Twins’ brass scraping the bottom of bargain barrel

The salary situation resulting from the Twins’ lack of television revenue has also limited Falvey’s ability to do his job. Scraping the bottom of the bargain bin has long been a tactic at which the Twins have excelled.

Related: Minnesota Twins Trying to Trade Willi Castro

Their top trade candidate last season – Willi Castro – was invited to Spring Training on a minor league contract. Now he’s an integral utility player almost too valuable to trade because of his ability to play center field when Byron Buxton is hurt.

Minnesota Twins address lack of veteran lefty relievers

The Twins’ brass is attempting to repeat that success by signing veteran lefty reliever Anthony Misiewicz. Misiewicz had strong strikeout (29 percent) and walk (7.6 percent) rates last season with AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, but is a lefty specialist at most.

Right-handers hit .279 off Misiewicz last season, while lefties hit .207. Seven of his eight homers allowed were hit by righties. It’s a welcomed addition to a Minnesota Twins bullpen featuring just two left-handers in Kody Funderburk and Brent Headrick. And Headrick pitched just three innings in the bigs last season.

What to expect from Anthony Misiewicz

Minnesota is banking on Misiewicz, 30, pushing the younger Kody Funderburk, 27, and Brent Headrick, 28, in camp. The competition and added depth should help cover the innings left by the loss of Caleb Thielbar, to free agency.

Thielbar signed with the Chicago Cubs after pitching to an ERA+ of 78 in 47.1 innings pitched last season. It was his worst year as a Minnesota Twin by far.

Free-agent reliever Jay Jackson and the Minnesota Twins are in agreement on a major-league contract, pending physical, according to a source familiar with the deal.

— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) February 5, 2024

Minnesota Twins sign relief pitcher Jay Jackson

Jay Jackson struggled to bust into the MLB prior to his 31st birthday. In 2015, at the ripe age of 27, he was called up by the San Diego Padres, but struggled in 6 appearances, posting a 6.23 ERA, 1.846 WHIP and a 65 ERA+. His FIP in those 4.1 innings 9 years ago, though? 1.98…

For those who don’t know what FIP is, think of it as what a pitcher’s ERA should be. Sometimes, a pitcher throws great pitches and is outmatched by an even better swing or at-bat. When a pitcher gives up runs in those situations, his ERA goes up but his FIP doesn’t.

Related: Twins Sign Former All-Star Slugger to Fill DH Role in 2024

Nonetheless, Jay didn’t get another opportunity in the MLB until four years later in Milwaukee, at the age of 31. This time, he lasted 28 appearances (30.1 IP), brought his ERA down to a more respectable 4.45 (along with a more comparable 4.66 FIP) and his ERA+ up to 101, slightly above league average.

Two seasons later, in 2021, he got another chance, this time with the San Francisco Giants. Yet again, he improved in limited action, pitching 21.2 innings and posting a 3.74 ERA and 112 ERA+. But before he could turn a productive 2021 into a successful 2022, Jay suffered a March Lat injury and was placed on the 60-day injured list.

By the time he was able to climb back to the big leagues (Atlanta Braves this time), Jackson threw just 1.1 innings on the season (allowing 0 runs and 1 hit). But in May 2023, he got another MLB opportunity, this time with the Toronto Blue Jays, and took advantage.

Jay Jackson breaks through in 2023

In multiple big league stints from May 6 to August 11, Jackson pitched 19.2 innings, stretched across 16 games for the Jays. He carried an absolutely absurd 0.46 ERA in that span, along with a .134 BA against and impressive 2.80 FIP. In other words, he was untouchable.

Jay Jackson is excellent. Good human being as well. So happy for him. pic.twitter.com/0MpCtzg2kV

— Brennan qualifying offer Delaney (@Brennan_L_D) August 8, 2023

After two “bad outings” in a row in mid-August, where Jackson gave up 3 runs in 2.1 innings pitched, he was sent down, just to be brought back up two weeks later. Pretty much from then on out, Jay was really good, finishing the season with 29.2 innings pitched and an incredible 2.12 ERA to go with and even more impressive 0.910 WHIP.

Related: Twins Officially Back on Bally Sports; Blackout & Streaming Issues Remain Unfixed… for Now

On his career, Jay Jackson has a 3.50 ERA, 1.179 WHIP and 124 ERA+, in 87.1 innings pitched. The Minnesota Twins didn’t get a shut-down closer or staple to their bullpen with tonight’s signing. But without a doubt, they added yet another veteran piece with proven competitive stuff to a bullpen that might already be the best in the American League.

Twins signed veteran reliever Jay Jackson. Seems like a great clubhouse guy, almost a coach-like demeanor. Pitched 25 games last year (2.12 ERA/0.910 WHIP). He’s been everywhere including Hiroshima: https://t.co/lSw65Xf2nX pic.twitter.com/ucWB7nnkHQ

— Jeff (@MNTwinsZealot) February 5, 2024

Bullpen Youth Movement

There are still plenty of questions surrounding the reliever staff, however, especially the veteran core… or lack thereof. See, last season, the Twins’ bullpen was hijacked by youngsters like Jhoan Duran and Griffen Jax, who went on to prove themselves far more reliable than any of the more experienced pitchers who were available to Rocco Baldelli.

jhoan duran turns 25 today.

he’s able to rent a car and throw nasty stuff. pic.twitter.com/A7wG7BjwtZ

— parker hageman (@HagemanParker) January 8, 2023

In 2023, a veteran presence in the bullpen is nearly non-existent. In fact, there are only three relief pitchers over the age of 30 who would be considered “locks” to make the final 26-man Opening Day roster (8 likely relievers).

No other projected 26-man reliever has reached the age of 30, or collected even two healthy years of service time in the big leagues. And the three veteran “locks” — Jorge Lopez (30), Emilio Pagan (32) and Caleb Thielbar (36) — have plenty of questions surrounding their effectiveness, going forward.

All Eyes on Jorge Lopez

Jorge Lopez is a starter-turned-reliever who has thrived in his new bullpen role. When I say “new”, I mean that Lopez has only pitched 148 innings out of the bullpen during his 7-year MLB career. He’s been good in those limited appearances, however.

In 273 innings as a starter from 2015-2021, Lopez was horrible. But after being transitioned to reliever by the Baltimore Orioles toward the end of 2021 (8 IP), he showed immediate improvement. Lopez took on a bullpen role for the Orioles full time in 2022 and made the All-Star game.

Mahtomedi native and Orioles pitcher Mike Baumann (currently at AAA) on new #MNTwins reliever Jorge Lopez: “Love that guy. Can’t say enough nice things. I really look up to Lopey. Unbelievable teammate, dawg on mound. Truly a leader on and off the field.”pic.twitter.com/PlYgWS1ApO

— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) August 2, 2022

Then, the Twins traded for Lopez at last year’s midseason deadline. And of course, he immediately hopped aboard the struggle bus, upon arrival. In 22.2 IP as a Twin, Jorge’s ERA ballooned to 4.37, his FIP to 4.35, WHIP to 1.632 and his ERA+ fell below 100 (average), all the way down to 90.

If Lopez gets back to the All-Star caliber reliever Falvine thought they traded for, it could make the difference between Minnesota’s bullpen being good vs elite. If not, it’ll go down as one of the worst trades in Twins’ deadline history. And that’s saying something.

Caleb Thielbar & Emilio Pagan

Caleb Thielbar has become a trustworthy lefty that Rocco Baldelli can lean on. But… he’s 36-years-old and some of his numbers, like ERA, WAR and ERA+, have been slipping the last couple seasons. On the contrary, his strikeouts are up and his home runs, FIP and WHIP were all down.

After posting a 4.61 ERA, 85 ERA+ and 4.71 FIP in 148.1 innings over the last three season, nobody really knows why Emilio Pagan is still on an MLB roster. Twins fans just wish it didn’t have to be theirs…

Yet, here we are. Hopefully, Pagan’s leash is extremely short. Or, even better, the front office finds a way to trade Pagan (apparently there’s interest) for something worthwhile (maybe a bucket of balls) before baseball games start to count in late-March.

Emilio Pagan throws the ball down the middle of the plate and former twin Isiah Kiner-Falefa makes it a 5-2 Yankees lead, can’t make it up #mntwins, only his 2nd home run of the season pic.twitter.com/BB9RrF9U73

— Alex Micheletti (@AlexMicheletti) September 5, 2022

Other Veterans Relievers in Fort Myers

The only other reliever over 30 years old who has any real chance to make the roster out of Spring Training is LHP, Danny Coulombe (33). The last two over-the-hill bullpen pitchers with invites to Fort Myers are Jose De Leon (30) and Brock Stewart (31).

In other words, there are a lot of questions that surrounding a finite number of Minnesota Twins veteran relievers. If all goes as planned, just one pitcher over the age of 30 (Jorge Lopez) will be counted on to throw high- leverage innings this summer.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

It is being reported from multiple outlets (see below) that the Minnesota Twins are signing (CP) Alex Colome to help the back of their bullpen. These rumors have been building up for a while now, and picked up after Falvine re-signed Nelson Cruz this morning.

Bob is spot on. #MNTwins https://t.co/6IDvKtv27c

— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) February 3, 2021

Colome has spent the last two seasons with the Chicago White Sox. He had two pretty successful years with a combined 2.27 ERA and 7.7 K/9 in 83.1 innings. He was absolutely dominant in the shortened 2020.

It is unclear whether or not Alex Colome will actually be the official “closer”, because the Twins have shied away from bullpen labels in the past. We know he will join Tyler Duffey and Taylor Rogers to pitch in late games when it matters most.

Confirming that the #MNTwins have an agreement with Alex Colomé pending physical. $5M for 2021 with a mutual option for ‘22, including a $1.25M buyout that’s exercised if the Twins decline the option.

— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) February 3, 2021

Colome’s five full MLB seasons:

Cooper Carlson | Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins have the 5th-best bullpen in Major League Baseball this year, according to Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com. This may come as a surprise to some fans, but it shouldn’t. Even though the bullpen imploded against the Yankees in the ALDS last year, the regular season showed what this pitching group is capable of.

As Castrovince mentions, they evolved over the 2019 season. The Twins bullpen went from a question mark at the beginning, to a bona fide strength, by playoff time. They became a highly-utilized and extremely effective group, for manager Rocco Baldelli.

5 — Twins | Closer: Taylor Rogers | Primary setup men: Trevor May, Tyler Duffey, Tyler Clippard

“This is a group that evolved over the course of 2019 and, by season’s end, it was a bona fide strength. The left-handed Rogers (2.61 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 30 saves) assumed the closer’s role with a heavy dose of strikeouts (32.4 percent of plate appearances) and ground balls (50.6 percent of balls in play). May and Duffey were flamed-out depth starters who became fire-breathing monsters in the bullpen in the second half (Duffey had a 42 percent strikeout rate and May limited opponents to a .573 OPS).”

Anthony Castrovince, MLB.com

ADAPT AND SURVIVE

This is exactly what the bullpen did in 2019. 2018 was a dreadful year for Twins relievers (min. 15 appearances). Whether it was the collective ERA of 4.67 or ERA+ of 109, they were hardly serviceable.

But 2019 proved to be a different story for the Minnesota Twins. While the 2019 bullpen pitching (again min. 15 appearances) had a comparable WHIP (1.324) and other comparable statistics, they were drastically more effective at stranding those runners. With an ERA+ of 131 and an ERA of 4.195, they were able to hold leads and save more games. It definitely helped that the offense was scoring at a record pace too.

Their ability to improve comes at the hands of more veteran help (Sergio Romo, Blake Parker…although he is with Philadelphia now) and Rocco Baldelli’s hire of Wes Johnson, who utilized more advanced pitching metrics and tools to gauge performances. That’s something the Gardenhire and Molitor tenures did not utilize enough.

WORTHY OF THEIR RANKING?

With all bias aside, yes. The improvement seen from 2018 to 2019 is there. While the postseason left us unimpressed, the playoffs are a whole different animal.

Taylor Rogers moving to the closer role helped dramatically, at the back-end of games. With a 2.61 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and 30 saves, Baldelli’s usage of Rogers proved effective. Oftentimes, he’d bring Taylor into the game in the eighth inning, to work a four, five and sometime even six-out save. When you have stuff like this in your pen… you utilize it as much as possible.

What a 3 pitch sequence from Taylor Rogers here:

– 96 mph FB away
– 84 SL even farther away
– 85 mph SL in the dirt. pic.twitter.com/MMuWqqmCJR

— Alex Fast (@AlexFast8) October 8, 2019

It was also a second chance for Tyler Duffey and Trevor May. After initially being called up as starters, their progression to the pen paid off in 2019. Duffey did even better than Rogers at striking guys out (42%). May held opponents to a paltry .573 OPS.

Throw in Romo’s filthy slider plus Tyler Clippard’s disgusting changeup, and the Minnesota Twins bullpen could be even better in 2020. Some rust has shown in the recent scrimmages, but that could hold zero relevance once the season starts next week.

It took until June for #MNTwins reliever Trevor May to average 95+ on his fastball.
Before June 1: 22.9 K%, 3.79 ERA
After June 1: 32.8 K%, 2.58 ERA
Trevor May is already sitting 96-97 in Spring Training. pic.twitter.com/fvBuWUQvDD

— Cody Pirkl (@CodyPirkl) March 11, 2020

BRING ON 2020

A lot of their ranking may have to do with the hype surrounding the team as a whole, though. Even with the truncated season, the team is projected to win the AL Central and head back to the postseason, with anywhere from 34-40 wins out of 60 games. If the offense continues to rake and the bullpen holds their own, the ranking is validated.

They aren’t as good, on paper, as those above them on the list (Yankees, Padres, Brewers, and Rays), but the season could prove something different. Thankfully, they won’t have to compete against three of the teams ranked ahead of them (Yankees, Padres, and Rays) until the postseason.

All we can hope for is the same type of outings as last year, a healthy pen, and another playoff berth. After that, it could ultimately be a crapshoot.

Jack Kewitsch | Minnesota Sports Fan

Building on this: He clearly has the stuff to impact the Major Leagues. But he’s also super young with a lot of time for development left and also has never thrown more than 102 innings in a season. So the balance is finding MLB innings without pushing it.

This tweet dropped a couple of days ago and I missed it until yesterday afternoon, just before streaming MSF Daily – LIVE. Then, things on this website went a little crazy last night and I was stuck just trying to keep us online instead of blogging. I had to upgrade servers and plans because we’ve outgrown ourselves again…. which is a good thing, but caused some SSL issues on the front-end and a few months of my life on the back-end…

It’s hard to see any issues on the front or back-end of the Minnesota Twins’ 2020 bullpen, right now though. Now that we know Brusdar Graterol will continue pitching in relief for 2020, it’s difficult to see any holes out beyond the left-center homerun fence at Target Field.

Before we dig deeper into the 2020 bullpen though, let’s first touch more on this decision to keep Graterol pitching out of relief… because it’s the smart thing to do.

Brusdar has had major issues staying healthy, throughout his professional career. Last year was no different. At just 21 years old, we don’t know how long he will shoot fire out of his right arm. He has plenty of time to develop his arm as a starter but when that happens, he probably won’t throw 103 MPH anymore.

Don’t waste that gas in the minors, where he would need more time to develop as a starter. Take advantage of that flamethrower, while you can. If he stays healthy for an entire season out of the bullpen, you can look at his future with a fresh perpective, knowing he’ll be just 22 years young, entering 2021.

Minnesota Twins Bullpen – 2020

The Twins entered 2019 with the bullpen as their weakest link. Now, they enter 2020 with a bullpen overshadowed only by their already historic, but also vastly improved, batting lineup.

Let’s look for ourselves (2019 Stats via baseball-reference.com):

• CP: Taylor Rogers – 2.61 ERA | 69 IP | 2.5 WAR | 11.7 SO/9
• SU: Sergio Romo – 3.43 ERA | 65 IP | 0.6 WAR | 9.0 SO/9
• SU: Trevor May – 2.94 ERA | 64.1 IP | 1.3 WAR | 11.1 SO/9
• RP: Tyler Duffey – 2.50 ERA | 57.2 IP | 1.0 WAR | 12.8 SO/9
• RP: Brusdar Graterol – 4.66 ERA | 9.2 IP | 0.0 WAR | 9.3 SO/9
• RP: Zack Littell – 2.68 ERA | 37 IP | 0.9 WAR | 7.8 SO/9
• RP: *Matt Wisler – 5.61 ERA | 51.1 IP | -0.4 | 11.0 SO/9
• RP: *Tyler Clippard – 2.90 ERA | 62 IP | 1.4 WAR | 9.3 SO/9

————

• EXTRA: Kyle Stashak
• EXTRA: Ryne Harper
• EXTRA: Lewis Thorpe

The only guys currently projected out of the 2020 bullpen, who had a 2019 ERA of under 3.00, are Sergio Romo (who none of us are worried about), Brusdar Graterol (who we just discussed above), and Matt Wisler (who the Twins signed to a guaranteed MLB deal this offseason).

The Wisler signing looks weird on its face but, according to TwinsDaily.com, he was specifically picked out by pitching coach, Gus Johnson, who really likes his slider and believes Wisler can be a really good relief pitcher for this team. He’ll be very interesting to watch but it’s nice to know he has so much proven talent around him, that the Twins won’t have to rely on his reclamation to be successful.

This is a veteran pen, too. I haven’t even touched on some of the young arms that could make a major impact, including guys that we saw good sample sizes from last season (listed above), but also the guys I’m sure we’ll see for the first time.

In sneaky fashion, Falvine might have created one of the best bullpen situations in all of baseball, for the Minnesota Twins entering 2020. Now, can they get that starter who will put them into World Series conversations league-wide?

I actually have faith, that they will…. what a world.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Remember when Miguel Sano came off of the injured list earlier this season and was playing like shit (even though he didn’t have spring training so what the fuck do we expect)? Remember when everyone wanted to trade him for “whatever we can still get”? Remember how much better-off they thought we would be with some 5.46 ERA, bounce in-between the big leages and minors, “hopefully I can help us down the stretch a little bit” kind of bullpen pitcher???????

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Oh, goody – a grand salami! #BombaSquad | #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/y7yVxej9W1

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) September 15, 2019

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I was on my way home from the Gopher game when this happened and the Twins broadcast had just finished saying that Sano was 0-7 against Goody (or whatever the fuck his name is) during his career and 0-6 this season with the bases loaded. I literally said it out loud (because tweeting and driving is illegal) “sounds like he’s due.”

Then….. BANG.

So then, the illegality of tweeting and driving went out the window because I’m an addict and the people needed an ALL-CAPS tweet in a moment this important. Sometimes, you have to think about what is really important. If anything, I deserve credit for risking my life to get that tweet out to the people. I guess, it’s just my civic duty. A public service.

This fucking guy…. nobody could have been better, to hit that HR. The Twins need Miguel Sano so much, if they are really going to be the sustainable franchise they are hoping to be. And, I don’t think we need to worry about the ice that is in his veins anymore after tonight.

How about this bullpen too? They took care of 18 innings tonight and only gave up 5 runs. That deserves a medal, in the least. The bullpen might have to be the best part of the Twins roster, if they are going to do any damage in the playoffs so seeing games like we did today………………………… gives a guy/gal hope?

OR MIGUEL SANO CAN JUST DROP FUCKING BOMBS EVERY NIGHT!

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

— I had a message for all of the Miguel Sano doubters after I parked my car…

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MIGUEL FUCKING SANOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO https://t.co/89i5ifI9oB

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) September 15, 2019

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Shoutout to the 'pen tonight!

Dyson@TheDoof13 @SergioRomo54 @trogers34

4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 Ks. #TwinsWin | #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/Xu6e82cmAM

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) August 28, 2019

Trevor May struck out the side in B7. #MNTwins lead 5-2.

— Dan Hayes (@DanHayesMLB) August 29, 2019

Cody Stashak throws 2 scoreless and the #MNTwins win 8-2 to remain 3 1/2 in front of Cleveland. The Twins are 81-51 and 30 games over .500 for the 1st time since 9/25/10.
Jake Odorizzi improved to 14-6 w/ 8 Ks over 6 IP, 2 ER.

— Dan Hayes (@DanHayesMLB) August 29, 2019

Michael Pineda had another solid START to his outing on Tuesday but was the latest Twins starter to be pulled before the end of the 6th inning, with or without a bunch of runs already on the board. He threw just 89 pitches but 27 of them were in the 5th, his last inning. Jake Odorizzi had his best outing of late on Wednesday, going 6 innings, giving up just 2 runs on 5 hits, 2 BB, and 8 K. He threw 98 pitches.

The media this morning is trying to tout the Twins’ recent success on the mound as the turning of a corner, but I’m definitely not willing to go near there yet. The bullpen is VASTLY improved and the minimum amount they did at the trade deadline, nabbing Romo and Dyson, seems to be all of the push the team needed.

I don’t know if the starting staff has been THAT improved or if the Twins coaching staff is just asking them to do that much LESS…

I’ve been thinking a lot lately, about the best way for the Twins to line up their pitching staff for the playoffs, and one theme remains constant in my search. Our starters (outside of a GOOD Jose Berrios) can usually hold down the fort for 5 decent innings and I’d imagine they’d be even better if they knew 5 innings were all the coaching staff wanted out of them..

Is there a successful formula that has the likes of — Trevor May, Taylor Rogers, Sergio Romo, Cody Stashak, Tyler Duffey, Jose Alcala, Brusdar Graterol, and anyone else that proves effective out of the bullpen — taking over almost every playoff game by the 5th or 6th inning?

There could be.

Right now, the Twins are playing a game nearly every day, and when starters don’t take games into the later innings, your bullpen can get taxed quickly. However, in the playoffs, you will only get two games in a row, maximum, before getting a night off AND your rosters are expanded, so you have more options if those options can be successful.

I think this is what the Twins coaching staff is starting to look at, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see more short starts from most of the staff, as we move toward the end of September. Can the bullpen continue to be this good, though? 

That’s the World Series question…

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Just crunched the bullpen numbers for the Twins-Seattle series. Not including Milone as a reliever, since he had an opener on Wednesday, the Mariners’ bullpen ERA was 22.50 (15 earned in six innings) for the three games. The Twins’ bullpen ERA was 7.59.

— Judd Zulgad (@jzulgad) June 14, 2019

Twins bullpen continues to be an absolute embarrassment

— Seth Toupal (@sethtoups) June 13, 2019

May and Parker this inning out of the Twins bullpen: One-third of an inning, three hits, five runs, four earned with one walk. Seattle leads 6-1 with one out in the eighth.

— Judd Zulgad (@jzulgad) June 13, 2019

Before we go any further, let’s remember none of this is an emergency. I’m not sure the Target Field roof imploding, from a snow storm in the middle of June, would be an emergency at this point. It certainly wouldn’t cost us the division. Nonetheless, pitching this bad can’t be mistaken for a fanbase just trying to nitpick a good team…

If you have a greek god statue made of gold, a silver penis would look weird and out of place but… it’s still a dick made of silver, right? Well, the Twins bullpen would be a penis made of crumbly green play-doh on a golden greek god of a statue. 

It’s going to be tough to win any art contests with that member as part of the display.. but there’s good news about your statue and its crumbly play-doh penis…

Our Twins statue doesn’t have to go on display for another 3+ months. And, you have a full month to alter it. In that time, you can trade away pieces of your current statue or blocks of raw (but unknown) building materials (meant for future statues) in exchange for pieces that will help you more in this year’s competition.

You Can Start Small…

Eventually, we’ll need a bright, shiny and golden apendage; to match our beautiful statue, if we really want to compete to win in the world art show. One that’s proven to come through in the clutch, guaranteed to stay hard and shiny, in even the most flaccid of moments. To do that though, the Twins will have to give up a beautiful, glistening, but ultimately unknown, block of raw material… The type of material that ANY builder would LOVE to get their hands on. But hey, a high-end dick like what the Twins would want to strap on in return, doesn’t come cheap. 

However, if you feel like you can get a better deal down the road, for that golden dick by remaining patient, then you can trade some of your lesser quality raw blocks now, in exchange for lesser quality metals like silver and bronze.

Then, take that new shiny metal and replace that green, crumbly play-doe, for a solid and durable bronze or silver base. That way, when you make THAT INEVITABLE trade for an even harder, more pure and dependable golden plate, to place over the top of your now reliable metal base, you might have yourself a beautiful and fully dicked statue.

via GIPHY

For those of you who have a sense of humor comparable to Drax (you probably don’t get that reference either), this means the Twins should go get bullpen help right now. Even if it isn’t that high-end, back of the bullpen, guy that we will surely need for a deep playoff run, just get something to help out for the short term. This bullpen is a drain on the fans and will be to the team if it continues to be a problem. Use a 15-20 organizationally ranked prospect to get a guy who has an ERA under 4 and a positive WAR.

As long as it’s just the first move in a flurry of them… To be clear, the moves would need to get bigger as we get closer to the trade deadline. You can’t leave the small silver base on display for the World Series Art Show, leaving our beautiful, elite, golden god of a statue in danger of early elimination. Nobody likes an early exit.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

So, here we are Twins fans. Just where we all expected to be 1/3 through the season. 39-18 and 10.5 games ahead of the nearest AL Central contender. Ok, so I was the only person picking the Twins to win the division before the season started and even I based it much more off of the competition within our division (or lack-there-of), as opposed to us pissing on baseballs at an MLB record pace…

…but that’s where we are nonetheless. And, happy to be here.

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But, what now? We are in uncharted territory for even the best Twins’ teams of our past. The Twins don’t need any help in the lineup. Once healthy, they’ll be sending bona fide MLB hitters down to AAA because there won’t be any room.

However, pitching needs (maybe) an upgrade?

Our new front office might not have expected to be in this position quite so soon… but now that they are, they look like they know exactly what they’re doing (unlike some front offices of our past).

Here is what Jayson Stark (The Athletic) wrote earlier this weekend about how aggressive the Twins are right now, in an effort to get high-end pitching help:

Two different execs nominated the Twins so vociferously, let’s start with them. Could they sign Craig Kimbrel before they even plow into their midseason trade shopping? “I can guarantee he’s on their shopping list,” one AL exec said. But even if the Twins don’t get that deal done, rival teams expect them to hit the accelerator in the next few weeks to add pitching any way they can. “To say they’ll be active might be an understatement,” another exec said. “No matter where they are in the standings, they’re always in very aggressive midseason mode. Whether they have a chance to win or not, they use that period.”

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The Twins actually being reported as the feistiest and most active OF ALL TEAMS that are in buy-mode… let that sink in.

There are reports coming out of everywhere that they are seriously in on both Craig Kimbrel and Dallas Keuchel, now that draft pick compensation will be out of the picture and (hopefully) the price (and years) have gone down…

Alright, for those who are stat hunting or combing through the MLB team pitching rankings, a need to upgrade the Twins pitching staff might be a hard sell. However, if you know the past of the pitchers throughout this team (who are currently putting up career-high numbers), you know better than to buy in on them this high. 

While I believe that Wes Johnson really has made all of our staff better and that it is showing on a nightly basis, entering the playoffs with this unknown commodity of a pitching staff, would be a terrible fucking idea. Great pitching is what wins World Series. Ask Jack Morris. 

And that’s what we have here. A team that can make a World Series run with some high-end help in both the rotation and bullpen.

I know it makes sense for the Twins to really pull the trigger on the type of move we’ve NEVER seen from them before, and I’ve been calling for it all season long… but it’s still hard to believe this is real life…

The Twins… buyers… the BIGGEST buyers on the market…

I’m going to need a place to put this for the foreseeable future… it might become a problem with this front office around…

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Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

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