineup is lagging and will now be without Kepler for however long it takes his toe to get right. Meanwhile any small hope of Sanó coming in and lighting any sort of spark is gone. But the Kirilloff news is easily the most gutting on the lineup front. I don't want to make a mountain out of a molehill, but the revelation from Baldelli that "Kirilloff's wrist got to the point where he couldn't swing" strikes me with possible season-sinking implications. I had remarked a few days earlier about how Kirilloff was noticeably reverting to the habit of topping every pitch – that tendency was a clear indicator of how his wrist issues were impeding his swing before he went to the minors, received a cortisone shot, and got back on track. Following his initial power surge, he had one of the highest grounder rates in the league in July. Kirilloff was such a huge factor in the offense's midsummer success, slashing .307/.328/.548 with 17 RBIs in his first 18 games back after being recalled from Triple-A. But his gradual regression back into an unimposing ground-ball machine was painfully evident, and the numbers back it up. Sadly, news of his wrist re-emerging as a debilitating factor comes as no surprise. Several of the key young players that the Twins were hoping to rely on this year – Coulombe, Royce Lewis, Chris Paddack – are already gone for the season. Several others – Kirilloff, Winder, Jorge Alcala, Matt Canterino, Randy Dobnak – are persistently plagued and repeatedly sidelined by mysterious injuries and conditions that the players and medical staff can't seem to solve. It makes you wonder, at this critical moment ... is the structural core of this team good enough to be fixed up for a successful stretch run? Or are we flailing against inevitability? TRENDING STORYLINE That question weighs heavily with the trade deadline looming at 5:00 PM CT on Tuesday. The philosophical dilemma I pondered over the All-Star break – how much does it make sense to sacrifice key future capital in a leveraged market to aid a deeply flawed current roster? – has only grown murkier in two weeks since. The Twins have gone 3-4, watched their division lead shrink to one, and absorbed bad break after bad break on the health front, as outlined above. The Twins, Guardians and White Sox are bunched in the standings, each separated by a game apiece. They are all looking to add ahead of Tuesday's deadline, and are pretty much in direct competition to address semi-similar weaknesses in a finite seller's market. It's going to be fascinating to see how things play out between these three competing clubs as they set themselves up for the final stretch in a division that's very much there for the taking. LOOKING AHEAD The Twins have seven home games in the week ahead, setting the tone for a month in which 20 of their 28 games will be played at Target Field. MONDAY, 8/1: TIGERS @ TWINS – LHP Tarik Skubal v. TBD TUESDAY, 8/2: TIGERS @ TWINS – RHP Matt Manning v. RHP Chris Archer WEDNESDAY, 8/3: TIGERS @ TWINS – LHP Tyler Alexander v. RHP Joe Ryan THURSDAY, 8/4: BLUE JAYS @ TWINS – RHP Alek Manoah v. RHP Sonny Gray FRIDAY, 8/5: BLUE JAYS @ TWINS – RHP Ross Stripling v. RHP Dylan Bundy SATURDAY, 8/6: BLUE JAYS @ TWINS – RHP Jose Berrios v. TBD SUNDAY, 8/7: BLUE JAYS @ TWINS – RHP Kevin Gausman v. RHP Chris Archer View full article

The AL East is a tough division. It might get all three wild-card spots, but it might not, and in that case the Red Sox are trying to overcome either Toronto or Tampa Bay. Those are good teams, playing well, while Boston is bottoming out at the worst possible time, losing 15 of their first 20 games in July. It's hard to see the Sox giving up with a feasible chance at the postseason, but selling off a few spare parts would make sense. Red Sox GM Chaim Bloom will settle for nothing less than clear-cut MLB-ready talent. This isn't a rebuild, but everyone likes controllable young assets. If you want to make a deal here, you're bringing players like Alex Kirilloff, Jose Miranda, and Trevor Larnach to the table. Top Target Nathan Eovaldi, RH Starter Eovaldi's obvious upside has brought him through many of the league's top organizations – Dodgers, Rays, Yankees, Red Sox – but his potential has never been fully unlocked. Maybe the Twins will be the team that does it. At the very least Eovaldi is a respectable veteran innings-eater who can start a playoff game – if healthy. That's no guarantee. He's recently been hampered by a back injury, which may render the topic of a trade moot. Other Targets of Interest Kevin Plawecki, Catcher He's an experienced major-league catcher with a good defensive rep (and no bat), so it's obligatory we mention him with Ryan Jeffers down. The 31-year-old is on a 1-year, $2.25M deal. Michael Wacha, RH Starter He's looked good when on the mound this year, and the 1-year, $7M contract is sellable. But shoulder issues have sidelined him since June. You're reading an excerpt of the 2022's Twins Daily Trade Deadline Primer about potential trade targets that we are providing free to Twins Daily's Caretakers. If you sign up now to be a Caretaker, you can download all six Divisional Dossiers as they're released, including the full version of this one, which we sent out to Caretakers earlier today. Plus, you'll get a free Offseason Handbook this fall and other perks. More importantly, you're helping support the writers and workers that make Twins Daily possible and keeping it viable for future generations of Twins fans. Thanks! Christian Vasquez, C He's an impending free agent, and certainly a level above Plawecki. Would make for a crowded catcher group once Jeffers (hopefully) returns. Sleeper Target Rich Hill, LH Starter The 42-year-old is still chugging along, while trying to fend off the ravages of age. He's currently working back from a knee injury but expected to be back in MLB game shape within a few weeks. When on the mound this year, he's been craftily effective, posting a 4.20 ERA through 15 starts. You can't get more experience than this at the deadline. Reunion, anyone? View full article

We've been covering the upcoming trade deadline from every angle here at Twins Daily, with a regular stream of articles exploring various targets, and series of PDFs for Caretakers breaking down each division. After taking it all in, and making a realistic assessment of the Twins' situation and needs, here's way I've landed as a perfect plan. Now, to be clear: this plan is designed to make the Twins credible postseason contenders, not World Series favorites. I'm not of the mind that they should go "all in" and trade premium future capital for the sake of a short-term push, because I don't think they're at a point of overall team quality where it makes sense to significantly sacrifice the future. With that said, opportunities like this are not guaranteed to come along often, and when you find yourself in this position you've got to take a shot. I think these moves would help the Twins address their key weaknesses in a meaningful way and set themselves up for postseason success without selling the farm. Here are five completely speculative ideas for hypothetical trades: Acquire SP Noah Syndergaard from Angels for INF Keoni Cavaco and LHP Devin Smeltzer I'll be honest: I have no idea what it'll take to get Syndergaard. He'll have a market, for sure, but he's nowhere near the top of the value chart among available starters. Having signed a one-year, $21 million deal with the Angels during the offseason, he's due about $7 million in the final two months, and a free agent in waiting. Syndergaard has been solid this season, but far from his electric pre-surgery norm. His velocity hasn't fully returned since 2020 Tommy John surgery and his strikeouts are way down. In some ways, you're betting on him clicking down the stretch, kind of like Justin Verlander did in 2017. Is it likely? No, especially to that extent. But even if he stays the current course Syndergaard is a solid pitcher – a clear upgrade over anyone in the Twins rotation not named Gray or Ryan – and a respectable postseason option. And the cost can't be that high. Like I said, I have no idea what a realistic return for Syndergaard looks like, but the one suggested above feels plausible. The Angels get back 2019's #13 overall draft pick in Cavaco, who has struggled early in the minors but is still only 21 and showing signs of breaking through at Single-A. The Angels are likely familiar with SoCal native and former prep star. Smeltzer adds a bit of floor to the ceiling-focused deal for LA – a solid MLB starter or swing man with three years of team control remaining. If this package proves to be too light, I'm okay giving up a bit more. I really want Syndergaard on the Twins, and this feels like a once-in-a-lifetime chance to make that happen.. Acquire RP Daniel Bard from Rockies for LHP Cade Povich David Robertson is the biggest prize among deadline relief rentals, and that means someone's gonna have to grossly overpay for him. That might also be true of Bard, who's probably the second-best closer among impending free agents, but less so. As great as he was in the first half for Colorado, Bard can't escape the shadow of his track record, which includes a seven-year break from the major leagues after he got the yips in his late 20s and lost the strike zone. That history is out of sight, with Bard back to dominating this year behind triple-digit heat ... but it's not out of mind. Last year he posted a 5.21 ERA out of the Rockies bullpen with the same top-notch fastball velo. He's the definition of a volatile asset. And giving up Povich – a third-rounder from last year's draft, averaging 12.1 K/9 at High-A ball and Twins Daily's #10-ranked prospect in the organization – for such a volatile short-term asset is a tough pill to swallow. But with the competition for back-end bullpen arms, it may take something like that. It's worth it to get the high-impact late-inning weapon that the Twins need to protect and complement Jhoan Duran. But I'm not stopping there. Acquire RP Matt Moore from Rangers for INF Edouard Julien and RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long The Rangers hit gold on their spring signing of Moore to a minor-league deal, seeing him blossom in a full-time relief role with a 1.61 ERA, 2.57 FIP, and 10.1 K/9 rate in 44 ⅔ innings through 33 appearances. Just like with Bard, the Twins would be buying high on a veteran impending free agent with a wobbly track record, but as in that case, the metrics fully back up his excellence up to this point. The lefty Moore has been extremely effective, and could bring much-needed length to a bullpen that's been leaned on heavily. Moore has recorded more than three outs in more than half of his appearances for Texas (17) including two full innings in 13 of them. Julien and Gipson-Long are both intriguing players having good seasons in the 15-20 range of Minnesota's top prospect list. The Rangers would likely be very happy to get this kind of future capital in exchange for a flier they snagged on a minor-league deal. Acquire LHP Rich Hill from Red Sox for 1B Miguel Sano Okay, I'm trying to think creatively with this shot in the dark. The Twins are clearly ready to move on from Sano, so I tried to figure out a scenario where trading him might be remotely plausible. I can't see anyone giving up a prospect for him, but this feels like kind of a "why not" move for both sides. The slumping Red Sox – now in last place! – are longshots to make the playoffs. They need a huge spark to go on a run and overcome the many other wild-card contenders in the American League. They're not going to get that from Hill, a back-of-rotation starter who's currently rehabbing from a knee injury and expected to return in early August. But let's say Sano hits a couple homers over the next week and inspires some small belief that he could come in and bang the ball over the Green Monster for a couple months. The Twins pay off half of Sano's remaining ~$5M commitment so the money is basically a wash. Hill is not an ace that's going to turn around the staff's fortunes or anything, but he could be useful for the Twins down the stretch and into the playoffs. He's pitched reasonably well this year (102 ERA+, 1.29 WHIP in 70.2 IP) and has familiarity here from the 2020 season. The 42-year-old would probably appreciate the opportunity to go to a more legitimate contender for what might be his last chance for a championship run. Acquire C Kurt Suzuki, Tucker Barnhart, Austin Hedges, or otherwise for PTBNL The Twins need a dependable veteran catcher to bridge the gap until Ryan Jeffers returns. The above are examples of of no-hit, glove-first guys who are impending free agents on teams going nowhere. They'll be available for nothing of consequence, so I don't even feel the need to hypothesize a return, but it's definitely something they need to get done. The End Result By carrying out the plan above, the Twins would address three key needs -- the rotation, the bullpen, and backup catcher -- without giving up any truly indispensable prospects, although they would be parting with a quantity of good young talent. Syndergaard joins Gray and Ryan atop the rotation to form a viable postseason core. Hill could become part of that picture if he throws well, otherwise simply provides some innings down the stretch. Bard and Moore power up the bullpen significantly, pushing Griffin Jax and Caleb Thielbar into seventh-inning roles, and the rest of the questionables (Tyler Duffey, Emilio Pagan, Joe Smith, etc.) into lower-leverage middle relief or possibly even DFAs. You can quibble with the specifics, but the overarching thought is that the Twins avoid giving up critical assets by aiming lower than the top names on the market (but not much lower) and not targeting additional years of team control. For me, that's the perfect deadline approach. What are your thoughts on this plan? Are the prices I've laid out too light? Too steep? What would you do? Sound off in the comments! View full article

The Athletics made no secret of their intention to tank this year and they've followed through brilliantly, with a 106-loss pace through the All-Star break. Oddly, they willingly embarked on this futile path while holding onto their ultra-valuable ace Frankie Montas, who's heading for free agency after next season. Montas figures to be one of the biggest prizes available at this deadline, and the Twins were known to be very interested in him during the offseason. High-upside prospects of all kinds will be on the menu for general manager David Forst. And he'll have his pick from plenty. Top Target Frankie Montas, RH Starter A recent shoulder scare threw Oakland's hold-and-wait gambit with Montas into great peril, but he was cleared to make his next start after the All-Star break and looked totally fine when returning to the mound, so it appears they dodged a bullet. They are expected to deal the 29-year-old righty to the highest bidder. Montas might be priciest starter realistically available at this deadline, because he's got ace potential that he's currently living up to, and he's under control for another year. Ponying up the talent necessary could be a tough pill to swallow given the shoulder concerns. Other Targets of Interest Lou Trivino, RH Reliever His 6.59 ERA at the break won't cause much excitement, but the 30-year-old's underlying metrics paint a much better picture: 12.8 K/9, .468 BABIP, 3.22 FIP. Controllable through 2024. You're reading an excerpt of the 2022's Twins Daily Trade Deadline Primer about potential trade targets that we are providing free to Twins Daily's Caretakers. If you sign up now to be a Caretaker, you can download all six Divisional Dossiers as they're released, including the full version of this one, which we sent out to Caretakers earlier today. Plus, you'll get a free Offseason Handbook this fall and other perks. More importantly, you're helping support the writers and workers that make Twins Daily possible and keeping it viable for future generations of Twins fans. Thanks! Sean Murphy, Catcher Good two-way catcher with three more years of affordable team control remaining. A's haven't been shy about trading core players, but the price might be too high with Ryan Jeffers still likely to be the guy long-term. Sleeper Target James Kaprielian, RH Starter He's having a brutal year, with a 1-5 record and 5.09 ERA at the break, but he's a controllable buy-low guy with a good slider. Maybe the Twins believe they could get him back to his level from 2021, when he was a solid starter, or maybe they feel they can unleash him in the bullpen. View full article