Cory Moen

Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images Box Score SP: Joe Ryan - 6 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K (93 pitches, 60 strikes, (64.5% strikes)) Bottom 3 WPA (via FanGraphs): Joe Ryan (-0.14), Victor Caratini (-0.09), Trevor Larnach (-0.08) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The Twins got back to .500 Tuesday night, for the first time since early April. Baseball never lets anyone spend very long digging themselves, though. The Twins sent All-Star Joe Ryan to the mound Wednesday, hoping to reassert themselves as a winning team, outright. The Royals countered with old friend Randy Dobnak, who faced off against the Twins for the first time in his six seasons in the big leagues. Ryan started strong, striking out two in a one-two-three top of the first inning. That was a relief, after he'd given up six home runs in a start in Cleveland and had this outing pushed back twice to allow time to recover from fatigue and to address some mechanical issues. But the relief didn't last. The Royals led off with two singles in the top of the second inning and had runners on first and third with no outs. Bearing down, Ryan induced weak contact three times in a row to escape the jam. He wasn’t so lucky in the top of the third inning, however. Tyler Tolbert led off with a solo home run to give the Royals a 1-0 lead. The Royals added a second run in the top of the fourth inning after a Salvador Perez lead-off triple (yes, you read that correctly) and a Nick Loftin sacrifice fly. It probably shouldn't have been a triple; Luke Keaschall misplayed the ball. But Ryan still gave up the hard contact, and this time, he couldn't wriggle off the hook. The Royals added to their lead in the top of the fifth on a Carter Jensen double. Later in the inning, Jac Caglianone added a two-out RBI single, giving the Royals a 4-0 lead. Meanwhile, Dobnak was able to stymie the Twins offense over seven innings, recording just four strikeouts, but plenty of soft contact. The hard-hit balls were often hit right at fielders, so the offense didn’t make much noise, with just five baserunners in those seven innings. The bats weren’t able to do anything against the Royals bullpen, either, as Daniel Lynch IV and Steven Cruz each threw a scoreless inning to complete the shutout. On a positive note, Kendry Rojas came into the game in relief and threw three shutout innings, recording four strikeouts and two walks. This could be a positive over the next couple of days, as it gave the rest of the bullpen a rest. Rojas is settling into the majors nicely, and will fit even better into the bullpen hierarchy if and when the team improves the relief corps later this week. Other Notes: Byron Buxton was placed on the injured list before Wednesday’s game with a hip injury. It's the same hip that has sidelined him earlier this year. Tristan Gray was called up to replace Buxton on the roster for the time being. No timeline has been given on how long Buxton may be sidelined this time. What’s Next? The Twins and Royals will play the rubber match of the series tomorrow at 12:40 PM CT, with Bailey Ober (7-3, 4.56 ERA) pitching for the Twins. The Royals will turn to sophomore southpaw Noah Cameron (5-8, 4.93). BULLPEN CHART SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT Morris 26 0 0 0 0 26 Adams 0 15 0 11 0 26 Rojas 56 0 0 0 52 108 Funderburk 0 17 0 27 0 44 Rogers 30 0 0 0 0 30 Nance 13 15 0 0 0 28 Anderson 0 0 0 13 0 13 Gomez 8 0 0 0 0 8 View full article

The Twins have activated LHP Connor Prielipp and reliever Cole Sands. Prielipp will start Sunday's finale versus the A's. Sands has been out since April 28 with a forearm strain so the Twins hope he will bolster a bullpen that has had its ups and downs throughout the year. To make room on the 26-man roster, Jack Anderson was optioned to Triple-A St. Paul and Mike Paredes was placed on the injured list with an oblique strain. View full rumor

Image courtesy of © Ken Blaze-Imagn Images Box Score SP: Kendry Rojas - 2 ⅓ IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K (47 pitches, 28 strikes (59.6% strikes)) Bottom 3 WPA (via FanGraphs): Victor Caratini (-0.14), Mike Paredes (-0.13), Luke Keaschall (-0.12) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) After a series loss against the Cubs over the weekend, the Twins had a game they will hope to soon forget in the first game against the Guardians. They were looking to bounce back Tuesday after two games where they gave up 10 and 13 runs, respectively. The Twins sent rookie lefty Kendry Rojas to the mound to face off with Guardians’ lefty Parker Messick. The visitors got on the board early when Ryan Jeffers hit a curveball that Messick left up into the seats in left field. Rojas got through the first two innings with only one baserunner allowed, but the Guardians were able to tie the game in the bottom of the third on a one-out Steven Kwan double, which chased Rojas from the game. Mike Paredes came into the game in relief of Rojas, and Brayan Rocchio greeted him with an RBI single to give Cleveland a 2-1 lead. Paredes was able to finish the inning without giving up another run despite another hit, due to an inning-ending double play off the bat of Rhys Hoskins. The Guardians' lead didn’t last long, as the Twins were able to score on an odd play where both Messick and second baseman Travis Bazzana were charged with errors. Messick failed to field a squibber from Royce Lewis, and then Bazzana threw away his chance to save the play. It looked like the Guardians may score in the bottom of the fifth, with runners on first and third with one out, but Paredes was able to tightrope out of danger with a short fly ball off the bat of Chase DeLauter and a pinch-hit flyout from Kyle Manzardo. In the bottom of the sixth inning, the first three batters reached versus Paredes, and Guardians catcher Austin Hedges was able to take a high breaking ball and hit a sacrifice fly, which gave the Guardians a 3-2 lead. Derek Shelton went to Taylor Rogers to try to escape without further damage, but on a shallow fly ball to center, Travis Bazzana took off for the plate. Byron Buxton's throw was slightly offline, pulling Ryan Jeffers to the first-base side of the plate, and Jeffers's valiant dive back toward Bazzana missed its mark until it was too late. The initial call was out, but it was changed on review. 4-2, Guardians. The hosts added another run in the bottom of the seventh inning, on a Bazzana check-swing flare that drove in Manzardo to stretch the Twins' deficit to three runs. The Twins offense went lifeless over the final two innings, going down 1-2-3 in both frames. Kahlil Watson made a nice play to end the game in the right-field corner off the bat of Luke Keaschall, but the outcome of the game wouldn't have been altered even if he hadn't gotten to the ball. The Twins have dropped four straight games and are now 1-4 since the All-Star break. Other Notes: Jack Anderson made his Twins debut, throwing 1 ⅓ innings and recording one strikeout. The Twins hope he can bolster a bullpen that has had its fair share of struggles this year. Josh Bell celebrated reaching 10 years of service time today, which is a significant milestone for any player in their major-league career. What’s Next? The Twins will play two more in Cleveland, with Bailey Ober (7-3, 4.32 ERA) toeing the rubber for tomorrow’s game. Slade Cecconi (4-6, 4.55 ERA) will pitch for the Guardians. In Ober’s last two starts, he has given up three earned runs over 10 ⅓ innings pitched, with his most recent start earning a win in the first game out of break against the Cubs. BULLPEN CHART FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Nance 25 0 0 36 0 61 Gómez 22 0 0 0 0 22 Morris 14 0 0 0 0 14 Rogers 2 0 0 0 28 30 Rojas 0 18 0 0 47 65 Anderson 0 0 0 0 8 8 Adams 0 0 45 0 0 45 Funderburk 0 0 14 16 0 30 Alex Jackson 0 0 0 11 0 11 Paredes 0 40 0 0 49 89 View full article

That is definitely a fear. I was worried about the same thing. I hope it isn't, but it's definitely possible, unfortunately.

Twins GM Jeremy Zoll reported that Mick Abel and David Festa are both unlikely to pitch this year. Abel had arthroscopic elbow surgery on July 1. He looked good before going on the injured list. In his two starts before going on the injured list, he threw 13 innings, giving up zero runs and recording 16 strikeouts with just three walks. The hope when he went on the injured list was that he would be back later in the summer, but after surgery, it looks unlikely he will pitch again in 2026. Unfortunately for Festa, he has been on the injured list all year after dealing with a shoulder impingement in Spring Training. He was starting to work back, and in unfortunate circumstances, symptoms resurfaced, which put his rehab on pause. Zoll stated that Festa may be dealing with thoracic outlet syndrome, but the team would know more once he visits a specialist. Festa dealt with thoracic outlet syndrome in September of last season, so the hope is that this isn't a recurring issue but something else. With this news, the Twins rotation loses potential depth options, and maybe this leads to the Twins adding a starter if they do decide to buy at the trade deadline in a few weeks. View full rumor

Image courtesy of © Matt Marton-Imagn Images Box Score SP: Zebby Matthews - 3 IP, 9 H, 10 R, 8 ER, 3 BB, 4 K (87 pitches, 61 strikes (70.1% strikes)) Bottom 3 WPA (via FanGraphs): Zebby Matthews (-0.35), Ryan Kreidler (-0.07), Kody Clemens/Josh Bell/Austin Martin (-0.03) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Coming out of the All-Star break, the Twins and Cubs split the first two games of the series. The Twins, looking to climb back to .500, sent Zebby Matthews to the mound to face off against the Cubs in the rubber match at Wrigley Field. The Cubs countered with lefty Shota Imanaga. Imanaga threw a scoreless top of the first inning, and it looked like Matthews might be able to pitch around a one-out Seiya Suzuki double, but hanging a breaking ball to Alex Bregman typically doesn’t end well. Bregman hit a home run to give the Cubs a 2-0 lead. The Cubs were able to add to their lead in the bottom of the second on a one-out single by Carson Kelly after a Pedro Ramírez double that (a theme to watch) maybe could have been caught, extending the Cubs lead to three. Things got ugly in the bottom of the third inning, where the Cubs added four more runs. Three of them came on a Nico Hoerner triple that got past Luke Keaschall in center field. ("Triple.") The fourth run came on a single by Ramírez, which gave the Cubs a 7-0 lead and put things on ice early. The Cubs offense wasn’t done, adding more runs in the bottom of the fourth against Matthews. The first four batters reached, giving the Cubs two more runs, which led to Matthews being removed from the game without getting an out in the fourth. The Cubs were able to squeak another run across, giving them a 10-run lead at the end of four innings. Those proved to be way more than enough for Imanaga, who pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out four and giving up just seven base runners. While the first seven innings were not great for the Twins, they were able to have some success at the plate in the top of the eighth inning against reliever Phil Maton, breaking through on a Royce Lewis sacrifice fly, cutting the lead to 10-1. One other positive from the game is that the Twins bullpen threw five scoreless innings, so that is success the Twins hope will continue going forward. What’s Next? The Twins head to Cleveland to face off with the Guardians in a four-game series. In Monday’s game, the Twins will send All-Star Joe Ryan (6-5, 2.85 ERA) to the mound, while the Guardians will send Tanner Bibee (3-9, 3.90 ERA). Ryan’s most recent outing was in the All-Star Game, where he threw one scoreless inning as part of an American League shutout. Prior to the All-Star break, Ryan had two starts of seven and six innings respectively, giving up two runs over those 13 innings. BULLPEN CHART WED THUR FRI SAT SAT TOT Nance 0 0 25 0 0 25 Gómez 0 0 22 0 0 22 Morris 0 0 14 0 0 14 Rogers 0 0 2 0 0 2 Rojas 0 0 0 18 0 18 Go 0 0 0 0 23 23 Adams 0 0 0 0 45 45 Funderburk 0 0 0 0 14 14 Paredes 0 0 0 40 0 40 View full article

Walker JenkinsKaelen CulpepperVahn LackeyRiley QuickEmmanuel RodriguezMarek HoustonEduardo TaitKendry RojasHendry MendezDasan HillCharlee SotoKhadim DiawGabriel GonzalezRyan GallagherQuentin YoungJames EllwangerBrett RenfrowBrandon WinokurCarson TinneyMarco Raya

Agreed. My guess would be they try him out as a starter early on and if that doesn't work, the fall back of being a one inning guy who is a fastball/slider reliever is a real possibility. If he develops a third pitch, whether that be the change or they try something different might be the key to sticking as a starter versus moving to the bullpen.

Hopefully he has success with the Cubs! Always neat to see a local guy get a shot!

The Minnesota Twins have selected RHP Steele Murdock with their 5th round pick at 139th overall in the 2026 MLB Draft. The slot value for the pick is $536,900. Murdock is a right-handed pitcher out of UC San Diego. He had 104 strikeouts in 74 innings pitched this past season with the Tritons. Murdock was ranked #140 on MLB Pipeline’s pre-draft rankings. He throws a three-pitch mix including a fastball, slider, and changeup. His fastball grades as above average, and his slider grades as a 60 on the 20-80 scouting scale. He’s touched as high as 99 mph on his fastball while his slider and changeup sit in the mid-80s. He’s had a high walk rate in college, so this is something he will need to work on at the professional level. View full rumor

Agreed. Roden should get a run for a bit in a corner outfield spot. I like him as an option there!

Once the game got underway, Joe Ryan had to work around immediate trouble. The Angels put two runners aboard in the opening inning, but Ryan stranded both and never let the early traffic snowball. The Twins wasted little time providing him with some run support. Kody Clemens drew a four-pitch walk to open the second inning, bringing Royce Lewis to the plate. One pitch later, Lewis launched his 10th home run of the season, giving Minnesota an early 2-0 lead. Luke Keaschall added another run later in the inning with a sacrifice fly that scored Victor Caratini, extending the lead to 3-0. Luke Keaschall added another run later in the inning with a sacrifice fly that scored Victor Caratini, extending the lead to 3-0. The Angels answered in the third when Jorge Soler ripped an RBI double to cut the deficit to one, but Ryan settled right back in. Over his final three innings, Ryan allowed just two baserunners while continuing to attack the strike zone. It wasn't his most overpowering outing, but it was another example of why he's been one of the American League's most dependable starters this season. The only blemish after Ryan departed came in the seventh. Making his Twins debut after arriving from Toronto earlier this week, Tommy Nance surrendered a two-out RBI single to Nolan Schanuel after Zach Neto stole second, allowing the Angels to tie the game at three. Nance also recorded a pair of strikeouts in the inning. The tie lasted only a few minutes. Royce Lewis opened the bottom of the seventh with a double before Victor Caratini followed with another double into the gap, putting the Twins back in front 4-3. Alan Roden kept the line moving with an RBI single one batter later, giving Minnesota an important insurance run. That was all the bullpen needed. Woo-Suk Go handled the eighth, and Yoendrys Gómez closed things out in the ninth for his 11th save of the season and 10th since joining the Twins. One number that stood out when the afternoon ended: 11. That's how many runners the Angels left on base. Ryan and the bullpen bent more than a few times, but they consistently made pitches when traffic mounted. That's often the difference between winning and losing games like this. What's Next? The Twins will try to secure the series win Sunday before the All-Star break. Taj Bradley (8-3, 3.67 ERA) gets the ball for Minnesota against José Soriano (8-5, 3.40 ERA). Bradley enters the finale throwing some of his best baseball of the season. He has allowed two earned runs or fewer in four consecutive starts and is coming off a dominant seven-inning, 10-strikeout performance against Cleveland. After Sunday's finale, Joe Ryan and Byron Buxton will head to Philadelphia for the All-Star Game while the rest of the Twins get a much-needed breather before opening the second half with a road series against Pete Crow-Armstrong and the Cubs. {C}%3C!%2D%2Dbr%20%7Bmso-data-placement%3Asame-cell%3B%7D%2D%2D%3E--> TUE WED THU FRI SAT TOT Rojas 0 0 47 0 0 47 Morris 13 0 0 25 0 38 Rogers 17 15 0 0 0 32 Adams 0 20 0 12 0 32 Funderburk 0 20 10 0 0 30 Gómez 3 19 0 0 18 40 Go 0 0 18 0 21 18 Nance 0 0 0 0 27 27 View full article

Yeah, I don't think any of the top 3 are bad to get "stuck" with. All three have a load of potential. Every team just places different value in different skill sets so it will be interesting to see what the White Sox and Rays do and then the choice the Twins make after that. I'm sure they've discussed all possibilities but I'm excited for any of the top three to be the selection!

Similar to 2025, the 2026 MLB draft will feature 20 rounds, with a slight adjustment to its weekend format. Prior to 2025, the draft was a two-day event, with 40 total rounds. Last year, the draft was over three days, and this year it will be over two days. The first four rounds (which is one more than last year’s first day) will be later today, starting at 1:00 ET. You can catch the first 10 picks live on NBC or on Peacock. Picks 11-40 can be found on MLB Network or streaming on MLB.com or on MLB.TV starting at 2:30 ET. Starting at 4:00 ET, picks 41-135 will complete day one of draft coverage, and those can be watched the same way as picks 11-40. The rest of the draft will take place tomorrow, starting at 11:30 am ET, and can be found on MLB.com or on MLB.TV. While 16 rounds may seem like a lot in one day, last year it was 17 on the second day, and in prior years, they had 20-round days. The Twins will make five picks on day one. 3rd Overall (Round 1) 43rd overall (Round 2) 74th overall (Competitive Balance Round B) 79th overall (Round 3) 107th overall (Round 4) Jamie Cameron, Twins Daily’s MLB Prospect Guru and Draft Expert, has a mock draft board that can be found here. The Twins will have the fifth-largest bonus pool ($16,929,600) in the league. The pool is determined by assigning a slot value to each pick in the first 10 rounds. In rounds 11-20, players can sign for up to $150,000 and not count toward the bonus pool number. As a reminder, teams can exceed their bonus pool allotment by up to five percent before incurring any future pick penalties. No team in the bonus pool era has ever exceeded that five percent threshold. More information on the entire draft and the pick allotments for the Twins' specific picks can be found in the Twins Draft Primer Article. Twins Daily will also feature the Twins Draft Tracker, which will be kept up to date not only during the draft but through the entire signing period, so keep coming back for updates! View full article

The Twins have optioned outfielder Kyler Fedko to Triple-A after Thursday's loss against Cleveland. This likely makes room for Ryan Jeffers to return from the injured list in the upcoming series against the Angels. Fedko was on the major league roster for about three weeks, where he played in 14 games, going 0-16 with eight strikeouts. His first major league hit will have to wait, as he will be back with Triple-A St. Paul this weekend. He was mostly used as a pinch runner and defensive replacement in his appearances with the Twins. View full rumor

Bailey Ober has completed his rehab assignment and been returned to the active roster prior to the finale against the Guardians. He threw 8 1/3 innings in two rehab starts with Cedar Rapids and St. Paul. Prior to going on the injured list, Ober had 12 starts for the Twins, with a 4.59 ERA and 4.98 FIP. He's had his ups and downs but the hope is that he can provide some veteran depth in a rotation that has showed promise at times. Along with Ober being reinstated, LHP Kendry Rojas was recalled from Triple-A. He's bounced between the majors at Triple-A this year. In his time in the majors, he has looked promising, throwing 16 1/3 innings over six appearances. In that time, he has struck out 18 hitters, but also walked 13. If he can improve the walk rate, there is plenty of promise in the young lefty, either as a starter, or more likely as a relief option going forward. The last move made was that Connor Prielipp has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a finger blister on his left middle finger. Prielipp has been solid in the rotation this year, most recently pitching on Wednesday, giving up three runs over five innings pitched in a game the Twins won in walk-off fashion. On the year, Prielipp has a 5.00 ERA and a much better 3.90 FIP. In 66 2/3 innings, he has recorded 71 strikeouts over 13 appearances. The timing of the injured list stint could be beneficial with the All-Star Break right around the corner, so Prielipp could miss fewer games as long as the blister doesn't turn into a longer-lasting issue. He was not scheduled to start until after the break, so he won't miss a start until after the All-Star break is finished. View full rumor