John Bonnes

Aaron and John talk about the Twins' all-too familiar series in Cleveland, good pitching going to waste because of a weak lineup, Royce Lewis nearing a return, waiting for the real Carlos Correa to show, and what happens at the trade deadline if they keep losing. Plus, a little bonus Wolves talk at the end. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link. View full article

Aaron and John talk about Luke Keaschall's great first week with the Twins, the nearing return of Royce Lewis, what's wrong with Carlos Correa's swing, how Willi Castro's injury was handled, and leaning into Ryan Jeffers. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link. View full article

Aaron and John talk about the Twins' mounting injuries, the arrival of top-100 prospect Luke Keaschall, why Carlos Correa's wrist could explain a lot, what to make of Griffin Jax's struggles, and highlighting Harrison Bader's defense. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link. View full article

We don’t know the full extent of the injuries that Matt Wallner and Carlos Correa suffered in Tuesday night’s 6-3 victory over the Mets. Image courtesy of © Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images Both are getting an MRI on Wednesday morning. Matt Wallner said after the game that he hasn’t felt anything like this before, so he’s unsure what to make of it. Carlos Correa said he experienced some wrist discomfort this spring that went all the way back to last year, though he sounded hopeful that he could be back soon. Whether this is a 12-hour scare or will seriously impact the team, looking at the options for replacing them reveals some paradoxical truths about the organization’s depth. On the one hand, those options are almost exclusively untested in major league roles. On the other hand, they include some prospects that could change the direction of this team in a hurry. The bad news is that the Twins' next game is Wednesday afternoon, so unless they make some quick decisions, they’ll be playing short-handed, like Tuesday night. The good news is that Thursday is an off-day, so their next game isn’t until Friday night, giving them 72 hours to evaluate things better and determine a course of action. If they determine that both players need to be placed on the 10-day Injured List (IL), things will get interesting in a hurry. This weekend’s decision to swap Jose Miranda for Brooks Lee revealed just how few options the Twins have to bolster their lineup. It turns out they’re even thinner two days later with the news that Jose Miranda was added to the 7-day IL with a hand strain before he played a game in AAA. Correa provides the most difficult dilemma. Lee and Willi Castro are the only players on the Twins’ current roster who can handle third base and shortstop, so they suddenly become fixed in those spots daily. Fortunately, the 24-year-old Lee, while no longer technically a prospect, has looked fantastic in his three games since his return, including a home run in Tuesday night’s game. However, the roster will need a backup for both positions, and there are two obvious candidates: Ryan Fitzgerald is a 30-year-old career minor leaguer who has started at shortstop for all 17 of the Saints games this year. Armando Alvarez is also 30 years old and was in the same boat as Fitzgerald before last year, when he played in 16 games with Oakland, filling in at first base, second base, third base, and left field. This year, he has played third base for the Saints. While he couldn’t back up shortstop, that might not be as important because Castro and Lee can back up each other at shortstop if necessary, and Alvarez could slide to 3B. Neither player is on the 40-man roster, but the Twins have only 39 players on it right now, so that’s easily remedied. Finally, it’s worth mentioning that the Twins haven’t provided a detailed update on Royce Lewis's status beyond that he’s progressing but has not started a rehab assignment yet. If he needs to spend time on the IL, Wallner's everyday replacement is already on the roster: Harrison Bader. DeShawn Keirsey Jr becomes the primary, instead of the secondary, backup outfielder. Twins fans who want to see Austin Martin again will be disappointed to hear that he’s not an option because he’s also injured in AAA. The Twins could promote an outfielder. Unfortunately, top (Twins Daily’s #2) prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez hasn’t exactly been tearing it up in St. Paul (.237/.370/.316). Still, he could be an option as he could get his feet wet against MLB competition and upgrade the outfield defense while Larnach continues to pick up at-bats at DH. Or the Twins could try one of their more AAAA-ish outfielders in a strict backup role, though it’s not clear who would pick up at-bats at designated hitter. However, the designated hitter spot could be a nice fit for Twins Daiy’s #3 prospect, Luke Keaschall. He’s been holding his own during his first two weeks in AAA, especially when it comes to getting on base (.270/.408/.378). He’s limited because he’s coming off Tommy John surgery, but he could be the team’s primary designated hitter while his throwing arm rounds back into form. It was clear this spring that manager Rocco Baldelli liked what he saw from Keaschall, giving him starts at designated hitter when the rest of the lineup was populated with Twins’ everyday players. If Baldelli is looking for offensive upside, Keaschall, while inexperienced, seems like the best available option. By Wednesday morning, both Wallner and Correa could have clean MRIs, and both could feel much better, and this whole conversation could be moot. However, the exercise further drives home a truth that has been an important factor this year: the team is not as deep with veteran MLB-ready talent as it has been in past years. On the other hand, it also reveals they have some young players that could - if they can develop quickly - help the team get back to its winning ways. How would you replace Wallner and Correa? Let us know in the comments below. View full article

Major-league managers have few direct levers with which to impact their team’s performance, but one at their disposal is at-bats. After reflecting on some of the performances that led to last year’s dismal finish, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli entered the season planning to use that lever—but it's been missing. Image courtesy of © William Purnell-Imagn Images “Jose is going to be in a position where he’s going to go out there, earn his at-bats, earn his opportunities like many other guys on our roster,” Rocco Baldelli said, when asked about Jose Miranda’s role early in spring training. Then, he extended that answer to others on the team. “You could probably turn to two or three or four other players who have done some good things at the major-league level and ask a similar question, and it would make sense. “I keep saying this but it’s a healthy thing for an organization to have motivated guys that are going out there and want to earn their spot and their opportunities and their at-bats,” Baldelli continued. “The hungrier players are, a lot of times, the better version of them you get.” But Baldelli hasn’t really had that lever during the Twins' cold start this spring. Looking at the bottom of the roster or in St. Paul, one has trouble finding anyone who can pressure or replace those regulars in the lineup who were not producing. As you review the 13 position players on the roster and their status, his options look pretty bleak. You can break them down into four essential groups. Six players started the season with enough currency that they have started almost every day: Carlos Correa started at shortstop for the first 15 games and finally got a game off on Sunday. Byron Buxton has started in center field for all of the Twins' games, except for the two for which he had to leave the team due to a death in his family. Matt Wallner has started all 15 of the games in which the Twins have faced a right-handed starting pitcher, 14 of them in right field. He sat versus two left-handed starting pitchers. Ty France has started 16 of 17 games, playing first base for all of them. Willi Castro has started at second base, third base, left field, and shortstop, but one way or the other, he’s been in the lineup for 16 of the 17 games. Trevor Larnach has split his 16 starts evenly between left field and designated hitter. The second group is the Twins' catchers, with a 50/50 timeshare split. If either Ryan Jeffers or Christian Vazquez start to hit, it’s possible Baldelli could reward one or the other with additional starts, though the Twins have been consistent with starting each one every other game for almost two years. On the other hand, desperate times… The third group is two players who are mostly just role players right now. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. (only one start this year) is primarily a pinch-runner and defensive replacement. Mickey Gasper (only five starts this year) has only two hits in his 21 plate appearances, so he’s worked himself out of any regular starts. Finally, we have the group where at-bats are earned on a day-to-day basis. This is the group that Miranda was in, and it’s why it should not have been a surprise to see him sent down over the weekend. Sure, the baserunning gaffe on Saturday was inexcusable, and a demotion would be justified just for that. But tracking his at-bats, it was clear he had been trending into dangerous territory. After starting the first five games of the year, he started in only four of the next 10. He quickly slipped from an everyday player to someone who needed to earn at-bats. With Miranda now in St. Paul, there are three players in this group and two spots left in the lineup every day: Edouard Julien might not even belong in this group anymore; he might belong in the everyday group. He’s started in 12 of the last 13 games, has a 1.000+ OPS over the last week, and has been leading off for the last two games. “He has a good skillset for that because he can get on base,” Baldelli said before Monday’s game. “He can lock in on a certain part of the plate and eliminate other parts of the plate. And so when you have a guy with good on-base skills who can also do some damage for you, and he looks like he’s in a good place, you want to get him up in a good spot in the lineup.” The Twins may intend Brooks Lee to be an everyday guy, at least initially. Since his recall from Triple A, he’s started both games at third base. The Twins have confidence in him being able to handle that position defensively, and they don’t have a ton of other options. With Royce Lewis hurt and Miranda in St. Paul, Castro is the only other third baseman on the roster, so Lee will get plenty of opportunities to earn more at-bats. His performance at the plate will determine if he continues to get them. Finally, Harrison Bader has started 12 of 17 games. It’s somewhat surprising that he’s started in 10 of the Twins' 15 games versus right-handed pitchers, as the right-handed hitting Bader has a career OPS of just .673 against them. Some of those starts can be attributed to the occasional day off for Larnach, Wallner, and Buxton. But mostly, it’s because an open designated hitter spot allows Baldelli to upgrade his defense with Bader in left field (where he has eight starts) and still keep Larnach in the lineup at DH. If Lee shows he can hit at this level, the Twins would essentially have nine hitters for eight non-catcher spots. The open spot at DH and the presence of play-everywhere Castro give Baldelli flexibility to give anyone a day off for rest, a reset, or a reward. It also is the exact minimum a lineup needs if the manager plans to try to encourage players to earn at-bats. Any less, and there is no roster crunch, and there is no pressure. With Miranda struggling, that was basically the case just three days ago. If any of the Twins players take a step backward or get hurt, that will be the case again. One solution would be to have another player or two who could also apply some pressure to a lineup that entered yesterday’s game hitting just .208. That those players don’t exist in the organization is an indictment on the entire organization, whether it be ownership, drafting, scouting, development, or coaching. But Baldelli will take most of the heat for it, even though the lever upon which he was relying has been missing. What levers should Rocco Baldelli be using? Let us know in the comments below. View full article

If you’re heading to Target Field this Saturday and you want to enjoy this early spring a little longer, stick around, and you’ll get a bonus game for your trouble. Image courtesy of © Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images Soon after the Twins wrap up their game against the Tigers, the field will be turned over to a pair of southeast Minnesota high school teams: Byron and Stewartville. It’s the first of six high school games that the Twins will host this season at Target Field, matching the ballpark’s record for most prep games in a single year. You don’t need to register, you don’t need an extra ticket, and you won’t get shuffled out after the big-league game wraps up. If you have a ticket to the Twins game, you’re in for the high school game, too. Just hang tight after the final out, and they’ll get things going. Or, if you don't have a ticket to the Twins game, Gate 29 and Gate 6 will stay open through the end of the high school game. Seating is open in the lower level, anywhere in foul territory. And while the full concession lineup won’t be running, the stand at Section 109 will stay open — though don’t plan on grabbing a cold one; it’s strictly soda and snacks during the high school action. The atmosphere should be great. The Twins will be running the full Target Field experience for these kids — full PA, video boards, LED screens, the whole deal. For a lot of these players, this will be the biggest stage they’ve played on, and I expect you’ll see it in the energy on the field. If you can’t make it, Saturday’s not the only day for this promotion. Next Wednesday afternoon, Target Field will host a triple-header. After the Twins face the Mets, Lakeville North will take on Lakeville South, followed by Highland Park vs. St. Paul Academy/Summit School. So, if you’ve got the time and the ticket, stick around. You’ll get a little extra baseball, a little extra community, and a reminder of how fun this game can be at any level. 2025 Minnesota Twins High School Series Saturday, April 12: Byron vs Stewartville Wednesday April 16: Lakeville North vs Lakeville South & Highland Park vs St. Paul Academy/Summit School Saturday, April 26: Edina vs Minnetonka Wednesday, May 21: White Bear Lake vs Mounds View Thursday, June 12: Bishop Garrigan (Algona, IA) vs Clarion-Goldfield-Dows (Clarion, IA) View full article

Aaron and John talk about the Twins desperately needing to stop digging a deeper hole, Pablo López's injury throwing the rotation into flux, why the lineup's biggest names are dragging it down the most, and Rocco Baldelli's job status being in question. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link. View full article

It was supposed to be different. Image courtesy of © Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images Spring training was all about how it would be different. Different than the 12-27 finish that ended the Twins' season and plunged them to fourth place in the AL Central. Less individual work. More team drills and meetings. Less swinging for the fences. More putting the ball in play. Less rest. More spring training games, even including veterans going on road trips. It was all different – except how the season started. This year’s 2-5 start is reminiscent of last year’s 3-6 start. Last year, by April 21st, the Twins were 7-13 and were already eight games back in the division. Even a remarkable, sausage-themed 12-game winning streak that month wasn’t enough to close that early gap, and they never regained first place in the AL Central. Sure, there are 155 more games to play. But under Rocco Baldelli, slow starts have often led to disappointing finishes. In 2022, the team started 4-8 and collapsed down the stretch, going 11-22 in September. The 2021 season followed a similar pattern, with the Twins starting 7-15, falling seven games back early, and ultimately finishing last in the division, 20 games behind first place. Alternately, hot starts in 2019 (13-7), 2020 (10-2), and 2023 (10-4) have led to AL Central crowns. The pattern has been consistent: good starts have been paired with strong finishes. Bad starts preceded breakdowns as if the team ran out of gas from chasing the division leader for most of the season. The changes this spring were an attempt to fix that. “Everything you're doing here is for that push at the end," Baldelli said early in spring training. "Many of these things also extend out into the long baseball season and how it's going to help us long-term. If we can do all this the way we want to do it, I think you will see the effects of this in August and September and beyond." Maybe it will have an impact in August and September, but it sure hasn’t in March & April. Everything looks broken right now. Starting pitchers have been shelled. The bullpen has also shown some leaks. But the biggest concern is the lineup, which is averaging just a shade over three runs per game and has the lowest OPS in the American League. There was a change in batting coaches after last year's collapse. The team wanted to refine its approach at the plate, simplifying its offensive philosophy to maximize consistency. "Yeah, some of it’s kind of bringing it back to the way we have probably thought about hitting for a long time," Baldelli explained this spring. "It really comes down to swinging at the right pitches consistently and hitting line drives. I think we’ve probably, at times, made it a more complicated task than it is." Turns out it's still complicated. The team as a whole is hitting .180 through its first seven games. They’re dead last in MLB in on-base percentage. Maybe most concerning is that the experience is eerily similar to that of watching the team last August and September. Last year, injuries to veterans Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa hampered the team’s ability to stop their freefall. This year, another key contributor, Royce Lewis, has yet to play a game, and his replacement, Jose Miranda, has had a miserable start. Last year, multiple younger players looked like they just ran out of gas at the end of a long season. With struggles continuing into this year for Miranda and Edouard Julien, and Brooks Lee out due to another back injury, it’s fair to ask if they ran out of gas or if they just weren’t ready. And if they still aren’t ready, and even whether they’ll ever be ready to fulfill the promise the team projected upon them. That’s the question the team and its fans are wrestling with: were we wrong about this team? Will this 2025 team be more like the 2024 team that was 17 games above .500 in mid-August or the team that was 15 games under .500 the last month and a half? It’s obviously too early to tell, but the early signs have been foreboding, especially because things don't look different. What would you do different? Tell us in the comments below. View full article

Aaron and John talk about the Twins' ugly start to the season, why the narratives can't help but tie back to last year's collapse, Byron Buxton's health providing one of the rare reasons for optimism, and why the starting rotation is an unexpected question mark. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link. View full article

Aaron and John discuss Royce Lewis' latest injury and run through their over-under picks for the American League, including their final Minnesota Twins predictions. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link. View full article

Aaron and John talk about Twins camp ramping up less than two weeks before Opening Day, Zebby Matthews' standout spring and why the rotation could be the team's biggest strength, Brock Stewart's steady post-surgery progress, moving goalposts for the sale of the team, and 15 minutes with Phil Miller. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link. View full article

Let's check-in on some young roster hopefuls in Twins spring training camp. Image courtesy of © Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images Thursday’s afternoon’s 13-5 shellacking of the Pirates gave the Twins home crowd a chance to see a number of Opening Day hopefuls all in the same lineup. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli made it clear early in spring training that one of the themes of camp this year would be watching and evaluating some younger players who have shown promise but not consistency. When asked about one such player, Jose Miranda, he talked in general about what he wanted to see from them. “You could probably turn to two or three or four other players who have done some good things at the major league level and ask a similar question, and it would make sense,” Baldelli replied. “The response will probably be the same. I keep saying this, but it’s a healthy thing for an organization to have motivated guys that are going out there and want to earn their spot and their opportunities and their at-bats." In Thursday’s afternoon game, it seemed to be working. The team initially faced Pirates pitcher Jared Jones, a promising 23-year-old who will be in the majors this year. After battling him, they feasted on some of the relievers, scoring 14 runs in the fifth and sixth innings. “What an awesome sight to see a bunch of guys out there, working their butts off, competing, trying to show everybody here what they’re capable of,” Baldelli said after the game. “All doing it. You draw up that picture, that’s the picture you want to see.” All six players who are competing to fill out three back-end roster spots were painting that pretty picture. It seems like a good time to check in on where they are with Opening Day just two weeks away. Jose Miranda Entering spring training, I would’ve thought Jose Miranda’ s spot was almost assured. That opinion hasn’t changed. The 26-year-old is far from a finished product but he showed in his at-bats today why he deserves to have at-bats invested in him. In his first at-bat versus Jones, Miranda took a called strike on the outside edge that probably should have been challenged. But when Jones followed it up with a slider in the same area, Miranda drove it to right field for an easy single. In his third at-bat, after drawing out a long at-bat, he smacked a fastball into right-center field for a long single. He’s doing what the Twins want him to do at the plate. Defensively, he’s also a decent fit. He isn’t an embarrassment at third base. It’s a little surprising we’ve only seen him have three starts at first base this spring, but that seems mostly about convenience; Baldelli needs to get Ty France, Edouard Julien, and Mickey Gasper at-bats, and that’s one of the few positions they play, so Miranda gets crowded out. He should make the roster and get 400+ plate appearances this year. Brooks Lee In my mind, Brooks Lee and Julien represent the pivot point for the roster. If either shows enough to earn the everyday second base job, he’s the 12th (of 13) position player, and it makes the 13th player a matter of what Baldelli values most from his bench. If not, things get quite a bit trickier. Lee’s glove separate him from the other guys on this list, and I suspect that will be why we’ll see him on the roster on Opening Day. Baldelli’s spring training lineups have made it clear that Lee’s ability to cover at shortstop is, at the very least, a nice luxury. The only other backup option to Carlos Correa is Willi Castro. But Lee has to show he’s not overmatched offensively, which isn’t clear. What was clear was how the Pirates were attacking him: lots of offspeed stuff, especially early in the count. Lee confirmed postgame that he’s been seeing that most of the spring, and how he reacts to that will be worth watching as these last two weeks of games play out. Edouard Julien Julien showed just how dangerous he can be in 2023 when he posted a 130 OPS+ over 408 plate appearances before unraveling last year. He spoke early in spring training about retooling his swing to better handle offspeed pitches, which he thought was his Achilles heal. The Pirates disagreed and paid the price yesterday. Julien saw a total of five pitches in his first four at-bats and smacked fastballs all around the stadium, going 3-5 with two doubles. (And he was robbed of a third in his first at-bat.) He hasn’t been nearly as productive for the spring, but we’ll see if this is the start of something that could position him as either a platoon player at second base or the dangerous bat as the 13th man on the roster. Mickey Gasper The 29-year-old Gasper has gradually seen his starts with this younger group increase despite being the older outsider. (He joined the Twins when he was traded from the Red Sox this offseason.) He’s immediately demonstrated his offensive skill set: hitting for average and getting on base. He went 0-2 on Thursday but also had three walks. The Pirates liked to challenge him inside, which makes sense for a player who hasn’t hit more than 12 home runs in a season in the minors. His long-term outlook is undoubtedly tied to how he handles those. Short term, the switch-hitter might be the best option if the Twins decide that either Julien or Lee isn’t ready. He’s been getting starts at both first and second base, similar to Julien, and been solid defensively, which he was again yesterday, including making a nice catch on a foul ball down the first base line. He is setting a default demarcation line for this roster: someone is going to need to beat out this spray hitter to make this roster. Austin Martin I might’ve said that exact sentence about Austin Martin when camp started, but I think that’s Gasper’s job now. Martin hasn’t hit particularly well, has only made one start in the infield, and Thursday was only his fourth start in center field this spring. Even when it comes to being a platoon or late-inning defender for the Twins’ left-handed hitting corner outfielders, Martin is limited to playing left field. He is be being squeezed by the development of some other players on the roster, but the 25-year-old also needs to show he has something in his toolbag that a major league team values. We haven’t seen that yet. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. has put himself on the radar by having a decent camp offensively and an outstanding one defensively, reinforcing his skillset in the team’s mind. Seemingly every game, he’s made an excellent defensive play, including in Thursday’s game where he started in right field. If everyone else stays healthy, there isn’t really any role for a left-handed hitting defensive outfielder on the Opening Day roster. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the first callup if there is an injury to any of the outfielders, even over Martin. The Twins haven’t had many of their positional prospects launch into the stratosphere when they had their first taste of the majors. But that kind of success is the exception, not the rule, in the major leagues. Several Twins players have shown that they have a chance to carve out a career or even thrive at an All-Star level if they make some incremental advancements in their games. This spring, the Twins have been providing a little tough love to encourage those advancements, and Thursday’s game was a single data point suggesting they may be close to paying off. Who are your favorite young players on the Twins roster? Comment below. View full article