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It's a new year, so time for a new ex-Twins thread. As posted by @mnfireman, DaShawn Keirsey Jr. signed a minor league deal with Atlanta. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/01/braves-sign-dashawn-keirsey-jr-to-minors-deal.html

Dashawn Kiersey Jr made the Braves 1st round playoff roster!

Braves!!!! Sorry Duran……….

Duran gives up 2 out -3 run homer 5-3 Braves. Philly has no chance of winning a game

Image courtesy of Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images The messaging was consistent from the beginning. The Twins wanted to play meaningful games in September. That phrase became one of the defining pieces of the organization's message entering the 2026 season. It started in January when Tom Pohlad became the new face of Twins ownership after the organization moved on from longtime president of baseball operations Derek Falvey. Pohlad was asked about how the organization would measure the success of the upcoming season. His answer was straightforward. "Let's get halfway through the year, to the end of the year, and let's judge the success of this year on wins and losses and whether we're playing meaningful baseball in September." General manager Jeremy Zoll echoed that message throughout the season. In July, he pointed back to spring training and said the goal had been "to play meaningful games in September." Now, September has come and gone. And it is fair to ask whether the Twins actually accomplished that goal. Technically, There Was a Chance There was a period when the Twins could legitimately point toward September and say they were still in the postseason race. Minnesota's playoff odds climbed to nearly 40% after the Twins swept the Atlanta Braves from August 17-19. The club was hovering around the American League Wild Card picture, and the schedule still provided an opportunity to make a late push. Then things unraveled. The Twins lost seven of eight games near the end of August, dramatically changing the picture. When September began, FanGraphs gave Minnesota a 9.8% chance of reaching the postseason. That isn't zero. But it also isn't what most people envision when an organization talks about playing meaningful games in September. The Twins were five games under .500 on September 1. They weren't chasing a division title. They weren't sitting comfortably in a Wild Card position. They needed a substantial turnaround while also relying on other teams to stumble. Minnesota then went 2-4 over the next week, dropping its postseason odds to 3.1%. At that point, the situation became more reminiscent of Dumb and Dumber. "So you're saying there's a chance." Technically, yes. Realistically, the margin for error had become microscopic. By September 15, the Twins' playoff odds were down to 0.1%. They were officially eliminated on September 20. So, were those meaningful games? That depends on how the phrase is defined. Meaningful Baseball or Meaningful Mathematics? Every September game has consequences. Players are competing for jobs. Prospects are trying to establish themselves. Veterans are auditioning for future contracts. Front-office executives are gathering information that can influence the next season. Those things matter. But that isn't necessarily what Pohlad and Zoll were talking about. The original promise was made in the context of wins and losses. The stated goal was to have a team playing meaningful baseball in September. That implies a competitive postseason race. The Twins did not have that for most of September. They had an outside chance. There is an important distinction. A team sitting five games below .500 on September 1 can technically remain alive because of an expanded playoff field and a crowded American League. But being mathematically alive is different from controlling your own destiny or being a legitimate postseason contender. The Twins' path required a lot to go right. And much of that opportunity existed because the American League was unusually open. That doesn't mean the Twins weren't responsible for their own position. Their record put them in that situation. Instead of entering September with a realistic cushion, they were already chasing. The Braves series temporarily changed the equation. The losses that followed changed it back. By the middle of September, the question wasn't whether the Twins could make a postseason run. It was how long the mathematical possibility would remain. That's a very different definition of meaningful baseball. The September Games Still Matter for 2027 That doesn't mean the final games of 2026 are meaningless. Far from it. The Twins now have to use September to answer questions about their next roster. Young players such as Luke Keaschall, Connor Preilipp, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Walker Jenkins, Brooks Lee and other emerging pieces are getting opportunities to show where they fit. Pitchers are auditioning for rotation and bullpen roles. Veterans are making their own cases for 2027. Those evaluations matter because the Twins have significant work ahead of them this offseason. The organization has already moved away from the previous baseball operations structure. Zoll is now responsible for shaping the next version of the roster, and the club has to determine which pieces from the 2026 team should be part of that future. That makes September valuable. It just isn't the same kind of meaningful that was promised in January. There is a difference between meaningful games because a postseason berth is on the line and meaningful games because a young player might earn a starting job next season. Both have value. They simply aren't interchangeable. Did the Twins Accomplish the Goal? There are two answers. If meaningful baseball means games with something at stake for individual players, then yes. September has provided plenty of opportunities for the Twins to evaluate their roster and their future. If meaningful baseball means being genuinely involved in the postseason race, the answer is much harder to defend. The Twins began September five games under .500 with a 9.8% playoff chance. Within two weeks, that number had fallen to 0.1%. The team was eliminated on September 20. There was a chance. But it was an extremely small one. That distinction matters because the phrase came directly from the organization's leadership. Pohlad made wins and losses part of his measurement for the season. Zoll repeatedly referenced the goal of reaching September with meaningful games. The Twins reached September. They just didn't reach it in the position they wanted. Now the organization has an offseason to make sure the same conversation doesn't happen again in 2027. Because "we technically had a chance" is not the standard the Twins themselves established. Did the Twins play meaningful games in September? Leave a comment and start the discussion. View full article

I'm just going to post the stuff I'm going to track this season. I usually do this type of stuff for my benefit. This year... I might as well share it. Some won't be interested.... everybody should be... but I know some won't. Regardless. I'll update the LH/RH starting pitcher tracker every day and if there are a couple of you folks that would be interested in such stuff... it'll be worth it to share. For what it's worth. This first post will just be a start of the season marker of how many players under three years experience that made the 26 man rosters of all 30 teams. This can always be referenced when looking at what teams are having good years or not having good years. Under three years experience is a quick way to count players making the minimum. The more players making the minimum... the less spots remaining to fill and more money to spend on those less spots. All teams have a budget... this is an important head count. Disclaimer: Players with under three years experience who were offered multi-year contracts buying out some years... are not making the minimum and are still counted as players with less than 3 years experience. Nats: 20 - Payroll 97 Cards: 19 - Payroll 99 White Sox: 18 - Payroll 87 Marlins: 18 - Payroll 73 Guardians: 18 - Payroll 84 Rockies: 16 - Payroll 122 A's: 16 - Payroll 95 Giants: 15 - Payroll 204 Twins: 14 - Payroll 107 Brewers: 14 - Payroll 129 Rays: 14 - Payroll 88 Pirates: 14 - Payroll 105 Astros: 12 - Payroll 237 Dodgers: 12 - Payroll 397 Red Sox: 12 - Payroll 196 Orioles: 11 - Payroll 166 Jays: 11 - Payroll 289 Mariners: 11 - Payroll 162 Reds: 11 - Payroll 126 Padres: 10 - Payroll 208 Angels: 10 - Payroll 183 Tigers: 9 - Payroll 217 Cubs: 9 - Payroll 233 Royals: 8 - Payroll 149 Mets: 8 - Payroll 366 Rangers: 8 - Payroll 186 Yankees: 8 - Payroll 319 D-Backs: 6 - Payroll 196 Phillies: 6 - Payroll 285 Braves; 5 - Payroll 250

Before you can predict what you need you have to understand what you have AND what steps are going to happen in the off-season. I think we can do both. Fun exercise so let's start with steps I think are likely coming: 1. Starting Pitching - Pablo Lopez will be re-signed through a three or four year extension. Joe Ryan will be traded to a team that thinks they can sign him to a 5 or 6 year extension, most likely in California since he's made no secret that wants to go back there. It's in the Twins' best interest to trade him to a team that can re-sign him so they get the most in return. I suspect he will go to the Dodgers or the Giants, but I could see the Rangers or Braves trying to get him as well. 2. Catching - Ryan Jeffers will get the QO and sign elsewhere. I think the Twins will offer him something like three years, $45-$60 million but it will take four years, $75-$80 million to get him signed and I don't see them going there. Hope I'm wrong. 3. Free Agents/Arb candidates We Have - We re-sign AJ Minter to a two-year deal, in the $8 to $9 million AAV range, the higher end of his projections. Rogers, Larnach, and Bell will be gone, maybe we get a AA or AA prospect for Larnach after tendering him a contract. Ober stays one more year as a long man in the bullpen/6th starter, after signing a 1 or 2 year deal in the $6 million-$8 million per year range. 4. 1B - We don't need a 1B for 2027. We have one. His name is Kody Clemens. He's an above average defensive 1B, average to below average at 2B, and there is nobody out there to pick up. His roughly .235 – .240/.300/.450 (.750) slash line only needs to go up a little be perfectly viable at 1B. He improved his batting average from .218 to .235 from 2025 to 2026. If he comes close to doing that again he's a .245/.315/.450 hitter who's a decent hitter against same sided pitching, hits 25+ HRs with 80 plus RBIs, and field at an above average level. That is a whole lot better than any available free agent IB that we could afford. If that's true, what do we need? 1. We need a younger, controllable middle infielder to play 2B. I love the idea of trading for Xavier Edwards of Miami. I think that will require a package like Matthews and Kalai'a Rosario or Henry Mendez. I think we make that deal. I would make a lesser deal to get Vaughn Grissom of the Angels. 2. We need a Catcher. I think the targets will be first Dalton Rushing of the Dodgers and second Tyler Stephenson of the Reds. I think Twins should try to trade Joe Ryan to the Dodgers for package that includes Rushing and a 15-30 prospect that's at least in AA. I like Jackson Ferris (LHP) or Logan Wagner (2B). 3. We need one more upside, late inning reliever if we don't re-sign Minter, should still try to get one even if we do. Probably requires a free agent signing. Love the idea of signing David Bednar but I think that's unrealistic since he will want to stay with the Yankees. I think we sign Bryan Abreu. 4. We need to get some value for Royce Lewis because in my scenario he has no place to play. I think we trade him to the Angels for Grayson Rodriguez, a classic trade of two talented "change of scenery" candidates. Angels desperately need a 3B, have no one in the pipeline, and Twins get a talented but inconsistent hard throwing RH pitcher. So, in summary, I think the moves are to trade Ryan the Dodgers for Dalton Rushing plus a prospect, trade Lewis to the Angels for Grayson Rodriguez, sign Bryan Abreu as a free agent, trade Zebby and a AAA OF for a controllable 2B like Xavier Edwards, and re– sign AJ Minter for the bullpen. We then move Kody Clemens to primary 1B, teach Roden and Martin to be passable at 1B for MLB depth there along with Caratini, with Sabato and GG in AAA as 1B depth. Here's what we wind up with we do those things: Starting Pitching - Rotation is Lopez, Bradley, Prielipp, Kremer, and Abel. Rojas, Grayson Rodriguez, Gallagher, CJ Culpepper, Bohorquez, and Paredes are in AAA and are the rotation fall backs in that order. Bullpen - Hoffman (closer/late inning), Morris (closer/late inning), Minter (closer/late inning), Gomez (closer/late inning), Banda, Abreu, Nance, and Ober. Sands, Adams, Paredes, Pasqualotto, and one classic MiLB signing like Matt Bowman are in AAA for BP depth. I'd like to do the same thing with Funderburk but he is out of options and I think they will trade either him or Ober, or keep both in the bullpen and not pick up a guy like Abreu. Starting Lineup/batting order - Keaschall (OF/DH), Culpepper (SS), Jenkins (OF/DH), Buxton (OF/DH), Clemens (1B), Lee (3B), Rushing (C), Edwards (2B), Roden (OF/DH). The group of Jenkins, Edwards, Rushing and Roden fill the #3, #7 – #9 spots depending on how guys perform but the #3 spot is a place to put a LH hitter who can hit LH pitching. Might be vulnerable to LH starters so we need to keep Martin or find a quality RH FA bat who can play OF, C, or IB but doesn't need to start because I want Jenkinsin thee lineup almost every day with Roden or EmRod. Maybe we pick up Ryan Monuntcastle coming off of injury? Good luck with anyone else based on what i can see so we keep Martin. I have high hopes that Jenkins can fill the #3 spot so that the first four hitters in the lineup are all speedy, base stealing/good baserunning threats, with the slower guys in the #5-#7 holes, and faster guys at the number 8 and 9 spots. I put Roden in the starting lineup instead of EmRod because Roden has outperformed him (and Jenkins) in the roughly 80 ABs they've gotten in 2026 (50 for EmRod). Thos latter two are fighting it out for ABs. Bench - Caratini (C/1B), EmRod (OF/DH), Martin (5th OF/2B/RH hitter), Kriedler (UTL who can play quality SS). Jackson in AAA is the 3rd C. Wouldn't hurt to teach Roden and Martin to play a passable 1B for a backup there and I would tell them that now so they can work there in the off season. There you have it, attack away. Happy to post this in the Blog section or even as an article here if we want to have a "What Will The 2027 Twins Roster Look Like" post to start the raging debate over the winter.

You make a trade with a contending team and Buxton would have agreed to it. 100% guaranteed. Like I explained, it is one thing to state "I want to be a Twin forever". It is another to really be confronted with reality of playing for a team that is going to contend for the World Series and will make you a true star player, rather than an unknown toiling for a team in the minor league of major league baseball. I get why Buxton would say he does not want to be traded, but in the end he would have moved. Competitiveness, financial opportunities, and career opportunities. Only a fool would stay with the Minnesota Twins when they have the opportunity to move to the Dodgers, Braves, Yankees, Cubs, Red Sox, or Phillies. At the beginning of 2026 Buxton could have brought a haul of players to the Twins, including at least one top level pitching prospect. Given the state of our pitching pipeline that would have been a major benefit to rebuild this team into a real contender. Joe Ryan could have returned the same value.

Spotrack listed Contreras as a FA in the link that somebody provided. But I agree, the Brewers will exercise that option. They aren't letting him go anywhere. He's a vital piece of their success. Buxton could very well be a Twin for the next 2 years and I'd be fine with that. But I think it's time to start the youth movement and Byron could change his mind come next season's trade deadline. And while he's still a decent CF it's probably time to move him to LF and let Jenkins/E-Rod play the majority of innings in CF. If the Braves traded for him, he would most certainly move to LF/DH with Michael Harris remaining in CF. The Twins would probably be wise to use him primarily as a DH with all the young OF they have. The over-arching point is that the Twins can't keep running the same core back year after year. They could get something useful for Joe Ryan. Which teams are most interested? What they get for Lewis, Larnach, Wallner, Ober and others is certainly debatable, but at some point we could call it addition by subtraction.

When Derek Falvey left the Twins organization in February, there was no question that he would have plenty of opportunities in his future to be a team's GM or President of Baseball Operations, as he was with the Twins. It likely would be more about when he wanted to get back into the daily, 24/7, 7 days/week, 12 months/year job. That timeline could be coming in the near future. Michael Marino, a national baseball writer tweeted that the "Mets have identified former Twins President of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey as someone of interest as they look to expand their front office." An interesting tidbit to the comments, Marino added, "Falvey was once co-director of baseball operations for the Cleveland Indians alongside none other than (Mets President of Baseball Operations) David Stearns. Stearns, 41, was also the GM for the Milwaukee Brewers from 2015 and later became their President of Baseball Operations. The two are close and have a tremendous amount of respect for each other. Matt Arnold has continued that Brewers run of success on a middling budget. A potential job for Falvey and/or others is the Mets GM job, but it could also be advisory roles and the link. Mets billionaire owner Steve Cohen has certainly never been afraid to spend money, and the Mets have a huge budget. Cohen and Stearns went all-in to sign Juan Soto a couple of offseasons ago. There have been other good and bad moves. Right now, he's being heavily criticized for not bringing back Pete Alonso and trying to replace him with the likes of Jorge Polanco and Luis Robert. They fired their manager, Carlos Mendoza, in June, but on Tuesday, the Mets removed the "interim" tag, making Andy Green their manager. He joined the TV broadcast and said, "We're going to add certain voices to the front office that are going to be helpful." Twins fans now remember the whole "right-sizing" of the budget that Falvey was pushed to do. But when he was given payroll, he wasn't afraid to stretch it and make some bigger moves than we typically have seen from the Twins. With his analytic skills, focus on pitcher development and now nine years of experience as The Leader, Falvey would be a nice addition for the Mets staff. I believe most of the Twins personnel that was let go last offseason have wound up elsewhere. Rocco Baldelli was quickly hired by the Los Angeles Dodgers for their front office staff. Hitting coach Matt Borgschulte is with the Washington Nationals. 1B Coach Hank Conger quickly joined the Orioles as a bullpen coach. Jayce Tingler is the bench coach with the Giants. Colby Suggs is the bullpen coach for the Texas Rangers. Tommy Watkins is the third-base coach for the Atlanta Braves. There are coaches with Twins ties all over the league. Same with front office personnel. Expect Derek Falvey to get a pretty nice job soon too. View full rumor

Martin Perez to IL with lower back inflammation. He had pitched really well this season and was likely going to factor into the Braves playoff rotation.

The Twins made a huge mistake in not trading Buxton in the offseason. He was coming off one of his best seasons of his career and the 2nd most games played in a season. He still was a valuable 5 tool player and for a contending team on a very favorable contract that at the start of 2026 had three full years of team control. The entire no-trade saga could have been easily overridden by trading him to a contending team that really wanted him. Its one thing to say "I want to stay a Twin", it is another to consider being traded to the Braves, Dodgers, Yankees, or even the Cubs and becoming part of a team that would be good and push Byron into the limelight. But the Twins PRETENDED to be contenders, held onto all of their trade assets, and frankly they all lost value in 2026. Buxton, another injury with a surgery that is going to require long term rehab. Ryan, with a second consecutive season of fading in the 2nd half. Jeffers, whose value is down to a Comp B draft pick. If you made a quantitative measure of Buxton and Ryan's trade value in the offseason of 2026 and then in 2027, their value is less than HALF of what you could have got. And I would argue a Comp B pick is about half of what Jeffers value would have been at the trade deadline. Again, all to PRETEND to be a contender and 9 games under water at the 159 game mark. If the team is going to put $60-70 million in incremental payroll for the 2027 season, then perhaps this will be somewhat water under the bridge. But the probability of them increasing payroll by that substantial amount is very low, starting with the fact that Minnesota is not considered a high value destination for major league baseball free agents.

Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images Box Score SP: Zebby Matthews 5.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K (90 pitches, 58 strikes (64%)) Home Runs: Josh Bell (17) Top 3 WPA: Bell (0.17), Matthews (0.15), A.J. Minter (0.12) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) An 11-game and seven-year winless drought against the Braves was broken Monday night, and Zebby Matthews hoped to shock the world again by pitching the Twins to a series win on Tuesday night. The foe was ex-Twin Tyler Mahle, who has been taking care of business for his new team in two starts since the trade deadline. If you had "pitchers duel" on your bingo card, you were the only one—and you went home happy. The question remained, though: would Twins fans go home happy yet again? Starting Well Again For a solid week, the Twins seemed to repeatedly surrender first-inning runs in heart-wrenching fashion. The past two games saw the Twins jumping on the board early, with mixed eventual results. Tonight's game saw Matthews cruise through the top of the first, and Mahle initially looked poised to do the same—that is, until Ryan Jeffers reached second base on some outfielder pinball with two outs, and Josh Bell decided to send an 87.4-MPH splitter back at 110 MPH (with a 30° launch angle). Just like that, it was 2-0 Twins. Good Pitching Defeats Good Hitting... Every Time The second through sixth innings featured both pitches commanding the zone and fielders making the plays in front of them. Mahle needed 26 pitches to escape the first inning, but he only needed 41 pitches to mow through the next five, without surrendering another run. The Twins' early starts and mid-game fizzle were on full display yet again. Matthews matched Mahle in results at twice the effort, as he reached the 90-pitch mark in the sixth after serving up Drake Baldwin's 21st homer of the year. With only a one-run lead, Matthews stayed in and got into more trouble with runners at first and second with two outs. Derek Shelton brought in the emergency relief, and Kody Funderburk came through to keep the game 2-1 in favor of the home team. Can the Twins Really Win a Game Like This, After a Week Like That? Andrew Morris wore Sunday's Phillies loss, but he took the Braves out in order in the seventh. A.J. Minter faced the dangerous Baldwin, Ronald Acuña Jr., and Matt Olson trio in the eighth, but they all went back to the dugout disgruntled. Meanwhile, the Twins' bats had been dormant since the first, but Kaelen Culpepper ain't scared of relievers. He singled to start the bottom of the eighth. Luke Keaschall failed to advance him, but Shelton pinch-hit Byron Buxton for Trevor Larnach, which caused Walt Weiss to bring in the righty Didier Fuentes. Buxton singled on the first pitch he saw, and it took Ryan Jeffers only two pitches to make it a 4-1 Twins lead with a ringing double. With the game still a save situation, Yoendrys Gómez came in to shut the door. Michael Harris II instead slammed a leadoff double to put the anxiety back into the room. Harris never got past third base, however, and the unthinkable became reality at Target Field. Series victory in the books. It's time to see if Philly left any brooms in the building. What’s Next? The Twins look to sweep the Braves. I never thought I would get to type that, but here we are. Twins righty Taj Bradley (9-5, 3.98 ERA) looks to avenge his Field of Broken Dreams start, while the Braves will send recent call-up RHP AJ Smith-Shawver (0-0, 4.15 ERA) out to attempt to salvage a game. First pitch is scheduled for 12:40 pm CDT. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Morris 0 23 28 0 13 64 Hoffman 0 17 0 20 0 37 Gomez 0 0 0 19 16 35 Minter 0 12 14 0 6 32 Rogers 0 0 16 11 0 27 Funderburk 0 16 4 0 4 24 Adams 0 0 0 18 0 18 Nance 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

Image courtesy of Jordan Johnson-Imagn Images Box Score SP: Bailey Ober 4 1/3 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 4 K, 1 BB (94 pitches, 62 strikes) HR: None Top 3 WPA: Bell 0.15, Adams 0.14, Hoffman 0.08 Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs): The Minnesota Twins came into Monday night’s series opener against the Atlanta Braves with plenty of pressure on their shoulders. After being swept by the Philadelphia Phillies over the weekend, the Twins fell six games behind in the American League Central and dropped to five games below .500. They remained just one game out of the AL Wild Card, but with the season quickly running out of runway, another series sweep would have been a difficult hole to climb out of. The Twins were also looking for a bounce-back performance after blowing a five-run lead against the Phillies on Sunday. They got exactly what they needed Monday night, although it certainly did not come easy. The game itself started later than usual after the Twins and Braves called for a preemptive rain delay. The tarps eventually came off, and after waiting an hour, the two teams began the game without a drop of rain falling. The Twins were tasked with facing an old friend in Braves starter Martín Pérez, who spent the 2019 season with Minnesota. It looked like a challenging matchup on paper, especially considering the Twins entered the night ranked 22nd in baseball in OPS against left-handed pitching. They certainly didn't play like it in the first inning. Luke Keaschall got the offense started with a leadoff double, and the Twins quickly loaded the bases after Pérez walked Byron Buxton and Ryan Jeffers. That brought Josh Bell to the plate, and the veteran first baseman delivered with a two-run bloop double down the first base line to give Minnesota an early 2-0 advantage. The Twins weren't finished. Royce Lewis followed with an RBI single, and Kody Clemens added another RBI single to make it 4-0 before the Twins had even recorded their first out. After struggling to generate offense against left-handed pitching all season, Minnesota couldn't have asked for a better start. Bailey Ober took the mound for the Twins looking to rebound from a rough outing against Baltimore last week in which he allowed five earned runs. Ober looked sharp through the first four innings, but things began to unravel in the fifth. Austin Riley led off the inning with a single before reigning Rookie of the Year Drake Baldwin doubled to put two runners in scoring position. Ronald Acuña Jr. then delivered a two-run single to cut the Twins' lead in half. With Acuña on base and just one out, the Twins decided they had seen enough from Ober. The right-hander was pulled after just 4 1/3 innings, leaving Minnesota's bullpen with a tall task: protect a two-run lead for the final 4 2/3 innings. Considering what had happened less than 24 hours earlier, it was easy to wonder if the Twins were about to watch another big lead disappear. Instead, the bullpen saved the day. Taylor Rogers was the first man through the door, and he entered in a difficult situation. Acuña was standing on first base, there was only one out, and the heart of Atlanta's lineup was coming to the plate with the Twins clinging to a 4-2 lead. Rogers worked his way out of the jam to keep the Braves off the board, giving the Twins exactly what they needed after Ober's abbreviated outing. Travis Adams followed and provided perhaps the biggest contribution of the night. Adams has struggled considerably of late, but the Twins needed him to provide length and bridge the gap to the back end of the bullpen. He responded with two scoreless innings, striking out three without allowing a baserunner, allowing Minnesota to preserve its two-run advantage. That set the stage for the bullpen's heavy hitters. Jeff Hoffman, who has quickly become the Twins' most important bullpen piece since arriving at the trade deadline, tossed a scoreless eighth inning, aided by a massive defensive play from Kody Clemens. Then Yoendrys Gómez came in for the ninth and shut the door, albeit not without some nerves, securing a 4-2 Twins victory. After scoring four runs in the first inning, the Twins couldn't push another run across the plate despite creating several opportunities. The biggest came in the bottom of the eighth, when Minnesota loaded the bases with nobody out and had a chance to put the game away, and came away empty-handed. It didn't matter. The four runs Minnesota scored in the opening frame were enough because the bullpen refused to let Atlanta answer. After Ober's early exit, the Twins' relievers combined for 4 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing Minnesota to survive a game that could have easily gone the other direction. The Twins improved to 61-65 with the victory and, thanks to losses by both the Baltimore Orioles and the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays having the day off, moved to just a half-game back of the AL Wild Card. After the way the weekend went, the Twins desperately needed a win to start this series, and they got exactly that. What's Next The Twins will look to capture a series victory on Tuesday evening at Target Field. The Twins will be facing another old friend in Tyler Mahle, with Zebby Matthews taking the rubber for the Twins. First pitch will be at 6:40 pm (assuming no rain delay this time). Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Chart THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Morris 0 0 23 28 0 51 Adams 42 0 0 0 18 60 Hoffman 0 0 17 0 20 37 Minter 0 0 12 14 0 26 Rogers 10 0 0 16 11 37 Funderburk 0 0 16 4 0 20 Nance 16 0 0 0 0 16 Gomez 0 0 0 0 19 19 View full article

Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images Box Score SP: Taj Bradley 5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K (88 pitches, 56 strikes (66% strikes) Home Runs: -0- Top 3 WPA: Taj Bradley (0.14); Byron Buxton (0.11); Kaelen Culpepper (0.08) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) After what threatened to be a season-derailing weekend against the Phillies, the Twins roared back with huge wins in the first two games of the final set of their homestand. They sent de facto ace Taj Bradley to the mound on getaway day, hunting a deliciously unexpected sweep. Bradley responded with ruthless efficiency over his first two innings of work. On the broadcast, Cory Provus mentioned that Bradley threw 16 pitches in the first two innings, the fewest to get the first six outs in any start of his career, After he'd needed three times that many offerings to get through two frames against the Phillies at the Field of Dreams, that was an especially welcome surprise. The offense got a runner on against Atlanta's AJ Smith-Shawver, with a walk to Victor Caratini, followed by a single from Kaelen Culpepper. Luke Keaschall squared to bunt, but rather than drag it up the third-base line or dribble it for an easy sacrifice, he popped it over Smith-Shawver's head and neatly into the undefendable area behind the pitcher's mound. The unique single loaded the bases for Byron Buxton. Returning to the lineup after a day off Tuesday, Buxton hit a ground ball toward the hole at shortstop, on which Atlanta again failed to find an out. Caratini came home with the first run of the game, though the Twins were stymied after that. Royce Lewis gave the lineup a chance to get more runs at the bottom of the fourth with a one-out, line-drive single, a stolen base and an advancement on an error to end up on third. Alas, he was left after a strikeout and grounder ended the inning. Bradley continued to push through the game, but it unraveled in the fifth. He got two quick outs, but then issued a pair of walks, as his command seemed to desert him. With Taylor Rogers warming up in the bullpen, Bradley’s follies bit him. Ronald Acuña Jr, singled to left field, with the ball falling in front of Trevor Larnach and Austin Riley racing home to tie the score at 1-1. The bottom of the fifth was a repeat of the third, in a way, as Culpepper and Keaschall both got on base with one out. This time, Smith-Shawver walked Buxton, loading the bases, and Josh Bell took a walk, ending Smith-Shawver’s day and bringing home Culpepper to put the Twins back in front 2-1. Dylan Dodd replaced Smith-Shawver, and immediately, Kody Clemens doubled home two more runs, with a clobbered fly ball off the wall in right-center field. Kody Funderburk came out to replace Bradley in the sixth, making his fourth appearance of the week. (He also warmed up at length on Monday night, when he didn't pitch.) Funderburk has been one of the most reliable Twins relievers as of late, making him one of the most used. That caught up to him Wednesday, though, and he left having recorded just one out and given up two runs. Tommy Nance replaced Funderburk, but balked home the tying run before extricating the team from the jam. Atlanta reliever Victor Mederos kept Minnesota fairly quiet in the sixth, but Nanace and A.J. Minter responded by hanging a goose egg in the top of the seventh. After the stretch, Josh Bell hit a one-out rocket up the middle and turned what looked like a single into an utterly stunning hustle double. His smarts and intensity immediately paid off, too. Dylan Lee came out to face Clemens, but the left-on-left matchup didn't tilt Atlanta's way. Clemens dunked an RBI single down the right-field line, untying the game and giving the Twins a surge of momentum. The Braves walked Ryan Jeffers, but Brooks Lee made them pay for their tactic with another RBI single, providing some insurance. Jeff Hoffman worked in and out of trouble in the top of the eighth. With one out and after a nine-pitch at-bat with a runner in scoring position, Mauricio Dubón was rules to have gone around on a check-swing—by the home-plate umpire. Dubón was furious that Carlos Torres hadn't appealed for help at first base, rather than ringing him up, and argued vociferously. Atlanta manager Walt Weiss was ejected for his own argument. When the dust cleared, though, Hoffman finished the frame with another strikeout to defuse the tension. Yoendrys Gómez came out for the ninth inning, working a third day in a row, but it proved no sweat. On to San Diego! By the time the Twins play again, they could very well be officially in playoff position. What’s Next? The Twins get a day off to travel to San Diego, where they'll take on the Padres Friday night. Connor Prielipp (3-6; 3.46 ERA) will start the series against a pitcher TBD. The game starts at 8:40 pm CST. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Availability Chart View full article

The Twins hand the ball to Bradley against Smith-Shawver and the Braves this afternoon at Target Field.

The Twins send Matthews to the mound against Mahle and the Braves tonight at Target Field.

The Twins hand the ball to Ober to face Pérez and the Braves tonight at Target Field.

Maybe that was unclear: you need four or five players with that talent level because not all will make it in the same year. You can't have three players with 4 WAR talent and expect all three to make it in the same year. Also, just having three players with 4 WAR won't get you there. Among your three WAR players, one needs to be great. For example, the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals, which were the team with the worst record to win the World Series in the playoff era, had just three players with at least 4 bWAR, but they were Carpenter at 5.1, Rolen at 5.9, and Pujols all the way at 8.5. Similarly, the 2021 Atlanta Braves, perhaps the "luckiest" team to win the World Series in recent memory, also had just three players with at least 4 bWAR: Fried at 4.2, Freeman at 4.8, and Riley up at 6.3. They also had Acuna, who was definitely a 4 WAR player, but he missed the playoffs with an injury. 2023 Rangers: Garcia at 4.3, plus Semien and Seeger at 7+. 2026 Brewers have Miz and Turang at well over 5 or 6 WAR, plus Chourio at 4, and several above 2.5. The Dodgers are an exception, because they pay to roster stars just for the playoffs, although they had four last year, including Ohtani at 7.7; four in 2024, including Ohtani at 9.0; and four already this year - Muncy, Pages, Ohtani, and Yamamoto. (Pages has 3.9 fWAR - maybe that's where you came up with 3.) Even so, who do you think could be the three 4 WAR players on the Twins next year, including at least one well over 4 WAR? None have even 3 fWAR this year. To expect at least three to make a leap, with one making a really big leap, is hope over experience. Your last paragraph about talent "playing to it potential", etc., for 2027 could have been written almost word for word in September, 2025. It can be paraphrased as "if everyone plays to their potential and make several additions who also play well, we can be competitive." The problem is that it is rare that everyone plays to their potential and making good additions is really hard, especially for a low-budget team that doesn't have much high-end prospect capital to trade.

This is the 2nd post I’ve seen stating tha a winning team needs 4 to 5 4+ WAR players. Where are you getting that stat? I can’t find any teams single team in 2026 with 4 players with 4 + WAR on FanGraphs. The Brewers, Braves, and Dodgers all have 3 players that will finish the season with over 4 WAR. The Rays have 2. The Guardians have 1. We need the talent we have to play to its potential. We need to hang on to our higher end starting pitchers, we need to add to the Bullpen, solve our situation at catcher and add a big bat at 1st Base. If we do that I think we would be very competitive in 2027.