Tom Froemming

Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Adalberto Mejia: 64 Game Score, 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 K, 3 BB, 60.8% strikes Multi-Hit Games: Jorge Polanco (2-for-4) WPA of 0.1 or higher: Mejia .291 WPA of -0.1 or lower: Garver -.133, Rosario -.137, Morrison -.139, Forsythe -.246 Mike Berardino reported that new Twin Logan Forsythe was working on one hour of sleep. Sounds like a great choice as a pinch hitter in the highest-leverage situation of the game today, huh? With the Twins trailing 1-0 in the eighth, Robbie Grossman drew a 10-pitch walk to put runners at first and second with one out. Forsythe took two strikes, then hit the third pitch from Brad Hand 100.3 mph. Unfortunately, it was a bullet on the ground to Francisco Lindor, who started an inning-ending double play. The only real scoring chance the Twins had other than that inning was when Joe Mauer hit a two-out triple in the sixth. Cleveland’s first run came on a well-executed play on the bases. With runners at the corners and one out in the sixth, Ramirez broke for second. Mitch Garver fired down to get him out, thanks to an impressive tag by Ehire Adrianza, but Rajai Davis took off for home on the throw and beat the relay back to Garver. Cleveland’s second run came in large part due to an error on Jorge Polanco. AL Central Standings CLE 59-48 MIN 49-58 (-10) DET 47-62 (-13) CHW 37-69 (-21.5) KC 33-73 (-25.5) Next Three Games Thu: Off Fri vs. KC, 7:10 pm CT: Jake Odorizzi vs. Heath Fillmyer Sat vs. KC, 6:10 pm CT: Jose Berrios vs. Burch Smith Sun vs. KC, 1:10 pm CT: Ervin Santana vs. TBD Last Three Games CLE 6, MIN 2: Deadline Day Ends in Defeat MIN 5, CLE 4: Awesome Sauce! BOS 3, MIN 0: Fenway Free Fall Continues

Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Kyle Gibson: 53 Game Score, 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 K, 3 BB, 58.2% strikes Home Runs: Logan Morrison (14) Multi-Hit Games: Max Kepler (2-for-4, 2B) WPA of 0.1 or higher: Morrison .107 WPA of -0.1 or lower: Rosario -.127, Mauer -.133, Belisle -.202 We’ll get back to the game in just a sec, but I have something more important to address first. Earlier today, Nick Nelson wrote a valuable piece as it relates to what to watch for moving forward. He noted seven particularly critical Twins players, but I’ve got something else I wanted to pass along that’s worth watching: I think Kyle Gibson may be growing a mustache (maybe). I dunno, you tell me … https://twitter.com/BaseballByTom/status/1024479108556877824 OK, back to the action. Gibson exited this game with the Twins tailing 3-2 after six innings. In came Matt Belisle. Gulp. Of the six batters Belisle faced, three of them got hits and another was intentionally walked. He gave up two earned runs on three hits and got two outs. Belisle has now surrendered 16 earned runs in 17 ⅔ innings with the Twins. On the positive side, there were a couple of noteworthy comebacks out of the bullpen. Addison Reed made his first appearance with the Twins since July 10. He pitched a scoreless inning … but also topped out at 90.4 mph. Trevor May pitching in the major leagues for the first time since September 11, 2016. He gave up a run on a pair of hits over his inning of work and clocked in as high as 95.6 mph. Jose Ramirez was just incredible, as he has been all year for Cleveland. He was 3-for-4 with a double, a walk, three RBIs and a stolen base. Postgame With Molitor https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1024501967110860801 Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: AL Central Standings CLE 58-48 MIN 49-57 (-9) DET 46-62 (-13) CHW 37-68 (-20.5) KC 32-73 (-25.5) Next Three Games Wed vs. CLE, 12:10 pm CT: Adalberto Mejia vs. Carlos Carrasco Thu: Off Fri at KC, 7:10 pm CT: TBD Sat at KC, 6:10 pm CTL TBD Last Three Games MIN 5, CLE 4: Awesome Sauce! BOS 3, MIN 0: Fenway Free Fall Continues BOS 10, MIN 4: Twins Blow Lead in Spectacular Fashion

Like Dozier, Forsythe is on an expiring contract. His inclusion in the deal seems to be 100 percent about money moving around. Raley was the No. 19 prospect in the Dodgers' org per MLB Pipeline. Smeltzer was not included in LA's top 30. Raley, 23, has spent all season with the Dodgers' Double-A affiliate, and has posted a .275/.345/.477 line while splitting his time between first base and the outfield. He's been particularly hot of late, hitting .303/.366/.529 (.896 OPS) in July. He bats left and throws right. He was drafted in the seventh round back in 2016. Smeltzer, the Dodgers' fifth-round pick back in 2016, has also spent his entire season in Double A. The 22-year-old lefty has a 4.73 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 3.53 K:BB ratio over 83 2/3 innings. He made 14 starts to open this season, but his most recent nine appearances have all been out of the bullpen. In his first two seasons as a pro, Smeltzer averaged 10.1 K/9 over 153 innings, but that figure has dropped to 7.2 K/9 so far this season. Dozier, of course, was set to be a free agent this upcoming season. The Twins could have extended him a qualifying offer, a one-year deal somewhere between $17-$18 million. If Dozier turned that deal down and went on to sign for more than $50 million, the Twins would have received a draft pick in between the first and second rounds. If his eventual deal would have been for less than $50 million, a pretty safe assumption at this point, the Twins would have gotten a pick between the second and third rounds. With this deal the Twins have added another couple of pieces to the system, but if the value Dozier brought back was any indication of what's to come once he reaches free agency, it seems to me at least it would have been likely he and his camp would have accepted the qualifying offer. So what happens now? It'll be interesting to see if Forsythe sticks around as a hopeful waiver trade deadline piece for the Twins to market to other clubs. There's not an obvious replacement for Dozier at second base. The leading option was Ehire Adrianza with Gregorio Petit, Taylor Motter and Nick Gordon all factoring in somehow from Triple A.

Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Ervin Santana: 27 Game Score, 5.1 IP, 4 ER, 1 K, 2 BB, 68.2% strikes Multi-Hit Games: Miguel Sano (2-for-3, 2B, BB), Mitch Garver (2-for-4, 2B) WPA of 0.1 or higher: Garver .271, Magill .180, Sano .171, Polanco .158, Rodney .147, Moya .131 WPA of -0.1 or lower: Rosario -.156, Santana -.278 Let’s go around the horn … First Base Wooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!! https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1024130397867659264 Mitch Garver has been on a tear. This guy needs to be in the lineup as often as he can handle. On the days he’s not behind the plate, the Twins don’t have a better DH option on the team than GarvSauce. One of the funnest things about these next two months will (hopefully) be a lot more moments like this one. Second Base This team needs Miguel Sano, and I’m not just talking about the 2018 Twins. He showed some positive signs in his third game back from the minors tonight. He hit an RBI double in the second inning, singled in the fifth and made a great catch going back on a ball in foul territory. Sano also led off the bottom of the ninth by drawing an eight-pitch walk. Gotta take the good with the bad. Yes, he also struck out. He was also picked off by the catcher at second base. It was an eventful day at the office. Third Base Ervin Santana looks like he’s in survival mode. In his first two starts back, he’s been throwing tons of changeups. He’s gone to that pitch 61 times among the 185 pitches he’s thrown in these two starts. Last year, he only went to the changeup around 10 percent of the time. The fastball’s just not back. Ervin topped out at 90.9 mph. He only got four swinging strikes on his 88 pitches. The fact that he’s been able to limit the damage as much as he has is a credit to his willingness to adjust. Home Plate In case you missed it, the Twins traded Zach Duke to Seattle and dealt Lance Lynn to the Yankees. Adalberto Mejia will take Lynn’s spot in the rotation and Addison Reed was activated off the DL. With the bullpen shuffling and this game being tied late, we got to see some different looks from Paul Molitor. Gabriel Moya bailed out Santana in the sixth inning, recording the final two outs with two runners on base. Then, Molitor went right to Trevor Hildenberger, who worked a scoreless seventh. Taylor Rogers came out for the eighth, but after giving up singles to two of the three batters he faced, Matt Magill came in. Yes, Matt Magill. He came back out of the witness protection program, or where ever he’d been, and pitched in the eighth inning of a tie ballgame. He retired the next two batters to end the threat. With the top of the Cleveland order coming up in the ninth, Molitor turned things over to Fernando Rodney. He was very on brand. He walked leadoff man Francisco Lindor on four pitches. https://twitter.com/Cut4/status/1024128241882132480 Lindor advanced to third with one out and then just when you were convinced it was all going to come crashing down … a strikeout. Then another walk. Then he fell behind the next batter 2-0 … and struck him out. Never a dull moment. This may have been the final time we’ll see Rodney in a Twins jersey. If that’s how it goes down, this was pretty much a signature game to remember him by. Postgame With Molitor https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1024137486656651264 Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: AL Central Standings CLE 57-48 MIN 49-56 (-8) DET 45-62 (-13) CHW 37-68 (-20) KC 32-73 (-25) Next Three Games Tue vs. CLE, 7:10 pm CT: Kyle Gibson vs. Trevor Bauer Wed vs. CLE, 12:10 pm CT: Adalberto Mejia vs. Carlos Carrasco Thu Off Fri at KC, 7:10 pm CT: TBD Last Three Games BOS 3, MIN 0: Fenway Free Fall Continues BOS 10, MIN 4: Twins Blow Lead in Spectacular Fashion BOS 4, MIN 3: No Escobar, but at Least We Still Have Belisle

Austin has seen big league time with the Yankees over parts of three seasons, hitting .230/.287/.459 (.746 OPS) over 85 games. The bulk of his time has come at first base, but he's also played some in the outfield. Rated as the 77th-best prospect in the game prior to the 2013 season by Baseball America, Austin has a much more impressive .270/.347/.479 (.825 OPS) line in 202 games in Triple A. The biggest thing holding him back has been, stop me if you've heard this before, strikeouts. Austin has struck out in 39.6 percent of his MLB plate appearances and 27.0 percent of his PAs in Triple A. He'll fills a need in the Twins org right now as a right-handed bat capable of mashing lefties. Austin has hit MLB southpaws to the tune of a .292/.365/.596 batting line over 104 plate appearances so far. Rijo, a native of Venezuela, has posted strong numbers in his 125 1/3 innings so far as a professional. He has a 2.80 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and has averaged 8.4 K/9 while only issuing 1.0 BB/9. So far this season, Rijo is sporting a 10.67 K:BB ratio (32 strikeouts and just three walks over 39 innings). The bulk of his work has come with the Yankees' Appy League affiliate (same league as Elizabethton). Lynn had a frustrating free agency roll into a frustrating first month for the Twins. Lynn had an 8.37 ERA through his first five starts this season, but has been much more stable since, posting a 4.12 ERA over his last 15 starts. Though Lynn's disappointing overall performance contributed to the Twins getting off to a poor start, this has to be considered a positive way for things to end. Not long ago it would have been unimaginable that the Twins would land this kind of a package for Lynn.

Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Jose Berrios: 41 Game Score, 4.2 IP, 3 ER, 6 K, 3 BB, 57.5% strikes Home Runs: None. Multi-Hit Games: None. WPA of 0.1 or higher: None WPA of -0.1 or lower: Dozier -.193 Let’s go around the horn … First Base Just back on July 13, the Twins dismantled Nathan Eovaldi, who was pitching for the Rays at the time. They scored eight runs and forced him to throw 65 pitches in just 2 ⅔ innings. We sure this was the same guy? Eovaldi, making his debut with the Red Sox, was an absolute buzzsaw Sunday afternoon. He threw seven shutout innings, giving up just four hits without walking a single batter. It took him just 82 pitches, 62 of which were strikes (76.8 percent). Second Base Jose Berrios was on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. He lasted just 4 2/3 innings and needed 106 pitches to do so. He only gave up three runs, but it could’ve been much worse. The Red Sox tallied nine hits and drew three walks off Jose. A moral victory isn’t much of a consolation, but it was nice to see him wiggle out of some trouble. Third Base Adalberto Mejia was impressive. Even with Berrios struggling, this was still a winnable game. Gabriel Moya recorded the last out of the fifth inning before Mejia kept the best lineup in baseball silent for the final three frames. He gave up just one hit, did not walk a batter and struck out four. I’d be willing to bet for his efforts Mejia will get a one-way ticket back to Rochester. Seems to be the way things have been going this year. Home Plate The bats couldn’t get anything going. Miguel Sano is going to be under the microscope, and deservingly so. He was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, but it’s not like his teammates did much better. The Twins had just four hits: singles from Jorge Polanco, Robbie Grossman and Jake Cave to go with a double by Eddie Rosario. So ends a series which started so positive and ends on a low. One brilliant game from the Twins followed by a walk off, a blowout and now this frustrating affair. There’s not much to say in losing a series to a great Red Sox team in Fenway, but toss the trades into the equation (even if they brought back good value) and these last three days have been a tough pill to swallow. Knowing this 2018 Twins team, they’ll probably follow this up by sweeping Cleveland. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: AL Central Standings CLE 56-47 MIN 48-56 (-8.5) DET 45-61 (-12.5) CHW 37-67 (-19.5) KE 32-72 (-24.5) Next Three Games Mon vs. CLE, 7:10 pm CT: Ervin Santana vs. Shane Bieber Tue vs. CLE, 7:10 pm CT: Kyle Gibson vs. Trevor Bauer Wed vs. CLE, 12:10 pm CT: Lance Lynn vs. Carlos Carrasco Last Three Games BOS 10, MIN 4: Twins Blow Lead in Spectacular Fashion BOS 4, MIN 3: No Escobar, but at Least We Still Have Belisle MIN 2, BOS 1: Gibby the Great