Seth Stohs

People have one good year all the time and use it to get paid. Gonzalez had a breakout year in 2017. He had a regular Marwin Gonzalez year in 2018 (when we know that the Astros were still doing stuff)... The Twins knew what they were getting in Gonzalez... Solid hitter who provides a ton of versatility. I don't think that any of this alters that thinking or what they thought they were getting. There's a reason he didn't get anywhere near what most thought he would get a year ago.

I don't think this will have any effect on Gonzalez's relationship with his teammates. There are guys in that clubhouse who have been suspended for PEDs. They got to know Gonzalez all of last year. I may be wrong and it may cause issues, I will just be shocked.

The Twins traded recently-DFAd RHP Ryne Harper to the Washington Nationals in exchange for RHP Hunter McMahon. McMahon was the Nationals 9th round pick in 2019 from Texas State U. He's 21 and spent last year at two rookie league levels.

I don't know if that is necessarily true... but i think the things we talk about... lack of innings. Health concerns. Bullpen potential. Those are the reasons probably. But 5 down is basically staying even...

Only if he's removed from the 40-man roster.

I think I can agree with most of this. Development was an issue. Some players thrived under those methods... many are better under the current methods with a ton of data, coordinators, etc. I mean, a lot of players developed in those years and became terrific players. Maybe they would have regardless, No way to know... But what they're doing now is tremendous, much different, based on what is available now.

We'll see. That's his profile in the Twins Prospect Handbook (now available... :-) )

I watched the final season of The Ranch last night... anyone else seen it? Any thoughts?

Thank you... he was quite thoughtful in his responses.

We all hope so! Pitching is hard. Pitching in the big leagues is really hard. Hopefully they just keep accumulating strong arm after strong arm and have a lot of tough decisions! I think that's their goal.

In November, the Minnesota Twins added five players to their 40-man roster. One of those players was right-handed pitcher Dakota Chalmers. This past weekend at Target Field, we caught up with the hard-throwing 23-year-old about the whirlwind of his career since joining the Twins in August 2018.Dakota Chalmers was drafted in the third round of the 2015 draft by the Oakland A’s. A highly-touted prep pitcher from Georgia, he signed a seven-figure signing bonus, more than twice the slot number for the 97th overall pick. Immensely talented and strong-armed, Chalmers recorded a lot of strikeouts and a lot of walks. He missed time due to injury. When he returned to Beloit in 2018, he made two appearances and walked eight and struck out ten batters in five innings. He was pitching hurt. Soon after, he had Tommy John surgery. Back home in Georgia, what happened next was completely unexpected. In late August, he was traded to the Twins in exchange for veteran reliever Fernando Rodney. “It wasn’t remotely on my mind at all. I was out sweeping leaves off my back porch when they called me.” Chalmers continued, “It didn’t really settle in until I had all that handled and I was in Ft. Myers rehabbing. And then it was such a smooth transition. Fortunately I was so busy, I didn't have time to think about anything.” There were some difficult logistical changes following the trade. He didn’t know anyone in the Twins organization. He got to Fort Myers to continue his rehabilitation from surgery. Fortunately (or unfortunately, however you chose to look at it), there were several Twins minor leaguers there rehabbing from elbow surgery. “It helps to have guys who have had it already. It’s nice to know you can help and encourage your teammates. It’s such an up and down process. I think it’s good to have players around each other. For me, it’s nice to have guys go through things with you, as much as it sucks. It’s something that’s part of our game, you deal with it and get back as soon as possible.” But for the most part, everything went well throughout his rehab process. He said that there weren’t any physical setbacks in his rehab. Sure, the schedule would have had him throwing for the first time during the holidays, but it was just pushed back as there was no rush. Just before the Florida State League All-Star break, he was added to the Miracle roster and began his rehab with the GCL Twins. On July 2nd, he went 1 1/3 innings. He faced ten batters and gave up six runs (five earned) on two hits, a walk and two hit batters. All four outs were strikeouts. The results didn’t matter at all. He was back on the mound. He made three more starts in the GCL and gave up just one run on six hits over 12 innings. On July 30th, he was added back to Miracle roster and made his first official start in about 15 months. Of course, even that couldn’t be easy. “My first real game, there was lightning everywhere. Everywhere. Every lightning bolt, we thought it would get cancelled. It was a little distracting. Obviously I was a little nervous just getting back into the swing of things. It was a mess. It got cancelled after one inning. It was crazy, but I settled in and had a strong finish to the year.” He went four innings in his next start and then threw at least five innings in his final three starts of the year. In those starts, he gave up three runs (two earned) on nine hits in 16 1/3 innings. He walked seven, but he also struck out 23 batters. And with his stuff and those final starts, he earned a promotion to Double-A Pensacola Blue Wahoos and he made one playoff start. He threw three no-hit innings. “It was certainly fun pitching in that environment.” He had worked a total of 34 2/3 innings, so the Twins sent him to the Arizona Fall League. Along with just accumulating innings, Chalmers had some goals in mind, including finding more consistency. “Historically in my career, I’ve had ups and downs in starts. I would have a good start, bad start. I had about three or four good, not great,but quality starts to end the year with the Miracle. So I was really just trying to not focus on making any adjustments, just trying to ride out my first season, stay healthy and see how many good ones I could stack on top of each other.” He continued, “Then we ran into some troubles late in the Fall League and those were mechanical problems that we knew that we had to fix. The Fall League was about pitching more innings, and the offseason was for fixing those issues.” Chalmers started the championship game for the Salt River Rafters, helping the team to the Arizona Fall League title. At the end of November, Chalmers received the call that he had been added to the Twins 40-man roster. It hadn’t been something that he had thought about throughout the season and in the rehab process. “I wouldn’t say that I really even thought of it. I was more focused on getting back on the field healthy. I knew it was going to be a short year coming off of Tommy John. I had an inclination that I might go to the Fall League at the beginning of the year. My goal was to finish the Fall League healthy and get a good start on spring training. The 40-man was more of a timing thing. It was out of my control. I pitched as well as I could, had some ups and downs, and that’s what they chose to do.” Chalmers has big-time stuff. He is certainly one to watch especially as his first-full season is set to begin with big-league spring training in a couple of weeks. Chalmers has a big arm. His fastball gets good movement and he throws it anywhere from 92 to 97 mph. He has a curveball that can be sharp.Some days, his best pitch is a changeup with good fade and drop. He spent his offseason back home in Georgia. He worked on adding a cutter. He also worked on throwing strikes.He spent time in the weight room too. “Trying to strengthen my core and lower half so I could stabilize my delivery. Keep my head online and throw my strikes.” He was invited to Twins Fest and enjoyed the opportunity.”It’s cool seeing some faces that you only have seen on the TV, and that’s always cool. Any time you can expand your baseball community, and the baseball world is such a small world. Any time you can add another name to that list it’s good, to have somebody on your side. ” After all the ups and downs, in about two weeks, he will head to Ft. Myers and report to his first big-league spring training. ------------------------------------------------ Get to know more about Dakota Chalmers and about 170 other Twins prospects in the 2020 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook. It is available in paperback or PDF(for immediate download). Order your copies today! Use promo code ONEFIVE to get 15% off of print books through January 30th. Click here to view the article

That might be valuable in 2021. I like Senzel, but I just don't know that the Twins need for him or his type of player is very high.

Senzel is a 2B who played some CF last year... Team him with Arraez? 4th OF?

I know this isn't all in response to you, it's in response to many of the above, but I'll start with yours. 1.) Absolutely it is not Bert's idea, but FSN gave him opportunities to try to improve. Pretty sure he's not interested. 2.) Morneau is fantastic. He has to walk a line since he's also part of the Baseball Operations group, and he takes that seriously. But he does provide really strong analysis. And he's got stories too, recent-past stories. 3.) I know most disagree, but I think Bremer is really, really good. He knows the history of this team as well as anyone, maybe even including Reusse. He knows the game well. He's obviously got the voice. But I think that he so often just let's the analyst shine. He will ask a question he obviously knows the answer to so that the analyst can analyze or tell a story, etc. He also knows that, like many reading this forum, some want the analytics, and some have zero interest in analytics. Most enjoy history and stories. He knows the new game while still respecting the game that's been played for over a century, and he respects the thoughts of those who played the game that he works with. He knows that he can't please 100% of fans 100% of the time.

It was just a matter of when, not if. On Friday afternoon, Twins President Dave St. Peter announced that Justin Morneau is now a member of the Twins Hall of Fame.Make your plans now. On Saturday, May 23rd, the Twins will be hosting the White Sox at Target Field. On that day, Justin Morneau will be inducted as the 34th member of the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in a pre-game ceremony. It was just a matter of time, really, as Morneau had an impressive career with the Twins. In 1999, the Twins made the New Westminster, Vancouver, native their third-round draft pick. At the time, he was a catcher, but he quickly moved to first base after an arm injury. He made his much-anticipated major-league debut for the Twins in 2003. If you can recall, he received a standing ovation before that plate appearance. In 1,278 games, Morneau hit .278 with 289 doubles, 221 home runs and 860 RBI. His 221 home runs currently rank third on the Twins all-time list. In 2006, he was the American League Most Valuable Player. In 157 games that season ,he hit .321/.375/.559 (.934) with 37 doubles, 34 homers and 130 RBI. He was an All-Star in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. 2010 was shaping up to be his best season yet. Through 81 games, he was hitting a robust .345/.437/.618 (1.055) with 25 doubles and 18 home runs when he slid into second base and took a John MacDonald knee to the head and suffered a concussion that altered the trajectory of the Twins season and his career. He remained with the Twins through August 31, 2013, when he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates to end the season. He spent the 2014 and 2015 seasons with the Rockies. He owns the 2014 National League batting title when he hit .319 in 2014. He played in 58 games for the White Sox in 2016 before retiring. He joined the Twins as a Special Assistant to Baseball Operations the last two seasons. He has now spent time the last couple of seasons in the broadcast booth with Dick Bremer and will do about 60 games in 2020. On Friday, May 22, the first 5,000 fans in attendance at Target Field will receive a Justin Morneau Hall of Fame pin. The first 10,000 fans to enter on Sunday, May 24, will receive a Morneau Hall of Fame bobblehead. There is a 71-member committee that votes on the Twins Hall of Fame. It includes local and national media, club officials, fan vote and past elected members. Morneau joins the following in the Twins Hall of Fame: 2000: Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, Tony Oliva, Kent Hrbek, Kirby Puckett, Calvin Griffith 2001: Jim Kaat, Herb Carneal 2002: Bert Blyleven, Tom Kelly 2003: Bob Casey, Bob Allison 2004: Earl Battey 2005: Frank Viola 2006: Carl Pohlad, Zoilo Versalles 2007: Jim Rantz 2008: Rick Aguilera 2009: Brad Radke, George Brophy 2010: Greg Gagne 2011: Jim Perry 2012: Camilo Pascual 2013: Eddie Guardado, Tom Mee 2014: Chuck Knoblauch (elected, but not inducted) 2015: none 2016: Torii Hunter, John Gordon 2017: Michael Cuddyer, Andy MacPhail 2018: Johan Santana 2019: Joe Nathan, Jerry Bell 2020: Justin Morneau Click here to view the article

The Twins got 6 players in the 2020 Baseball America Top 100 prospects rankings. https://www.baseballamerica.com/rankings/2020-top-100-prospects/ #26 Royce Lewis #31 Alex Kirilloff #45 Trevor Larnach #60 Brusdar Graterol #95 Jordan Balazovic #96 Jhoan Duran Discuss.

Yeah, I forgot to add... "And I'd be fine with any of them on a minor league deal, or at least any of the first 6-7." I'd offer like a May 25th opt-out for them too. That way you know Pineda is coming back and now you just have to decide on (hopefully) just one spot in the rotation.

Anyone? The Depot is a really nice place and the event is always first class.

Yeah, I don't see any of these guys as better than Dobnak/Thorpe... Walker was good, but he hasn't pitched for two years, so will be interesting to see what's left.

No, but they're all within about a half-season of being big-league ready. And at that point, you never know where a need might be.

Twins Daily is very excited to announce that former Twins infielder Trevor Plouffe will be joining us during this Saturday’s Winter Meltdown event at Lumber Exchange Event Center (above The Pourhouse). Plouffe, who spent parts of seven seasons in the big leagues with the Twins, is scheduled to take the stage shortly after Twins Hall of Famer Kent Hrbek in an event that will provide our audience with plenty of stories and memories.Trevor Plouffe is a very familiar name to Twins fans. Not only did he play in 723 games for the Twins between 2010 and 2016, he was, and continues to be, a fan favorite. Over his time with the Twins, his 148 doubles rank 25th in team history. He ranks 20th with 96 home runs. He is the Twins all-time leader in most buttons left unbuttoned on a game jersey. While he spent parts of seven seasons with the Minnesota, Plouffe actually spent 13 seasons in the Twins organization. Plouffe was the 20th overall pick in the June 2004 draft out of Crespi Carmelite High School in Encino, California. --------------------------------------------------- Looking Back: 2004 MLB Draft, First-Round 7 - Homer Bailey (Reds) 20 - Trevor Plouffe (Twins) 22 - Glen Perkins (Twins, via Mariners for losing Eddie Guardado in free agency) 23 - Phil Hughes (Yankees) 25 - Kyle Waldrop (Twins, via Cubs for losing LaTroy Hawkins in free agency) --------------------------------------------------- He worked his way up the organizational ladder and made his debut in 2010 at shortstop. He spent a couple of seasons riding that Rochester-to-Minnesota train before establishing himself as a full-time big leaguer in 2012. He played all over the diamond before becoming a very solid defensive third baseman while developing his extra-base power. Plouffe became a free agent after the 2016 season. He spent time with the A’s to start 2017 before being traded to the Rays where he worked with current Twins manager Rocco Baldelli. He signed with the Rangers in 2018 but ended up playing seven games with the Phillies that year. He had three hits in 12 at-bats, but one of them was a walk-off home run. (Instead of showing you the Phillies walk-off, here’s a 2015 walk-off for the Twins!) He went to spring training with the Phillies in 2019 but was released before the season started. Plouffe has kept himself busy since his playing days came to an end. During the postseason, he provided analysis for Stadium. We are very excited that Trevor Plouffe will be joining us at the Twins Daily Winter Meltdown on Saturday night. For those who will be attending Saturday night’s Winter Meltdown (which is sold out), you will receive: The 2020 Twins Daily Winter Meltdown Pint Glass.Two complimentary local craft pints from 612 BrewDrink specials and tasting tables from Gray Duck Vodka and Proper Twelve Irish Whiskey.Food stations.Interviews with Kent Hrbek and Trevor Plouffe andSeveral raffle prizes Click here to view the article

Former/Long-time Twins prospect Todd Van Steensel is getting back into blogging. As those of you who have followed him in social media know, he's got some great stories from his career as a minor league pitcher... and he's got a great way of communication and telling stories to fans. He's honest. He's upfront. He has, at times, been a little controversial. In other words, this blog has the potential to be fantastic... When he posts new articles, let's post them here and discuss them. Here is his most recent post in which he - sort of - describes himself as a cockroach, and that's a good thing... How do you know? https://clubhousechronicles.com/2020/01/22/how-do-you-know/