The Great Hambino

Zak Kent, Luis Garcia, Justin Lawrence, and now Austin Voth. All with fewer than 10 IP for the Twins this year, all no longer with the organization* Their combined line: 22.1 IP, 29 ER, 18K, 19BB, 8HR, 11.69 ERA That's the problem with thinking you can build a bullpen through the waiver wire: for every Yoendrys Gomez you unearth, there's like four or five (maybe more) of these guys. And it's not even July - this list is almost certainly going to get longer/more depressing as the season goes on. *Lawrence and Voth I guess aren't technically gone from the org, yet, but for all practical purposes they are

It's in Buck's best interest to keep a NTC in his contract because if he does decide to waive it for whatever reason, those 10-and-5 rights wouldn't follow him to his new team, but a NTC would. It wouldn't mean anything for the Twins (it's like wearing both a belt and suspenders, only a little less stylish), but definitely would for the player. So I can understand why he would and should want to keep it in the contract

Does this mean they're engaging in softcore contention?

Citing the 1987 Twins as proof that simply making the playoffs is true contention doesn't hold up for me. For one, there were only two rounds of playoffs. Today's Twins would have to fight through four (all without homefield advantage - more on that later). I'd feel much better about their chances if they were somehow getting a bye to the ALCS. For two, the 87 Twins benefitted from an extreme imbalance in divisional quality that arguably gave them a competitive advantage beyond simply an easier path into the playoffs. They clinched the weak West with five games left in the season, took their foot off the gas, and lost those last five games. This made their record look worse than it probably should've been - they don't get brought up nearly as much in this context if they had, say, 88 wins instead of 85 - and gave them the luxury of resting up before the playoffs. On the other hand, the 98-win Tigers were in a dogfight with the Blue Jays until the last day of the season - they clinched on the final day by completing a sweep of the Blue Jays in which they won all three games by a single run. And with no Wild Card, this was effectively an additional elimination series. Normally the 98 win team gets to coast into the playoffs while the 85 win team is fighting for their lives. Here it was flipped. Good news for rest in the rest vs rust debate. Bad news for the idea that momentum heading into the playoffs is a thing that matters. For two-part two, the 87 Twins were gifted home-field advantage throughout the playoffs because of the rotational nature of how it was handed out back then for both the ALCS and the World Series, even though their opponents had superior records. For three, the 87 Twins pitching staff was carried by two horses at a time that they could be counted on to go consistently on short rest in a playoff setting. This allowed them to use them in 67% of playoff games as opposed to 40% of regular season games. That's a huge difference and a big reason why they were able to play above expectations in the playoffs. None of these unique conditions would benefit a potential 2026 wild card Twins team. Saying they could just because the 87 Twins did ignores a whole lot of context. A better comparison would be last year's Reds. Their 83 wins did technically sneak them into the playoffs, where they immediately became cannon fodder. They were in no way, shape, or form a contender in any real sense. "Well, they were in the playoffs so they had a chance!!!" Well, anyone that buys a Powerball ticket has a chance of hitting the jackpot. That doesn't make it a wise investment. Just like bypassing chances to make your team meaningfully better in the near future - or even chasing the dragon and making low-probability win-now moves and making your team worse in the near future - because you have a longshot chance at being the 2025 Reds would not be a wise investment.

Contention means not being mathematically eliminated from the third Wild Card on September 1 I'm Tom Pohlad, and I approve this message

It's disconcerting to look at the scorebug and see BUXTON HURT splashed across the top

Oooh ... I think it's gotta be ten now

Bell thought he could, he thought he could, he thought he could

I don't know about Passan, but definitely not for Bowden. My theory is that he isn't even a living organism; he is poorly-designed AI that crowdsources trade ideas from Long Island 12 year olds It's to the point where I'm mildly annoyed with anyone that cites him as a source. You're just giving him more of whatever he runs on in place of oxygen

The players might as well counter with an elimination of the draft entirely, if they want to offer something the other side would view as equally absurd. I've been of the mind that the impending media contract negotiations would prevent either side from pursuing the nuclear option. I'm starting to think that the owners might disagree

Setting the no-trade clause aside, I don't put Buxton in the same category as vets like Ryan, Lopez, Ober, and Jeffers in thinking they should move them for the right price to avoid squandering their value and better align with a more realistic competitive window. For one, he is under control for longer, which means there's a better chance they return to competitiveness while he's still under contract. For two, he's the one I could plausibly see agreeing to a team-friendly extension, whereas the others are probably gone if they get to the open market. For three, his age and injury history might depress the value of the return they ought to get for someone of his ability level, at least relative to their other potential trade pieces. And finally, I just think it would be really cool if he had a one-team career Besides, I don't think Buck invokes the NTC unless a) there comes a point where he's thinking about retirement and they're out of contention at the deadline or b) Tommy P goes John Fisher on the operation

Brandon Nimmo putting on a defensive clinic

I've always thought of it as filling out a scorecard, nine closes the circle, so to speak. But I think I like your angle on it the more I think about it

Never trust a Gregg with three G's

I've always thought nine but I can be convinced otherwise