Possumlad

I think Tom & Jeremy effectively threaded the needle here. Improve the team in obvious areas; spend some money; focus on players with control beyond this year; don't trade much (if any) current production; and don't sacrifice the future by trading a bunch of high-level prospects just for a chance to make the playoffs. Overall we gave ourselves a better chance to make the playoffs while keeping current & future fan interest high.

Lee looks like a league average starting third baseman both in the field and in the batter's box... That provides some straightforward value. Lewis, I believe could grow into a slightly above average first baseman both with the glove and bat. Keasch is tough, as his bat doesn't profile well enough to play regularly in the outfield. My hope is that he rounds into a very valuable utility guy. His infield glove plays well enough to at least spot start there. On controllable deals, they all provide some value to the twins.

They didn't trade a real prospect for Kremer to stick him in AAA. He's been in the bigs for 7 years now.

This is an absolutely awful move. Liked the Minter move, but this one blows. Reyes is a real deal massive upside prospect... Obviously he may not work out, but among the highest upside prospects in the entire system.

Love what I've seen from Shelty so far. Leaders can (and should) use spreadsheets, but spreadsheets can't lead. Being a leader requires a combination of intelligence, EQ, humility, judgement, passion, self-confidence, grit, and communication. Hard to get the balance right, but Shelty's done a nice job so far from what I can tell. He's the kind of guy I'd enjoy playing for or working with.

Also interesting that Jenkins got a huge bump in the Fangraphs rankings. He was 50 FV tier and & ranked in the 30s in the prior update. Huge jump to 60 FV & top 5 overall.

IF Kaelen Culpepper (Twins' No. 2 prospect) Injury: Left glute injury IL date: July 7 (7-day IL) Expected return: Late July Status: Expected to be in games by the end of the week. Unclear whether that will be in a rehab assignment or if he will go straight to Triple-A. (Last updated: July 20

Seems like Matthew misses the days of Rocco super-platoons and early inning pinch hitters! I'm with the majority of the other commenters - let the bats with upside (Royce), especially when they've been performing the way he has recently. The less jerking around the better.

Does this mean you think the Twins wanted Reddemann or Brunson but both were taken ahead of them?

To answer that question we'd know to know where the Twins payroll is going. If Tom's committed to winning, it's going to cost him more - he seems to know that, but we'll see. I'm fine paying 35-37 year old Ryan $30MM/per in in the 2031-2033 seasons if the payroll is $200-$225MM (which will be middle of the pack in the MLB by then - currently median payroll is $175MM). Who knows w/ this CBA though - maybe that changes everything.

I didn't suggest any fans won't attend games because Buxton doesn't have a contract for 2029. I suggested that signing both Joe & Buck to extensions would create enthusiasm & send a strong signal that many fans would appreciate - and I do think that signal would help with perception & attendance.

Yes I'm aware of that. Which is why I said "extension." Signing both Joe & Buck to extensions at the same time would send a nice signal.

From the Twins website: OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (Twins' No. 4 prospect) Injury: Left thumb injury IL date: May 6 (7-day IL) Expected return: August Status: Is throwing from 105 feet and has begun hitting off a tee and in soft toss. (Last updated: July 7)

Extending both Buck & Ryan would be a great way for Pohlad to get butts in the seats. If Tom wants to redefine his early tenure as managing owner, extending both gives him a lot of goodwill & flex in other areas.

Updated top 10 from Kiley McDaniel at ESPN this morning. Link: https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/47684227/2026-top-10-prospect-rankings-all-30-mlb-teams-kiley-mcdaniel#min Minnesota Twins Top 10 prospects Player Previous Trending 1. Walker Jenkins, CF 1 2. Vahn Lackey, C 2026 Draft 3. Kaelen Culpepper, SS 3 4. Emmanuel Rodriguez, CF 4 5. Marek Houston, SS 7 6. Riley Quick, RHP 8 7. Kendry Rojas, LHP NR 8. Eduardo Tait, C 5 9. Dasan Hill, LHP 6 10. Hendry Mendez, LF 9 One thing to know: Lots of near misses on this list, including RHP Charlee Soto, RF Gabriel Gonzalez, C Carson Tinney (2026 second-rounder), RHP Ethan Wachsmann (third round), RHP Brett Renfrow (second round), C Khadim Diaw, and RHP Ryan Gallagher.

I'm confused what your point is here. Should teams be giving more playing time to worse players?

I've heard "Minnie" used plenty of times by Minnesotans. In fact, I've mostly heard it used by Minnesotans when speaking to other Minnesotans. When I'm out of town taking with other Minnesotans, I've often been asked "when do you head back to Minnie?" or "are you guys gonna be in Minnie this weekend?" etc.

Totally agree. If your last 2-4 (skill position) roster spots are getting a bunch of playing time, you've got other issues. Those spots should be reserved for late-inning or spot guys who fit a niche role - speed, defense, positional flexibility, bat skills against lefties, etc. You don't want those spots filled with legit prospects who should be getting regular time in the minors. Should never be anyone you "feel bad" about not getting more playing time.

Current status per Twins: (https://www.mlb.com/news/twins-injuries-and-roster-moves) LATEST INJURIES RHP Cole Sands Injury: Mild right forearm strain IL date: May 2 (15-day IL, retroactive to April 29) Expected return: July Status: Will have rehab assignment moved to FCL Twins over All-Star break to continue build-up. (Last updated: July 12)

Good point... even elite hitters rarely maintain BABIP in that context. Mauer's lifetime BABIP was 0.341%. Since I went down the rabbit hole... highest all-time for a career is Ty Cobb @ 0.381. Aaron Judge was the highest in the league @ 0.379 in 2025. Suffice it to say, VERY unlikely Marek can maintain a BABIP in the mid 0.300s. League average is around 0.300.

I agree with you. Cullpepper will get the call if/when there's an opening at the full-time SS or 2B position. They're not going to call him up for spot starts. Kreidler or Clemens injury would force the issue (although we may just see more Gray in that case). Outside of that, I'd actually prefer they leave both Jenkins & Cullpepper down till 2027.

Marek & KC as the long-term SS/2B duo would be a lot of fun & solve a lot of problems! Here's hoping they both stay healthy & continue to perform. We need some good prospect luck.

Article from the Twins site today re: the draft: https://www.mlb.com/twins/news/twins-2026-draft-preview Really leans in to the "clear top 3" narrative, with a brief mention of Lombard & Flora at the end. Maybe I'm assuming too much, but to me it would be odd to me if the Twins website posted an article from their own beat reporter about the the top 3 being such a clear group if they were considering anyone outside of that. Could be wrong of course. But would be an odd bait & switch for the fanbase. Then again maybe there's no coordination whatsoever between team & MLB.com reporters.

Weird argument. The Twins deemed his hip healthy enough for him to play CF & steal bases. So he did. He aggravated the injury, and now he's not healthy enough to play. So he's on the IL. If his hip injury were worse two weeks ago, he would have been on the IL then. But it wasn't. Maybe they should just put players on the IL at random to avoid aggravating past injuries? Or maybe even to avoid new ones?

Trade Jeffers, keep the rest. We're not trading Buxton (can't), and no on else outside Ryan is gonna net enough return to make much difference one way or another. I don't think anyone's giving up much for Larnach. Ryan would net a huge return, but you've lost a lot of fan goodwill in the meantime.. which is touch going in to what will already be a tough offseason & potentially locked-out 2027.