DocBauer

When Henriquez was acquired, he was a slightly "smaller" version of Berrios. He was a SP with a good FB with some potentially solid secondary offerings. The thought was he might go to the pen eventually. As memory recalls, that conversion began in full last season. Unfortunately, he also had some injury setbacks, so he didn't have a really good year, except for a stretch or two that looked solid. Fast forward to this point late in 2024, I'm not surprised he's had success, albeit in a SSS. And he's got another 10 games or so this season to show he might be ready to contribute next year. Right now, he's not on the 8 man pen as I would see it in 2025. Shoe-in's for 2025: Duran, Jax, Stewart, Sands, Varland, and Alcala (as a 1 IP). Probable: Topa with a healthy knee, and Funderburk. Topa only has been a middle man if healthy, not a setup man like he was in Seattle in 2023. Funderburk has the stuff to face both side batters and be at least solid. Possibles: Headrick, recovered and moved to the pen. Moran, coming back from TJ. Duarte, coming back from TJ. Winder, if 100% and ready to settle in to a middle man role. Nowlin, if the Twins decide that's his future NOW instead of later and get him converted and ready. Canterino IF the latest procedure finally allows him to throw 50 healthy innings of the short variety. Henriquez, especially if he stays solid to finish this season. So Henriquez is not on any sort of "probable" list for me. But a strong finish and strong ST puts him in line to be a part of 2025. Then it's up to him from there. Of course, there's going to be a couple fliers brought in that could provide depth at some point, but I doubt any big $ is spent on a pen arm. And with the arms listed above, maybe they really don't need to. But it's up to Henriquez to prove he's part of the equation. And again, he's got the opportunity to do so begining NOW.

A few different thoughts here. 1] Our very own TD physical therapy expert Lucas Seehafer had some interesting comments a few months ago concerning soft tissue injuries. The one that stuck out to me was discussing players recovering from serious injuries such as knee surgery. And this could apply to Lewis and Buxton both as an example. It can take a year or so for the rest of the body to fully "recover" from the injury as it's been compensating through surgery recovery and compensating as a result. Of course, I'm paraphrasing somewhat. In other words, it's possible some of the soft tissue injuries Lewis has been dealing with, MAYBE the hip issue of Buxton, might somewhat take care of themselves and lessen somewhat going forward now that they will be over a year plus recovered from their knee surgeries. 2] The max effort velocity and muscle build up for power hitting isn't going anywhere, even if the tactics of speed and stolen bases is back up again. And I don't see any changes taking place in college or HS, or even lower in the amounts of games played. Personally, I really liked the 28 man MLB roster for the covid year of 2020. While MLB has callups from AAA when someone is hurt, most teams don't have the luxury of a AAA club across town. That's negated when the Twins are on the road, of course. HOWEVER you break down the ML roster, you almost always have 13 pitchers now and 13 position players. With 9 guys in the lineup, the player bench is only 4 players, 1 of them a catcher. That leaves only 3 position players available on any given day. I'd like to see the roster at 28 in order to provide a little more flexibility and rest for those guys who might just really need a day or two to get back vs playing short handed. I think it might help some with injury control and recovery, and help with the on the field product. 3] I know this will be controversial, especially because of the game being "cheated" in the past from rampant performance enhancing drugs, but IMO, in ALL SPORTS, I would be in favor of growth hormone or steroids being used during rehabilitation for serious injuries. We're talking grown men, professionals, earning massive amounts of $ in some cases, and once seriously injured, I'd be OK with limited usage of doctor prescribed and controlled drugs of this nature in order to help with healing. NOT improvement or enhancement of physical abilities, but as part of rehabilitation in order to heal fully. 4] I have no doubt that ML training staffs work really hard to make sure players are healthy, fit, warmed up and ready to go. And yet the injuries are on the rise. If you aren't going to be able to change the structure of the game, then you can try to at least affect and mitigate the rehab of players, and the recovery of minor injuries, and keep the product on the field. Just a collection of thoughts I have.

WILL they bring him back? If he's in that $4-5M range they might. Good teammate, leader, and locker room guy. The defense is excellent. And there's no clear cut #1 option. But they might look to spend that $4-5M elsewhere. I'd say 40% chance he's back, IMO. SHOULD they bring him back? In 2020-21-22 his bat was pretty bad. Awful if you consider production from a premium offensive position. But a funny thing happened in 2023, his age 37 season. He suddenly didn't stink again. Now, a 101 OPS+ for a 1B and an OPS in the .740's doesn't exactly scream All Star, but he was solid. In a complete surprise to me, he remained a full time player this season and the Twins basically got the same player in 2024 that he was in 2023. He was a nice surprise. As of now, 10 of the 13 position player spots for 2025 are filled, if you accept a healthy Lee taking a spot. If you squint hard you can see Julien and Martin being leading candidates, but I'm not writing either in ink at this point. Unfortunately, nobody is a viable, experienced, 100% proven 1B. That means room for Santana. But even at a low salary, do they want to bet on a 39yo repeating what he did this season? And while $ probably won't allow it, shouldn't they aim for higher production? No. They shouldn't bring him back. They SHOULD aim higher. And if not, they should have a cheaper, younger option internally. But doubtful they spend $. And while Miranda might be a solid option, Julien's offense went in the tank, Kirilloff can't stay on the field, and there's nobody at AAA seemingly ready. I want better, or younger with potential. But I don't know if i see it right now. So maybe they should bring him back. But I don't want it to happen. Thank you Mr Santana, but we're going better, younger, or both. A guy can hope right?

If this is a move designed to throw other arms for the next week or so and let him rest his arm a bit...a calculated risk to be sure...I can sort of get the move. Anything other than that is just a very poor handling of an asset like Alcala. But then again, they've done this constantly, as the OP points out. You should have one if your best 13 arms on your staff. The very fact Alcala has been healthy all season is a reason to celebrate. Instead, the Twins insisted on using him like a middle reliever despite barely throwing for 2 years. And now he's tiring? What a surprise. Terrible mismanagement of an excellent arm. One of your top 4-5. Come on guys! That's not how to properly run a pen. Use middle guys as middle guys and short, powerful arms in short, powerful later innings.

If that's true, I have a hard time following the logic. Alcala has been struggling some lately to be sure. I might be wrong, but unless he's hurt, I'd say he's hitting a wall after throwing too many double innings earlier in the season when he was not only coming back from missing so much time due to injury, but has always seemed to look better as a 1 IP pen arm. It's not often I blast Rocco, but I never understood the way he was used early in this season. The guy was just coming in to his own a couple of years ago, and then barely pitches the next 2 seasons. He's got one of the best arms in the pen. But instead of using him the way he SHOULD have been used...again, 1 inning at a time...suddenly he's a long or middle man? Makes no sense at all! I'd rest him as much as I could over the next week or so, and like Varland, keep one/two of my most talented arms on hand. I do wonder though, if he's sent down, could he still be added to the playoff roster? Is there time to bring him back? If so, perhaps this is a respite for him. If not, big mistake in my opinion. Do we really want Henriquez in crunch time in the playoffs? Or do we want a semi-rested Alcala?

Oh, so a very good, outstanding player even, has a bad pitch. And suddenly he's a goat? So Pablo allowing an extra run or baserunner or two, or nobody in the lineup getting a clutch hit, makes Jax a "goat"? We're talking simple semantics that I object to. I don't believe that term applies here. I think its an unfair label to a top player having one hard to hit pitch being nailed for the winning difference. It's derogatory in my mind. And if you find it an acceptable term for any player to be responsible for losing a game, then every single pitcher and position player has been a "goat" at some point this season in a loss. Teams win and lose as a team. If you believe someone should be labeled as a goat in every loss, that's your opinion. I find this conversation to be dull and limited in scope, and over henceforth.

It's irrational to give respect to a good team playing good ball but stating my opinion that position by position, man for man, overall, I believe the Twins stack up better if both teams are healthy and putting their best team on the field? Offensively, the Twins outscore the Guardians. That's just a fact of real numbers. A healthy Ryan in the rotation, and even a healthy Paddack, the Twins are probably at least even in SP. The Guardians have one of the best pens in MLB, a given. It's NOT being a HOMER to look at numbers and see truth. I believe the Twins are the better team, overall, fully healthy vs a fully healthy Guardians team. And if being a fan makes me a HOMER, then so be it. I try to examine everything with an accurate lens. And if you are a Twins fan, then wouldn't you be a "homer" to some degree as well? Or do you just prefer to be negative and troll vs having a real and logical diacussion?

Not saying you're wrong. I want to say they did the same thing a couple games ago when he also finished off an inning on a couple of pitches? My objection is one of the top RP doing the "up-down" over a pair of innings that he's not used to, and having a night where a hard to hit pitch was NAILED and then calling him a goat for the game. I think he deserves better than that. Plus, the offense was just poor in all crucial opportunities the rest of the game.

I think you nailed it. With all due respect to Cleveland...and I mean that sincerely...I would put $ on a healthy Twins 26 man roster up against a healthy Guardian...(still can't get used to that name)...most any day/series. But Cleveland just doesn't make many mistakes. (Not saying the Twins do). And they have a great pen. They nickle and dime offensively, keep the opposing team down, and then nickel and dime the offense to a winning run total. The season isn't over! Who knows what can happen in a short series! But right now, the Twins lineup has been injured and terribly inconsistent. And the reliance on injured players and 3 rookies in the rotation has just been tough to deal with. SWR has been awfully good until starting to hit a wall. Festa and Matthews have flashed, and will learn a ton from their experiences this year. But the rotation is hurting, and the pen hasnt helped. Of note, I believe the Guardians relied heavily on 3 or 4 rookies in their pen this season. When we look at the Twins for 2025...getting ahead of myself here I know...and the arms coming back and on their way up, I wonder if they might not trust more of the young arms at the ready for a potentially young and talented pen going forward.

I hate this loss. But I also don't like the headline. Jax might have been the losing pitcher, but he's not a "goat". That's lazy headline writing. Jax is one of the best RP in MLB. He came in to finish off the 7th in a tight spot and got the job done! Then he was asked to sit down and come back in again, something he's seldom asked to do. And he allowed only his FOURTH HR of the entire season on a hard pitch that was high and a bit inside. And the batter did a hell of a job to jack it. Meanwhile, the Twins bats went silent after the 3rd inning despite chances to add to the lead. Jax may have taken the loss, but he's no "goat"!

HOPEFULLY Kepler feels better ENOUGH to go on a mini tear to finish out the season. It's got to be Julien or Lee down to make room, and there are arguements for both to stay or go. Because the suddenly hot Farmer...healthy and productive after reportedly playing hurt a lot of the time...swings from the RH side, Castro and Lee switch hit, and Lee is probably the better backup to Correa, I'd probably send down Julien. I have little hope Tops or Paddack ride to the rescue, but it's still possible one of them does. Not banking on it. But in any discussion about the pen, are we talking the remainder of the season? Or are we talking the playoffs? They are different discussions. The Irvin signing MIGHT pay off for some extra IP to close out the season, maybe even provide a little rest for Lopez or Ober or SWR, depending how the next 2 weeks go, and if the final series against Baltimore matters. Extremely disappointed in Varland's last outing. He needs a complete re-set in 2025, and as a pen piece. But for now, he's still one of the best arms the pen has available. So you have to hope for the switch to kick in for the remainder of the season and playoffs. Festa probably sticks in the pen come playoff time, unless you want to hold him back as a potential #4 starter. But for the 1st round, I'd say he's in the pen for sure. I think the idea of bringing Headrick up as a LH in the pen is interesting, if a bit desperate, but it's not a silly idea at all. Funny, but I like the projection of the pen in the playoffs more than I like the pen to finish out the season. Does that make sense? The Twins are closer to things than we are as fans, and see things we don't always see/know. And there's still time to make a decision or two as to who's up and who's down. But right now, they have the issue of who can be trusted for innings. Henriquez has been OK, as has Tonkin, for the most part. Still not sure about Blewitt. Percentages say the Twins make the playoffs unless they just blow the last 2 weeks. Biggest problem might be the #3 starter, and the depth pieces before we get to the top arms in the pen. But again, i almost like the postseason pen better than I like it right now.

Before the season began, the Vikings were projected for 6-7 wins. I saw that as possible, but I was more optimistic than that. QB was a concern. Darnold is talented and hasn't exactly been a disaster as a starter, more average than anything. But the talent was there. Even with Hockensen out to begin the year and some questions about GUARD, the offense was poised to do well if Darnold, still only 27yo, could begin to "mature" in to his arm talent with this system, coaching staff, and the skill players around him. I still think the DL is questionable and missing a difference maker to team with Phillips. But the LB crew and SAFETIES are very strong. Despite disappointment, injury, and even the death of prospect Jackson, I think the FO did a great job of adding on the fly with some solid FA signings to get CB as strong as they could. Age and depth isn't great, but might be enough to form a solid unit for this season at least. Two games doesn't make a season or promise any certain number of wins or playoff possibilities. BUT, if the progress we've seen from Darnold, if his maturation is for real, the Vikings could be a pretty good team. I think there's a lot to like here as every position group is at least solid, if not good.

Would they consider a pen game, or a short start for Ober if the WC is locked up? If the Orioles series doesn't end up meaning anything...at least the last 2 games...they could go a number of directions to ser Ober up for the #2 WC game couldn't they?

It's a nice reward for Lewis, who should be there next year, and would have been sooner almost certainly if the beginning of his season had not been delayed due to injury. As excited as we all are...and rightfully so...for Matthews and Morris, we have to remember that Lewis was the MILB pitcher of the year last year. He might be just as good, or better, than those other two. (BB were a little high this year though). I'm a bit confused by the Raya move. Granted it doesn't mean he's going to begin next year at St Paul...very doubtful considering the numbers on hand...but it still feels a little strange other than as a pat on the back "at a boy" for a solid finish to his season. I think the Twins are about ready to take the gloves off and turn him loose for 70 pitches plus early next year, post the customary first few, restricted starts that are the norm. But he's got some things to work on, including stretching that arm out. Yes, having even a single start at AAA is exciting for him, and a nice reward for hard work. But is this also a chance for different coaches to see him in person maybe? Otherwise, I'm just not sure what the one start really does at this point.

In 2021 and 2022 he had generally solid numbers across the board for the A's, even with low K numbers. He made 30 starts or more each season and had almost dead on 180 IP both years. Nothing great, but solid. I'm sure he was helped by the ballpark there. If he had a little more velocity, he'd be the kind of LH arm I'd be pleading with the Twins to sign on a cheap deal this offseason to transition to the pen at this age/stage of his career. I think this is a case of availability to add some last minute help to eat innings without calling up Morris, or similar, when you have a veteran arm available. The fact that he has a pair of arbitration years left doesn't hurt in case the Twins see something they like and believe they can work with for 2025. It's a pretty blah mover but it's either a veteran arm that drops in your lap, or another rookie, or a AAAA guy to help eat these innings late in the year. They chose the veteran arm from the left side for experience and a different look. Nothing exciting, but not a bad move either

Not disagreeing with you. The only way he doesn't get a half season at AAA is if he's blocked by other healthy arms producing. But my $ is on Cory Lewis. I think he'd be in the same conversations we've had in regard to Matthews and Morris if he had been 100% to start the season.

The worst part, for Dunn at least, was losing the opportunity to finish strong and carry on some of the positive momentum he had to close out the season. And as stated, I'm sure that will be in consideration to how the Twins view his season. A 10th round pick isn't early, but it's not exactly late either. Being LH with some K potential, and only his debut season, he'll almost certainly be back in 2025. Still can't believe Bender deliberately affected an individual directly like this, and his team as a whole, helping to eliminate a playoff opportunity. Just an abysmal way to act.

Nice to see Ohl have a good final start. Really disappointed in his year. He threw so well in about 2/3 of a season at AA in 2023 I thought he might begin the year in AAA. He's usually a good strike thrower, even though henisnt much of a K pitcher. The BB were still OK this season, but his K's were down. I don't know what changed this year, but the HITS given up were much higher than the previous 3 years. He just seemed to lack consistency this year. Hopefully he'll bounce back strong in 2025.

Nice to see Raya finish the season strong. Have to remember he just turned 22yo a little over a month ago, and his career got off to a slow start by being drafted during covid and then having a shoulder issue that delayed him another full season. I'm betting he begins 2025 back in Wichita, but probably with no, or fewer, restrictions on his pitch counts. It's time to let him loose. Wichita might not be quite as strong as St Paul in the rotation to begin next year, but it could be really close. Now, if they could get some offense, they could be dangerous.

I might copy a few things @Riverbriansaid, but I'd like to add, at the least. LEWIS: For all the glorious moments he's given us in 2023 and this season, let's not forget how inexperienced he is. He has already exceeded games played at the ML level, despite some injury setbacks. Do we dare remind ourselves time missed from his early knee injuries? He's a star player in the making, but he's still human, and still learning, adapting, and growing. Just like his defense at 3B, solid, will be better, and the throws are probably just an abnormality that he'll adjust to. Heck, maybe he even moves to 2B, or even 1B to make room for Lee and Keaschall or Culpepper, WHO KNOWS? But the talent is undeniable! Expectations to be an MVP are just silly due to the flashes of what he can be, and might just be. LEE: The glove and the instincts play wherever he plays. The bat will be fine, if not very good. He's a rookie who started late due to his back, and then he had a shoulder injury. He's going to be fine. Everything he does and learns this season only sets him up better for 2025 and beyond. CASTRO: I absolutely LOVE this kid and I'd like to see him stick around for a few more years. I think he's proven himself as a quality ML player. But he's been asked to play almost DAILY this entire season. I hear whispers he's a little banged up. Everyone is this time of year. And while he excells playing all over, injuries have forced him to be a daily stalwart that has probably drained him. Best thing that could happen foe him is a return of Correa so he could take a day or two off. ALCALA: Let's just accept that when a RP has a bad stretch, poor results get magnified. Tonight, he allowed a BOMB to put the game against the Reds out of reach. He's got the stuff to be an important part of the pen going forward. BUT, I'd argue ALL DAY LONG on how he's been used this year. The demotion he had earlier this season actually seemed to give him a new focus. And he came back firing high velocity bullets like he's never shown before! But the reality is he was MISUSED early in the season by being asked to throw 2 innings, occasionally 3, when coming back from 2 years of injury. Honestly I've NEVER seen a talented arm treated this poorly! 20 ML IP in 2022 and 2023 and he's at 50 plus right now. Throw him 1 inning at a time next year and you have a potential stud. MIRANDA: He had to get healthy and right. He did. And his work at 3B has turned him in to at least a competent option there. And then he hurt is back. He hasn't been horrible since his return, but he hasn't been the same. I don't recall him being injury plagued until his shoulder issue in 2023. Is the back issue an abnormality, or part of the recovery process? I think a healthy Miranda is pretty good. But an unhealthy Miranda starts to "reach" too much for contact. Can the Twins ever have a "normal" season in which so many good players have injuries??!! Buxton may never have a full season. But this is getting ridiculous. There is a theory, presented here on TD by our own visiting expert physical therapist, that when a major injury happens...witness Lewis for example...that it takes the rest of the body to adjust for a year to adapt and get used to all of motions and activities of playing ball to compensate and return to "normal". If this is accurate, then Royce and Miranda could be expected to feel more "normal" in 2025. The same might be hopefully stated for Buxton since his knee seems to be sound, and his hip issue is reported to be scar tissue breaking up, which might be part of the whole previous knee issues he had. (Ugh). HOPEFULLY, Correa will have new shoes that provide the support his feet need to eliminate and further plantar issues. Yes, I'm digressing. I'm just adding to the "what if" scenario issue of improvement going forward for the players mentioned, the team, and the overall impact. But I also want to add that in addition to the "what's up with these 4 players" I think we should take a moment to recognize some good things taking place. Wallner and Larnach seem to have established themselves. Despite very mixed results, every inning thrown by SWR, Festa, and Matthews is building them up for 2025 and beyond, even if a couple of them have been pressured to finish the season. Lewis and Miranda will be fine if healthy. Alcala needs to be used properly. Castro is good, and important, and will be fine if he can just get a break once in a while.

If Petty turns out to be really good, it won't change the fact that the trade worked out well for the Twins. They got a front line SP for 2 years for a rookie level HS arm with potential. And while the comp pick...DeBarge...may or may not turn in to something of quality in the future, you make trades of this nature for the NOW, and not for "what might happen". If you only grade trades for the future, you might as well never make them, and stop trying to improve your club via that route. I have mixed feelings about the Mahle trade. I was actually STOKED when they acquired him. IIRC, there was no major medical issues with him other than some "tired arm syndrom" which happens, and is usually nothing more than a strain, or something similar. Certainly, not a precursor to a TJ elbow situation. And after the shortened 2020 covid season, he threw a career 180 IP in 2021 for Cincinnati. A little "tired arm" didn't alarm me, or apparently anyone else considering. If you recall, Lopez had a few mild injuries while still with Miami before the Twins traded for him. I thought they grabbed a guy who just about ready to take the NEXT STEP while working with the Twins staff, and out of the band box that is the Reds stadium. I think that's what the Twins thought as well. I'd love to have Steer back. I'm not sold on CES. Time will tell. Hajjar wad tough to lose, but he hasn't done much yet, due to injury for sure. But at the time, the trade made real sense. Medical technology is great today, but I don't think either side of this deal saw a future TJ injury. I think fate, bad luck, or the baseball gods just saw fit to make this turn out poorly for the Twins. In an alternate universe, Mahle gets right, his elbow doesn't give out, the Twins might still have traded for Lopez, and those 2 guys are probably your #1 and #2 starters. But again, sometimes you make trades to improve your team. And once in a while, you get burned.

I don't believe Duran has been quite as good as he has been the previous two seasons. That doesn't mean he hasn't been good, and affective overall. And Nick has done a good job of showing the underlying numbers. When you K a high % and have a low BB % and a low HR %, you SHOULD be successful. And while not quite as dominate as he has been, he has been largely successful. I know some of the results haven't been good lately. But everything is magnified for a RP when they have a bad day, or bad luck. By bad luck I mean a fly ball that drops in, a seeing eye single, or a bad play by a defender. One run allowed is USUALLY OK. Two runs can often lead to disaster. For a starter, over multiple innings, that's part of the game. For a late inning reliever, it can be a loss. Nobody is perfect, and again, things get magnified when it happens to a reliever. I still trust Duran. I won't excuse him, however, for a few too many honest hits this season, or a few too many balls hard hit. As successful as he's been, I think he's been a little "off" at times. The question is, has he just been a little off with some of his command? Has the sequencing been a little off at times? Or, as crazy as it sounds, is throwing 99-101 making it easier for batters to time his stuff and maybe he should take just a little off of his splinker and curve to change the batters timing? I think he's got a DOMINATE repertoire overall. But throwing 101-103 consistently is pretty tough. Again, there's probably just a few tweaks in delivery and sequencing that might make all the difference. But I keep thinking his secondary offerings with just a little change in velocity could really befuddle the batters.

To be honest @chpettit19 pretty much said what I was going to. But I'm still going to add a nit. MILB success doesn't guarantee anything at the ML level. However, his career MILB quad slash is .271/ .379/ .517/ .896. Over his 3 ML seasons thus far, despite some ups and downs...literally...hes carrying numbers of .251/ .367/ .518/ .885. So far, his ML numbers have surprisingly paralleled his MILB numbers. While in the minors, what he always did was reach a level, struggle a little, then figure it out and adjust. He's done the same thing at the ML level so far in his young career. While you don't WANT 35% K's, he's always maintained a solid AVG and OB%. That compliments his power, and is "livable" if you don't have a bunch of other high K batters in your lineup. But I can see him continuing to grow and learn and drop his K rate down closer to 30%. That makes a difference over a season. Defensively, he won't match Kepler. But the truth is, Wallner runs quite well and is pretty fast. The problem is it takes him a couple steps to get going full speed. And he was a RF almost exclusively in the minors, before playing mostly LF when with the Twins. That takes at least a little bit of adjustment time. On top of that, RF in Target has a few nuances he has to get used to. Again, that means adjustment time. Time to "read" the balls better in RF, a solid athlete, good speed even with a mediocre "start", combined with an accurate CANNON of an arm, he'll be solid, if not good, in RF. And while he'll never be vintage Kepler in RF, I'll take solid...potentially good overall...and a bigger, better bat. I do think he's undervalued by some at this point. And if you focus only on K's and not being Max in RF, we'll, you might never appreciate him, unfortunately. But if he's solid in RF with big production, appreciation SHOULD grow. I'm a fan and believer.

For whatever reason, Julien started relying more on having a "perfect" eye and being less aggressive. Who knows, maybe he's better at balls and strikes than most umps. But it doesn't matter if he is if he stands there, doesn't swing, and tries to work the count for a BB. At some point, you still have to be aggressive on a pitch that's in the zone that you SHOULD be able to make contact with. And for whatever reason, the balance we saw in MILB previously and what he did in 2023 just seemed to disappear. I keep wondering if he didn't get frustrated early this season and fell in to complacency? I don't think his chase rate suddenly rising is a great sign. But at LEAST it's an indication he's trying to swing again. Now it's a question of finding the balance he was known for previously, patient, good eye, but strong swings for the hittable stuff in his zone. Defensively, he made massive improvement over the course of last season. Even early this season, he looked solid there. Lately, it looks like while his hitting has improved some, his defense has slipped. I still like the ability and the work ethic. And I'm not going to bail on a ML sophomore with talent and potential. And I'm not going to bail on Martin yet either. But other than a few plays here and there, Martin has been average to pretty poor wherever he's played this year. And with Margot back..(meh, he's a solid veteran I guess)...and Keirsey as a better defender and probably as good/fast or better/faster than Martin, it made sense that Martin was the guy sent down at this time.

100% agree. Couple comments: 1] I wonder if the Twins try to move Paddack to save $ to spend elsewhere and open up the #5 spot to competition? 2] A 6 man rotation for St Paul is possible. (Dobnak is also under contract still as well). They could also take turns skipping someone every week and let them throw out of the pen as a long man. But could Nowlin join Headrick in the pen as early as next year? I think it's possible. 3] Agree Varland is a reliever from here on out. Potentially a very good one. 4] AA Wichita could have a pretty good group in the rotation as well.