Derojo

Good news! Perhaps he'll get comfortable with his defense. Next year he can regain his batting form.

Early next season, perhaps that will happen. AAA is nearly over and they are still in AA. However, no doubt they will be invited to spring training and depending upon what they do there; it's possible. More likely though they'll arrive by the middle of next season. Lewis needs to get back on track. He's better than he was for about a year, but not good enough. Don't forget about Gabriel Gonzalez who is an interesting prospect. The Twins future is bright, IF the team has new owners.

It's total nonsense that the Twins were short on hitting. They haven't had a competitive offensive team since 2019, when they lost three in a row to the Yankees. This pretend that the Twins are oh so close is total b.s. The goal here is the World Series. It's been thirty-four years this fall since the Twins went and won. The Twins weren't going to sniff the World Series with the roster they had. They got what they needed. Numerous prospects because some will pan out to some degree; most won't. It isn't that the Twins didn't have talent. They didn't compete year in and year out. That is at least partly on the manager. Mostly, it's on the ownership. I want Buxton to play in the World Series. Joe Mauer never had that chance. Mediocrity is the enemy of excellence, and the Twins were mediocre at best, and in half a decade (actually longer) showed no signs of rising above it.

Here's what people don't mention. The Phillies are shooting for the World Series, obviously to win it. The Twins prior to the trade had virtually no chance to reach the World Series in the next two or more years. Why? Our offensive lineup consistently underperformed. It has underperformed every year, even in 2019 when the Y (T)ankees beat us 3-0. (The Tankees are going nowhere this year. Perhaps, maybe, win the first round. If it goes very badly, perhaps out of the wild card race.) Today, with the prospects in the pipeline late this year, and the next two, we will have a much more potent offensive roster. The Twins roster was far overbalanced toward pitching. More important is to have a team that doesn't underperform while batting. Underperforming teams over several years NEVER win the World Series. Regardless of how it turns out the trade was a win, because now there is a possibility of performing to the talent level or better. Before the trade deadline the Twins were trash on offense. How do I know? They had a thirteen-game winning streak, and were under five hundred at the break. (Classic boom and bust; mostly busted.) Oh, and Mr. Double-play Correa didn't refer to his defense. It referred to being an 0-11 while the bases were loaded this year with the Twins. Correa was the fourth or fifth best Twin on offense, and the offense was weak. Correa has been a clutch defender. Oddly enough, he is not a clutch batter. Clearly, he is on the downside. I was born in 59. The Twins played in and won the last World Series in 91. It took thirty-two years till that 91 series. It has taken thirty-four years till today. Enough of this b.s. of merely trying to make the playoffs. The last thing is that the ownership must change or all of this is moot.

Standing in place would have been the worst non-move. This team offense was going nowhere near the World Series. As for Buxton, I expect he'd like a World Series win and that offense won't do it. Now, in about one to two years we'll have more players like Keaschall and less players like 0-11 with bases loaded Correa. Regardless of the talent level you need clutch players. Clemens has modest offensive talent, but unlike Correa he is clutch.

My view is the Twins sold two relievers too many. Note that no starters were traded. As for the underperforming position players we traded, no one of long term consequence. This team has not performed since 2019 when the Yankees swept us. Beating the Jays in the playoffs is not a feat. The offense was going nowhere. The illusion that we were one or two players away was nonsense. This was not a winning team with a winning culture; consistently underperformed. Baldelli is an ok manager. He understands the game well, but he doesn't get the best out of his team. He needs to go along with the owner. Jhoan Duran is the only player traded that will be very difficult to replace. Jax to a lesser extent. I'm happy for the players traded who will have the opportunity to play on a competitive MLB team. The Twins haven't been to the World Series in the last 34 years. They have not had a team that could possibly get to the ALDS. Enough of treading water. Correa; 0-11 with bases loaded; another underperformer, non-clutch player. It'll take two to three years to rebuild, and perhaps then the Twins will evoke the memory of past teams that performed at a high level.

Twins need a catcher that is better than Jeffers, so that position is a strength. We don't have an apparent replacement in our farm system. We also need improvement at 1B and DH. As for Wallner and Larnach, Rodriguez and Jenkins are in the wings. Emmanuel Rodriguez hopefully will come up in September and never leave.