Cris E

This explains it. Damage control of their Ohtani stupidity.

I don't believe there is a "pack" to be moved to the back of.  Guardians will be ahead of us regardless.  They can claim as many players as they want and still be ahead of the Twins.

Would love to get Moore and/or Lopez. Unfortunately, I think the waiver claim order is reverse order by record and I think at this point it's both leagues. The Twins have the worst record of any presumed playoff team but I got to think that a wild-card contender is going to grab these guys or at least Cleveland will grab them to avoid us getting them.
Grichuk might be interesting but he has kind of sucked with the Angels. The earlier poster was right though, he certainly would be an upgrade over Jordan Luplow. I want no part of Giolitto. He can't help us this year, he completely stunk for the Angels, and he won't be back next year. Same for Hunter Renfroe. Decent stats but talk about empty calories, doesn't play much defense, can't run, rarely hits in the clutch, not much better than what we have. 
Grab Moore or Lopez if he can get them, Moore in particular. Think about Grichuk if he's available. The rest are not worth anything.

The pitchers will be instant claims. We will likely have the opportunity to claim one or both of Grichuk and Renfroe. They don’t look like upgrades to me, but I’ll let Falvey be the judge. 
On a side note, it only took one month for all of their good publicity of going all in to disintegrate. Ohtani should sit the rest of the season as well since they gave up. 

Its an abomination if we dont go for Grichuk(cant help it if a worse team wants him due to priority)
 
.323/.388/.559 vs lefties
We picked up Jordan freaking Luplow for gods sake. RUN.
Matt Moore and Reynaldo Lopez both nice options too

I don't think you can correlate Max's second half surge with the absence of Donaldson.  
However, I agree wholeheartedly with your point being that something has drastically changed in Max's demeanor that, in the second half, is crystal clear.  Earlier, he appeared desperate, pressing and lost, while over the past two months he exudes a swagger and confidence at all times.  And, I could not be happier for the guy, who I have always felt there was much potential to excel.  Whatever it is, Max, keep it up!

The Donaldson signing was a good one and the trade even better. 

Annnnnd ... rebooting an old story ... really, we've talked this one to death on here.

Something tells me chatter of Donaldson's clubhouse toxicity during his time in Minnesota never sees the light of day if he bangs 40ish homers and puts up a ~.950 OPS like he did in 2015-2016 for Toronto.

Vital?  That's too strong a word.  The early 70's Oakland A's provide a counter example.  The late 70's Yankees, same thing.  Horrible clubhouse drama with both squads, along with World Series victories.  Teams and individuals can hate each other and still win a lot of games, especially in baseball: a team sport that is based on the individual match ups that occur with every pitch. 
A cohesive team/clubhouse probably helps a little.  Some players may focus better when there is minimal drama, and perhaps Kepler is one of those guys.  However if teams can't hit, pitch, catch, and run they will lose no matter how much they like each other.  Josh Donaldson was perceived to be a very valuable player when he was playing well.  He was so greatly valued that he won an MVP vote in 2015.  He became a "problem player" when he stopped hitting a couple of years ago due to age and injuries.  There are many great players that you might not want as a neighbor or friend, but they could really play ball, and they helped their teams win titles.  

One thing he is clearly doing is trying to take the up and in pitch away from the pitchers.  He is one that needs to get hands extended for big swings and the up and in will not get that done.  So he strides toward the plate and if the pitcher misses up and in at all, there is good chance wallner is going to first. I think it is more than just getting on, but telling pitchers if you want to come up and in to me, you better hit your spot or I will be on first base. If you do miss your spot it will need to be either up out of zone, or back out over the plate. 

The offense stiffened up and stayed in the game, Winder salvaged the bullpen rep after a bad week, good win. Glad to see the boys pick up Lopez on the rare off night.

The offense stiffened up and stayed in the game, Winder salvaged the bullpen rep after a bad week, good win. Glad to see the boys pick up Lopez on the rare off night.

The offense stiffened up and stayed in the game, Winder salvaged the bullpen rep after a bad week, good win. Glad to see the boys pick up Lopez on the rare off night.

The offense stiffened up and stayed in the game, Winder salvaged the bullpen rep after a bad week, good win. Glad to see the boys pick up Lopez on the rare off night.

The offense stiffened up and stayed in the game, Winder salvaged the bullpen rep after a bad week, good win. Glad to see the boys pick up Lopez on the rare off night.

That’s a heck of a win

How can you take that with 2 strikes in the ninth?

Jeffers with the adult AB. We do have a little sand on this roster.

Great job by Winder!

Good pinch hit.

Oh FFS!!!!!!!!  💣 

Bout time CC!

Whatever happens, Winder gave this team a huge boost tonight.

This home plate ump is really having a bad night.