Seth Stohs

Joe Mauer, Max Kepler and Eddie Rosario homered for the Twins on Wednesday afternoon to help the Twins win in Detroit. All three were signed and developed by the Twins. In the minor leagues, there was a lot of action. One team played 15 innings. There was a quality start and a lot of offense in southwest Florida. A top prospect reached .500. Another prospect is now tied for the home run lead in all of minor league baseball.For more information on the Twins minor leagues, please continue reading. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6, Durham 2 Box Score It was a bullpen day for the Red Wings and the bullpen came through in fine form. The bats provided plenty of power. Lefty Nick Greenwood started and went the first five innings. He gave up two runs on seven hits. He struck out five without issuing a walk. Ryan O’Rourke came on and threw two shutout frames. Alex Wimmers struck out three batters over the final two innings without allowing a run. Infielder Tommy Field went 2-3 with a walk his 12th double and his seventh home run. Daniel Palka was also 2-3 with a walk. He added his fourth Red Wings homer and a minor league-leading 25th overall home run. Darin Mastroianni was 2-5 with his sixth double. John Ryan Murphy hit his 12th double. Adam Brett Walker drove in a run with his 17th double. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 7, Jackson 3 Box Score Kohl Stewart was on the mound for the Lookouts. He went five innings and improved to 4-4. He gave up just an unearned run on three hits. He walked four and struck out four. Raul Fernandez came on and gave up one run on two hits over the next two innings. He walked one and struck out four. Jake Reed threw a scoreless inning. Mason Melotakis gave up a solo home in the ninth before finishing the game. The bottom of the Lookouts lineup helped them come out on top in this game. Stuart Turner, batting seventh, went 2-4 with a walk. Engelb Vielma batted eighth. He went 2-2 and walked three times. Nine-hole hitter Edgar Corcino went 2-3 with two walks. In addition, second-hitter Ryan Walker went 2-5 with three RBI. Dalton Hicks added his 22nd double. Mitch Garver hit his 21st double. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 10, Lakeland 13 Box Score The positive? The Miracle offense was terrific, scoring in double figures. The negative? The Miracle pitching allowed 13 runs in this game, despite a quality start. But you know me. We’ve got to start with the positive, right? And that starts with Nick Gordon. The shortstop went 4-5 with his 18th double. He scored three runs and drove in three runs. He reached a fifth time when he was hit by a pitch. LaMonte Wade also reached base five times. He went 3-4 and walked twice. TJ White did too. He went 2-3 with two walks and was hit by a pitch. Trey Vavra went 2-6. Joe Maloney and Alex Perez each had RBI doubles. Randy Rosario started and gave up three runs in six innings. He gave up seven hits, walked one and struck out four. Luke Bard threw a scoreless seventh inning. However, he gave up three runs in the eighth inning. Yorman Landa came on and gave up four more runs on three hits and a walk without getting an out. Luke Westphal came in and was charged with three runs on two hits and three walks in 1.1 innings. He struck out two. Nick Anderson got the final two outs, one on a strikeout. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Bowling Green 5 Box Score Lachlan Wells has been very good since he was promoted to the Kernels. The 19-year-old was hurt by his defense in the first inning with a couple of unearned runs. In all he gave up five runs (three earned) on nine hits and a walk in five innings. Max Cordy walked three over three hitless, scoreless innings. Cam Booser threw the ninth frame and it was uneventful, perfect, which is a good thing. The offense was comprised primarily of JJ Fernandez. He had three of the Kernels six hits. He was 3-3 with a walk and his seventh home run. He drove in two of his three runs on that blast. Jaylin Davis drove in the other run with his fourth double. Luis Arraez extended his hitting streak to eight games with his 22nd double of the season. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 5, Kingsport 6 Box Score The E-Twins fell behind early. The were down 6-1 going into the bottom of the 8th. They scored three runs in the 8th inning and another in the ninth but fell one run shy of the comeback. Domenick Carlini started. He gave up five runs (three earned) on seven hits over 3.2 innings. He walked two and struck out six. Alex Robinson came on and put in some of his best work. He gave up an unearned run on just one hit over four innings. He struck out six. He walked four, but two of those walks came in the eighth inning, after 3.1 terrific innings. Patrick McGuff got the final four outs, three of them on strikeouts. In his six innings with the E-Twins, he hasn’t given up a run and has 12 strikeouts. Lewin Diaz hit his fourth home run of the season, a two-run blast in the 8th inning to cut the deficit in half. Brandon Lopez went 2-3 with two walks in the game. Travis Blankenhorn was 2-5 with the ninth inning RBI. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 6, GCL Rays 5 (15 innings) Box Score The Twins took a 3-0 lead into the seventh inning. Miguel De Jesus started and threw five shutout innings. He gave up three hits, walked two and struck out three. Matz Schutte threw a scoreless sixth but was unable to get out any of the three batters he faced in the seventh inning. Onas Farfan came on and limited the damage to just one run that inning. He kept the 3-1 lead until the bottom of the ninth when he was charged with two runs that tied up the game and sent it to extra innings. The score remained 3-3 when the Twins came to bat in the top of the 15th inning in large part due to Moises Gomez. The right-hander threw 4.1 scoreless innings, stretching his season total to 15.2 scoreless innings. Daniel Martinez threw a scoreless 14th inning. The Twins scored three runs in the top of the 15th inning. Tyree Davis drove in Aaron Whitefield with the first run of the inning. Joe Cronin pinch hit and singled to score Davis. He was thrown out trying to steal second. However, Dane Hutcheon doubled and scored on an Emmanuel Morel single to give the Twins a 6-3 lead. Martinez gave up two runs in the bottom of the 15th inning, but the team was able to hold on for the 6-5 win. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Miguel De Jesus, GCL Twins Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Nick Gordon, Ft. Myers Miracle THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Syracuse @ Rochester (6:05 CST) - LHP Andrew Albers Chattanooga @ Jackson (7:05 CST) - LHP David Hurlbut Ft. Myers @ Clearwater (6:00 CST) - RHP Randy LeBlanc Bowling Green @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) – RHP Dereck Rodriguez Kingsport @ Elizabethton (6:00 CST) - RHP Tyler Wells GCL Rays @ GCL Twins (11:00 CST) - RHP Huascar Ynoa Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Wednesday's games. Click here to view the article

Baxendale is another good choice. Since moving to the Rochester bullpen, 12 scoreless innings over nine games. 4 hits, 3 walks, 11 strikeouts. The first times I saw him pitch were after he was drafted. He was pushed to Beloit and pitched out of the bullpen. His fastball/slider combo looked really good. Might be the best spot for him.

Like I wrote in another response... if Santana is gone, I have no problem with them bring in up Granite to back up Buxton AFTER the Lookouts season is over. Granite needs to keep getting at bats until there's time for bonus baseball. He could be a great candidate for the Arizona Fall League.

It honestly, in my opinion, comes down to numbers at some point. I mean, where is he going to play? Pending trades, the Twins are rolling with Grossman, Rosario, Buxton and Kepler in the outfield the rest of the way. Maybe if they trade/DFA Santana, Granite could come up to back up Buxton (though Rosario could do that too with Grossman playing LF. I'd like to see Granite, but I think it's more important for him to play until the Lookouts season is over, and then add him to the 40 man and let him come to spring training next year and then go to Rochester. It's the same as I laid out with Walker and Palka. Would be fun to see them, but they aren't going to get ABs in LF or RF in September and DH already has like 4-5 guys vying for at bats.

Correct. That's why the Twins gave him about $500K over slot if he fell. They really like him, and he sounds really happy about being a Twins player. Teams just aren't as afraid of TJ surgery as they used to be. Benninghoff wasn't ta 1st round type, so he wasn't taken as high, but he was probably a 3rd/4th round type.

I really don't know... I do know that the rookie leagues should be all about player development. It's very possible that Ray Smith and Jeff Reed saw something in BP yesterday and decided to try to give him a confidence boost. Could be anything really.

Bullpen game for Rochester this morning. Balazovic should pitch a little in the GCL. Benninghoff had Tommy John shortly after signing with the Twins.

He's got two situations that are equally against him. Like Palka/Walker, there are only so many outfield spots available. Can't bring them all up. However, he does need to be added to the 40 man in the offseason, so it is possible. I just don't see it as likely.

Berrios is ready and has already been there. Polanco will be out of options. Chargois is 25 and dominating. Hildenberger is 25 and dominating. Not pushing anything toooooo crazy!

For Hildenberger certainly there are some who could be removed, but it's just as much about who needs to be added in the offseason. Like I said, if he's not up by mid-August, then there's no sense in using the 40 man spot. Melotakis should have been mentioned. He's been very good since going on the DL after his first three outings (in which he gave up a run in each).

This was supposed to be my article for Monday night, but with the firing (er, dismissal of duties) of Terry Ryan on Monday, this topic could wait a little bit. But I think it is important. Now the article can be framed as a request for interim GM Rob Antony to consider. With the Twins already out of playoff contention (probably in early May), every decision made for the rest of this season needs to have its focus to 2017. Any trades made by Antony need 2017 and beyond in mind. But there are a couple of transactions that can be - and probably should be - made right now.The Twins need to find a way to promote three players from the minor leagues to the big leagues (and I’ll even argue for a fourth). Jose Berrios Ahora es el momento para La Makina! Jose Berrios needs to spend time in the big leagues this year, and his recent AAA success is proof of it. The time is now for Berrios to be called up. I’ve written several times that I thought it was time for Berrios to come up. I wrote it first about this time last year. I wrote it earlier this season, and now I’m writing it again. I don’t know if calling up Berrios would have helped the Twins in 2015 or not. There is no way to know. His control and command issues hurt him earlier this season, but he did get an opportunity with the Twins before his 22nd birthday in May. Those struggles were magnified in his four starts with the Twins. He went 1-1 but posted a 10.20 ERA and a 2.13 WHIP over 15 innings. While we saw glimpses of what he can - and likely will - be (the 12 K/9 looks great), we also saw that there was more for him to learn and that he needed to improve (7.2 BB/9 isn’t going to work). Berrios returned to Rochester and after a couple of rough starts, he has been tremendous of late. In his last six starts, he has thrown 41.2 innings. He has given up 23 hits walked 12 and struck out 43. That’s a 1.08 ERA, a 0.84 WHIP, 2.6 BB/9 and 9.3 K/9. Berrios is not a finished product and when he is called up he is going to still experience some lumps, but he’s got nothing left to prove at AAA. He has now made 27 starts and thrown 168 innings in AAA. He has had a lot of success there. There’s no reason he make any more starts there. JT Chargois There is also little reason for JT Chargois to continue pitching in Rochester at this point. Sure, he had a rough debut, and when the Twins claimed RHP Neil Ramirez off of waivers, it made some sense to send Chargois back down. Ramirez is a guy who was really good for the Cubs for a couple of years. Then he got hurt, and he’s out of options. So, is he the pitcher he has been the last year and a half, or is he the guy who was good? When a team has the right to claim players early, they should take chances on guys like Ramirez. However, it hasn’t gone terribly well, so at this point, Ramirez can be DFAd again to make room for Chargois. Again, calling up Chargois doesn’t mean we should think he’s 100% ready, but he’s got nothing more to prove in Rochester. His problem in the past was his control. In 2016, he is walking just 1.6 batters per nine innings over 27.2 innings in Rochester. He has a 1.30 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP. He’s striking out 11.4 per nine innings. Chargois, after missing two seasons after being drafted out of Rice University, is already 25. It’s possible that the organization still believes that Ramirez has more in the tank and want to keep him around, hoping he returns to that level. Understandable. If that’s the case, the Twins could call up Chargois when Fernando Abad or Brandon Kintzler are traded in 10 days or so. Jorge Polanco Polanco had several cups of coffee in 2014 and 2015. Those were 40-man roster decisions. At those times, he wasn’t ready for a full-time gig. He’s ready now. He spent a bit of time on the Twins roster earlier this season, and didn’t play, which makes little sense. However, since returning to Rochester, he has hit .279/.345/.471 (.816) in 52 games. He has 12 walks, three triples and seven home runs. He has a good approach at the plate. Now, I get that they can’t call up Polanco until a trade of either Eduardo Nunez, Eduardo Escobar or even Brian Dozier. Calling him up and sitting one of those players would hurt (possibly) the value of those players. (Note - The other option is DFAing Danny Santana, but again, that would cost playing time in the short term for three guys that they may want to trade. We can just be patient for 10 more days.) Could the Twins throw Jorge Polanco at shortstop and stick with any struggles defensively the rest of the season? Sure they could. However, consider this. Here is his playing time by position in 2016: Shortstop - 1 game, 8 innings Second Base - 59 games, 512 innings Third Base - 2 games, 16 innings The Twins made the decision after spring training that Jorge Polanco was not going to be able to play shortstop, a decision that is hard to disagree with based on his play at the position the last couple of years. In fact, the one game he played at shortstop this year came in the big leagues. The issue is that Polanco is is out of options in 2017. He will need to make the Twins roster or potentially lose him on waivers (they would certainly lose him). If they want him to be a utility player, then he needs to start playing every day at a variety of positions. It will be very interesting to me to see how they choose to play Polanco, but in my mind, he needs to be playing in the big leagues very soon, as soon as a roster spot is available following a trade. OTHERS The three players mentioned above should be up either now, or right after a trade is made (in Polanco’s and maybe Chargois’ case). Here are a few others that either should be up soon, maybe in September, or at least people have been talking about of late. Trevor Hildenberger - The right-hander is completely making a mockery of minor league baseball the last couple of seasons. He’s got 16 saves and a 0.79 ERA and a 0.70 WHIP and a 0.5 HR/9, and 1.3 BB/9 and 10.2 K/9 for Chattanooga in 34.1 innings. If the Twins trade two relievers, I have no problem calling him up August 1st to the Twins. He should move up to AAA when Chargois is called up to the big leagues regardless. Despite being drafted just over two years ago, he is 25 because he was a five-year college guy. The reason to not call him up is because of the 40-man roster. The Twins already have some tough decisions to make in November on the 40-man roster updates. Hildenberger doesn’t need to be added for another year. That’s why I’d say either call him up on August 1st, or wait to add him until early in the 2017 season. Invite him to big league camp with a legit shot at an Opening Day spot. Byung Ho Park - He has played in just 12 games since being demoted to Rochester. He missed a couple of games with his wrist concerns. He has hit .286/.388/.476 (.864) with two doubles and two home runs. He will come up again at some point, but in my opinion, I’d let him keep playing every day and gaining more and more confidence. John Ryan Murphy - If (or when) Kurt Suzuki is traded, most likely John Ryan Murphy, despite a .201/.264/.282 (.546) line in Rochester, will be called up. He just turned 25, so he should still be considered part of the future. He can also work with pitchers that he may work with over the final two months. Mitch Garver - Garver is also 25 years old, about four months older than Murphy. Garver has improved defensively, but his offense has been very good of late in Chattanooga too. Over his last 50 games, he has hit .289/.369/.489 (.858) with 14 doubles and eight home runs. Since July 1st, he is hitting .333/.425/.617 (1.041) with eight doubles and three homers in 16 games. He needs to be added to the 40-man roster by November anyway, so it makes sense to call him up either instead of Murphy or with the September call-ups. Jason Wheeler - The 25-year-old left-hander was added to the 40-man roster before the 2015 season. He had a tough year and was removed from the 40-man roster late in the season. He began this year in AA but was called up to Rochester when the Red Wings were down three starting pitchers to the big leagues. He has been very good. He is 6-2 with a 2.75 ERA in 15 starts (95 innings). If the Twins are able to trade a starting pitcher or two (Nolasco, Santana and Milone all possibilities), Wheeler could join the rotation for the final two months as a tryout. (Pat Dean could also get another opportunity, though he has struggled since his return to Rochester.) Alex Wimmers - The 27-year-old was the Twins top pick in the 2010 draft, which is significant. It’s been well documented that Wimmers has gone through a lot since the Twins signed him. He had a bout with the yips way back and overcame that. He has gone through Tommy John surgery and returned from that. He’s no longer a starter either. That he was drafted in 2010 is important because as soon as the World Series is complete, Wimmers can become a six-year minor league free agent. Sure, the Twins could re-sign him on a minor league deal after that point, but he has been pitching pretty well since his promotion to AAA Rochester’s bullpen early this season. He is 2-1 with eight saves in 28 games (37.1 innings). In his last 13 games (17 innings), he has a 1.59 ERA and opponents are hitting .197/.269/.246 (.515) against him. I would strongly consider calling him up for the final 6-8 weeks and just see how he does. Evaluate whether or not he is someone they want to keep on their 40-man roster or not. Sure, they can do that evaluation while he’s at AAA, but giving him that opportunity at the big league level is so much more valuable. Adam Brett Walker and Daniel Palka - Palka and Walker have both provided a lot of power. Walker is already on the 40-man roster. Palka needs to be added to the 40-man roster after the season, or potentially be lost. It’d be nice to see these guys in September, but it will be very interesting to see if they are. Palka plays right field and some first base and DH. Walker can play the corner outfield spots (not necessarily well) and DH. The Twins understandably will want to keep playing Max Kepler every day. Eddie Rosario needs at-bats, and Robbie Grossman has earned playing time too. At DH, Kennys Vargas is getting what might be his final opportunity, and Byung Ho Park will be up at some point. If Trevor Plouffe isn’t traded, he and Miguel Sano will likely get several DH at-bats, and Joe Mauer could as well. The two sluggers could come up as bench bats and get minimal playing time. The question will need to be whether there is enough benefit from those guys to take up roster spots in September. I’m guessing most of you will agree that Jose Berrios, JT Chargois and Jorge Polanco should be up now, or at least very soon. There may be some discussion in the details. But what about some of the others? Who else should be called up and why? Click here to view the article

He had a bad game... most were disappointed that he was optioned back to Rochester a couple of weeks ago because he was pitching so well in the big leagues. I don't see much ceiling there, but there's no reason to release him or say some sort of experiment is over with him.

From decision-makers, they often say that he's made big improvements. He's still not considered (defensively) in the same category as Turner. Stats show Garver as being good defensively.

Since he' s been really solid all year, I don't see why.

Agree on the Ramos thing... however, a guy like Gonsalves has a great rapport with Garver. They've worked together the last 3 or 4 seasons. I have no problem with letting them continue to work together.

I think I explained that pretty well... in the non-on-field baseball things. The Twins do a great job in PR, in Marketing, in the stadium itself... all the non-baseball stuff... That's why I'd be good with someone taking a president of baseball operations job and keep St. Peter doing those things that he does well.

I don't think a salary dump has anything to do with this decision. And I don't think letting Ryan go would hurt the Twins in terms of payroll. Ryan kept it down.

And I am OK with that. Dave St. Peter runs the show and does his job well, but he readily admits that he doesn't deal much with the baseball side of things. Jim Pohlad is fine when he stays out of the way, and I"m OK with that from an owner. I don't necessarily want them budding in on things. But obviously these two are the ones that need to hire a good candidate which is why they need to get outside help. In my opinion...

I think making general comments on how good Rob Antony would or wouldn't be as GM aren't fair. Yes, he worked for Ryan, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he would do everything exactly like Ryan. He may pick some things that worked well, and he may have other ideas for other things. Guilt by Association is a bad thing. I'm not saying Antony is or isn't the right person, but writing him off because he worked for Terry Ryan isn't right either. I'm not going to pretend to know who the right person is. I know certain things I would like to see from a candidate. But if Theo Epstein came to the Twins, it doesn't mean they would be a perennial playoff team. Maybe, but not necessarily. "Proven" or experienced GMs won't guarantee anything, and maybe hiring someone we've never heard of will prove to be the best thing. Who knows?

I think that there are positives and negatives of search firms. For instance, a search firm told Glen Taylor that Tom Thibideau was a good hire. We all knew that. It was just a matter of how much it would cost. Search firms don't always work... However, my main point there was that I have no confidence in Pohlad or St. Peter to know who good people in the baseball industry would be. I feel like they pretty much need to be told who to hire.

Like most, I was sitting at my desk at work on Monday morning. At about 11:20, I checked my e-mail and there it was, “Minnesota Twins Announce General Manager Terry Ryan Has Been Relieved of His Duties.” Like most, my attention was on that topic for much of the rest of the day. My mind was racing, so many thoughts, ideas and questions running through my mind. In the afternoon, CEO Jim Pohlad and President Dave St. Peter spoke to the media at Target Field. After reading and hearing their comments, there wasn’t any more clarity. There were, however, more questions.Before we get to the questions, I’m going to take a moment to share some thoughts on Terry Ryan. As you’ve noticed, most people who know Ryan or have worked in any capacity start discussions today with what a terrific person that he is. Then they go on to, typically, state that despite that, the Twins needed to make a change. It’s hard to argue with any of that. Terry Ryan has always treated me with the utmost respect and been upfront and as honest as he can be. He has been very helpful to me and accepting of Twins Daily. I have always enjoyed each opportunity and I have had to converse with Ryan and feel like I learn something each time whether or not we’re even talking about baseball. For me, Terry Ryan was always someone I admired. I look at what he did in the late 90s to set up the success the Twins had for most of the decade of 2000. Signing veterans and then trading them to acquire more young talent. Building a farm system and building a winner on a budget. As a blogger who started in 2003, I enjoyed seeing the transactions and trying to figure out what Ryan was doing. I recall seemingly any time I wrote something about the Twins being out of it, they would find a way to get themselves back into contention. Unfortunately, since his return, the Twins have had many low moments, and there have been fewer positive turn-arounds. When Ryan reclaimed the GM position, I sent him a quick note. He responded relatively quickly and noted “we won’t take any shortcuts.” He set out to help re-establish and repopulate the Twins minor league system. And you know what… he did just that. The last few years, the Twins have been one of the top three minor league organizations by most who rank those types of things. In the last couple of seasons, we have begun to see some of the talented players who have helped the Twins to those rankings. And the farm system is still stacked with terrific talent. Think about it for a moment. Ryan made the focus of the organization development of the minor league system. Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton, Max Kepler, and Jorge Polanco all have a lot of room to grow as players. Jose Berrios will take off at some point, and within the next two or three years the likes of Kohl Stewart, Stephen Gonsalves, Tyler Jay, Felix Jorge, Fernando Romero and some others have a chance to round out a solid rotation. Taylor Rogers, Trevor May, Michael Tonkin and Ryan Pressly are developing this year and will lead the way as JT Chargois, Nick Burdi, Mason Melotakis and Trevor Hildenberger are on their way. In some ways, I think that whoever takes over as the next Twins general manager is going to look pretty smart when so many of these young, talented players reach their potential. Will Terry Ryan get credit when this team takes off thanks to the core of young players that developed under his watch? That’s one question I have, and here are some more questions I have after today. What’s up with the timing of this decision? My first organizational thought after my initial surprise at the Twins move was, why did they make this decision less than two weeks from this year’s August 1st trade deadline? That certainly puts Rob Antony, who was named the interim GM, in a tough position. Then again, he will be supported by the Twins current front office, scouts and player personnel staff. Will Rob Antony get a legitimate shot to have the interim-label removed? All indications from Monday’s discussions seem to indicate that the Twins will look to hire someone from outside the organization. However, the track record of the organization would certainly indicate that he will be given an opportunity. How he handled the trade deadline and, frankly, how the team performs may be his interview for the job. Maybe that is why Terry Ryan resigned when he did, to give Antony an opportunity to show what he can do, his style, etc. Should Rob Antony get a legitimate shot at the full-time GM job? Among Twins fans, the general sentiment seems to be that they have to go outside the organization to change the culture. When Antony’s name comes up, fans like to bring up the spring training when Antony took over the reigns when Ryan was working through his cancer treatments and recovery. They like to bring up the decision to keep Jason Kubel and Jason Bartlett on the Opening Day roster. First, that’s a very small sample size. All other reports indicate that Antony has done a nice job as Ryan’s assistant GM. He is well respected among players and scouts for his negotiations in arbitration and free agencies. He’s being given a lot of credit, by Eduardo Nunez, for bringing him to the Twins. And yes, he has been involved in the current ‘regime,’ but that doesn’t mean that things would be exactly the same under Antony’s leadership. Maybe they would be, but my assumption is that Antony would be willing to do some things differently. In general, I just don’t like the idea that it has to be someone from outside the organization. Should the Twins go outside the organization for their GM hire? To appease the fan base, it is probably a good idea to hire someone from outside. While the Twins have implemented many more systems throughout the minor leagues and added more statistical analysis, it is never a bad idea to look elsewhere for new and fresh ideas. If nothing else, the Twins ownership group needs to take time to consider what is happening in other organizations and reassess their own expectations for a GM or other roles in the organization. So, who will make the hire? Who will sit in on the interviews? From various interviews, it does appear that the Twins could use a search firm to develop a list or candidates or even make a recommendation. However, it will be Jim Pohlad and Dave St. Peter who will have the final say. St. Peter even said that he would likely talk about candidates with Tom Kelly. I’m not a huge fan of search firms, but I don’t know that Pohlad and St. Peter are necessarily the right people to make the decision on the next General Manager. I have my doubts. More important, what are these two looking for in a GM? In May, I wrote up many of the roles, responsibilities and requirements for a GM. I would hope that the owner and president would provide a search firm a very, very detailed list of exactly what they are looking for in the next GM. Will Rob Antony be given full rein to do as he sees best for the Twins organization during this trade deadline? We are being told that he will not be limited. We are told that they have complete confidence in Antony to do what is best for the organization. This is such a big trade deadline with some very difficult decisions to make. Which players will or should be traded? How will he do in terms of negotiating prospect returns? The tough part of this is that those trades really can’t be graded for several years. The unfortunate thing for Antony is that he will be trading veterans and getting back non-big name prospects. Most fans will respond to any Twins trade returns with “Who is that?” Some will say, “That’s all Antony was able to get for (insert Nunez, Kintzler, Abad, Escobar, Santana, Nolasco here)?” He could trade Brian Dozier for a bigger return and make a bigger splash, but then critics will question that decision as well. It’s a tough situation for Antony to be thrust into, but again it’s probably the only option to give him some experience to add to his resume. Should the Twins wait until after the season to decide? Well, Pohlad has said that they are going to start their search right away and would like to name their new GM even before the season ends. Is this wise? There are only 30 MLB General Manager jobs available. Each year, maybe one, possibly two GM jobs are available (if that many), so these jobs don’t come around real often. By starting this process and making a decision early, they will get a headstart on other GM jobs that may open up in the offseason (if any). The downside is that there may be playoff-contending teams that won’t let their employees apply or interview for this job until after their seasons. In other words, it’s possible that a couple of potential candidates may not be available for this reason. Is the Twins General Manager a desirable position that candidates should seek? It absolutely should be a job that people would want. As I wrote earlier, the talent accumulated by Ryan and Company will make the next GM look really smart over the next couple of years. There is a lot of talent. Secondly, as I mentioned earlier, there are only 30 Major League GM jobs available. These jobs don’t come along, so there should be plenty of strong options for Pohlad and St. Peter to consider. Finally, if the team has any form of success with the GM, the organization is very loyal. It’s a job that could come with a lot of leeway. How does this affect the rest of the Twins front office? For the short-term, it doesn’t. Rob Antony takes over as interim GM. They continue in their roles, supporting Antony. But if someone else is chosen as the General Manager, you would think that he (or she) would come with some of his own personnel. I personally hope that the new GM would be open to keeping at least some of the current staff. Would a new GM expand upon Jack Goin’s current analytical group, or would he bring in his own people? How will Mike Radcliff, the Twins director of player personnel and long-time employee who, like Ryan, has given up several opportunities to be with other organizations, fit into the organization? Does Deron Johnson remain the team’s scouting director? Does Brad Steil remain the Twins minor league director? I don’t think we know. Pohlad has said that Paul Molitor will be the Twins manager in 2017 regardless of who the GM is. Why would he do that? How does it affect the on-field coaching staff? I have no idea why Pohlad would say that a GM can't make decide on his own manager 2017, year one of his or her tenure. Look at any sport and a new GM will almost always want to insert his own choice for manager or coach. Often, he will allow the current coach to stick around, but he is basically a lame duck and it doesn’t take long for a new coaching staff to be brought in. For the remainder of 2016, the coaching staff is most likely safe. The manager appears safe for at least the start of 2017, but beyond that I can’t imagine the coaching staff has a lot of job security. Will the Twins bring back Terry Ryan in some capacity sometime in the future? It is certainly possible that Ryan will come back to the Twins in some capacity, similar to Ron Gardenhire or Bill Smith? Obviously there is no way to know that answer right now. Pohlad and St. Peter indicate that they believe Ryan will seek a job elsewhere at this time. And he should. He is likely to have several offers to be a scout down the stretch for a winning team, or maybe a scouting director for a team as we go forward. I get that there is a strong percentage of fandom that hates that they would bring back the likes of Smith or Gardenhire. I’m certainly on the complete opposite end of that spectrum. Bill Smith was a very good employee for the Twins for 20-25 years before his stint as the GM. He had a lot of strong qualities. Why would an organization not take advantage of those qualities. Since his return, he has been used in roles away from the baseball operations group. He has been very instrumental in the renovations at Hammond Stadium, the player academy in Ft. Myers, and will be key in the development of the new academy in the Dominican Republic. Gardenhire had a lot of success as a coach and a manager in the organization. He has a lot of knowledge to share, or can be an ear for minor league managers to talk to. After taking some time off, his return has been appreciated throughout the system. I don’t know why an organization wouldn’t want smart baseball people involved in the organization if they are still interested. And, for me, I would want to work in a culture where people like that are welcomed back. To me, it says a lot (positively) about the Twins culture brought about through the leadership of Terry Ryan. If Ryan would ever be willing to come back in an advisory role in the scouting department, I’d certainly be willing to bring him back. I don’t know that he would want that though. That is a bunch of questions after the dismissal of Terry Ryan. And you may have more in mind. Please feel free to ask more questions or answer some of these in the Comments below. Click here to view the article

He'll move up quickly... but probably not above the high teens.