mike8791

The Twins could have a "starting pitching crisis" if they just sit on their hands and do nothing. In reality, while there are issues to address, the Twin's starting rotation is one of their strengths, not weaknesses. Bradley is a rising star and Prielipp showed a lot of promise. Mathews showed a lot of promise, albeit erratically, and should be pencilled into a 2028 rotation. There is no reason Lopez should not return to form in '27 and be extended. Kremer's history should give some optimism for future success. Abel has excellent upside potential. The potential of this group has added to the speculation that Ryan can be traded to bring in a badly needed 1B with middle-of-the-order potential - and be replaced with a FA with good upside potential. This is not a bad position to be in, especially if TP puts his $ where his mouth is, enabling Zoll to bring in a meaningful FA. Yes, this team has holes and needs smart reinforcement, but the rotation is unlikely to be at the top of the team's "need list".

While I was in favor of paying the money to hire an established major league pitching coach with a demonstrated record of success, at least we can give the FO credit for hiring someone outside the Twins organization. Better yet, that org. is one with established success in keeping their pitching pipeline flowing. Of course, we don't know exactly how much Reith contributed, but preliminary indications are favorable. Between Kalk and Reith, perhaps we will not only see improvement in drafting of pitchers, but also in badly needed improvement in getting our minor leaguers ready for MLB success.

Is Zoll more agressive than Falvey? I doubt it. Not only was Falvey very agressive in acquiring Mahle in the middle of a pennant race, but he also agressively dumped his entire pen for rebuilding a pitching staff(Bradley, Abel, Rojas). Of course, the jury is still out on those moves, but our future rotation looks much stronger now. While Zell did not have a full season, he was the GM after Levine, but did absolutely nothing to bolster a badly depleted pen until the damage was done. His trade deadline moves were OK at best, but his failure to trade FA-to-be Jeffers was a colossal mistake, as was his failure to trade Ryan who is almost certain to leave after next year. Yes, TP's smoke and mirrors act about the Twins being a contender at the trade deadline probably hamstrung Zoll, but if this guy is a real major league GM he could have pushed more vigorously for a major move or two at the deadline. Pohlad has draped his arm around Zoll as his GM. Unfortunately, TP is following the dreary pattern set by his family in staying in his comfort zone far too long. Zoll has earned nothing yet and if he continues on this path thru the Dec. 1 deadline, he will go down as a typical bland, no-risk GM in the tradition of Terry Ryan.

Nice article, Nick! While every team has misses, the Twins seem to have more than their share. This is one of the reasons why the team has wallowed in mediocrity for so long. Looking back over past pitching coaches, a clear pattern emerges. Dick Such and Wes Anderson were around for about 20 years. They were followed by Wes Johnson, a college coach, and then his assistant, Maki. Do you see a pattern here? The Twins have never invested in a well established major league pitching coach. Why? Money, of course, just as money has been the guiding principle in hiring FO, Managerial and coaching personnel. One time it paid off - Tom Kelly and really going back, Andy MacPhail. This is TP's chance to reverse course and hire a man who has established himself as a winner. Why not poach Carl Willis from Cleveland? Quit fooling around with wannabees and go for a proven talent. That would be a real indication that TP means what he says.

If the team has a surplus in one area and a deficit in another, then absolutely such a trade makes a lot of sense. Much better yjan nibbling around the edges - a longtime Twins FO philosophy that has ensured non-contention. This offseason is a big test for Pohlad and Zoll to swing big.

Agree completely that replacing Lewis with a power hitting 1B should be a top priority. Other than Burleson, who is probably untouchable, the rest of the list is sort of meh. Agree with idea that Twins could part with Ryan - a pitcher the Cubs would love to have. Would they consider trading Michael Busch? He fell off in '26 but his '25 year showed his potential. He is young, a great fielder and with the Cubs strong offense, might be replacable. I would like to see the Twins also receive one of the top Cub prospect pitchers also, but at the very least, the fit is there.

If Zoll expects his new pitching coaches to participate in pen(or any pitching decisions) he'd better sign them up quickly. He has a narrow window, given that, I believe, new coaches cannot be inked until a few days after the WS(meaning end of October), giving him just the month of November to make transactions before the Dec. 1st lockout. What he does in this 2 month window will go a long way in determining how far the Zoll apple falls from the Falvey tree. Pohlad says they will be very agressive early in the offseason. We shall shortly see if this is the usual BS or if Zoll is cut from a different cloth.

Agree totally Nick. If we go into 2027 expecting Gomez and Morris to be 2 of our top 3 relievers again, we're just kidding ourselves again. Signing Bednar(or equivalent) might cost $15-20MM/year, but that figure could be somewhat offset by not resigning Mintner and not resigning guys like Taylor. No team pushing to be among the league's elite can be successful without a true closer. If the Twins were to add Jeffers(or trade/sign an established catcher), trade/sign for a cleanup hitter at IB, and sign Bednar, that would make for a very successful offseason.

I don't expect Twins to win a bid contest against teams like NYY, but he should make a realistic effort(not window dressing) to keep Jeffers for 2 reasons: 1.) his departure would leave a gaping hole at C; and 2.) it would be an indication to fans that this team is serious about contending next year. While Lackey and/or Tait might be the future, neither is likely to help the Twins next year or the year after. Furthermore, it would help erase the egregious error they made at the trade deadline by holding onto Jeffers.

Frankly, he doesn't have to wait for November. What I'd like to see him do in October: 1. Spend the money to pry a top-rated pitching coach, e.g., the old Twin, Carl Willis. 2. Dump Zoll and hire an established GM who has demonstrated a willingness to think big and is unafraid to take risk. 3. Offer Jeffers a long term contract that reflects market value. Now these would be a real demonstration of his desire to build a winner!

Can't quarrel with grades too much, but from this list a few things stand out: 1. Keaschall looks like a leadoff hitter for years to come if they can find a suitable position. Just can't see him as a corner OF with his lack of power. 2. Bell's 96 ribbies is hard to overlook. Too many people dismiss him prematurely. Is there a better DH internally or FA who is as reasonably priced? 3. You have highlighted the 2 major positions that must be addressed - 1B & C. This is where Pohlad has to spend money in FA to bolster a lineup sadly lacking #3/4 hitters.

Sure, there will be a lot of questions on lineups, the pen and rotation but they will pale in comparison to the two really big questions: 1. What will be the budget for 2027? Will Tom put his money where his mouth is? Will the CBA set a floor for spending in 2027? 2. Who will control player moves going forward? Should Zoll be dumped for a more experienced, agressive GM who, unlike the previous regime of Falvey/Zoll, will have a realistic plan for long term contention and have the cajones and ownership approval to implement his strategy? The rest is just window dressing.

Do you really believe Clemens is the #3 or #4 batter in a contender's lineup with a .230 BA and ,300 OBP? Yes, he's had a great year but would you expect a repeat, given his MLB track record? We need at least one or two more 3-4 WAR players to be a serious contender. Currently, we have none.

Good topic, but maybe the more relevant question is: do the Twins have enough rotation depth to trade Ryan, who almost certainly leaves after 2017? Perhaps keeping both Ober & Kremer would allow them to swing a trade for an established, controllable middle lineup bat who can play 1B. The offense seems to be the Twins biggest weakness and the rotation the biggest strength, so why not trade from strength to fill a major weakness? The FO should not blow this opportunity to trade Ryan like they did at this past deadline to trade Jeffers. Seems the rotation has enough depth to allow for a Ryan trade if, and only if, they can add a 30HR/100RBI potential iB who can play defense. I think Lopez, Bradley, Mathews and Prielipp can provide a solid rotation, augmented by Ober, Kremer, Rodon for #4 & 5 spots. The biggest concern in my mind - does Zoll have the chops to pull together this high level trade?

This was a team built to be a noncontender. Most Twin fans recognized this after the 2025 selloff, the absence of meaningful offseason additions to rebuild the pen, the disruption right before spring training in the FO, and the glaring holes in the lineup that left us barren of any real difference makers except Buxton(who still leads the team in WAR despite missing 1/3 of the season). And no, this was not a "late season collapse"; this was a team that has flirted with .500 most of the season and was in the playoff race only because of the shocking ineptness of the AL this year. But we all love to play the blame game, so here's my list: #1 - The Pohlad Family, headed by TP : With lack of significant prospect player development, the only way this team could have markedly improved was by expanding payroll to sign some difference-making FAs. Instead, payroll has stayed at $100MM, with a slight($8MM) bump at the deadline. With a new owner stepping in, saying this was a contending team and that he knew spending money was the only way to improve chances, the onus is on ownership for failing to do this. They lied to us! #2 - Falvey/Zoll - Granted their hands were tied somewhat by ownerships failure to go big, but Falvey's complete cleansing of the bullpen doomed this team's chances from the beginning. While some of his transactions, e.g., Bradley, Abel/Tait, look reasonable, there is no excuse for unloading Varland, who could have provided stability in the pen from Day 1. And Zoll did nothing about the pen until it literally was too late. Morris and Gomez were pluses until recently, but the rest of the additions were pure crap shoots and as expected, did little to improve our chances to contend. Zoll's trade deadline moves were too late and too little to markedly improve the rotation or bullpen. And his worst performance were his non-moves in not trading Larnach, Jeffers and yes, even Ryan. Larnach's continuing presence blocks development of Keaschal, E-Rod in LF, Jeffers will be lost for nothing, and Ryan might have been the one player who could have brought in 1 or 2 top prospects who could be the long term answers at filling existing weaknesses in the middle of the lineup. Sure, Zoll's passivity can be partly attributed to TP's continued insistence that the Twins were competitive this year, but his deadline moves were underwhelming in any case and certainly did nothing to enhance chances of real contention in the next couple years. Shelton and the players are not even included with the above two. In reality this team has exceeded expectations, given the innate talent level on the roster. No, this is strictly on ownership, followed by GMs with little ability to shape a winning roster. Let's just hope that new ownership with the ability and desire to build a true contender, recognizing they need an imaginative, risk-taking GM to accomplish the goal, and then step aside to let them do their job, will emerge soon!

Without any significant FA addition(s) this is a below average offense. You need at least three 4 WAR batters on a true contender and there is no one on this list that seems capable. Maybe Jenkins in a year or two but who else? Lee, Lewis, Clemens are all average at best and in an ideal world should be replaced. Caratini is well below average and as you note, no real cleanup hitters. And the absence of Bell, Jeffers and even Larnach will hurt, at least in 2027. Agree that the rotation and pen look stronger on paper than the 2026 squad but that offense will hold them down. Just too improbable that 3 rooks can mature enough to carry the lineup. Unless the Pohlads go big on at least one all star FA, this is not a lineup that can be considered true playoff contenders.

Agree. Half measures never work - and that's what they did at this year's trade deadline. While some might applaud their additions, in reality it seems the FO was influenced by TP's foolish pronouncement that the Twins would contend in 2026, hence Zoll's trades for 2 relievers who were upgrades, but really did nothing for building a contender in the ensuing years. Ditto with addition of a marginal #5 starter. Either the Twins should have been more proactive in adding to a very shaky rotation by bringing in someone like Gausman and/or Griffin and an established corner OFer to add more thump to an over-achieving lineup(with an unrealistically high RISP average) or build for the future by trading guys like Jeffers, Larnach, Ober and even Ryan - none of whom were likely to be part of a real contender. Instead, they improved a pen that was built on smoke and mirrors(did they really expect Gomez and Morris to lead a bullpen in the heat of a pennant race) in a feeble attempt to stay in the hunt. This is just not a long term strategy for success. Now events have forced them into promoting KC and Jenkins after falling out of contention. Count me a huge sceptic that this ownership/FO can ever succeed in building a winner.

Yeah, I couldn't decide whether we should jettison Funderburk or Rogers. I opted to keep Rogers only because of his experience at crunch time, but there's little doubt he, too, should be considered for DFA.

Need addition by subtraction now. Adams should not be on a "contender's" team's roster. Send him down, bring up Acton. Do not wait for the Sept. 1st roster expansion. And I know Funderburk has had a good run lately(until yesterday) but he has shown a propensity for walks at the most inopportune time. He can either be replaced by Anderson either now or wait until Sept. 1. With at least 2 starters seemingly incapable of more than 5 innings, we need better depth in the pen and Acton/Anderson seem to offer better odds than do Adams and Funderburk.

Maybe the catcher's interference was just bad luck and KC's throw to 3rd should have been to 1st for the sure out, but coupled with Morris's meltdown against Philly, along with his 3 hits in one inning last night, leads me to surmise he's either wilting under pressure - not unusual for a rookie - or he's just wearing down. This is not the time for the mgr. to work on building up a rookie's confidence.

Hindsight is always 20!20 but when does Shelty stop depending on Morris in late-inning situations? This is 2 big leads he has blown in a week. With the WC race as tight as it is, Twins cannot afford to throw him out there again. Isn't this why they picked up Minter, Hoffman, and Nance? Frankly, Morris, Funderburk and Adams should be used sparingly in a playoff race. I hold my breath when Gomez is put in a save situation, but amazingly, he has yet to have a blown one. Let's keep our fingers crossed this record continues. In the meantime, I want some proven veterans in to hold the leads. I realize Morris has exceeded expectations but like Prielipp, isn't it pretty obvious that he's reaching his limits? I know you can't rely on 3 or 4 relievers consistently, but I'd rather they bring in a veteran(albeit a flawed one) like Rogers now when the outcome is still in doubt rather than the rooks . And one more thing - Shelty has stumbled badly recently. Let's hope he has learned to treat each game from now on like a playoff one! We fans deserve at least that!

It's a tough choice. With the Twins now (barely) holding a wildcard position, do you keep sending out Ober and Mathews, both of whom have been wildly inconsistent, or do you promote a guy with greater potential in Rojas, but who has much less experience at ML level, in a playoff race? Chances are the FO will stick with the former and hope that Ryan can come back and return to his pre-AllStar form. Personally, I'd take my chances with Rojas, but for now, the safer bet is to stick with the veterans, until one of them blows up again.

Nice article! His decline has been noticeable, as you note. Logic says he is walking on thin ice and blown saves(and losses) are looming. With the playoffs still in sight, how long is Shelty going to stick with him? Loyalty is nice, but so are wins. The big question is who would replace him? Based on his track record before this year, Hoffman would seemingly be the choice, but he was replaced as the closer in Toronto and has continued(in a limited sample size) with the Twins to show an alarming tendency for BB. Minter is a lefty specialist, but how effective would he be against RHers? The one guy who has been consistent has been Morris. He would be my first choice, but with the deadline additions, would Shelty go with the rookie? I would hope he's been seriously considering a move here. The Twins have gone "all in" (for the Twins at least) to stay in the hunt. A couple of costly pen meltdowns could doom their already slim chances. How long he sticks with Gomez will go a long way to determining the team's chance to play in October.

I might be rushing things a bit, but to really solidify the IF, at some point I would like to see our best fielder, Houston, play SS and Culpepper playing 2nd. Twins should be moving Houston to AAA now so that we have some better idea how successful he'd be in the majors. Of course, this presumes Lee and Lewis are the long term answers at 3B and 1B. Some big question marks going forward but that future looks far more promising than anything we've seen in years.

Oops! Correct KC did play 2. We'll have to differ on youth this year. Despite the Twins' surprising performance, at this point the odds of them making the playoff seem slim. Miracles can happen, but loss of Ryan & Bux are too big of an obstacle. With a much better pen and a hopefully healthy Lopez and Abel, next year looks more promising. But the lineup, less Jeffers, not so much. Why not spend the last 43 games to see what the rooks can do? Not only might one or two demonstrate they're ready to contribute, but it would also give the FO a better idea what the team needs in the offseason to bolster weak spots.