Seth Stohs

Yeah, no one has any faith in Pagan. That's been a topic for about 11 months now... But there isn't a team or organization that would take Danny Coulombe over Jorge Lopez. And Hoffman looked good this spring, but it was like 2-3 outings... and he's got an opt-out.

Only if they're hurt... but if those guys are hurt, they'll go to Ober and then Varland and then SWR... Those guys would eat some innings as well.

Jorge Lopez?? Compared to Danny Coulombe?

Coulombe definitely doesn't have more upside than Sands. Sands throws much harder, has much more spin and break... Not saying he'll put up the numbers or even be as effective, or even have the same role... but just based on upside, Sands has more. Coulombe is a nice lefty reliever. He had a nice camp. He is a solid contributor. But his spring performance may, or may not mean he's 'locked in this year.' Others who put together great spring trainings, like Coulombe's, and made the Twins Opening Day roster.... Aaron Thompson, Matt Maloney, Dusty Hughes. I didn't know about Coulombe's opt-out. That definitely changes things, but I don't know that it should affect or alter the front office's thinking. Then again, I don't disagree on the comment on Pagan!

Darren Wolfson was first to report it, but Orioles' beat writer is also on Twitter saying that he has heard it too. The Twins have reportedly lost left-handed reliever Danny Coulombe to the Baltimore Orioles. More to come. Image courtesy of William Parmeter One thing that the Twins have added to their organization this past offseason is depth, and depth all over the diamond. That included left-handed relief pitching, at least until Monday afternoon. As Darren Wolfson first reported, the Twins have lost veteran Danny Coulombe to the Baltimore Orioles. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== Coulombe had a tremendous spring for the Twins again this year. He struck out 13 batters over ten innings and gave up only an unearned run. However, with lefties Caleb Thielbar and Jovani Moran around, Coulombe was reassigned to minor-league spring training on Sunday. He deserves to be in the big leagues, so in reality having an arm like that at Triple-A provided the organization with depth. According to Orioles' beat writer Dan Connolly, Coulombe was able to opt out of his Twins deal if there was "a team willing to give him a 26-man roster spot. And it appears the O's are willing to do so." data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== The O's will have to make a move. It was announced that former Twins farmhand Tyler Wells would be in the Orioles' starting rotation rather than the bullpen. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== Because of the agreement, when Coulombe and his representatives learned that the Orioles were interested, they were able to opt-out. In other words, the Twins will not receive any compensation in return for Coulombe. In addition, it is assumed that right-hander Jeff Hoffman will invoke the opt-out clause in his contract on Tuesday and become a free agent. Hoffman, who signed as a minor-league free agent just a month ago, flashed a strong fastball in his outings, but he was reassigned to minor-league camp last week. That potentially means two veteran relievers with a lot of big-league service time lost. However, that doesn't mean that the Twins are in a bad place in terms of depth. Cole Sands is starting the season as the long reliever (pending any deals, of course). Josh Winder and Ronny Henriquez will start the season on the Injured List but could be ready for a bullpen role in the near future. Trevor Megill is at Triple-A as are non-roster options such as Jose De Leon, Randy Dobnak, Austin Schulfer, Aaron Sanchez, Oliver Ortega, Brock Stewart, Patrick Murphy, Dereck Rodriguez, Blayne Enlow, and several of the starting pitchers in Triple-A if needed. As for left-handers, the options would include Sean Nolin and Jordan Brink, as well as a sleeper contributor for 2023 (in my opinion), Kody Funderburk. Brent Headrick could get bullpen looks if needed. Two tough losses, but depth is good. And frankly, Jovani Moran needs to get this opportunity. If you are looking for any positives to this transaction, I guess it could be that after the next Gleeman and the Geek episode or two, we won't have to hear the Twins Geek mispronounce his last name anymore. #LittleThings What are your thoughts on the loss of Danny Coulombe, and potentially Jeff Hoffman too? Leave a COMMENT below. View full article

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Yup... I'm disappointed for Ober, but it is the right move. Ober's the 6th guy, then Varland #7, then SWR at #9, then probably Sanchez at #9 That's pretty solid depth. I'm with you on Castro. While his OPS has been in the low-to-mid 600s 3-4 years, he hit .340something in the shortened 2020 season... and he can play everywhere, and he's only 25. That said, they will miss Polanco and Kirilloff.

We knew it would happen. None of us thing that he is a minor leaguer. However, on Sunday, the Twins officially optioned right-handed starter Bailey Ober to St. Paul for the start of the season. Three other players were re-assigned to minor-league camp meaning just 32 players remain in spring hoping for one of 26 spots. Image courtesy of William Parmeter The Twins will open their season on Thursday afternoon in Kansas City. After making four roster transactions on Sunday morning, it appears their Opening Day roster is pretty well set. Of course, the Twins front office will be talking to other teams about trades as well as watching the waiver wire, so it is obviously subject to change. Heading into spring training, we knew that the Twins had six potential starting pitchers for five Opening Day rotation spots. Would all six of them stay healthy through the spring schedule? Would they consider a six-man starting rotation? Well, the most important thing for the Minnesota Twins is that all six managed to stay healthy. Unfortunately for Bailey Ober, it means that he will have to start the season with the St. Paul Saints. In 2014, Ober was the national Freshman of the Year at the College of Charleston after he went 10-3 with a 1.52 ERA over 106 2/3 innings. That summer, he played for Team USA and hurt his elbow. He had Tommy John surgery and missed the 2015 season. he returned in 2016 and was drafted but chose to go back for his senior season. Following that 2017 season, the Twins made him their 12th round pick. Since then, two things have held true. First, he has pitched incredibly well. Just a look at ERAs by minor-league level are impressive: 2.43 in the rookie league, 3.62 in Low-A, 0.99 in High-A, 0.38 in Double-A, and 3.51 in Triple-A. Over 31 starts for the Twins the past two seasons, he is 5-6 with a 3.82 ERA. In 148 1/3 innings, he has 147 strikeouts with just 30 walks. This spring, he made three starts in big-league games and gave up no runs and no hits over six innings. He walked two and struck out six batters. However, the other truism of Ober's career is that he has missed a lot of time due to injury in the past. He has had some elbow concerns and the Twins have been very careful with him, knowing his potential. When he debuted in 2021, the Twins were very cautious. He was often limited to 60 pitches, or 75 pitches. Why? Because of his injury history, and because he did not pitch at all in 2020 due to the pandemic. In 2022, Ober posted a 3.21 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP over his 11 starts and 56 innings. Unfortunately, he had a groin injury that limited his availability. As fans, I think we can understand the pecking order, but I think that we can say that while acknowledging that Bailey Ober is and should be a big leaguers. And we know that over the course of the season, Ober will make a lot of starts for the Twins as well. In addition, Aaron Sanchez was reassigned to minor-league camp on Sunday. That leaves these five as the Twins starting pitchers on the Opening Day Roster: Pablo Lopez, Sonny Gray, Joe Ryan, Kenta Maeda and Tyler Mahle. Let's jump to the bullpen. The Twins also reassigned left-hander Danny Coulombe to minor-league camp. The veteran southpaw signed a minor-league deal with the Twins in 2020 after missing the 2019 season with an arm injury. He has pitched in 41 games for the Minnesota Twins over the past three seasons. This is the fourth consecutive season that Coulombe has signed a minor-league deal with the team. And this spring, he was incredible. He pitched in seven spring games. In nine innings, he gave up only an unearned run on eight hits and four walks. He had 13 strikeouts. The very clear assumption is that, unless there are more moves coming, Jovani Moran will make the Opening Day roster. The bullpen will consist of eight pitchers. With the moves on Sunday, there are 10 pitchers for those eight spots. On Saturday, the Twins reassigned Jeff Hoffman to minor-league camp, and it is believed that he will opt out of his deal on Monday. There are no more non-roster guys, so let's figure out who is yet in play. Twins Opening Day Bullpen: Jhoan Duran, Jorge Lopez, Griffin Jax, Caleb Thielbar, Jovani Moran, Emilio Pagan, Jorge Alcala, Cole Sands. Presumably Josh Winder and Ronny Henriquez will begin the season on the Injured List as neither has pitched this spring due to injury. Alright, let's jump to the offensive side of roster. We know that Jorge Polanco, Alex Kirilloff, and Gilberto Celestino will start the season on the Twins IL. Catchers: I don't need to spend too much time on this position. Christian Vazquez and Ryan Jeffers will split the time behind the plate. Tony Wolters remains on the spring roster as a non-roster guy, but he'll be assigned to the Saints unless something unfortunate happens. The Twins announced that Kyle Garlick has been reassigned to minor league camp on Sunday, just hours before he doubled off of lefty Chris Sale and the Red Sox. So, the position players on the Opening Day roster appear set as well. Infielders: Carlos Correa, Jose Miranda, Kyle Farmer, Donovan Solano, Willi Castro Outfielders: Byron Buxton, Michael A. Taylor, Max Kepler, Joey Gallo, Trevor Larnach, Nick Gordon. The semi-surprising name on the list is non-roster Willie Castro. The club will need to add him to the 40-man roster on Thursday, but there is an open spot after Dennis Santana was claimed by the Mets a week ago. The 25-year-old from Puerto Rico has spent much of the past four seasons with the Detroit Tigers. He's got 303 games and 1,092 plate appearances in the big leagues. While his career numbers are just .245/.292/.381 (.673), he can play all over the infield and outfield. And that can be said for several of the players that will be on the Twins opening day roster. With Jorge Polanco out, we could see Nick Gordon, Kyle Farmer, and Donovan Solano could all get time at second base. With Alex Kirilloff out, we could see Solano, Farmer, Jose Miranda, and quite a bit of Joey Gallo at first base. So, let's put a fun summary Opening Day Roster list here, and then feel free to discuss it in the comments. (again, pending transactions) Catchers: Christian Vazquez, Ryan Jeffers. (2) Infielders: Carlos Correa, Jose Miranda, Kyle Farmer, Donovan Solano, Willi Castro. (5) Outfielders: Byron Buxton, Michael A. Taylor, Max Kepler, Joey Gallo, Trevor Larnach, Nick Gordon. (6) Starters: Sonny Gray, Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, Tyler Mahle, Kenta Maeda. (5) Relievers: Jhoan Duran, Jorge Lopez, Griffin Jax, Emilio Pagan, Jorge Alcala, Cole Sands, Caleb Thielbar, Jovani Moran. (8) Injured List: Alex Kirilloff, Jorge Polanco, Gilberto Celestino, Ronny Henriquez, Josh Winder. (5) 60-Day IL: Chris Paddack, Royce Lewis. (2) Share your thoughts. View full article

Hearing that the opposite is true. Hope not, but fairly likely.

Another topic he was very willing to speak about... And, you'll certainly want to listen to the whole thing, but we did want to kind of time stamp some interesting topics so people can jump to those spots for a quick hit.

When I was reading through this yesterday to schedule it... when I read Torvald the Bleak, I literally spit out the water I was drinking. That is so funny!

I'm pretty sure they communicate to the best of their ability with the Pohlad family... And, they need to be careful with how much they say. There is no upside to them giving timelines, but people keep wanting an exact date. For me, the player will be ready when he is ready. No two people are the same, and they don't necessarily heal in the same timeline. So I chose to look at it like they're ready when they're ready.

Hopefully @Cody Christie will come in and answer some of these questions. I think, for some reason, he just uses like the Top 30 Prospects, presumably because Baseball America will have the tool ratings... Chris Williams absolutely has more power than Lee and Lewis. That said, I think Lewis can be a 25-30 homer per year guy in the big leagues. I don't think Lee will hit for as much power as Lewis unless he alters his swing just a little. But Williams isn't a Top 40 prospect by most evaluators.

Just to be fair... we don't know how transparent they have or haven't been. I had people in FM telling me 2-3 weeks ago that said he was looking pretty good, running, hitting, fielding... And now Ted posted on Friday or Saturday that he was limping. It's possible that he just had a setback. It's also possible that local media hadn't met with Falvey since. It's not like there is much Twins media in Ft. Myers this spring. It doesn't have to always be something sinister.

There is a rule that if a player gets optioned but is called up within 10 days (?), then it doesn't count as an option. So, in theory, the Twins could call Wallner back up to start the season. Several years ago, the Twins optioned Alex Burnett to the minor leagues pretty early in camp, but when there was an injury late in spring training, Burnett was on the opening day roster. As for Wallner, the option really shouldn't matter too much as he's got three years of options and if they need all three at this point, it probably isn't good. At the same time, they have the players to fill the roster even without Wallner, but he should get plenty of mLB time throughout the season.

I mean, there's a pretty good reason they won't be bringing Henry Sanchez back... to the organization.

I would assume Headrick will start the season in Wichita since he only had a partial season there last year. Maybe in a month or two, the Twins will decide to move a Triple-A starter to the bullpen or something and Headrick can come up there and start. But, he needs to get to minor-league camp so he can be stretched out to 85-90 pitches so he can be ready to make starts in three weeks when the minor-league seasons open. It's very normal for 40-man roster players who aren't going to make the team to get optioned earlier in camp. Without the WBC, these moves would have happened two weeks earlier. The reason? If the 40-man roster guys get hurt in camp, they go on the MLB IL. Brock Stewart signed with the Twins last summer to finish his rehab from TJ surgery. He made just a few outings last year but had signed a two-year deal so they could see what they have in him this year. Former top prospect, he and Jose De Leon were they guys the Twins wanted in the Dozier deals that didn't happen. Dennis Santana is out of options, so the Twins need to see what they have in him. Trevor Megill has two options remaining. Pronunciations, if you're into such things: Coulombe: KOO-lohm Alcala: AL-cah-lah

Which means nothing to the decision of whether or not he makes the roster. He's playing a lot to allow for the guys who will make the team can get their work in and be done.

Guys should always be working on stuff. That's what spring training is for for everyone. Getting ready for the regular season. Megill has options. Pagan will make the team. Also, Megill had a bad first outing, but I believe he's had five straight scoreless appearances with good K numbers since then. And again, Enlow wasn't going to make the team out of spring. The Twins were fortunate to get him through waivers, so there is absolutely no reason to push him. I think the move to the bullpen will be a positive, but that's something he's really never done before, other than a few times last year. And, he is still less than a year from coming back from TJ surgery.

My assumption is that De Leon hasn't done enough to get an opt-out... that said, Boras is his agent, and he may have got him one mid-season or so.

There's a reason that they signed him, because they know and have seen for years what he may be capable of. They didn't need this outing to know that. There's a reason that he was available on a minor-league deal. He hasn't been healthy and he hasn't been particularly good. The Twins, and hopefully most fans, realize that this was a great start, but it was just one start against a lineup that wouldn't rank in the top half of all Triple-A offenses, and probably several Double-A lineups too. So, no, I don't think that one start should alter the Twins thinking of where he ranks in terms of starting pitcher options (which would be no higher than about 10.

Current and former Minnesota Twins players are impacting their teams in the World Baseball Classic through the first week of games. Edouard Julien has been doing Edouard Julien things. But Jose De Leon was incredible in his Monday night start for Puerto Rico. Image courtesy of Sam Navarro, USA TODAY Sports The Twins finally got their guy! In January, the Twins quietly signed right-handed pitcher Jose De Leon to a minor-league contract and invited him to big-league spring training. Yes, this is the same Jose De Leon that the Twins (and Twins fans) coveted back in 2016 when there were Brian Dozier-to-the-Dodgers rumors. The Twins were said to be very interested in the Puerto Rican right-hander, although they were also interested in the likes of Cody Bellinger and another player on a minor league deal with the Twins, RHP Brock Stewart (reportedly). On Tuesday night, De Leon made the start for Team Puerto Rico in their matchup against Team Israel. The right-hander started the very first Perfect Game in WBC history as Puerto Rico topped Israel 10-0 in eight innings. De Leon was dazzling. The 30-year-old tossed the first 5 2/3 innings. Obviously, he gave up no hits, walked none, had no errors behind him, and was completely in control. He had a WBC-record 10 strikeouts. De Leon showed a very good curveball, a very good slider, and effectively got swings and missed up in and above the zone. Team Israel has been sneakily good in recent international competitions. Their lineup in this game included former Twins infielder Danny Valencia, outfielders Joc Peterson and Alex Dickerson, catcher Ryan Lavarnway, and Cubs power prospect Matt Mervis. Yacksel Rios replaced De Leon with two outs in the sixth inning. De Leon was at 64 pitches, so he could have pitched to one more batter. Instead, manager Yadier Molina came out and took the ball. De Leon was able to walk off the field in Miami to a huge ovation. Edwin Diaz came on and pitched a perfect seventh inning. Duane Underwood pitched the eighth frame. The game ended in the bottom of the eighth inning when Enrique Hernandez singled to score Martin Maldonado to give Puerto Rico a 10-0 lead. With the Mercy Rules of the WBC, the Perfect Game was complete. So, where would Jose De Leon fit into the Twins starting pitcher depth chart? Julien Leads Canada to Win Team USA and Team Canada are about to start their WBC matchup. Canada's first WBC game came against Great Britain on Sunday afternoon. Twins infielder prospect Edouard Julien, a native of Quebec, was the leadoff hitter and second baseman. Great Britain had scored three runs in the top of the first and chased Guardians starter Cal Quantrill after just two outs. Julien stepped to the plate for the bottom of the first inning. He got a first-pitch fastball and launched it (110 mph) into the right field seats. While there have been 12 leadoff homers in WBC history, Julien's was the first to come on the first pitch. Maybe the British team heard scouting reports on Julien and didn't want to pitch to him after that. He walked the next four times he came to bat to get to Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman and Cardinals outfielder Tyler O'Neill. Canada won that game 18-8. (Monday Night Update - Former Twins starter Lance Lynn has struck out Julien in his first two at-bats tonight. In his third at-bat of the night, Julien was facing Cardinals two-time All-Star pitcher Miles Mikolas. He beat the shift with a single to left field.) Pablo Shuts Down Puerto Rico On Sunday afternoon in Miami, new Twins starting pitcher Pablo Lopez made the start for Team Venezuela against Puerto Rico in a game filled with current and former Twins players. Lopez was incredibly impressive, keeping the Puerto Rico batters completely off balance. He went 4 2/3 innings and gave up just one run on two hits. He added six strikeouts. He could have finished the fifth inning. He was at just 58 pitches (65 is the limit in Round 1). However, he was taken out to a standing ovation by many of the fans that watched him as a Marlin for the past four years. It may not surprise you that the one run that Lopez gave up came on a solo home run by former Twins outfielder Eddie Rosario. Jose Berrios started for Puerto Rico and was charged with six runs (5 earned) on five hits and two walks in one inning. Jovani Moran got three outs, two on strikeouts, though he also walked two batters. Jorge Lopez pitched a scoreless inning as well. TVS Tops Ohtani Finally, former Twins prospect Todd Van Steensel has had a very interesting baseball career. He's been playing professional baseball for about 15 years. He reached Double-A with the Twins, and actually won a championship with the St. Paul Saints in one of their final seasons as an independent team. Van Steensel has been representing Team Australia for a long time too including previous WBCs. For the first time, Australia is advancing to the second round of the WBC. They are the second seed, behind Japan, in their pool, and will head to Taiwan for Round 2. Australia lost to Japan 7-1 over the weekend, but Van Steensel had a highlight. He faced, and struck out, Shohei Ohtani. To no one's surprise, he had a comical response to it. What have been your highlights from watching the WBC so far? Discuss in the COMMENTS below. View full article