Dman

I would just add that, that is what all of us on this board pretty much said about Rooker who needed more time and eventually ended up an All Star. He was much older than E-Rod, but giving up early can have consequences.

I agree. I think they will be monitoring Prielipp's arm very closely. If he has any kind soreness or twinge he's likely done sooner rather than later. I'd think they will try to keep it around the 100 innings you suggest. We'll see where they and he are at that last month. If they are out of the race the calculus might change.

I think you are right they can carry him as they had Outman who they barely used and they currently have three catchers so they have proven they can carry dead weight if they need to. I think the main issue is what if he is really bad, pretty unplayable bad like Lewis and Wallner were to start the year. With no options you can't send him down to get at bats with live pitching in game situations. He just has to sit on the bench and rot or they lose a top prospect that just needs more time to develop for nothing. That is the larger issue. If he performs half way decent then it's no problem whatsoever to carry him as he wouldn't need a reset. It's just that he has a near 30% K rate in the minors and that doesn't bode well for the majors. He also has a fair bit of in zone swing and miss. I think it's going to take time for him to adjust. We'll see what happens as they are going to add him.

He's coming off a .777 OPS for July which is his most recent full month of work. That's a good number for the Majors but in AAA you usually want guys in the .900 OPS range as it generally drops 200 points once they get to the majors. It's only like 7 games or so but he is having a Good August getting to his power more and for that month has a 1.000 OPS. If he can keep that up for few more weeks they might decide to call him up. Right now though it seems premature as he is struggling with AAA pitching and the Majors is much, much harder. He's got a good approach, but like Erod he might need to be more aggressive than he has been. If BUxton comes back I don't see them adding him unless he continues to perform at a really high level and or they are out of the playoff race.

I'm not quite ready to eat crow on Dean Kremer, but he has impressed me these last two starts. Looks like I am going to be wrong about him. He's been the most dominant pitcher on the team since the deadline. Hope he can keep it up.

I hadn't even realized he was injured. He had a great year at the plate and is a versatile defender. He's still got a chance as a 4th outfielder. He's already beat the the odds by making it to the Majors. Hopefully he beats them again. With his great attitude I wouldn't bet against him.

Yep this is the "real" issue. I like Larnach's bat and approach at the plate, but this team wants and needs to get better defensively in the outfield and they have too many lefty bats that don't play great defense on the 40 man. There's just not gonna be room for everyone. I'd include Mendez in this conversation as well as he is on the 40 man and doesn't play good defense and he'll be down to two option years after this one. So they need to make some decisions about who to keep and who to trade. Wallner is going to be out of options next year as is possibly Rodriguez so they are going to need to move someone and it's looking more like Wallner unless they can get something meaningful for Larnach. Someone or two has to go IMO.

Great to see Culpepper with the home run and the bats come alive. I had the Brewers possibly sweeping the Twins so it's nice to see them put up a fight and get the win. Let's keep it going and find a series win.

He's just not a versatile player which makes it tough to have him as a bench bat. I'm with several others. How much value is there in a right handed DH\1st base bat when you have Lewis as a right handed bat who is far more versatile. Bell can switch hit not that it matters that much, but in my mind that is the guy you would need to move for Sabato. Just looking at last night would Sabato have have scored from second on that Lee single? Jackson did. Jackson has way more versatility than Sabato, not that I trust his bat, but he plays above average defense and runs better than Sabato. I'm not completely opposed to giving Sabato a chance at some point, but see little to no value to doing it right now. Maybe when rosters expand? Despite those amazing lefty splits I still think I'd leave things as they are for now.

Trades are complicated when looking at value lost or gained. Deadline deals are even tougher as teams are willing to lose those by overpaying in future value for present value. I'd say that as things stand I'd give the Blue Jays the edge in these deals. I really thought the Twins were going to likely win the Berrios trade big time. I think Martin was a top 20 top 100 prospect and SWR was a pitcher on the rise with a good changeup. So far that future value hasn't worked out all that well, but Berrios hasn't been that dominant as an arm either. That deal seems pretty close right now WAR wise despite SWR not working out. Something like 4.1 from SWR\Martin to over 6.0 for Berrios. As an aside for that trade I would also argue that Lopez replaced Berrios for the Twins. Granted they had to trade Arraez to get Lopez which you would have to figure into this, but they likely don't extend Pablo if they had kept Berrios. So I feel Lopez's WAR should count some. Certainly not in full, but by not doing one thing they were able to do another. Also even though the Twins lost Arraez they didn't lose all of his production at 2nd base as other players produced WAR there. So you can run down rabbit holes when it comes to roster balancing and total value IMO. Still straight up from what I see the Twins lost that trade at least for now. The Varland trade looks a bit worse to me after the Hoffman trade. The Twins traded 5 controllable years of an All Star pen arm for a hopefully very talented lefty starter who might end up a pen arm. We don't know yet and they also threw in honestly a 4th outfielder type IMO. That's a worse return than the 2 1/2 years left on Duran's deal. If Rojas reaches his starter potential this still works out OK for the Twins as it is easier to acquire pen arms versus quality starters. I think having Varland around as long as they did and with how homer prone he was as a starter I don't think the FO saw him as a potential all star arm. The other unique feature about Varland is his rubber arm. He can go 3 or four days in a row if needed and it doesn't seem to affect him much. That might change as he ages, but it is a rare arm that can do that. It's early but right now the Jays have a serious edge for winning this one. Adding in the Hoffman deal and it makes one Blush on the Varland deal. The Twins trade away the same young lefty potential starter for only a year and a half of an aging 33 year old closer type arm. They also give up a potential hard throwing pen arm. They got fewer years of control of an aging arm and had to pay more money than they would have had they kept Varland. A lot of this hinges on Hill and his ability to throw strikes and stay healthy, but just on the surface this makes the Varland trade look even worse IMO. There's lot's of ways to look at this stuff, but if I were the Twins I'd be more careful trading with the Blue Jays. They seem to have better talent evaluation than the Twins.

Yep my thoughts exactly. If he wants to get to the majors what he did last night is the way to get there. The approach is solid, add in some power and that could get him called up sooner rather than later.

I had no idea how good Merit Jones was this month. I knew he was having a good month, but those numbers are crazy good. Twins drafted him twice so they always liked his stuff. I'm starting to see why. Relievers in these spots just don't excite me that much. Nice to see them having some good appearances.

I could be wrong, but just given he has been pushed so fast to AAA and hasn't been consistent and doesn't even have a ton of experience there it seems unlikely he'd be next arm up. It's not overly dominant stuff though it has played up at times, but I don't think they'd want to add him to the 40 man early. They'd likely go with an older arm they wouldn't be afraid to lose on the waiver wire.

I'm a big Kendle Believer. I know he's not a top prospect guy. He's not even in the top 30 and he had a rough 2025, but if you watch this guy play he just looks like a stud out there. His K rate remains around 16% and his walk rate was around that rate too until it predictably dropped some at AA. So the contact skills are there and he is hitting stuff hard. He is on the older side which hurts his prospect status, but he could be a very interesting 4th outfielder type. At any rate I remain a big fan of his overall game. A little surprised on McCombs. He kind of snuck up on me this month, I had kind of thought his lack of plate discipline would be his undoing, but it looks like he might have improved that which appears to be making a big difference. Hoping he keeps it up. He always had good contact skills and some decent speed. He is on my watch list again. Don't know what to think about Sabato. He's put up solid numbers, but I guess I've just lost my faith in his value. Was kind of wondering if another team would have taken him in one of the trades. I just don't see room for him on this team. Maybe 2027 or 2028? I'm just not as excited about Saabto as others might be. Houston there's not much to say that hasn't already been said. It's awesome that he leads this months group and his all around skill set seems unmatched. I really like what Wallner has done with the bat this month. I do think he is ready if and when there is room on the MLB team. We'll see what happens.

That was a great line for Gallagher, but that Bats team only has two hitters with a .900 OPS and the rest aren't that good. I went back and watched and his changeup was really good as was the high fastball but he only throws 91-93. So it look like 5th starter stuff or maybe long relief as highest upside unless things change. Still a great night for him. I was just saying yesterday maybe Culpepper needs a few weeks with the bat and now he has looked good the last three games. Getting hit's off rehabbing major leaguers makes him look good as well. A few more good games and I wouldn't be surprised to see him called up. Small sample size, but Aiden Teal seems have a good approach and is starting off well at A ball. I wonder if he might exceed expectation's?

He was always a borderline arm. Honestly his results were surprising to me even if they weren't that great this year. I still think he could make the back end of a pen, but would like the Twins to look for more power arms versus what Cody brings. If I were him I would try and get to a rebuilding team or a team in need of pen arms. I wouldn't mind having him back in the system, but don't feel like he is the future pen arm for this team moving forward.

Yeah I think we need to wait and see. What is more spending? 5M, 10M? More doesn't necessarily mean all that much more. I am happy to hear they aren't planning on cutting more, but they have a ways to go to sell me on more especially in what looks like a short and down FA year. Heck I don't even know that Zoll is a competent GM. I just don't understand what they are doing with roster construction at all these days. Right now as things stand the rotation looks like Pablo, Ryan, Bradley, Ober and Kremer. So no room for Prielipp, Abel and Rojas who all look like they might be better options than Ober and Kremer. I can see having some depth to maybe move Matthews to the pen where he can be a power arm, but I don't love Ober and Kremer as my backend and they paid extra at the deadline for Kremer. They could have traded Jeffers for a close to ready arm and gotten Gausman instead of Kremer for a cheaper price if they really wanted to go for it this year. Then they would have enough young arms in place of Kremer. They need to think about 2028 too as they will likely lose Ryan and Lopez so getting young guys experience in the 4th and 5th spots would be good before those guys are gone. I just don't see the 2027 or 2028 vision for this team. They still have too many left handed outfield bats and they need room for the younger players ready to come up. Who knows. I guess if Tom is ready to spend then maybe all these problems go away. Maybe they extend some players. Maybe they bid on Jeffers. Who knows. All I can say right now is my level of confidence is low.

It's just hard for me to give this FO credit for getting Hoffman when pretty much the entire baseball world and this entire site felt they needed to get that type of arm in the offseason to replace what they lost at the deadline. It seems like FO baseball malpractice what they did in the offseason. Despite everyone's warnings they finally have to use valuable assets to get what they need when prices are highest at the deadline. That is just extremely poor asset management for a team that cannot afford it. Maybe the players they gave up turn into nothing burgers and the cost won't matter. Still the fact they ignored something every pundit and every site felt they needed makes you wonder about the competence of this organization. I mean if the basic fan could see this coming and the FO couldn't or wouldn't until the deadline it makes them look really, really bad IMO.

I know that was reported, but it just didn't seem likely to me. Jenkins would be a nice defensive upgrade ,but when you compare their production at AAA the bats aren't even close. They should be an apples to apples comparison as they play in the same league on the same team facing the same pitchers. In July the most recent month Jenkins with a .777 OPS and Wallner with a .994 OPS. Wallner with experience at the MLB level. Jenkins with none. I don't like those odds for Jenkins as replacement if you are truly trying for a playoff spot. I get Wallner has his flaws and has been exposed at the MLB level, but I still think despite the high K rate his odds of success right now seem better than Jenkins and the numbers above seem to confirm that.

If they bring him up they likely will. Just saying they need to make sure he gets enough playing time if they bring him up.

I could see a Culpepper for Gray switch. Still I'd want to make sure Culpepper's bat is in a good place before calling him up. The Twins would also need to play him in place of Kreidler to make sure he gets enough playing time. We'll see how things look in a couple of weeks. I don't see the Twins trying to sneak Jackson through unless they firmly plan to somehow win the bidding war for Jeffers in the offseason. His low salary and even with his flawed (low walk rate, high K rate) production with the bat (I think he has a 112 WRC+) would get him gobbled up right quick IMO. . They barely played Outman as the 26th man so I think the Twins can work around Jackson if needed. It feels like Wallner is inevitable. I mean they appeared to feel comfortable moving Larnach with I assume Wallner as his replacement. It didn't happen, but I'd think they might look for ways to see if they can work him in. It will likely depend on how close or far this team is to competing for the last wild card spot as he doesn't provide much if any value defensively. An injury might be his best path back. I'm not sure how I feel about adding Jenkins early. I guess it would depend on if Buxton can come back or not. Otherwise Jenkins has to hit the ground running and likely replace Larnach or Keaschal's production at the plate. Jenkins has a great approach so I think he is "ready" I just don't know if they want to put that much pressure on him to perform right away or not and he also hasn't been lighting up AAA IMO. I'd think consistent at bats and playing time at AAA would still make sense for him unless Buxton is out and they give him his spot. The club house is in a good spot with all the players rooting for each other. I'd be careful not to mess with that too much. We'll see what they decide to do. Certainly there are good reasons to get all three up right away but plenty of reasons to wait as well IMO.

FYI Hoffman is 33 right now. relievers tend to last longer. Rojas might balance the slate, but generally the team that wants something at the deadline doesn't get the kind of future value the Jays did. It looks like it is going to work out very well for them. A win for sure. If the Twins still had Varland they wouldn't have needed the 33 year old Hoffman. Losing even more future assets to the Jays to replace Varland's production for only this year and next. One of the prospects we had to give up is a potential front line starter just like Rojas. I'd argue the Twins got the short end here, but we'll have to see how Hill and Rojas work out.

You generally don't win trade deadline deals at least not long term (well unless you are the Blue Jays and get a team to give up 5 years of control for an all star closer). You are typically exchanging the present for the future. Future prospects don't always work out but when they do it's usually a massive win because of the years of control. There's times when you just have to give up future assets to help your team fight for the playoffs and hopefully in the playoffs. So losing Hill and Klein were the cost. I still think Hill has an incredible future. Not sure if it will be as a starter or pen arm. He throws hard and has a good K rate. He seems like a good long term bet for the Blue Jays. Once they get him throwing more strikes his value could sky rocket. If he keeps walking as many guys as he is now he'll never make it. In some ways moving Klein made sense. He is taking up a 40 man spot and his stuff hasn't improved at all this year. So the Twins can't use him this year and maybe not next year either. The funny thing is if the Jay's fix his home run problems they might have a Louie Light on their hands. He's a close to ready bullpen arm or he's a AAAA guy. It's hard to know right now, but he's an arm the Twins could afford to lose IMO. We'll see how that one goes. They got him outside the draft so easy come, easy go I guess. Pena is a light hitter with good contact skills. I think he is good org filler but I just haven't seen the dominant bat from the FCL. A nice lottery ticket for the Jays but I had tons of guys ahead of him and with the new crop of A ball hitters it would have been even more guys ahead of him. I don't love deadline deals because I love prospects too much, but this is the cost of doing deals at the deadline.

If they want to keep up in the division they have to desperate to upgrade at this point.

I would just add that both Boston and Tampa upgraded their catching. Yankee's would be odd man out if they can't pry Jeffers from Twins or Goodman from Colorado and Goodman would cost them the farm. They could pay a stiff price and still sign Jeffers in the offseason.