Seth Stohs

The news really came out about a week ago when the Star Tribune announced that it was happening, but it became official this morning. (full list of 119 'invitations" that were sent out by MLB teams this morning) There are many reasons for the Twins affiliation changes, even beyond the fact that MLB has been in process of making these changes for a couple of seasons. There is proximity, both between the Twins and their AAA affiliate and their rookie level campus/spring training site and the Low-A affiliate. Ultimately, teams want what's best for their player development. Derek Falvey points out, "Quality player development is the core of a winning baseball organization. These potential affiliations - both new and sustained - put us in prime position to continue to build on our recent major league success." In one of baseball's worst-kept secrets, the St. Paul Saints are the Twins new Triple-A affiliate. They were part of the Northern League before the league became the American Association. They have become one of the most famous independent league teams in baseball. 19 former Saints have eventually made it to the big leagues including former Twins reliever Brandon Kintzler and current Twins lefty Caleb Thielbar (twice). Twins President & CEO Dave St. Peter notes, "The Minnesota Twins are ecstatic about the potential to form a partnership with the St. Paul Saints. We are incredibly excited at the thought of Minnesota baseball fans having the opportunity to watch their favorite Twins prospects as they wear the Saints uniform and play at gorgeous CHS Field." For those wondering about the Saints in-game experience, Saints chairman Marv Goldklang noted, " During my conversations with Jim Pohlad and Dave St. Peter leading up to the decision to move forward with our partnership, with the exception of players on the field, they don't expect much, if anything, to change in terms of the experience of attending a Saints' game." In the Fargo Forum, the FM RedHawks GM Matt Rau said that it's exciting for the Saints. “The overall feeling is that we’re really excited for them, but sad to see them go,” said RedHawks general manager Matt Rau said. “It’s an incredible opportunity for that organization. While it stings a little to lose a member and a great member like the Saints, it’s really a feather in that hat of that organization. That proves how well they have been run over the years.” The Rochester Red Wings were invited to be the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. There are a lot of great people who work with the Red Wings and the Twins had nearly two decades in western New York. Josh Whetzel is as good as it gets on the microphone. Nate Rowan, who is from Minnesota, is their media relations director and has been very helpful through the years. Thank you to them from Twins Daily, but also just personally from me. The Wichita Wind Surge play in Riverfront Stadium in downtown Wichita. The stadium broke ground in 2019 and has an overall capacity of over 10,000 fans. Falvey noted also, "The brand new facility in Wichita and what we've learned about the rich history and passionate baseball fanbase there creates fantastic new possibilities in Double-A." Wind Surge Partner and CEO Jordan Kobritz noted, "The Wichita Wind Surge are pleased that the Minnesota Twins have invited the team to become one of their minor league affiliates." On another note, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos received their invitation from the Miami Marlins to be their AA affiliate in 2021. Blue Wahoos owner Quint Studer said, "Our entire organization would like to pass along our gratitude to the Minnesota Twins for their partnership with the Blue Wahoos over the past two years. On the field, they provided a playoff-caliber team for us. Off the field, they were excellent business and community partners, recently making a generous donation to hurricane relief efforts in our city. We wish the Twins nothing but the best." On a side note, I would like to thank Wahoos media relations guru Dan Venn for being great for Twins Daily to work with. He is a Minnesota native in Pensacola and has done a great job with the Blue Wahoos the past two years. He will also be helping with the Beloit Snappers who will be a High-A affiliate of the Marlins now. The Snappers are now owned by the Studer family as well. Thank you Dan! The Cedar Rapids have been a Twins affiliate since 2012. However, the Midwest League is now a High-A affiliate. Twins Director of Player Development, Alex Hassan, noted, "From top to bottom, the Cedar Rapids Kernels are a first-class organization. Over the years, they've been tremendous partners to the Minnesota Twins and an integral part of our player development process. We would be thrilled to see that partnership continue for many years to come." Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley noted, "I am pleased that the Cedar Rapids Kernels remain an affiliate with the Minnesota Twins. I fondly remember going to Minor League Baseball games growing up. It is exciting that the Cedar Rapids community will continue to enjoy America's national pastime with this team that has so many Iowa fans." https://twitter.com/jeje66/status/1336765093669908487 With that, the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels will now be the Twins Low-A affiliate as the Florida State League is now a Low-A league. The Twins have been in Ft. Myers for 27 seasons and Hammond Stadium have been the Twins spring training site since 1991. Andy Kaufmann, managing owner of the Mighty Mussels, said, "The Mussels organization is thrilled to be continuing the long-term partnership with the Minnesota Twins for many years and generations to come." The Twins have always placed an emphasis on player development and building from within. Much of their current big league roster came from inside the organization and that's important to long-term sustainable success.

Armed with a huge fastball and what some inside the organization (and Baseball America) believe is the best slider in the organization, Colina has become a known prospect in the last two seasons. That's when reports that he was hitting triple-digits with his fastball started to pop up. He was invited to his first big-league spring training in 2020. He was placed on the 60 player pool and spent most of his summer at the Twins alternate site in St. Paul. And just before the final weekend of the season, Colina was called up and made his major-league debut. Tonight, we will chat with Colina about his youth ball days in Venezuela and his decision to sign with the Twins. We will discuss his adjustments to pro ball and life in the United States. We will talk about his crazy 2020 season and making his big-league debut. We will also take your questions, so be sure to join us Live at 7:00 central time, if you are able. If not, send us your questions below. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Please watch LIVE at 7:00 tonight on the Twins Daily Twitter, Facebook or YouTube pages live. Also feel free to ask questions in the comments below or on those platforms during the show and we'll ask them. Subscribe to the Twins Daily podcast on Libsyn, Apple iTunes or anywhere you download podcasts. Here is the YouTube link where you can watch the show. More on Edwar Colina: Edwar Colina: from Chilly Home Opener to No-Hitter (May 2018) Triple-Digit Shoes to Fill (April 2020) Twins Call Up Colina for Season's Final Weekend (Sept 2020) Follow Edwar on Twitter at @EdwarColina57. Follow Edwar on Instagram at @Edwar.co. Previous Episodes Episode 1: Tom Hackimer Episode 2: Matt Canterino Episode 3: Aaron Whitefield Episode 4: Spencer Steer Episode 5: Travis Blankenhorn Episode 6: Cody Laweryson Episode 7: Matt Wallner Episode 8: Brent Rooker Episode 9: Bailey Ober Episode 10: Talkin' Torii (with Jacque Jones, Royce Lewis, Niko Guardado) Episode 11: Top 60 Twins Players in 60 Seasons in Minnesota Episode 12: Charlie Mack Episode 13: Edwar Colina

Charlie Mack was the Twins sixth-round pick of the Minnesota Twins in June of 2018. He attended Williamsville East High School. Williamsville is a small town adjacent to Buffalo, New York. He had an impressive high school baseball career, a career that started when he was on the varsity as a seventh grader. https://twitter.com/TwinsHighlights/status/1004088365787045890 Mack had committed to Clemson, but when the Twins selected him, he signed a pro contract. He spent his first pro summer in the GCL where he hit .216 with four doubles and a triple in 30 games. In 2019, he moved up to the Appalachian League and played 53 games with the Elizabethton Twins. He hit .234 with eight doubles, a triple and eight home runs. We will chat with him about his youth ball days, getting drafted and his decision to sign with the Twins, his adjustments to pro ball, a crazy 2020 season, maybe a position change, and we have to ask him how many times he has been to Niagara Falls. And, we will take your questions, so be sure to join us Live at Lunch, if you are able. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Please watch LIVE at 7:00 tonight on the Twins Daily Twitter, Facebook or YouTube pages live. Also feel free to ask questions in the comments below or on those platforms during the show and we'll ask them. Subscribe to the Twins Daily podcast on Libsyn, Apple iTunes or anywhere you download podcasts. Here is the YouTube link where you can watch the show. More on Charlie Mack: 2018 MLB Draft Day 2 Thread (June 2018) Follow Bailey on Instagram at @CharlieMack34. . Previous episodes Episode 1: Tom Hackimer Episode 2: Matt Canterino Episode 3: Aaron Whitefield Episode 4: Spencer Steer Episode 5: Travis Blankenhorn Episode 6: Cody Laweryson Episode 7: Matt Wallner Episode 8: Brent Rooker Episode 9: Bailey Ober Episode 10: Talkin' Torii (with Jacque Jones, Royce Lewis, Niko Guardado) Episode 11: Top 60 Twins Players in 60 Seasons in Minnesota Episode 12: Charlie Mack

With the news on Monday night from Ken Rosenthal that the Twins had placed on Eddie Rosario on outright waivers, we knew what would happen on Tuesday. He cleared waivers at 1 pm meaning other teams passed on him at his potential arbitration salary. At that point, the Twins officially non-tendered him. The surprise decision on this night was non-tendering Matt Wisler. The Twins claimed Wisler off waivers a year ago and agreed to an arbitration deal with him. He responded with a breakout season. The 28-year-old posted a 1.07 ERA and 12.4 K/9 over 25 1/3 innings. He threw a ton of sliders and became reliable in any role the Twins gave him from low-leverage, to Opener, to closer. The decision is interesting because Wisler likely would have been in line for a raise to somewhere between $1.4 and $1.8 million. Not a huge number. And the Twins have lost Tyler Clippard, Sergio Romo and now officially Trevor May to free agency this offseason. While they have claimed Ian Gibaut and Brandon Waddell, and they signed Derek Law to a minor league contract, Wisler on a reasonable salary certainly would not have been a stretch. The Twins will not go to arbitration with any players this offseason, however, as they agreed to terms with each of their other arbitration-eligible players. Caleb Thielbar signed early in the day for $650,000. Mitch Garver, in his first year of arbitration, agreed to a $1.875 million deal. Arbitration Salary Estimates: Twins Daily: $2M | MLBTR: $1.9M Tyler Duffey was eligible for a second time, and he will earn $2.2 million in 2021. Arbitration Salary Estimates: TD: $2.5M | MLBTR: $2.6M Byron Buxton agreed to a deal at $5.125 million in his third of four arbitration seasons. Arbitration Salary Estimates: TD: $6M | MLBTR: $5.9M Jose Berrios got $6.1 million which included a $500,000 signing bonus Arbitration Salary Estimates: TD: $7.5M | MLBTR: $7.5M https://twitter.com/Feinsand/status/1334313346380730371 Finally, the Twins have reportedly agreed to terms with Taylor Rogers, though the terms of the contract have not yet been released. Arbitration Salary Estimates: TD: $7M | MLBTR: $6.9M We wondered aloud on Offseason Live if that might mean that the two sides have agreed to a multi-year contract? Nope. For an hour worth of much, much deeper analysis on these arbitration/tender deadline decisions, watch the below episode of Offseason Live!

I haven't done one of these Nine Innings bits in awhile... I wasn't sure how I would fill all nine innings, but we've done it. This has topics all across the board. Please feel free to ask questions or leave comments below. First Inning - Eddie Rosario Outrighted Listen. No one thought that the #MNTwins were going to tender Eddie Rosario at the deadline Wednesday evening. But tonight, Ken Rosenthal tweeted that the Twins have put Rosario on outright waivers. https://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal/status/1333948164244647937 I know I held out some hope that some team would be willing to give up a Low A pitching prospect for Rosario, and certainly the Twins tried, but they couldn’t find a taker. https://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal/status/1333948257819631618 Instead of just non-tendering him tomorrow, and making him a free agent, the Twins are hoping to find a team that will take whatever number they agree to in arbitration. Rosario has been a controversial player. Ultimately, since he debuted in 2015, he has been a very productive player. While he comes with flaws that he just hasn’t been able to overcome, he has also produced in the middle of the Twins lineup. I know it has become cliche for me to do so, but I truly have enjoyed watching Eddie Rosario in a Twins uniform. He is absolutely entertaining when you just sit back and take the good with the bad. Most likely, he will go unclaimed by the 1:00 deadline on Wednesday and become a free agent. Second Inning - Wednesday is Decision Day Teams have until 7:00 central time on Wednesday night to decide whether to tender a 2021 contract for its arbitration eligible players. If they are non-tendered, they become a free agent. Taylor Rogers is the one other Twins player who some think could be non-tendered, but I think it’s most logical for the Twins to bring him back for 2021. The other players who are arbitration-eligible are: Jose Berrios, Byron Buxton, Tyler Duffey, Mitch Garver, Caleb Thielbar, and Matt Wisler. I would be surprised if any of them were non-tendered. However, it is possible that the team agrees to terms with a player or two before the deadline as well. Of that group, which if any are most likely to sign a deal ahead of the deadline? Third Inning - Offseason Live TONIGHT (Reacting to the Non-Tender Deadline) Tonight at 8:00 central time, Nick Nelson, Seth Stohs and David Young will react to the day in Twins news, specifically to the arbitration decisions that are made. Join us live on Twins Daily’s Twitter, Facebook or YouTube pages. Fourth Inning - Realigning the Minor Leagues The Star Tribune is reporting that the Twins and MLB will be announcing their re-aligned minor league system in the near future. In the worst kept secret in baseball, the St. Paul Saints will become the Twins Triple-A affiliate. The Wichita Wind Surge will become the Twins new Double-A affiliate. The two Twins Class A affiliates will switch levels. The Midwest League and the Cedar Rapids Kernels will move from Low-A to High-A with the Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels and the rest of the Florida State League moving to a Low-A affiliation. For much more on these changes, check out Tom’s Minor League Realignment article tonight. My thoughts? First and foremost, I will miss conversations with some really good people at both Rochester and at Pensacola. The Red Wings have such an incredible baseball history going back well over a century. The Blue Wahoos were only a Twins affiliate for two seasons, but their stadium is remarkable and the people there were so helpful. That said, there are obvious reasons for wanting their Triple-A affiliate in St. Paul, a dozen miles from Target Field. It’ll be much easier to call people up or send them down. It will be great for rehab assignments. And, with the Twins in a position to win and so many exciting prospects, it is great for baseball in Minnesota. As for Wichita, they built a new $75 million stadium just a year ago. It was supposed to be the Marlins AAA affiliate, but then came COVID, a missed season and re-alignment. Seems like it would be a great facility for Twins prospects. I am happy that Cedar Rapids remains an affiliate, and it’s exciting - I would think - for them and their fans to move up a level, to get a higher level of play with a more advanced league. I will always encourage baseball fans from the Twin Cities to try to make a trip or two each season to watch the Kernels. And, with the Twins player development site and the academy in Ft. Myers, it makes sense to keep players there for their first step up rather than sending them to Cedar Rapids right away. That will be good especially for transactions at that Low-A level. Easy to call guys up from across the parking lot. So overall, I am very comfortable with how this has played out, and over time I think it will prove itself to be a good thing for the organization. I just still feel bad about losing the Elizabethton affiliate and the great history of that team. And I feel worse that the Twins have just let go of long-time leaders and coaches in Ray Smith and Jeff Reed. Fifth Inning - Twins Lose Another Player Development Leader to Big-League Job JP Martinez was announced on Tuesday night as the new assistant pitching coach of the San Francisco Giants. A week earlier we had heard rumblings that he was seen as a favorite. Now it isi Twitter official. https://twitter.com/SFGiants/status/1333936170024140802 I got to know JP when he was the pitching coach in Cedar Rapids in 2017. Had some great conversations with him. He went to the same high school in New Orleans that the Mannings went to. More important to his role as a coach, he knows how to pitch. He reached AAA as a player. He’s coached as well as been the assistant pitching coordinator the last couple of seasons with the Twins. He also speaks Spanish (and English) fluently which is helpful too.He was also placed in charge of the Twins alternate site this summer in St. Paul. The Twins have certainly lost their fair share of player development staff. Derek Falvey has talked about not only player development but coaching development, front office development, and providing opportunities for people to move up the ladder with the Twins or elsewhere. Derek Shelton went from Twins bench coach to Pirates manager. James Rowson went from Twins hitting coach to Marlins bench coach and hitting coordinator. Jeremy Hefner went from assistant pitching coach with the Twins to pitching coach of the Mets. Tanner Swanson went from Twins minor league catching coordinator to Yankees MLB coach. Peter Fatse went from Twins minor league hitting coordinator to Red Sox assistant hitting coach. Edgar Varela went from Twins minor league coordinator to Twins hitting coach. Sixth Inning - (Trevor) May to the Mets Reports started coming out mid-afternoon on Tuesday that the Mets were close to a deal with Trevor May. It wasn’t long after that we had verification that, pending a physical, the Mets and Trevor May had agreed to a two-year, $15 million contract. May is one of the team bullpen arms available on the free agent market, and with this move, he sets the tone for that market. In 2020, May struck out 14.6 batters per nine innings and that number has been over 11 the past two years. He clearly has great stuff and could thrive in the Big Apple where he will be reunited with former Twins bullpen coach Jeremy Hefner. May has been a great ambassador for Twins baseball throughout his tenure with the team, but this is a good opportunity for him and hopefully it works out well for him. Seventh Inning - Top 60 Twins Players in 60 Seasons in Minnesota E-Book Available In Case You Missed It… over the past month, I have been working with “Nate Tubbs Rules” on an e-book. NTR updates his Top 300 Twins Player rankings after every season and it is enjoyable to read through those updates each year. With the Twins having just completed their 60th season in Minnesota in 2020, we wrote The Top 60 Twins Players in 60 Season in Minnesota, and it is available now for just $7.99 (immediate download). It includes fun profiles of the Top 60 players on his list and yes, it does name all of his Top 300 players. Yes, my personal Top 60 rankings is in the back of the book too. Please consider this e-book. If you are interested, you can order here. Last night, we spent about 40 minutes on a bonus Twins Spotlight discussing some of the fun topics of the rankings. Please enjoy. (Seth on WJON in St. Cloud today.) Eighth Inning - Kirilloff Bumps Lewis from Baseball America Top Spot On Monday, Baseball America released its updated Minnesota Twins Prospect rankings. Of note, they have now bumped Alex Kirilloff up from #2 to the #1 Twins prospect, a spot Royce Lewis has held for the past three offseasons. And no surprise, the two have always been kind of a 1a and 1b. Kirilloff certainly was the talk of the alternate site, and when he became the first player in MLB history to make his MLB debut by starting in a playoff game, more people started talking about him. I think the key is that Lewis’s star hasn’t diminished as much as Kirilloff has now been talked about more, and deservedly so. That said, I will continue to say that Trevor Larnach should be discussed in the same range as Kirilloff and Lewis. Carlos Collazo, who worked on the rankings for Baseball America, wrote in the Twins chat that he has Larnach lumped into a group that includes Ryan Jeffers, Jhoan Duran and Jordan Balazovic. I personally have Larnach just a bit above that group, but that is a very good group. Literally all six of those guys should be in their Top 100 Prospect rankings when those come out in the spring. He then noted that there is a group from #7 through #12 or 13 that could be inter-changeable too, and I agree with that. That is an exciting group as well with both power hitters, strong offense/defense guys and about three more pitchers that all profile as potential big-league starters. Ninth Inning - A Minor Signing The Royals signed veteran lefty Mike Minor to a two-year, $18 million with a $13 million option for a third year. The Royals are adding a veteran to a staff that includes youngsters like Brady Singer and Kris Bubic and a plethora of pitching prospects that are potentially available in the next year or two. Danny Duffy becomes a free agent after the 2021 season. I have been a little surprised by the number of starting pitcher free agents who have already signed. Not sure what that will mean over the long course of an offseason, but it is encouraging. That’s all I’ve got. Nine innings worth. Hopefully you have enjoyed it, and I welcome any questions or comments that you have below.

How would you rank… these four Twins players? (1.) Dean Chance, 2.) Nelson Cruz, 3.) Greg Gagne, 4.) Eddie Guardado) We all like lists and rankings, right? On this site, our prospect rankings often are the most heavily-discussed articles that we put together. Everyone can have their varying opinions and none are completely wrong, well, some are just more debatable. But this new e-book, The Top 60 Twins in 60 Seasons in Minnesota, should hopefully create a lot of discussion for our readers, but also for fathers and sons, husbands and wives, grandparents and grandkids. And for just $7.99. Before last month, I had never talked to “Nate Tubbs Rules.” However, for the past decade, I have eagerly awaited his updated Top 300 Twins Player rankings. Shortly after each season, it was fun to see which current players jumped furthest up the rankings. Which players fell out of the Top 300. For his rankings, “NTR” considers several factors, and they are things that we all think about probably as we think about how we might rank the players. (No, most of us wouldn’t think to actually rank them to 60, much less 300!) As he explains, these are some of the factors that go into these rankings (and by the way, you should see all the Excel spreadsheets that go into this!). “Longevity” includes how many years the player was with the Twins as well as how many plate appearances or innings pitched that player had during those years. For “Peak Value”, I looked at their stats, honors, and awards in their best seasons, as well as how they compared to their teammates. Did they lead their team in OPS or home runs or ERA for starters or WPA? If so, that got some bonus points. Postseason Heroics, Awards (Gold Gloves, Silver Sluggers, MVPs, Cy Youngs), Statistical achievements (batting titles, home run leaders, ERA champs, etc), Honors (All Star appearances), and Team Success. If you were the #1 starter on a division-winning champ, that gave you more “points” than the #1 starter on a cellar dweller. For each of us, we probably weigh each of those factors a little bit differently. In the handbook, you will find profiles for each of the Top 60 on his list, but you will also find the Top 300 rankings. At the very back of the book, I tried it myself. You can find my Top 60 Twins rankings there. So, let’s go back to that original question: How would you rank… these four Twins players? (1.) Dean Chance, 2.) Nelson Cruz, 3.) Greg Gagne, 4.) Eddie Guardado) Dean Chance was really good for about three seasons as a starter for the Twins. He was an All Star, threw a no-hitter, posted a 2.67 ERA over three years. Nelson Cruz has two Silver Sluggers at DH for the Twins in his two seasons, and the team won the division both years. Greg Gagne is a Twins Hall of Famer with two World Series rings. His offense wasn’t great, though most shortstops not named Ripken or Trammell did, but he was great defensively. And, he hit for some power at times. Eddie Guardado struggled as a starter and then became a solid, and frequently-used reliever before becoming an All Star closer. Leave your comments below for how you might rank those players, but as you can see, this is a fun exercise for Twins fans. And, it brings in all of the factors. Varying longevity in a Twins uniform. Varying levels of team success. Some won awards or were All Stars. Others were just really solid for several years. How do you compare starting pitchers to relievers, to power hitters and defensively-strong players? Those are the types of questions you will find yourself asking yourself and your friends over and over while reading through this book. For each of the Top 60, you will find a profile. I wrote the profiles, but “Nate Tubbs Rules” added his comments on why he ranked each player where he did. There are lists. There are rankings. And it’s just a lot of fun. We think that if you are a passionate Twins fan, you will really enjoy this book. We made it and it is only available as an e-book. We are asking for $7.99 per book. We were told we could charge more, and if you want to give more, you can, but we just want it to get in the hands of as many Twins fans as possible. The history of the organization is a lot of fun to read about and discuss. Oh, and then you can discuss who you would rank higher… Mudcat Grant or Jack Morris? Or which DH would you rank highest? Randy Bush, Nelson Cruz, Chili Davis, Jason Kubel or Paul Molitor? And why… We certainly hope that you will enjoy the book as much as Nate Tubbs Rules and I enjoyed researching and writing it! Tuesday night at 7 pm, "Nate Tubbs Rules" and I will be discussing the book and talking about the controversial rankings and answering any questions you would like to ask.