Cody Schoenmann

Image courtesy of © Eric Canha-Imagn Images On Tuesday, third baseman Royce Lewis and utility player Willi Castro could be activated off the 10-day injured list, adding much-needed reinforcements to an injury-stricken Minnesota Twins position player group. Lewis figures to split time between third base and DH, while Castro should slide back into a near-everyday role playing multiple positions. Although it might be a bit longer before Castro returns, when both guys are back, the Twins will need to open two 26-man roster spots for them. At first glance, Mickey Gasper seems likely to be demoted to Triple-A St. Paul. Recently acquired infielders Jonah Bride and Kody Clemens are candidates to lose their places, too. However, depending on how confident the team is in Lewis's ability to play third most days and on Castro's ability to bat from the left side without problems, both players could be spared—at the expense of Edouard Julien. Over 104 plate appearances in his third season in the majors, Julien has yet to rule again. Instead, he's hitting .198/.288/.319, with five doubles, two home runs, a 27.9% strikeout rate, and a 78 wRC+. The 26-year-old French Canadian hasn't improved defensively either, posting -5 Outs Above Average (OAA) at second base. Given that he is the fourth-worst qualified fielder in baseball while also performing 22 points worse than average at the plate, Julien has been a sub-replacement-level player. Neither Bride nor Clemens has performed well this season, generating a combined 29 wRC+ over 86 plate appearances. However, the two have performed well since joining Minnesota. Since making his Twins debut on Apr. 19, Bride has hit .350/.364/.350 with a 106 wRC+ over 22 plate appearances. Julien hit .139/.295/.250 with 69 wRC+ over 44 plate appearances in the same timeframe. Bride has demonstrated the ability to reach base at a significantly higher rate than Julien, while striking out at an impressively low 13.6% rate. Julien has a 31.8% strikeout rate over the same stretch. Since joining the club on Apr. 28, Clemens has also outperformed Julien, albeit with a paltry .167/.167/.500 line and an 80 wRC+ over 12 plate appearances. Julien has hit .125/.222/.313 with a 54 wRC+ over 18 plate appearances during the same stretch. Clemens got the start over Julien at second base on Saturday against Boston and earned a pinch-hitting opportunity over Julien in the eighth inning of Sunday's contest. The argument for Bride deserving a spot on the 26-man roster over Clemens and Julien is relatively straightforward. Since joining Minnesota, the former Marlin has been a plus hitter, while being a surehanded defender at third base and still possessing the ability to play first base. Having effectively stepped into the Jose Miranda role, there is reason to believe Bride will hold a 26-man roster spot upon Lewis and Castro's returns, even though Lewis will receive the bulk of opportunities at the hot corner. The club's 13th and final position player spot will likely come down to Clemens and Julien. Despite possessing a greater ceiling than Clemens, Julien could be the odd player out, given Clemens's defensive superiority and flexibility. View full article

The Twins catcher hasn't hit a home run over 58 plate appearances. What is the cause of his power outage? Should those who follow the team be concerned? Over 23 games played, the Minnesota Twins' catching tandem of Ryan Jeffers and Christian Vázquez ranks 25th in major league baseball, hitting .175/.264/.250 with a 54 wRC+ and -0.1 Wins Above Replacement at FanGraphs (fWAR). The club's positional duo has taken a step back from last season, where they finished as the 19th-best tandem in baseball, and a significant step back from 2023, where they concluded the season as the league's ninth-best pairing. Jeffers and (more so) Vázquez are still sound game-planning, receiving, framing, and throwing catchers. Yet, they have taken a substantial step back offensively, causing them to plummet toward the bottom of the league. The tandem's ability to function offensively would always be contingent on Jeffers's ability to produce at the plate. Since joining the Twins, Vázquez has been a well-below-league-average offensive catcher, posting a 65 and 60 wRC+ the prior two seasons, respectively. He is performing especially poorly at the plate this season, hitting .100/.152/.167 with three hits, zero home runs, and a -12 wRC+ over 33 plate appearances. Still, expectations were practically nonexistent with Vázquez, making his slow start at the plate unsurprising. On the other hand, Jeffers is performing below expectations, evidenced by him hitting .220/.328/.300 with 11 hits, four doubles, zero home runs, and a 92 wRC+ over 58 plate appearances. The long-time Twins backstop possesses an admirable 20.7% strikeout rate and 10.3% walk rate, indicating he isn't struggling to see the ball. Instead, concerns lie within his suboptimal mechanics and diminished bat speed. Here is how Jeffers's bat speed has trended over the previous three seasons: 2023: 73.8 MPH 2024: 72.9 MPH 2025: 70.8 MPH Jeffers's bat speed has gradually dropped the previous three rolling seasons, directly correlating to a steady drop in power and overall offensive production. While possessing a 32nd-percentile bat speed, the UNC Wilmington product has also generated a deeper contact point this season, evidenced by his evolving Intercept Point (inches toward pitcher) versus the front of the plate the previous three seasons: 2023: 2.8 in. 2024: 3.5 in. 2025: -2.0 in. Jeffers is positioned further back in the box, further evidenced by depth in the box hovering between 27.5-to-27.2 inches in 2023 and 2024, respectively, to 28.7 inches this season. Now, there could be various reasons why Jeffers is further back in the box. Many MLB players have elected to stand further back in the box to accumulate more time to react to pitches. When players do this, it is typically a purposeful change in approach implemented alongside hitting coaches in the offseason. Jeffers, however, is seemingly deepening himself in the box to give himself more time to catch up to pitches because his bat is slower. cU9lUnFfWGw0TUFRPT1fQlFCU0JnWlZCRmNBWGxFTEF3QUFWQVJWQUFBQlVRQUFVMXdFVlZaUkIxSlFCZ1ZS.mp4 The reason behind Jeffers's decreased bat speed and decision to position himself further back in the box is unclear. Decreased bat speed is often the product of a player playing through injury. The only documented injury Jeffers has sustained this season was when a ball hit his right hand, causing it to bleed and eventually swell. The right-handed hitting backstop was sidelined for two days before returning to the lineup. He has interestingly performed significantly better since injuring his thumb, propelling from a 47 wRC+ over 38 plate appearances before the injury to a 177 wRC+ over 20 plate appearances afterward. Nevertheless, Jeffers's change in positioning and notably diminished bat speed are cause for concern. Vázquez will always be a below-average offensive catcher. Triple-A catchers Jair Camargo and Diego Cartaya are significantly struggling at the plate, meaning the possibility of minor-league reinforcements impacting the parent club's catching tandem is effectively a non-option. That being the case, Jeffers will need to turn things around the plate if the club expects to receive any offensive production from the position. If he cannot, the club could face a bleak outlook at the position with over 130 games remaining. View full article

The Twins' young catching prospect has struggled at the plate and in the field to begin his 2025 campaign. Is the 23-year-old at risk of being designated for assignment for the second time in five months? Image courtesy of © Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images While facing Indianapolis early Tuesday afternoon, the St. Paul Saints managed an offensive outburst their major-league parent club couldn't fathom, scoring 16 runs on 16 hits. Potential future major-league contributors Carson McCusker, Armando Alvarez, Mickey Gasper, and Ryan Fitzgerald hit home runs to fuel the beatdown. However, one player was absent from the club's offensive barrage: Diego Cartaya. Cartaya went 1-5 in Tuesday's game, striking out four times. The 23-year-old's lackluster performance at the plate appropriately illustrates the struggles he has undergone at the plate to begin his 2025 campaign. He's hitting .080/.207/.200, with two hits, four walks, 18 strikeouts, and an 11 wRC+ over 29 plate appearances. Strikeouts have been the most significant hindrance to the former consensus top-20 prospect's inability to produce at the plate; he's not making enough contact for anything else to matter. Obviously, producing a strikeout rate that even former fan-favorite Joey Gallo would find alarming is a cause for concern. He had a much less eye-popping 28.6% strikeout rate over 803 plate appearances between the Los Angeles Dodgers' Double- and Triple-A affiliates. It's unlikely that he'll continue going down on strikes half the time. Still, it doesn't look at all as though he's set to blossom into the MLB-caliber contributor those who follow the Twins hoped he'd become, after the organization sent right-handed pitching prospect Jose Vasquez to Los Angeles for the right-handed hitting backstop in early January. Now, Cartaya's catching partner Jair Camargo isn't performing well at the plate either. He's hitting .222/.286/.356, with 10 hits, four walks, 21 strikeouts, and a 69 wRC+ over 49 plate appearances. However, the 25-year-old is at least yielding (somewhat) respectable plate appearances. Neither catcher is playing well, meaning the parent club could be in a dire situation if one of Ryan Jeffers or Christian Vázquez were forced to miss extended time. (Both have already been banged up within the first month, so it's not exactly a far-fetched hypothetical.) If Jeffers or Vázquez were forced to miss time in the near future, Camargo would undoubtedly be the backstop to earn a promotion to the majors, despite both he and Cartaya occupying 40-man roster spots. Camargo is also outperforming Cartaya behind the plate. Over 83 2/3 innings behind the plate, 22 runners have attempted to steal a base on Camargo. He has caught 10 of those runners, generating a respectable 45% caught stealing rate. Twelve runners have attempted to swipe a base on Cartaya, and he has thrown out zero. Cartaya has never been effective at throwing out baserunners. He's posted a below-average 19% caught-stealing rate over 353 career attempts. Yet, his defensive struggles have become more pronounced, given his ineptitude at the plate. He is still an adequate framer, a skill that will become even more important as the ABS challenge system could be implemented in the majors next season. That said, Camargo is an equally skilled framer, meaning Cartaya has no clear path to earning a roster spot over him in the short- or long-term future. Cartaya was an intriguing low-risk, high-reward offseason acquisition by the Twins' front office. Yet, his significant early-season struggles could signal that the young backstop might be the next 40-man roster occupant to be designated for assignment if the club elects to purchase the contract of a veteran reliever or position player in the near future. Here's the most damning thing: If that does happen, there's a fair chance the Twins would be able to retain Cartaya, anyway. Right now, no team is likely to claim him and allot their own 40-man roster spot to the lost soul behind the mask. View full article

And so, Mahle can wait. He knows it's too late as we're walkin' on by. His soul slides away, "But don't look back in anger," we heard him say. Image courtesy of © Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Your 2025 Minnesota Twins are off to an abysmal start. No amount of cognitive behavioral therapy or ventures into various coping mechanisms can soothe the reality that this team is, at best, disappointing. Nevertheless, we here at Twins Daily will relentlessly continue to cover every possible positive angle one can find on this team, its manager, and its front office (never the owners, though)—in hopes of looking intelligent when this club is inevitably holding a firm one-game lead over the third and final AL Wild Card spot at the All-Star break. That being the case, please prepare yourself for yet another puff piece on the Twins' front office's sound decision-making process in the runup to the 2022 MLB Trade Deadline. In the second season of a two-year, $22-million deal he signed with the Texas Rangers after the 2023 season, veteran Tyler Mahle has looked like one of the American League's best starting pitchers, posting a 0.68 ERA, 2.51 FIP, and 24.8% strikeout rate over 26 2/3 innings pitched, including a dominating start (seven innings pitched and zero earned runs) against the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. The driving force behind the right-handed hurler's early-season success has been his fastball, which has generated a 99th-percentile fastball run value despite possessing 16th-percentile average velocity. OTdXdldfV0ZRVkV3dEdEUT09X0FGSlFWVkpWVlZZQUMxUUxVQUFIQlE5V0FBTUNCVmdBQjFOV0NRWU5VZ0VCQWxjRQ==.mp4 Mahle's splitter has played exceptionally well, too, as evidenced by the pitch generating a 98th-percentile Offspeed run value. The former Twins starter has utilized these two pitches 80% of the time, a usage rate similar to when he blossomed into one of the most sought-after 2022 deadline acquisitions while a member of the Cincinnati Reds. Minnesota won that bidding war, sending prospects Spencer Steer, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, and Stever Hajjar to the Queen City to acquire the prized righty. OTdXdldfV0ZRVkV3dEdEUT09X0RnVUVVZ0lHVUFjQVdnQUhBQUFIVkFaV0FGZ0ZBbEVBQ3dBQUJ3dFdCd0FHQTFSUw==.mp4 Mahle infamously started only four games for the Twins in 2022, with an uninspiring 4.41 ERA, 5.56 FIP, and 19% strikeout rate—before spending the rest of the season on the injured list with shoulder inflammation. The then-28-year-old began his 2023 campaign strongly, generating a 3.16 ERA, 4.19 FIP, and 27.5% strikeout rate. Unfortunately, any expectancies of an elongated bounce-back season were cut short, as Mahle was sidelined with an elbow impingement in late April before undergoing Tommy John surgery a month later. The injury-prone righty's absence went largely unfelt, as Minnesota went on to snap their 18-game postseason losing streak five months later. Mahle hit free agency that fall and struck his deal with Texas. The organization understood that he would spend a substantial portion of the contract's first season recovering from surgery. However, unlike the salary-restricted Twins, they were willing to shell out the money necessary to secure his services. In an echo of his first season in Minnesota, Mahle joined Texas in early August, making only three starts for the organization before missing the rest of the 2024 season due to right shoulder tightness. Coming off three straight seasons plagued by significant injuries to his throwing arm, many wondered if Mahle's once-promising major-league career would fizzle out. However, as stated earlier, the now-30-year-old has been incredible this season, making his $22-million contract a bargain. Other veteran injury-prone starters are earning nearly that much total money on one-year contracts. Mahle's success with Texas shouldn't anger Twins fans. Despite a dreadful start to their 2025 season, Minnesota still possesses a formidable starting rotation, with Pablo López, Bailey Ober, Joe Ryan, Simeon Woods Richardson, David Festa, and Zebby Matthews all possessing multiple seasons of control. Instead, Mahle overcoming significant injury concerns and blossoming into one of the AL's best starting pitchers this season further proves that the Twins front office's decision to spend significant prospect capital on Mahle at the 2022 deadline was sound, even if Texas is the organization benefitting from Mahle's success. Perhaps the people who most need to hear that are members of the front office, themselves. They shouldn't be cowed by the 2022 experience. They should be thinking about how to replicate that process. View full article

Thanks for asking the tough questions, Lou.

Cite five (5) pieces of evidence to the contrary with 150 word annotations in APA format, please.

Firing a well-respected manager roughly 20 games into the season would be premature. However, if the Minnesota Twins keep losing, the organization could decide a drastic change needs to be made—and the next man up might not be who you'd think. Image courtesy of © Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Through 18 games, the Minnesota Twins are off to one of their worst starts in franchise history. Plagued by sloppy defensive play, significant struggles at the plate, and pitchers developing a newfound inability to toss fielded groundballs to first base accurately, the Twins have become one of the majors' most unwatchable clubs. Minnesota has played only 11% of their games, and could rebound from their miserable 6-12 start, similar to what they did after beginning last season 7-13. However, times are dire, and drastic changes could occur if the club doesn't turn around its fortunes quickly. After dramatically missing last season's postseason following a dismal 12-27 stretch to conclude their 2024 campaign, Minnesota fired hitting coach David Popkins and his assistants Derek Shomon and Rudy Hernández. Despite hiring Matt Borgschulte as Popkins's successor, the Twins' offense is off to a similarly slow start this season, indicating he and his assistants likely weren't the main problem behind the 2024 club's inability to produce down the stretch. Popkins, Shomon, and Hernández were effectively scapegoated out of Minnesota, and with the team continuing to struggle, manager Rocco Baldelli could be the next Twins personnel member to be relieved of his duties. Big-league managers have relatively little control over events that occur in games. Their most considerable influence on games is deciding when to pull starting pitchers, which reliever will enter from the bullpen, and whether to ask a bench player to pinch-hit or pinch-run. Given their poor start and utter collapse last season, one could reasonably deem it's time for Baldelli to depart the organization. However, if the organization fired him this early in the year, they would effectively be scapegoating the seventh-year manager. The club elected to keep him last fall during one of their most catastrophic implosions in franchise history. Nothing that has occurred this spring should have materially changed their view of whether he can get the best out of this team, so if they liked him enough not to fire him in October, they should still like him enough now. Again, if the club continues to slip through the cracks, significant changes like upending the front office, coaching staff, and core of the roster would be justified. However, substantial moves like that would need to occur this summer or fall—not in mid-April. Nevertheless, the organization parting ways with Baldelli feels more realistic than ever. If the move were to occur, someone on the coaching staff would need to succeed him as the club's manager. When organizations fire their manager during the season, they often replace the fired skipper with their bench coach. Minnesota's bench coach is Jayce Tingler, though, and he was recently part of a similar situation to what Baldelli could soon become a victim of. Tingler was the San Diego Padres' manager during the 2020 and 2021 MLB seasons. Tingler was dismissed after the club finished 79-83 and missed the playoffs. Tingler felt somewhat scapegoated by the Padres. That being the case, he might not want to be the person who benefits from a different organization scapegoating their manager. In fact, he's not ardently pursuing the chance to be a manager again, period. Also, Tingler has been Baldelli's righthand man since joining the organization before the 2022 season. If Baldelli were fired, the organization could view Tingler as being too similar to Baldelli and elect to part ways with him, too. Thus, the organization could hand the managerial reins over to someone in the dugout with a different voice and perspective. That person could be current assistant bench coach/catching coach Hank Conger. Since joining the Twins before the 2022 season, Conger has become a significant clubhouse presence whom players and fellow coaches admire. He has progressed from first base coach and catcher coach to being promoted to assistant bench coach this past offseason. Being a former major-league catcher, Conger continues to coach the position. He has played a significant role in Ryan Jeffers and Christian Vázquez becoming one of the best game-planning catching duos in baseball. There has always been an understanding that catchers are the position players most likely to blossom into managers in their post-playing careers due to being the position player in charge of managing the game from the field. Multiple current big-league managers, such as legends Bruce Bochy and Bob Melvin and reigning AL Manager of the Year Stephen Vogt, reflect this phenomenon. Given what's already been asked of him and how the situation might shift in the near future, Conger could reasonably be the next former catcher to transition into a managerial job—if Minnesota continues their early season slide. View full article

Both are consensus top-100 prospects. However, there is reason to believe Luke Keaschall has jumped Emmanuel Rodriguez as Minnesota's second-best prospect, after two years of Rodriguez being comfortably ensconced in that spot. Image courtesy of © Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK A little over a month ago, Twins Daily released its Top 20 Minnesota Twins Prospect Rankings list. Long-time prospects guru Seth Stohs released his annual blurb synopsizing the inner workings of how the list came about, and what to expect of the top 20 prospects as the impending minor-league season neared. As is true with most publications assessing Minnesota's prospect pool, young position players Walker Jenkins, Emmanuel Rodriguez, and Luke Keaschall were ranked first, second, and third, respectively. However, Seth noted in his piece that "approximately 25% of (Twins Daily) voters moved Keaschall ahead of Rodriguez in their rankings." Now, I am not one to doxx myself, but I, Cody Schoenmann, was one of those writers. On the surface, the fact that 1/4 of Twins Daily writers placed Keaschall ahead of Rodriguez shouldn't be surprising. As Seth noted in his piece, both are consensus top-100 prospects. That said, there is a significant distance between the two on nearly every reputable prospect rankings list. Here are three examples: FanGraphs: Rodriguez - 20; Keaschall - 56 The Athletic: Rodriguez - 21; Keaschall - 62 Just Baseball: Rodriguez - 19; Keaschall - 42 That's an average 33-spot difference. Unsurprisingly, other publications sport a similar disparity. Local gurus and national writers like Eric Longenhagen, Keith Law, and Aram Leighton agreed Rodriguez was a superior prospect to Keaschall before the 2025 minor-league season began. But could the tide be shifting? Here's how Rodriguez and Keaschall have performed to begin their 2025 Triple-A campaigns: Rodriguez - .235/.381/.294, 42 plate appearances, eight hits, eight walks, zero home runs, 103 wRC+ Keaschall - .294/.422/.412, 45 plate appearances, 10 hits, eight walks, two home runs, 138 wRC+ These, of course, are small samples. That said, a trend that commenced last season has continued: Keaschall is a substantially better bat-to-ball guy than Rodriguez. If you've been following these two hitters' respective careers in the Twins' farm system, that note won't surprise you, valued reader. Instead of being a plus pure hitter, Rodriguez excels by making hard contact and supernal swing decisions. In the lower minors, he was also largely platoon-proof. It's notable, therefore, that he has struggled against left-handed pitchers in Triple A, with a nightmarish .071/.188/.071 slash line and eight strikeouts over 14 at-bats this season. Rodriguez has always struck out a lot, but his swing-and-miss concerns have become more amplified with the Saints. He's generating a concerning 37.9% strikeout rate over 72 combined Triple-A at-bats the past two seasons. Like most young hitters, Rodriguez's weaknesses have been exposed by superior pitching, meaning he must make the adjustments necessary to become more than a plus platoon bat. There's still every reason to believe Rodrigez will become a consistently above-average offensive (and defensive) corner outfielder. Early in his career, he'll even be a capable a center fielder. However, it's Keaschall who now looks more ready to instantly become a plus offensive contributor, should the Twins have need of that. Last season, Keaschall excelled against right- and left-handed pitchers, as evidenced below: vs. Left: .281/.416/.404, 113 plate appearances, 25 hits, two home runs, five doubles, 20 walks, 20 strikeouts vs. Right: .310/.422/.507, 351 plate appearances, 90 hits, 13 home runs, 16 doubles, 42 walks, 60 strikeouts The hard-hitting righty has continued that trend this season, slashing .214/.353/.214 against lefties and .350/.464/.550 against righties. Those samples are too small to analyze, but the bigger ones paint the picture: Keaschall can hit regardless of the handedness of his opposing hurler. It's why he's struck out in just 16.9% of his minor-league plate appearances. He looks closer to being ready to hit in the majors. Unfortunately, he has yet to play an entire game in the field this season, as he is still recovering from Tommy John surgery he underwent last August. Given that Jenkins possesses the potential necessary to become a perennial All-Star, he will remain atop Minnesota's prospects rankings for the foreseeable future. However, Keaschall's ability to thrive offensively and provide defensive versatility gives real weight to the notion that he's surpassed Rodriguez as the organization's second-best prospect—and maybe a top-30 prospect in baseball. View full article

The southpaw struggled in his 2025 debut. That said, he will receive additional opportunities this season. When those opportunities arise, he needs to dominate against same-handed hitters. Upon being recalled from Triple-A St. Paul early Saturday morning, Minnesota Twins left-handed reliever Kody Funderburk was thrust into action the same day, tossing two innings in the club's 0-4 loss against the Detroit Tigers. Funderburk struggled in his 2025 debut, sloppily allowing two earned runs, as illustrated below by Twins Daily's Jamie Cameron: Beyond allowing a two-run home run to Tigers' first baseman Spencer Torkelson, the 28-year-old southpaw interestingly struggled against left-handed hitters, a trend dating back to last season. Here is how Funderburk fared against right- and left-handed hitters last season: vs. Left: 13 2/3 innings pitched, 64 batters faced, 15 hits allowed, zero home runs allowed, nine walks, 19 strikeouts, 1.76 WHIP vs. Right: 20 2/3 innings pitched, 97 batters faced, 26 hits allowed, four home runs allowed, six walks, 13 strikeouts, 1.55 WHIP The Dallas Baptist product produced similar results in Triple-A, generating 1.62 WHIP over 22 left-handed hitters faced compared to a 1.22 WHIP over 38 right-handed hitters faced. The three-batter minimum rule has made left-handed specialty relievers an extinct player archetype. That being the case, modern southpaw relievers must perform well against hitters to just a roster spot. Despite needing to perform against hitters of both-handedness, left-handed relievers still generally excel against left-handed hitters, making Funderburk's performance last season an oddity. As noted earlier, Funderburk didn't perform well overall. The concept of platoon advantage or disadvantage becomes meaningless when a pitcher is ineffective entirely. Still, even when he performed well in Triple-A and the majors in 2023, he was more effective against right-handed hitters. Funderburk is a true east-to-west pitcher, relying on his cutter and sinker over 60% of the time. He complements his fastball variations with a changeup and slider. In the minors and his brief stints with the parent club, the 28-year-old southpaw's best pitch has consistently been his cutter. He often throws the pitch high and tight in the zone against righties. That being the case, the pitch runs in on right-handed hitters hands, minimizing their ability to generate competitive swings. Below is an example of him efficiently using his cutter: NXlhelhfWGw0TUFRPT1fVlZWVlhWd0NVZ2NBWFZvS1ZnQUhVd1pYQUFNTVVWVUFBRndGVmdVTUF3cGNVd1JU.mp4 Funderburk also often employs his changeup against righties, a pitch known for being utilized by pitchers to attack opposite-handed hitters. He can throw the pitch low in the zone effectively, deploying it as a complementary offspeed pitch to his high-in-the-zone cutter. Unfortunately, he has yet to possess an adequate pitch mix against same-handed hitters. Ideally, his sinker would function as the fastball variation he could rely on against left-handed hitters. Unfortunately, the pitch has yet to become as effective as his cutter. That being the case, left-handed hitters can crowd the plate, fight the pitch off, or hit in hard and in play for extra-base hits. His slider is an adequate complementary breaking pitch when facing lefties. However, the pitch becomes less effective when he's unable to attack the zone with either of his fastball variations. He will need to improve his sinker's effectiveness against same-handed hitters. If the pitch continues to generate unideal results, he will seemingly have to begin pounding his cutter against lefties, too. While a less-than-optimal outcome, the pitch could be effective against left-handed hitters, as it could employ a movement profile similar to that of a gyro slider. While he has yet to demonstrate an ability to do this, Funderburk might need to begin attacking same-handed hitters outside with his cutter (which he could throw high and low in the zone) and his slider. Funderburk's window of opportunity to become a fixture of Minnesota's bullpen is closing. That said, he will likely receive extended opportunities with the club this season, even though his first appearance was disheartening. Danny Coulombe is entrenched as the club's primary left-handed reliever. Veterans Anthony Misiewicz and Richard Lovelady are intriguing lefties who could soon inhabit a bullpen spot with the parent club, too. However, given that Funderburk possesses a minor league option, the club will be more willing to move him back and forth between St. Paul and the parent club. Funderburk could have a future with the Twins. He is generally effective against right-handed pitchers. However, he must start overpowering same-handed hitters to become an entrenched figure in Minnesota's plans. View full article

The Twins roster multiple veterans at Triple-A with major-league experience. Which of them are most likely to join the parent club in a pinch? Image courtesy of © Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images Fewer than 10 games into the 2025 MLB regular season, the Minnesota Twins have already engaged in some desperate roster machinations. Upon tossing 5 1/3 innings on 79 pitches in mop-up duty during the club's third game of the season against the St. Louis Cardinals, veteran pitcher Randy Dobnak was designated for assignment to roster a fresh arm in the eighth bullpen spot. Darren McCaughan was handed Dobnak's spot on the roster. Despite generating a 0.00 ERA and 0.37 FIP through his first 4 2/3 innings pitched, there is reason to suspect the 29-year-old journeyman reliever's days on Minnesota's 26-man roster are numbered. Promoting young, intriguing players on the 40-man roster (like Emmanuel Rodriguez or Travis Adams) would be fascinating. However, the organization values these blossoming talents' long-term outlooks and would prefer not to promote them to inhabit short-term bench or low-leverage relief roles. That being the case, expendable veterans like Dobnak and McCaughan will continue to receive opportunities with the parent club, especially early in the season. Interestingly, the organization possesses several veterans with major-league experience at Triple-A St. Paul, whose contracts could get purchased to inhabit a roster spot with the parent club if injury or emergency depth concerns arise. Which fringe veteran is most likely to join the club in a pinch? Let's take a look: Huascar Ynoa As mentioned earlier, despite impressing early in his 2025 campaign, McCaughan could soon get designated for assignment to make space for a fresh arm in the eight-pitcher bullpen. Veteran relievers Scott Blewett and Anthony Misiewicz are the most talented arms in St. Paul's bullpen. That said, the organization prefers not to purchase either of their contracts until one of their top seven relievers undergoes extended performance concerns or is forced to miss time due to injury. Misiewicz also pitched Sunday for the Saints, so he's not fresh at the moment. The next pitcher who could inhabit the mop-up role in Minnesota's bullpen could be Ynoa. Signed as part of Minnesota's 2014 international signing pool, Ynoa was eventually traded to Atlanta as part of the deal that brought veteran left-handed reliever Jaime García for one (celebrated) start. The young righty would go on to be part of Atlanta's 2021 World Series-winning club, before falling from grace due to extended injury and performance concerns. The now-26-year-old has returned to the Twins organization, albeit in a role with much lower expectations. Given his prior experience as a starter, Ynoa would be able to eat multiple innings in a stretch relief role. Like Dobnak recently did, Ynoa could go unclaimed in the event he is placed on waivers, meaning the club could retain his services throughout the season. The hard-throwing righty's days as a promising starter are behind him. However, there is reason to believe he could transition into a viable major-league reliever, health permitting. Despite not having pitched in the majors since Apr. 18, 2022, Ynoa could make his long-awaited return with the organization that provided him his first affiliated-ball opportunity. Ryan Fitzgerald Last week, Twins Daily's Nick Nelson published an article touching on the club's lack of shortstop depth. In his piece, Nick noted that if Carlos Correa or Willi Castro sustained a substantial injury that forced them to be placed on the injured list, Minnesota would likely be forced to purchase Fitzgerald's contract from the Saints. On Sunday, the club announced that infielder Brooks Lee would begin a rehab assignment with Low-A Fort Myers. Lee will have 20 days to rehabilitate from a lower back issue that kept him off the 26-man Opening Day roster. Yet, he could rejoin the team within the next week-and-a-half to two weeks. Thus, there is a finite window where Fitzgerald could join the Twins and make his MLB debut. Given that Correa or Castro would need to be sidelined for it to occur, those who follow the team would prefer his debut to be delayed as long as possible. Fitzgerald joining Minnesota is an undesirable outcome. That said, there are worse options, and there is reason to believe the 30-year-old career minor-leaguer could patrol shortstop in a pinch. Spending the first five seasons of his professional baseball career in the Boston Red Sox's minor league system, Fitzgerald netted significant playing time at shortstop. He also netted 217 1/3 innings at the position with Kansas City's Triple-A affiliate last season. Again, much would have to go wrong for Fitzgerald to join Minnesota. Yet, if Correa, Castro, or another infielder were forced to miss time in the immediate future, he could join the club until Lee completes his rehab assignment. Mike Ford Having played for three National League and three American League teams over the past six seasons, Ford has generated interleague folk hero status. However, despite being a lovable personality, Twins fans would prefer if the 32-year-old left-handed hitting first baseman/designated hitter never made an appearance with the club. Luckily, those who follow the club will likely get their wish—as long as primary first baseman Ty France remains healthy. Backup first baseman José Miranda has been forced to play exclusively third base or designated hitter to begin the season due to Royce Lewis opening the season on the 15-day IL due to a hamstring strain. Miranda will continue to occupy that role until Lewis returns around mid-May, but having Castro and Edouard Julien around gives him some freedom to slide over to first or be the DH. Switch-hitting infielder Mickey Gasper has become the backup first baseman. If Gasper were to miss time in the immediate future, Julien or Miranda could receive more opportunities at first base. Yet, the club likely wouldn't want to sacrifice the versatility these two bats present at their respective infield positions (second base and third base) and designated hitter. Austin Martin would be a viable candidate to take Gasper's spot. However, if Gasper were expected to miss minimal time or Lee were on the precipice of returning, the club could purchase Ford's contract and reward him with a briefly occupied 26-man roster spot. View full article

The Twins' star shortstop has gone hitless to begin the season—but things should soon change for the better. Image courtesy of © Matt Marton-Imagn Images Through 18 plate appearances, Minnesota Twins shortstop Carlos Correa has been held hitless to begin his 2025 campaign. In addition to being unable to muster a hit at the plate, the star veteran has reached base only once, generating a walk in the final game of Minnesota's three-game opening series against the St. Louis Cardinals. Now, Correa hasn't been alone in his offensive ineptitude. Before manufacturing five runs in the sixth inning of Tuesday night's win against the Chicago White Sox, the Twins had been sporting the worst offense in MLB, generating a 23 wRC+ over 136 combined plate appearances. Every position player but Willi Castro has been underwhelming at the plate. Correa's lack of production has been particularly troublesome, considering he has been a steady force on whom the team has relied in times of extreme volatility. That said, Correa's struggles have taken place within an exceptionally small sample, and his underlying metrics suggest he is nearing a breakthrough at the plate. Over his first 18 plate appearances, Correa has generated a 76.7 MPH bat speed (96th percentile) and 43.8% squared-up rate (97th percentile). All that bat speed would have tied Correa with Angels outfielder Jo Adell for the fifth-highest average bat speed in the majors last season. Adell has been a below-average offensive contributor over his career, but the four players behind Adell in average bat speed last season were Yordan Alvarez, Matt Chapman, Shohei Ohtani, and Gunnar Henderson. The four ahead of him were Aaron Judge, Kyle Schwarber, Oneil Cruz, and Giancarlo Stanton. Outliers aside, bat speed is highly indicative of effectiveness at the plate, and Correa is more similar to players like Chapman and Henderson than Adell or Cruz. If Correa can continue to generate that kind of bat speed, hard contact will follow and balls will begin to drop, lending merit to the idea that he can produce at the rate he did the first half last season. Squared-up rate is a more convoluted advanced metric than assessing how fast a player swings their bat. The metric measures how much of the highest possible exit velocity a batter could obtain (based on a hitter's swing speed and the speed of the incoming pitch) they actually achieve; it expresses how often they make truly solid contact. Any swing that is at least 80% efficient in this regard is considered a squared-up swing by Statcast measurements. Correa has squared up 43.8% of the balls he has put in play. If he finished last season at that rate, he would have finished with the second-best squared-up rate, behind only Luis Arráez. Arráez, of course, has the league's slowest swing, preferring extreme control of the bat (and the resulting ability to make more contact than anyone else) to power. It's very rare to have both excellent bat speed and a high rate of squaring up the ball. That Correa is doing so implies that his slump will be very short-lived. He's a standout among American League hitters with at least 10 swings this season, when it comes to the combination of bat speed and the capacity to square it up. Now, it would be malpractice to make any definitive assessments over 18 plate appearances. However, considering the 11-year veteran has always hit the ball hard while displaying a keen eye at the plate, there is reason to suspect he will quickly begin producing at the rate that led to him earning his first All-Star nod as a Twin last season. Correa's inability to produce at the plate early this season has played a significant role in the club's offensive struggles. That said, his underlying metrics suggest he is on the verge of breaking through—and yet again becoming a near-elite offensive contributor at the top of Minnesota's lineup. View full article

Yes, MLB is a business. Still, clubs should treat their fringe 26-man roster players more respectfully. Despite losing their first two games to begin their 2025 campaign, Minnesota Twins starting pitchers Pablo López and Joe Ryan manufactured respectable starts against the (daunting?) St. Louis Cardinals, netting an 8-to-0 strikeout-to-walk ratio while allowing just two earned runs over a combined ten innings pitched. That said, the club's fortunes changed Sunday when a virus-stricken Bailey Ober imploded, allowing eight earned runs over 2 2/3 innings pitched. Ober could not get out of the third inning, lending way to fan-favorite right-handed reliever Randy Dobnak making his first appearance of the season. Dobnak entered the game with a runner on first with two outs. However, he was quickly able to wiggle his way out of the inning, getting designating hitter Willson Contreras to line out to left fielder Harrison Bader in just three pitches. The game would be suspended for roughly an hour due to a rain delay. Instead of deferring to a different reliever, however, Minnesota trotted Dobnak out for the bottom of the fourth, suggesting they were prepared to have the 30-year-old eat innings. The former Indy ball star would do just that, allowing up one run over 5 1/3 innings of the contest. Stretching Dobnak out for 79 pitches allowed Minnesota to rest their seven other relievers. That being the case, Manager Rocco Baldelli should have full access to the collective as the club seeks their first win of the 2025 MLB season against the Chicago White Sox this Monday. Minnesota's ability to avoid taxing its bullpen (particularly its high-leverage arms) early in the season was a favorable outcome. That said, Dobnak eating extended innings means he must be sidelined for the next two to three games. If the club had kept him on the 26-man roster, they would have been shorthanded in their upcoming three-game set on the Southside. However, they elected to designate him for assignment and select the contract of Darren McCaughan. Designating Dobnak for assignment makes sense from a roster construction perspective. Chris Paddack or Simeon Woods Richardson could similarly splinter in their upcoming starts against Chicago. If Dobnak were still occupying a roster spot, the club would have been forced to stretch out mid-to-high-leverage arms like Jorge Alcalá and Louis Varland for multiple innings, which is an undesirable outcome, especially this early in the season. Yet, that threat has been eradicated with the purchase of McCaughan's contract. That said, the decision doesn't sit right from a labor perspective. Now, to be critical of the Twins themselves would be misplaced. Minnesota needs a fresh bullpen arm. Despite Dobnak's laborious, depth-saving performance, league rule permits the club to designate him for assignment. Also, Dobnak understandably won't reject his outright assignment, and a different club won't want to claim the $4 million remaining in the last year of his deal, suggesting he will stay with the organization. Nevertheless, Twins decision-makers are acting reasonably, even if their measures are ultimately cold and callous. That said, there is reason to advocate that MLB should implement a rule prohibiting teams from demoting or DFAing stretch relievers after tossing multiple innings in a mop-up role. Quantifying how many innings and/or pitches thrown would make a reliever immune from demotion or being DFA'd would be complicated to calculate and enforce. That said, three innings pitched and/or 50 pitches thrown is a rational starting point. Now, Dobnak is a unique case in that he will continue to earn his $4 million salary if he accepts his outright assignment to Triple-A. However, the money earned from staying on the roster for as little as two to three extra days could be life-altering for a journeyman reliever like McCaughan or young arms yet to make their major league debut in Travis Adams or Marco Raya. Given MLB's willingness to capitulate to the current presidential administration's anti-DEI initiatives, there is reason to assume the league taking a pro-labor stance on any issue (even on an uncontroversial issue like this one) is unlikely. That said, the league would be shrewd to buck the trend and consider restricting clubs' ability to demote or DFA stretch relievers after shouldering load-barring loads in mop-up roles. Teams will understandably continue to manipulate this depth-preserving form of in-season bullpen construction. That said, fringe 26-man roster relievers deserve to be rewarded for their services, even if it thins the club’s bullpen depth for two to three games. View full article

I don't seem to understand your comment. This is very serious reporting from a very serious reporter (me). Could you not tell by the AP style dateline at the beginning of the article?

Twins recently acquired fourth outfielder is making a shocking career change. How will this affect the club's outfield depth? Image courtesy of Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images FORT MYERS — Minnesota Twins outfielder Harrison Bader—signed to a one-year, $6.25 million contract in early February—told reporters Saturday he is exiting Major League Baseball to join indie ska band Vampire Weekend on their upcoming tour. "It's always been a dream of mine," proclaimed an ecstatic Bader. "I reached out to my cousin (Chris) Baio after they announced the second leg of their 'Only God Was Above Us' tour and asked if I could tag along." "I told him I've never played an instrument my entire life but that I have the work ethic necessary to become a multi-instrumentalist in less than two months," he continued, adding, "Baio told me he'd talk to Ezra (Koenig) and Chris (Tomson) and that he'd get back to me before spring training ended. Luckily, he called me this past Thursday and told me I was in so, yeah, I'm an indie artist now, man!" Bader had been performing well for Minnesota this spring, hitting .286/.390/.429 with 10 hits, two doubles, one home run, and a 120 wRC+ over 41 plate appearances. The 30-year-old had also netted playing time at all three outfield positions, signaling what his role with the playoff-hopeful club would have been this upcoming season. "I mean, no offense to the Twins and their fanbase, but I could give three s***s about baseball now. Have you listened to their most recent album? It's fantastic." Vampire Weekend's upcoming tour begins May 10 at the Just Like Heaven Festival in Pasadena, CA, and ends on Sept. 27 in Ocean City, MD, at the Oceans Calling Festival. The tour is primarily US-based. However, the alternative group will travel abroad to Japan and across Europe in August. Twins Daily reached out to Koenig for specifics on Bader's role with the group, to which he replied: "Yeah, Harrison's going to do a lot for us. Right now, we plan for him to be the guy who shouts 'Hey, hey, hey, hey' to the crowd during 'A-Punk.' We also plan for him to break out into interpretative dance during the sax solo in 'Classical' and dabble with playing the Baio family out-of-tune balalaika during 'Pravda,' assuming he can learn the instrument in less than two months." "I think this is really cool, actually," exclaimed Twins Executive Vice President Joe Pohlad. "I mean, I haven't listened to Vampire Weekend since, like, 2009, but I loved their early aesthetic of being prep school kids and hanging out on the beach at Cape Cod. It reminded me of my childhood." When asked about Bader's unexpected departure, Twins President of Baseball and Business Operations Derek Falvey told reporters, "Yeah, I mean, I'm stoked for Harrison. I also think this is really cool. And, glass half full, maybe Harrison can help us contend for a championship once the tour ends in late September. Nevertheless, this type of development touches our creative approach to roster construction in a literal sense. We love guys who appreciate the arts." Bader's departure will thin the club's outfield depth, especially from the right side of the plate. That said, the organization is excited to provide Austin Martin an opportunity while going to great lengths not to award an ever-deserving DaShawn Keirsey Jr. his shot. Tune in to Twins Daily for updates on Bader's role in the tour and how the club's outfield depth shakes out as the 2025 season begins next Thursday in St. Louis. View full article