Seth Stohs

Shortly after midnight, news broke that the Minnesota Twins have signed shortstop Carlos Correa to a three-year, $105.3 million contract. Seth and Matt provide some 2:30 am instant reaction. What does the signing mean? Who else is affected? What is next? View full video

No, this is not a RandBalls Stu article. No satire here! According to Mark Berman, the Twins and All Star shortstop Carlos Correa have agreed to a three-year deal worth $103.5 million. The deal is believed to have opt-outs after the first two years. Also, Holy Wow! Mark Berman is the sports director at Fox 26 in Houston is the one breaking the news after contact from an "MLB source." Carlos Correa will be the Minnesota Twins shortstop in 2022. There were never any rumors about the Twins having interest in the former Astros' All Star shortstop. Then as the clock passed 12:30 am in Minnesota, news broke that the Twins were the team. It is a three-year deal for $105.3 million, which is just over $35 million per year. However, he will be able to opt out of his contract following the 2022 and 2023 seasons. The agreement has now been placed on twitter by Jeff Passan from ESPN. Yes, we needed to see the rumors from a second source, and then a third. Carlos Correa was the first overall pick in the 2012 draft by the Houston Astros. He made his big league debut in 2015 with the Astros and was named the American League Rookie of the Year. Over his seven seasons with the Astros, he played in 752 games. He has hit .277/.356/.481 (.837) with 162 doubles, 133 home runs and 489 RBI. He has twice been an All Star. In 2021, he finished fifth in the American League in MVP voting after hitting .279/.366/.485 (.850) with 34 doubles and a career-high 26 homers and 92 RBI. In addition, he won the Gold Glove, his first. Over his seven seasons, the Astros have made the playoffs six times including winning the (now-controversial) 2017 World Series championship. Correa has played in 79 post-season games and hit .272/.344/.505 (.849) with 16 doubles and 18 home runs. It has been a great year for players taken in that 2012 MLB draft: #1 pick Carlos Correa received a three-year, $105.3 million contract from the Twins with two opt-outs. #2 pick Byron Buxton signed a seven-year, $100 million contract to remain with the Twins. #4 pick Kevin Gausman signed a five-year, $110 million contract with the Blue Jays. #18 pick Corey Seager signed a ten-year, $325 million contract with the Rangers. #32 pick Jose Berrios signed a seven-year, $131 million contract with the Blue Jays. Correa was the #1 ranked free agent this offseason, just ahead of Seager. Maybe following the lockout, he wasn't getting ten-year offers (like Seager) and the Twins gave him a shorter deal for a higher Average Annual salary (at $35.1 million). He will not turn 28 until September, so he could enter the free agent market next year, still very young for a free agent, and get a ten year contract, or more. Same if he plays for the Twins in 2023. And, if he plays all three seasons with the Twins, he becomes a free agent at 30 years old, still young for a free agent. In addition, the Twins may only be locked into this contract for one year. If Correa is great, the Twins likely do well, and he opts out. If he does well and the Twins struggle, they could trade him (unless we hear of a no-trade clause) and get quite the haul. That means that the team doesn't have to feel rushed to push Royce Lewis to the big leagues. After missing the last two seasons, Lewis simply needs a lot of at-bats. He can get those in Wichita and St. Paul this year, and he can get himself ready if he is needed. The Twins were believed to be in on Trevor Story, who may also accept a short-term deal after expecting a nine-digit deal. On Friday, news broke that the Red Sox and Giants, and other teams were starting to contact him too. The Twins quickly turned their intention to the top guy. Even if this is a one-year deal, it is great for the Twins. The shortstop position is covered for 2022 (and likely just the one year) by Correa. They added Sonny Gray. They are still believed to be in on the A's top starting pitchers (Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea). Earlier on Friday night, many Twins fans were disappointed to have heard that Michael Pineda had signed with the Detroit Tigers. Twins Twitter got a little heated. Hopefully when Twins fans wake up on Saturday morning, they are very happy! Finally, can we stop worrying about the Twins not spending available funds? Each year, this has been a concern, but they use up the budget. In addition, can the #CheapPohlads narrative finally go away!? What are your thoughts, Twins fans?! View full article

He's a good mix of good defense, good plate approach and some power.

Seth chats with Twins minor-league free agent 1B Curtis Terry. He's in big-league camp hoping to make an impression. Just 25, he made his MLB debut with the Texas Rangers in 2021. He'll spend much of the season with the St. Paul Saints and hopes to contribute to the Twins at some point. View full video

I have "Liked" the comments by those who have supported, but that feels like not enough. Thank you all for your support, and taking this step is very kind. As some have noted, we definitely did not want to do any sort of paywall. That was key. This kind of support just makes me want to keep working even more...

Not sure what happened there. Yes, three outfielders: Jake Cave, Derek Fisher and Kyle Garlick.

The Minnesota Twins have announced that they have acquired RHP Sonny Gray from the Cincinnati Reds, along with RHP Francis Peguero, in exchange for 2021 top pick Chase Petty. Why would you trade your 19-year-old first-round pick from 2021? Well, it is to acquire your Opening Day starter. No, we don't know that officially yet, but Sonny Gray has an excellent track record of success. Gray is a 32-year-old right-hander. Last year with the Reds, he went 7-9 with a 4.19 ERA. In 135 1/3 innings, he had 155 strikeouts. He pitched for the Oakland A's from 2013-2017 before heading to the Yankees at the 2017 trade deadline. He remained in New York through the 2018 season. He signed with the Reds before the 2019 season. Overall, he his 82-72 with a 3.61 ERA over 1,267 1/3 innings in his career. Gray was the 18th overall pick in the 2011 draft out of Vanderbilt University. Francis Peguero is a 24-year-old who signed with the Reds from the Dominican Republic back in 2017. He has worked out of the bullpen throughout his career. In 103 innings in his career, he has struck out 116 batters while walking just 21 batters. He spent the full 2021 season at High-A Dayton. To get something, you have to give up someone, right? Well, the Twins traded their top pick from last year's draft, Chase Petty, to the Reds. He pitched in just two games after being drafted last year. He was touted for his triple-digit fastball, and he's got some really good secondary pitches to go with it. The sky is certainly the limit, but that's the price for a quality, top-of-the-rotation arm. For those who say that this is unlike the Twins to trade a top pitching prospect. Recall just a couple of years ago when the team traded a top 5 prospect in Brusdar Graterol to the Dodgers in the deal for Kenta Maeda. In addition, Gray's contract was for $30.5 million over three years. However, there is also an option for the 2023 season at $12 million. It would seem a pretty easy decision unless things unravel for a pitcher with a great track record. A quick search of how often Sonny Gray has been tagged in Twins Daily articles shows that he has been on fans' radars for awhile. Share your thoughts on this trade in the COMMENTS below. View full article

On Sunday, the Minnesota Twins announced their non-roster invitations to spring training, and their top prospect is on the list. The number, 18, is less than normal, but spring training, in general, is going to be different this year. Several players had to switch their lockers from the minor league clubhouse to the clubhouse at Hammond Stadium. That is certainly not a 'normal' thing to happen. Normally big league camp starts several weeks before minor league spring training begin, but due to the lockout things are different. Twelve of the 18 non-roster invites have spent time in the big leagues previously. Here is a look at the players invited to camp. Pitchers LHP Danny Coulombe LHP Devin Smeltzer RHP Jake Faria RHP Ian Hamilton RHP Trevor Megill RHP Juan Minaya Catchers David Banuelos Caleb Hamilton Infielders Tim Beckham Austin Martin Jermaine Palacios Daniel Robertson Aaron Sabato Spencer Steer Curtis Terry Outfielder Jake Cave Derek Fisher Kyle Garlick There are a lot of familiar names among these players. With so many free agents remaining still, it is very possible that the Twins add players to this list. This means 58 players are in Twins major-league spring training. The depth will be helpful, especially once games start, but also remember that the Twins will be able to bring more players from minor-league camp to play in spring games too. Maeda Arrives Sunday was mandatory report day for spring training. Among those reporting was Kenta Maeda who told media that things are going fine in his rehab, but he isn't ready to say when he will be able to return. Feel free to discuss the non-roster invites. Which of them do you think have a legitimate opportunity to make the Twins Opening Day roster? Leave your Comments below. View full article

According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the Twins have an agreement with the Texas Rangers to acquire shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa. According to Jeff Passan, the Twins may have found their shortstop, Isiah Kiner-Falefa. As excited as I was to hear about Kiner-Falefa, that positive feeling went out the door when learning that the Twins were dealing Mitch Garver to the Rangers in the deal. Garver is a Silver Slugging catcher who, after an injury-plagued 2020 season, And despite some freak injuries in 2021, he hit .256/.358/.517 (.875) with 15 doubles and 13 homers in 68 games. Defensively, he wasn't going to be a Gold Glover, but as one former coach told me, he went from being perhaps the worst pitch framer in the league to an average, or even above average, pitch framer in a league that had shown improvements across the board. The move certainly puts the pressure on Ryan Jeffers and Ben Rortvedt, likely the Twins catchers on Opening Day. Before the lockout, the Rangers made a big splash with signing both Marcus Semien and Corey Seager in free agency. That made Kiner-Falefa available. The 27-year-old played in 158 games for the Rangers in 2021, starting 155 of them at shortstop. In 2020, he won the AL Gold Glove at third base. He is really good defensively. Will he hit? In 2021, he hit .271/.312/.357 (.670) with 25 doubles, three triples and eight home runs. Henriquez split the 2021 season between High-A Hickory, where he was 1-3 with a 3.75 ERA in five starts. The 21-year-old then moved up to Double-A Frisco where he went 4-4 with a 5.04 ERA in 16 games (11 starts). In 93 2/3 combined innings, he struck out 105 batters and walked just 25. He also gave up an alarming 17 home runs. Henriquez is small. He's listed at 5-10 and just 155 pounds. Still plenty of room to gain strength. He has a mid-90s fastball that touches 97 and a good slider. He also throws a changeup that is inconsistent. He has thrown a lot of strikes and shown good control and decent command. Most see him as a long-reliever in the big leagues someday, maybe as early as 2022. He was the Rangers #29-ranked prospect according to Baseball America coming into this season. Mitch Garver ends his Twins tenure having spent parts of five seasons in the big leagues. He was a senior sign as the Twins ninth-round draft pick in 2013 out of the University of New Mexico. In 310 games with the Twins, he hit .256 with 52 doubles, six triples, and 53 home runs. He won that Silver Slugger Award in 2019. In addition, Garver was twice a Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Year (2014, Cedar Rapids, 2017, Rochester), and he even came to a Twins Daily Winter Meltdown for awhile. View full article

Very kind of you to say. Thank you! And, I read through the lines and thought the same thing... and personally, I am comfortable with going with some of these 24-25 year old pitchers and seeing how ready they are.

They had all their paperwork before the lockout. They had all the conversations. And they've only added to that during the lockout. And, I have no question in my mind that within probably 2-3 hours of the end of the lockout, they had talked to every team and every agent.

100% that was the right first call...

Early in December, Major League Baseball’s owners locked out the players. Nearly 100 days later, the two sides agreed to a new five-year Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). A ton of work has been done by both players and owners over the past two weeks (after owners didn’t make any attempt for the first 45 days). And now, the offseason and spring training are upon us, and it will be crazy. Most important, we know we will have baseball. Over the past three months, Derek Falvey’s staff in Twins Baseball Operations has remained busy. They’ve been crunching numbers, reading and inputting scouting reports, signing minor league free agents, and all the while planning for this day, the day baseball would be back, and the offseason could continue. The only thing is… it is beginning as spring training is about to start. Sunday is the mandatory report date for 40-man roster players. Next Friday is, at least tentatively, the first scheduled spring training game. And, Opening Day (April 7) is less than a month away. As soon as the owners ratified the new CBA, baseball was back in business. Thankfully, Falvey was willing to take some time to answer questions for Twins media. He notes that they have been following the negotiations closely, especially the past few days. Falvey said, “Obviously, over the last couple of days, following closely with the information and the news that was coming out and feeling like things were getting closer, it’s just great for our group. We’re all here. We’re in the office. Once we knew everything was good, we ordered in food and said, ‘We might be here awhile.’” We haven’t seen free agency like this in baseball before, except to some degree right before the lockout. With about 300 free agents still unsigned, this has the potential to look a lot like NFL and NBA free agency over the coming days. It’s not something any of the front offices have navigated before, but Falvey and his team are ready for it. “A lot of groundwork was laid before the lockout with players, with agents, with front offices around trades, so I would just tell you we’re picking up really where we left off. Now I recognize during that period of time, things may have changed for individual players, for teams, and their plans, so we’ve already done our dividing up of clubs among a bunch of us and making sure that we’re checking back in tonight to know where things stand with those teams. It’s going to be difficult. I’m not going to sugarcoat that.” Falvey said that his first call after news broke of an agreement went to Twins player representative Taylor Rogers. “He and I talked a ton going up and into the lockout and all the COVID protocols and everything else we had to navigate over the last couple of years. We had an awesome conversation. He’s excited to get here. He said he’s talked to a bunch of guys that feel the same.” While Rogers appears to be fully recovered from his finger injury that cost him the final two months of the 2021 season, he is just one pitcher. Last year, the Twins used 35 pitchers. So there is work to be done. Regarding pitching, Falvey said, "I think we made no secret that's a focus and an area we need to spend some time and we're going to. We've talked about trade market and free-agent market. We're excited about some of the young guys that are coming. I think we look at our stable of young pitchers who have been in our camp. I've been watching Simeon Woods Richardson the last week, the way he's throwing the ball. Matt Canterino is healthy and throwing the ball as well as anybody. We're excited about the young guys on our roster that we haven't yet seen, the Josh Winders and Jhoan Durans and Jordan Balazovics, guys we think are going to be another part to join the Joe Ryans and Bailey Obers and that group. But we know we need some veteran presence too so that's going to be a focus of us here. We're going to contact as many teams and agents as possible to work that market." The other "area of focus" for the front office is shortstop. Falvey said that Jorge Polanco could play there, and that Luis Arraez can play around the infield. He also mentioned some younger players. "Some of our young players who aren't quite at the major league level yet but could be really interesting fits for us along the way. And whether that's the Nick Gordons of the world who haven't had as much experience. [Jermaine] Palacios has been in camp here and watching him go. We're excited to see Royce [Lewis] come in, though we recognize he's had a lot of downtime here with his injury. So I can't answer that today perfectly that we're going to seek to see what the market might bear in that space." The players will start reporting this morning (Friday, March 10), at least the players who live nearby Ft. Myers. They will have physicals and a short workout in the late morning. The mandatory report date will be Sunday, March 13. It will not be an easy task in some cases, especially for players from other countries. But, the Twins have been preparing for this day for a while. Falvey noted, “We did all we could before the lockout, knowing that could become an issue at some point during the winter so that agents, players knew what their status was, what the situation was. Certainly players under control with us. We got ahead of that as much as we could. We’re hoping now that we can accelerate that process. Amanda Daley does a great job for us, making sure that all the details are taken care of in that space. I would anticipate that with 30 clubs trying to navigate some of these travel visas and work visas in the Dominican or Venezuela, places where a lot of our players come from, it can be a challenge.” Tentatively, the first spring training games will be played next Friday, March 18th. That will be after just four full-team practices. To help with that, the team will soon be announcing a group of non-roster invitations to big-league spring training. And, as they have always done, they can pull guys over from the minor league side to play in games. Because teams have been able to have zero contact with any of the 40-man roster players, there was some anxiety, hoping players such as Royce Lewis and Blayne Enlow were rehabbing appropriately. Falvey said, “We want to get those guys going. Obviously, in Royce’s case, losing the minor-league season was difficult because that’s just lost development time. He was at the alternate site (in 2020). He used that time really productively. He’s been in the Fall League (2019). Had some of those experiences. But ultimately losing last season due to his ACL reconstruction, it’s difficult.” Regarding Lewis and right-handed pitcher Blayne Enlow, working his way back from Tommy John surgery last June. The Twins prepared them before the lockout began for this time away. Falvey said, “our medical people did a really good job, and so did our folks in strength and conditioning and rehab side of things, and position coaches talked to him about how they would want to navigate his offseasons, whether this happened or not.” He noted that Enlow would be a little bit behind the timeline. That was known. As for Royce, they know he works with his agency (Scott Boras) to “prep and get himself ready. He’s a tremendous worker, and he’s going to put in his time and efforts, so I’m confident in guys like that have put themselves in good positions.” Opening Day will be at Target Field on April 7th. It will likely be a sprint for these next four weeks. Twins President Dave St. Peter said that the fans have been great. “They want to see games. The volume of concern went up exponentially when you started to cancel regular-season games. So the last ten days, I will tell you, we heard from a lot of fans. We’ve been trying to actively engage with them and try to assure them that there was still a path to play a full 162 games, and I’m just absolutely thrilled today that that vision ultimately is going to be possible. I wasn’t always sure it would be.” Ultimately, the Twins will miss a couple of weeks of spring training, and the season will start one week late, but there will be a 162-game season and a lot of the Ultimate this deal will hopefully help grow the game, and there can be extended peace again between the owners and the players as there had been for nearly 30 years. St. Peter thinks that it’s time to heal and move forward. “It’s paramount that we as an industry do a better job of building trust with our players. There are so many exciting things happening in baseball. For those things to ultimately transcend the game, for us to ultimately move the game forward to where it’s incrementally more relevant amongst young people, where it’s more relevant around the globe — for us to really achieve those goals, we’re going to need incremental alignment with our players. And I hope this agreement allows us to move forward in a way to where we can be better aligned and in partnership. That’s ultimately in the best interests of the players, and it’s certainly in the best interests of the industry.” A challenge for Twins fans will be to move forward too. Ultimately, we will get a 162 game schedule, more playoffs, and more. It will be an interesting and exciting time over the next few days, and the Twins should be active, not only through the weekend but right up to the season. Twins Daily has provided anywhere from three to seven articles every day since the lockout began (and obviously before that). We sure hope that we have kept you entertained, enlightened, and updated. Thank you all so much for sticking by the site, and we sure hope that we will celebrate a winning season in 2022. Oh, by the way, Friday is the first day that teams can place players on the 60-Day Injured List. It’s also the first day that players can be placed on waivers. We should get a list of non-roster players soon too. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook, or email View full article

In the Twins Daily prospect rankings, you will find Austin Martin and Royce Lewis filling the top two spots. In fact, they were separated by just one point in the vote. The 22-year-olds have a connection that goes back about eight years. Way back in 2014, these two future stars were teammates on Team USA’s 15U national team. Royce Lewis and fellow top prospect Hunter Greene were from southern California. Austin Martin grew up in Orange Park, Florida, a suburb south of Jacksonville. The US roster was comprised of players from across the country. They worked out and made the team at the USA Baseball facilities in Cary, North Carolina. They played two exhibition games in Cary and then a game at Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, before heading down to Mazatlan, Mexico, for the World Cup. The team began with a 14-2 win against Panama. Then they beat New Zealand 16-1. In their third game, they beat South Africa 25-0. Then the games got a little closer. They beat Japan (7-2), then Germany (11-1), then Cuba (10-2). Then the games got even closer. They beat Venezuela (6-2), then Chinese Taipei (5-4), and Mexico (10-9). That put them into the championship game, a rematch against Cuba in the Gold Medal game. After starting the tournament with nine straight wins, including that 10-2 win against Cuba, the US team lost 6-3 in the Gold Medal game. Martin and Lewis, who were roommates in Mexico, played in eight of the team’s ten games. Lewis started six games while Martin started four games. Lewis recorded 26 at-bats and hit .462/.533/.808 (1.341) with five doubles, two triples, and six stolen bases. Martin had 15 at-bats. He hit .533/.500/.733 (1.233) with three doubles. They returned home with World Cup Silver Medals and many great memories. Lewis and Martin were roommates throughout the entire Team USA experience. They both enjoyed their time together. Martin said on Friday, “We kind of fell out of contact a little bit, just two different parts of the country, two different paths in terms of our journey through baseball.” Royce Lewis was in California, and he was the #1 overall pick in the 2017 draft out of high school. Martin was in Florida. He was the 37th round draft pick by Cleveland in 2017, in part because he was committed to going to Vanderbilt, one of college baseball’s best programs. And, he became one of the best players in college baseball. Over two-plus college seasons in Nashville, Martin hit .368/.474/.532 (1.007) with 39 doubles, 14 homers, and 43 stolen bases. He walked more than he struck out. He also was part of Vandy’s 2019 College World Series championship team. Martin said of the experience, “I think I just matured a lot in the 2 1/2 years that I was there. Looking back at it now, I don’t necessarily think that I wasn’t ready, but I know that those 2 1/2 years at Vanderbilt have made me a lot more prepared for what’s to come.” By the time the Covid-shortened draft came in 2020, Martin was considered one of the best players in the draft. Some thought he could or even should go first overall. Instead, he went to the Toronto Blue Jays with the fifth overall pick (and signed the second-highest bonus). —----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Martin began his pro career in 2021 in Double-A with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. As you know, on July 31, he was traded with Simeon Woods Richardson to the Twins in exchange for Jose Berrios. He joined a group of very talented players with the Wichita Wind Surge and felt welcomed right away. “I think that group of people kind of helped me transition easier. As soon as I walked into the clubhouse, there were my teammates trying to help me get adjusted, show me where my locker was, show me where this is, what time we had to do that. I don’t think necessarily how talented that team was had to do with it, but more that group of guys and that group of people, of staff, is what made the transition so smooth, in my opinion.” Martin spent much of his time working out at Scott Boras’s facilities in Florida in the offseason. In addition, the Twins sent minor league hitting coordinator Bryce Berg to Florida to spend a couple of days working with Martin. Later, Triple-A hitting coach Ryan Smith spent some time with him as well. “It was really just an opportunity for us to connect and kind of just give an update on how things were going this offseason.” When the lockout ends, Royce Lewis will get back on the field, ready to play regular-season games for the first time since 2019. Martin and Lewis have reconnected since the trade, just not in person. “I actually talked to him maybe three or four days ago. Reached out just to see how he was doing. We had a really good conversation. I look forward to him getting down here and being able to see each other because I haven’t seen him since I was like 15 years old. So it’ll be good to catch up with him for sure.” Where will he play defensively? Minor League Director Alex Hassan previously said, “On the defensive end, we’re still evaluating him, to be honest. I feel really confident in his ability to play the outfield right now. He has real skill in the infield. He has the ability to make some plays. He played a lot of shortstop last year. If we had to say where his focus is going to be, especially early in camp, it’ll be on the infield and continue to refine him defensively. He’s going to get the bulk of his work at shortstop, but I do think there’s going to be an opportunity to move around the infield as well, but we’re going to start at shortstop and try to concentrate the majority of his work on the infield in the early going.” And Martin is just fine with that. Asked how he feels about potentially moving around the diamond, Martin responded, “Honestly, I look at it as a blessing, to be honest, because it's something that I didn't know I could do until I was in college, and I was kind of, I would say, forced to do it. It's a part of my identity as a baseball player now, and it's a part of my game. And I don't really think it's a negative thing. Is it challenging? Yeah, for sure. It's definitely challenging, but at the same time, I look at it as not everybody's able to do that. Not everybody's capable of being able to do that. So the fact that I can, it's something that I want to keep in my toolbox and keep trying to work on getting better at both infield and outfield.” Offensively, Martin is really good but still has things to learn. Hassan said, “ I think throughout his career, and certainly his college career, he was conscious of putting the ball in play, on making contact which is a good and unique skill in some ways, especially as the game is trending. I think there were things he would do mechanically to optimize for putting the ball in play. We don’t want to strip that away. We don’t want to take that away, but there are also instances where we think he can be more aggressive and look to drive the ball a bit more.” So, how does he go about doing that, adding power? Martin said, “It’s not much of an adjustment. Honestly, it’s just putting the barrel to the baseball, and I’m capable of doing that. I just need to do it more frequently.” Simple, right? Yes, there are mechanical things he is working on too with the Twins personnel too, but he wants to keep it simple. One thing that Martin has consistently done well in his baseball career, at every level, is get on base, and he very frequently is hit by pitches. Is that just how it will be, or does he think he can do anything about it? “I think I could definitely back up off the plate a little bit more, but being hit by baseballs is just been a part of my game since I could even tell you, to be honest. I’ve just always been a ball magnet.” Martin continued, maybe thinking forward, “Now that guys are throwing 98 to 100 mph, I kind of want to start moving out the way and lessening that a little bit, but it is what it is, honestly, a free base.” —---------------------------------------------------------- While both players have some question marks, Royce Lewis and Austin Martin have great versatility, strength, speed, athleticism, and baseball acumen. Twins fans should be excited and hope that the two talents that were teammates as 15-year-olds will be teammates for the long-term in the Minnesota Twins lineup. I guess if you wanted, you could say that Martin and Lewis Belong Together. View full article

When the Twins acquired Austin Martin and Simeon Woods Richardson from the Blue Jays last June, they were both playing for the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats. One of their teammates was one of the best pitchers to come out of Minnesota in the past decade. While prospects like Austin Martin and Simeon Woods Richardson have long been household names, Brody Rodning may only be known by die-hard Blue Jays prospect followers and the people from Gaylord, MN, Sibley East High School, and Minnesota State, Mankato. However, more people should be talking about the hard-throwing left-handed relief pitching prospect who had 16 strikeouts in 11 2/3 innings for the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League in 2021. Brody Rodning grew up on a farm, just outside of Gaylord, MN, a town of about 2,300 people southwest of the Twin Cities. A drive to Target Field will take just over an hour (depending on what time you are driving there!). He became a star athlete at Sibley East High School. He was a three-time letter winner in three sports. He was the quarterback on the football team. He was the leading scorer on the basketball team. But it was baseball where he really shined. As a senior, he went 4-2 with a 0.74 ERA. In 38 innings, he struck out 81 batters. Upon graduation, he took the short drive south to pitch at Minnesota State, Mankato, one of the strongest Division II teams in the country. As a freshman in 2015, he went 9-0 with a 2.85 ERA. In 66 1/3 innings, he walked 18 and struck out 65 batters. In his sophomore season, he went 6-2 with a 4.34 ERA. In 74 2/3 innings, he walked 36 and struck out 84 batters. In his junior year, he went 6-4 with a 3.47 ERA. In 70 innings, he had 34 walks and 77 strikeouts. Following his junior season, he was the 13th round draft choice of the Toronto Blue Jays. After one appearance in the Gulf Coast League, he was pushed to the Advanced Rookie League in Vancouver where he went 4-1 with a 4.64 ERA in 33 innings. Rodning spent the 2018 season in the Midwest League. In 35 games, all out of the bullpen, he went 5-3 with a 3.89 ERA. He pitched well for Lansing in 2019, but he only got into seven games due to time on the Injured List. As we all know, 2020 was the Covid pandemic year. There was no minor league season. Rodning was at home, helping on the family farm and playing catch at the local ball field. He reached out to his employer, the Blue Jays, and asked if he could play town ball for the Gaylord Islanders. The Minnesota Baseball Association had to approve it too. They did. He got to work some innings. He got to play in the outfield and even hit for the first time in years. As you would imagine, he was dominant on the mound. And just as nice, he got to play ball for the summer with his brother McKoy. You may recall that the 2021 minor-league season started about a month late due to Covid protocols. However, at the start of the MLB season, Rodning was pitching at the team's alternate site. When their regular season began, he was assigned to Double-A New Hampshire where he went 3-4 with a 5.58 ERA in 32 games. In 40 1/3 innings, he walked 18 and struck out 43 batters. The numbers may not jump out, but when you consider that he had a five-game stretch where he gave up 11 of his 25 earned runs in five games (6 2/3 innings). He was pretty dominant the rest of the season. With the Fisher Cats, Rodning was a teammate of Austin Martin and Simeon Woods Richardson, at least until they were traded to the Twins in the Jose Berrios deal. Both new Twins prospects discussed what a great friend and teammate Rodning is, but they also noted the quality of his stuff on the mound. On Twins Spotlight in November, Wood Richardson said of Rodning, “(He’s a) hard-throwing lefty. Nasty slider. Nasty cutter. Great guy. One of those guys that throws across his body, it’s just so funky that no one can pick it up. His delivery is one of a kind, very unique. Hard-throwing lefty. One of those guys that just will come after you. Don’t care. He’ll just shut the door.” Last week, Martin said of Rodning, “Great teammate. Awesome guy. I talked to him sometime last week. Great teammate. Hard worker. And then facing him is an uncomfortable AB. He’s got a three-quarter slot. His fastball gets on you. He’s got good stuff. He’s a good baseball player.” Rodning told Twins Daily this weekend, “Both of them are great teammates, for sure, both on and off the field. The Twins definitely got two guys that are hungry and ready to grind.” Regarding Martin, Rodning said, “(He) is an incredible athlete and will succeed at any position he plays. He’s a winner, and that’s huge.” On Woods Richardson, Rodney said, “Sim, that man competes at any level he plays and always thinks he’s the best, which is a great characteristic to have. We’ll save the last words for Rodning’s agent, Matt Gaeta of Gaeta Sports Management. “His drive and relentless pursuit to better himself each and every day are contagious and inspiring. He’s been through a lot, on and off the field, but his vision and hunger for success are traits that will make him successful not only on the field but also off of it as well.” Rodning is in Dunedin, Florida, for spring training right now, excited to get the season going, hoping that he’ll be able to pitch at Target Field sometime. Martin and Woods Richardson are both in Ft. Myers, hoping to make Target Field their home field. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email View full article