Maeda’s body language was that of a pitcher who knows his career is in the balance. That’s what I was seeing, anyway. He pretty much stopped throwing the four seam fastball the second time through the order. That might be a warning flag, He does look to be in better conditioning than he was this spring, however, like not walking off the mound after every inning like he’s completely exhausted. So that’s a good sign. I would be willing to give him some run to see if he can strings some starts together.
Hard as it is to believe, both Cleveland and Chicago are having worse years than the Twins. Compounded by the fact that Triston McKenzie and Liam Hendricks both had to go back on the IL with elbow issues. The division is there for the taking.