JD-TWINS

4-5 years ago Larnach, as a prospect, used to be viewed as somewhere between where E-Rod and Jenkins are ranked now. None of the left handed hitting guys above have performed well enough to be called up. Unless something changed, E-Rod is out until August after his intelligent head-first slide into 1B & subsequent thumb surgery. What does the Team get back for Larnach that’s going to outweigh his contributions? Relative to other productive guys that are 29, he’s almost free at $4.5M. To me, if one of the young guys flourishes, which has yet to happen, Larnach should be the left handed DH in ‘28….,,occasional LF as needed. As I said, Larnach was a highly touted bat coming out of college - he got healthy and had a good year in ‘24 and dropped off last year as they let him face LH pitching for 118 AB’s…..on pace to have his best year at the plate in ‘26 and he’s at least average according to metrics in LF. Trading guys, when they get to finally show signs of being a professional hitter, doesn’t make much sense to me. I don’t care if E-Rod or Roden ever play a game at Target Field if Larnach is performing in front of them. RF is currently wide open IMO …… Clemens is staking a claim…… one of the young guys might force Clemens back into the Infield?

Preach!! 100% correct. Anybody here remember a TWIN that made the All-Star game at 3 different positions over the years? Harmon something…… I left Minnesota in ‘91 for Cincinnati. They had a guy named Rose here that eventually was an All-Star at 5 spots over the years. (2B, RF, LF, 3B, 1B) He was a hitter first.

Blyleven won a Series with the Pirates in ‘79. Blyleven was in his 19th Season when he won Series in ‘87. After leading baseball with 17 losses in 1988 with the Twins……he signed with the Angels. In year 20 he went 17-5 for the Angels with a 2.73 ERA. He posted a lofty 6.0 WAR …..at age 38, he threw 8 complete games, including League leading 5 shutouts ……. remarkable!

Buxton is supremely talented and he’s really matured at the plate over the last couple years with his reasonably sound health. Frankly, his play over the last 60 days has been spectacular!…….that includes a couple handfuls of missed games with mild injuries. That said, bringing in Oliva when he became available - signing Killebrew (most HR’s in A.L. history from the right side of the plate …… trailed only Ruth in the A.L.) - Blyleven starting in the Show at 19 & then being an absolute work horse over his first 6 seasons before ownership gagged on paying him. Many other great Twins!! …….. Mauer - Puckett - Hunter etc. I do hope Buxton is able to stick around and win with the Twins.

Jenkins: “When he returns & if he plays good enough” Availability & performance kind of drive every roster spot……….the players “extended performance” is what will get them to the SHOW, not a longing or curiosity from the fans.

I concur with all of your comments other than the thought that, “…… he needs to be in MLB ASAP once he completes his rehab assignment.” If your feeling is he’s a AAAA guy, why would you think he “needs” to be brought on to the Big Club? I want guys that help the Team win ……. if that’s Kody Clemens at age 30 and Trevor Larnach at age 29 that’s fine with me. Guys need to force their way in to the roster with performance, not draft position, or expectations of how talent will carry them. Fedko may not stick but he forced his way on to the roster. Promoting guys because of where they’ve been ranked by national pundits or because fans are curious isn’t sound organizational management. I’d love to see Rodriguez have success but he needs to tare it up at AAA for more than 10 days at a time! As you pointed out, he’s a rock head for sliding head first into 1B ……. then he tares up his thumb & misses more development time. He can arrive at Target at age 25 if that’s what it takes for him to be deserving.

Gray is the left handed bat they want to hang on to as an alternative at SS……. no other good reason.

Because I specifically said he was getting better OFFENSIVELY……. don’t think he’ll ever be much, if any better than Julien, defensively. He gets to more balls than Eddie but he doesn’t make better plays.

Bell can switch hit…….. Wallner can’t hit lefties at all and doesn’t hit RH pitching any better (not as well in the SHOW) than Bell. Bell went 3-9 in this Cardinal series & had an RBI in all 3 games. Wallner may have never had an RBI in 3 consecutive games - doubtful. As needed, Bell CAN play 1B, and I think the organization has seen Wallner play RF, in any meaningful games, for the last time. Really hope Fedko keeps rolling and helps the club with this opportunity!

The guy went from starting in the hole to the left side of the ”normal SS alignment”, dived to grab the ball, jumped up and threw the guy out ……….. what more does he need to do to get credit? Was describing one play - don’t need to see his defensive stats………whatever they are, as you point out, they’ll be better than Lee’s. Assuming they are superior to Gray’s as well. Keaschall’s OFFENSE is getting better, slowly. Homered for the first time in an eternity yesterday - hit the ball hard 3 times today with one double. He walked and scored both times he was on base. His average is up 20+ points over last 3-4 weeks…….his OBP is finally above “an OK” .320.

After Kreidler’s two big hits and outstanding play at SS, they saw they had a clear platoon at SS & they’ll probably lean toward Kreidker more often……… he’s a decent back-up for Buxton once every 8-9 games as well. Martin/Clemens in RF with Fedko/Larnach in LF ………. Arcia & Outman gone …… making progress. Arcia played well enough, but Keaschall seems to be getting his act together offensively, a little at a time. Lewis may get reps at 2B to spell Keaschall OR Clemens at 2B and leave Royce alone at 1B.

I know everyone wants to get on the Bullpen! 1) Team was down 2-0 after 7 pitches……. what if a reliever did that? The Wrathforbtge PEN!! Prielipp threw a fastball strike on pitch one, and then threw 4 straight non-competitive balls for a walk to open the game. 2 pitches later - Home Run. Ugly as a start of a game can be! 2 more earned in 2nd inning. It was like we were throwing a bullpen game. After throwing 4 more innings, scoreless, Prielipp still doesn’t have a Quality Start. 2) Generally, Banda - Morris - Paredes have looked like normal, solid guys out of the PEN over last few weeks. Rogers stuff is marginal to below average, so he has to pitch nearly perfectly to navigate through MLB hitters. Don’t get Funderburk not being in the current bullpen? I know he’s frustrated everyone with his walks & general lack of command. He pitches OK in 3 or 4 of every 5 outings. Lawrence & Adams, regardless of stuff are bad at least 1 of every 2 outings. Orze is decent 2 of 3 appears. None of it is great - PEN construction by FO and their (PEN) execution down there are not good! Rojas back soon - Ober back, when he’s back, one of the current rotation goes up brother PEN. Sands in 3-4 weeks. All upgrades over Adams - Lawrence - Lawyerson

The timing in the post is curious….. Abel through Wednesday, his bullpen session would have been yesterday for sure . …….. I see someone else posted that Jenkins played on Saturday (last night) as well. Rojas isn’t waiting until Saturday the 20th to throw again.

LEWIS “seems” to be hitting like the player we always hoped he’d be …….. after 7 games back. He is 10-26 (.385) with 5 XBH, 3 of which are HR’s……. could not ask for more. Really HOPING for some decent stretch of success for him at the plate while settling in at 1B!🤞

SANDS is 3-4 weeks away after “set back” is my assumption. ROJAS will go to the PEN within 2 weeks. Abel back in 7-10 days …… will allow PARADES to be used in “relief” instead of “Opener” Ober back in 2 weeks, will allow PRIELIPP to go into the PEN. Lawrence - Adams - Lawyerson will get displaced…….is my assumption.

If Roger’s can’t throw strikes or locate just off the plate (like many pitchers) he doesn’t have the stuff to get past hitters nor put them away. When throwing sliders that break 2 feet to RH hitters and they are right in it, repeatedly, the term “washed” comes to mind. Orze - WOW! Gomez got a bad break with infield drawn in - Gray had 3 plays that I saw where he got to balls and couldn’t make a play……his effort is great! However, I have to think that with another step of quickness, Culpepper turns two of the three stops by Gray, into outs. I think Clemens actually deserves a potential extension for $3M/year with some incentives - couple years! They were paying Castro $7M/yr in ‘24. Buxton - WOW!

Wallner needs to do things for an extended period in St. Paul . IF he’s hitting at a high level in 2-3 more weeks then he needs to be back - then, if he hits in The Show, trade him ASAP, before the deadline. Nobody can be serious about him being “the” DH for “the future”. Keaschall is replaced by Gonzales on 26-man! He needs a break and time to lift his confidence on defense …….. maybe that’s in the outfield? (Arcia & Clemens can cover 2B for a month) He’s a very difficult guy to send down because of his fiery competitiveness & high energy - very difficult move!! His average has climbed and I can see him getting to .260, eventually. Next to zero POP in his bat though. Rest, get stronger, get many, many defensive reps to lift confidence & capabilities with the glove ………. to me, it seems inevitable that by 2028 Houston is the SS and Culpepper/Lee cover 3B & 2B…….. either way, a much better infield. Lewis at 1B, hitting anywhere near his capabilities, is an answered prayer! Could never imagine me having this opinion of Clemens 2-3 months ago……… I think they should offer him a 2 year $7M extension tomorrow! He can play left or right, 2B or 1B. Centerfield if desperate. He’s a gamer- he works - don’t think he’ll ever stop trying to get better!! Obviously, a good Clubhouse guy! I thought last year’s 19HR were completely smoke and mirrors - with more AB’s (earned) this year he’ll hit 20+ HR’s. He’s Willi Castro hitting from just the left side. Clemens/Lewis at 1B is a decent combination - with Lewis there 70-80% of the time. Clemens at 1B or in LF or 2B or RF are all “OK” options for me starting 80% of the time. Not EVERY roster spot needs to go to some youthful player that fans are curious about and that fans “hope” turns out to be a star!

To me, it’s a group of mediocre players (as a group) that are continuing with mediocre performances 60% of the time or more. I think the attitude is surprisingly upbeat. Abel - Ober - Rojas would be a welcome shot in the arm over next 1-3 weeks. Gabby Gonzales seems to be an option for the offense at some point soon. Fedko sure is grinding out solid performances in St. Paul as well. 5 hits today - good news is Lewis got two of them. Sure hope he can heat up. I saw he struck out looking on his other 2 AB’s.

Is the Ownership part of the Front Office? After $$ spent toward Correa & P. Lopez salary, the Team spend for guys on the field is $73M ………. FO is not made up of miracle workers.

Rojas was promoted as well - hoping we see him back in 10-14 days in the PEN. Sands had a set-back. Have heard nothing very encouraging on Festa. Ober & Abel would push a current starter into PEN. Maybe Prielipp to extend his season?

😉That ERA was obviously smoke & mirrors …… him, along with Adams - Lawyerson, it can be ugly ……… hoping for OBER & ABEL to get back in rotation in another couple weeks. Sands by All-star break. Rojas back. PEN would get Rojas - Sands - someone from current 4-man rotation. Those changes would be welcomed!

IMO, there had to be something deeper with SWR. Team obviously can’t think Adams is a better pitcher than SWR. My assumption is he snapped off the field on somebody or he became a drag in the Clubhouse - seemed like a good guy in interviews but who knows?……… the innings for the PEN peaked and they need help the day after he pitched last …….. but, obviously, someone was going to claim him…….giving him away was a conscious decision and his pitching over 7-8 weeks shouldn’t wash ALL of his potential value.

Bradley started the Season with 3 very good starts…….. then he got rocked by Tampa Bay. Then he had 3 more very good starts, one of which was his return from the IL…….now a string of 3 straight underwhelming starts. He’s started 10 games and he’s 5-3 for a Team that’s 30-38. ….. He’s not terrible. He seems to be big time lost with his release point & “command” lately ……. he’s done it, got people out at a high rate. He’s walks guys and in ‘26, due to 3 specific outings, his average walks are at a career high. Wild & getting guys out at a good rate is OK - walking guys and giving up an inordinate amount of HR’s is not cool.

Watched the game last night & if the answer to your headline question was anything other than COMMAND, it would have been wrong. He can do it - he did it for a handful of starts at the beginning of the season. He needs Rhythm & Focus! These Ups & Downs are obviously the same stuff Tampa Bay experienced and they got sick of his abilities not being harnessed. Gotta apply “the stuff” ….. straightforward, same for all pitchers. His Four-Seam on Tuesday night was almost embarrassing to watch …… bounced fastball in front of the plate and nearly air-mailed 3 or 4 others waaay high! Nothing looked sharp.

🌻😁!