Jamie Cameron

As the Twins discover whether they have simply made a bad start or are just a bad team, they face a tough decision with Michael Pineda; trade him, or extend him? On the mound, he has the look of a person who desperately needs to use the bathroom or has an itchy clothing tag which won’t stop bothering him. Michael Pineda is fidgety, twitchy and frankly, uncomfortable to watch. His physical quirks bely the smooth operator on the mound. Over the last 3 years, Pineda has been a model of consistency and excellence for the Twins. As the team answers the question of whether they have started slow or are simply a bad team, they need to decide what to do with Pineda, trade him, or extend him? In spite of the recency bias which perhaps clouds our judgement of the Twins front office, they are a shrewd bunch. Pineda may have been their shrewdest move in 5 years leading the team. Pineda was first signed by the Twins to a 2 year, $10 million deal in December 2017. Pineda was coming off a significant injury, so the first year of his deal provided him financial certainty and the Twins the ability to monitor his rehab and potentially hit on a significant lottery ticket for a team which has done little to develop strong organizational pitching depth. Boy, did they win big. Over 3 seasons with the team, Pineda has now logged approximately 220 innings, managing a 3.59 ERA and 5.7% BB% in that span. The latter half of Pineda’s 2019 and beginning of 2020 season will rightly be colored by a 60 game suspensions for PEDs, but whatever way you want to chop it up, Pineda has been a tremendous success for Minnesota. The front office agreed, giving Pineda a 2 year, $20 million extension in 2019. That’s just $2 million more than J.A. Happ earns, y’all. Switching focus away from Pineda and to the 2021 team, there’s no escaping the truth. This Twins team is bad. The 2021 season was summed up in one cruel, painful blow when Mitch Garver, the Twins lone hot hitter, had to have surgery after a groin shot foul ball following Tuesday night’s game in Baltimore. I know it’s not what we all wanted, but this team just ain’t it. So what should the Twins do with Pineda as June marches on and the July trade deadline approaches? On one hand, the answer seems simple. Trade Pineda. This is clearly the organizationally smart, efficient thing to do, a decision, results aside, that the Twins front office seems most likely to make if they decide this Twins team cannot mount a serious playoff challenge. Despite Pineda being on an expiring contract, he is capable and has a track record which suggests he could start a playoff game for a team with a weaker rotation, a fact which could command a solid price. Trading Pineda doesn’t preclude the Twins from re-signing him this offseason. Pineda is clearly comfortable in Minnesota and fond of the organization. However, the consistency of his performance in parts of 3 seasons with the Twins will undoubtedly create a more robust market for Big Mike given his improved health in recent seasons for Minnesota. If the front office believes the team needs to retool, rather than rebuild (a fair conclusion given the strong core of young players and emergency of high end prospects like Kirilloff and Larnach), they could instead choose to extend Pineda. The Twins have essentially been Cleveland’s opposite organization in recent seasons, struggling to create any meaningful starting pitching pipeline to the majors. This may be on the verge of changing with the Falvey led front office, with Jhoan Duran beginning to dominate at AAA and several other standout options working their way through MiLB. If the Twins are to ‘retool’ instead of rebuild, let’s consider their rotation. José Berríos is under team control for one more season, an extension seems unlikely. Kenta Maeda, 2020 Cy-Young runner up is under affordable team control but is now a huge question mark, given his abject start to 2021. J.A. Happ and Michael Shoemaker are free agents and may not make it through the season for various reasons. Randy Dobnak is a strong 4th or 5th option. For a team who wants to contend and build a sustainable winner, this is a poor stable of starting pitching options. So what would an extension look like for Pineda? He’s certainly due for a raise over his last contract. Career long health concerns would likely limit him to a 2 year deal as teams would likely not want to risk adding a third for a pitcher who will be 35 at the end of it. The Twins could offer Pineda a 2 year, $26 million deal which would give him the raise he deserves, still be reasonable value for a pitcher who has provided upwards of 3.0 fWAR in his last 200 IP for the Twins, and raise the floor of the rotation for a team hoping to bounce back in 2022. What would you do with Pineda, trade him, or extend him? View full article

Thanks for reading! That definitely would have made it better.

I’ve definitely had my fair share of stinkers this year, but they allow me to mess around with different things with writing and paying attention to the prospects has been fun. Thanks for reading and commenting as always Mike!

Wow! Wishful thinking? Thanks for catching that!

The Twins fumbled in Baltimore Tuesday night, as all three phases of the game let them down in a drab 7-4 loss to the Orioles. Box Score Pineda: 3 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 1 K Home Runs: Garlick (4), Astudillo (4) Bottom 3 WPA: Pineda -.339, Polanco -.097, Sano -.068, Win Probability Chart (via Fangraphs) Four pitches into the game Cedric Mullins was already standing comfortably at third base. Conversely, Mitch Garver was in a crumpled heap on the floor after taking a groin shot foul ball from Trey Mancini. The Twins immutable injury crisis continued to mount Tuesday. After being helped slowly from the field, the only available bench players for the Twins were Trevor Larnach (in a walking boot yesterday), Rob Refsnyder (LITERALLY a white outline of him painted on the Camden Yards outfield fence), and Nick Gordon (hasn’t played in a week). The Twins are a mess, don’t let the opposition fool you. Astudillo, pressed into outfield service, provided perhaps the most scarring experience for Twins fans on the 2nd pitch of the game. Cedric Mullins ripped a line drive to right field, La Tortuga was all over the place. Indeed, the route Astudillo took to the ball was more reminiscent of a play one would expect to see in Williamsport than Camden Yards. After a long Kyle Garlick home run tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the 3rd, Michael Pineda began to unravel. Pineda was giving up significant hard contact Tuesday night, with 7 batted ball events over 100mph through 3 innings. By the end of 3, the Orioles had a 5-1 lead, and an 84% chance to win the game. The Twins 4th inning response was best summed up by Jake Depue. Pineda was replaced by Luke Farrell in the bottom of the 4th inning. If you’re thinking tonight's waxing was unusual for Pineda, you’re right. Pedro Severino added a long home run to left field off a hanging Farrell breaking ball to make the lead 6-1 in the bottom of the 4th, and put the game beyond reach. The Twins showed flashes offensively throughout the rest of the game. They had runners on the corners in the top of the 5th before the incredibly disappointing Josh Donaldson struck out to end the threat. Nelson Cruz doubled to lead off the 6th. Kirilloff followed up with an RBI double of his own to narrow the lead to 6-2. Miguel Sanó and Willians Astudillo could not keep the inning going. The Twins can still win tomorrow and win the series with Baltimore. A victory would give them 8 victories in their last 11 contests. In spite of this, the Twins haven’t been convincing. This feels like a team walking up a downward facing escalator being pushed inexorably to the bottom. Entering play tonight, the Twins RDIFF was -21, the White Sox was +80. That tells you more about the cavernous gulf in class between the teams than the 10.5 game gap in the standings ever could. Juan Minaya entered in the 6th and gave up a home run to Maikel Franco on his first pitch. And so it went for the Twins pitching staff in this game, each pitcher entered, each pitcher promptly gave up ground to the Orioles. Any sniff of a comeback was immediately extinguished by Baltimore, leaving the Twins bench looking tired, exasperated, and frustrated. The Twins again threatened in the 7th, a Garlick walk and a Donaldson hit by pitch putting men on 1st and 2nd with one out. Dillon Tate walked Cruz to load the bases with one out. Trevor Larnach pinch hit for Rortvedt and struck out swinging. Kirilloff came through with a single to trim the lead to 7-3 with the bases still loaded. Polanco grounded out to short to end the inning. In the 8th, Astudillo cut the lead with a solo home run to left field, his 4th. Andrelton Simmons followed up with a single to center, the Twins again threatening. Simmons second guessed taking second base after the ball was thrown away by the pitcher, getting caught in a run down and providing the second little league caliber play of the night from the Twins. In their final half inning, the Twins again threatened. Trevor Larnach doubled Nelson Cruz over to 3rd. Alex Kirilloff struck out swinging, leaving Jorge Polanco as the Twins last hope. Bleacher Tweets On my recap days, I’m going to throw in a crowd sourced statistic, joke, story, or complaint to get more voices into the recap. This week, Cody Pirkl brings you more Twins gems. Bullpen Usage Chart FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Farrell 17 0 16 0 36 69 Minaya 0 0 13 0 33 46 Robles 0 21 0 16 0 37 Rogers 0 21 0 6 0 27 Colomé 0 0 10 0 17 27 Thielbar 0 0 22 0 0 22 Duffey 0 13 0 0 0 13 Alcala 0 10 0 0 0 10 What’s Next? On Wednesday, the Twins will send Randy Dobnak to the hill against Matt Harvey. First pitch is at 6:05 CT. View full article

Perfect summary on Refsnyder!

The Twins improved to 5-2 in their last 7 games on Tuesday. Twins cult hero Rob Refsnyder smacked two doubles and a home run, while José Berríos was inefficient but effective in his 5.2 innings of work. Box Score Berríos: 5.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K Home Runs: Refsnyder (2) Top 3 WPA: Refsnyder .276, Simmons .136, Rogers .105 Win Probability Chart (via Fangraphs) Injuries and Roster News The Twins injury carousel continued its inevitably relentless spin on Tuesday. Nelson Cruz and Luis Arraez did not return to the lineup from respective wrist and shoulder injuries. Max Kepler and Jorge Polanco did return however, easing the strain on a lineup hamstrung in recent days. Despite their seemingly perpetual health struggles, the Twins entered Tuesday's game as obvious favorites, with Jose Berríos taking on Dean Kremer, who is, well, not very good yet. The Orioles immediately posed a threat in the top of the 1st, before Berríos picked off Cedric Mullins at 2nd base for the Twins league leading 7th pickoff of the 2021 season. The Orioles did take the lead in the second, a missed catch error by Andrelton Simmons opening the door for two unearned runs to score. The rejuvenated Polanco immediately got a run back in the second for the Twins, blistering a home run to right field while hitting left handed, a promising sign as he continues navigate the ankle injury which has resulted in back to back offseason surgeries. Rob Refsnyder continued his torrid hitting for the Twins, lacing a double to tie the game. Refsnyder would add two more hits on the night, bringing his average with the Twins to .438 and providing a real spark which has invigorated the lineup in the last week. Two wild pitches and two additional Twins runs later, Minnesota was up 4-2, and didn’t look back. Berríos delivered the kind of typically maddening performance which will have both fans and detractors affirmed in their assessments of his assets and shortcomings. The Twins enigmatic pitcher produced incredible swords, striking out 7 over 5 innings. Conversely, he was inefficient and wobbled significantly, giving up 7 hits. Berríos began the 6th inning, immediately hitting Ryan Mountcastle on the hand. He was pulled after 5.2 innings and 106 pitches, giving way to Caleb Thielbar. Thielbar escaped the inning, leaving the Twins with a 5-3 lead heading into the bottom of the 6th. An Alex Kirilloff double scored Donaldson to increase the Twins cushion to 6-3. Alexander Colomé entered for The Twins in the 8th. Stop me if you’ve heard this before, he immediately surrendered a home run to DJ Stewart to cut the lead to 6-4. The Orioles followed up with back to back singles, leading to Taylor Rogers warming up in a hurry. Rogers needed one pitch to induce a Cedric Mullins ground out and end the threat. Back to back appalling appearances from Colomé seem to have re-relegated him to a lower leverage role in a Twins bullpen still struggling to get out of its own way. Refsnyder added a solo shot in the 9th (what’s the in season equivalent of the Sire of Fort Myers?) to continue his helium fueled ascent to Twins fans cult hero. Rogers slammed the door in the 9th to help the Twins improve to 5-2 in their last 7 games and begin a soft 13 game stretch in their schedule 2-0. Other News In other Twins news, congratulations to LaTroy Hawkins as he received the nod to manage the AL in the Futures Game at this years All-Star festivities. New Era may have caused the biggest stir of the day on baseball twitter with new city themed caps. Bleacher Tweets On my recap days, I’m going to throw in a crowd sourced statistic, joke, story, or complaint to get more voices into the recap. Tonight's non Twins related offering is courtesy of Cory Engelhardt. Bullpen Usage Chart FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Robles 0 27 24 0 13 64 Farrell 38 0 0 16 0 54 Rogers 0 9 14 0 26 49 Alcala 10 17 0 14 0 41 Duffey 0 13 15 0 0 28 Colomé 0 2 0 8 13 23 Thielbar 0 0 18 0 2 20 Stashak 0 0 0 0 0 0 What’s Next? On Wednesday, the Twins will send Michael Pineda to the hill against Jorge López. First pitch is at 12:10 CT. View full article

The Twins walked off the White Sox 5-4 Tuesday in a game full of drama. In a game where Miguel Sanó finally arrived in the 2021 season, the biggest question remains, did Tyler Duffey throw at Yermin Mercedes on purpose? Box Score Ober: 4 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K Home Runs: Sanó 3 (6) Top 3 WPA: Sanó .477, Polanco .432, Rogers .139 Win Probability Chart (via Fangraphs) Pineda Scratched, Pen Shuffled Michael Pineda was scratched from his start Tuesday, with Twins injury news coming thick and fast. To replace Pineda, the Twins promoted 6’9 Bailey Ober, The Twins 2017 12th round pick. The control artist has put up consistently outstanding numbers for the Twins in MiLB, most recently sporting an ERA under 1.00 in 2019 between A+ and AA. In an additional move, the Twins promoted Cody Stashak, DFAing Derek Law after surrendering 4 runs in 1.1 inning in Monday’s blowout. In other roster and injury news, well, here’s a summary: Ober-Matched? Ober was welcomed to the show by Jake Lamb, who deposited a pitch into the right field bleachers to give the White Sox a 1-0 lead. After back to back hits from Moncada and soon-to-be-punished Yermin Mercedes, Ober settled down to retire the side. Ex-Twin and current sweaty grizzly bear Lance Lynn struggled in the first, before getting Miguel Sanó to pop out to end a two-on threat. The Sox added on in the third, Moncada doubling home Lamb. Yasmani Grandal then added a two run home run off Ober, on one of his few mistake pitches. Despite surrendering 4 ER in his first 4 innings, Ober’s stuff looks like it will play at the back end of an MLB rotation. In what is already a lost season, Twins fans will want to see more. Sanó continued his improved at bats with a solo home run to left field in the bottom of the 4th, keeping his hands inside a Lance Lynn cutter, trimming the deficit to 4-1. Five Innings of Bull...pen Ober surrendered the game to a returned Cody Stashak in the 5th inning. Stashak worked two scoreless inning, *lowering* his ERA to 7.11. Sanó added his second home run of the night after an excellent at bat in the bottom of the 6th, working a 3-2 count after being down 0-2 and depositing a pitch to straight away center field. Larnach followed up with a 114 mph single to right field, before Kyle Garlick grounded out to short to end the threat. Late Inning Drama After entering in the 7th and beginning the inning with as Moncada groundout, Tyler Duffey was ejected after throwing behind Yermin Mercedes. Rocco Baldelli was ejected in quick succession after arguing with home plate umpire Jim Reynolds. The million dollar question: did Duffey throw at Mercedes on purpose? You decide. In an improbable turn of events, Miguel Sanó hit his third home run of the game in the bottom of the 8th, an opposite field shot of Aaron Bummer, tying the game at 4. Taylor Rogers entered in the top of the 9th, and struck out Yasmani Grandal, giving the Twins an opportunity to walk off in the bottom of the 9th. In the bottom of the 9th, Simmons singled, Cruz moved him to second with a weak groundout. Tony La Russa intentionally walked Luis Arraez before a Donaldson fly out moved Simmons to third base. Enter Jorge Polanco. Polanco's walk off was an outstanding end to what seemed like another inevitable defeat. Whether the Twins can put more wins together and turn their season around, remains to be seen. What were your thoughts on the game today? Is Miggy back? Did Duffey throw a Mercedes? Weigh in below. Bleacher Tweets On my recap days, I’m going to throw in a crowd sourced statistic, joke, story, or complaint to get more voices into the recap. Tonight's depressing offering is courtesy of noted grump Cody Pirkl. Bullpen Usage Chart FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Thielbar 29 0 28 0 0 57 Stashak 0 17 0 0 35 52 Rogers 0 0 12 0 27 39 Robles 0 17 0 0 17 34 Duffey 0 0 26 0 5 31 Colomé 0 7 0 0 19 26 Alcala 0 0 0 18 0 18 What’s Next? On Wednesday, the Twins will send Matt Shoemaker to the hill against Lucas Giolito. First pitch is at 12:10 CT. View full article

The Twins reached a new trough Wednesday, getting hammered by the White Sox. The lethargy with which the team has been playing is quickly spreading across a once energized fan base. The gulf in class between the two teams was as cavernous Wednesday night as the deficit J.A. Happ put the Twins in by the end of the fourth inning. Box Score Happ: 3.1 IP, 9 H, 9 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO Home Runs: Cruz (9) Bottom 3 WPA: Happ -.517, Simmons -0.94, Sano -0.65 Win Probability Chart (via Fangraphs) Injury Updates The Twins provided positive injury news Wednesday, with Alex Kirilloff showing signs of progress from a wrist strain. In the relentless carousel of Twins relievers, Shaun Anderson was recalled to replace Devin Smeltzer, who was placed on the 10 day IR with elbow inflammation. Twins Take Early Lead, Surrender it in Comically Expedited Fashion The Twins started the game well. Nelson Cruz clubbed his 9th HR of the season to left center field. Tom Froemming tried to warn me, and I didn’t listen. The White Sox came into the game slashing .300/.387/.471 against left handed pitching. J.A. Happ took the mound for the Twins. If nothing else, Happ’s previous two seasons with the Yankees have deprived baseball fans of a truly elite beard. Full yet even, with the right balance of salt and pepper to fit into a dramatized reenactment on History Channel, Happ was ready for the White Sox. They wasted no time demolishing him, immediately hitting a single, two doubles, and a triple...in the first inning. The Sox took a 2-1 lead after one. Known Twins Killer, Billy Hamilton? The Sox quickly added on in the second, career .323 SLG Billy Hamilton ripping a triple off Happ, before scampering home on a wild pitch which seemed to spell the beginning of the evergreen evening Twins fans have experienced all season. The Twins fought back however, Josh Donaldson exemplifying a strong offensive approach in staying away from Dallas Keuchel’s soft and away stuff to poke a two run, opposite field single through the hole, to cut the lead to 4-3. White Sox Pour it On The story of the Twins season however, in addition to a lot of losing, is at least one phase of play letting them down on a nightly basis. Today, it was Happ. White Sox prospect Andrew Vaughn crushed a two run home run off Happ in the bottom of the 4th to increase the lead to 6-3, before Hamilton added a double. This elevated Happ’s pitch count to almost 80 in the bottom of the 4th with none out. Not the position to put a bad bullpen in when the Twins are in the midst of a stretch of 17 games in 16 days. Some time elapsed. At the end of the 4h inning, the Twins were down 9-3. Newly promoted Shaun Anderson relieved Happ in the 4th. He gave up a solo homer to previously struggling Yasmani Grandal in the 5th to extend the lead to 10-3. Some more time elapsed. At the end of the 5h inning, the Twins were down 12-3. In spite of his final pitching line, Anderson’s stuff was intriguing. He showcased good velocity and a sharp bite to his slider. Given then he threw over 50 pitches, he will likely be replaced by a fresh arm Thursday, but warrants a further look from the Twins. The Twins continued to execute decently against Keuchel in the 6th, with 3 consecutive singles cutting the lead to a mere 8. Jorge Polanco is a clear reason for optimism amongst Twins fans. In addition to his increased consistency from both sides of the plate, Polanco’s last 100 plate appearances show a clear improvement Twins fans should be excited for moving into May, with approximately 130 games left in the 2021 season. A two run Luis Arraez single closed the lead to 12-7 after the top of the 6th. The Final Third In the final third of the game, Twins twitter continued to provide sobering perspective on the state of the still young 2021 season. Scott Badger put the division into perspective. Alexander Colomé pitched a scoreless (gasp) 7th for the Twins, despite two deep fly ball outs. The Twins offered little offensively in the 8th or 9th save Trevor Larnach’s first big league hit, a double to right field off Liam Hendriks. The Twins fell to 12-22, 9 games behind the first place White Sox. Bullpen Usage Chart Click here to see the bullpen usage over the past five days (link opens a Google Sheet). What’s Next? On Thursday, the Twins will send Michael Pineda to the hill against ex-Twin Lance Lynn. First pitch is at 1:10 CT. View full article

The Twins looked as if they would continue their hot streak Tuesday, until another harrowing bullpen performance cost the team yet another winnable game. J.A. Happ delivered another strong performance against old friend Kyle Gibson.Box Score Happ: 5.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 K Home Runs: Buxton (9), Astudillo (3) Bottom 3 WPA: Waddell -.293, Rogers -.245, Polanco -.218 Win Probability Chart (via Fangraphs) Download attachment: Rangers.png Arraez to IL, Kirilloff Scratched Luis Arraez was placed on the 7 day concussion IL after a home plate collision on Monday, with Nick Gordon being recalled on MiLB opening night (what does he have to do to get an at bat?) Elsewhere, hot hitting Alex Kirilloff was a late scratch from the lineup after experiencing wrist soreness which is likely to cause significant anxiety for Twins Territory until the extent of the injury is known. Dueling Aces? Elsewhere, the battle of the mound consisted of the Twins most effective pitcher this season against an old friend, as J.A. Happ took on Kyle Gibson. After getting rocked on opening day, Gibson has been excellent for Texas, dominating for an ERA in the low twos, in addition to not allowing a home run. That changed early Tuesday, as Byron Buxton continued his torrid season, launching a 433 foot home run into the bullpen on a sinker left up by Gibson. Gibson then settled in, retiring nine straight Twins hitters before Mitch Garver ripped a 100 mph single to right field, continuing his encouraging trend of squaring up the ball with more consistency in recent games. Happ meanwhile, was giving up plenty of hard contact, with batted ball events with xBA of .650, .970, .930, and .500. Tortuga Adds On In spite of Gibson’s excellence, the Twins managed to add on in the bottom of the fifth inning. Gibson hung a slider to Willians Astudillo, who deposited it into the left field seats for his third home run of the year. Despite not making it through the sixth inning, Happ again gave the Twins an excellent chance to win the game, lowering his ERA in 2021 to 1.91. Hansel Robles replaced Happ with a man on base and Joey Gallo at the plate. Gallo grounded out to first before Willie Calhoun struck out looking to end the inning. While Happ is due for some regression, his 3.75 xERA is an excellent return on the Twins investment so far in 2021, a product of his ability to generate consistently soft contact. Over to the Pen With the Twins bullpen remaining one of the biggest issues with the team currently, Robles came back out for seventh. David Dahl crushed a 103 mph line drive after a strong at bat at the top of the 7th, but made the mistake of hitting it to the area of the field covered by Byron Buxton. Baldelli faced an interesting bullpen decision in the top of the eighth, inserting Tyler Duffey in the top of the inning, despite having thrown 24 pitchers Monday night. Despite giving up a ground rule double, Duffey struck out Adolis Garcia before turning the ball over to Joey Gallo, who had taken Taylor Rogers deep for a two run home run on Monday night. Rogers won round two, getting Gallo to strike out swinging to end the eighth. Rogers took the top of the ninth, and immediately served up a home run to Willie Calhoun, cutting the lead to one. Donaldson was then unable to play a Culberson ground ball to third. Culberson came around to score on a sac fly to shallow center field which Andrelton Simmons did incredibly well to snag. Solak flew out to end the inning with the score tied at three heading to the bottom of the ninth. Extra Innings? Familiar Outcome Joely Rodríguez entered in the bottom of the ninth for Texas, easily dispatching the heart of the Twins lineup, before Rocco Baldelli brought in Brandon Waddell for the 10th. A taxed Twins bullpen produced an outcome all too familiar and pitiful in close and late situations in 2021. Waddell served up a two run home run to Adolis Garcia. It’s telling that with almost no relievers available, Baldelli preferred Waddell to Alexander Colome. Wednesday’s game with spot starter Lewis Thorpe promises to be challenging if Thorpe struggles. Garver singled Polanco to third to lead off the bottom of the 10th. Jake Cave then struck out, before Astudillo ground into a double play to end another late game meltdown. What is your take on the Twins performances over the last week? How do you think the team will absorb new injuries and manage a taxed bullpen throughout the rest of the week? Bullpen Usage Chart Click here to see the bullpen usage over the past five days (link opens a Google Sheet). What’s Next? On Wednesday, the Twins will send Lewis Thorpe to the hill for a spot start against Rangers lefty Hyeon-Jong Yang. First pitch is at 6:40 CT. Click here to view the article

Jorge Polanco has struggled mightily offensively in 2021, particularly as a left handed hitter. Should Polanco continue to switch hit in the face of such consistent struggles, or hit from the right side full time?A front office stroke of genius has quickly turned into a move viewed with apathy by the Twins fan base. When the Twins signed Jorge Polanco to a five-year, $25 million extension prior to the 2019 season, Polanco’s subsequent appearance as the starting SS for the AL All Star Team had Twins fandom in raptures. Since then, Polanco has regressed significantly at the plate, with no struggle more evident than the switch hitters inability to hit right handed pitchers batting left handed. Let’s rewind to a happier time. It’s 2019 and Polanco has made his first All Star team. Polanco, fresh off a team friendly, front loaded extension, has managed a searing 129 wRC+ and .367 wOBA in the first half. As his name is announced over the PA system while playing an 18 inning game against the Tampa Bay Rays, a surreal grin spreads unstoppably across his face. The Twins had found a top of the order hitter for the next five years, one who had just beaten out Gleybar Torres and Carlos Correa for an All-Star appearance. Fast forward to 2021 and Polanco is in the doldrums. Polanco has plateaued, then regressed, his progression hindered by multiple ankle surgeries. In a young 2021 season, Polanco is worth -0.2 fWAR and has amassed a 44 wRC+, making him about 65% worse than an average MLB hitter. Particularly of note since his ankles began to trouble him is his performance from the left side of the plate. It’s time to question whether Polanco has any business switch hitting. Download attachment: polanco.png 2019 was an outlying year for Polanco as a left handed hitter. 16 of his 22 home runs came from the left side of the plate, in addition to a .306 average and 133 wRC+. 2020 and the beginning of 2021 have been a spiral in the wrong direction. Over that span, Polanco has seen his average drop .136 points, his isolated power evaporate, and his ground ball rate from the left side increase close to 25%. There are too many concerning metrics about Polanco’s performance as a left handed hitter to simply explain away. Polanco’s penchant for ground balls when batting left handed is a severe detriment to the rest of his offensive game. In 2019, his BABIP as a left handed hitter was .334, followed by .264 in 2020, and .200 so far in 2021. All that adds up to a 33 wRC+ left handed, compared to 95 wRC+ as a right handed hitter since the beginning of 2020. It’s both notable and noticeable that Polanco’s left handed swing looks awkward. Gone is the swaggy, confident look of a hitter able to spray the ball to all fields. Polanco now spins out of his left handed swing, no longer getting into the base of his core and his legs, a result which usually results in a ground ball to the pull side. Polanco’s transition to second base will advantage the Twins defensively long term. In Andrelton Simmons, Minnesota has, at least temporarily, an elite defensive shortstop, whose range, arm and defensive savvy no analytically laden positioning can outmaneuver. Offensively, the bottom half of the Twins order has been completely lost. While the lineup without Kepler has been short of effective left handed bats, Polanco from the left side is as good as a free out so far in 2021. Until he gets back on track offensively, the Twins second baseman has no business switch hitting. More from Twins Daily Trevor Larnach on the Minor Leagues, Prospect Rankings, and Where he Still Needs to Improve How Long Will the Twins Be Able to Keep Thad Levine Click here to view the article

The Twins showed signs of early offensive life Tuesday before slumping to another lifeless defeat, characterized by the poor play which has encapsulated their 2021 season.Box Score Maeda: 5.2 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 3 K Home Runs: Buxton (7) Bottom 3 WPA: Maeda -.180, Garver -.154, Arraez -.117 Win Probability Chart (via Fangraphs) Download attachment: chart (4).png Buxton Returns to Strengthened Lineup Byron Buxton returned to the lineup Tuesday, after a bout of patellar tendinitis. Kyle Garlick and Max Kepler cleared COVID protocols, promising further reinforcements later in the week. Rocco Baldelli also reported that Miguel Sanó’s hamstring is close to one hundred percent, meaning the Twins could be at full strength by the weekend. Twins Bats Come Out Strong The Twins bats came out strong against CBT starter Aaron Civale, who had excelled early in the 2021 season. A Byron Buxton infield single in which he reached 30.9 ft/s was followed up by a Nelson Cruz triple (yes, you read that right). Kirilloff then followed up with an RBI single but was thrown out by Cleveland left fielder Eddie Rosario attempting to turn a single into a double. Maeda Still Out of Command Kenta Maeda gave a run back immediately in the bottom of the first, as Jose Ramirez deposited a center cut fastball into the right field seats. In the bottom of the third, Franmil Reyes followed up with this. The Twins surrendered the lead in the bottom of the 3rd inning. Alex Kirilloff took a bad route to a fly ball to left field, fumbling the ball off his glove leading to a double on a batted ball which had an xBA of .090. The Twins evened up the game in the 4th, stringing together a single from Cruz, another from Astudillo, and a double from Cave. In a stretch where the offense has been so ineffective, it was at least encouraging that the Twins had five batted balls over 100 mph by the end of the 4th inning. Little did we know that would be almost the end of the Twins offensive threat. Cleveland Takes the Lead for Good Cleveland took the lead again in the bottom of the 6th, Franmil Reyes swatting a Maeda fastball over the left field wall for his second home run of the night. A Josh Naylor double spelled the end of the night for Maeda. In a Twins season marred by poor execution and underperformance, Maeda continues to be a microcosm of the problem, again failing to muster the command his stuff requires. A Jake Bauers double off Caleb Thielbar’s curveball made it 5-3 Cleveland at the end of six innings. A two run lead would prove enough for Cleveland. Byron Buxton crushed his 7th home run of the season in the 8th, off an Aaron Civale curveball, cutting the lead to one. Once again, the Twins needed someone to come up in a big spot for them. Once again Nelson Cruz and Byron Buxton answered the call. One again, no one else did. Buxton’s solo home run in the 8th inning was the Twins lone hit after the 4th inning. Rocco Baldelli brought in he embattled reliever Alexander Colomé in the bottom of the 8th. Colomé promptly hit Josh Naylor and walked three batters before being pulled by Jorge Alcala. Alcala hit a batter, scoring another run, before striking out Jose Ramirez to end a miserable inning of Twins pitching. Another game, another pitiful performance by a team expected to be one of the best in baseball. After a positive start to the season, the Twins have lost 13 of their last 15 games. You have to imagine Twins fans may transition from passionate and upset at the performance of their team, to tired and apathetic in short order. And who can blame them? Night after night of poor baseball and failed execution is tough to watch. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet Click here to see the bullpen usage over the past five days (link opens a Google Sheet). What’s Next? On Wednesday, the Twins will send J.A. Happ to the hill against Logan Allen. First pitch is at 12:10 CT. Click here to view the article

The Twins looked like they hadn’t played baseball in a week as they fumbled through a double header on Tuesday, struggling to pitch, hit, or field, falling to a disheartening 6-10 on the young 2021 season.Game 1: Athletics 7, Twins 0 Box Score Shoemaker: 3.1 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 0 K Home Runs: None Bottom 3 WPA: Shoemaker -.202, Cruz -.116, Polanco -.078 Win Probability Chart (Via FanGraphs) Download attachment: Game 1.png Game 2: Athletics 1, Twins 0 Box Score Berríos: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K Home Runs: None Bottom 3 WPA: Astudillo -.209, Rooker -.203, Buxton -.174 ​Win Probability Chart (Via FanGraphs) Download attachment: Game 2.png Twins Return to Action on a Heavy Day in Minnesota The Twins returned to action for the first time in four days Tuesday, playing a doubleheader against the red hot Athletics. Tuesday was a monumental day in Minnesota, with a guilty on all counts verdict being returned in the trial of Derrick Chauvin, a moment putting baseball into perspective, which reverberated around the Minnesota sporting community. Twins Moved to COVID IL Prior to first pitch the Twins placed Kyle Garlick, Max Kepler, and Caleb Thielbar on the COVID IL, reinstating Brent Rooker, recalling Travis Blankenhorn, and purchasing the contract of Luke Farrell, essentially calling up their entire travelling taxi-squad, putting the clubs incredibly disruptive few days into perspective. Game 1: Moreland is to Shoemaker as Kepler is to Bauer Game 1 got off to a poor start. After managing two baserunners in the top of the first, steampunk enthusiast Matt Shoemaker served up a two run home run to Mitch Moreland in the bottom of the second inning, followed by a solo shot in the bottom of the fourth. Shoemaker gave up four hits and walked four in 3 1/3 innings of work, before giving way to Jorge Alcala in the fourth with two men on base. Alcala entered, struck out a hitter and walked the bases loaded. Alcala has the stuff to close out games. The question attached to his performance has been around his ability to be effective against LHH. Matt Olson provided a status update, launching a 110.3 mph grand slam 385 feet to right field and breaking open the game for Oakland. It was more of the same from the Twins. Perhaps this performance was to be expected. The team has been unable to workout, practice, or play, confined to their hotel rooms in COVID limbo. The malaise which has afflicted the team all season was again apparent Tuesday in a game punctuated by poor pitching, error-laden fielding, and uncompetitive at bats. Game 2 - Power Outage in the Stands, and On Offense Game 2 saw as strong a lineup as the Twins could muster. Ryan Jeffers took over behind the plate, shifting Mitch Garver to first base against Jesus Luzardo, who had struggled to an 8.31 ERA coming into the second game of the double header. Luzardo came out throwing 99 mph, a Josh Donaldson first inning infield single was quickly extinguished by a Nelson Cruz double play on the very next pitch. Berríos wound up in trouble in the second inning, before wriggling out of it, including this putrid two seam fastball to Elvis Andrus. Oakland finally broke through in the fourth, after a 74.2 mph Matt Olson double beat the shift before Seth Brown ripped a single to left center field to give the As a 1-0 lead. With men on first and second, Berríos picked off Mitch Moreland at second, only for home plate umpire Scott Barry ‘to claim’ (Dick Bremer’s words, not mine) that time had been called. After the first inning, the Twins offense (stop me if you’ve heard this before) offered very little. Their next base hit came off a Jorge Polanco 75.6 mph single in the fifth inning. Indeed, the Twins offense was so paltry, the cumulative struggle turned off the Coliseum left field lights in the fifth, resulting in a delay of game. After a stoppage in which the left field lights did not fully return, the teams returned to the field, a partially illuminated left field and fully illuminated right field the perfect allegory for the two teams performances on Tuesday night. In the ultimate indicator of Twins offensive futility, the Athletics brought in lefty Jake Diekman to face righties Nelson Cruz, Byron Buxton, and switch hitter Jorge Polanco. After creating a threat against the Athletics closer, Willians Astudillo flew out to deep left field to end the game, and cap a miserable day for the Twins offense, in which they were held scoreless. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet Click here to see the bullpen usage over the past five days (link opens a Google Sheet). What’s Next? On Wednesday, the Twins will send Kenta Maeda to the hill to stop the rot against Frankie Montas. First pitch is at 2:40 CT. What did you make of the Twins performance tonight? What does the 2021 squad need to get going? Click here to view the article

The Minnesota Twins went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base in their 4-2 loss to the Red Sox Tuesday afternoon. Read more about the game in today’s recap.Box Score J.A. Happ: 4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K Home Runs: None Bottom 3 WPA: Simmons -.230, Cave -.133, Polanco -.073 Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs): Download attachment: chart.png Snow Instead of Rain, Cruz Scratched As J.A. Happ took to the mound for his first start of the season at Target Field. The Twins ballpark was a frigid 34 degrees with flurries of snow. Nelson Cruz was a late scratch from the lineup with a non COVID related illness (why does this keep happening?). Josh Donaldson, it seems, will make his return to the lineup from an opening day hamstring strain on Wednesday, when first pitch temperatures are predicted to be in the mid 40s. Buxton Leads Off, Stays Hot. J.A. Happ managed a scoreless top of the first despite getting into some deep counts with the top of Boston’s lineup. Hitting leadoff for the first time in 2021, Byron Buxton continued his searing form, ripping a first pitch, broken bat double down the first base line. Kyle Garlick was hit by a pitch before old friend Martin Pérez walked Mitch Garver to load the bases. Jorge Polanco hit a deep sacrifice fly, scoring Buxton, before a Luis Arraez groundout scored Garlick to push the Twins to a 2-0 lead. Arraez Flashes the Leather Happ continued to work inefficiently in the second inning putting two men on with no outs. Luis Arraez helped squash the threat with a beautiful double play, forcing Xander Bogaerts at third before a beautiful Willians Astudillo scoop got Christian Vazquez at first. Happ Steady Enough, Until he Wasn’t After an inefficient first three innings with several three ball counts, Happ finally settled in the fourth. Andrew Thares noted early that Happ had a clear plan of attack for some of Boston’s better hitters. While Happ was hardly an exciting offseason signing, his command in the fourth inning improved notably and showed what he is capable of from the fifth spot in the rotation, painting the corners as the game went on, and taking advantage of strong framing from Mitch Garver, and a generous strike zone from Mark Carlson. Happ is one of the oldest starters in MLB, and has proved to be exactly what we thought he would be so far in 2021, a solid, average, MLB starter. Happ finally blinked in the fifth inning, as a Hunter Renfroe solo home run to straight center got the Red Sox on the board. Noted Twins assassin Bobby Dalbec doubled in Vazquez to tie the game, knocking Happ out after 4 2/3 innings. Bullpens Battle, Twins Fall Short Again After a promising start against Pérez, the Twins offense again sputtered to a dejecting halt, doing little to trouble the Red Sox starter after the first inning. As Randy Dobnak entered the game in the sixth inning, the clouds parted and the flurries melted away, as if Dobnak was the spark the Twins were waiting for. Dobnak cruised through the sixth and seventh innings, inducing five ground balls in a flawless 15 pitches before giving up back to back doubles to begin the eighth inning, Bobby Dalbec again stinging the Twins, bringing home Christian Arroyo. Jorge Alcala served up a solo shot to Rafael Devers in the ninth. The insurance run was more than enough for Boston. Darwinzon Hernandez and and Matt Barnes combining for two scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth. After a promising start, the Twins managed one hit in four innings against the Red Sox bullpen, which will inevitably lead to frustration about another game squandered from a winning position. To finish on a positive, Willians Astudillo provided the lone Twins offensive highlight in the latter innings, sliding under a tag from Bobby Dalbec on his way to first base. What were your highlights from the game today? What were your frustrations? What do you think the Twins need to get them back to winning ways? Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet Click here to see the bullpen usage over the past five days (link opens a Google Sheet). Click here to view the article

Nelson Cruz and Byron Buxton both hit their third home runs of the season but the Twins fell to the Tigers 4-3 in extra innings Tuesday afternoon in Detroit in a game marred by poor execution. Read more about the game in today’s recap.Box Score Happ: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K Home Runs: Cruz (3), Buxton (3) Bottom 3 WPA: Robles -.350, Arraez -.210, Stashak -.196 Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs): Download attachment: chart.png Happ Solid, Stretched Out J.A. Happ joined the Twins’ spring camp late due to a positive COVID test. Previously, Happ had only been stretched out to 73 pitches. In his first start of the season, Happ was solid, if not spectacular, striking out four in four innings of one-run ball. Happ managed 89 pitches, with a very mediocre Twins infield behind him. Mize Strong Early Casey Mize looked strong early for the Tigers. The 2018 No. 1 pick worked around scattered hits and walks in the first few innings, before struggling significantly in the fourth. In 2020, Mize typically got into messy innings, limiting his ability to get into later innings, the same was true today. Arraez and Buxton Return to Lineup Both Luis Arraez and Byron Buxton returned to the Twins lineup after exiting previous games with illness. Arraez started the game at second base, Buxton entered for Brent Rooker in the fifth. Squandered Opportunities The majority of the game felt like a frustrating 2020 offensive performance, full of missed opportunities. In the top of the seventh inning however, Nelson Cruz again took matters into his own hands, sending his third HR in two days to right center field. After replacing a struggling Brent Rooker, Byron Buxton deposited a pitch from José Cisnero deep into the left center field seats, emphatically tying the game in the top of the eighth after missing the previous two games with gastrointestinal discomfort. Bullpen Battle Happ’s relatively short start thrust the Twins bullpen into six innings of work. Cody Stashak entered the game in the fifth and struggled significantly. Stashak, who normally models impeccable control and command, needed 28 pitches (18 strikes) to see out his inning of work, giving up three hits, a walk and two runs in the process, ballooning his early 2021 ERA to 9.00. 2020 most surprising Twin Caleb Thielbar made his first appearance of 2021 in the seventh inning after missing some time in spring training with a back strain. Thielbar looked impressive in his outing, striking out five in two innings of work, showing sharp command of his curveball, and reaching an improved 93 mph with his fastball. After Tyler Duffey pitched his best inning of the year, allowing just a walk in the eighth, Taylor Rogers found trouble in the ninth. Rogers induced a double play from Miguel Cabrera to end the inning. In the top of the 10th, with Jorge Polanco beginning the inning at second base, Nelson Cruz immediately shot an opposite field single through the gap, sending Polanco to third base. Byron Buxton ground out, leading to Jorge Polanco being thrown out at the plate for the second time in the game before Andrelton Simmons struck out to end another empty Twins threat. In the bottom of the 10th, Jeimer Candelario grounded out, moving Harold Castro to third base. Wilson Ramos struck out swinging. Hansel Robles deliberately walked Robbie Grossman before Akil Baddoo continued his torrid start to his first month in MLB, stroking the game winning single to right field to put the final nail in the coffin of a game the Twins will feel they should have won. Mauer Joins Broadcast Lastly, in a treat for home team fans, Twins great and future Hall of Famer joined the broadcast in the sixth inning, joining Dick Bremer and Justin Morneau to preview a charity home run derby being held at Target Field. What were your thoughts on today's game? Who impressed? Who left you frustrated? Postgame with Baldelli Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet Download attachment: Screenshot 2021-04-06 at 4.11.31 PM.png Click here to view the article