Seth Stohs

Sergio is pretty special... Sitting in on this yesterday afternoon... I couldn't help but laught so often.

When a team acquires a pitcher, via free agency or trade, it is because they believe that pitcher can get batters out with regularity. However, when the team signed Tyler Clippard and re-signed Sergio Romo this offseason, they were getting two pitchers with a ton of experience. Experience that can help develop the Twins young, talented bullpen arms.37-year-old Sergio Romo has pitched in 708 major-league games over the past 12 seasons. He has once been an All Star. He was an important piece in three Giants World Series championships (2010, 2012, 2014). Tyler Clippard is 35 years old. He has pitched in 751 games over his 13 seasons in the big leagues. He is a two-time All Star, and has been a part of two World Series teams. Only side-winding Joe Smith has pitched more games than Clippard among active players. Romo is fourth among active players in games pitched. Active MLB Leaders in Games Pitched 782 - Joe Smith 751 - Tyler Clippard 710 - Joakim Soria 708 - Sergio Romo 705 - Combined MLB games pitched by Taylor Rogers (258), Trevor May (191), Tyler Duffey (169), Zack Littell (37), Cody Stashak (18), Lewis Thorpe (12), Devin Smeltzer (11), Randy Dobnak (9). Sure, you can add Matt Wisler’s 129 MLB games to the list, but then the list above doesn’t look quite as cool. That said, the point is certainly clear. The Twins have two relievers who come with a ton of major-league experience. The 2020 Twins bullpen should be strong, but these two have many experiences and tips and tricks that they can share with the younger pitchers to help them improve. Some of it is simply accepting and thriving in the reality that they are now at a different phase in their careers. Tyler Clippard credited lefty Ron Villone and right-hander Brad Lidge for being guys that he looked up to and learned a lot from when he was new to the league. Now he is taking on that role as veteran leader, and happy to do so. He said, “That perspective that I had as a younger player, looking up to those veteran guys and knowing that I’m on that side of it now. Respecting that and recognizing that is very important to me and something I enjoy the heck out of every day. Hopefully they get something out of it, but I truly enjoy it. ” In his career, Sergio Romo has had some great experiences. For instance, he was the closer for a World Series championship team. He’s been a great set up man too. And he clearly sees the talent in the guys that the Twins are projected to pitch in those late innings. We know that Taylor Rogers would love to be the guy on the mound if and when the Twins win the World Series, as Romo was when he struck out Miguel Cabrera to end the 2012 World Series. It’s something that he and the other Twins pitchers can talk to Romo about. To hear a guy with Romo’s track record acknowledge how great Rogers is has to be meaningful. But Romo and Clippard aren’t just there to lead those late-inning relievers. They are there to get outs, and some big outs in key situations. They can also instill confidence in the rest of the bullpen too Romo said, “There are guys that haven’t had their coming out party yet, and I think this short spring could be something of that sort for a couple of guys in our bullpen.” He specifically mentioned Cody Stashak and Zack Littell. “These guys are going to come out with a bang, and they’re going to be so consistent in this short sprint that it’s going to be so dang hard to not talk about them in the long run.” Littell has appreciated the leadership shown by Romo and Clippard. He said recently, “I think the biggest thing they bring to the table aside from the obvious experience they have, is the ability to show that everybody needs to just be themselves. Sergio and Clippard are two very different personality guys, but each of them is able to go out and get outs everyday and have both been doing it a long time. And there’s something to be said for being comfortable in your own skin especially when you get into these big moments in games and they both are just examples of that.” Littell had transitioned from being a starting pitcher prospect into the bullpen and was such a key cog in the bullpen’s resurgence over the final two months of the season. In 29 games on the season, he went 6-0 with a 2.68 ERA. But with Romo on the roster in August and September, Littell must have felt much more comfortable. He gave up just one earned run over 18 2/3 innings covering 15 games. Stashak made his debut in late July last year. The cool, calm right-hander walked just one batter and struck out 25 batters over 25 innings (18 games). Stashak rejoined the Twins “Summer Camp” a little bit late as he was with his wife when she gave birth to the couple’s first child. He told Twins Daily recently that he hasn’t had as much time with Clippard, but he was a locker mate with Romo throughout his time in the big leagues last August and September. Of Romo, Stashak said, “He is a guy that will answer any question even if it is not about baseball. We talked a lot during my time up there. He was more of a mentor for me as I was still trying to get comfortable up in the big leagues. He is funny, energetic and everyone loves the guy. It’s hard not to like a guy like Serg.” But Stashak was quick to compliment other veterans on the Twins roster such as Nelson Cruz, Josh Donaldson and Alex Avila. He added, “The atmosphere around the clubhouse is great and everyone gets along which makes it such a fun group to be around. From a pitching side there are two guys who you mentioned who have experienced it all, like being a World Series contender and even a champion. Hopefully they can help guide us to a World Series and help us win it!” While Romo is the more boisterous of the two veteran relievers, he points out that Clippard not only has experience, but that he is able to communicate well with his teammates. “The experience that he has... The communication skills that he has that I’ve already seen... Being able to share his experiences and share his thoughts, and thought-process on the mound, and when what he’s trying to accomplish in his practice, in his bullpen sessions, his flat grounds, and even his normal play-catch sessions. It’s awesome how he can simplify it all.” Clippard has relished the opportunity to lead and be an ear and an example for younger pitchers. “That’s been one of the coolest parts of my career over the last three or four years, has been being a veteran guy and being a guy that (younger) guys look to for answers, whether it be it baseball-related, off the field stuff, anything or everything. I love talking to the younger guys. I love talking about pitching. I learn a lot of the times as much from them as they might learn from me.” I have talked to several former Twins recently for some upcoming stories, and each has taken time to point out how much ‘character’ has mattered when drafting, signing or otherwise acquiring players. It is clear that trait is still very important as Sergio Romo and Tyler Clippard have not only had tremendous, long-laster careers on the mound, but they clearly have had a very positive effect on younger players and teammates as well. Click here to view the article

Littell is a reliever... told me the other day that he feels much more comfortable in that role now after a strong season there last year.

It's an interesting concept. The Twins may limit their Starting 5's pitch count early, but not innings. But they may limit them throughout the year. But they won't do this all the way through. They have veteran starters. They'll go as long as they can, probably frm their second or third start, if not their first start. Berrios, Odo, Hill, Maeda. Now, the fifth starter job might be up for grabs. I'd say that's between Bailey, Chacin and Dobnak. They could be creative with that spot. And they'll want to have one other long reliever for the other four spots.

No, but they have pitchers who can throw live BP... lefties, righties, hard throwers, soft throwers...

We wait until tomorrow when we find out more about his foot... Maybe it was just a sprain and he misses a few days... I'm choosing to be optimistic until we find out more. Let's all hope.

First, it's your list, so my point isn't to say it's right or wrong, but that's the beauty of lists is that there can be disagreements and discussions. While I'm incredibly high on Jeffers and was before anyone else, Telis hit .330 in AAA last year. So, maybe Jeffers is better now, but Telis is really good and has MLB time. Regarding Hill... with the "If Healthy" part, yes, his stats in the last 5 years put him above those guys, probably by quite a bit. Now, at 40 and with the return from surgery, we'll see. That could drop him a bit. He's been over Maeda with the Dodgers. Dobnak is so good, by the way... I underestimated him in rankings and in Cedar Rapids. I underestimated him last year. I probably underestimate him in the prospect rankings even this year. May not be as exciting, but dude just keeps gettin gthe job done.

This is about the 2020 season? Then the top prospect types should all be much lower. Guys like Smeltzer, Bailey,Thorpe and especially Dobnak need to be significantly higher. I'd personally have Thielbar way higher because he should pitch in the big leagues. While it probably doesn't matter, I'd have Telis well above Graterol and Jeffers (Again, as it relates to likely contribution in 2020). Romero can't even get into the country, so he could be #59. I'd have Rich Hill higher since - if he stays healthy, he's probably their top pitcher, right there with Berrios.

Mitch Garver put up some incredible statistics in 2019. He greatly improved his defensive abilities through a ton of hard and focused work. He also kept working on his offensive approach, and for it, he was named the American League’s Silver Slugger Award as the league’s top hitting catcher. What might we expect from the backstop in 2020?The catcher position is really difficult. Not only is the backstop responsible for calling a game with each day’s pitcher, but he gets beat up physically over a long baseball season. With all the responsibility placed on a catcher behind the plate, it’s understandable that hitting has been considered a luxury for catchers throughout most of MLB history. In 2019, Twins catcher Mitch Garver not only improved his defense immensely, but he had a monster season at the plate too. How much did rest factor into his success? His manager, Rocco Baldelli, recently pointed out. “One thing that we know and we’ve had some brief discussions with Alex (Avila) about it as well. We try to make sure that our guys feel good when they take the field. I think one thing that we haven’t done a lot in the game is take our catchers into consideration and actually think, ‘Hey, if these guys could actually feel their legs, maybe they’d be able to perform better.’” He continued, “We don’t really think about it like that in baseball. We run our guys out there a lot, and I think we were able to see some of those benefits last year and the guys really showed up and stepped up and really seemed to come alive when given a day here and there. They’re able to recharge a little bit, take care of themselves.” We’ll dive more into that in a bit, but first, let’s take you back in time just a bit to see where Mitch Garver’s career has come over the past six years. Mitch Garver was the Twins 9th round draft pick in 2014 out of the University of New Mexico. He was a senior sign. He was touted as a bat-first (or to many, a bat-only) catcher and worked slowly up the minor league system. Twice Twins Daily named him the Twins minor league hitter of the year. He was recognized for his season in Cedar Rapids in 2014, and for his terrific 2017 season with the Rochester Red Wings during which he also made his MLB debut. In 2018, he struggled behind the plate. He saw the pitch framing stats and noticed that he was one of the worst-ranked in all of baseball. He went to work, as has been well documented, with former Twins minor league catching coordinator Tanner Swanson. A new approach and set up behind the plate, and Garver made himself into a league average defensive catcher. That’s more impressive since the ‘average’ defensive catcher improved from 2018 to 2019 too. But Garver also continued to work on his offense too. His focus was to swing at strikes, hit the ball in the air and pull the ball. As we all know well, it was a philosophy that worked. First, Garver knows the strike zone really well. He is one of the best in the league at not swinging at balls outside the strike zone. After hitting a respectable .268/.335/.414 (.749) with 19 doules and seven homers in 102 games in 2018, his first major-league season, he was incredible in 2019. In 93 games, he hit .273/.365/.630 (.995) with 16 doubles and 31 home runs. For his efforts, he won his first of hopefully several Silver Slugger Awards for the best catcher in the American League. Sure, maybe his college coach wasn’t surprised, but I think most diehard Garver fans were a little bit surprised at that level of success. You’ll notice the 93 games played. First, remember that he went into the season as a backup to Jason Castro behind the plate. You may remember (and maybe you were one of them) who thought Garver should have even started the 2019 season in the minor leagues with Willians Astudillo the backup. Can you imagine? But back to the 93 games. Remember that gruesome injury to his ankle that he sustained while blocking the plate and keeping an Angels runner from tying the game in the ninth inning. The fear was that he could miss an extended period. Instead, he returned to game action after missing just 17 games. So hey, maybe if not for that, he may have played in another nine or ten games. He played in 93 of the 145 games that he was on the Twins active roster in 2019 about 64% In reality, he started 73 games behind the plate, just over 50% of games that he was on the active roster. There’s no question that the rest helped and contributed mightily to his 2019 success. He was able to stay strong, with fresh legs. But if Mitch Garver starts behind the plate for just 50% of the Twins 60 game season, that would be surprising and disappointing. Both Garver and Baldelli noted that they had not (as of Monday) had any conversation about playing time. Baldelli siad, “I anticipate getting Mitch out there as much as we can. But again, Mitch is going to get his days off. Alex is going to get a fair amount of time out there as well. We’re going to get into a rotation.” Wisely, Baldelli stopped short of giving any sort of estimate of games played. There are many variables in that, plus in this shortened 2020 season, there are COVID-19 concerns along with the regular injury and wear that a catcher’s body goes through. That is a factor that Garver brought up as well. He pointed out the time off. ‘Obviously shutting down the body for a couple of months, then turning it back on. There’s weird things that can happen. You’ll see it across the league.“ But Garver simply wants to play as much as he can. Sure, he wants to play as much as he can, but he understands the bigger picture for himself and for the team. “Obviously everybody wants to play as much as they can. I’d like to play 40-45 games. I think that’s a pretty good number. Maybe even 50 games. That’s a nice number to get to. Obviously I’d like to get out there every chance I can to help contribute, but we’ll see how it goes. Everybody wants to get out there.” Baldelli seemed to acknowledge that Garver has earned the spot and the playing time that comes from it. “I think with the year that Mitch had, he’s definitely proven himself to be not just a capable catcher, but a really productive backstop. It was fun to watch that happen, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to go out there and say ‘Mitch is going to catch four out of five games, here we go.’ There’s a lot more that goes into it than that. We’ll feel it out starting on Day 1.” Four out of five feels like a lot, doesn’t it. Over a 162 games season, that equates to about 130 starts. Few catchers do that, and with the success-with-rest in 2019, he doesn’t need to do that. That would be starting 48 out of 60 games behind the plate. But what about two out of three? That’s 67%, an earned bump from his 50% rate in 2019. That particularly makes sense in a three-game series. Maybe he starts three games during four-game series, and maybe just one game during two-game series? But if Garver can make about 40 starts, veteran Alex Avila can stay fresh with about 20 starts. If Willians Astudillo is on the roster, maybe he gets into the final innings of some blowouts to make sure even a few innings of rest is available. While Garver posted a .902 OPS, with 19 of his 31 homers against right-handers, he was even better facing lefties. He hit .321 with an OPS of 1.170 against southpaws and hit 12 of homers. Meanwhile, in 2019, Avila posted a .795 OPS with 14 of his 17 extra base hits against right-handers. No, I’m definitely not advocating a straight split that would mean very little playing time for Garver, but I am saying that they can be strategic about when Garver gets his days off. And hey, if the Twins find themselves in a division or playoff race down the stretch, hopefully he will be strong enough to play a little more frequently. But now it’s your turn. If you are in charge, how would you handle the Twins catching situation. In an ideal, while still-realistic world, how many games would you like to see Mitch Garver start? Click here to view the article

They have options, but most are staying in a hotel the whole time. Team pays for that. But players could do airbnb or other options if they wanted to. And yes, the field will be closed to fans, media, etc.

Wes Johnson told us yesterday that they are 'stretching out' ten pitchers right now at Target Field and two in St. Paul. Berrios Odorizzi Maeda Hill Bailey Dobnak Smeltzer Thorpe Poppen Chacin Chalmers Duran He said that he would like to see the team have two long relievers when the season starts and has two weeks of a 30-man active roster, but that they haven't finalized anything at this point. That means 2-3 of those Target Field bunch will be on the active roster and 2-3 of them will continue working in St. Paul once the season starts. (I say 2-3 because Chacin may or may not have an opt-out and if he gets cut from the active roster at some point, he may or may not choose to go to St. Paul.

I've seen/heard that those three are currently at Target Field (for sure Chacin and Thielbar). Pineda is at Target Field. He will throw some before the season. When the season begins, he'll work with the St. Paul group. Wes Johnson said yesterday that their intent is to have him ready to start when he returns.

He's been at Target Field so far.

While most of the Twins action and video that we will see in 2020 will come from Target Field, don’t forget that there is another group of Twins players working at CHS Field in St. Paul, keeping ready.The St. Paul Saints are the defending champions of the American Association. However, they are starting their 2020 season by playing their home games in Sioux Falls. The Twins were able to use the Saints’ home ballpark, beautiful CHS Field, for their ‘taxi squad’, the players in the 60-player pool not on the active roster. The group is far enough away and in a separate location to keep the number of people in a stadium at any given time at a minimum. The group is close enough to Target Field that if the Twins have an injury or a positive COVID test, they can easily promote a player from this group to help out during the season without shipping him on a plane across the country. . On Sunday, a day after he addressed the group at Target Field, Rocco Baldelli traveled across the Mississippi River to briefly address the group of players who make up the taxi squad, or the remainder of the 60-man player pool not on the active roster. The Message? Be ready. You never know. Later on Sunday night, Baldelli told media, “The talk went very well. I think the message is that our group in St. Paul is going to be a huge part of our season. (That) is important to know. We know the situation we’re in. We know that these are uncertain times. We also know that if we are playing in September, or hopefully even after that in October, there’s going to be one or more or many of those players on our team, and potentially contributing in a big way.” He continued, “There’s no way to ever know who those guys are going to be. But I would bet on that happening. We always want to think that things are going to work out in an optimal way. Everyone’s always going to be healthy. Everyone’s always going to perform. We hope for that. But we also know that we’re always going to have to adjust and part of our adjustments is going to be looking at our group in St. Paul, calling those names, bringing those guys in. And not just having them there as bystanders. Not just there as a support group, but actually counting on them for production and helping us win.” Baldelli noted that during this “Summer Camp” there will likely be around 20 players working out in St. Paul. That number is subject to change from day to day with guys occasionally spending time at Target Field. When the Twins regular season begins, they will have a 30-player active roster, so the others on the 60-player roster will be in St. Paul. The group was told not to be surprised if five to ten of them get MLB time this season. They were also told not to be surprised if two or three of them wind up starting games in the playoffs in the Twins make it. And like the big leaguers, they were told to follow the protocols presented to them. Follow them for yourself. Follow them for your teammates. Follow them because “we” believe that this is a special team and a special year, a year that anything, including the World Series championship can happen. Baldelli said later on Sunday, “They’ll be over there working on different things. It mainly will be just workouts because it’s hard to do much else, play competitive games and such with a number like that.” JP Martinez is leading the group in St. Paul. Martinez was drafted by the Twins in 2004 and spent four seasons pitching in the system, reaching AAA. He rejoined the organization as a pitching coach at the facilities in Ft. Myers. He spent a season as pitching coach in Cedar Rapids. Last year, he became the assistant minor league pitching coordinator, a role he really enjoyed. With Pete Maki moving up to the big league bullpen coach job for the 2020 season, Martinez is going to be given a lot of responsibility. Baldelli said, “JP will be organizing and coordinating the workouts. We’ll be talking to him a lot. We already have to get everything lined up. I will also note that it will not be a situation where we hand the schedule over to them and ask JP to simply follow a schedule. They have to make it work. Every day you’ll have to make a with the group that you have. The group is going to change obviously when we’ve got guys here with us. So JP’s going to be, not just following what we send over. When I say organizing, he’s truly going to be organizing and coordinating.” But Martinez certainly isn’t doing it on his own. Martinez’s background is in pitching, but he’ll be working with Cibney Bello and Mike McCarthy. Bello was set to be the Rochester Red Wings pitching coach in 2020. He pitched for five seasons in the Mariners organization and three more seasons of independent baseball. He’s in his fifth season in the organization and has been a pitching coach in the GCL, in Cedar Rapids and in Pensacola. McCarthy pitched six seasons in the Red Sox organization before joining the Red Wings as their bullpen coach in 2018. The position players will also be getting plenty of attention. Donegal Fergus was hired as the Twins minor league hitting coordinator this offseason, highly recommended out of UC-Santa Barbara. Billy Boyer is in his second season as the Twins minor league infield and base running coordinator. Matt Borgschulte was scheduled to be the hitting coach for Rochester in 2020. This is his third season in the organization. As far as what the players will be doing, it’s a lot like what’s happening at Target Field, just without cameras and media. The first workout there was last Thursday, but it was only for those players who had already received the results of their COVID tests. Some players were first tested last Monday, others on Tuesday, so results came in on Thursday or Friday. Most of the players walk to the ballpark. They are usually split into groups of four or five players and have different scheduled activities from hitting, to working out in the weight room, bullpens and other activities. The are using the visitor’s clubhouse, but as with the players at Target Field, they only get about five minutes to get ready and get outside. Some of the Twins top prospects are in St.Paul, but there is a lot of talent there. As mentioned, this list is subject to change. These are the players not on the 40-man roster,and some of the younger guys on the 40-man roster. Some of them are currently working at Target Field. Pitchers Jhoulys Chacin Sam Clay Edwar Colina Danny Coulombe Ryan Garton Cory Gearrin Caleb Thielbar Dakota Chalmers (40) Jhoan Duran (40) In his press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Twins pitching coach Wes Johnson said that the team would be stretching out ten pitchers who are currently at Target Field. They will also be stretching out Chalmers and Duran, building up their arm strength with the hopes of them being starters down the line. Catchers Juan Graterol Ryan Jeffers Tomas Telis Infielders Royce Lewis Drew Maggi Jack Reinheimer Wilfredo Tovar Zander Wiel Travis Blankenhorn (40) Outfielders Lane Adams Alex Kirilloff Trevor Larnach Brent Rooker Gilberto Celestino (40) Click here to view the article

Normally managers get to talk about baseball during their press conferences, but as you can imagine, in “Summer Camp” the questions have been about a wide variety of topics. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli has had to answer questions about a global health pandemic, social justice, and player accommodations. These all touch on roles we don’t commonly attribute to a baseball manager, but this year they are critical, and one is providing an environment where people feel safe talking about anything including how they are feeling.Rocco Baldelli recently said, “In any role. It's hard to focus on everything. So you have to prioritize the things that are most important to you to bring to all of your men and women that you work with, and I think a lot of what we've all experienced recently in Minneapolis and throughout the country. It's a very significant time. It's a very important time.” The Twins manager believes that the important thing is to give his players a voice, to provide an environment where they feel comfortable talking about any topic, even difficult ones. Even topics that really haven’t been addressed in baseball in the past. Returning to the game of baseball has bought a mix of emotions from players and others. There have been many positive COVID-19 tests around the game. Several players and coaches have decided to opt-out of their 2020 contracts due to COVID-19 concerns. Baldelli said, “One thing that we talked about was making sure that the guys know that they have a voice. We want to know how they're feeling. It's very important for all of us and for all of them to feel very open and free to talk about these things. Whether they feel good about things or they feel apprehension." According to Baldelli, this isn’t just touchy-feely millennial stuff. It serves an important purpose. All-Stars such as Mike Trout, Buster Posey and Sean Doolittle have spoken about how they are still contemplating opting out. But for the Twins to have a manager who understands that baseball is a part of their life, not their entire life, and that they can freely discuss their concerns is a positive. “It helps us, but more importantly, it helps the player to be able to say these things. We aren't going to be able to help until we have that open dialogue going. We have a good group for that. Our guys are really good about feeling good about talking about whatever they want to talk about.” Rockies outfielder Ian Desmond is forgoing about $6 million of 2020 salary. He wrote nine pages on Instagram explaining his decision. I included just the ninth page (below) in which he summarizes why he is opting out of the season. If you’re on Instagram, you’ll want to read the first eight pages as well (they’re short pages). Beyond COVID-19 concerns, of which there are plenty, social issues have come into play across our country. Baldelli continued “We've talked about and had conversations about things that I've never openly talked about in the game. And I know many people in our clubhouse have never openly talked about in the game. And I think it's very welcome. I think it's been a very empowering period of time for all of our people, to different extents maybe, for each one of us. But I think we've probably learned different things about ourselves, especially over the last few weeks, that some of us that have been in the game for a very long time have never really touched on and never really felt to this point.” Baldelli continued, noting that it isn’t just for leaders or managers to discuss, but for all of us to be willing and able to discuss. “I do think that anyone regardless of what position you're in - if you're in any sort of leadership position or if you're just just a human being that believes in things - but I think it is our job to consider constantly re-evaluating what is most important, and not be afraid to have conversations about things just because it's uncomfortable. If it's important, it's important and should be talked about.” With the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the subsequent response around the globe, Baldelli notes that it has created a lot of uncomfortable, but necessary, conversations. Again, he wants his players to feel comfortable talking about these topics within the team. Baldelli spoke calmly and clearly in his message, “Especially related to the George Floyd murder, essentially, especially related to that. Everything that's come from that has affected our group, a lot. We've come together as a group, numerous times to discuss this.” “I've never seen in baseball and in the short 20 years that I've spent in the game. I've never experienced that before when I tell you that it's empowering to be able to discuss things and talk about things and be vulnerable amongst your teammates and your fellow coaches and your staff members. And to tell people how you really feel about things that are important to you. That is very, very empowering and it feels late.” “But there is no better time than now to do it. I think I'm very proud of the way our guys have handled it.. All these discussions. I'm very proud of the way guys have stepped up and probably breathed in a way that they've never really felt before, where they're able to say these things. I think it's been a very welcome and beautiful thing that came from something so tragic.” Arguably the most important job of a manager - a baseball manager, a store manager, any leader - is to encourage communication and support and empower those you work with. It can be a good thing to put yourself out there. It can be a good thing to feel comfortable enough to discuss topics that are uncomfortable. And in doing so, be able to more easily discuss the issues that arise from playing a game, like baseball. Usually when someone says "these are challenging times" they are saying "challenges are being presented to us which we must overcome." That is certainly true now. But there can be another meaning, perhaps better understood if one adds a “The” and capital letters: These are The Challenging Times, the times in which we challenge ourselves, whether it be our beliefs, our biases, our relationships and even our history. As both a manager and a role model, Baldelli is in a position where he must handle both meanings, navigating a shortened season amid a pandemic while reaching out to players who are challenging themselves and their teammates with new visions of the world. For all of the impressive credentials and accolades on Rocco Baldelli’s resume, we may now be seeing his most important attribute as a manager. Click here to view the article

Derek Falvey announced this afternoon that Twins catcher Willians Astudillo and one other Twins player have positive for COVID-19. Two other players, Edwar Colina and Nick Gordon, also previously tested positive outside of MLBs testing this week.In a zoom meeting with media on Friday afternoon, Derek Falvey mentioned that Willians Astudillo and one other Twins player had tested positive for COVID-19 during the intake process (players reporting and being tested). Astudillo is in Minneapolis. "He is presently asymptomatic, feeling fine. He is quarantined here." Falvey said that Astudillo has given his permission for his name to be announced. There is still some steps in the intake process that have to be completed. Falvey was not able to comment on the identity of the second player at this time. "We will now subsequently go through a protocol where after a minimum period of time, we can then test him again. The way the protocol works, when he tests negative twice, subsequent to a positive test, you can then be brought back into the environment." Falvey continued, "We will likely test him above 48 to 72 hours from now. Then subsequently test him a couple of days after that. If he clears two negative tests, he would then be someone who could re-enter." Shortly before the press conference, MLB announced that 38 of the 3,185 people tested (1.2%) were positive. 31 of those were players and the other seven were staffers. 19 of the 30 MLB teams had at least one positive result. Falvey noted, "I'm really happy to hear that a lot of players and staff, wherever they were over the past several months, they were able to keep themselves healthy and in a safe place and limited their contact outside of their home environments." In addition to the two MLB players, both Edwar Colina and Nick Gordon had positive COVID-19 tests recently. They had their tests administered prior to the baseball testing this week. Falvey said, "Those guys are here. They're rostered, and hopefully eventually will be cleared. In Colina's case, he has already cleared and a subsequent test since he has tested negative for the virus, but we are being cautious." He believes both players should be in Minnesota later this weekend. There were some other Twins minor leaguers who also tested positive in Ft. Myers when the facilities were shut down across baseball. Colina was there when he tested positive. Click here to view the article

Yes... though probably 5-8 other teams have invited their first-round picks as well, including the Tigers who have added Torkelson and Dingler.

They can add one. There are some teams that put their initial roster at 50 or so. Not sure the reasoning for waiting because it is possible to alter that list throughout the season.

Teams can have up to 60. Most will go to 60. Not sure how the league came up with that number, but the big league teams need to make sure they have depth at every position, even if they don't have to use it. And yes, COVID issues will play a big factor.

Derek Falvey noted today that they are preparing for scenarios in which the Saints return to CHS Field this season. The Twins would continue to use the ballpark, just at a different time.