DocBauer

I have no clue if the FO is trying to manipulate service time or not, but I seriously doubt it, and I think vague comments about such are uninformed and uncalled for as some conspiracy theory. IIRC, wasn't Varland was switched to a call up at the last moment vs just adding him to the roster. That allowed them to continue playing the roster game they've been playing most of the year to keep fresh arm on a shuttle. He's coming up again for the double header at Cleveland on pretty much less normal rest/rotation. They're just playing the game within a game to keep fresh arms. Witness Cotton being sent out for the 4th or 5th time. I can "get" the FO not rushing a young prospect like Wallner thinking he's not quite ready. The issue is, IMO, the FO being too stubborn with sticking with veterans too long "hoping" they respond. Cave is the perfect example. Now I'm not a Cave hater, and he's had a whopping 2 good games since the glass was broken and they promoted him, and hit a HR tonight against Cleveland. But a veteran hitting poorly, except for a couple games, isn't an answer when you MIGHT catch some lightening with Wallner up and getting a shot. Cave is hitting like .180-.190 and not performing...except for the previous mentioned...would Wallner do worse? Why not take a shot?! He might surprise and might hit a couple big doubles or HR's. The lineup needs help. Take a shot! And once again, in a similar arguement, why not Helman instead of the hurt Garlick or one of the Hamiltons? Helman can play all 3 OF spots, 2B/3B and even a little SS if you need him to. He can hit a little, jack some XB hits and HR and has speed and SB speed/ability. The only thing Hamilton and Hamilton offer are one can catch and one is more experienced. This is CRUNCH TIME to end the year. It's time to to just take desperation type shots for guys who MIGHT surprise and help vs "trusting" in more experienced players who can't hit and can't seem to give you what you need to make a run. Stubbornness can be a serious flaw.

I think there's 2 different questions being asked here, intentionally or not. 1]Can we trust Larnach NOW to help? No. A few more games, hopefully he can find his swing and come up to help. He might not. But Buck out, Kepler hurting and inept lately, Garlick hurt yet again while trying to play at probably 75-80%, Hamilton on the bench and Cave not only starting but doing so against LHP. Sheesh! So we can at least HOPE Larnach cones up and can help. BTW, going to repeat Wallner couldn't do much worse, nor Helman, and they should be up NOW. 2] Can we trust Larnach for the future? He's unfinished and the jury is out how good he might be, but I say YES. When you hit in college, hit in the minors, hit at the ML level WHEN HEALTHY, I think he's got a good future. His defense is solid/OK with a great arm. His only "power" issue thus far has been hitting up the middle and the opposite way almost too much and needs to work on pulling the ball more. That's not a bad problem to have to work on. Neither of his injuries indicates any kind of long term or chronic situation. Just unfortunate. IF AK's latest procedure can keep him on the field, he gives the lineup a HUGE potential boost at 1B as well as the OF. Then you add the potential of Wallner in and things start to look very good for the future. (Better too many options vs too few). I like Celestino and think he has a future, but is not finished yet. I'd like to have Garlick back on a mild deal for depth and options. But for yet another year consecutively, I think the Twins need to spend a few $M on a quality RH hitter with pop/power who can play a little defense. Problems against LHP has been constant and I don't want 2023 to be about trusting in Celestino and Garlick too much.

Figured Martin was a 100% lock. I think when there was an article a couple weeks ago concerning AFL speculation, pretty sure I listed Julien as a possible in order to work on defense and get ready for a possible Twins promotion in 2023. I also stated they absolutely had to send at least one catcher as they need to figure our Carmago, Isola, Williams, etc. Just interesting it's Isola of the various possibilities. But before I pat myself on the back too much, I struck out on the possible arms completely! Really thought Enlow would get some time to continue to get his "feel" back and log some additional innings. Looks like they just want rest before instructs. The arms they're sending make sense though. They all really just need more innings to see what they really have.

I doubt anyone picks him up unless someone is looking for a 4th-5th SP potential steal. Doubtful. I do think Dobber gets a raw deal publicly as he was surprisingly solid after coming out of nowhere! Can you imagine pitching...and and pitching well at 3 levels in milb...in 2019 and then playing at a 4th level that is MLB! He was living a dream in 2019 with a handful of quality games before being unfairly asked to face the Yankees in the playoffs. He was actually a stalwart in the covid 2020 going 6-4 I believe, before a bad game with questionable calls. And then injuries hit. Just amazing how an injury to a finger can derail a potential career. The truth is, 2023 SHOULD have Gray, Mahle, Ryan, Maeda, Winder, Varland and SWR and possibly Balazovic for depth BEFORE any FA or trade acquisition. I seriously doubt the system has enough depth to make a major trade to add a SP. And that might be OK. A LOT depends on Correa being back as to what they can add. The PROPOSED rotation I just mentioned is pretty damn good with ANY decent health with depth because you will need 8-10 SP. Unless someone grabs Dobber, he's going to collect good ML money and sit at St Paul as an option. And history will show that he has a chance to be a 6th to 7th option who will get another shot.

My brain says to stay out of this conversation, but my stubbornness says to weigh in anyway, LOL. I think it's almost impossible to discuss Rocco without also discussing the FO to some degree. But I'm going to focus on Rocco directly, as much as possible. In regard to the entire topic of managing by computer or analytics only, I've got to pull the reins on that entire arguement. Before MLB fully embraced what are today's "modern" analytics approach, baseball has still been using analytics for a hundred years plus previously. More than any single sport, baseball has been measuring statistics the entire time! We've got numbers from wins and losses and SO and BB and ERA since the game basically began. Hitting statistics from BA to OB to Hr and RBI have been counted the same. You don't think managers haven't been fully aware of various hitters and pitchers career numbers against their opponents for the past 100+ years? Those numbers are analytics folks. The difference is about 15-20yrs ago a few really smart people took WHAT WAS ALREADY BEING USED and dug in deeper. Hitting wise they discovered that OB% was more valuable than previously known/understood. They discovered that bunting a runner to 2nd with no outs only increased your chances of scoring a single run a few percentage points. BUT, you LOWERED your chances of scoring MORE than that single run. So teams now play for a bigger inning most of the time these days. On the pitching front, it was learned that the long established 100 pitch number wasn't as big a factor in pulling a pitcher than him not facing a lineup for a 3rd time. It was also learned that RP usually performed better when they started a clean inning vs coming in with runners on base. Analytics have ALWAYS been used, they've just changed in regard to what the information reveals. So if you have the belief that Rocco follows the numbers too closely at times, and doesn't trust his gut often enough, you have that right and I won't disagree with you. But I think this whole analytics and computer usage and Rocco being a robot is blown way out of context and accuracy and proportion. The comments from Gray about wanting to pitch deeper in to games is also blown out of proportion. Would you want a pitcher who wants to throw less? When pressed after Rocco DID let Gray extend himself, it didn't go great. And Gray's follow up comment was that he appreciated the opportunity and needed to PERFORM BETTER next time. There was no blasting of Rocco. He just said he wanted to pitch deeper and then said it was up to him to do better. In fact, other than Shoemaker last year, I can't recall a single current or former player who has blasted Rocco, or his usage, or the Twin's usage of him, or anything similar. So no, there is no evidence Rocco isn't liked or has lost the team. It's very easy to blast Rocco for his over usage of Pagan, especially in the Cleveland series in which he seemed to single-handedly erode our lead and momentum. But at some point, Baldelli can only use what he's got available. Was he supposed to turn to Duffey or Thornburg at that time? Well, maybe. But he didn't have many options at that time due to injury and lack of talent at the time. When injuries rob you of your starters, and you have a bad and beaten up pen, you can't just throw what you have for SP longer and expect positive results. When several of your best position players are out, you can't suddenly decide to bunt and steal bases all of a sudden and revamp your offensive approach and suddenly start scoring runs in bunches. NOW, that's me just venting about things that are beat on like a blacksmith's hammer on anvil over and over again that are not only not productive, but also aren't fully accurate. NOR am I defending Rocco as a tremendous manager. I'm clearing the air about certain topics. Where does Rocco fail and need to improve? 1] Once in a while, when a SP is doing well, worry less about August and September and let him begin the next inning. Now, I don't WANT said SP to blow things up facing batters for a 3rd time. And I don't WANT a RP brought in to a tough situation vs a clean inning. But there were a few games this year when the bottom of the order was coming up, or maybe 8-9-1 where I think his hook was too quick. 2] Don't fall in love with certain players. It's his job to put the team in the best spot to win. And BTW, this pertains to the FO as well! And when injuries decimate, your hands are tied at times. But when someone is slumping or just not doing the job, sometimes you just have to try someone else and hope for the best because you already know what's probably going to happen if you go status quo. (See Pagan). 3] If you need or want something, then man up and tell the FO what and why. Now, maybe he does that. IDK. But it took until late July or early August for him to speak publicly about needing some long and middle arms for the pen. I know injuries limited options, but why wasn't such an obvious need at least attempted to be filled in some way earlier? I mean, your job is on the line Rocco. 4] There's just no reason to NOT work on defense and base running. And yes, even bunting because there are times when a bunt could be useful. To me, it's a cop out to say those things should all be instilled before someone even reaches MLB. When you DON'T do these things, guys get complacent at times. It's human nature. And when you have a bunch of new talent coming up...and they have and do...it's your job to make sure they continue to work and DO THINGS RIGHT. You don't have to be a taciturn disciplinarian who works the team to death, BUT, you have time to work on things that are important on a regular basis to have the best team you can. It's like asking a football defense to tackle well when you never practice it. (HELLO HUSKERS!) 5] While the FO has CLEARLY done a great job with hiring various personnel for the Twins and the milb system...and this is proven by the number of respected coaches who have been pilfered by other organizations...and while they may be as much or more "tuned in" to coaching options for your staff, STEP UP and be a part of the decision making if you haven't been already. Do you like Popkins as your hitting instructor? Does Tingler actually provide what you need in a bench coach? Reputation has Maki as a good pitching instructor, and reputation also has it that Suggs might be a dynamite diamond in the rough. You've lost Rowson and Shelton and Sawyer to other organizations and Johnson to college ball and Bell due to fatal illness. Work with the FO and get a staff in place that you like and trust. In all professional sports, I've always been flabbergasted as to how a staff is put together. I've never once heard of a manager/head coach having carte blanche. But I've never heard the opposite either. Again, a baseball manager is so tuned in to the day by day of a season, I think it's obvious the FO may be more in tune with "possibilities" to fill some of these positions. But Rocco, manager, former player, and former coach, should have some ideas. And he should be part of the process going forward. And shame on him if he isn't. I don't think Rocco is a bad manager. I just don't think he's an especially good one. He's OK. He has his team. He's liked and respected. He keeps an even keel over a long season. He's won and produced thus far! But I think he can learn and grow and just "take charge" of some definincies and make the team better in all the little ways that play big in the long run. The FO is at a precipice right now because it's really easy to see better health and a couple smart offseason moves to push this team forward from being good to potentially great. But it's also up to Rocco to take HIS GAME up a notch to get the most out of the 2023 Twins.

Glad to see the walk rate stay down and the K rate continue after his promotion. A hit per IP is not bad, nor unusual. However, you'd rather see a hit per at the ML level and not the mild level. That would seem to red flag he may be lacking something in his arsenal to fool batters more frequently vs K rate. Hard to say. Overall, the numbers look pretty good and he's got a chance. Would really like to know what he's throwing and at what velocity these days. LH and breathing with good K rates means you have to protect him. And if his stuff translates with an uptick to the pen vs the rotation, that's still valuable if starting doesn't work out.

The word overkill comes to mind. Drafting heavy is one thing, but drafting only pitchers is a little extreme. I don't really know much about their system, so maybe they are/were currently pretty heavy on position players. And I guess you can always trade arms for bats. I do agree with Dman that the Twins might concentrate a little harder next year on arms. The system does look a little depleted due to trades and injuries.

I think Laweryson just might be a surprise that I know I didn't expect. Now, is he going to be a sudden rotation bloomer that even the Twins didn't see? I tend to discount that. I think we're looking at a Jax kind of arm who might just end up being a very good and very valuable middle inning bullpen arm. And there's great value in that! The one thing I learned a LONG TIME AGO is that unless you draft a Clemmons or Stasburg in the very first picks of the draft, you just don't DRAFT a potential ACE or #1 starter. Your draft, sign, and develop. And at the end of the day, you still never know what will happen. For goodness sake, Santana was a rule 5 trade piece. Randy Johnson took years to go from good to great. Stieb and Key were good until they were great, etc, etc. I don't discount the draft ideas of our current FO. Enlow and Canterino weren't late selections. Unfortunately, both have encountered injury issues. But their approach has also brought on arms such as Winder and Varland and maybe Festa. With little exception, every single SP in every organization is a "mid rotation" starter until proven otherwise. That's just the name of the game because NOBODY can project greatness. Hell, in 3-4yrs we may be begging the Twins to re-sign a Winder or Varland to a big deal. But I DO THINK you can outsmart yourself. Drafting arms with tons of upside is smart and a good approach. And you have to draft arms as well as bats. And the philosophy of quality bats being available only early with projectible arms available only gets you so far. The limited 2020 draft still burns the hell out of me! Quantity of hopeful quality is still better than NOT drafting for either. It was considered a major college level SP draft and the FO just ignored all the available arms and only Raya was selected. Now, I think Raya was a great pick, my favorite at the time, and the FO might just get lucky at how good he might be, but I think they just blew that draft. And it's not about Sabato's early returns. It's about quantity of arms to find the few that actually make it. Six makes two, etc. They should have made that a pitching heavy draft and let the chips fall. But they tried to outsmart themselves. Then they got smart and hit pitching even harder in 2021, though most of those arms are now gone. Nothing wrong with looking for projectible arms! But I do think the FO has outsmarted themselves here and there.

This was asked in another thread as well. It's not uncommon for an A ball player to take a turn at AA or AAA as a temporary fill-in. It's mostly about roster depth. Rather than hit the street to sign someone for a week or so...assuming nobody at the high level is ready to come off the IL...a fully stacked A ball roster will have a player temporarily fill that high level spot and then return when someone is healthy and ready to return. It's about organizational depth and a temporary fill-in is all. You never see a rookie level do it. It's always someone who has at least a full season level under their belt, or in this case, a college player for a week or so. Means nothing in the grand scheme of player development or profile.

WeSo here's the thing, 23G left and not yet mathematically eliminated. It's baseball. How many times over the years have we seen the improbable actually happen? Seems to happen every single year to one team or another. So why not the Twins? Do I actually EXPECT this team, so injured and down and incomplete to make a move over 23G...with help from losses by Cleveland and Chicago...to actually have a realistic chance to win the ALC? NOPE. But I'm also old school enough to know you never give up, for PRIDE sake if nothing else. It will take luck and desperation for the Twins to make a move at this point. And that's EXACTLY what I'm ASKING FOR at this point. And I'm asking for it in a POSITIVE way! We have the next several months to debate the staff, the players, the FO, 2022, and everything in between as well as 2023. But how do we finish 2022? I prefer to go down kicking and screaming! 1] Bring up Wallner, probably too early, let him get experience and work out some early 2023 kinks. A rookie who doesn't know any better, and pitchers who don't know him, he might crank a couple HR and help win a game. He has to be added anyway, why not now? Cave doesn't have a future and Kepler is a shadow of himself. 2] Archer is on the IL and probably done. Mercifully so, though I'm not trying to be mean. He just didn't turn out. He OR Bundy wasn't a bad 5th option, but both helped doom the rotation. Winder and probably Ober should BOTH be up to finish out the season to get ready for 2023 if nothing else. And even if Ober or Winder settles in the pen to finish 2022, Varland should ABSOLUTELY be in the rotation to finish things out. You couldn't have asked for a more difficult debut for Varland than Yankee stadium and he was cool and solid. All 3 should be part of the finish for 2022, whether it's hopeful lightening in a bottle or just getting ready for next year. 3] I have nothing against Cotton. He's been OK here and there even though his peripherals aren't great. But I'm still stunned Davis and Jewell were added over a 3rd veteran in Peacock. He's been better than the other 2 for his career, as well as the past few months. Why those 2 journeymen and not him blows my mind. For that matter, are we going to protect Sisk? He was lights out at AA, OK to begin AAA, and then lights out again. Why not roll the dice? 4] Garlick is good in a role against LH pitching and doesn't totally suck against RH arms. But he's playing at maybe 75% health. With nothing to lose, why not Helman up to provide flexibility position wise, and a HEALTHY RH bat with speed on the basepaths and some XB power. Who are we looking to protect and keep at this point? Archer, Cotton, Hamilton, Hamilton? Give a couple healthy guys a shot to supplement whats left of the team and hope lightening strikes a couple of times.

So here's the thing, 23G left and not yet mathematically eliminated. It's baseball. How many times over the years have we seen the improbable actually happen? Seems to happen every single year to one team or another. So why not the Twins? Do I actually EXPECT this team, so injured and down and incomplete to make a move over 23G...with help from losses by Cleveland and Chicago...to actually have a realistic chance to win the ALC? NOPE. But I'm also old school enough to know you never give up, for PRIDE sake if nothing else. It will take luck and desperation for the Twins to make a move at this point. And that's EXACTLY what I'm ASKING FOR at this point. And I'm asking for it in a POSITIVE way! We have the next several months to debate the staff, the players, the FO, 2022, and everything in between as well as 2023. But how do we finish 2022? I prefer to go down kicking and screaming! 1] Bring up Wallner, probably too early, let him get experience and work out some early 2023 kinks. A rookie who doesn't know any better, and pitchers who don't know him, he might crank a couple HR and help win a game. He has to be added anyway, why not now? Cave doesn't have a future and Kepler is a shadow of himself. 2] Archer is on the IL and probably done. Mercifully so, though I'm not trying to be mean. He just didn't turn out. He OR Bundy wasn't a bad 5th option, but both helped doom the rotation. Winder and probably Ober should BOTH be up to finish out the season to get ready for 2023 if nothing else. And even if Ober or Winder settles in the pen to finish 2022, Varland should ABSOLUTELY be in the rotation to finish things out. You couldn't have asked for a more difficult debut for Varland than Yankee stadium and he was cool and solid. All 3 should be part of the finish for 2022, whether it's hopeful lightening in a bottle or just getting ready for next year. 3] I have nothing against Cotton. He's been OK here and there even though his peripherals aren't great. But I'm still stunned Davis and Jewell were added over a 3rd veteran in Peacock. He's been better than the other 2 for his career, as well as the past few months. Why those 2 journeymen and not him blows my mind. For that matter, are we going to protect Sisk? He was lights out at AA, OK to begin AAA, and then lights out again. Why not roll the dice? 4] Garlick is good in a role against LH pitching and doesn't totally suck against RH arms. But he's playing at maybe 75% health. With nothing to lose, why not Helman up to provide flexibility position wise, and a HEALTHY RH bat with speed on the basepaths and some XB power. Who are we looking to protect and keep at this point? Archer, Cotton, Hamilton, Hamilton? Give a couple healthy guys a shot to supplement whats left of the team and hope lightening strikes a couple of times.

As to the OP, I was a fan of Lee before he was drafted...never thinking so many teams would pass on him, their mistake...and I'm an even bigger fan now. Within the system, I'm still placing Lewis as #1 because his latest setback doesn't remove him from the top based on talent and potential. We've seen just how talented he is and how good he might be. So he's still #1 on my list with Lee just behind. In my personal opinion, the one objection I have is something stated early in the OP. I just don't understand an immediate thought/opinion that Lee won't be a SS. He's not Martin being pushed in to SS after seldom ever playing it in hopes his athleticism MIGHT translate there. Lee IS a SS by trade and experience and ability. Some SS are athletic marvels with quickness and speed and amazing arms who are just naturals. Some have great positioning, smarts and instincts with good hands and a good arm and are just very good at SS without having a special "splash" ability, but just make play after play consistently. I can think of a lot of very good SS that fit this category over the years from Ripken to Blauser to maybe even Correa who isn't exactly some speed demon athlete. So if I'm the Twins, I'm keeping him at SS as long as possible. Lee should finish at CR to help the playoff push. (A couple games at AA isn't going to matter in his development.) But he's going to be at Wichita to begin 2023. How long he stays there is up to him. There's a good chance he's at St Paul mid year. As a side note, it's very possible Lee's presence pushes Martin to the OF on a permanent basis, and for his benefit.

Not uncommon to see an A ball player jump to AAA on a temporary basis. While it's always been weird to me when it happens, it's to fill in a spot for a week or so until said injured player is back and then the A ball player goes back. I think it also depends on depth in the system. If you have a full roster at A ball, why not sneak a guy up for a week or so, everyone plays, and again, you return the deomote the young player back again. It's really just a shuffling of the chairs, so to speak, for a week or so in place of signing someone off the street.

With all due respect to St Paul, who I'm sure wants to finish the year as strong as possible, I'd have Wallner and Varland both up to finish 2022, gain valuable experience, and use it as a stepping stone for 2023. Varlqnd should be able to get in at least a pair of starts. Wallner may start cold, but what's he going to do? Be worse than the injured and non-existant Kepler? Kepler's had like 2 good days in over 2 months. I would have had Helman up a month ago instead of Cave when down to our 8th OF and were facing a slew of LHSP. At least he's RH, can play all over, and is young enough to have a future. IDK, maybe you still give him a shot. What good are Hamilton and Hamilton doing for you at this point?

100% But just to add to the discussion, it's also about FREQUENCY of their arm build up, not just IP. College and HS arms, with little exception, only pitch once a week until pro ball. Then it becomes not only a longer season, but at times starting twice a week. Additionally, I think some forget at times that SP aren't the only arms being developed. While those arms are perhaps the most "important" ones in the system, teams are still trying to develop potential bullpen arms as well. They need to throw as well in order to develop. Not unlike developing the entire roster as well. It's part of the reason catchers will spend time at DH and 1B in order to keep working on hitting skills but also let everyone also get turns behind the dish. Got to play to develop.

I think the title of the OP should be longer, and more accurate, by reading something like "The Twins are built for a possible single short series win in October". Ted is pretty clear in the OP that the Twins aren't a WS contender. No stretch there to be sure. But I do agree with the basic premise that if they actually can rally a bit and finish decently and win the ALC, they have a chance to actually win a playoff series for the first time in YEARS. As ALC Champs, they would be playing a 3 game series against a team NOT at the top of the mountain. A team of comparable ability. With a much improved bullpen, some combination of Gray, Ryan, Bundy...maybe Varland?...actually winning a 3 game series is not a stretch. I have no illusions of the Twins making any noise in the post season beyond a possible 1st round win. But I remain hopeful to get that opportunity and possible victory. Ending the year doing so is a lot more fun way to end the season than staying home.

What frustrates me the most, while acknowledging the OP and the horrible record presented there, is the losses against teams like the recent Texas series, at HOME, against a team no better than us, and probably not as good. I can accept an IL that you could almost build a team with. I can accept losing to the top teams in MLB and needing to improve to have a chance against them. But I am very frustrated by the number of losses against the teams we are as good as or better than. If we had just taken care of business against those teams, Cleveland included, we're in 1st place in the ALC right now. And I'm more frustrated about thus at the moment.

1} I like the pitch clock and I like it even more that the batter is part of the equation and held responsible as well. I love not having a clock in baseball, but human rain delays on the mound and in the batter's box just slow the game unnecessarily. The clock itself will be a non-factor within a couple seasons as milb seemed to adapt very easily. 2} I like the larger bases for player safety. I can easily see the extra couple inches can make a real difference to avoid collisions and awkward steps. I'm not yet convinced about an increase in stolen bases. Does a 3" difference really make it easier to steal a bag? I mean, it will probably help eliminate over-slides, but fielders now have an extra inch and a half or two to snare a ball on a close play. So is there really an advantage? I'm unconvinced but I do like the player safety issue. 3} Not sure I like the pitcher only being able to throw over twice. Twice, right? I'm more than OK with a limitation to avoid the tedious games of catch we see at times when a pitcher is trying to control the pace. I mean, I get it, but things really draaaag. But I question if 2 is the proper amount. And if I'm wrong on the number, then forget what I just said. LOL 4} I really do like the defensive shift limitations. And that's the key word, "limitations". Nobody said the OF can't shift, or come in closer, or play deeper. A SS or 2B can play right up on the 2B bag, he just can't cross it to overload a single side. Nor can an infielder now play like a softball rover in the grass. I love the over-shifts when it benefits the Twins pitching/defense and I hate the over-shifts when it hurts the Twins offensive production. LOL But it's going to even out, overall, for all teams. I just like a SS playing SS and a 2B playing 2B and making the field a more "neutral" environment in the melee between hitter and pitcher, and the supporting defense behind him.

I've been really pleased in that, as a rookie, we could have easily seen some real struggles despite his successful, late 2021 appearances. I've been a little disappointed in his second half as it sure seemed like his slider was more consistent early on. But I have to wonder if fatigue is part of the issue. Really, not sure what more could have been expected or hoped for in his rookie season. I like his mentality and intelligence and work ethic. I believe his secondary stuff WILL improve via work and experience. The question remaining, of course, is to what degree. I just don't believe in overly projecting rookies as being a future this or that or not future this or that. I've seen too many washouts and too many "mid rotation" arms become legit #1-2's to play that game. But just based on what I've seen so far, I think he's probably a really solid/good #3 with a #4 floor. Don't know that he's got the pure stuff to rise to #2 status. Just too much overall improvement needed at this time to climb that high. But I like what I've seen and I think he's got a nice future.

I'm just not going to get in to a debate about Jeffers and his value other than a couple comments. I think he calls a good game and has the trust of his staff. I still think that's the most important element to being a backstop. And I know some of his defensive numbers are lower this year than last. These things happen, and are fluid, like a lot of numbers. And while I don't know how good he will ultimately be offensively, I don't believe we've seen him hit his mark yet. Personally, I like him and he's part of 2023 for sure. It's beyond that, that is the issue. Despite defensive improvement and a good arm, and apparently a good teammate with experience, Sanchez is just not a good hitter. And he had greatly declined before coming to the Twins. In Jeffer's case, there is optimism to be better. But the initial ML hitter Sanchez showed earlier in his career is not who he is now. I had been impressed enough with him during portions of the season to be interested in his re-signing as the co-catcher, or however you want to look at it. I'm just not so sure any longer, especially considering how he may price himself. But what FA option out there is the right one to target? Right now, I have no clue for a better option, and that really frustrates me. Buenolas, (sp) has defensive chops but can't hit. Carmago is really stepping forward and showing some life, but won't be ready for 2023 IDK. Isola and Williams have the bats, but spend as much time at 1B/DH as they do behind the plate. Either MIGHT still develop well enough defensively to be legitimate. But right now, at this moment, each is more of a LeCroy 3rd catcher which we don't need or have room for. Leon back on a milb deal might be nice as an insurance policy. But AAA is going to be very crowded already with all the "potential" catchers who need more time and aren't ready to step in for 2023. A trade or guessing right in FA is going to be an under the radar but very important part of the 2023 roster. Maybe Sanchez on a lower than expected deal is the answer. I wish I knew.

An interesting article, and I see both sides on this matter quite clearly. On the positive side of things, Maeda has been a stalwart. Despite there being "some" concern his arm might snag the injury bug, he sure looked good for years, including 2020, and looked as good or better in ST 2021 before things went south. Is it Price that's been pitching year after year with a similar projection but never had surgery yet? Can't recall if I'm remembering correctly. But I don't think Maeda was acquired as "high risk". Mahle has been very solid, very consistent in his young career. Over 30 GS in 2021, yes? He looked good after a IL this year and looked good his first few starts with the Twins. There seems to be no real indication to predict and injury situation with him other than his stint with the Reds earlier this year. But guys get tweaks at times. Unless the Reds and the Twins were just blind, I don't know that I can include him as a "risky" acquisition either. Dyson cost very little, would have helped if healthy, but was basically pitching in pain and lying to all parties. An investigation in to the matter determined the Giants had no knowledge of his being injured. The "bad" to me is Paddack. I'm not going down the rabbit hole again concerning the trade itself. I've got nothing against the guy and I've stated many times that I wouldn't be at all surprised if a year from now most of us are clamoring for an extension despite having control for 2024. But for someone you wanted/needed for 2022, there were massive red flags indicating the Twins should have struck for someone earlier, or looked elsewhere for a trade option. Sorry, but I do believe in bad luck. Or bad fortune, or whatever you want to call it. But it also happens to other teams as well. HOWEVER, I DO THINK you can mitigate better "luck" by just being "safer" in some of your choices. The Twins knew Pineda, for example, had some past concerns. But he was relatively inexpensive and contributed quite a bit and was mostly healthy in his tenure. And while I wasn't entirely sold on the Archer signing, for the most part, he's done what was initially expected, though he has yet to "climb the mountain" to be better. Were the front 3 better from the begining and the bullpen not such a mess to begin with, he would have filled the 5th spot "adequately", though I would have aimed higher initially and not signed him. But again, Paddack should never have been acquired as a major piece because just about everyone knew he was destined for another surgery. So you can't always predict, but you can, at times, just be smarter and maybe pay a little more for someone that appears to have a more clean medical report card. I don't know that there's any real pattern here, but where there's smoke, fire might not be far behind. And I do believe a more thorough examination of past moves is very much in order to try to prevent future negative situations. Related, and built on speculation, Rodon has been strongly tied to the Twins last offseason and during the trade deadline this year. He's a guy the Twins like, and I do as well. Apparently, the Dirty Sox were out on him due to $ and possible future injury. The Giants jumped and he has had a good year and is expected to opt out for a longer deal. If the $ and terms are there, would the Twins make a move this offseason? Or would they be asking for trouble?

Look, I'm just spitballing my own thoughts here, but I do think anticipation is meeting frustration on a virtual battlefield at the moment. And I'm as frustrated as hell to see "the plan" come to fruition. Because the original "plan" made a lot of sense to me: "augment and promote and we're going to see changes soon". And so far, it hasn't worked. We can say Ober is NOT a success yet because he hasn't performed long term after getting hurt this year. Ditto for Winder, who looked pretty good the first couple of months. But if they are healthy in 2023, do we do a sudden rewind and give kudos? Not every Cleveland success story was a SP drafted and developed by them. Some were acquired via trade. So over 2023 and beyond if Ryan keeps getting better and SWR actually turns out to be a quality SP, do we credit the Twins or the teams that drafted them? Not so different than Duran becoming a top of the league RP here in 2022. Is that credit to the Twins? Or are they just benefactors from a trade made a few years ago? Varland has been on the rise since drafted, just like Winder. He looked good in his debut. Hopefully he's a part of a new wave of quality young arms that help make a difference. What the Twins CAN'T DO is consistently sign $25M+ pitchers, or survive with mediocre SP, or continue to trade away potential young arms to fill out their rotation. SOME of that, yes, it's how you build a good team. And I'm as sick and tired as anyone at watching injuries seemingly happen at every turn at the ML level and the milb level. But in reality, 2021 and 2022 are the first years in which the prospects have just been arriving. Ober and Winder are not failures at this point. Ryan looks good, and he's a Twin now, and his future success and development is as a Twin. Same with SWR if and when he comes up. A healthy and back on track Balazovic in 2023 could go a long, long way to building this rotation. Varland being the solid arm we hope he can be will do the same. And yes, there remain a few really interesting arms lower in the system that bear watching. Again, I'm as frustrated as anyone the proverbial "pipeline" hasn't delivered what was hoped for yet. But again also, the prospects only started to arrive in 2021 and this year. Someone mentioned Berrios as an example. Great. Loved him, big fan. He stunk his first season. But at least he was never hurt, grant you that. I'm withholding my final vote on the FO until next year. I want to see the arms they've traded for...via prospects...be healthy and productive. And I want to see the young arms who have just recently debuted...or are close to doing so... also be healthy and productive. And if I don't see positive results atnthat point, then I'm going to be talking about failure.

No matter any issues I had with the construction of the team, primarily the bullpen, my absolute #1 WORST part of this season is ABSOLUTELY INJURIES. And I don't know how anyone, IMO, can debate that. Despite any misgivings about Paddack or Mahle, (who sure looked healthy when traded for and his first 3 starts), Alcala and Winder could have made a major difference. Even with Kepler being an almost zero factor after his foot injury, what kind of difference might a healthy Larnach and Kirilloff and Lewis have made? Ever think you would actually miss Garlick after we ran through a veritable gauntlet of LHSP for a while there? And, sorry for those who don't like him, but losing Jeffers was a big blow, IMO. My greatest wish for 2023...along with a handful of moves...is to just see better health overall for the Twins and to actually see the team, ON THE FIELD, that the Twins could potentially employ. Man would I like to see that. 2] Sticking with a single, detrimental arm like Pagan, stubbornly, for so long and after so much history of poor performance was hugely disappointing. When the pen is bailing out water in the boat the best they can and he kept pouring buckets right back in was inexcusable. Whether they made an earlier trade or auditioned ANYBODY the results couldn't have been worse. 3] Sanchez has been a slight disappointment to me. I wasn't expecting anything great. I hoped for better defense, and I think we got that. I hoped for his power and OK OB ability to remain with just a "nudge" in his batting toward the positive. And really, there's been none of that. When crunch time happened and he was given opportunity, he didn't come through. Time to move on. 4] I know I'll get pushback on this, but I've been disappointed in Correa. I've become a fan. I like the guy. I love his defense, despite metrics saying he's had a down year. I'm not saying he hasn't been a great teammate or leader or that I want him gone. But while it's easy to point to OPS+ and other statistics and saying he's doing just fine, I think numbers can ring hollow at times. Again, I like him. He's a good ballplayer. He's done some nice things here in 2022. But it just seem to me he's come through near often enough in key moments. Maybe it's perspective. I can spill out my thoughts about some missed offseason opportunities by the FO, but we're talking about the SEASON, and not the offseason here. So I'm leaving it at that.

Still love my Twins, of course, but am going to have to beg a little forgiveness here due to a combination of 5 game frustration and my first battle with covid has had me out of the loop a little bit for the past 6 days. (Been on my back pretty much until making it back to work today). I didn't watch the game, only followed along with GameDay. Looks like Varland did a tremendous job. Very happy for him and proud of his performance. I'm not in a position to debate whether Varland should have remained in, but, rookie debut, it SEEMS it was the right time to pull him before facing Judge a 3rd time. Considering how good Jax has been, a rookie when the season began and making such a good transition to the pen, I have a hard time blasting him for giving up the run he did. Really, the bullpen did their job for most of the game it appears. My goodness is Duran a weapon! From what I've read and the box, feels like the undermanned offense still had chances but didn't come through? I hate laying the blame on one guy, especially when we get to the 12 inning, but I really wish Megill wasn't the guy in that spot. I thought the Twins might have found something in him for a while, but he's been as un-reliable as Pagan for weeks now. And I know with all the injuries the pickings are slim for the last few spots in the pen right now, but I would have rather seen a kid like Sisk up, and the veteran Peacock to help fill those last spots for a good week or so now. Not saying the outcome would have been different today, but when guys aren't getting it done, why not give the talented prospect and the experienced veteran looking good again a shot? Tip of the cap to Varland. I wouldn't be surprised to see him finish the year with the Twins.

Going to need Winder up soon, but probably in the rotation and not the pen, though we could still use consistent long arms there. (Sanchez, Smeltzer, and Sands may be able to handle that role for now.) And it looks like either SWR or Varland are going to get an early shot if the Twins arms keep dropping