Nick Nelson

Playing out a lost season, the Minnesota Twins have two potential paths ahead of them: retool or rebuild. Whichever route they choose, one conclusion is inevitable: trading Josh Donaldson, and whatever portion of his remaining contract they can unload, makes strategic sense. The Twins have apparently begun to explore Donaldson's trade market, with a report out of SNY last week suggesting "very preliminary talks" have taken place with the Mets. JD makes sense for a team like that: in the championship mix, and capable of benefiting from a brashly confident former MVP who's shown he can still play at a high level. Donaldson's presence does little for the irrelevant 2021 Twins, so in assessing the sensibility of trading him to New York or elsewhere, the question becomes one of his future fit. Are the Twins doing themselves a great disservice by unloading Donaldson's 2022 and 2023 seasons – along with a 2024 team option – when all they're likely to get back is some level of salary relief and an unspectacular prospect or two? I would suggest: no, probably not. Let us consider the two aforementioned scenarios. If the front office decides that its current collection of talent is fundamentally insufficient, and the next wave of prospects won't be ready quickly enough to fuel a return to championship contention within the next two years, then keeping Donaldson and his $21 million annual salary simply doesn't make sense, on any level. Not only is it an illogical expense, begrudged by ownership, but JD himself will likely become discontented by a non-competitive approach in what may be his final productive seasons. So what if they choose instead to rebuild on the fly and make another go of it in 2022? I think this is the right approach, and the most likely one. Here it becomes a little harder to argue that the Twins are better off without Donaldson, who's been a high-quality player when on the field. Nonetheless, three reasons I believe it's the right call: Donaldson is at high risk for injury and regression. I think we need to divorce ourselves from not only the idea of who Donaldson used to be – a 40-HR MVP-caliber superstar – and maybe even the image of Donaldson as he is now. Turning 36 in December, he's at a stage where rapid physical decline is commonplace, and that's evident enough from what we've witnessed on the field. His offensive skills are mostly holding up – albeit not at the level of his late-20s prime – but Donaldson's defense has gone from great to good, and his speed from bad to "yikes." The injury issues, recurring and localized in his legs, seem unlikely to dissipate as he ages toward 40. The nature of a long-term deal for a mid-30s player like Donaldson is that you expect to get the best value up-front, and deal with the likelihood of regression as a cost of doing business. The Twins have already moved past the ostensible good part of JD's contract, with fruitless results for the team. Now they're moving into a back end carrying more risk and less upside. Granted, these facts are plainly evident to any suitor for Donaldson, which is why the Twins aren't exactly in a position of ideal leverage. But a team like the free-spending Mets is more well-suited to take on that risk and the associated financial commitment than Minnesota. The Twins have depth at third base. The indispensability of Donaldson is contingent on the quality of his potential replacements. When they signed him, third base was a position of clear organizational scarcity. Today, that's not quite so true. First and foremost, you have the emergence of José Miranda as a top prospect. He raked in Double-A, he's now raking in Triple-A, and he's 23. Miranda is on the verge of big-league readiness and his contact-heavy profile lends itself to at least staying afloat in his early exposure to the majors, if not quickly taking off. It wouldn't be a matter of putting all eggs in the meteoric Miranda's basket, either. Luis Arraez has played 250 career innings at third in the majors. Royce Lewis played primarily there in his last competitive baseball action during the 2019 Arizona Fall League. Miguel Sanó will still presumably be around next year. The Twins have options. And while none are Donaldson-caliber players, it's not entirely clear that any would be all that drastic a drop-off from the version you're getting at ages 36 and 37, to whatever extent his health makes him available. The Twins have bigger priorities and JD at third base was always a luxury. The Twins never needed Josh Donaldson. They signed him late in the 2019-20 offseason because they had spending flexibility, missed out on their free agent pitching targets, and saw an opportunity to level-up an already great offense. He was a luxury they could afford at the time, but much has changed since, and now you really wonder if he's one they can still afford. Even without Donaldson and Nelson Cruz, the Twins would be poised to field a solid offensive unit next year. The pitching staff is another story. They're going to need all the help and resources they can get. While no other team is going to take on the entirety of Donaldson's remaining ~$60 million commitment, any fraction of that spending flexibility will be useful to the front office as it addresses a needy rotation and bullpen, not to mention shortstop. In the event he's traded, whatever the Twins are able to get back in exchange for Donaldson is going to look underwhelming on its face. It won't be a fun situation to navigate from a PR perspective. But when you look at the realities of a team that currently figures to have about $40 million in hand for the offseason, the logic of trading Donaldson is difficult to deny. They're staring down a wealth of key vacancies and he's a risk-laden expensive veteran. The Twins have their work cut out if they want to turn around a last-place team and bring it back to respectability, much less World Series contention, in short order. Popularity can't be the guiding principle in the difficult decisions that lie ahead. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email View full article

Wow, you picked a couple good ones! Fun little ballpark, isn't it?

I stand corrected! Good call.

I've heard this a lot but I think it's overblown and kind of a straw man. I didn't really have a problem with Mauer's lack of fire, but even those that did can understand there is a time and place for everything. Donaldson's umpire blow-up last year came at literally one of the worst times possible. If he got himself kicked out of a blowout in Kansas City in a non-condensed season it wouldn't have been quite so bothersome. Mouthing off to a team that has you buried by 12 games in the standings, and is on the way to sweeping you into irrelevance? Taunting their pitchers when you yourself have one of the most embarrassing staffs in the league? I mean, take yourself out of the Twins fan lens and think about how laughable this looks to anyone on the outside, especially the White Sox.

I would say the chances of him pitching for the St. Paul Saints as a non-40 roster guy are extremely low. But you're right, non-zero.

The Twins talked trash, got thrashed, and saw the embers of their fleeting contention hopes turn to ash. Let's review a tough week and set the stage for trade deadline SZN. Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 6/28 through Sun, 7/4 *** Record Last Week: 1-5 (Overall: 34-48) Run Differential Last Week: -16 (Overall: -64) Standing: 5th Place in AL Central (14.5 GB) Last Week's Game Recaps: Game 77 | CWS 7, MIN 6: Offense Can't Overcome Maeda's Messy Start Game 78 | CWS 13, MIN 3: Sox Launch 6 Homers in Ugly Blowout Game 79 | CWS 8, MIN 5: Swept Out of the South Side Game 80 | KC 7, MIN 4: Royals Snap 9-Game Losing Streak Game 81 | KC 6, MIN 3: Jax Knocked Around in First MLB Start Game 82 | MIN 6, KC 2: Twins Salvage a Win Behind Maeda NEWS & NOTES The Matt Shoemaker era has officially ended in Minnesota. One of the worst free agent signings in franchise history saw his Twins tenure come to an end last week, as his egregiously bad relief outing against the White Sox – 2.2 IP, 8 ER, 3 HR – proved to be the last straw. He was designated for assignment the following day, taking with him an 8.06 ERA in 60 ⅓ innings. Short-handed as they are on usable arms, the Twins simply could not afford to send Shoemaker out there anymore. If the guy can't get you through a few innings of mop-up duty without getting bombed, what's the point? Replacing him on the roster is Derek Law, who actually looked pretty solid in his return to the major-league mound on Thursday, generating eight swings-and-misses on 32 pitches in 1 ⅔ innings. He added two scoreless frames against Kansas City on Saturday. It behooves the Twins to take a long look at Law in the second half and evaluate whether he might be of potential use to their bullpen in 2022. HIGHLIGHTS Fresh after turning 41, and on the heels of another very strong week at the plate – 7-for-18 with a homer, a double, three RBIs and four walks – Nelson Cruz was named to his seventh All-Star Game. He'll be Minnesota's lone representative but a worthy one. Cruz slumped a bit in May but snapped out of it with a scorching tear that stacks up to the most productive stretches of his career. Since June 1st, Nelly is slashing .367/.453/.700 with eight home runs, 20 RBIs, and a 17-to-14 K/BB ratio in 25 games. His wOBA of .477 during that span ranks third in baseball behind MVP front-runners Shohei Ohtani and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Alongside Cruz, the rookie outfield tandem of Alex Kirilloff and Trevor Larnach is one of the few things keeping Twins games watchable at this point in time. As the club spirals around them, these promising young hitters continue to excel. Kirilloff went 7-for-25 and Larnach went 8-for-24, with each chipping in a home run and two doubles. To be honest, the real highlights for the Twins organization over the past week took place across the river in St. Paul. The two fastest-rising prospects in the system, infielder Jose Miranda and pitcher Josh Winder, made their respective Triple-A debuts and they were both sensational. Making his first appearance as a Saint on Tuesday night, Miranda had an offensive game for the ages, launching three home runs (including a grand slam) in a five-hit performance that cemented his bat's legitimacy. Three days later, Winder made his first start in Triple-A and didn't miss a beat, exhibiting the same dominance that produced a 1.98 ERA in 10 Double-A starts and led to a promotion. Winder took a no-hitter into the sixth, struck out eight, and allowed just one run on one hit in 5 ⅔ innings, improving to 4-0 on the season overall. LOWLIGHTS If the Twins are going to lose nonstop, I personally would prefer if they did so with some level of grace. Josh Donaldson's taunting and trash-talking might strike me as fun under different circumstances, but when it's coming from a laughably bad team that is legitimately struggling to stay out of last place, it just seems kinda sad and pitiful. To recap: Donaldson's homered in his first at-bat to open the Chicago series, putting the Twins up 2-0. He loudly yelled "Hands not sticky anymore!" – an allusion to Sox starter Lucas Giolito – while crossing home plate in an ostensible effort to pump up his own dugout. It didn't work. From that point forward, Chicago outscored Minnesota 28-12 in a lopsided sweep that snuffed out any glimmer of hope for the Twins to make a run in the division. Press conferences were held, debates rung out about likability, and JD successfully made himself the center of attention. Meanwhile the Twins got their asses kicked all over the field. Giolito and the rest of Chicago's pitchers did just fine with no sticky stuff, while Minnesota's staff was completely unable to contain a White Sox lineup that had been mired in a terrible slump. After slashing .204/.292/.308 with 27 total runs in their previous nine games, the Sox exploded for a .356/.417/.634 line with 28 runs in three games against the woeful Twins. Donaldson has certainly talked a big game, and to his credit he had a good week with two homers, two doubles, and four RBIs, but generally speaking his production has not justified the bravado. In the first season-and-a-half of his historic four-year, $92 million contract, Donaldson has played in 93 of a possible 142 games (65%), contributing 2.2 WAR and 0.77 WPA over that span. He's been good, but certainly not franchise-altering, and he's been absent in the biggest spots. He got himself kicked out of their most critical regular-season game last year so he could show up an umpire, and he was unavailable when the Twins were swept out of the playoffs. This season, amidst the quality production and relative durability, he's been one of the slowest runners in baseball and miserably ineffective in clutch spots. Incidentally, it sounds as though the Twins have engaged in preliminary trade talks involving Donaldson, but with the third baseman battling yet another leg issue (he pulled up with a tight hamstring after rounding first on Saturday), he might be difficult to move. Having said all that, there's not much Donaldson can do about the Twins pitching, which is obscenely bad and clearly the primary source of Minnesota's season-long struggles. The past week featured plenty more abjectly awful performances, from Shoemaker punching his ticket out of town, to J.A. Happ laying yet another egg in KC, to Griffin Jax getting pounded by the Royals in his first MLB start, to Kenta Maeda putting forth the worst start of his career. Truly hideous stuff. TRENDING STORYLINE It's July, the trade deadline is looming, and the Twins are open for business. Cruz's hot hitting bodes well for his value and he certainly looks like one of the most likely players to get dealt, although it's unclear just how much of a return can be expected for a 41-year-old designated hitter with two months left on his contract, even if he's one of the league's best hitters. Health will be a sticking point (pun intended) for some of the Twins' most valuable assets including Donaldson. His proneness to leg injury is a reality that cannot be ignored regardless of the outcome with his current hammy issue, but if he can rebound quickly and return to the field, as he has with previous instances this year, it may help alleviate some of the concern. Michael Pineda, meanwhile, should certainly have appeal to pitching-needy contenders, provided there is confidence his arm is okay. Pineda's brutal first rehab start in St. Paul on Sunday – 4 IP, 4 ER, 3 BB, 1 K – won't help on the latter front. LOOKING AHEAD With tails between their legs, the beaten-down Minnesota Twins return to Target Field for seven games against Chicago and Detroit. Minnesota could've infused the White Sox series with some measure of drama by delivering a strong performance at Guaranteed Rate Field last week, but instead they'll simply be trying to regain some dignity and escape from last place. The Twins are set to play 15 straight against the White Sox and Tigers, with the All-Star break sandwiched in the middle. MONDAY, 7/5: WHITE SOX @ TWINS – RHP Dylan Cease v. RHP Bailey Ober TUESDAY, 7/6: WHITE SOX @ TWINS – LHP Carlos Rodón v. RHP José Berríos WEDNESDAY, 7/7: WHITE SOX @ TWINS – RHP Lance Lynn v. LHP J.A. Happ THURSDAY, 7/8: TIGERS @ TWINS – LHP Tarik Skubal v. TBD FRIDAY, 7/9: TIGERS @ TWINS – RHP Matt Manning v. RHP Kenta Maeda SATURDAY, 7/10: TIGERS @ TWINS – RHP Jose Urena v. RHP Bailey Ober SUNDAY, 7/11: TIGERS @ TWINS – RHP Wily Peralta v. RHP Jose Berrios MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email View full article

The Minnesota Twins ticked off their second consecutive winning week, powered by some strong offensive performances and dramatic moments. They've won seven out of nine, shaving 4 ½ games off their division deficit in the process. Even as they're left reeling from yet another Byron Buxton health setback, the Twins find themselves on a rare run they can feel good about. Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 6/21 through Sun, 6/27 *** Record Last Week: 3-2 (Overall: 32-43) Run Differential Last Week: +3 (Overall: -48) Standing: T-3rd Place in AL Central (11.5 GB) Last Week's Game Recaps: Game 72 | MIN 7, CIN 5: Sanó Walks Off Reds in Extras Game 73 | CIN 10, MIN 7: Late Comeback Falls Short as Bullpen Lapses Game 74 | CLE 4, MIN 1: Bats Can't Back Up Berríos' Brilliance Game 75 | MIN 8, CLE 7: Offense Powers Twins Through Bullpen Game Game 76 | MIN 8, CLE 2: Happ Bounces Back with Bomba Support NEWS & NOTES As deflating as this Twins season has been for fans, following the frustrating and logic-defying plight of Byron Buxton may be even more heartbreaking than the team's overall struggles. It really is just one thing after another for the snakebitten superstar. This time, a broken left hand, suffered via an HBP on Monday night in just his third game back from the IL. While evidently playing through some pain in a hip that was not back to 100%, Buxton was nonetheless effective, going 4-for-11 with a homer and double in his brief reappearance. Now, after missing a month and a half due to the hip strain, he's staring down a similar length of absence as this boxer's fracture heals. It sucks. It absolutely sucks. For him, for the team, for the fans, for baseball. Buxton's new injury led to a quick recall for Gilberto Celestino, who joins Max Kepler and Nick Gordon as the team's center field depth of the moment. The rest of the week's roster action was centralized on the pitching staff, with more bad news hitting the bullpen. Luke Farrell, one of the unit's few standouts, went on the Injured List with a right oblique strain. Cody Stashak has been placed on the 60-day IL due to a disc injury in his back. Randy Dobnak was also shelved with a finger strain. The Stashak move opened up a 40-man spot for Danny Coulombe, who was selected from the minors and started a bullpen game on Friday. Griffin Jax, also called up to fill a spot on the beleaguered staff, followed as the bulk guy for that game, and picked up his first big-league win. HIGHLIGHTS Miguel Sanó heated up again and reminded us what a game-changing force he can be when it's clicking. Of course, it hasn't clicked often for him this year, which is why he found himself on the bench Monday night (an increasingly routine occurrence for him against right-handed starters). While he didn't start the game, he did finish it. Sanó followed with another huge hit the following day, coming inches short of tying things up against Cincinnati with another two-run homer, but instead settling for a double off the top of the wall that set up Alex Kirilloff's game-tying knock. Sanó started only twice last week, but had more multi-hit games (2) than he had in the previous month. He's also gone 13 consecutive plate appearances without striking out – a rather amazing feat for him. Sanó helped lead the charge in a generally strong week for the offense, which produced 31 runs in five games and is on its way to finishing up an impressive month of June. The team has a .783 OPS this month, after finishing May at .744 and April at .723. Also contributing to the recent run-scoring outburst at Target Field was Luis Arraez, who went 6-for-18 and was instrumental to Friday night's win, chipping in three extra-base hits and three RBIs. The glimmer of power was a very refreshing sight from Arraez, whose slugging percentage had dropped to .327 earlier this month before he gave it a boost with two doubles and three triples in his past eight games. Kirilloff keeps on raking; he went 5-for-16 with a double, homer, and five RBIs. Nelson Cruz also stayed hot, contributing six hits including two home runs and a double. Josh Donaldson returned from a brief pause due to a calf scare, chipping in five hits (including a monster blast) and three RBIs during the Cleveland series. This is a pretty dang good offense. The pitching inspires less confidence, but that's not true across the board. José Berríos was outstanding once again his last time out, holding Cleveland to one run over 6 ⅓ innings, although the offense couldn't back him up and snapped a string of seven straight wins with him on the mound. Rocking a 7-2 record and 3.41 ERA, Berríos may well be working his way toward another All-Star nod. He and Taylor Rogers have clearly been the class of this pitching staff, which I suppose is not the most surprising development, all other things aside. It's noteworthy from a bigger-picture perspective because both are under team control for one more year in 2022. As the Twins weigh the merits of a retool-vs-rebuild path forward, Berríos and Rogers will loom as pivotal figures at the deadline. Both long-tenured pitchers are sure to be in demand. Do the Twins feel they could afford to let either one go, if they aspire to bounce back and contend next season? LOWLIGHTS Outside of Berríos, Rogers, and a couple of others, there is just not much positivity to be drawn from this current group of arms. Hansel Robles, who's generally been one of the more dependable bullpen fixtures, had an extremely tough week, coughing up four runs in two innings of work and getting tagged with a loss in Tuesday's game. Jorge Alcalá, whom the Twins badly need to emerge as a key piece for the late innings, gave up four earned runs in his two appearances, and sports a 5.40 ERA in his past 20 trips to the mound. Alex Colomé mixed in another meltdown, yielding three runs (one earned) on two hits and a walk in Tuesday's loss. He has a 6.23 ERA in June. Cyclical spare parts like Coulombe and Jax have not shown much. Michael Pineda is hurt, and hasn't pitched into the sixth inning since May. Randy Dobnak was a disastrous mess before going on the shelf himself. Kenta Maeda has looked better since returning from IL, but remains a far cry from the dominant force we witnessed last year. The Twins have the worst pitching WAR of any team in the American League. They've given up the second-most home runs in the majors. Their relievers are on track for historical ineptitude when it comes to letting inherited runners score. This is a brutal pitching corps with no simple fixes in sight. TRENDING STORYLINE If they're going to make a last-gasp effort to regain relevance, the Twins need to do something about the pitching unit. To rattle off wins like they need to up until the All-Star break requires consistently good work from the rotation and bullpen. Frankly: a dramatic turnaround. But what can they do? They aren't going to shake things up with a splashy "buyer" trade, sitting in a last-place tie. There really isn't much available in terms of help on the farm, with top prospect Jhoan Duran sidelined indefinitely alongside MLB-ready arms like Devin Smeltzer and Lewis Thorpe. The best starting pitcher in St. Paul, 25-year-old Charlie Barnes, is a replacement-level guy through and through. (But maybe an improvement over the likes of J.A. Happ and Matt Shoemaker?) Would the front office consider dipping down to Double-A for an upside arm like Jordan Balazovic or Josh Winder? It would be a bold and perhaps desperate measure, but ... desperate times. LOOKING AHEAD If the Twins want to jam their foot into the fast-closing door and keep it open a crack, here is their chance. After taking two of three from second-place Cleveland, they now head to Chicago for a four-game showdown against the division leaders. The White Sox are in a rut, having lost six of eight with an injury-plagued offense that's been stalling out. The Royals are straight-up crumbling, with 17 losses in their last 21 games. Winning these next two series could help the Twins gain a foothold of sorts, with nearly a month still remaining until the trade deadline. It'll be interesting to see where things stand on the 4th, one week from today. MONDAY, 6/28: TWINS @ WHITE SOX – RHP Kenta Maeda v. RHP Lucas Giolito TUESDAY, 6/29: TWINS @ WHITE SOX – RHP José Berríos v. RHP Dylan Cease WEDNESDAY, 6/30: TWINS @ WHITE SOX – RHP Bailey Ober v. LHP Carlos Rodon THURSDAY, 7/1: TWINS @ WHITE SOX – TBD Undecided v. RHP Lance Lynn FRIDAY, 7/2: TWINS @ ROYALS – LHP J.A. Happ v. RHP Brady Singer SATURDAY, 7/3: TWINS @ ROYALS – RHP Kenta Maeda v. LHP Danny Duffy SUNDAY, 7/4: TWINS @ ROYALS – RHP José Berríos v. RHP Brad Keller View full article

The week got off to an ugly start in Seattle, but the Twins rebounded with four straight victories – including a sweep in Texas – to match their longest winning streak of the season. Read on for a recap of what went down, and a look ahead to what's next. Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 6/14 through Sun, 6/20 *** Record Last Week: 4-2 (Overall: 30-41) Run Differential Last Week: -1 (Overall: -51) Standing: 4th Place in AL Central (12.5 GB) Last Week's Game Recaps: Game 66 | SEA 4, MIN 3: M's Edge Twins in Maeda's Return to the Mound Game 67 | SEA 10, MIN 0: Yikes Game 68 | MIN 7, SEA 2: Twins Salvage a Win in Seattle Behind Ober Game 69 | MIN 7, TEX 5: Arraez Sparks Extra-Inning Victory Game 70 | MIN 3, TEX 2: Relievers Lock Down Tight Lead Game 71 | MIN 4, TEX 2: Bullpen Backs Maeda, Twins Sweep Texas NEWS & NOTES Let's get started with a quick rundown of roster moves over the past seven days: In: Luis Arraez (activated from IL) Kenta Maeda (activated from IL) Max Kepler (activated from IL) Byron Buxton (activated from IL) Caleb Thielbar (activated from IL) Out: Shaun Anderson (claimed off waivers by Texas) Willians Astudillo (optioned to AAA) Gilberto Celestino (optioned to AAA) Griffin Jax (optioned to AAA) Rob Refsnyder (placed on IL) There are a few noteworthy things here, mostly related to the Buxton activation. It took much longer than expected, as Buxton failed to convince the team he was fully ready for most of the week, and consequentially stayed on IL until Saturday. When he was activated, Astudillo was the choice to be sent down, which is somewhat surprising, and reflects well on Nick Gordon. Under different circumstances, Gordon would've been the logical choice for a demotion, but he has played well and his newfound utility in center field makes him a fairly key depth piece as Buxton's health remains fairly uncertain. The other big headline in terms of roster moves was the Twins losing Anderson on waivers. Yet another offseason relief project that officially flopped. Cody Pirkl had a very good post on the topic, explaining how this once-promising but failed move perfectly encapsulates the front office's winter as as a whole. HIGHLIGHTS Fortunately, many signs of optimism are coming from good places: young players who have the potential to play significant roles next year and beyond. Bailey Ober was simply fantastic in his fourth big-league outing, spinning four scoreless innings against the Mariners in Seattle. He struck out six, allowed one hit, and faced the minimum while building upon a tremendously impressive start to his big-league career. Ryan Jeffers continues to thrive in Mitch Garver's absence; he went 4-for-15 with a homer and four RBIs. Since returning to the Twins at the start of June, Jeffers has been a slugging machine with seven extra-base hits (four home runs) and 11 RBIs in 13 games. Alex Kirilloff and Trevor Larnach combined to produce 11 hits including two homers and five RBIs. These young bats are cementing their MLB readiness and boosting the future outlook of the lineup. His play might not have the same type of long-term implications, but Nelson Cruz has gotten back to dominating offensively and that bodes well in its own way. He was the driving force in the lineup last week, finishing 9-for-21 with two home runs and six RBIs. Cruz might have a somewhat limited market at the trade deadline, due to the finite field of teams capable of using a DH, but the more he can make himself look like a clear difference-maker, the better for the Twins. Cruz did exit Sunday's game with neck tightness, but let's hope it's minor. The bullpen, to its credit, enjoyed some fine performances, and uncharacteristically managed to hold down down some leads. Taylor Rogers led the way, tossing three scoreless frames across three appearances with four strikeouts and no walks. He's quietly having a stellar season, with a 2.73 ERA and 41-to-5 K/BB ratio in 29 ⅔ innings. Caleb Thielbar picked up a couple of victories in relief, allowing one run over three innings with five strikeouts and no walks. Hansel Robles allowed one run in four innings, notching a win and a save. Tyler Duffey allowed just one unearned run in his three appearances, and has a 1.54 ERA over the past calendar month. All of the above performances were nice to see, helping Minnesota cobble together four straight victories for just the second time all year, but more than anything, it was refreshing to get some key players off the Injured List and back in the lineup. Buxton legged out a single in his return on Saturday, and then launched a two-run homer in his first at-bat on Sunday. Kepler played all weekend and looked healthy, although he's got just one hit in 13 plate appearances since being activated. Arraez collected hits in each of his five starts, including a clutch 10th-inning triple on Saturday that pushed the Twins ahead. LOWLIGHTS The younger players are carrying much of the load while highly-paid veterans – with the exception of Cruz – are proving to be less useful. J.A. Happ was awful once again on Wednesday, coughing up six runs (five earned) over four innings to set the stage for a 10-0 laugher. Opponents are slashing .371/.414/.692 against the lefty in his past seven turns, so basically he's making everyone look like the April version of Buxton. Miguel Sanó went 2-for-18 with eight strikeouts and no walks; he has a ghastly 25-to-1 K/BB ratio in June. Andrelton Simmons went 3-for-13 as his balky ankle started barking again. Josh Donaldson went 1-for-10 in Seattle before leaving a game with calf tightness, which of course throws the rest of his season into doubt. It was only a matter of time. Still no word as of yet on an IL move for him. Theoretically, any of these players could be tradable assets for the Twins, offering the opportunity to recoup some prospects as they rebuild on the fly, or at least some salary relief. (Happ, Sanó, Simmons and Donaldson are earning a combined $50 million this year, with Sanó and JD owed another $50 million or so moving forward,) But their poor play and recurring injuries are putting a damper on that notion. Unlike Cruz, none of these vets are playing up to their standards or doing much to build any demand in the eyes of contenders. And now Cruz's health is in question. Aye aye aye. TRENDING STORYLINE The trade deadline is suddenly only a little over a month away. At this point the micro-trends of players who might be involved begin to matter a lot. In some cases, there's not a lot that can happen to change the core narrative. Even if Donaldson gets back on the field soon, it's not going to erase the glaring realities of his total lack of dependability, which were resurfaced by another calf scare. Even if Sanó gets rolling on another signature hot streak, it isn't going to make suitors blind to his overwhelming slumps in the past two seasons. I'm not sure Happ has enough time to position himself as anything more than a back-of-rotation salary dump. But other things DO matter. If Cruz's neck issue proves to be significant, that could cost the Twins one of their most clear-cut trade chips. Then again, if he comes back and keeps crushing, he may become all the more irresistible as that final puzzle piece for an AL contender. Meanwhile, if Simmons can build upon his three-hit game on Sunday and hit well for the next month, that may raise his stock substantially. His defense has been very good, but the idea of giving up a quality player for the shortstop may hinge on the belief he can contribute in some way offensively. And then of course there is Buxton and José Berríos. What if Buck keeps tearing things up for the next few weeks and a starry-eyed club makes a crazy offer for 1.5 years of his services? Or, say, a couple of big-name starters on good teams get injured, and desperation drives the market for Berríos? Lots of threads to follow as we head toward July. There is also, I guess, the possibility that Minnesota launches off from this four-game winning streak, goes on a tear during the upcoming division-heavy portion of the schedule, and vaults to some semblance of relevance by the All-Star break to deter an all-out sell-off. But that scenario seems outrageously optimistic for this cursed 2021 season. LOOKING AHEAD The state of Ohio will be represented at Target Field in the coming week, with both Cincinnati and Cleveland paying visits. The Reds have been playing good ball of late and could present a challenging match-up, especially with their top two starters toeing the rubber in this short series. Shane Bieber is on IL with a shoulder strain, so Minnesota will not have to face him in the four-gamer against second-place Cleveland. Following the two-gamer against Cincy, the Twins play 25 straight games against AL Central opponents, including 14 against Cleveland and the White Sox. MONDAY, 6/21: REDS @ TWINS – RHP Tyler Mahle v. LHP J.A. Happ TUESDAY, 6/22: REDS @ TWINS – LHP Wade Miley v. RHP Bailey Ober THURSDAY, 6/24: CLEVELAND @ TWINS – RHP J.C. Mejia v. RHP Jose Berrios FRIDAY, 6/25: CLEVELAND @ TWINS – RHP Cal Quantrill v. RHP Randy Dobnak SATURDAY, 6/26: CLEVELAND @ TWINS – LHP Sam Hentges v. RHP Kenta Maeda SUNDAY, 6/27: CLEVELAND @ TWINS – RHP Aaron Civale v. LHP J.A. Happ View full article

The Minnesota Twins are a bad baseball team. This was made painfully clear during another losing week in which they were thoroughly outplayed by two plainly superior contending clubs. Where do we go from here? Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 6/7 through Sun, 6/13 *** Record Last Week: 2-4 (Overall: 26-39) Run Differential Last Week: -15 (Overall: -50) Standing: T-4th Place in AL Central (15.0 GB) Last Week's Game Recaps: Game 60 | NYY 8, MIN 4: New York Pulls Away Late, Wins Series Opener Game 61 | NYY 9, MIN 6: Yankees Tee Off on Dobnak in Victory Game 62 | MIN 7, NYY 5: Donaldson, Cruz Power Dramatic Comeback vs. Chapman Game 63 | HOU 6, MIN 4: Shoemaker's Late Lapse Leads to Loss Game 64 | MIN 5, HOU 2: Twins Win Behind Strong Effort from Berríos Game 65 | HOU 14, MIN 3: Astros Destroy Twins Pitching in Blowout NEWS & NOTES Relatively speaking, it was a pretty quiet week in terms of roster moves and injury updates. Byron Buxton, Kenta Maeda, Luis Arraez, and Max Kepler all embarked on rehab assignments in St. Paul, so the Twins figure to get back these important fixtures in the near future. Gilberto Celestino was optioned to Triple-A, then quickly recalled, as Kyle Garlick went on the shelf with a sports hernia. Rob Refsnyder is back. (He started in right field and batted cleanup on Sunday, which says a lot about the state of this roster.) HIGHLIGHTS The biggest highlight of the week, and the season, came in the ninth inning of Thursday's series finale against the Yankees. With the Twins trailing by two runs and facing a sweep, Aroldis Chapman came to the mound, carrying a 0.39 ERA, 4-0 record, and 12-for-13 save conversion rate. He'd been lights-out, and was going up against a Twins team that has constantly shrunk in big spots. All of which made the ensuing sequence of events astonishingly improbable. If you turned away from the TV, you might've missed one of the most exhilarating comeback wins in recent franchise history. It all happened so quickly. Jorge Polanco led off with a single. In stepped Josh Donaldson, who took ball one and then launched a mammoth game-tying home run to left-center. Willians Astudillo, pinch-hitting for Nick Gordon, followed with a first-pitch single of his own. And then came Nelson Cruz, who basically replicated what Donaldson did two ABs earlier by drilling a 1-0 pitch deep to center for the walk-off winner. Within a span of nine pitches, the Twins grasped victory from the jaws of defeat. For Twins fans, the feeling was bittersweet, because it was hard not to think about how much more epic and energizing that win would've been if the Twins hadn't cast themselves hopelessly out of contention. In anticipation of this season, we dreamed about Cruz and Donaldson coming through with game-changing jolts like this all year long, but instead, such marquee moments have been far and few between, which is part of the reason the team finds itself buried in last place. With that said, Cruz's bat has been showing some life at the plate again lately and that's good to see now matter how you slice it. He went 6-for-16 with three home runs and six RBIs on the week, equaling his totals in those categories from the entire month of May. He might not find himself leading the Twins on a pennant chase in August and September, but maybe he can do it for someone else, and score Minnesota a prospect or two in the process. Donaldson's clutch bomb was also part of a power-hitting rejuvenation, as he followed the next day by going deep twice against Houston – his second two-homer game in an eight-day span. His slugging percentage, which had sagged to .408 by the end of the Baltimore series in early June, is back up to .475. As I noted last week, Donaldson's been remarkably healthy and durable since his season-opening IL sint, leading the team in games played and plate appearances since returning. He's also been doing some very nice work with the glove. Polanco, whose single set up the dramatic finish against New York, has generally stayed hot at the plate. He went 6-for-21 with three homers and six RBIs last week. His left-handed swing is actually doing damage again and that's huge. Other standout offensive performances included Miguel Sanó (8-for-24 with two homers and four RBIs) and Alex Kirilloff (5-for-13 with just one strikeout in five games). There weren't many positives on the pitching side, but José Berríos certainly qualifies. He was masterful against the Astros on Saturday night, spinning seven innings of two-run ball. The righty allowed only five hits and two walks while striking out eight. Berríos has won five straight decisions and the Twins are 7-1 in his last seven starts dating back to the beginning of May. The other noteworthy pitching bright spot was a strong showing from Bailey Ober on Friday night, when he made a spot start in place of Matt Shoemaker. Going against an elite Houston offense, Ober tossed five innings and allowed just two runs, striking out seven with one walk. He continues to pump 92-93 MPH with his four-seamer, which is immensely encouraging. Ober looks like he could be a legitimate factor on a pitching staff that desperately needs help, both now and moving forward. LOWLIGHTS Even after being bumped from the rotation, Shoemaker continues to cost the Twins with his staggeringly poor play. He appeared in relief on Friday night against the Astros and took the loss, giving up two runs in the ninth to break a tie. (The decision by Rocco Baldelli to use him in this situation was ... questionable to say the least.) He came out of the bullpen again on Sunday and looked customarily awful, coughing up three runs on four hits and two walks in two innings of work. Shoemaker has the worst ERA in the league, he's been tagged with eight losses in 13 appearances, and seems to look worse every time he takes the mound. It's past time for the Twins to move on. Roster crunches and depth issues be damned: you can't justify continuing to run a guy like this out in major-league games. The same can also be said for Alex Colomé, whose brief stretch of effectiveness in May is now a distant memory. He gave up two runs on three hits in his one inning of work on Sunday, and has a 5.48 ERA on the season to go along with his league-worst (by a mile) negative-2.34 Win Probability Added. Colomé's departure is probably less imminent than Shoemaker's, because they're paying him three times as much and are so direly short-handed in the bullpen, but in both cases it's only a matter of time. These guys were complete free agent busts and wherever the Twins go from here, they aren't going to be part of it. The situation with Randy Dobnak is a bit more complicated. He's looked every bit as bad as Shoemaker, with his ERA inflating to 8.38 after allowing 14 earned runs in 6 ⅔ innings over the past week. Dobnak gave up five home runs in two appearances, with four coming against his reinvented slider which has changed from a powerful asset to a glaring weakness for him. That begs the question why he or the Twins thought it would be a good idea to tinker with that pitch in the first place. It's not pleasant to watch Dobnak pitch right now, but the solution isn't as simple as cutting bait like it is with Shoemaker. The Twins just signed Dobnak to a five-year contract extension on the heels of an outstanding spring training, and while the monetary commitment isn't huge, they are invested in him for better or worse. It behooves them to help him work through his issues because he's currently one of their few figments of long-term stability in the rotation picture. Fixing the pitching staff has become a primary crux for the Twins and their future outlook. The work is cut out for them here. Michael Pineda looks to be headed for the Injured List. Shoemaker is unusable and J.A. Happ hasn't been much better. Berríos is under contract for one more year after this and Maeda two more. It's tough to have much confidence in the front office filling tons of holes and constructing a quality unit from scratch during the offseason given how poorly all of their moves this year fared. As such, you can see why it's critically important for Ober to build on his early success and for Dobnak to get straightened out. The Twins need some things to break right with young pitchers or they simply won't be equipped to contend next year, in which case, why not just trade Berríos at the upcoming deadline? TRENDING STORYLINE For what it's worth, the Twins are about to get a lot closer to full strength. Maeda, Buxton, and Arraez have completed their rehab stints and will be traveling to Seattle for the upcoming road trip. Maeda is scheduled to start against the Mariners on Monday, and the other two will presumably be activated for that game as well. Kepler is be a bit further behind, given that he played his first rehab game in St. Paul on Sunday (and was the DH), but we could see him up before week's end. Those are some pretty key cogs the Twins have been playing without. We'll see if their returns, along with a softening of the schedule, can help this team get on a bit of a winning run here in the back half of June. So far, sustained hot streaks have eluded them. LOOKING AHEAD Get ready for some late-night baseball as the Twins head to Seattle for a showdown against the Mariners in Pacific Time. Then, following an off day, Minnesota heads down to Texas for a weekend series against the last-place Rangers. MONDAY, 6/13: TWINS @ MARINERS – RHP Kenta Maeda v. LHP Marco Gonzales TUESDAY, 6/14: TWINS @ MARINERS – LHP J.A. Happ vs. RHP Chris Flexen WEDNESDAY, 6/15: TWINS @ MARINERS – RHP Bailey Ober v. RHP Justus Sheffield FRIDAY, 6/17: TWINS @ RANGERS – RHP Jose Berrios v. RHP Mike Foltynewicz SATURDAY, 6/18: TWINS @ RANGERS – TBD v. LHP Kolby Allard SUNDAY, 6/19: TWINS @ RANGERS – RHP Kenta Maeda v. RHP Dane Dunning View full article

As I recall, he fabricated a trade rumor, got mad upon being called out for it, and then vanished into the great beyond.

There's no two ways about it: Having your favorite team essentially eliminate itself from contention by early June is demoralizing. If you're looking for some glimmers of positivity and optimism, though, these individual player trends are worth focusing on. With the Twins boasting one of the worst records in the league and continuing to affirm it with their play week after week, it's natural to start thinking about the big picture, and wondering what the path forward looks like. Has their championship window closed? Is a full-on rebuild in the offing? Or is this a bump in the road that calls for retooling on the fly and getting back after it in 2022? I personally lean toward the latter, for a number of different reasons. Among them: these five key positive player trends all support the idea that Minnesota could move back into contention relatively quickly. 1. Jorge Polanco Is Returning to Form I'll admit: I was about ready to give up on Polanco as a standout player. In mid-April I openly wondered when Rocco Baldelli's faith in the infielder would be shaken, noting that Polanco continued to hit in critical lineup spots regularly despite woeful production over his past full season's worth of games. Incidentally, Baldelli's confidence DID appear to diminish around that time ... temporarily. In the latter half of April and into May, Polanco frequently found himself hitting in the bottom half of the lineup, which had almost never happened under Rocco's watch. We also learned somewhere around this time that Polanco was once again being bothered by his twice-repaired ankle. Things looked grim. But to his great credit, the 27-year-old started to find himself at the plate again. After finishing April with a miserable .555 OPS, Polanco raised that mark 150 points by slashing .253/.343/.494 in May. He's kept clicking in June, where he is thus far 8-for-24 with two doubles and a home run. Batted-ball data backs up the improved production; as Nash Walker points out, Polanco leads all second basemen in hard-hit rate since the start of May. The ankle might still be barking, but Polanco is finding a way to battle through and get the job done. Right now he actually has a higher hard-hit rate, barrel rate, and average exit velocity than any prior season in his career. Dude is mashing. He's restoring his status as a building-block type player, which is excellent news because Polanco remains under contract for at least the next two seasons, with club options for 2024 and '25. #2. Taylor Rogers Is as Good as Ever His frequent struggles in 2020, combined with the inherent volatility of relief pitchers, led plenty of us to wonder whether Rogers' days as a top-tier relief arm were over – to the extent that bringing him back in arbitration for $6 million was a subject of some debate. Am I pleased to say those debates look pretty silly now. Shaking off his mediocre work in the short season, Rogers has been phenomenal here in 2021, posting a 2.57 ERA and 2.59 WHIP across 24 ⅓ frames. His 12.6 K/9 rate would be a career-high, as would his 12.3% swinging strike rate, and he ranks 18th among all MLB relievers in fWAR. Take a look at his Statcast measurements and all those bright red circles. Under team control for one more year after this, Rogers is proving he's someone the Twins can count on as an anchor in their bullpen. They've got much work to do with this unit, but having a centerpiece of his caliber makes a big difference. He's been among the few bright spots in a disastrous relief corps, but not the only one: Tyler Duffey's recent improvement and Luke Farrell's impressive early work are also encouraging developments. #3. Josh Donaldson Is an Iron Man Again I'm not sure Donaldson's season can be viewed as any kind of glowing positive in the grand scheme, but the fact he's been able to stay on the field as a regular fixture is huge, and frankly seemed unfathomable two months ago. JD's first season with the Twins was ruined by a reemergence of his calf issues, framing his health as a primary question mark during the ensuing offseason, and he lasted all of one plate appearance before going down this year. With the Twins still on the hook for $21 million annually for three more seasons, Donaldson was quickly beginning to look like a constrictive burden in their roster construction efforts going forward. The third baseman ended up missing only 10 games following the mild hamstring strain in Game 1. Since returning on April 14th he's played in 45 of a possible 47 games, starting 43 of them. Even with the missed time, Donaldson ranks third on the team in plate appearances. Since coming off IL, he leads all Twins in both PAs and games played. His performance may leave something to be desired and he runs like he's dragging an anvil, but at 35, Donaldson is showing he can hold up as an everyday player and he's still clobbering the ball even if the results haven't been there. The outlook here has improved drastically. This team was going to be in serious trouble if things continued to devolve. #4. Rookies Are Ready for the Challenge In a season where so much has gone wrong, it would only make sense for rookies to come up and look totally overwhelmed. I mean, when even the established veterans are looking lost, how are young kids supposed to find their way? Instead, while there have been exceptions, most of the newcomers on this roster have risen to the occasion. I talked in the latest Week in Review column about the impressive early showings from pitcher Bailey Ober and infielder Nick Gordon. Alex Kirilloff has hit the ground running, although his balky wrist currently appears to be sapping all his power. Trevor Larnach looks like a seasoned vet in the batter's box. These guys could all play fairly significant roles on a competing Twins team in 2022. Regardless of how they supplement from outside, there's no doubt that Minnesota's return to contention will need to be fueled internally to a large degree. The young wave is mostly inspiring confidence right now. #5. Mitch Garver Is Elite Offensively Again Garver went through an awful ordeal in Baltimore last week, and he'll probably be sidelined for a while. But, so long as he doesn't choose to quit baseball (I'd consider it), there's plenty of reason to be excited for his return. In the month prior to his tremendously unfortunate mishap behind the plate, Garver wasn't just hitting well – he was dominating like few other hitters in the league. From May 2nd to June 1st he slashed .286/.444/.589 with four homers, five doubles, and a 17-to-16 K/BB ratio. His OPS during that span ranked third among all AL hitters and his .440 wOBA was almost 60 points higher than the next-best MLB catcher (Yasmani Grandal of the White Sox). In the aftermath of a hideous slump that lasted throughout 2020 and carried over into the first month of 2021, this awakening from Garver has been reinvigorating. He's not just getting lucky and running into meatballs – he has fundamentally transformed his offensive game and turned back into the selective, smart, fastball-crushing force that earned a Silver Slugger award in 2019. Garver was playing at an MVP-caliber level in the month before he went down, just as he did throughout the balance of 2019. If he can come back and sustain anywhere near that level, he'll be an enormous difference-maker, and he's controllable through the next two seasons. Feeling Better? I know I am. This team has a whole host of troubles right now but they're not rotting away at the core. In addition to the names mentioned above, they figure to get back their top two starters (José Berríos and Kenta Maeda) and their best player (Byron Buxton), although in two of those cases it could be the last ride here. Now, those guys have their own set of question marks – can Maeda get healthy and shake off his uncharacteristic early-season struggles, and can Buxton ever stay on the field for two weeks consecutively – but it'd be silly to give up on this team and blow it up. Here's hoping the rest of the season gives us more silver linings to build on. As we learned not too long ago when a 78-win also-ran in 2018 blossomed into a 101-win world-beater in 2019 – not to mention the vice-versa scenario this year – the tides can turn quickly. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email View full article

An update on the "Trending Storyline" item:

It was yet another losing week for the Minnesota Twins – one that included some new lows with a series loss against the last-place Orioles in Baltimore and a humiliating blowout in Kansas City. Hurt and humbled, the wayward Twins limp forth in this summer of despair. Amid all of the misery, there are positives worth gravitating toward. Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 5/31 through Sun, 6/6 *** Record Last Week: 3-4 (Overall: 24-35) Run Differential Last Week: -13 (Overall: -35) Standing: 5th Place in AL Central (12.5 GB) Last Week's Game Recaps: Game 53 | MIN 3, BAL 2: Twins Edge O's Behind Strong Berríos Effort Game 54 | BAL 7, MIN 4: Orioles Snap Losing Streak Against Twins Game 55 | BAL 6, MIN 3: Twins Sink to New Low, Drop Series in Baltimore Game 56 | KC 6, MIN 5: Bats Unable to Overcome Happ's Poor Start Game 57 | KC 14, MIN 5: Okay, Now THIS Was a New Low Game 58 | MIN 5, KC 4: Home Runs Power Minnesota to Narrow Victory Game 59 | MIN 3, KC 2: Strong Effort from Staff Aids Another Close Win NEWS & NOTES This team is absolutely ravaged. A nonstop barrage of injuries has forced the Twins to reach into the deepest corners of their minor-league depth, routinely fielding lineups populated by guys playing out of position or above their appropriate competition level. Not only have the injuries been plentiful, but also astoundingly inconvenient and untimely. For example, our last Week in Review column noted that "the biggest bright spot on offense right now has got to be Mitch Garver, who suddenly looks like his old Silver Slugger self." Naturally, in the first inning of the first game last week, Garver went down. The catcher experienced a brutal mishap that no one would wish upon their worst enemy, taking a foul tip directly in the groin and requiring emergency surgery that night. He'll be sidelined for the foreseeable future. In last week's column we also noted "Rocco Baldelli's made no secret of the fact that he'll be riding Rob Refsnyder hard in the short-term, and the manager will have to hope his opportunistic 30-year-old can stay hot (and healthy)." Naturally, in the same game where Garver got hurt, Refsnyder ran into the outfield wall in Baltimore and soon after went on the shelf with a concussion. With Refsnyder joining Byron Buxton, Max Kepler and Jake Cave on IL, the Twins had little choice but to call up prospect Gilberto Celestino, their only available center fielder on the 40-man roster. The 22-year-old, who'd played less than two dozen games above Single-A in the minors, has looked like a player that belongs nowhere near the big leagues, and I don't think the Twins would even deny that. But their alternative options are basically non-existent. Also hitting the Injured List this past week: relievers Caleb Thielbar (groin strain) and Shaun Anderson (blisters). Juan Minaya was designated for assignment and Dakota Chalmers was claimed off waivers by the Cubs. Griffin Jax and Bailey Ober were recalled, with the latter making an impressive start in Kansas City on Sunday. HIGHLIGHTS In a season where postseason hopes have been effectively snuffed out by early June, you have to focus on the smaller individual storylines to find fulfillment as a fan – especially those with potential to impact the long-term outlook as this team aims to pick up the pieces and remake itself with help from the internal pipeline. Ober is an intriguing asset from this standpoint. In a spot start on Sunday, he tossed four innings of one-run ball with four strikeouts and no walks. He induced an impressive eight swinging strikes on 51 pitches, flashing 93-94 MPH on the gun repeatedly with his four-seamer. Despite an intimidating 6-foot-9 frame, Ober has generally been viewed as having a limited ceiling, due mainly to his middling fastball velocity as a starter. While coming up as a prospect he usually worked in the high 80s or low 90s. The increase we're seeing now plays up his secondary stuff, and when you add strong command to the mix, you've got a pitcher with some real upside. He has a 21-to-5 K/BB ratio in 16 innings at Triple-A and now an 8-to-1 K/BB ratio in eight innings with the Twins. He should stick in the rotation and get a long look this summer. Another prospect taking advantage of his unexpected opportunity and running with it: Nick Gordon, who provided a rare heartwarming highlight amidst a barrage of uninspiring performances for the Twins last week. With his father Tom "Flash" Gordon watching from the stands on Friday, Gordon went 3-for-4 with his first major-league home run. In total, Gordon made four starts and went 7-for-16 (.438) with two RBIs and a stolen base. He's slashing .400/.429/.550 in his young big-league career, and dating back to 2019 he now has a .312 batting average and .474 slugging percentage in 340 at-bats between Triple-A and the majors. He's 22-for-26 on steal attempts during that span. Through all the tribulations he's faced over these past few years, Gordon has stepped it up on the field and really produced when given a chance. This season is a giant bummer, obviously, but if the Twins can take the opportunity to get extended looks at fringe-type prospects like Ober and Gordon, and find that maybe they actually have something in them, that's a big win with possible implications going forward. LOWLIGHTS It needs to be stated: The front office completely whiffed on nearly every significant pitching acquisition during the offseason. Starters, relievers, free agents, trades ... they've almost all panned out poorly. None worse than Matt Shoemaker, who received a $2 million deal to plug in as Minnesota's No. 5 starter and has been a total disaster. His start on Friday was one of the worst ever seen from a Twins pitcher, as the right-hander surrendered nine runs (eight earned) on eight hits and two walks while recording one out. The catastrophic performance inflated his ERA to 7.28 and tagged him with his league-leading seventh loss. Shoemaker absolutely deserves to be out of the rotation but that's not happening at this point, due to the aforementioned lack of bodies. The Twins can't afford to give away any of their MLB depth, no matter how atrocious it may be. Fellow free agent starter J.A. Happ hasn't been quite as bad as Shoemaker, but he sure hasn't been good. Happ gave up five earned runs on nine hits (three home runs) in five innings against Kansas City the previous night. He now owns a 5.61 ERA to go along with a 4.77 FIP. That includes a 10.17 ERA over his past five turns, during which opponents have slashed .360/.405/.680 against the veteran, who looks pretty cooked by now. Bullpen pickups have been similarly disappointing, just about across the board. Centerpiece free agency addition Alex Colomé gave up a two-run homer in Baltimore; his modest momentum built up in early May has now completely evaporated. Colomé has a 9.00 ERA in his past six outings and opponents are slashing .389/.450/.889. The team's lone trade acquisition of the winter, Anderson, pitched badly in his only appearance of the week before going back on IL. We've already seen Derek Law and Brandon Waddell pass through with lackluster stints. What happened to the mojo and moxie of this front office and coaching staff when it comes to identifying and developing arms? It's the top story of the season, in my opinion. Entering play on Sunday, the Twins had the third-worst ERA in the American League (ahead of only the Orioles and Angels) and the second-worst pitching WAR in the major leagues (ahead of only the Diamondbacks). The bats have their issues and the lineup is decimated but this lousy pitching staff gives the team no real shot at getting on any kind of sustained run. TRENDING STORYLINE It appears the Twins may be getting back two of their most critical pieces in the near future. Buxton, who has now missed a full month and counting since straining his hip on May 6th, completed a baserunning program without issue and will likely head on a rehab stint in the days ahead. It wouldn't be shocking to see him back in the outfield for next weekend's series against Houston. Meanwhile, Kenta Maeda went through a 35-pitch bullpen session on Sunday morning and came out of it fine. He too is on the verge of a rehab assignment, which presumably would entail one or two starts with the Saints. Will the time off prove an elixir for his woefully underwhelming performance up to this point? The Twins are probably in too deep of a hole, and plagued by too many flaws on the roster, for an historical comeback thrusting them back into contention to be realistic. If such a thing was ever going to happen though, getting back their best player and best pitcher at full strength will absolutely need to be a part of the equation. LOOKING AHEAD Well, here we go. After going 7-6 during their two-week soft patch against the Orioles and Royals, the Twins are about to see the difficulty level steepen sharply. The dreaded Yankees and Astros are coming to town. This could get ugly. (Uglier, I should say.) TUESDAY, 6/8: YANKEES @ TWINS – LHP Jordan Montgomery v. RHP Michael Pineda WEDNESDAY, 6/9: YANKEES @ TWINS – RHP Gerrit Cole v. RHP Randy Dobnak THURSDAY, 6/10: YANKEES @ TWINS – TBD v. LHP J.A. Happ FRIDAY, 6/11: ASTROS @ TWINS – RHP José Urquidy v. RHP José Berríos SATURDAY, 6/12: ASTROS @ TWINS – RHP Luis Garcia v. RHP Bailey Ober SUNDAY, 6/13: ASTROS @ TWINS – LHP Framber Valdez v. RHP Michael Pineda View full article

It was a winning week for the Minnesota Twins, but not a particularly impressive one. Once again, a step forward was immediately followed by a regressive stumble, with the weekend's deflating series loss against Kansas City erasing positive vibes and progress from a sweep over Baltimore. At this point, it's hard to escape the conclusion that the perpetually underperforming Twins are what their record says they are. Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 5/24 through Sun, 5/30 *** Record Last Week: 4-2 (Overall: 21-31) Run Differential Last Week: +2 (Overall: -22) Standing: 5th Place in AL Central (11.0 GB) Last Week's Game Recaps: Game 47 | MIN 8, BAL 3: Rare Late-game Surge Pushes Twins Past O's Game 48 | MIN 7, BAL 4: Lineup Comes Through Again with Seven Runs Game 49 | MIN 3, BAL 2: Michael and Miguel Lead Minnesota to First Sweep Game 50 | KC 8, MIN 3: Royals Cool Off Twins in Deflating Loss Game 51 | MIN 6, KC 5: Twins Fend Off KC Rally and Hold On Game 52 | KC 6, MIN 3: Fading Twins Drop Another Home Series NEWS & NOTES This is the ninth Week in Review column we've filed this season, and it's the first since Week 1 – when the Twins won their season-opening series in Milwaukee, two games to one – that we're reviewing a winning week. As winning weeks ago, however, this one was remarkably uninspiring and unfulfilling. They really needed to go 5-1 at least in these six games at home against bad teams, but instead came away with just four wins, and might've been lucky to get that. The Twins required a late-game rally to beat Baltimore on Monday, and barely eked out a one-run victory on Wednesday to clinch the sweep. In a three-game weekend series against the Royals, Minnesota was twice beaten handily, and scraped out a one-run win in the other. This is not a great team dominating bad competition. This is a bottom-dweller with its hands full facing the same. On the health front, it was another week of bad news and foreboding developments for the Twins. They lost two more key pieces to the Injured List, with Luis Arraez (shoulder) and Max Kepler (hamstring) hitting the shelf after trying to play through their respective ailments. There's a belief that Kepler could return soon after his 10-day window expires, but Arraez is looking at a lengthier absence, as his shoulder injury appears to be more serious than initially thought. Meanwhile, Kenta Maeda is also facing an extended period of unavailability. Rocco Baldelli said on Sunday that the right-hander's groin issue has been resolved, but the team wants to give Maeda extra time off due to "general arm soreness," which may help explain his extremely lackluster results up to this point. Adding to the fun (not): Byron Buxton was not able to start a rehab assignment as hoped this past weekend, because he's still not moving around at 100%. Three weeks removed from suffering his hip strain, Buxton's timetable remains in limbo. On the bright side, the Twins did get Michael Pineda back from IL, and as we'll cover below, he looked great. In the bullpen, Cody Stashak was swapped out for Juan Minaya. Dakota Chalmers was DFA'ed to make room on the 40-man roster for Minaya. HIGHLIGHTS The return of Pineda was more than welcome for a rotation that's been receiving some uneven performances and is now missing Maeda. Pineda's been the underrated steady rock of this unit, and looked the part again on Wednesday. In a series finale against Baltimore where the offense didn't quite show up the way it had in the first two, Minnesota needed a high-quality pitching performance. Pineda delivered, firing six innings of one-run ball. He allowed three hits and a walk while striking out eight. Pineda's 16-7 record with the Twins stacks up as the best winning percentage in franchise history, and it's reflective of the reality that he gives them a good chance to win just about every time he takes the mound. In all but one start this year, he has pitched five or more innings and allowed three or fewer runs. The lineup is getting help from some unlikely sources. Hardly just a novelty act, Rob Refsnyder has been a key contributor; last week he went 7-for-22 with a homer and four RBIs to deliver some much-needed production at the bottom of the order. With Kepler and Buxton both sidelined, Refsnyder is essentially the only center fielder on the roster. Baldelli's made no secret of the fact that he'll be riding Refsnyder hard in the short-term, and the manager will have to hope his opportunistic 30-year-old can stay hot (and healthy). Refsnyder's recent success bodes well in the short-term. But the breakout performance of Trevor Larnach alongside him in the outfield bodes much better for the long-term. He's looking every bit the advanced, impact hitter that his minor-league numbers and top-prospect accolades suggested. Larnach went 5-for-14 with two home runs and five RBIs last week, and while he's shown the ability to absolutely obliterate baseballs, his plate discipline might be the most promising aspect of his early play. Larnach presents a challenging match-up for opposing pitchers because he doesn't chase much outside the zone, and can capitalize once he gets his pitch. As Aaron Gleeman notes, Larnach is tied for third-most walks in Twins history through his first 20 games. His five walks (vs. four strikeouts) last week included one with the bases loaded, forcing in a key run. Alex Kirilloff continues to rake (8-for-23 with two doubles last week), and Jorge Polanco is showing some pop despite the bad wheel (two doubles and a homer in his five starts). But the biggest bright spot on offense right now has got to be Mitch Garver, who suddenly looks like his old Silver Slugger self. Taking on a more regular workload with Ryan Jeffers and (until Sunday) Ben Rortvedt in Triple-A, Garver has rediscovered his rhythm at the plate. In four starts last week and one late-game sub appearance last week, he went 5-for-13 with four doubles, a home run, four walks, and just two strikeouts. Garver was slashing .151/.196/.321 with a 25-to-3 K/BB ratio through his first 17 games before a breakout two-homer night in Cleveland on April 28th. Since then, he is slashing .300/.432/.683 with 18 strikeouts and 14 walks. In 2019, he slashed .273/.365/.630. LOWLIGHTS While young bucks like Larnach and Kirilloff have been stepping up to carry much of the load offensively, the highly-paid veterans that Minnesota depends upon are coming up short. Nelson Cruz is wrapping up perhaps his most underwhelming month in a Twins uniform. Following a 2-for-14 week, he's slashing .232/.315/.378 in May with three home runs and just six RBIs in 23 games. Is age finally catching up with Cruz? He started the season on a scorching tear, but has looked like a very ordinary player for the last five weeks or so. Then again he's still hitting the ball hard as hell, so maybe it's just a matter of time before he catches fire again. Here's hoping so, because the Twins will at the very least be reliant on Cruz as a key trade chip in July. Even more concerning are the ongoing struggles of Josh Donaldson, who for better or worse is going to be around for a while The Twins spent big on Donaldson two offseasons ago, envisioning him is the final puzzle piece for a power-laden lineup with championship aspirations. Donaldson was largely a non-factor in 2020 due to injury, and while he's been able to stay on the field this year, he's making more headlines for his drama-stirring tweets than for his standout play. Last week Donaldson went 3-for-21, dropping his slash line for the season to .226/.325/.394. His double off the right field wall on Sunday was his first extra-base hit in 12 days, and he hasn't had a multi-hit game since May 8th. Donaldson is still taking good ABs and drawing walks at a solid clip, but there's only so much value in having one of the slowest dudes in baseball putting himself on first base a handful of times per week. They need JD crushing drives all over the field. He's mostly just hitting pop-ups when he makes contact, and is on pace to finish with 15 home runs. And then there is the ever-streaky Miguel Sanó, who flipped the switch back from red-hot to ice-cold with a 2-for-21 week that included one walk and 11 strikeouts. Granted, one of those two hits was tremendously impactful – a sixth-inning three-run homer on Wednesday that essentially turned a loss into a win – but he was a black hole otherwise. Between that trio – Cruz, Donaldson, and Sanó – you've got three critical cornerstones of the lineup, all hitting in key spots and providing almost nothing. They're killing rallies, rather than powering the offense with clutch knocks and dramatic blasts (with one exception). The pitching hasn't been very good but ultimately this team is built to outslug opponents and should be mauling staffs like Baltimore and Kansas City. To score only three runs in three of these six games, at home, is reflective of a dysfunctional lineup being let down by its supposed leaders. When I look back on this incredibly disappointing season, I will very likely zero in on this past week, when the Twins desperately needed to go on a run against bad teams to salvage their contention hopes and the three highest-paid players on the roster – Cruz, Donaldson and Sanó make a combined $50 million, accounting for more than a third of the total payroll – went 3-for-19 with runners in scoring position. TRENDING STORYLINE In happier news, the arms are cooking down on the farm. Last week in this space we celebrated the sterling debut of Jhoan Duran for the Saints; in his second start on Thursday, Duran tossed four shutout innings with one hit allowed and eight strikeouts. He's on the fast track and could be a real difference-maker for the Twins' staff this year. But he's not the only pitching prospect making a strong early impression. Josh Winder, whose ascending velocity has opened eyes and earned him a spring training invite, struck out seven over five innings of two-run ball for Wichita on Saturday. He owns a 1.48 ERA and 30-to-6 K/BB ratio through 24 ⅓ frames in his first stint at Double-A. Matt Canterino is currently pitching at Cedar Rapids, but could soon join Winder in Wichita because he's putting up flat-out silly numbers against Single-A hitters. After striking out 10 in four innings on Friday, Canterino has a 1.50 ERA and 35-to-3 K/BB ratio in 18 innings for the Kernels. In another bit of encouraging news pertaining to the pitcher pipeline, Jordan Balazovic plans to throw in Fort Myers on Monday. If that goes well, it sounds like he'll be heading to Double-A, where the rotation could soon feature him, Winder, and Canterino. More like Pitch-ita, amirite. Duran is closest out of these names, but any of them are realistic possibilities to pitch for the Twins this season. LOOKING AHEAD The "Or-royals" segment of the schedule rolls on in the coming week, as the Twins will travel to play both clubs on the road after going 4-2 against them at Target Field. If Minnesota can't find a way to go 6-1 or 7-0 in the upcoming games, they're going to look back at these two weeks as an unaffordable missed opportunity to make up crucial ground. They'll be returning home to face the Yankees and Astros afterward. If they play those opponents the same way they played this past week and, really, for most of the season, it's going to get ugly. MONDAY, 5/31: TWINS @ ORIOLES – RHP Jose Berríos v. RHP Jorge Lopez TUESDAY, 6/1: TWINS @ ORIOLES – RHP Michael Pineda v. LHP Bruce Zimmermann WEDNESDAY, 6/2: TWINS @ ORIOLES – RHP Randy Dobnak v. RHP Matt Harvey THURSDAY, 6/3: TWINS @ ROYALS – LHP J.A. Happ v. LHP Kris Bubic FRIDAY, 6/4: TWINS @ ROYALS – RHP Matt Shoemaker v. TBD SATURDAY, 6/5: TWINS @ ROYALS – RHP Jose Berrios v. RHP Brad Keller SUNDAY, 6/6: TWINS @ ROYALS – RHP Michael Pineda v. LHP Mike Minor View full article

It is indeed. Great catch! The song's also been stuck in my head since I published it last night haha

A jam-packed week of baseball for the Twins featured exhilarating highs, bucked trends, obnoxious drama, and the awakening of a sleeping giant. There are positive signs, but this team is not doing enough to chip away at its immense deficit as the end of May approaches. And yet, for the optimist, palpable cause for hope is there for the grasping. Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 5/17 through Sun, 5/23 *** Record Last Week: 4-4 (Overall: 17-29) Run Differential Last Week: -4 (Overall: -24) Standing: 5th Place in AL Central (9.5 GB) Last Week's Game Recaps: Game 39 | CWS 16, MIN 4: Sox Decimate Twins in Dispiriting Blowout Game 40 | MIN 5, CWS 4: Sanó's 3 HR Spark Rare Comeback Win Game 41 | CWS 2, MIN 1: Twins Bats Come Up Empty Against Giolito Game 42 | LAA 7, MIN 1: Halos Bury Twins to Kick Off Makeup Doubleheader Game 43 | MIN 6, LAA 3: Another Big Blast from Sanó Lifts Twins in Nightcap Game 44 | MIN 10, 0: Cleveland Rocked as Dobnak Cruises Game 45 | CLE 5, MIN 3: Twins Fall in 10th Inning Yet Again Game 46 | MIN 8, CLE 5: Hex in Extras Snapped by Garlick's Heroics NEWS & NOTES The Twins played eight games last week. They won four and lost four. They snapped their winless records in both double-headers and extra innings. They were outscored by four runs over the course of a week that included a 10-0 victory, large because it also included a 16-4 loss. There is much to cover. As always, we begin with a quick rundown of roster moves and injury updates over the past week. Heading out: Ben Rortvedt, who went 4-for-25 (.160) with 10 strikeouts and zero extra-base hits in his first turn of the majors, was optioned to Triple-A. Lewis Thorpe came and went, again, giving up four runs (just one earned) in an unimpressive spot start on Thursday before being sent back to St. Paul. Bailey Ober struggled in a spot start of his own on Tuesday (4 IP, 4 ER) and was returned to the Saints shortly thereafter. Derek Law was outrighted from the 40-man roster after posting an 8.53 ERA through 6 ⅓ innings for the Twins. He passed through waivers and made it back to St. Paul, where he coughed up a couple runs on Saturday night Michael Pineda went on the Injured List due to a minor surgical procedure. He's due to return in the coming week. Reliever Shaun Anderson also was placed on IL, with a left quad strain. Ahead of Sunday's game, the Twins placed Kenta Maeda on the shelf with a groin/adductor injury that has been bothering him for some time. Coming in: Alex Kirilloff is back! The outfielder was activated for the weekend series in Cleveland after a brief rehab stint at CHS Field. And while he's apparently playing through a wrist issue that will later require surgery, he shows no real signs of being limited. Randy Dobnak joined the rotation, starting in place of a sidelined Pineda on Friday. His outstanding return is detailed in the Highlights section below. Cody Stashak was recalled and made two scoreless appearances. Luke Farrell also joined the bullpen, hurling two shutout frames on Friday. Taking Maeda's roster spot on Sunday was Nick Gordon, who may have a shot at some decently regular playing time during this stint with both Luis Arraez (shoulder) and Jorge Polanco (ankle) banged up. HIGHLIGHTS This team shows signs of getting on track. Getting Kirilloff back in the lineup is a real difference-maker and it was felt on Friday night, when he batted cleanup in his return and the Twins scored 10 runs, as well as the next day when he came through with a clutch game-tying hit. Having both him and Trevor Larnach in the lineup is fun and exciting. Even if Larnach hasn't quite turned a corner production-wise like Kirilloff, he looks similarly comfortable and natural at the major-league level. You get the sense both of these guys are here to stay. Other hitters like Max Kepler, Mitch Garver, Kyle Garlick, and Rob Refsnyder and also had good weeks and big moments. But the star of the show, without question, was Miguel Sanó. The dam finally broke, and six weeks worth of pent-up offensive production burst forth within a ridiculous eight-game span. In 33 plate appearances dating back to last Monday, Sanó slashed .300/.364/.900 with five home runs, three doubles and 10 RBIs. His slugging percentage, which was all the way down to .209 as little as 10 days ago, is now up to .442 – well above the league average. His theatrics included a three-homer game, two four-RBI games, and a blast off Shane Bieber. Not only is he delivering big hits, he's delivering them in pivotal situations. The Twins have won five of their past 15 games and you can make a strong case that three of those victories were almost entirely because of Sanó: On May 15th, they beat Oakland 5-4 after his three-run blast in the eighth turned a two-run deficit into a one-run lead. On May 18th, he homered three times and drove in four in a 5-4 win over Chicago. In the second half of May 20th's doubleheader, Sanó's grand slam proved to be the difference in a 6-3 win. It bears noting that in 2019, Sanó slumped in June and saw his batting average sink to .195 before he flipped the switch and played at an MVP level the rest of the way, posting a .994 OPS with 25 homers and 64 RBIs in 74 games. So, let's see where he goes from here. On the pitching side, it was awesome to see Dobnak return to the rotation and look much more like the version that flashed back in the spring. The righty worked six scoreless innings in Cleveland on Friday, allowing just three hits and two walks while striking out five. He was inducing grounders and weak contact, executing his pitches, and generally looking to be in control. With Maeda now on the shelf, back-end starters Matt Shoemaker and J.A. Happ looking quite shaky, and Thorpe failing to step up, the Twins vitally needed Dobnak to find his footing. Friday's start was an excellent first step. LOWLIGHTS The Twins may be showing some signs of life, but still played .500 ball last week at a time where they desperately need to be making up ground. Even with a few things turning around, it feels like two steps forward are constantly being matched by two steps back, and some of their issues are so structurally fundamental they make it extremely hard to believe a sustained run of winning baseball is possible. Saturday's game was a perfect example of how this team just can't shake its woes. First, you've got Maeda's continued inability to make it click. The Twins have lost six of his last seven starts, and he's frequently been a prime culprit. Saturday's outing against Cleveland was the seventh straight in which he failed to complete six innings; he has one quality start in nine tries this year after going 8-for-12 in 2020. When your fourth or fifth starter aren't getting it done, you can adapt and adjust. Guys like Dobnak step in, and keep the rotation intact. But when the reigning Cy Young runner-up – a pitcher you invested heavily to acquire, and were absolutely counting on to be one of your frontline horses – turns into a pumpkin, that's an exceedingly difficult problem to fix. We'll have to hope some time off to rest of his bothersome groin proves to be the elixir Maeda needs to rediscover his game. But even with Maeda giving up an early 3-0 lead on Saturday, the Twins were in position to take the game and series. They rallied back to tie it, and sent the contest to extra innings. There, an all-too-familiar script played out. In the top of the 10th, the Twins once again failed to score their lead runner from second. In the bottom half, Alex Colomé entered, and on the second pitch he threw... I mean, look at the location of that pitch. Once again Colomé, who formed a reputation over many years as one of the most effective late-inning relievers in the game because he didn't flop in crunch time, offered up an absolute cookie in a critical spot, with the winning run in scoring position. We've seen it time and time again this year. It's particularly disappointing in this instance because Colomé really seemed to be figuring things out. Pitching in a reduced-leverage role, he'd worked seven scoreless appearances in May, allowing only two hits (both singles) and legitimately getting back to the things he's done well – namely, placing his cutter on the edges of the zone rather than right down the middle. Then, he gets another chance in a key late-game spot and immediately goes back to pulling the same crap from April. This is an enormous problem because, for better or worse, Colomé is a crux in this bullpen – especially since their other top right-hander has also been a mess. In more ways than one. On that note... In a season that's spun off the rails so early, leaving contention as an unlikely scenario for the summer, you look for other things to cheer for as a fan. You want to root for good stories. You want to connect emotionally with the squad as they grind and grow together through a tough year. You want to invest in the character of your club. All of which made Tuesday's embarrassing antics the lowlight of the week, and maybe even the season, for me. To recap: On Monday the Twins got blown out by Chicago at Target Field, to the point where Willians Astudillo was called in to chuck some 45-MPH eephus balls in the ninth. With the White Sox leading 15-4, Astudillo fell behind Yermin Mercedes 3-0. The next non-competitive offering from Tortuga found its way into the zone, and then Mercedes made sure it found its way over the fence. The Twins announcers were displeased. Evidently some Twins players were too. The next day, in a close game, Tyler Duffey decided to exact revenge, throwing behind Mercedes with Minnesota trailing by only two runs in the seventh. Yuck. As a result, Duffey was ejected along with his manager Rocco Baldelli. Each served a short suspension later in the week. Now, Mercedes ignoring a take sign from his coaches is one thing. That's not great, but it's an issue for the White Sox to take care of on their own accord. For the Twins to be so pissy that Chicago had the gall to keep trying, and for "respecting the game" to be sanctimoniously lectured about by anyone in a situation where Minnesota had its backup catcher on the mound throwing beer-league softball pitches in a major-league game ... it's too much. It's too much from a team, and a player, who need to be worrying about their own issues before getting involved in another team's, and putting people in harm's way in the process. Chicago's shortstop Tim Anderson said later that the actions were "Definitely a sign of weakness from Duffey and the Twins.” As a Twins fan who generally despises the Sox, it absolutely crushes me that I can't argue with his conclusion one bit. TRENDING STORYLINE On Saturday night at CHS Field, Jhoan Duran made his first start in a minor-league game since August of 2019. He got a bit of a late start this season due to a trapezius issue, but the organization's No. 5 prospect was worth the wait. Lucas Seehafer was on hand to cover Duran's season debut for Twins Daily, and you can find his detailed account here. The short version is this: Duran touched 103 MPH on the gun multiple times (granted, the CHS gun seems to be a little hot, but still, the guy was pumping triple digits). He struck out six over three shutout innings. A month ago, I suggested that this Twins season might go one of two ways: a 2006-style turnaround or a 2016-style meltdown. A critical factor in replicating the '06 formula was getting an impact performance from a young phenom in the rotation. In that case it was Francisco Liriano, who led the team to an 11-2 record in his first 13 starts and energized the roster with his mere presence. When you look at players in the current system capable of doing anything similar in 2021, Duran tops the list, and on Saturday we saw why. He needs to build up his pitch count but if the 23-year-old continues to show this type of dominance, and the Twins can get on any kind of run to get back to the fringe of relevance, we could see Duran enter the fray. Let's talk a little bit about that (seemingly outlandish) latter caveat. LOOKING AHEAD If you were looking for a glimpse of hope, a glimmer of promise, a glint of optimism ... this is it. The Twins have escaped the meat-grinder portion of their schedule and now enter a soft patch, with 13 consecutive games against the Orioles and Royals. Baltimore is in last place and Kansas City has plummeted since opening the season 16-9. If the Twins can REALLY make hay during this two-week stretch – say, going 11-2 or 10-3 – they would suddenly be back in the range of .500, with Byron Buxton probably close to returning (if he hasn't already). It's hard to expect that kind of success against any competition, but then, it's hard to play as poorly as Minnesota has over the past many weeks. The pendulum is due for a swing. It all starts this week with six games at Target Field. MONDAY, 5/24: ORIOLES @ TWINS – RHP John Means v. RHP Matt Shoemaker TUESDAY, 5/25: ORIOLES @ TWINS – RHP Dean Kremer v. RHP Jose Berrios WEDNESDAY, 5/26: ORIOLES @ TWINS – RHP Jorge Lopez v. RHP Michael Pineda FRIDAY, 5/28: ROYALS @ TWINS – LHP Kris Bubic v. RHP Randy Dobnak SATURDAY, 5/29: ROYALS @ TWINS – TBD v. LHP J.A. Happ SUNDAY, 5/30: ROYALS @ TWINS – RHP Brad Keller v. RHP Matt Shoemaker View full article