IndianaTwin

Did you tell him that you were as well? Only that it was Miralax. I'd have been headed for the door.

Per the excellent summary from Greggory Masterson (linked below), Kirilloff has an option. Given their orientation to caution and if there's general health at the big league level, I suspect they'll use it to get more 20 days of rehab, unless he's beating down the door and playing pretty much daily. MLB Players with One Option RemainingThese players are currently on the active roster (or injured list) and can still be sent down this year. However, if they are, they will have no options in 2024. The team could be a little more hesitant to use that final year than they would otherwise.Willi Castro, Gilberto Celestino, Jhoan Duran, Kyle Farmer, Kyle Garlick, Alex Kirilloff, Caleb Thielbar

Tell me about it -- glaucoma procedure last Wednesday and colonoscopy scheduled for Thursday. Encouraging Mrs. IT to get her knee checked out. Hoping to avoid an IL stint, with a potential return to Twins Daily in time for the Friday night Game Thread...

Brock, you may be thinking that I think you're nuts, because I've responded to a few of your posts. I don't -- I think we generally agree on a lot here. I'm just offering a slightly different read on some things. The first one isn't really directed at you, but at a general theme I've felt on TD and that maybe comes through a bit in the disappointment in the previous offseason. You didn't mention 2020, but a lot of folks on TD have been unwilling to accept validity on that season because of the shortened season ("Maeda was great, but it was only over 60 games," etc.). I get that, and I can accept that argument. But if that's the case, I don't think it's fair to highlight weaknesses from last offseason without fully acknowledging the effect of the lockout, shortened spring training, etc. I don't remember enough of your posts to make that suggestion of you, but it's felt like a theme on the board. I would say that they have been building a team for a long time, however, They've just done it incrementally, and in ways they haven't always been given credit for. I'd go back to my bulleted list from much earlier in this thread. I don't think any of the things I noted are new things this offseason. And I'd also have a different take on saying that their free agent track record is quite bad. If by that, you mean that they've found needles in the haystack or that they've signed lots of BIG free agents, maybe. But one way their track record has been quite good comes back to that notion of not painting themselves into a corner. I can really only think of the Donaldson signing as one that may have hampered their ability to do other things. Other signings have been to fill specific needs, and a bunch of them have worked quite well. Think Jason Castro, Nelson Cruz, Michael Pineda, etc. I'd even argue that the Bundy signing wasn't as bad as it's generally seen. We perceived that it worked out badly because he ended up needing to pitch at the top of the rotation, but he was doing that because nearly every other pitcher spent time on the IL. If they stay healthy and he has the same season while being their No. 4 or 5 starter for the year, it looks different. And what he did do was buy them developmental time for Oder, Winder, etc., while they tried to cobble things together. EDIT TO ADD: I was typing this while you responded with the post that appears just above this one, so it's not responding to what you said there. Gotta Zoom now, so no further comments from me.

I'd have a bit of a different take on your last sentence. Targeting Correa was obviously a major part of their plan, but even if you took out that move and left everything the same, it still would have provided a pretty solid team. The pitching would still be excellent. They would still be pretty deep. The Farmer injury would have a greater impact on their fortunes than it's likely to have now, though having Correa's money available would have still given them time to come up with a different creative solution at shortstop. Said another way, signing or not signing Correa didn't have any real effect on their ability to sign Solano or Gallo or to trade for Lopez, etc. They had already signed Vasquez, for example. Also, I think people are overstating the amount of "luck" involved in the Correa signing. One could actually say that the Twins made Correa the best offer. The Giants offered a bazillion, WITH A CONTINGENCY. The Mets offered a little less than a bazillion, WITH A CONTINGENCY. The Twins offered a little less than a little less a bazillion, but WITH NO CONTINGENCY. Think of the house purchases you've heard of and the number of times they've fallen through because of contingencies. Offering without a contingency ("as is") can be worth a lot. I'd agree that it was the weirdest free agent situation we've seen. It's true that Correa gave an okay to accept the contingency, but really what the Giants were saying was "Bring us a clean bill of health and we'll give you a bazillion bucks," and Correa wasn't able to do that according to the Giants' definition of "clean bill of health." Similarly the Mets. As those were happening, the Twins were indeed showing patience, and I think the patience had much more to do with the outcome than luck did. And certainly not dumb luck. I'd concur with those saying variations of "the harder I work, the luckier I get" or that "luck is the residue of design," etc.

Because they have options left, I see Sands, now Headrick and next Megill rotating through the eighth bullpen spot until each either pitches himself up into the top 7 or down to the “no longer in the mix” category. If one of them pitches themselves up the ladder and someone like Moran struggles, they could swaps roles, etc.

I suspect I'm going to hammered on this, so I'll say it quietly, but I'll add... Not dumping Pagan for nothing. -- so far, looking good.

I clicked "like," though I don't think this is unexpected at all. By that, I mean that this move fits the pattern of this FO: They tend to make moves that fly below the radar in terms of public expectations. If it follows through to fruition, it's a move that comes without a long drawn-out public negotiation. They generally seek to move the needle forward incrementally, rather than going whole-hog with the big splash move. They bide their time and move patiently on free agent/extension offers. They offer contracts that won't substantially back themselves into a corner. They are often sneaking in a little bit more than expected, whether that's getting a couple extra prospects in what's generally been described as an Arraez-for-Lopez trade or tacking on an option year to a free agent contract or extension. They make trades for folks that weren't on the radar (Odorizzi, Maeda, etc.). They hedge their bets, trading for a guy like Farmer who could be their fallback guy, while also serving as an excellent depth piece when Correa goes down for a bit. Perhaps most importantly, they recognize that no transaction/decision is made in a vacuum, so they are always looking at the big picture. That means sometimes they will make a move that seems a little odd on the surface, but ends up making considerable sense when looked at in the big picture. From my perspective, they've been doing a lot right for way more than the past six months. Have they all worked out? Of course not. But I think we're better off with the collection of moves they've made than we would be if they had completed many of the moves that many on TD have clamored for over the years.

Tommy Milone signed a minor league contract with Seattle, got called up for a spot start yesterday and DFAed today.

He described it as having “just stepped out for a bit,” which I took to be between innings.

Seemed odd to me too, but I could see it being someone Gladden has a relationship with.

Gladden reports that he stepped out for a break and a Yankee official told him that German’s spin rate was up significantly today.

Not fair for you to channel Hawk, if we don’t have the ability to mute you.

Good thought. Probably the main need in the bullpen right now is for the sacrificial lamb if someone gets hammered early. It’s definitely of value to have Varland in the dugout to absorb the wisdom of his colleagues.

Transaction on Varland?

Thanks for the correction on Larnach’s entry. And to carry your comment about the Yankee bullpen further, they were at 9 spot in the order, so had they tied and gone to extra innings, most of those reserves were a number of batters away.

https://www.firstpizza.com Clam pizza — oh, my.

Defense, I would assume. They removed Julien from 2B, Miranda from 3B and put Castro and Gordon in their more natural positions in the infield. Larnach pinch hitting for Garlick is a platoon switch.

Not really. I’ve been trying to temper my enthusiasm, given past disasters, but I’ve been fine with them keeping him around. I think they have been using him in the right spot — down, but still in the game — when you don’t want to use the highest-leverage guys. SSS, but now at 1.69 with a 0.94 WHIP.

I’m not sure. How about if we have another one of each so we can make a more educated decision?

Pagan (W, 1-0)

Uh, yes. EDIT: I should have known that waiting several minutes to post would easily have me ninja’ed.

You know Chief had that Farmer joke planted in his mind for a while, right?

Probably not going to hold the trail runner.

A lot of 4s.