Otto von Ballpark

No third base for Lewis at all? I like the DH at-bats but I think they should be mixed with 3B to ease him in over there.

Gordon is an interesting case. What is his role on this roster? Last year, Gordon made some sense -- we wanted to see what he could do, and Lewis was out, Simmons was underwhelming, Celestino was an unknown, etc. But now? There's no path to playing time for Gordon in the middle infield here, and while he has playing outfield with Larnach out, his bat is obviously miscast in the outfield, if not everywhere else -- 77 wRC+ last year, 78 this year. He's basically replacement level, 26 years old, and out of options. People talk about Lewis not having a position on the roster with Correa back, but Gordon is even more without a position, even before we activate Larnach, frankly.

FYI, Larnach still hasn't started a rehab assignment, so we're unlikely to need a spot for him until Monday, at least.

I mean, I'd send down Miranda right now for Correa. If they want to activate Larnach before Friday's game, probably send down Stashak then. Not that Stashak is bad, but he's 8th in the bullpen depth chart now, or 9th if you count Winder as a reliever rather than a 6th starter. Update: Larnach will be on a rehab assignment this weekend, so you don't have to decide the pitcher to send down until Monday. If they plan to start Smeltzer on Friday, he'd be an obvious candidate to option when activating Ober for Saturday or Sunday. Winder should be available again by Sunday if necessary.

Good point on Ober. He threw 72 pitches for St. Paul on Sunday so I don't think he'd have to piggyback with anyone on his return this weekend.

Smeltzer has 1 option year remaining -- he didn't spend enough time on optional assignment in 2020 to burn an option year.

On the need for pitchers: we have an off day tomorrow, Duran hasn't thrown the past 3 days, Pagan and Smith haven't thrown the past 2 days. So we don't have an urgent need for pitchers right now. Looking ahead, with Bundy back, we have 6 starters including Winder. Winder just threw 78 pitches out of the pen last night, so he's going to be unavailable for a bit no matter what. If we don't want to option Winder right now, I think Smeltzer is on track to start Friday, and it could make sense to option him after that start. And we still have Stashak in the pen with options -- a big part of his utility right now is that he can be swapped out anytime for a fresh arm if we really need it.

Wait a sec -- if Correa is banged up and taking DH reps, then that means there would be SS space for Lewis. But I doubt that Correa will see much time at DH (he has zero time there so far, and only 2 games in his entire MLB career to date). And even Buxton is getting full days off more than DH'ing -- just 6 starts there on the season, basically once a week.

Here's some data on Twins defensive positioning. In 2022 so far per Statcast, 43.2% of our pitches have been thrown in front of a shifted defensive alignment, where the 3B lines up in the traditional shortstop position, while the SS is closer to the traditional 2B position. I'm guessing the Twins operate the St. Paul defense in a similar manner. So while he's been exclusively a shortstop, Lewis is already used to playing in multiple spots on the field -- and even playing 3B, he'd spend nearly half of his time in the traditional shortstop spot.

The presence of Urshela and the composition of the rest of our roster should be a point in favor of keeping Lewis in MLB right now. We don't need Lewis to "move to 3B" as in immediately play 3B every day. Maybe every other day as his progress warrants, with the rest of his time at DH and 1 start a week or so at SS (remember Correa took scheduled off days before his injury). DH starts, last 2 weeks: Sanchez 7 Buxton 2 Polanco 1 Miranda 1 Garlick 1 Jeffers 1 Arraez 1 Larnach is due back, but he should primarily take over LF from Gordon. No reason Lewis can't take a big chunk of DH starts to keep his bat sharp while he transitions away from shortstop. And if you keep Lewis on the MLB roster, it's not permanent -- you can always change course later. If we sense he really needs more intense reps at 3B or the playing time just isn't there, you can send him down later. Dude's got a 162 OPS+ right now, with a HR and a double just last night.

But isn't Lewis better than those guys? This isn't Sano to RF, or Arraez to 1B. And with shifting in the modern MLB game, playing SS and 3B have a lot more overlap than they have in the past.

I understand that Lewis wasn't taking grounders at 3B all day in the AFL, but competitively, it was probably comparable to St. Paul now and I'm sure Lewis approached his 12 3B starts there professionally (it's not a position you want to go into unprepared!). And he won AFL MVP, so he wasn't affected negatively at the plate. I'd say an elite shortstop prospect, who's locked in at the plate, is precisely the kind of player who could expect to transition to a new position without too much difficulty.

Foreshadowing the 21st century, the Twins blow a lead to the Yankees for the second consecutive night in this WCCO report. Trying to protect a 7-3 lead in the 7th, Twins pitchers Pete Filson and Curt Wardle each walk in a run before Wardle serves up a grand slam to Ken Griffey (not yet known as Sr.). Watch that day's full newscast here. Presented in partnership with TC Media Now. View full video

Cotton could do that — but he could have done that in April too, and he didn’t. (He was first outrighted by the Cubs back in 2020.) FWIW, with less than 5 years service time, if Cotton elected free agency instead of accepting the outright assignment, he would forfeit his current contract too. Not that it is much, but he might get less on a straight minor league deal with another team.

Yes, that was for Arraez. The 40-man is currently full.

Yes, players on the COVID injured list are eligible for rehab assignments. The A’s did it recently with Lou Trivino.

My guess is Sano to the 60-day IL to open the 40-man spot. For the 26-man roster, they could option Yennier Cano or Cody Stashak from the bullpen. Or Mark Contreras from the position player group.

It will require two corresponding moves: one to clear a spot on the 40-man roster, and another to open a spot on the 26-man active roster.

Knoblauch probably doesn’t need any additional misfortune! I’d nominate an active ex-Twin on a current Twins rival. Lance Lynn is already injured. Liam Hendriks?

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To sweep, or be swept, that is the question. Not all tragedy, thankfully, but the drama at Target Field has carried over to the TD forums. Image courtesy of Twins Daily To sweep, or be swept, that is the question. Not all tragedy, thankfully, but the drama at Target Field has carried over to the TD forums. Whether 'tis nobler in the forums to suffer the slings and arrows of the outrageous Astros, or to take arms against the Oakland A's, the TD community found itself looking closely at a changing roster all week, as well as pondering rosters that might have been. @4twinsJA celebrates Gilberto Celestino in Have Twins found their 4th outfielder? That's two signs of progress in one post: Celestino's stront start and the performance of our "starting" three outfielders. We hope those trends continue. Looking west, the eponymous topic Taylor Rogers finds @CRF acknowledging the closer's solid season. Unfortunately, it's for the Padres, as Twins fans are left pondering the trade returns and how his absence might ultimately affect our 2022 season fate. No such regret is detected from @Trov in Did Twins Trade Berrios at right time? Our former ace has scuffled a bit in Toronto, while the Twins rotation has started strong this year and the prospects received are nearing the bigs. Another cautionary tale of a one-time "player who got away" is Akil Baddoo-What a Difference a Year Makes. @zwiefz notes his fall from Rookie of the Year candidate a year ago to the minor leagues now. Finally, did you know the Twins magazine is not only distributed at the ballpark, but also online? @shortround81 shared that tip in the forum last month, and this month suspects a "cover jinx" in the magazine with Could It Be? Stay tuned to see if any players are willing to pose for the June cover. Got a roster move to break, a player to discuss, or a superstition to share? The community welcomes it in the TD forums. View full article

Sounds like a discretionary thing now. MLBTR discussed this rule on April 15, 2022: In any case, I don't think it could apply to the Twins right now, because Arraez and Bundy were immediately replaced with guys already on the 40-man roster.