William Malone

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The Minnesota Twins will be back to playing baseball games tomorrow after having today off. It might not be a regular season game, but at least we're getting closer.
And when that regular season does begin, the Twins will embark on yet another quest to win the American League Central. To date, they have won the AL Central nine times. The first occurrence was in 2002, and the most recent was in 2023. Many of these division races have been epic! Who could forget the elation of winning Game 163 in 2009? Or the crushing agony of losing Game 163 just a year earlier? Another epic divisional chase came in 2006, when Minnesota edged out the Detroit Tigers on the final day of the regular season.
There was never any threat of a 163rd game, so that took a little juice out of it. Regardless of who won the division, both clubs were going to the playoffs with the lone AL Wild Card spot secure for the Central's runner-up. Back then, tiebreaker games only occurred when it was a matter of making or missing the postseason. But regardless, winning your division is still quite fun. And this race with Detroit came down to the very end.
Game 159 vs Kansas City
Minnesota woke up that morning a full game behind the Tigers. Detroit was hosting a very good Toronto Blue Jays club. They had the American League's sixth best record, but this was a postseason format where only four teams from each league would advance to October. There was no way Toronto could catch the Twins or Tigers, so they were just playing for pride at that point. Playing for pride worked, and the Blue Jays won their getaway day game 8-6. This meant Minnesota was only half a game back by first pitch.
Ron Gardenhire turned to ole reliable for one final time. This was the final regular season start Brad Radke ever made, and he tossed a gem; five innings, three hits, and only one (unearned) run. Despite his best efforts, Radke came away with a no decision because the bats were going down quietly. Minnesota was still down 1-0 heading into the ninth inning.
Nick Punto made the first out. Jason Kubel made the second out while pinch hitting for Alexi Casilla. Just when you think all is lost, up strolls Joe Mauer. I mean, who else would you rather have up? Mauer was a career .330 hitter in his career when the Twins were down to their final out. This includes three game tying or go-ahead homers in those situations. This was one of those three homers. Tie game! Extra innings! Jason Bartlett walks it off in the tenth, and the AL Central race is all tied up.
Game 160 vs Chicago (AL)
Once again, the Twins bats were going down without much of a fight. Minnesota found themselves down 3-0 through six innings, before Michael Cuddyer finally got things going with an RBI single. Past pal A.J. Pierzynski got the run right back with an RBI single of his own, and the Twins were down 4-1 heading into the ninth. Rally time!
Nick Punto led off the ninth with a single against Chicago White Sox closer Bobby Jenks, and then stole second base. Luis Rodriguez scratched out a nine pitch walk, and Joe Mauer came up as the tying run. Sadly, he could not match his heroics from the night before. The soon-to-be batting champion struck out on three pitches, but Cuddyer picked him up with a two run double. Justin Morneau struck out, Torii Hunter beat out an infield single, and then Lew Ford drew a walk. It was all up to veteran Phil Nevin, who struck out on three pitches.
Sad, for sure. But the Royals made sure the AL Central stayed all even. They came back from 5-0 down to stun the Tigers. A 22-year old Zack Greinke tossed three shutout innings out of the bullpen, earning his only win of the 2006 season.
Game 161 vs Chicago (AL)
It's kind of like Groundhog Day with this Twins offense down the stretch. They were once again incapable of doing anything early on. Matt Garza getting hit around pretty hard didn't help matters that much. They were down 6-0 heading into the ninth, but the bats woke up late once again.
Bobby Jenks was unavailable after needing 32 pitches to close out the last game. It was also a day game after a night game, so he didn't even have a full 24 hours to recover from it. With Ozzie Guillien looking elsewhere for those final three outs, Nick Punto reaches on an error and Mike Redmond gets himself a single. Michael Cuddyer launched a three run homer, and suddenly it's 6-3. That rally would eventually fall short. Six runs was too big a mountain to climb.
Shout-out to the 100 loss Royals though. After mounting an epic five run comeback the night before, they scored seven in the first inning against stud Tigers prospect Andrew Miller. Yes, that Andrew Miller. He never really got things going for Detroit. Or for the Marlins after he was a key piece of the Miguel Cabrera trade. But watch out for him ten years later when he's winning ALCS MVP for the Cleveland Indians.
Game 162 vs Chicago (AL)
So it's all tied up heading into the regular season finale. Detroit has the tiebreaker, so Minnesota needs a win and a Tigers loss. No way the 100 loss Royals will sweep them? Right? Regardless, they still need to take care of their own business.
Down 1-0, Joe Mauer led off the fourth inning with a double. Soon-to-be MVP Justin Morneau tied the game with a double of his own, and then Torii Hunter hit a two run homer. That was all the scoring they'd need, but Michael Cuddyer and Jason Bartlett added RBI singles of their own for good measure. It was a fairly easy 5-1 victory for the good guys.
In another part of the world, the evil Detroit Tigers were up 6-0 on the last place Kansas City Royals. Detroit had already blown a 5-0 lead in this series. Seems unlikely that they'd find a way to blow an even bigger lead. You might be thinking that the Tigers don't really care. They're going to the playoffs either way. But no, they really wanted to win the AL Central. Kenny Rogers, a starting pitcher who finished fifth place in the AL Cy Young voting that season, was used out of the bullpen in an attempt to nail this down. They burned their projected game one playoff starter in an effort to secure home field advantage in the ALDS. And he blew it! Kansas City won, giving Minnesota the division.
Aftermath
The Twins got swept by Oakland in the ALDS and the Tigers went to the World Series, where they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in five games. Detriot's playoff run didn't come without some controversy though. Kenny Rogers, who had his next start pushed back to game three of the ALDS after his game 162 usage, dominated the Yankees in that game three start. He was also masterful in the ALCS, and threw a two hitter in the Tigers lone World Series win. But there was a thick brown sludge all over that guy's pitching hand throughout the postseason. It was clear as day. Opponents were publicly complaining about it, but the league just kind of sat around and let it happen. To this day, Yankee fans will insist they had that World Series in the bag had Rogers not cheated.

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The Minnesota Twins will be playing a spring training baseball game against the Atlanta Braves tomorrow.
What an exciting time of year this is. And the best way to celebrate these exciting times are with some bold(ish) predictions for the 2025 season.
1. Griffin Jax strikes out triple digits
The Twins haven't had a primary relief pitcher strike out 100 or more batters in a single season since Juan Rincón fanned 106 in 2004. In the years since, nobody has come closer than Jax did in 2024. The Air Force product struck out 95 opponents over 71.0 innings pitched last season, and it's possible that the Twins position in the standings cost him the opportunity to reach the 100 strikeout milestone. With the playoffs out of reach, Rocco Baldelli opted out not use Jax in their final three game series of the regular season. It was well earned rest for Jax, who has logged the fifth most relief innings in the Majors since the start of 2022.
2. The Twins steal 100 bases for the first time since 2012
100 is a nice round number, so we'll make it a bit of a theme. This sounds like a big leap coming off a year where the Twins only stole 65 bases, but they have the pieces to pull this off. Minnesota didn't lose much speed over the off-season. Max Kepler, Alex Kirilloff, Kyle Farmer, Carlos Santana and Manuel Margot collectively stole nine bases in 548 games last year. Players like Austin Martin (7 SB in 93 G), Brooks Lee (3 SB in 50 G) and Edouard Julien (6 SB in 94 G) can help add to the total simply by taking away extra at-bats from some of those departed players. Harrison Bader also stole 17 bases for the New York Mets last year. For this to be even possible, Willi Castro would need to get back to his 2023 form where he stole 33 bases. The utility man swiped just 14 bags in 2024.
3. Joe Ryan is an All-Star
Joe Ryan was pitching so well before a shoulder strain in August ended his season seven weeks early. He had the fourth best strikeout-to-walk ratio and eight lowest WHIP among pitchers who started at least 20 games last season. The tools are very clearly in place. As is the case with several players on the Twins, he just needs to be healthy and on the field to earn the accolades. 
4. Carlos Correa wins the Silver Slugger
Maybe this goes under the radar a bit, but Carlos Correa has the fifth highest OPS among shortstops since joining the Twins in 2022. And that's with a lackluster 2023 season dragging his numbers down a bit. The man produces at the plate. He just needs to be healthy enough to get the necessary at-bats. 2024 seemed like it was poised to be a career year. Correa had a .900 OPS for the first time since the ultra juiced ball year of 2019, but his foot injuries resurfaced and he didn't play at all between July 12th and September 14th. He wasn't putting up empty stats either. Correa hit .314 in high leverage situations, according to Baseball Reference.
5. Max Kepler has a solid year in his new home
The bar for "solid year" will be different for everyone, but the prediction here is that Kepler adjusts to post-Twins life better than several other Bomba Squad-era teammates who have since been castoff. Kepler is going to a really good hitters park where he'll have a lot of protection up and down the lineup, and he's also been better than some of these other pieces in recent years. What Eddie Rosario did in the 2021 NLCS was fun to watch, but he still has an 83 OPS+ with -8 defensive runs saved since leaving Minnesota. Kepler's career low for OPS+ in a single season is only 91. Mitch Garver is another Bomba Squad player who went off and won a World Series with a new team, but there's only so much value you bring as a DH and occasional fill-in piece at catcher. The other players to look at from that core are Jorge Polanco and Miguel Sano, who have done even less than the previously mentioned players.
6. Ty France does not make Twins opening day roster, Jose Miranda starts at first base
Ty France has a non-guaranteed contract, so the Twins would be able to release him at the end of camp for no money lost. The only thing it would've cost them is a 40-man placeholder for six or seven weeks. Minnesota had a similar arrangement with Anibal Sanchez in 2018. He signed a Major League contract in the off-season, but the money was only guaranteed if he made the opening day roster. Anyway, it's time for Jose Miranda to assume a full time role. He's moved around between first base, third base and designated hitter during his time with the Twins. After bouncing back from a poor showing in 2023, a strong showing in the Grapefruit League might be all Twins management needs to give him his first full time role.
7. Jorge Alcalá continues his hot and cold career
There is no denying that Jorge Alcalá has talent. Every Twins fan who has watched him knows he can be special when pitching at his best. But his whole career has been filled with these ups and downs. It's an on again, off again relationship that rivals Ross and Rachel. Last season was no different. Alcalá owned a 1.63 ERA through 35 appearances at the end of July. His ERA was 6.41 across 19 outings in August and September. His worst outing was in an August 18th loss to Texas that many point to as the beginning of the Twins late season slide. Alcalá is turning 30 in July. He's been a big leaguer since 2019. At this point, there's no reason to expect anything different. He's going to give the Twins some good stretches, and some bad ones.
8. Twins trade for Framber Valdez at the deadline
Houston doesn't bend over backwards to keep their own guys. Just look at the laundry list of core pieces they've let go; Correa, Springer, Keuchel, Morton, Tucker, Bregman, Pressly. There was even a point where they let Justin Verlander sign with the Mets, only to get him back via trade three months later. If you're not Jose Altuve, they are willing to let you walk out the door and call up their next prospect in line. For that reason, a 31-year old Framber Valdez might be available as a rental. Especially if the Astros can't withstand losing Tucker, Bregman and Pressly all in one off-season. This just might be a re-set year for the organization as they wait for their next wave of prospects.
9. Chris Paddack gives Twins 20-25 solid starts
It's impossible to bank on Chris Paddack for a full 30+ start season with his injury history, but he can still be a solid fifth starter option. Think about the role Kenta Maeda played for the Twins in 2023; 20 starts with a 4.23 ERA. Maybe Paddack won't be quite that good, but Minnesota would sign up for anything close to that. And the 2023 Twins probably didn't have as much starter depth behind Maeda to supplement the time he was down. That was a team who was running Dallas Keuchel out there at points. Fans probably feel better about the Woods-Richardson, Festa, Matthews trio of depth than the shell of Dallas Keuchel. 
10. The Twins win 95 games and take the AL Central
Minnesota was on a 92 win pace as late as August 17th last year, and then the season went off the rails. It's always easy to blame pitching for a collapse like that, and the Twins certainly had problems with their staff. Joe Ryan was hurt, their trio of rookie starters all seemed to hit a wall, and the bullpen was falling apart. But despite all that, the bats were still a bigger issue down the stretch. From August 18th onward, the Twins scored just 137 runs. Only the White Sox and Nationals scored less over that span. In short, everything went wrong over those final 38 games. But sometimes, you need to trust bigger samples. Believe in what you saw for 124 games. Not 38. Even without doing much this off-season, Minnesota is still a very good ball club.

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The Minnesota Twins played a spring training baseball game against the Boston Red Sox today. Sure, they lost. But all it means is that we are one day closer to regular season contests.
But while we wait for the Opening Day game against the St. Louis Cardinals, it's time to take a walk down memory lane and look at some old Opening Day lineup cards. There are a lot of household names! You'll see a lot of Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. But you'll also see a lot of very random names as well. And that's what this blog post is all about. Here is a lineup of the most random Opening Day starters for the Minnesota Twins at every position this century (since 2000).
C - Matt LeCroy (2000 vs. Tampa Bay)
This was the Major League debut for LeCroy, who was seen as one of baseball's best catching prospects. Baseball America ranked LeCroy as the league's 44th best prospect ahead of 2000, and there was only one catcher among the 43 players placed ahead of LeCroy; Rockies prospect Ben Petrick. LeCroy went 1-for-3 while batting eighth in an 7-0 loss against Tampa Bay. He was sandwiched between Jacque Jones and Torii Hunter in the lineup. It was the only Opening Day start for LeCroy at catcher, who was the Twins designed hitter in game one of the 2003 and 2004 campaigns.
1B - Chris Parmelee (2012 at Baltimore)
Parmelee was coming off an epic run as a September call-up in 2011. He slashed .355/.443/.592 across 21 games for the Twins the year prior, and the club immediately penciled him into their 2012 plans. He was starting at first base over incumbent Justin Morneau, who had begun the transition to a DH role. Parmelee went 1-for-4 in a 4-2 loss against the Baltimore Orioles on Opening Day, and he ultimately wasn't able to recapture that September call-up magic. Morneau had his first base job back a few weeks later, and Parmelee was playing in Triple-A.
2B - Nick Gordon (2023 at Kansas City)
This was only two years ago, but some fans might have forgotten that Nick Gordon was an Opening Day starter for the Twins in 2023. Nobody really knew what their exact plans were at second base after trading Luis Arraez in the off-season. Gordon went 0-for-2 before getting lifted for Kyle Farmer as part of a clutch pinch hitting barrage. Farmer drew a walk while pinch hitting for Gordon in the sixth. Donovan Solano delivered an RBI single later in the inning while pinch hitting for Joey Gallo, and the Twins won 2-0.
3B - Tony Batista (2006 at Toronto)
After spending 2005 in Japan, former All-Star Tony Batista made a return to the big leagues with the Minnesota Twins in 2006. His season got off to a great start when he homered off Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay, but that's about as good as it got for Batista. He was DFA'd in June, making way for Nick Punto to become the everyday third baseman. Batista did play for the Washington Nationals in 2007, retiring after the season.
SS - Andrelton Simmons (2022 at Milwaukee)
Opening Day in 2022 was a weird introduction to the Andrelton Simmons experience. He had two hits and drew a walk at the plate, also committing an error in the field. This was the exact opposite of what anyone would expect. Simmons is regarded as one of the best defensive shortstops of all-time, but his offense was always lacking. The two hit performance was not a sign of things to come for Simmons, who wound up struggling at the plate during his lone season with the club.
LF - Luis Arraez (2022 at Milwaukee)
Yes, Luis Arraez was the Twins left fielder on Opening Day in 2022. But only on a technicality. Josh Donaldson strained his hamstring while legging out a double in the top of the first. This moved Arraez to third base and slid Jake Cave off the bench into left field before the Twins ever played defense. This was his final career appearance as an outfielder. Arraez became the regular third baseman while Donaldson was on the injured list, and then wound up playing a ton of first base later on that season.
CF - Jordan Schafer (2015 at Detroit)
Hardcore fans who don't quit on lost seasons will always remember how great Schafer was down the stretch in 2014. After getting claimed on waivers in August, he posted a .345 OBP and stole 15 bags over 41 games with the club. This gave the 28-year old journeyman a role heading into 2015, but the leash was short. Byron Buxton, Eddie Rosario and Max Kepler were three minor league center fielders who were all banging on the big league door. Aaron Hicks was still with the Twins as well. Schafer struggled out of the gate, and was gone by the second week of May.
RF - Miguel Sano (2016 at Baltimore)
Max Kepler has started in right field for the Twins on Opening Day in eight consecutive seasons. While it looks like Matt Wallner will be taking his place in 2025, it was Miguel Sano patrolling right field back in 2016. Sano went 0-for-4 with two strikeout and three putouts during an Opening Day loss to the Orioles in 2016. His defense out there was awful as the season went along, but Sano did post a solid .864 OPS in 159 plate appearances as a right fielder.
DH - Take your pick
The full list is awesome! Butch Husky (2000), David Ortiz (2001-02), Matt LeCroy (2003-04), Lew Ford (2005), Rondell White (2006), Jeff Cirillo (2007), Craig Monroe (2008), Jason Kubel (2009-11), Justin Morneau (2012), Ryan Doumit (2013), Chris Colabello (2014), Kennys Vargas (2015), ByungHo Park (2016), Robbie Grossman (2017), Logan Morrison (2018), Nelson Cruz (2019-20), no DH used in NL park (2021), Gary Sanchez (2022), Bryon Buxton (2023) and Manuel Margot (2024). Honestly, a lot of teams will have a DH list that looks exactly like this. There aren't as many full time or career designated hitters as fans might think. 
P - Vance Worley (2013 vs. Detroit)
You can make some sort of argument that Minnesota "won" the Ben Revere trade based on what Trevor May did. Revere had a sub-.700 OPS with -10 defensive runs saved during his three seasons with the Phillies. But plugging in Vance Worley as an Opening Day starter was just a bad look. Worley got hit hard on Opening Day, and things did not get better after that.

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! We are in the month of March. It is quite the magical time for sports fans. March Madness is coming up fast, the NBA and NHL have their playoff races heading up, and NFL free agency is set to begin. But there is one more treat for the avid sports fan. Baseball! Sometimes, the regular season begins in April. Sometimes it's July if COVID is happening. But this year, it is March!
And once the regular season begins, fans can once again sweat out the tense moments that come with a baseball game. Many of these tense moments occur with the bases loaded. And despite the fact that none of you William Malone IV superfans asked for this, here are a bunch of random bases loaded stats!
Jorge Polanco refuses to hit grand slams
Former Twins infielder Jorge Polanco is one of the best RISP performers in franchise history. This extends to situations where the bases are loaded, despite the fact that he has never hit a grand slam. Polanco was 24-for-70 (.343) with the bases loaded during his time in Minnesota, including a stellar 5-for-7 (.714) bases loaded showing during his final season with the club. But none of those 24 hits found their way over the fence. There were five doubles and three triples though.
Dudes pitched around Bob Allison and Michael Cuddyer
All runs count the same. It doesn't matter if you hit a home run or draw a bases loaded walk. Twins Hall of Fame members Bob Allison and Michael Cuddyer did a lot of both. It's common knowledge that these two had power, but they also co-lead the Twins with 15 bases loaded walks. Allison actually jumps up to 18 if you include his early years with the Washington Senators.
Anyone remember Lenny Green?
Speaking of bases loaded walks, Lenny Green is the Twins single season record holder with five bases loaded walks in 1962. Six of his 12 big league seasons were spent with the Senators/Twins, and he was their Opening Day center fielder when the franchise came to Minnesota in 1961. His record shattering five bases loaded walks came in 1962, and nobody in a Twins uniform has caught him since. Six players have reached four. That was most recently done by Michael A. Taylor in 2023.
Joe Mauer got better with age
Hall of Fame catcher Joe Mauer was 45-for-119 (.378) with the bases loaded. This sample includes ten doubles and five grand slams. While these numbers are great, they got better with age. A younger Mauer was just 4-for-30 (.133) with the bases loaded over his first three big league seasons. It slowly got better over the next few years, then he eventually became a bases loaded monster. Mauer would go 27-for-60 (.450) with the bases loaded from 2012 until the end of his career.
Jason Kubel hit like 572 memorable grand slams
Perhaps 572 was an exaggeration, but it was a little weird how Jason Kubel hit so many grand slams. Let's be honest. Not all grand slams are the same. A lot of them might come against some struggling Quad-A reliever when your team is already up five or six runs. That's not what Kubel did. He hit five grand slams for the Twins that gave Minnesota the lead. Four of those were in the eighth inning or later. One of those came against Mariano Rivera. Another helped him complete the cycle. There was also a walk-off grand slam against the Red Sox in 2006. The fourth late, go-ahead grand slam helped break a 1-1 tie against the Tigers in 2008.
Carlos Correa saved his bases loaded knocks for Minnesota
Carlos Correa is 8-for-23 (.348) with the bases loaded since joining the Twins. He also had a memorable go-ahead RBI single against the Toronto Blue Jays in game two of the 2023 Wild Card Series. This is a huge step up from the .274 bases loaded batting average Correa put up with the Houston Astros. That's still a respectable number. The league as a whole hit just .259 with the bases loaded last season. But it's clear that Correa stepped up his clutch game after leaving Houston.

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The Minnesota Twins played a spring training baseball game against the Boston Red Sox today. Sure, they lost. But all it means is that we are one day closer to regular season contests.
But while we wait for the Opening Day game against the St. Louis Cardinals, it's time to take a walk down memory lane and look at some old Opening Day lineup cards. There are a lot of household names! You'll see a lot of Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. But you'll also see a lot of very random names as well. And that's what this blog post is all about. Here is a lineup of the most random Opening Day starters for the Minnesota Twins at every position this century (since 2000).
C - Matt LeCroy (2000 vs. Tampa Bay)
This was the Major League debut for LeCroy, who was seen as one of baseball's best catching prospects. Baseball America ranked LeCroy as the league's 44th best prospect ahead of 2000, and there was only one catcher among the 43 players placed ahead of LeCroy; Rockies prospect Ben Petrick. LeCroy went 1-for-3 while batting eighth in an 7-0 loss against Tampa Bay. He was sandwiched between Jacque Jones and Torii Hunter in the lineup. It was the only Opening Day start for LeCroy at catcher, who was the Twins designed hitter in game one of the 2003 and 2004 campaigns.
1B - Chris Parmelee (2012 at Baltimore)
Parmelee was coming off an epic run as a September call-up in 2011. He slashed .355/.443/.592 across 21 games for the Twins the year prior, and the club immediately penciled him into their 2012 plans. He was starting at first base over incumbent Justin Morneau, who had begun the transition to a DH role. Parmelee went 1-for-4 in a 4-2 loss against the Baltimore Orioles on Opening Day, and he ultimately wasn't able to recapture that September call-up magic. Morneau had his first base job back a few weeks later, and Parmelee was playing in Triple-A.
2B - Nick Gordon (2023 at Kansas City)
This was only two years ago, but some fans might have forgotten that Nick Gordon was an Opening Day starter for the Twins in 2023. Nobody really knew what their exact plans were at second base after trading Luis Arraez in the off-season. Gordon went 0-for-2 before getting lifted for Kyle Farmer as part of a clutch pinch hitting barrage. Farmer drew a walk while pinch hitting for Gordon in the sixth. Donovan Solano delivered an RBI single later in the inning while pinch hitting for Joey Gallo, and the Twins won 2-0.
3B - Tony Batista (2006 at Toronto)
After spending 2005 in Japan, former All-Star Tony Batista made a return to the big leagues with the Minnesota Twins in 2006. His season got off to a great start when he homered off Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay, but that's about as good as it got for Batista. He was DFA'd in June, making way for Nick Punto to become the everyday third baseman. Batista did play for the Washington Nationals in 2007, retiring after the season.
SS - Andrelton Simmons (2022 at Milwaukee)
Opening Day in 2022 was a weird introduction to the Andrelton Simmons experience. He had two hits and drew a walk at the plate, also committing an error in the field. This was the exact opposite of what anyone would expect. Simmons is regarded as one of the best defensive shortstops of all-time, but his offense was always lacking. The two hit performance was not a sign of things to come for Simmons, who wound up struggling at the plate during his lone season with the club.
LF - Luis Arraez (2022 at Milwaukee)
Yes, Luis Arraez was the Twins left fielder on Opening Day in 2022. But only on a technicality. Josh Donaldson strained his hamstring while legging out a double in the top of the first. This moved Arraez to third base and slid Jake Cave off the bench into left field before the Twins ever played defense. This was his final career appearance as an outfielder. Arraez became the regular third baseman while Donaldson was on the injured list, and then wound up playing a ton of first base later on that season.
CF - Jordan Schafer (2015 at Detroit)
Hardcore fans who don't quit on lost seasons will always remember how great Schafer was down the stretch in 2014. After getting claimed on waivers in August, he posted a .345 OBP and stole 15 bags over 41 games with the club. This gave the 28-year old journeyman a role heading into 2015, but the leash was short. Byron Buxton, Eddie Rosario and Max Kepler were three minor league center fielders who were all banging on the big league door. Aaron Hicks was still with the Twins as well. Schafer struggled out of the gate, and was gone by the second week of May.
RF - Miguel Sano (2016 at Baltimore)
Max Kepler has started in right field for the Twins on Opening Day in eight consecutive seasons. While it looks like Matt Wallner will be taking his place in 2025, it was Miguel Sano patrolling right field back in 2016. Sano went 0-for-4 with two strikeout and three putouts during an Opening Day loss to the Orioles in 2016. His defense out there was awful as the season went along, but Sano did post a solid .864 OPS in 159 plate appearances as a right fielder.
DH - Take your pick
The full list is awesome! Butch Husky (2000), David Ortiz (2001-02), Matt LeCroy (2003-04), Lew Ford (2005), Rondell White (2006), Jeff Cirillo (2007), Craig Monroe (2008), Jason Kubel (2009-11), Justin Morneau (2012), Ryan Doumit (2013), Chris Colabello (2014), Kennys Vargas (2015), ByungHo Park (2016), Robbie Grossman (2017), Logan Morrison (2018), Nelson Cruz (2019-20), no DH used in NL park (2021), Gary Sanchez (2022), Bryon Buxton (2023) and Manuel Margot (2024). Honestly, a lot of teams will have a DH list that looks exactly like this. There aren't as many full time or career designated hitters as fans might think. 
P - Vance Worley (2013 vs. Detroit)
You can make some sort of argument that Minnesota "won" the Ben Revere trade based on what Trevor May did. Revere had a sub-.700 OPS with -10 defensive runs saved during his three seasons with the Phillies. But plugging in Vance Worley as an Opening Day starter was just a bad look. Worley got hit hard on Opening Day, and things did not get better after that.

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The Minnesota Twins have some spring training baseball games under their belt. This means we are getting closer and closer to regular season baseball.
With spring training games comes spring training home runs. Several Twins players have gone yard so far, including off-season pickups Harrison Bader and Ty France. But what does this all mean? Some of you might say "...but it's only spring training" and choose to not get excited over these glorious dingers. Others might choose to get excited. So who is right? Perhaps history can give us the answer. Here in the Twins spring training home run leader for every season of the Target Field-era (since 2010).
2024 - Ryan Jeffers (4)
Ryan Jeffers led the Minnesota Twins with four home runs in 2024 Grapefruit League action. This went along with a .346 average and a 1.178 spring training OPS. During the regular season, Jeffers wound up hitting a career high 21 homers. But a lot of these came early in the season. The Twins catcher had 12 homers and an .892 OPS through the end of May. He began June on an 0-for-17 skid, putting up a .615 OPS from June 1st until the end of the regular season.
2023 - Jose Miranda (5)
Jose Miranda led the Minnesota Twins with five home runs in 2023 Grapefruit League action. This went along with a .325 average and 1.225 spring training OPS. The regular season was not kind to Miranda, who struggled mightily. He slashed .211/.263/.303 over 40 big league games, and was eventually shut down by a shoulder injury. A healthier Miranda had a better season in 2024.
2022 - Byron Buxton (5)
Byron Buxton led the Minnesota Twins with five home runs in 2022 Grapefruit League action. This went along with a .469 average and 1.094 spring training OPS. In the regular season, Buxton hit a career high 28 dingers and was an All-Star for the first time. He ever homered in the All-Star Game, and many claimed he was robbed of the game's MVP award. Unfortunately, injuries caused Buxton to miss most of the second half that year.
2021 - Kyle Garlick (5)
Kyle Garlick led the Minnesota Twins with five home runs in 2021 Grapefruit League action. This went along with a .293 average and .978 spring training OPS. The man had one job in the big leagues; mash lefties. Garlick did that to the tune of an .878 OPS against left handed pitchers in 2021. Injuries to some of his teammates forced Garlick to hit against right handed pitching more than Rocco Baldelli would've liked, and those at-bats dragged Garlick's raw numbers down a bit. The injury bug eventually caught him as well, as Garlick's season was ended in July by a sports hernia.
2020 - Nelson Cruz and Trevor Larnach (3, tied)
Nelson Cruz and Trevor Larnach co-led the Minnesota Twins with three home runs in 2020 Grapefruit League action. The COVID-19 pandemic caused these games to end prematurely. Trevor Larnach, still a prospect at that time, didn't make his Major League debut until 2021. COVID-19 canceled his minor league season, so he hit a grand total of zero regular season home runs that year. Cruz won the Silver Slugger at designated hitter and finished sixth in American League MVP voting.
2019 - Byron Buxton, Adam Rosales and Eddie Rosario (3, tied)
Byron Buxton, Adam Rosales and Eddie Rosario co-led the Minnesota Twins with three home runs in 2019 Grapefruit League action. Rosales was a 36-year old journeyman infielder. He had played 11 big league seasons for six different clubs, and was trying to make the Twins his seventh. But his home runs barrage couldn't help him make the roster, and Rosales played 20 games for the Rochester Red Wings before getting released. Buxton and Rosario were both key pieces of the record breaking Bomba Squad offense.
2018 - Ehire Adrianza and Miguel Sano (3, tied)
Ehire Adrianza and Miguel Sano co-led the Minnesota Twins with three home runs in 2018 Grapefruit League action. Adrianza, a two time World Series champion who has played in 12 big league seasons, wound up playing in a career high 114 games in 2018. This included a lot of time at shortstop early in the season when Jorge Polanco was suspended. Sano, who had been an All-Star in 2017, had a terrible campaign. He got demoted due Single-A due to conditioning concerns at one point, but did eventually bounce back with 34 homers and .923 OPS in 2019.
2017 - ByungHo Park (6)
ByungHo Park led the Minnesota Twins with six home runs in 2017 Grapefruit League action. This went along with a .353 average and a 1.159 spring training OPS. After a lackluster 2016 season, Park had been taken off the 40-man roster during the off-season. He remained in the Twins organization after clearing waivers. His strong spring wasn't enough to help him earn a spot back with the big club, and he would spend the entire 2017 season in Rochester. After slashing .258/.308/.415 for the Red Wings, Park would be released outright and return to Korea.
2016 - Brian Dozier, Trevor Plouffe and Kurt Suzuki (4, tied)
Brian Dozier, Trevor Plouffe and Kurt Suzuki co-led the Minnesota Twins with four home runs in 2016 Grapefruit League action. This sparked a career year out of Brian Dozier, who hit 42 home runs and drove in 99 for a miserable 103 loss Twins team. It was the second of three straight years in which he received MVP votes. Suzuki and Plouffe both struggled, ending their respective tenures with the club.
2015 - Eduardo Escobar and Kennys Vargas (4, tied)
Eduardo Escobar and Kennys Vargas co-led the Minnesota Twins with four home runs in 2015 Grapefruit League action. Escobar, who had debuted back in 2011 with the Chicago White Sox, wound up hitting double digit homers for the first time that season. He also added 31 doubles, and established himself as a legit big league player. Vargas, who had finished 2014 on a hot run, wound up struggling out of the gate once the regular season began. He wound up spending most of 2015 in Triple-A.
2014 - Oswaldo Arcia and Brandon Waring (2, tied)
Oswaldo Arcia and Brandon Waring co-led the Minnesota Twins with two runs in 2014 Grapefruit League action. Arcia had peaked as the 41st ranked prospect on the Baseball America league wide top 100, and had some solid numbers in 2013. He then hit 20 home runs with a 109 OPS+ in 2014, still showing much potential for what was to come. But that was as good as it ever got for Arica, and then the Buxton/Kepler/Rosario wave took all the outfield spots a year later. Waring was a 28-year old career minor leaguer who spent all of 2014 with Doulbe-A New Britain.
2013 - Aaron Hicks (4)
Aaron Hicks led the Minnesota Twins with four home runs in 2013 Grapefruit League action. This went along with a .370 average and a 1.051 spring training OPS. His strong spring helped Hicks win the opening day center field job, despite never playing above Double-A beforehand. But Hicks wasn't just starting on opening day. He was the Twins leadoff hitter. It didn't really go all that well, which led to a rocky three year tenure for Hicks in Minnesota.
2012 - Luke Hughes (6)
Luke Hughes led the Minnesota Twins with six home runs in 2012 Grapefruit League action. This went along with a .303 average and .983 spring training OPS. The Australian infielder was DFA'd after playing just eight games for Minnesota in 2012. Oakland claimed him on waivers, but he played just four games for the Athletics before they DFA'd him as well. This ended the big league career for Luke Hughes.
2011 - Luke Hughes (6)
Luke Hughes led the Minnesota Twins with six home runs in 2011 Grapefruit League action. This went along with a .246 average and an .834 spring training OPS. What more can you say? The man mashed in spring training. He was Mr. Grapefruit League! He played 96 regular season games for the Twins in 2011, slashing .223/.298/.338 while playing everywhere in the infield.
2010 - Jason Kubel (4)
Jason Kubel led the Minnesota Twins with four home runs in 2010 Grapefruit League action. This went along with a .281 average and an .865 spring training OPS. This carried over to a solid 2010 regular season showing, where he hit 21 homers with a .750 OPS. The most memorable of those 21 home runs was the first long ball in Target Field history. But enough about Kubel. How did Luke Hughes do? That's what the people want to know! He only had 21 at-bats that spring, but had seven hits (.333 average) and one homer. He would make his Major League debut on April 28th, homering off Max Scherzer in his first career big league at-bat.

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The Minnesota Twins will be playing a spring training baseball game against the Atlanta Braves tomorrow.
What an exciting time of year this is. And the best way to celebrate these exciting times are with some bold(ish) predictions for the 2025 season.
1. Griffin Jax strikes out triple digits
The Twins haven't had a primary relief pitcher strike out 100 or more batters in a single season since Juan Rincón fanned 106 in 2004. In the years since, nobody has come closer than Jax did in 2024. The Air Force product struck out 95 opponents over 71.0 innings pitched last season, and it's possible that the Twins position in the standings cost him the opportunity to reach the 100 strikeout milestone. With the playoffs out of reach, Rocco Baldelli opted out not use Jax in their final three game series of the regular season. It was well earned rest for Jax, who has logged the fifth most relief innings in the Majors since the start of 2022.
2. The Twins steal 100 bases for the first time since 2012
100 is a nice round number, so we'll make it a bit of a theme. This sounds like a big leap coming off a year where the Twins only stole 65 bases, but they have the pieces to pull this off. Minnesota didn't lose much speed over the off-season. Max Kepler, Alex Kirilloff, Kyle Farmer, Carlos Santana and Manuel Margot collectively stole nine bases in 548 games last year. Players like Austin Martin (7 SB in 93 G), Brooks Lee (3 SB in 50 G) and Edouard Julien (6 SB in 94 G) can help add to the total simply by taking away extra at-bats from some of those departed players. Harrison Bader also stole 17 bases for the New York Mets last year. For this to be even possible, Willi Castro would need to get back to his 2023 form where he stole 33 bases. The utility man swiped just 14 bags in 2024.
3. Joe Ryan is an All-Star
Joe Ryan was pitching so well before a shoulder strain in August ended his season seven weeks early. He had the fourth best strikeout-to-walk ratio and eight lowest WHIP among pitchers who started at least 20 games last season. The tools are very clearly in place. As is the case with several players on the Twins, he just needs to be healthy and on the field to earn the accolades. 
4. Carlos Correa wins the Silver Slugger
Maybe this goes under the radar a bit, but Carlos Correa has the fifth highest OPS among shortstops since joining the Twins in 2022. And that's with a lackluster 2023 season dragging his numbers down a bit. The man produces at the plate. He just needs to be healthy enough to get the necessary at-bats. 2024 seemed like it was poised to be a career year. Correa had a .900 OPS for the first time since the ultra juiced ball year of 2019, but his foot injuries resurfaced and he didn't play at all between July 12th and September 14th. He wasn't putting up empty stats either. Correa hit .314 in high leverage situations, according to Baseball Reference.
5. Max Kepler has a solid year in his new home
The bar for "solid year" will be different for everyone, but the prediction here is that Kepler adjusts to post-Twins life better than several other Bomba Squad-era teammates who have since been castoff. Kepler is going to a really good hitters park where he'll have a lot of protection up and down the lineup, and he's also been better than some of these other pieces in recent years. What Eddie Rosario did in the 2021 NLCS was fun to watch, but he still has an 83 OPS+ with -8 defensive runs saved since leaving Minnesota. Kepler's career low for OPS+ in a single season is only 91. Mitch Garver is another Bomba Squad player who went off and won a World Series with a new team, but there's only so much value you bring as a DH and occasional fill-in piece at catcher. The other players to look at from that core are Jorge Polanco and Miguel Sano, who have done even less than the previously mentioned players.
6. Ty France does not make Twins opening day roster, Jose Miranda starts at first base
Ty France has a non-guaranteed contract, so the Twins would be able to release him at the end of camp for no money lost. The only thing it would've cost them is a 40-man placeholder for six or seven weeks. Minnesota had a similar arrangement with Anibal Sanchez in 2018. He signed a Major League contract in the off-season, but the money was only guaranteed if he made the opening day roster. Anyway, it's time for Jose Miranda to assume a full time role. He's moved around between first base, third base and designated hitter during his time with the Twins. After bouncing back from a poor showing in 2023, a strong showing in the Grapefruit League might be all Twins management needs to give him his first full time role.
7. Jorge Alcalá continues his hot and cold career
There is no denying that Jorge Alcalá has talent. Every Twins fan who has watched him knows he can be special when pitching at his best. But his whole career has been filled with these ups and downs. It's an on again, off again relationship that rivals Ross and Rachel. Last season was no different. Alcalá owned a 1.63 ERA through 35 appearances at the end of July. His ERA was 6.41 across 19 outings in August and September. His worst outing was in an August 18th loss to Texas that many point to as the beginning of the Twins late season slide. Alcalá is turning 30 in July. He's been a big leaguer since 2019. At this point, there's no reason to expect anything different. He's going to give the Twins some good stretches, and some bad ones.
8. Twins trade for Framber Valdez at the deadline
Houston doesn't bend over backwards to keep their own guys. Just look at the laundry list of core pieces they've let go; Correa, Springer, Keuchel, Morton, Tucker, Bregman, Pressly. There was even a point where they let Justin Verlander sign with the Mets, only to get him back via trade three months later. If you're not Jose Altuve, they are willing to let you walk out the door and call up their next prospect in line. For that reason, a 31-year old Framber Valdez might be available as a rental. Especially if the Astros can't withstand losing Tucker, Bregman and Pressly all in one off-season. This just might be a re-set year for the organization as they wait for their next wave of prospects.
9. Chris Paddack gives Twins 20-25 solid starts
It's impossible to bank on Chris Paddack for a full 30+ start season with his injury history, but he can still be a solid fifth starter option. Think about the role Kenta Maeda played for the Twins in 2023; 20 starts with a 4.23 ERA. Maybe Paddack won't be quite that good, but Minnesota would sign up for anything close to that. And the 2023 Twins probably didn't have as much starter depth behind Maeda to supplement the time he was down. That was a team who was running Dallas Keuchel out there at points. Fans probably feel better about the Woods-Richardson, Festa, Matthews trio of depth than the shell of Dallas Keuchel. 
10. The Twins win 95 games and take the AL Central
Minnesota was on a 92 win pace as late as August 17th last year, and then the season went off the rails. It's always easy to blame pitching for a collapse like that, and the Twins certainly had problems with their staff. Joe Ryan was hurt, their trio of rookie starters all seemed to hit a wall, and the bullpen was falling apart. But despite all that, the bats were still a bigger issue down the stretch. From August 18th onward, the Twins scored just 137 runs. Only the White Sox and Nationals scored less over that span. In short, everything went wrong over those final 38 games. But sometimes, you need to trust bigger samples. Believe in what you saw for 124 games. Not 38. Even without doing much this off-season, Minnesota is still a very good ball club.

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The Minnesota Twins will be playing a spring training baseball game against the Atlanta Braves tomorrow.
What an exciting time of year this is. And the best way to celebrate these exciting times are with some bold(ish) predictions for the 2025 season.
1. Griffin Jax strikes out triple digits
The Twins haven't had a primary relief pitcher strike out 100 or more batters in a single season since Juan Rincón fanned 106 in 2004. In the years since, nobody has come closer than Jax did in 2024. The Air Force product struck out 95 opponents over 71.0 innings pitched last season, and it's possible that the Twins position in the standings cost him the opportunity to reach the 100 strikeout milestone. With the playoffs out of reach, Rocco Baldelli opted out not use Jax in their final three game series of the regular season. It was well earned rest for Jax, who has logged the fifth most relief innings in the Majors since the start of 2022.
2. The Twins steal 100 bases for the first time since 2012
100 is a nice round number, so we'll make it a bit of a theme. This sounds like a big leap coming off a year where the Twins only stole 65 bases, but they have the pieces to pull this off. Minnesota didn't lose much speed over the off-season. Max Kepler, Alex Kirilloff, Kyle Farmer, Carlos Santana and Manuel Margot collectively stole nine bases in 548 games last year. Players like Austin Martin (7 SB in 93 G), Brooks Lee (3 SB in 50 G) and Edouard Julien (6 SB in 94 G) can help add to the total simply by taking away extra at-bats from some of those departed players. Harrison Bader also stole 17 bases for the New York Mets last year. For this to be even possible, Willi Castro would need to get back to his 2023 form where he stole 33 bases. The utility man swiped just 14 bags in 2024.
3. Joe Ryan is an All-Star
Joe Ryan was pitching so well before a shoulder strain in August ended his season seven weeks early. He had the fourth best strikeout-to-walk ratio and eight lowest WHIP among pitchers who started at least 20 games last season. The tools are very clearly in place. As is the case with several players on the Twins, he just needs to be healthy and on the field to earn the accolades. 
4. Carlos Correa wins the Silver Slugger
Maybe this goes under the radar a bit, but Carlos Correa has the fifth highest OPS among shortstops since joining the Twins in 2022. And that's with a lackluster 2023 season dragging his numbers down a bit. The man produces at the plate. He just needs to be healthy enough to get the necessary at-bats. 2024 seemed like it was poised to be a career year. Correa had a .900 OPS for the first time since the ultra juiced ball year of 2019, but his foot injuries resurfaced and he didn't play at all between July 12th and September 14th. He wasn't putting up empty stats either. Correa hit .314 in high leverage situations, according to Baseball Reference.
5. Max Kepler has a solid year in his new home
The bar for "solid year" will be different for everyone, but the prediction here is that Kepler adjusts to post-Twins life better than several other Bomba Squad-era teammates who have since been castoff. Kepler is going to a really good hitters park where he'll have a lot of protection up and down the lineup, and he's also been better than some of these other pieces in recent years. What Eddie Rosario did in the 2021 NLCS was fun to watch, but he still has an 83 OPS+ with -8 defensive runs saved since leaving Minnesota. Kepler's career low for OPS+ in a single season is only 91. Mitch Garver is another Bomba Squad player who went off and won a World Series with a new team, but there's only so much value you bring as a DH and occasional fill-in piece at catcher. The other players to look at from that core are Jorge Polanco and Miguel Sano, who have done even less than the previously mentioned players.
6. Ty France does not make Twins opening day roster, Jose Miranda starts at first base
Ty France has a non-guaranteed contract, so the Twins would be able to release him at the end of camp for no money lost. The only thing it would've cost them is a 40-man placeholder for six or seven weeks. Minnesota had a similar arrangement with Anibal Sanchez in 2018. He signed a Major League contract in the off-season, but the money was only guaranteed if he made the opening day roster. Anyway, it's time for Jose Miranda to assume a full time role. He's moved around between first base, third base and designated hitter during his time with the Twins. After bouncing back from a poor showing in 2023, a strong showing in the Grapefruit League might be all Twins management needs to give him his first full time role.
7. Jorge Alcalá continues his hot and cold career
There is no denying that Jorge Alcalá has talent. Every Twins fan who has watched him knows he can be special when pitching at his best. But his whole career has been filled with these ups and downs. It's an on again, off again relationship that rivals Ross and Rachel. Last season was no different. Alcalá owned a 1.63 ERA through 35 appearances at the end of July. His ERA was 6.41 across 19 outings in August and September. His worst outing was in an August 18th loss to Texas that many point to as the beginning of the Twins late season slide. Alcalá is turning 30 in July. He's been a big leaguer since 2019. At this point, there's no reason to expect anything different. He's going to give the Twins some good stretches, and some bad ones.
8. Twins trade for Framber Valdez at the deadline
Houston doesn't bend over backwards to keep their own guys. Just look at the laundry list of core pieces they've let go; Correa, Springer, Keuchel, Morton, Tucker, Bregman, Pressly. There was even a point where they let Justin Verlander sign with the Mets, only to get him back via trade three months later. If you're not Jose Altuve, they are willing to let you walk out the door and call up their next prospect in line. For that reason, a 31-year old Framber Valdez might be available as a rental. Especially if the Astros can't withstand losing Tucker, Bregman and Pressly all in one off-season. This just might be a re-set year for the organization as they wait for their next wave of prospects.
9. Chris Paddack gives Twins 20-25 solid starts
It's impossible to bank on Chris Paddack for a full 30+ start season with his injury history, but he can still be a solid fifth starter option. Think about the role Kenta Maeda played for the Twins in 2023; 20 starts with a 4.23 ERA. Maybe Paddack won't be quite that good, but Minnesota would sign up for anything close to that. And the 2023 Twins probably didn't have as much starter depth behind Maeda to supplement the time he was down. That was a team who was running Dallas Keuchel out there at points. Fans probably feel better about the Woods-Richardson, Festa, Matthews trio of depth than the shell of Dallas Keuchel. 
10. The Twins win 95 games and take the AL Central
Minnesota was on a 92 win pace as late as August 17th last year, and then the season went off the rails. It's always easy to blame pitching for a collapse like that, and the Twins certainly had problems with their staff. Joe Ryan was hurt, their trio of rookie starters all seemed to hit a wall, and the bullpen was falling apart. But despite all that, the bats were still a bigger issue down the stretch. From August 18th onward, the Twins scored just 137 runs. Only the White Sox and Nationals scored less over that span. In short, everything went wrong over those final 38 games. But sometimes, you need to trust bigger samples. Believe in what you saw for 124 games. Not 38. Even without doing much this off-season, Minnesota is still a very good ball club.

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The Minnesota Twins will be playing a spring training baseball game against the Atlanta Braves tomorrow.
What an exciting time of year this is. And the best way to celebrate these exciting times are with some bold(ish) predictions for the 2025 season.
1. Griffin Jax strikes out triple digits
The Twins haven't had a primary relief pitcher strike out 100 or more batters in a single season since Juan Rincón fanned 106 in 2004. In the years since, nobody has come closer than Jax did in 2024. The Air Force product struck out 95 opponents over 71.0 innings pitched last season, and it's possible that the Twins position in the standings cost him the opportunity to reach the 100 strikeout milestone. With the playoffs out of reach, Rocco Baldelli opted out not use Jax in their final three game series of the regular season. It was well earned rest for Jax, who has logged the fifth most relief innings in the Majors since the start of 2022.
2. The Twins steal 100 bases for the first time since 2012
100 is a nice round number, so we'll make it a bit of a theme. This sounds like a big leap coming off a year where the Twins only stole 65 bases, but they have the pieces to pull this off. Minnesota didn't lose much speed over the off-season. Max Kepler, Alex Kirilloff, Kyle Farmer, Carlos Santana and Manuel Margot collectively stole nine bases in 548 games last year. Players like Austin Martin (7 SB in 93 G), Brooks Lee (3 SB in 50 G) and Edouard Julien (6 SB in 94 G) can help add to the total simply by taking away extra at-bats from some of those departed players. Harrison Bader also stole 17 bases for the New York Mets last year. For this to be even possible, Willi Castro would need to get back to his 2023 form where he stole 33 bases. The utility man swiped just 14 bags in 2024.
3. Joe Ryan is an All-Star
Joe Ryan was pitching so well before a shoulder strain in August ended his season seven weeks early. He had the fourth best strikeout-to-walk ratio and eight lowest WHIP among pitchers who started at least 20 games last season. The tools are very clearly in place. As is the case with several players on the Twins, he just needs to be healthy and on the field to earn the accolades. 
4. Carlos Correa wins the Silver Slugger
Maybe this goes under the radar a bit, but Carlos Correa has the fifth highest OPS among shortstops since joining the Twins in 2022. And that's with a lackluster 2023 season dragging his numbers down a bit. The man produces at the plate. He just needs to be healthy enough to get the necessary at-bats. 2024 seemed like it was poised to be a career year. Correa had a .900 OPS for the first time since the ultra juiced ball year of 2019, but his foot injuries resurfaced and he didn't play at all between July 12th and September 14th. He wasn't putting up empty stats either. Correa hit .314 in high leverage situations, according to Baseball Reference.
5. Max Kepler has a solid year in his new home
The bar for "solid year" will be different for everyone, but the prediction here is that Kepler adjusts to post-Twins life better than several other Bomba Squad-era teammates who have since been castoff. Kepler is going to a really good hitters park where he'll have a lot of protection up and down the lineup, and he's also been better than some of these other pieces in recent years. What Eddie Rosario did in the 2021 NLCS was fun to watch, but he still has an 83 OPS+ with -8 defensive runs saved since leaving Minnesota. Kepler's career low for OPS+ in a single season is only 91. Mitch Garver is another Bomba Squad player who went off and won a World Series with a new team, but there's only so much value you bring as a DH and occasional fill-in piece at catcher. The other players to look at from that core are Jorge Polanco and Miguel Sano, who have done even less than the previously mentioned players.
6. Ty France does not make Twins opening day roster, Jose Miranda starts at first base
Ty France has a non-guaranteed contract, so the Twins would be able to release him at the end of camp for no money lost. The only thing it would've cost them is a 40-man placeholder for six or seven weeks. Minnesota had a similar arrangement with Anibal Sanchez in 2018. He signed a Major League contract in the off-season, but the money was only guaranteed if he made the opening day roster. Anyway, it's time for Jose Miranda to assume a full time role. He's moved around between first base, third base and designated hitter during his time with the Twins. After bouncing back from a poor showing in 2023, a strong showing in the Grapefruit League might be all Twins management needs to give him his first full time role.
7. Jorge Alcalá continues his hot and cold career
There is no denying that Jorge Alcalá has talent. Every Twins fan who has watched him knows he can be special when pitching at his best. But his whole career has been filled with these ups and downs. It's an on again, off again relationship that rivals Ross and Rachel. Last season was no different. Alcalá owned a 1.63 ERA through 35 appearances at the end of July. His ERA was 6.41 across 19 outings in August and September. His worst outing was in an August 18th loss to Texas that many point to as the beginning of the Twins late season slide. Alcalá is turning 30 in July. He's been a big leaguer since 2019. At this point, there's no reason to expect anything different. He's going to give the Twins some good stretches, and some bad ones.
8. Twins trade for Framber Valdez at the deadline
Houston doesn't bend over backwards to keep their own guys. Just look at the laundry list of core pieces they've let go; Correa, Springer, Keuchel, Morton, Tucker, Bregman, Pressly. There was even a point where they let Justin Verlander sign with the Mets, only to get him back via trade three months later. If you're not Jose Altuve, they are willing to let you walk out the door and call up their next prospect in line. For that reason, a 31-year old Framber Valdez might be available as a rental. Especially if the Astros can't withstand losing Tucker, Bregman and Pressly all in one off-season. This just might be a re-set year for the organization as they wait for their next wave of prospects.
9. Chris Paddack gives Twins 20-25 solid starts
It's impossible to bank on Chris Paddack for a full 30+ start season with his injury history, but he can still be a solid fifth starter option. Think about the role Kenta Maeda played for the Twins in 2023; 20 starts with a 4.23 ERA. Maybe Paddack won't be quite that good, but Minnesota would sign up for anything close to that. And the 2023 Twins probably didn't have as much starter depth behind Maeda to supplement the time he was down. That was a team who was running Dallas Keuchel out there at points. Fans probably feel better about the Woods-Richardson, Festa, Matthews trio of depth than the shell of Dallas Keuchel. 
10. The Twins win 95 games and take the AL Central
Minnesota was on a 92 win pace as late as August 17th last year, and then the season went off the rails. It's always easy to blame pitching for a collapse like that, and the Twins certainly had problems with their staff. Joe Ryan was hurt, their trio of rookie starters all seemed to hit a wall, and the bullpen was falling apart. But despite all that, the bats were still a bigger issue down the stretch. From August 18th onward, the Twins scored just 137 runs. Only the White Sox and Nationals scored less over that span. In short, everything went wrong over those final 38 games. But sometimes, you need to trust bigger samples. Believe in what you saw for 124 games. Not 38. Even without doing much this off-season, Minnesota is still a very good ball club.

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! Spring training games are currently ongoing. This means we are getting closer to regular season baseball with every passing second.
The Minnesota Twins went 82-80 last year. They became the tenth team in American League history to finish with an exact record of 82-80. Let's take a look at what the next season had in store for the first nine American League clubs to finish 82-80.
1965 California Angels
The Los Angeles Angels went 82-80 in 1964. They changed their name to the California Angels in the off-season, but this did not make them play much better in 1965. California achieved a 75-87 record to follow up their 82-80 campaign. This was accomplished with insane home/road splits, going 46-34 at home and 29-53 on the road. Their middle infield duo of Bobby Knoop and Jim Fregosi both got MVP votes in 1965.
1969 Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics went 82-80 in 1968. Unlike the Angels, they did not go through a name change after posting that record, but they did change managers. Hank Bauer replaced Bill Kennedy, making him the A's third manager in three years. It turned into four managers in three years when Bauer got fired with eight games remaining. He went 80-69. John McNamara went 8-5, for a total record of 88-74.
1972 New York Yankees
The New York Yankees went 82-80 in 1971. They did not change their team name. They also did not change their manager. One interesting thing they did in in 1972 was retire the number eight...twice! It was retired for Bill Dickey and Yogi Berra. Dickey wore the number from 1930-46. Berra had worn the number from 1948-63. And then in 1972, they decided to retire the number for both of them. On the field, New York went 79-76 in a season that was shortened due to a player's strike.
1975 Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins went 82-80 in 1974. They did not change their name. They did not change their manager. They also did not retire any numbers that next season. But one thing they did do was release a franchise legend. Harmon Killebrew was cut by the Twins on January 16, 1975. He had hit .222 with a .672 OPS in 1975. Killebrew caught on with the Royals in 1975, but didn't do much better. Neither did the Twins, who finished 76-83.
1980 Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins went 82-80 in 1979. They did not make a managerial change during the off-season, but they did make one during the 1980 season. Gene Mauch resigned with the team sitting at 54-71, and was replaced by Johnny Goryl. Minnesota finished strong under Goryl, going 23-13 under him. But it was too little, too late. The Twins final record was 77-84. Goryl was brought back in 1981, but was quickly fired after an 11-25 start.
1992 Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals went 82-80 in 1991. They had gone through three different managers during that 1991 season. Hal McRae, who was manager number three, kept the job heading into 1992 after going 66-58 down the stretch the year before. Kansas City took a step back in 1992, going 72-90. Big off-season addition Kevin McReynolds was listed to just 109 games due to injury.
1994 Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners went 82-80 in 1993. But hopes were high in 1994. They had generational megastars Ken Griffey Jr and Randy Johnson. Seattle also had Edgar Martinez and Jay Buhner in their lineup, and an 18-year old Alex Rodriguez was set to debut later in the year. But it takes more than five or six All-Stars, because the Mariners were sitting at 49-63 before the player's strike cut 1994 short.
2001 Anaheim Angels
The Anaheim Angels went 82-80 in 2000. They did not change their name this time, although they had changed their name since the last time we read about them. And they'll change their name again soon. But not right now. The 2001 Angles went 75-87. They were missing slugger Mo Vaughn, who had hit 36 home runs with 117 RBI in 2000. He missed the entire 2001 season with a torn bicep.
2024 New York Yankees
The New York Yankees went 82-80 in 2023. It was the first time they had missed the playoff since 2016, so they loaded up in the off-season by trading for star outfielder Juan Soto. He was awesome! Finishing third in the MVP voting and leading the Yankees to their first World Series since 2009. Practically carried them on his back too. Aaron Judge was nowhere to be seen in October, batting .184 in the postseason. Meanwhile, Soto hit .327 with a 1.101 OPS in the playoffs. Sadly, this wasn't enough and the Dodgers were crowned World Series champions.

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! Spring training games are currently ongoing. This means we are getting closer to regular season baseball with every passing second.
The Minnesota Twins went 82-80 last year. They became the tenth team in American League history to finish with an exact record of 82-80. Let's take a look at what the next season had in store for the first nine American League clubs to finish 82-80.
1965 California Angels
The Los Angeles Angels went 82-80 in 1964. They changed their name to the California Angels in the off-season, but this did not make them play much better in 1965. California achieved a 75-87 record to follow up their 82-80 campaign. This was accomplished with insane home/road splits, going 46-34 at home and 29-53 on the road. Their middle infield duo of Bobby Knoop and Jim Fregosi both got MVP votes in 1965.
1969 Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics went 82-80 in 1968. Unlike the Angels, they did not go through a name change after posting that record, but they did change managers. Hank Bauer replaced Bill Kennedy, making him the A's third manager in three years. It turned into four managers in three years when Bauer got fired with eight games remaining. He went 80-69. John McNamara went 8-5, for a total record of 88-74.
1972 New York Yankees
The New York Yankees went 82-80 in 1971. They did not change their team name. They also did not change their manager. One interesting thing they did in in 1972 was retire the number eight...twice! It was retired for Bill Dickey and Yogi Berra. Dickey wore the number from 1930-46. Berra had worn the number from 1948-63. And then in 1972, they decided to retire the number for both of them. On the field, New York went 79-76 in a season that was shortened due to a player's strike.
1975 Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins went 82-80 in 1974. They did not change their name. They did not change their manager. They also did not retire any numbers that next season. But one thing they did do was release a franchise legend. Harmon Killebrew was cut by the Twins on January 16, 1975. He had hit .222 with a .672 OPS in 1975. Killebrew caught on with the Royals in 1975, but didn't do much better. Neither did the Twins, who finished 76-83.
1980 Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins went 82-80 in 1979. They did not make a managerial change during the off-season, but they did make one during the 1980 season. Gene Mauch resigned with the team sitting at 54-71, and was replaced by Johnny Goryl. Minnesota finished strong under Goryl, going 23-13 under him. But it was too little, too late. The Twins final record was 77-84. Goryl was brought back in 1981, but was quickly fired after an 11-25 start.
1992 Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals went 82-80 in 1991. They had gone through three different managers during that 1991 season. Hal McRae, who was manager number three, kept the job heading into 1992 after going 66-58 down the stretch the year before. Kansas City took a step back in 1992, going 72-90. Big off-season addition Kevin McReynolds was listed to just 109 games due to injury.
1994 Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners went 82-80 in 1993. But hopes were high in 1994. They had generational megastars Ken Griffey Jr and Randy Johnson. Seattle also had Edgar Martinez and Jay Buhner in their lineup, and an 18-year old Alex Rodriguez was set to debut later in the year. But it takes more than five or six All-Stars, because the Mariners were sitting at 49-63 before the player's strike cut 1994 short.
2001 Anaheim Angels
The Anaheim Angels went 82-80 in 2000. They did not change their name this time, although they had changed their name since the last time we read about them. And they'll change their name again soon. But not right now. The 2001 Angles went 75-87. They were missing slugger Mo Vaughn, who had hit 36 home runs with 117 RBI in 2000. He missed the entire 2001 season with a torn bicep.
2024 New York Yankees
The New York Yankees went 82-80 in 2023. It was the first time they had missed the playoff since 2016, so they loaded up in the off-season by trading for star outfielder Juan Soto. He was awesome! Finishing third in the MVP voting and leading the Yankees to their first World Series since 2009. Practically carried them on his back too. Aaron Judge was nowhere to be seen in October, batting .184 in the postseason. Meanwhile, Soto hit .327 with a 1.101 OPS in the playoffs. Sadly, this wasn't enough and the Dodgers were crowned World Series champions.

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The Minnesota Twins will be playing a spring training baseball game against the Atlanta Braves tomorrow.
What an exciting time of year this is. And the best way to celebrate these exciting times are with some bold(ish) predictions for the 2025 season.
1. Griffin Jax strikes out triple digits
The Twins haven't had a primary relief pitcher strike out 100 or more batters in a single season since Juan Rincón fanned 106 in 2004. In the years since, nobody has come closer than Jax did in 2024. The Air Force product struck out 95 opponents over 71.0 innings pitched last season, and it's possible that the Twins position in the standings cost him the opportunity to reach the 100 strikeout milestone. With the playoffs out of reach, Rocco Baldelli opted out not use Jax in their final three game series of the regular season. It was well earned rest for Jax, who has logged the fifth most relief innings in the Majors since the start of 2022.
2. The Twins steal 100 bases for the first time since 2012
100 is a nice round number, so we'll make it a bit of a theme. This sounds like a big leap coming off a year where the Twins only stole 65 bases, but they have the pieces to pull this off. Minnesota didn't lose much speed over the off-season. Max Kepler, Alex Kirilloff, Kyle Farmer, Carlos Santana and Manuel Margot collectively stole nine bases in 548 games last year. Players like Austin Martin (7 SB in 93 G), Brooks Lee (3 SB in 50 G) and Edouard Julien (6 SB in 94 G) can help add to the total simply by taking away extra at-bats from some of those departed players. Harrison Bader also stole 17 bases for the New York Mets last year. For this to be even possible, Willi Castro would need to get back to his 2023 form where he stole 33 bases. The utility man swiped just 14 bags in 2024.
3. Joe Ryan is an All-Star
Joe Ryan was pitching so well before a shoulder strain in August ended his season seven weeks early. He had the fourth best strikeout-to-walk ratio and eight lowest WHIP among pitchers who started at least 20 games last season. The tools are very clearly in place. As is the case with several players on the Twins, he just needs to be healthy and on the field to earn the accolades. 
4. Carlos Correa wins the Silver Slugger
Maybe this goes under the radar a bit, but Carlos Correa has the fifth highest OPS among shortstops since joining the Twins in 2022. And that's with a lackluster 2023 season dragging his numbers down a bit. The man produces at the plate. He just needs to be healthy enough to get the necessary at-bats. 2024 seemed like it was poised to be a career year. Correa had a .900 OPS for the first time since the ultra juiced ball year of 2019, but his foot injuries resurfaced and he didn't play at all between July 12th and September 14th. He wasn't putting up empty stats either. Correa hit .314 in high leverage situations, according to Baseball Reference.
5. Max Kepler has a solid year in his new home
The bar for "solid year" will be different for everyone, but the prediction here is that Kepler adjusts to post-Twins life better than several other Bomba Squad-era teammates who have since been castoff. Kepler is going to a really good hitters park where he'll have a lot of protection up and down the lineup, and he's also been better than some of these other pieces in recent years. What Eddie Rosario did in the 2021 NLCS was fun to watch, but he still has an 83 OPS+ with -8 defensive runs saved since leaving Minnesota. Kepler's career low for OPS+ in a single season is only 91. Mitch Garver is another Bomba Squad player who went off and won a World Series with a new team, but there's only so much value you bring as a DH and occasional fill-in piece at catcher. The other players to look at from that core are Jorge Polanco and Miguel Sano, who have done even less than the previously mentioned players.
6. Ty France does not make Twins opening day roster, Jose Miranda starts at first base
Ty France has a non-guaranteed contract, so the Twins would be able to release him at the end of camp for no money lost. The only thing it would've cost them is a 40-man placeholder for six or seven weeks. Minnesota had a similar arrangement with Anibal Sanchez in 2018. He signed a Major League contract in the off-season, but the money was only guaranteed if he made the opening day roster. Anyway, it's time for Jose Miranda to assume a full time role. He's moved around between first base, third base and designated hitter during his time with the Twins. After bouncing back from a poor showing in 2023, a strong showing in the Grapefruit League might be all Twins management needs to give him his first full time role.
7. Jorge Alcalá continues his hot and cold career
There is no denying that Jorge Alcalá has talent. Every Twins fan who has watched him knows he can be special when pitching at his best. But his whole career has been filled with these ups and downs. It's an on again, off again relationship that rivals Ross and Rachel. Last season was no different. Alcalá owned a 1.63 ERA through 35 appearances at the end of July. His ERA was 6.41 across 19 outings in August and September. His worst outing was in an August 18th loss to Texas that many point to as the beginning of the Twins late season slide. Alcalá is turning 30 in July. He's been a big leaguer since 2019. At this point, there's no reason to expect anything different. He's going to give the Twins some good stretches, and some bad ones.
8. Twins trade for Framber Valdez at the deadline
Houston doesn't bend over backwards to keep their own guys. Just look at the laundry list of core pieces they've let go; Correa, Springer, Keuchel, Morton, Tucker, Bregman, Pressly. There was even a point where they let Justin Verlander sign with the Mets, only to get him back via trade three months later. If you're not Jose Altuve, they are willing to let you walk out the door and call up their next prospect in line. For that reason, a 31-year old Framber Valdez might be available as a rental. Especially if the Astros can't withstand losing Tucker, Bregman and Pressly all in one off-season. This just might be a re-set year for the organization as they wait for their next wave of prospects.
9. Chris Paddack gives Twins 20-25 solid starts
It's impossible to bank on Chris Paddack for a full 30+ start season with his injury history, but he can still be a solid fifth starter option. Think about the role Kenta Maeda played for the Twins in 2023; 20 starts with a 4.23 ERA. Maybe Paddack won't be quite that good, but Minnesota would sign up for anything close to that. And the 2023 Twins probably didn't have as much starter depth behind Maeda to supplement the time he was down. That was a team who was running Dallas Keuchel out there at points. Fans probably feel better about the Woods-Richardson, Festa, Matthews trio of depth than the shell of Dallas Keuchel. 
10. The Twins win 95 games and take the AL Central
Minnesota was on a 92 win pace as late as August 17th last year, and then the season went off the rails. It's always easy to blame pitching for a collapse like that, and the Twins certainly had problems with their staff. Joe Ryan was hurt, their trio of rookie starters all seemed to hit a wall, and the bullpen was falling apart. But despite all that, the bats were still a bigger issue down the stretch. From August 18th onward, the Twins scored just 137 runs. Only the White Sox and Nationals scored less over that span. In short, everything went wrong over those final 38 games. But sometimes, you need to trust bigger samples. Believe in what you saw for 124 games. Not 38. Even without doing much this off-season, Minnesota is still a very good ball club.

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! Spring training baseball is finally here. That means regular season baseball is right around the corner.
The Minnesota Twins enter this year with an over/under of 84.5, according to DraftKings. This is the 12th highest over/under total in the league, and the highest among AL Central teams. But we all know these games are not played by Las Vegas projections. They are played by human beings on a baseball field. With that in mind, let's see how the Twins have done against their over/under projections during the Target Field-era.
2024 - 85.5 (Under, 82)
The Twins seemed destined to blow right past their over/under total of 85.5 in 2024. They were sitting at 70-53 on August 18th, which is a 92 win pace. But then Jorge Alcala had arguably the worst outing of his career, blowing a four run lead and costing his team a chance to sweep the defending champion Texas Rangers. Things spiraled from there, and the Twins only finished with 82 wins.
2023 - 83.5 (Over, 87)
While it seemed like the 2024 Twins were destined to go over their total, the 2023 Twins were the opposite. They were below .500 at the All-Star break, and things didn't get much better after play resumed. Minnesota rode a five game losing streak into the month of August, which included a sweep at the hands of last place Kansas City. But the Twins went 33-22 from August 1st onward, comfortably winning the AL Central by nine games and clearing their 83.5 total.
2022 - 80.5 (Under, 78)
There's starting to be a pattern of the over/under race flipping due to a late season surge or collapse. A late season surge saved the Twins in 2023. It sank them in 2024. 2022 was the sinking variety.  Minnesota played at an 87 win pace in the first half, and they held a 3.5 game lead in the AL Central. They were still playing at an 84 win pace when August ended, but they had fallen out of first place by then. September was their worst month yet, and the club finished 78-84.
2021 - 89.5 (Under, 73)
2021 is probably the Twins most disappointing season, based on preseason expectations. They had won 101 games in 2019, and played at a 97 win pace during the COVID shortened 2020 season. But things were ugly from the start for Minnesota in 2021. They were 9-15 in April, and never fully recovered. This led to Jose Berrios and Nelson Cruz being shown the door at the deadline. Oddly, they played a little better after the deadline to help avoid a 90 loss season. The Twins went 30-28 after the deadline. But it was too little, too late.
2020 - 34.5 (Over, 36)
The shortened COVID year was weird. There's probably not much you remember from it, unless you're a Dodgers fan. For reference, 34 wins over 60 games is a 92 win pace. The Twins 36-24 record means they played at a 97 win pace. Minnesota played jump rope with their over/under line all season, pushing themselves over by winning five of their final seven. Before that seven game stretch, they had lost four of five. They were as hot and cold as a team can be over a shortened 60 game sprint. This also included a six game losing streak in late August.
2019 - 84.5 (Over, 101)
Slugging a Major League record 307 home runs is a good way to blow 17 wins by your preseason over/under projection. Minnesota hit this mark on September 2nd with a thrilling come from behind win over Detroit. Max Kepler decided home runs were boring, and delivered a two run single in the eighth inning to help his club pull a head that night. Over bettors were able to finally cash their tickets, but it was a result that had felt safe for a few months at that point.
2018 - 82.5 (Under, 78)
Minnesota went to the playoffs in 2017, but a lot of their off-season moves blew up in their face. Logan Morrison wasn't the DH upgrade they expected, and Lance Lynn wasn't able to strengthen the rotation. Ervin Santana going down with a finger injury in spring training didn't help matters, and Jorge Polanco missed 80 games due to a failed drug test.
2017 - 70.5 (Over, 85)
Fans had no reason to be optomisct heading into 2017. The Twins had lost 103 games in 2016, and followed it up with a quiet off-season. Jason Castro and Matt Belisle were the only players they added on Major League deals. Many saw Castro as a downgrade to the departing Kurt Suzuki. 70.5 was the third lowest total in the league, only ahead of the Padres and Athletics. And then look what happened? They won 85 games and wound up in the Wild Card Game. Baseball is funny sometimes!
2016 - 78.5 (Under, 59)
No surprise that the worst season in Minnesota Twins history saw the club fall short of their over/under total. It's the eighth worst season if you include the Senators. They had some really lean years while in Washington. Those guys once had a 114 loss season...and they didn't even start playing 162 games until the 60's when the franchise had already moved to the Midwest.
2015 - 72.5 (Over, 83)
After four straight 90+ loss seasons, the Twins didn't deserve to have a high over/under total. And maybe the 2015 Twins weren't much better than the 2011-14 teams, but they rode a crazy hot month of May to a winning record. That was actually their only winning month in 2015, but they went 20-7. This gave the Twins a nice cushion to coast to an 83-79 record. Minnesota was mathematically alive for a wild card spot as last as the 161st game, but it wasn't meant to be.
2014 - 70.5 (Under, 70)
Bettors were certainly stressing out the 2014 Twins down to the very end. They were sitting at 69-91 with a series against the first place Detroit Tigers heading into the final weekend of the season. Minnesota needed a sweep to finish over 70.5 wins. They won the first two, setting up a season finale for all the marbles. And then the Tigers put their foot down, winning 3-0. These games actually mattered for Detroit too. The AL Central race between Detroit and Kansas City came down to the final day, mostly because the Twins had played spoiler in those first two games.
2013 - 70.5 (Under, 66)
Much like 2024 or 2022, this is another year where a late season collapse caused the Twins to fall short of their over/under total. Except this time, it didn't cost them a playoff spot in the process. They went 3-17 in their final 20 games. All they needed to go was go 8-12 to hit 71 wins. There was also a 1-12 stretch in late June/early July, and a ten game losing streak in May. Those three stretches add up to a 4-39 record, which is a 15-147 pace. So there were obviously some good stretches too if they were flirting with 70 wins.
2012 - 74.5 (Under, 66)
There was some hope that the 99 loss season in 2011 was a fluke. After all, Minnesota had won the AL Central in 2009 and 2010. They also lost a tiebreaker game for the division crown in 2008. Hall of Fame catcher Joe Mauer bounced back strong from the infamous bilateral leg weakness, leading the American League with a .416 on-base percentage. But they needed more than one person to have a bounce back year, which didn't happen.
2011 - 87.5 (Under, 63)
As you just read in the 2012 section, the 2011 Twins were a giant disappointment. Ron Gardenhire had won six division titles and suffered just one losing season in his first nine years as Twins manager, but that era was over. There's a lot of blame to go around. "Piranha ball" wasn't working as well in a league that was becoming more and more analytical. Big boppers such as Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau were non-factors. While Mauer bounced back to his All-Star form in future seasons, Morneau never did.
2010 - 83.5 (Over 94)
Everyone knew the 2010 Twins were going to hit, but pitching was a huge question. Carl Pavano and Francisco Lirano delivered in a big way. Liriano actually got Cy Young votes and won AL Comeback Player of the Year. It was the season Twins fans had been waiting for since his 2006 injury. Pavano went 17-11 with a 3.75 ERA, which was a huge upgrade over his 5.10 ERA for a year earlier (4.64 in 12 post-deadline starts with Twins). You could've made a Comeback Player of the Year case for him as well.

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The Minnesota Twins will be playing a spring training baseball game against the Atlanta Braves tomorrow.
What an exciting time of year this is. And the best way to celebrate these exciting times are with some bold(ish) predictions for the 2025 season.
1. Griffin Jax strikes out triple digits
The Twins haven't had a primary relief pitcher strike out 100 or more batters in a single season since Juan Rincón fanned 106 in 2004. In the years since, nobody has come closer than Jax did in 2024. The Air Force product struck out 95 opponents over 71.0 innings pitched last season, and it's possible that the Twins position in the standings cost him the opportunity to reach the 100 strikeout milestone. With the playoffs out of reach, Rocco Baldelli opted out not use Jax in their final three game series of the regular season. It was well earned rest for Jax, who has logged the fifth most relief innings in the Majors since the start of 2022.
2. The Twins steal 100 bases for the first time since 2012
100 is a nice round number, so we'll make it a bit of a theme. This sounds like a big leap coming off a year where the Twins only stole 65 bases, but they have the pieces to pull this off. Minnesota didn't lose much speed over the off-season. Max Kepler, Alex Kirilloff, Kyle Farmer, Carlos Santana and Manuel Margot collectively stole nine bases in 548 games last year. Players like Austin Martin (7 SB in 93 G), Brooks Lee (3 SB in 50 G) and Edouard Julien (6 SB in 94 G) can help add to the total simply by taking away extra at-bats from some of those departed players. Harrison Bader also stole 17 bases for the New York Mets last year. For this to be even possible, Willi Castro would need to get back to his 2023 form where he stole 33 bases. The utility man swiped just 14 bags in 2024.
3. Joe Ryan is an All-Star
Joe Ryan was pitching so well before a shoulder strain in August ended his season seven weeks early. He had the fourth best strikeout-to-walk ratio and eight lowest WHIP among pitchers who started at least 20 games last season. The tools are very clearly in place. As is the case with several players on the Twins, he just needs to be healthy and on the field to earn the accolades. 
4. Carlos Correa wins the Silver Slugger
Maybe this goes under the radar a bit, but Carlos Correa has the fifth highest OPS among shortstops since joining the Twins in 2022. And that's with a lackluster 2023 season dragging his numbers down a bit. The man produces at the plate. He just needs to be healthy enough to get the necessary at-bats. 2024 seemed like it was poised to be a career year. Correa had a .900 OPS for the first time since the ultra juiced ball year of 2019, but his foot injuries resurfaced and he didn't play at all between July 12th and September 14th. He wasn't putting up empty stats either. Correa hit .314 in high leverage situations, according to Baseball Reference.
5. Max Kepler has a solid year in his new home
The bar for "solid year" will be different for everyone, but the prediction here is that Kepler adjusts to post-Twins life better than several other Bomba Squad-era teammates who have since been castoff. Kepler is going to a really good hitters park where he'll have a lot of protection up and down the lineup, and he's also been better than some of these other pieces in recent years. What Eddie Rosario did in the 2021 NLCS was fun to watch, but he still has an 83 OPS+ with -8 defensive runs saved since leaving Minnesota. Kepler's career low for OPS+ in a single season is only 91. Mitch Garver is another Bomba Squad player who went off and won a World Series with a new team, but there's only so much value you bring as a DH and occasional fill-in piece at catcher. The other players to look at from that core are Jorge Polanco and Miguel Sano, who have done even less than the previously mentioned players.
6. Ty France does not make Twins opening day roster, Jose Miranda starts at first base
Ty France has a non-guaranteed contract, so the Twins would be able to release him at the end of camp for no money lost. The only thing it would've cost them is a 40-man placeholder for six or seven weeks. Minnesota had a similar arrangement with Anibal Sanchez in 2018. He signed a Major League contract in the off-season, but the money was only guaranteed if he made the opening day roster. Anyway, it's time for Jose Miranda to assume a full time role. He's moved around between first base, third base and designated hitter during his time with the Twins. After bouncing back from a poor showing in 2023, a strong showing in the Grapefruit League might be all Twins management needs to give him his first full time role.
7. Jorge Alcalá continues his hot and cold career
There is no denying that Jorge Alcalá has talent. Every Twins fan who has watched him knows he can be special when pitching at his best. But his whole career has been filled with these ups and downs. It's an on again, off again relationship that rivals Ross and Rachel. Last season was no different. Alcalá owned a 1.63 ERA through 35 appearances at the end of July. His ERA was 6.41 across 19 outings in August and September. His worst outing was in an August 18th loss to Texas that many point to as the beginning of the Twins late season slide. Alcalá is turning 30 in July. He's been a big leaguer since 2019. At this point, there's no reason to expect anything different. He's going to give the Twins some good stretches, and some bad ones.
8. Twins trade for Framber Valdez at the deadline
Houston doesn't bend over backwards to keep their own guys. Just look at the laundry list of core pieces they've let go; Correa, Springer, Keuchel, Morton, Tucker, Bregman, Pressly. There was even a point where they let Justin Verlander sign with the Mets, only to get him back via trade three months later. If you're not Jose Altuve, they are willing to let you walk out the door and call up their next prospect in line. For that reason, a 31-year old Framber Valdez might be available as a rental. Especially if the Astros can't withstand losing Tucker, Bregman and Pressly all in one off-season. This just might be a re-set year for the organization as they wait for their next wave of prospects.
9. Chris Paddack gives Twins 20-25 solid starts
It's impossible to bank on Chris Paddack for a full 30+ start season with his injury history, but he can still be a solid fifth starter option. Think about the role Kenta Maeda played for the Twins in 2023; 20 starts with a 4.23 ERA. Maybe Paddack won't be quite that good, but Minnesota would sign up for anything close to that. And the 2023 Twins probably didn't have as much starter depth behind Maeda to supplement the time he was down. That was a team who was running Dallas Keuchel out there at points. Fans probably feel better about the Woods-Richardson, Festa, Matthews trio of depth than the shell of Dallas Keuchel. 
10. The Twins win 95 games and take the AL Central
Minnesota was on a 92 win pace as late as August 17th last year, and then the season went off the rails. It's always easy to blame pitching for a collapse like that, and the Twins certainly had problems with their staff. Joe Ryan was hurt, their trio of rookie starters all seemed to hit a wall, and the bullpen was falling apart. But despite all that, the bats were still a bigger issue down the stretch. From August 18th onward, the Twins scored just 137 runs. Only the White Sox and Nationals scored less over that span. In short, everything went wrong over those final 38 games. But sometimes, you need to trust bigger samples. Believe in what you saw for 124 games. Not 38. Even without doing much this off-season, Minnesota is still a very good ball club.

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The Minnesota Twins will be playing a spring training baseball game against the Atlanta Braves tomorrow.
What an exciting time of year this is. And the best way to celebrate these exciting times are with some bold(ish) predictions for the 2025 season.
1. Griffin Jax strikes out triple digits
The Twins haven't had a primary relief pitcher strike out 100 or more batters in a single season since Juan Rincón fanned 106 in 2004. In the years since, nobody has come closer than Jax did in 2024. The Air Force product struck out 95 opponents over 71.0 innings pitched last season, and it's possible that the Twins position in the standings cost him the opportunity to reach the 100 strikeout milestone. With the playoffs out of reach, Rocco Baldelli opted out not use Jax in their final three game series of the regular season. It was well earned rest for Jax, who has logged the fifth most relief innings in the Majors since the start of 2022.
2. The Twins steal 100 bases for the first time since 2012
100 is a nice round number, so we'll make it a bit of a theme. This sounds like a big leap coming off a year where the Twins only stole 65 bases, but they have the pieces to pull this off. Minnesota didn't lose much speed over the off-season. Max Kepler, Alex Kirilloff, Kyle Farmer, Carlos Santana and Manuel Margot collectively stole nine bases in 548 games last year. Players like Austin Martin (7 SB in 93 G), Brooks Lee (3 SB in 50 G) and Edouard Julien (6 SB in 94 G) can help add to the total simply by taking away extra at-bats from some of those departed players. Harrison Bader also stole 17 bases for the New York Mets last year. For this to be even possible, Willi Castro would need to get back to his 2023 form where he stole 33 bases. The utility man swiped just 14 bags in 2024.
3. Joe Ryan is an All-Star
Joe Ryan was pitching so well before a shoulder strain in August ended his season seven weeks early. He had the fourth best strikeout-to-walk ratio and eight lowest WHIP among pitchers who started at least 20 games last season. The tools are very clearly in place. As is the case with several players on the Twins, he just needs to be healthy and on the field to earn the accolades. 
4. Carlos Correa wins the Silver Slugger
Maybe this goes under the radar a bit, but Carlos Correa has the fifth highest OPS among shortstops since joining the Twins in 2022. And that's with a lackluster 2023 season dragging his numbers down a bit. The man produces at the plate. He just needs to be healthy enough to get the necessary at-bats. 2024 seemed like it was poised to be a career year. Correa had a .900 OPS for the first time since the ultra juiced ball year of 2019, but his foot injuries resurfaced and he didn't play at all between July 12th and September 14th. He wasn't putting up empty stats either. Correa hit .314 in high leverage situations, according to Baseball Reference.
5. Max Kepler has a solid year in his new home
The bar for "solid year" will be different for everyone, but the prediction here is that Kepler adjusts to post-Twins life better than several other Bomba Squad-era teammates who have since been castoff. Kepler is going to a really good hitters park where he'll have a lot of protection up and down the lineup, and he's also been better than some of these other pieces in recent years. What Eddie Rosario did in the 2021 NLCS was fun to watch, but he still has an 83 OPS+ with -8 defensive runs saved since leaving Minnesota. Kepler's career low for OPS+ in a single season is only 91. Mitch Garver is another Bomba Squad player who went off and won a World Series with a new team, but there's only so much value you bring as a DH and occasional fill-in piece at catcher. The other players to look at from that core are Jorge Polanco and Miguel Sano, who have done even less than the previously mentioned players.
6. Ty France does not make Twins opening day roster, Jose Miranda starts at first base
Ty France has a non-guaranteed contract, so the Twins would be able to release him at the end of camp for no money lost. The only thing it would've cost them is a 40-man placeholder for six or seven weeks. Minnesota had a similar arrangement with Anibal Sanchez in 2018. He signed a Major League contract in the off-season, but the money was only guaranteed if he made the opening day roster. Anyway, it's time for Jose Miranda to assume a full time role. He's moved around between first base, third base and designated hitter during his time with the Twins. After bouncing back from a poor showing in 2023, a strong showing in the Grapefruit League might be all Twins management needs to give him his first full time role.
7. Jorge Alcalá continues his hot and cold career
There is no denying that Jorge Alcalá has talent. Every Twins fan who has watched him knows he can be special when pitching at his best. But his whole career has been filled with these ups and downs. It's an on again, off again relationship that rivals Ross and Rachel. Last season was no different. Alcalá owned a 1.63 ERA through 35 appearances at the end of July. His ERA was 6.41 across 19 outings in August and September. His worst outing was in an August 18th loss to Texas that many point to as the beginning of the Twins late season slide. Alcalá is turning 30 in July. He's been a big leaguer since 2019. At this point, there's no reason to expect anything different. He's going to give the Twins some good stretches, and some bad ones.
8. Twins trade for Framber Valdez at the deadline
Houston doesn't bend over backwards to keep their own guys. Just look at the laundry list of core pieces they've let go; Correa, Springer, Keuchel, Morton, Tucker, Bregman, Pressly. There was even a point where they let Justin Verlander sign with the Mets, only to get him back via trade three months later. If you're not Jose Altuve, they are willing to let you walk out the door and call up their next prospect in line. For that reason, a 31-year old Framber Valdez might be available as a rental. Especially if the Astros can't withstand losing Tucker, Bregman and Pressly all in one off-season. This just might be a re-set year for the organization as they wait for their next wave of prospects.
9. Chris Paddack gives Twins 20-25 solid starts
It's impossible to bank on Chris Paddack for a full 30+ start season with his injury history, but he can still be a solid fifth starter option. Think about the role Kenta Maeda played for the Twins in 2023; 20 starts with a 4.23 ERA. Maybe Paddack won't be quite that good, but Minnesota would sign up for anything close to that. And the 2023 Twins probably didn't have as much starter depth behind Maeda to supplement the time he was down. That was a team who was running Dallas Keuchel out there at points. Fans probably feel better about the Woods-Richardson, Festa, Matthews trio of depth than the shell of Dallas Keuchel. 
10. The Twins win 95 games and take the AL Central
Minnesota was on a 92 win pace as late as August 17th last year, and then the season went off the rails. It's always easy to blame pitching for a collapse like that, and the Twins certainly had problems with their staff. Joe Ryan was hurt, their trio of rookie starters all seemed to hit a wall, and the bullpen was falling apart. But despite all that, the bats were still a bigger issue down the stretch. From August 18th onward, the Twins scored just 137 runs. Only the White Sox and Nationals scored less over that span. In short, everything went wrong over those final 38 games. But sometimes, you need to trust bigger samples. Believe in what you saw for 124 games. Not 38. Even without doing much this off-season, Minnesota is still a very good ball club.

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The Minnesota Twins will be playing a spring training baseball game against the Atlanta Braves tomorrow.
What an exciting time of year this is. And the best way to celebrate these exciting times are with some bold(ish) predictions for the 2025 season.
1. Griffin Jax strikes out triple digits
The Twins haven't had a primary relief pitcher strike out 100 or more batters in a single season since Juan Rincón fanned 106 in 2004. In the years since, nobody has come closer than Jax did in 2024. The Air Force product struck out 95 opponents over 71.0 innings pitched last season, and it's possible that the Twins position in the standings cost him the opportunity to reach the 100 strikeout milestone. With the playoffs out of reach, Rocco Baldelli opted out not use Jax in their final three game series of the regular season. It was well earned rest for Jax, who has logged the fifth most relief innings in the Majors since the start of 2022.
2. The Twins steal 100 bases for the first time since 2012
100 is a nice round number, so we'll make it a bit of a theme. This sounds like a big leap coming off a year where the Twins only stole 65 bases, but they have the pieces to pull this off. Minnesota didn't lose much speed over the off-season. Max Kepler, Alex Kirilloff, Kyle Farmer, Carlos Santana and Manuel Margot collectively stole nine bases in 548 games last year. Players like Austin Martin (7 SB in 93 G), Brooks Lee (3 SB in 50 G) and Edouard Julien (6 SB in 94 G) can help add to the total simply by taking away extra at-bats from some of those departed players. Harrison Bader also stole 17 bases for the New York Mets last year. For this to be even possible, Willi Castro would need to get back to his 2023 form where he stole 33 bases. The utility man swiped just 14 bags in 2024.
3. Joe Ryan is an All-Star
Joe Ryan was pitching so well before a shoulder strain in August ended his season seven weeks early. He had the fourth best strikeout-to-walk ratio and eight lowest WHIP among pitchers who started at least 20 games last season. The tools are very clearly in place. As is the case with several players on the Twins, he just needs to be healthy and on the field to earn the accolades. 
4. Carlos Correa wins the Silver Slugger
Maybe this goes under the radar a bit, but Carlos Correa has the fifth highest OPS among shortstops since joining the Twins in 2022. And that's with a lackluster 2023 season dragging his numbers down a bit. The man produces at the plate. He just needs to be healthy enough to get the necessary at-bats. 2024 seemed like it was poised to be a career year. Correa had a .900 OPS for the first time since the ultra juiced ball year of 2019, but his foot injuries resurfaced and he didn't play at all between July 12th and September 14th. He wasn't putting up empty stats either. Correa hit .314 in high leverage situations, according to Baseball Reference.
5. Max Kepler has a solid year in his new home
The bar for "solid year" will be different for everyone, but the prediction here is that Kepler adjusts to post-Twins life better than several other Bomba Squad-era teammates who have since been castoff. Kepler is going to a really good hitters park where he'll have a lot of protection up and down the lineup, and he's also been better than some of these other pieces in recent years. What Eddie Rosario did in the 2021 NLCS was fun to watch, but he still has an 83 OPS+ with -8 defensive runs saved since leaving Minnesota. Kepler's career low for OPS+ in a single season is only 91. Mitch Garver is another Bomba Squad player who went off and won a World Series with a new team, but there's only so much value you bring as a DH and occasional fill-in piece at catcher. The other players to look at from that core are Jorge Polanco and Miguel Sano, who have done even less than the previously mentioned players.
6. Ty France does not make Twins opening day roster, Jose Miranda starts at first base
Ty France has a non-guaranteed contract, so the Twins would be able to release him at the end of camp for no money lost. The only thing it would've cost them is a 40-man placeholder for six or seven weeks. Minnesota had a similar arrangement with Anibal Sanchez in 2018. He signed a Major League contract in the off-season, but the money was only guaranteed if he made the opening day roster. Anyway, it's time for Jose Miranda to assume a full time role. He's moved around between first base, third base and designated hitter during his time with the Twins. After bouncing back from a poor showing in 2023, a strong showing in the Grapefruit League might be all Twins management needs to give him his first full time role.
7. Jorge Alcalá continues his hot and cold career
There is no denying that Jorge Alcalá has talent. Every Twins fan who has watched him knows he can be special when pitching at his best. But his whole career has been filled with these ups and downs. It's an on again, off again relationship that rivals Ross and Rachel. Last season was no different. Alcalá owned a 1.63 ERA through 35 appearances at the end of July. His ERA was 6.41 across 19 outings in August and September. His worst outing was in an August 18th loss to Texas that many point to as the beginning of the Twins late season slide. Alcalá is turning 30 in July. He's been a big leaguer since 2019. At this point, there's no reason to expect anything different. He's going to give the Twins some good stretches, and some bad ones.
8. Twins trade for Framber Valdez at the deadline
Houston doesn't bend over backwards to keep their own guys. Just look at the laundry list of core pieces they've let go; Correa, Springer, Keuchel, Morton, Tucker, Bregman, Pressly. There was even a point where they let Justin Verlander sign with the Mets, only to get him back via trade three months later. If you're not Jose Altuve, they are willing to let you walk out the door and call up their next prospect in line. For that reason, a 31-year old Framber Valdez might be available as a rental. Especially if the Astros can't withstand losing Tucker, Bregman and Pressly all in one off-season. This just might be a re-set year for the organization as they wait for their next wave of prospects.
9. Chris Paddack gives Twins 20-25 solid starts
It's impossible to bank on Chris Paddack for a full 30+ start season with his injury history, but he can still be a solid fifth starter option. Think about the role Kenta Maeda played for the Twins in 2023; 20 starts with a 4.23 ERA. Maybe Paddack won't be quite that good, but Minnesota would sign up for anything close to that. And the 2023 Twins probably didn't have as much starter depth behind Maeda to supplement the time he was down. That was a team who was running Dallas Keuchel out there at points. Fans probably feel better about the Woods-Richardson, Festa, Matthews trio of depth than the shell of Dallas Keuchel. 
10. The Twins win 95 games and take the AL Central
Minnesota was on a 92 win pace as late as August 17th last year, and then the season went off the rails. It's always easy to blame pitching for a collapse like that, and the Twins certainly had problems with their staff. Joe Ryan was hurt, their trio of rookie starters all seemed to hit a wall, and the bullpen was falling apart. But despite all that, the bats were still a bigger issue down the stretch. From August 18th onward, the Twins scored just 137 runs. Only the White Sox and Nationals scored less over that span. In short, everything went wrong over those final 38 games. But sometimes, you need to trust bigger samples. Believe in what you saw for 124 games. Not 38. Even without doing much this off-season, Minnesota is still a very good ball club.

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The Minnesota Twins will be playing a spring training baseball game against the Atlanta Braves tomorrow.
What an exciting time of year this is. And the best way to celebrate these exciting times are with some bold(ish) predictions for the 2025 season.
1. Griffin Jax strikes out triple digits
The Twins haven't had a primary relief pitcher strike out 100 or more batters in a single season since Juan Rincón fanned 106 in 2004. In the years since, nobody has come closer than Jax did in 2024. The Air Force product struck out 95 opponents over 71.0 innings pitched last season, and it's possible that the Twins position in the standings cost him the opportunity to reach the 100 strikeout milestone. With the playoffs out of reach, Rocco Baldelli opted out not use Jax in their final three game series of the regular season. It was well earned rest for Jax, who has logged the fifth most relief innings in the Majors since the start of 2022.
2. The Twins steal 100 bases for the first time since 2012
100 is a nice round number, so we'll make it a bit of a theme. This sounds like a big leap coming off a year where the Twins only stole 65 bases, but they have the pieces to pull this off. Minnesota didn't lose much speed over the off-season. Max Kepler, Alex Kirilloff, Kyle Farmer, Carlos Santana and Manuel Margot collectively stole nine bases in 548 games last year. Players like Austin Martin (7 SB in 93 G), Brooks Lee (3 SB in 50 G) and Edouard Julien (6 SB in 94 G) can help add to the total simply by taking away extra at-bats from some of those departed players. Harrison Bader also stole 17 bases for the New York Mets last year. For this to be even possible, Willi Castro would need to get back to his 2023 form where he stole 33 bases. The utility man swiped just 14 bags in 2024.
3. Joe Ryan is an All-Star
Joe Ryan was pitching so well before a shoulder strain in August ended his season seven weeks early. He had the fourth best strikeout-to-walk ratio and eight lowest WHIP among pitchers who started at least 20 games last season. The tools are very clearly in place. As is the case with several players on the Twins, he just needs to be healthy and on the field to earn the accolades. 
4. Carlos Correa wins the Silver Slugger
Maybe this goes under the radar a bit, but Carlos Correa has the fifth highest OPS among shortstops since joining the Twins in 2022. And that's with a lackluster 2023 season dragging his numbers down a bit. The man produces at the plate. He just needs to be healthy enough to get the necessary at-bats. 2024 seemed like it was poised to be a career year. Correa had a .900 OPS for the first time since the ultra juiced ball year of 2019, but his foot injuries resurfaced and he didn't play at all between July 12th and September 14th. He wasn't putting up empty stats either. Correa hit .314 in high leverage situations, according to Baseball Reference.
5. Max Kepler has a solid year in his new home
The bar for "solid year" will be different for everyone, but the prediction here is that Kepler adjusts to post-Twins life better than several other Bomba Squad-era teammates who have since been castoff. Kepler is going to a really good hitters park where he'll have a lot of protection up and down the lineup, and he's also been better than some of these other pieces in recent years. What Eddie Rosario did in the 2021 NLCS was fun to watch, but he still has an 83 OPS+ with -8 defensive runs saved since leaving Minnesota. Kepler's career low for OPS+ in a single season is only 91. Mitch Garver is another Bomba Squad player who went off and won a World Series with a new team, but there's only so much value you bring as a DH and occasional fill-in piece at catcher. The other players to look at from that core are Jorge Polanco and Miguel Sano, who have done even less than the previously mentioned players.
6. Ty France does not make Twins opening day roster, Jose Miranda starts at first base
Ty France has a non-guaranteed contract, so the Twins would be able to release him at the end of camp for no money lost. The only thing it would've cost them is a 40-man placeholder for six or seven weeks. Minnesota had a similar arrangement with Anibal Sanchez in 2018. He signed a Major League contract in the off-season, but the money was only guaranteed if he made the opening day roster. Anyway, it's time for Jose Miranda to assume a full time role. He's moved around between first base, third base and designated hitter during his time with the Twins. After bouncing back from a poor showing in 2023, a strong showing in the Grapefruit League might be all Twins management needs to give him his first full time role.
7. Jorge Alcalá continues his hot and cold career
There is no denying that Jorge Alcalá has talent. Every Twins fan who has watched him knows he can be special when pitching at his best. But his whole career has been filled with these ups and downs. It's an on again, off again relationship that rivals Ross and Rachel. Last season was no different. Alcalá owned a 1.63 ERA through 35 appearances at the end of July. His ERA was 6.41 across 19 outings in August and September. His worst outing was in an August 18th loss to Texas that many point to as the beginning of the Twins late season slide. Alcalá is turning 30 in July. He's been a big leaguer since 2019. At this point, there's no reason to expect anything different. He's going to give the Twins some good stretches, and some bad ones.
8. Twins trade for Framber Valdez at the deadline
Houston doesn't bend over backwards to keep their own guys. Just look at the laundry list of core pieces they've let go; Correa, Springer, Keuchel, Morton, Tucker, Bregman, Pressly. There was even a point where they let Justin Verlander sign with the Mets, only to get him back via trade three months later. If you're not Jose Altuve, they are willing to let you walk out the door and call up their next prospect in line. For that reason, a 31-year old Framber Valdez might be available as a rental. Especially if the Astros can't withstand losing Tucker, Bregman and Pressly all in one off-season. This just might be a re-set year for the organization as they wait for their next wave of prospects.
9. Chris Paddack gives Twins 20-25 solid starts
It's impossible to bank on Chris Paddack for a full 30+ start season with his injury history, but he can still be a solid fifth starter option. Think about the role Kenta Maeda played for the Twins in 2023; 20 starts with a 4.23 ERA. Maybe Paddack won't be quite that good, but Minnesota would sign up for anything close to that. And the 2023 Twins probably didn't have as much starter depth behind Maeda to supplement the time he was down. That was a team who was running Dallas Keuchel out there at points. Fans probably feel better about the Woods-Richardson, Festa, Matthews trio of depth than the shell of Dallas Keuchel. 
10. The Twins win 95 games and take the AL Central
Minnesota was on a 92 win pace as late as August 17th last year, and then the season went off the rails. It's always easy to blame pitching for a collapse like that, and the Twins certainly had problems with their staff. Joe Ryan was hurt, their trio of rookie starters all seemed to hit a wall, and the bullpen was falling apart. But despite all that, the bats were still a bigger issue down the stretch. From August 18th onward, the Twins scored just 137 runs. Only the White Sox and Nationals scored less over that span. In short, everything went wrong over those final 38 games. But sometimes, you need to trust bigger samples. Believe in what you saw for 124 games. Not 38. Even without doing much this off-season, Minnesota is still a very good ball club.

Career minor leaguer Wilkin Ramírez had three cups of coffee in the bigs. He played 15 games for the Tigers in 2009, 20 with the Braves in 2011, and 35 with the Minnesota Twins in 2013.
Ramírez came to the Twins organization ahead of the 2012 season, batting .288 with 19 home runs and 61 RBI over 113 minor league games. He hit .404 with ten doubles in 57 at-bats during spring training in 2013, which earned him an Opening Day roster spot.
This was the best opportunity a team had ever given Ramírez at the Major League level, and things got off to a great start. His red hot spring carried over into the regular season. In a fourth outfielder role, he hit .381 with four RBI during April. But then health became an issue. Ramírez cooled off a bit in May, then had to miss 71 games due to concussion-like symptoms.
He returned to the diamond from his concussion in mid-August, and began to re-capture some of his April magic. Ramírez recorded a hit in nine of his first 12 games back, including two multi-hit games. But a fractured fibula on August 29th ended his season, and effectively his big league career.
The Twins removed Ramírez from the 40-man roster during the offseason. He re-signed with the club on a minor league deal, and spent the entire 2014 and 2015 seasons with Triple-A Rochester. Ramírez spent 2016 with the Bridgeport Bluefish of the Atlantic League, and then retired from professional baseball.

Journeyman reliever Héctor Carrasco pitched for 12 seasons in the Major Leagues, which included two stints with the Minnesota Twins. He also played for the Reds, Angels, Royals, Red Sox, Nationals, and Orioles.
Carrasco first came to Minnesota through waivers just before the 1998 season. The Diamondbacks had selected him from Kansas City in the expansion draft that winter, but he waived right before Opening Day and the Twins picked him up. He went 4-2 with a 4.38 ERA and a save over 63 relief appearances in 1998. His 1.719 WHIP was the worst among any big league pitcher with at least 60 appearances that season. 1999 and 2000 weren’t that much better for Carrasco. His biggest highlight in a Twins uniform might be surrendering Cal Ripkin’s 3,000th hit early in the 2000 season.
Minnesota was able to trade Carrasco to Boston late in 2000. The return was a lottery ticket Single-A outfield prospect who had been a 12th round pick. Nobody really expects much from a trade like this. There are zero expectations for these moves to wind up producing a big league player. But this one did. The lottery ticket prospect was Metrodome fan favorite Lew Ford.
After pitching just eight games with the Red Sox, Carrasco returned to the Twins as a free agent that next offseason. He posted a 4.64 ERA over 56 appearances with the Twins in 2001. Over four seasons in Minnesota, Carrasco had a 4.53 ERA with four saves across 219 games.
He would keep pitching in the Majors through 2007. His career year came in 2005, when he had a 2.05 ERA over 64 games with the Nationals. Carrasco continued to pitch professionally until 2012, spending time in the Atlantic League and the Mexican League.

Career minor leaguer Wilkin Ramírez had three cups of coffee in the bigs. He played 15 games for the Tigers in 2009, 20 with the Braves in 2011, and 35 with the Minnesota Twins in 2013.
Ramírez came to the Twins organization ahead of the 2012 season, batting .288 with 19 home runs and 61 RBI over 113 minor league games. He hit .404 with ten doubles in 57 at-bats during spring training in 2013, which earned him an Opening Day roster spot.
This was the best opportunity a team had ever given Ramírez at the Major League level, and things got off to a great start. His red hot spring carried over into the regular season. In a fourth outfielder role, he hit .381 with four RBI during April. But then health became an issue. Ramírez cooled off a bit in May, then had to miss 71 games due to concussion-like symptoms.
He returned to the diamond from his concussion in mid-August, and began to re-capture some of his April magic. Ramírez recorded a hit in nine of his first 12 games back, including two multi-hit games. But a fractured fibula on August 29th ended his season, and effectively his big league career.
The Twins removed Ramírez from the 40-man roster during the offseason. He re-signed with the club on a minor league deal, and spent the entire 2014 and 2015 seasons with Triple-A Rochester. Ramírez spent 2016 with the Bridgeport Bluefish of the Atlantic League, and then retired from professional baseball.

Henry Blanco was your classic journeyman backup catcher. Known for his glove, he hit just .223 over a 16 year career that was spent with 11 different teams.
Minnesota signed Blanco to a one year deal in December 2003. The expectation was that he would be the number two catcher behind top prospect Joe Mauer, who made his Major League debut on Opening Day in 2004. But a knee injury limited Mauer to just 35 games that season, and Blanco wound up playing a career high 114 games that season.
As expected, Blanco did very little with the bat. He slashed just .206/.260/.368 (.628). This came with a career high ten home runs and 37 RBI, but that was partly due to the fact that 2004 was the only season where he appeared in at least 100 games. His defense provided a lot of value though, as Blanco threw out an American League best 49.1% of base stealers.
Blanco drove in two runs during the 2004 ALDS against the Yankees. He had a sacrifice fly in game two off Jon Lieber, and launched a solo homer off Javier Vazquez in game four. They’re the only two RBI of his postseason career. His teams did reach October a handful of times, but this was the only instance where he was getting regular playing time. The only other playoff start he had came in game three of the 2002 NLDS when the Braves had to scratch Javy Lopez late.
He is now a member of the coaching ranks. Blanco currently the role of “catching and strategy coach” with the Nationals. Blanco has also been a coach with the Cubs and Diamondbacks, with various roles and titles with each club. He has two World Series rings as a coach, winning it all with the Cubs in 2016 and the Nationals in 2019.

Henry Blanco was your classic journeyman backup catcher. Known for his glove, he hit just .223 over a 16 year career that was spent with 11 different teams.
Minnesota signed Blanco to a one year deal in December 2003. The expectation was that he would be the number two catcher behind top prospect Joe Mauer, who made his Major League debut on Opening Day in 2004. But a knee injury limited Mauer to just 35 games that season, and Blanco wound up playing a career high 114 games that season.
As expected, Blanco did very little with the bat. He slashed just .206/.260/.368 (.628). This came with a career high ten home runs and 37 RBI, but that was partly due to the fact that 2004 was the only season where he appeared in at least 100 games. His defense provided a lot of value though, as Blanco threw out an American League best 49.1% of base stealers.
Blanco drove in two runs during the 2004 ALDS against the Yankees. He had a sacrifice fly in game two off Jon Lieber, and launched a solo homer off Javier Vazquez in game four. They’re the only two RBI of his postseason career. His teams did reach October a handful of times, but this was the only instance where he was getting regular playing time. The only other playoff start he had came in game three of the 2002 NLDS when the Braves had to scratch Javy Lopez late.
He is now a member of the coaching ranks. Blanco currently the role of “catching and strategy coach” with the Nationals. Blanco has also been a coach with the Cubs and Diamondbacks, with various roles and titles with each club. He has two World Series rings as a coach, winning it all with the Cubs in 2016 and the Nationals in 2019.

Journeyman reliever Héctor Carrasco pitched for 12 seasons in the Major Leagues, which included two stints with the Minnesota Twins. He also played for the Reds, Angels, Royals, Red Sox, Nationals, and Orioles.
Carrasco first came to Minnesota through waivers just before the 1998 season. The Diamondbacks had selected him from Kansas City in the expansion draft that winter, but he waived right before Opening Day and the Twins picked him up. He went 4-2 with a 4.38 ERA and a save over 63 relief appearances in 1998. His 1.719 WHIP was the worst among any big league pitcher with at least 60 appearances that season. 1999 and 2000 weren’t that much better for Carrasco. His biggest highlight in a Twins uniform might be surrendering Cal Ripkin’s 3,000th hit early in the 2000 season.
Minnesota was able to trade Carrasco to Boston late in 2000. The return was a lottery ticket Single-A outfield prospect who had been a 12th round pick. Nobody really expects much from a trade like this. There are zero expectations for these moves to wind up producing a big league player. But this one did. The lottery ticket prospect was Metrodome fan favorite Lew Ford.
After pitching just eight games with the Red Sox, Carrasco returned to the Twins as a free agent that next offseason. He posted a 4.64 ERA over 56 appearances with the Twins in 2001. Over four seasons in Minnesota, Carrasco had a 4.53 ERA with four saves across 219 games.
He would keep pitching in the Majors through 2007. His career year came in 2005, when he had a 2.05 ERA over 64 games with the Nationals. Carrasco continued to pitch professionally until 2012, spending time in the Atlantic League and the Mexican League.

The Baltimore Orioles took Darnell McDonald with the 26th overall pick in 1997, but he never really found his footing in the Majors until 2009 at age 30 with Cincinnati. This long path included a four game cup of coffee with the Twins in 2007.
He did debut with the Orioles in 2004, but played just 17 games for them. McDonald spent time in the Guardians, Devil Rays, and Nationals systems on minor league deals after being released by Baltimore. Washington traded him to the Twins in June 2007 for the right to keep Rule-5 Draft pick Levale Speigner after taking him off the 25-man roster. McDonald went 1-for-10 with a walk in four appearances with Minnesota over four games in July 2007. He became a free agent after the season.
2008 was another year of exclusive minor league action for McDonald, but he got his first extended Major League look with the Reds in 2009. McDonald appeared in 47 games for Cincinnati, batting .267 and hitting his first big league homer off a 21-year old Clayton Kershaw.
This was followed up by a career year with the Red Sox in 2010. McDonald played in 117 games for Boston that season, getting to start in centerfield for an extended period of time after Jacoby Ellsbury was injured. He stuck around with the Red Sox as a fourth outfielder until getting waived in July 2012. McDonald had brief stints with the Yankees and Cubs, retiring after the 2013 season.
McDonald coached in the Cubs minor league system for a little bit, but he has since moved to broadcasting. NESN, the Red Sox television partner, hired him as a studio analyst ahead of the 2023 season.

Dillon Gee was the 2017 version of what Dallas Keuchel did for the Twins in 2023. In fact, he was probably a little bit better. While he didn’t have quite the same name value, Gee was still a  veteran in his 30’s who provided value as an innings eater late in the season after impressing at Triple-A on a minor league deal.
Gee had a solid 3.91 ERA over 103 starts with the Mets from 2010-14, but he struggled out of the gate in 2015 before getting buried by a crop of young Mets starters. He sat there and watched as New York reached the World Series in 2015, and then he began to bounce around the league a bit.
Minnesota signed him to a minor league deal on June 22, 2017. Triple-A Rochester seemed almost too easy for Gee. He made five starts there, allowing zero runs in three of them. The Twins called him up in early August, and he jumped into a hybrid pitching role. Whatever they needed that day, Gee would take on that challenge. Starting pitcher, close games, blowouts, short relief, long relief, save situations, entering a clean inning or with runners on base. Gee did it all for the Twins.
Gee made three starts and was called on for 11 relief appearances during his two months in Minnesota, posting a 3.22 ERA over 36.1 innings. He went 3-2 with a save and a hold. This helped Minnesota earn the second AL wild card spot, getting them to the postseason for the first time since 2010.
He signed with the Chunichi Dragons of the NBP in the off-season, posting a 4.00 ERA during his one season in Japan. Gee then retired after the 2018 season.