Rosterman

No team will take him unless he produces bigtime in the minors. He will be free for the asking come 2023.

The LOCKOUT didn't help. Coming off a losing season, which was coming off a no-fan 2020, doesn't help. As a lifelong Twin Citian, I don't feel safe taking the lightrail right now, leaving my car pacrked in a light rail lot or on a Minneapolis city street. I also don't want to walk from what was once my favorite inexpensive parking lots off Washington, or by the Orpheum. I did park in the ramp when went to the Dodger series. The weather has not been delightful. There are bargains to be had, but when you add up tickets, parking, food...it ain't cheap. But you can get a cheap ticket season ticket plan and then sit pretty much anyplace where there are empty seats. How have the Twins been marketing baseball, above and beyond the Bally coverage? COVID is, sadly, keeping them from getting players out into the community. There doesn't seem to be the coverage we expected in the past on WCCO. Where is the ads? Still trying to sell Target Field rather than the team (who is the face of the team sans Buxton, and he still needs to build into that position). People are still trying to figure out how to spend their spare change. And with summer upon us, everyone will be asking for it...and gas will keep you local (which could be good for the Twins) or people just don't care about baseball as much as they did in 2019. 2020 hurt the game with the worthless short season. 2021 was a disaster for selling the Twins. The Lockout almsot killed baseball for many - greed is still in the minds of many who love the game or just view it in passing.

Not sure what to make of Balazovic. Maybe they needed to start him in AA ball after he started the season on the injured list. Henriquez is another guy who should probably be pitching at AA ball. Still young. Alex Schreff is putting up some decent numbers at AA Wichita. Along with Austin Schulfer, he should make the jump to AAA soon. I also hope the Twins take an AAA look at Bryan Sammons before losing him as a minors free agent. Twins signed Hunter Wood. Pitched well for Cleveland, Texas and Tampa Bay. Sad to see Vallimont grabbed by the Orioles. You win some, you lose some. And you can't keep everyone.

Not many teams or players are hiting, period. All they have to do is beat up on division teams. If division teams can't beat the Twins, then they will have trouble beating teams in the other divisions, too. I don't see any Wild Cards coming from the central.

Because of the team's standing at the end of the 2021 season, the Twins will be lucky to have A PLAYER named to the squad. The most versatile will be Arraez. If someone else is dropped because of injury, maybe someone like Ryan or Duran will reeive consideration. But not often that a rookie makes the roster. Has happened, but with the light useage of Ryan....time will tell.

Well, thankfully not a lot of guys on base for the other team when they hit THREE homers. Provus on the radio sounded like he was going to have a panic attack when Correa was hit on the knob of the bat (thought it was the hand). Bases-loaded. No outs. Against a bad team. With some of your better batters. Baseball is one strange game. And let's stop with the runner on second thing.

CHRIS VALLIMONT claimed by Baltimore Orioles. Removed from the Twins 40-man roster, after being added for what became a non-existent Rule 5 draft last winter, Chris struggled at AA Wichita. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/05/orioles-claim-chris-vallimont-from-twins.html

WILLIANS ASTUDILLO returns as the Marlins purchase his contract from the minors! https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/05/marlins-place-anthony-bender-on-15-day-il-select-willians-astudillo.html

The Twins signed Hunter Wood to a minor league contract and will work him out of the FCL complex. He has pitched 71 games, mainly out of the bullpen, for the Rays, Guardians and Rangers. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/woodhu01.shtml

Two Questions: Can the Twins stretch nout ALL their rotation arms to get them thru the season and into the playoffs, if necessary. And, what to do with Sano if and when he comes back.

Jax can always start. They have Strotman. Sands is back. Balazovic may not be ready, but he is a starter. Ronny Henriquez is also a starter on the 40-man. Any could be good for a spot start (like for that double-header coming up). Still have Moran to come into the bullpen at some point.

There seems to be a pecking order for prospect advancement in the Twins system. Part of the problem is that there are a lot of prospects, there are some in the majors (Kirilloff, Larnach, Miranda) getting their chance. You oughta get to the 40-man. And most teams in baseball won't add a player to the 40-man unless they really need to be protected (Enlow, Balazovic) or are on the cusp of playing. Because if they can't play in the majors, they take up space for a time (Vallimont as an example). Even advancing a player too soon to AAA ball, especially if they are entering the 1st year of Rule 5 eligibility, is a gamble...because if a player excels, a low-end team will grab. Twins were lucky Miranda went thru 2020 without being grabbed. But decisions also have to be made before a minor league player becomes eligible for free agency. I would be looking at Caleb Hamilton more as the call-up catcher at the moment than, say, Godoy. Of course, if the guy doesn't work out and needs to taken off the 40-man, you can lose them on the waiver wire...so you want to be pretty sure of their longer-term standing in the organization, which is why prospects are often oevrlooked as the team goes with minor league free agents as fill-in when duty calls in the majors due to injury. That being said, my under-the-radar ghuys are Travis Adams and Steven Hajjar at Ft. Myers. Kyler Fedko already advanced to Cedar Rapids. The pitching staff at Cedar Rapids reminds one of the Twins. What would the Twins record be if their staff wasn't doing what it is doing, considering the hitters (and baseball) is light on offense. SO many standout arms, but I like Bradley Hanner, Sean Mooney and Bobby Milacki as sleepers. And don't forget Jair Camargo, still a horribly young catcher who will have to be Rule 5 protected. Look for him to get some advancement this season. I still like Bryan Sammons as a fringe lefty. He should've been in St. Paul. This is his last chance to shine and maybe be a backend part of the bullpen. Or he may disappear, like Ryan Mason did earlier this month. Austin Schulfer is lights out. Is he the real thing? I hope is is the real thing and NOT J.D. Durbin! Keep monitoring Chris Williams and Alex Isola s they become comfortable with positions. Both can catch and play elsewhere. A valuable skill when you have that extra bench spot. And the Twins got Alex Schreff from the Red Sox and he continues to put up solid numbers in relief. ANotehr guy getting buried by the 25 minor league free agents the Twins signed this year.

Relief pitchers have the fun task of deveopping new pitches and using them effectively. Nothing really changes, except their speeds and locations. They often have the luxury of facing one batter or maybe 7-10 at most. For all the film batters can review on a pitcher, it can mroe often than not backfire on the bullpen arm, as you don't really know when or where you might face the guy. But many do follow routines. They can be tracked, especially as they throw against right-handed or left-handed batters. If they challenge the hitter, go inside or outsie early. But if a bullpen arm can have three pitches, maybe even four, and throw them at different speeds, there is a chance for success, mixed in with a bit of attitude and raw skill.

I would gladly extend them both. They seem to work well together. I don't want the Twins front office to JUST be a stepping stone to get to the front offices of other teams.

ANy team that he would be traded to would be in the same dilema as the Twins. The ball is in the court of Correa. He can play for one or two more seasons at a very high salary, or become a free agent. If a contender is trading for him, they have a shortstop that has gone down in the season. What kind of apckage would they have to put together for half a season and $13 million added to payroll? Not sure what the "no trade" clause is totally like, but no other team NOT in contention would take on Correa. Of course, the Twins would probably be more than happoy to rid themselves of the current salary if they find themselves anywhere out of the top spots in the division. The chances of either Wild Card coming from the central, though, don't look all that good. The Twins are in one of those unique positions, like they were in 2020. No one really thought they would be playing the ball they are playing. Remember, there has been a lot of close knit games, and it is pitching that is currently doing well for the Twins - albeit overusing bullpen arms like crazy and the continuing low usage of rotation arms. Can any, soon, pitch six innings consistently? Correa is an expensive luxury. He has been a good guy in the clubhouse, it seems, and stays in the game when at the dugout rail. Even if Royce would be moved to third, the Twins are playing Austin Martin enough at shortstop, and he is probably a good year away from getting regular duty in the major leagues. Correa will be playing some of the best abseball of his career shortly. He wants a bigger contract. He needs to push his numbers beyond his norm. The Twins can benefit from this!

Polanco is our cleanup hitter and rbi leader. Who had that on their bingo card. The bullpen is a mess. The Twins have survived because of so many arms coming and going. It's nice most can pitch multiple innings, and I almost fell out of the couch when Rocco removed Joe Smith last nite after three straight hits insteda of having him work out of the inning. With the addition of hitting to contact and possible small ball, maybe we are going to see more stolen bases in the next quarter. Am most happy that the Twins have a decent bench to cycle thru the DH spot. We will still be wondering "where to play" Arraez if and when Kirilloff comes back. The joy after 40 games is that Ober and Ryan (and in many cases WInder and Smeltzer) have gas left in their arms going into the next part of the season. And we really haven't used Bundy, Archer and Gray to their full potential. Now the question is the status of Sands and Balazovic as immediate roster helpers if the time comes, are Henriquez and Strotman the next to be expendable if a 40-man roster spot is needed (bye-bye Vallimont). We know a few minor league free agents will soon get walking papers once the draft happens. A lot of fine potential arms that need to move up to AA and AAA come July. Curious to see where Jordan Gore and Ian Hamilton work into the Twins picture. Seems Juan Minaya is on the outside looking in. And Yennier Cano might be one of those hot throwers from AAA ball that will journey about in the majors and minors for years to come (Curtiss, Charhgois, Hildenberger, Slama, Oliveros amongst others).

Regarding Steer...I guess it means we will see more of Miranda as he works things out in TwinsLand, unless they send him down when Kirilloff is ready to be activated. Steer has been playing more third. Palacios, who has been the super-sub and current third baseman, jasn't been producing. Kevin Merrill is an interesting pikc-up, who also was being groomed for m ultiple positions. Perhaps just a numbers game here. Picture Miranda going back when Kirilloff gets the call again. Now, though, what to do about Larnach?

He was the surprise of the 2021 spring training, beating out Broxton and Rooker and, in many ways, Cave. I'm glad he is finding space in major league ball and making the msot of his opportunities. But he is, sadly, the 26th man on the Twins roster. Considering the Twins have no REAL designated hitter, he is better than, say, just Cruz who could only bat. You can put Garlick in the field after pinch hitting. Now if he could transition into some first baseman skills perhaps?

It's a tough call. Bullpen ahs been effective with no real closer. The bench is starting to look better. When you look at the perspective of "major league average average", they are hitting okay. Nice to see some small-ball happening. Can any starter actually finish six innings?

Kudos and congrats to a well-manmaged game, I guess! Hey, WE WON!

Somehow today's lineup doesn't seem to be the best lineup. Is it construction? Wrong guys on the bench in the same game? Is the Royals pitching that good?

Yes, a true over-analysis. I would really like to see a corresponding look at how Royce has fared in AAA ball to have a better idea of how he is doing, and the differences between AAA ball and major league pitching.

Well, if keeping Garlick, can he play first base? Miranda really needs to go abck to St. Paul and do the work. Or, are we waiting to swap him out shortly for the return of Kirilloff. Now down to 13 pitchers, a week early!

Interesting piece on Major League Trade Rumors. Seems the Mets were wary on the health status of Paddack. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/05/mets-notes-paddack-hosmer-smith-bassitt.html

Ernie Yake was dropped to Wichita. Seems to be the Jimmy Kerrigan of this season. A low-level minor league guy with frequent flyer miles.