Otto von Ballpark

The Twins continued to win this week while mixing a diverse set of ingredients. The TD forums continued trying to figure out their recipe. Image courtesy of Twins Daily The Twins continued to win this week while mixing a diverse set of ingredients. The TD forums continued trying to figure out their recipe. With the second half of the season on the horizon, who should stay, who should go, and who should be added for the stretch run were common questions in the Twins Daily community. What types of trades should Twins pursue? Trades for reliable middle relief, says @Game7-91. Somewhat ironic that their screen name is a game which featured no Twins relievers at all! For some, chocolate is a guilty indulgence; others, coffee. For we Twins fans, like @Trov, it's apparently asking Would you Trade Correa this year? The answer always seems to be no because the Twins keep winning, but the looming opt-out means we just can't help asking the question. Have a message for the chef? You're not alone, according to @Jack Griffin: Rocco Baldelli: suffering from success. But you probably won't find a better meal right now at a different restaurant. If you like sour or bitter flavors, you also probably enjoy longtime Twins scribe Patrick Reusse. But our @Comrade Bork wonders, Is Reusse still relevant? Or is he too consistently pessimistic about a successful modern ballclub? More realism than pessimism, one player certainly seems like he is out of the Twins plans. Sano who? @mikelink45 thinks we are better off without Miguel, and wonders how to handle his eventual return to health this season. Finally, no baseball recipe is complete without a generous pinch of trivia. @CRF obliges in Do you know your A - B - C's? by pointing out the alphabetical nature of recent Twins lineups. Got a question or a comment, trivial or otherwise? Share it in the forums! View full article

I don’t think this is a fair description of the situation. Gonzalez may prefer staying in St. Paul over becoming a free agent, but those aren’t the only possibilities right now. With multiple rotation openings at the moment, Gonzalez triggering the opt-out pretty much guaranteed he would get another MLB start today. He could still accept an assignment back to St. Paul after the game, maybe taking a few days to shop around first. (The results of today’s game may indicate whether Gonzalez would remain ahead of Aaron Sanchez on the depth chart too.)

Not to claim any great foresight, but my plan for keeping Lewis in MLB did not involve him playing the outfield at all. Even if the rest of the roster was at full health: ~1 start per week at SS ~2-3 starts per week at either 3B or 2B (which line up very similar to SS in the shift anyway) ~2-3 starts per week at DH Yes, the Twins have other solid players at those positions, but Lewis has long been expected to be something special and really looked it this year too. That’s the kind of guy you can fit in to your plans at any time, without dramatic position changes. And of course, teams are rarely at full health for too long. In 23 games since Lewis was demoted, we’ve had 15 games without Correa, Polanco, or Urshela in the field, or with Jeffers at DH. Two more games where Gordon played LF while Larnach DH’ed (would have been easy to play Lewis or another infielder at DH instead). Still another two games where Buxton has DH’ed while Gordon or Lewis played CF. (Not that Larnach or Buxton can never DH, but those games represent further opportunities for flexibility without position changes.)

While the depleted Twins battled to a draw against two of the East Division's best teams, fan plotted the action in the Twins Daily forums. Image courtesy of Twins Daily While the depleted Twins battled to a draw against two of the East Division's best teams, fan plotted the action in the Twins Daily forums. Recognition, results, reinforcements, and decorum were just a few of the many topics of discussion within the community this week. First, voting for next month's Midsummer Classic began, prompting @rwilfong86 to ask, Who Should Represent the Twins at the All Star Game? Perhaps surprising by reputation but not by performance, Luis Arraez leads the way, followed by pitchers Ryan and Duran. Those three are certainly a big reason the Twins are still in first place, and it would be nice to see them recognized as such. Arraez leading the offense signals that the Twins strength may be a deep lineup rather than star power. @Vanimal46 spotlights yet another contributor in Miranda Finding His Groove, as corner infielder José solidifies his spot after a shaky start. Unfortunately, the pitching staff doesn't yet have the same depth. Newcomer @Jack Griffin takes a deep dive into the numbers of a once-mighty, now fallen setup man, asking Tyler Duffey has been BAD, but why? And that's "bad" in the classic sense, not the cool-kid-slang sense. The Twins would love to get the Duff Man back on track, but do they have time? Or can somebody else step up? @jorgenswest examines perhaps the weakest link of the rotation in Bundy's Performance Tonight. Is a starting shake-up finally in order? Reinforcements will be needed, and Twins Daily has the perfect place to discuss minor leaguers and next month's draft: the Minor League Forum. There, @Trov asks Is Emmanuel Rodriguez the fastest rising prospect for Twins? It's always nice to have one of those. Do you see any fast risers for the pitching staff? Even more urgently, @Twinfan603 tries to figure out what minor leaguers might soon be dealt in 2022 Rule 5 Protection List & Trade Candidates. Do the Twins have enough prospect value to exchange for top MLB talent before the trade deadline at the end of July? Finally, a contingent of Target Field fans seem set on booing every controversial former Twin. @strumdatjag asks their fellow fans, Booing Josh Donaldson? For or Against. Are you a "boo bird" or Minnesota Nice? Either way, you too can contribute in the TD forums. View full article

He kind of opened himself up for attacks by being against goodness and normalcy.

Too obvious?

Did you bet yesterday too? Out of curiosity, what kind of odds are you seeing?

This should also open a 40-man spot soon (season-ending surgery for Stashak, presumably meaning he will be transferred to the 60-day IL as soon as necessary):

Palacios should be off the 40-man too, as a temporary COVID replacement. Joe Ryan also doesn’t count against the 40 while he is on the COVID IL. So they are all squared away now, until Ryan and Alcala need to be activated.

There should be a "+ Show More Seasons" link at the bottom of the table which will show you all of the data.

Welcome to the forum! And nice research -- sorry it had to be about such a negative topic...

For those who enjoy historical parallels, 10-4 was the exact score of 2019 ALDS Game 1. The go-ahead Yankee runs scored with Duffey on the mound in that game (although they were charged to Littell). Baldelli was questioned that game for his choice of bringing in Stashak in the 6th down 5-4.

By “the playoff teams” do you just mean Yankees and Astros? Obviously they are the favorites but I think we match up fairly well with the rest of the field right now. We are 3rd or 4th in the league by a variety of pitching metrics. (And with the new format, we’d miss the Yankees and Astros in the first round.) FWIW, if the season ended today, our first round opponent would be the 27-26 Angels.

Technically, every player on the active roster needs to be on the 40-man roster. But players on the restricted list don't count against the 40, so those spots are temporarily freed for their replacements. And once they are activated from the restricted list, as Rosterman indicates, the replacements in this case can be removed from the 40-man and sent back to the minors without needing to be waived.

Are you referring to the roster right now, or the roster with some semblance of health? The latter looks pretty competitive, no?

Just a reminder that, after the Toronto series, these replacements can be removed from the 40-man roster and returned to the minor leagues without needing to be waived or optioned. That will likely be the case for Gonzalez and Hamilton.

Kepler, Thielbar, Pagán, and Megill are now inactive for the Toronto series. Chi Chi Gonzalez (Friday's starter) and Ian Hamilton are the two known replacements right now. Celestino is back with the team too, so he might be a third.

Chi Chi Gonzalez (Friday's starter) and Ian Hamilton will be two of the replacements. Edit to add: Celestino is back with the team too from the COVID IL, so he might be another replacement.

Instead of providing food, the bottom of the division fed on the Twins this week, but both the division lead and the TD forums remain intact. Image courtesy of Twins Daily Instead of providing food, the bottom of the division fed on the Twins this week, but both the division lead and the TD forums remain intact. Rumor has it the Twins were so mortified by the recent results in Detroit that they fled the country, to Toronto! Nobody's fleeing the forums, though, where topics ranged from rosters to roles to assorted ephemera. Detroit: Rocco City? Not likely, says @Number3 in June Schedule. They don't think the Twins will rock in Cleveland at the end of the month either, to say nothing of the AL East teams in between. To get us back to our winning ways, @alexthegreat asks, How do you address the Twins bullpen? With the AAA shuttle in full effect, you may need two envelopes: Twins Bullpen, 1 Twins Way, Minneapolis, and Saints Bullpen, 360 North Broadway, St. Paul. And if you're including a separate letter for each reliever on the roster, you'll need a boatload of stamps! Ravaged by injuries, the Twins have struggled to fill out a lineup card recently. Think you can help? Just write Put me in coach, I'm ready to play on a 3x5 card, include your name and address, and send to 1 Twins Way at the address above. @Kume34 thinks Byron Buxton should send in a card too, advocating to play more often. Catcher is one of few Twins positions not affected by injuries so far in 2022 (knock on Hunter Wood). And while Jeffers may have more time behind the plate, @bighat makes the case that Gary Sanchez is the Twins #1 catcher right now. Could the ex-Yankee help us break our postseason curse? We'll get a preview next week when New York visits Target Field. The Twins played a doubleheader this week; @rwilfong86 posted one too. The schadenfreude of following a former Twin struggle in Berríos trade was followed by the welcome distraction of Favorite Piece of Memorabilia. Do you have a Rob Wilfong game-worn mustache, Lew Ford's apocryphal clothes iron, or a piece of the Metrodome wall bearing an indentation of Butch Huskey's face? Whether you have Twins treasure, or a treasured Twins take, you can share it with the community of fellow fans in the TD forums. View full article