Eduardo Escobar homers (24) on a fly ball to left off Brian Dozier
Exit Velocity 103 MPH
Distance 415 FT
Launch Angle 31.58#OnePursuit vs #RattleOn pic.twitter.com/S4jmLQasq2

— Strand Sport Stats (@StrandStats) August 4, 2019

It’s true. Brian Dozier might want to move back to 2nd base. Again, it was long time ago, but I remember him being an outstanding power hitter and really good 2nd baseman. This… doesn’t look like good pitching. We’ll see if the Nationals end up putting a bat back in his hands  and un-mounded dirt under his feet.

It’s a pretty unprecedented move for a major league club to be messing with veteran positions like this… we’ll have to see if it pays off.

via GIPHY

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Another weekday gone, another roster dump for the Minnesota Twins:

Sources: zach duke to Mariners

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 30, 2018

Sometimes, the changes that have happened over the last 10 years, when it comes to how sports news is reported, make me want to laugh. I don’t mean to bring down big timers like Jon, in the least. They’ve been pushed to this by the internet age. Zach Duke isn’t even capitalized. That’s how important it is to be the first one. If you got the text message, so are other reporters. You don’t even have the 7 seconds it takes to correct your phone. That shit is just funny.

Moving on.

So, Zach Duke gets traded after a very mediocre stint with the Twins, that didn’t even make it to the partnership’s first trade deadline. Duke, like most other pitchers brought in during last offseason, is on just a one year deal and set to hit free agency when the 2018 season comes to a close. Duke will do his best to get back to the pitcher he was two years ago before requiring Tommy John Surgery immediately after the 2016 season, causing him to miss most of 2017.

In return, the Twins received (IF) Ryan Costello and (P) Chase De Jong. As has been the narrative, the Twins didn’t get anything stellar back in return. “So-so” is what Parker Hageman of TwinsDaily.com calls it. Here are both prospects’ stat tables from MiLB.com

Ryan Costello:

Chase De Jong:

I’d say the #MNTwins wound up getting so-so value out of Zach Duke.

Ryan Castello, 3B, a little old for low-A (22) but has some power: league-leading 16 HRs in Midwest League.

Chase De Jong, RHP, reportedly has a very good curveball but just an OK low 90s fastball.

— Parker Hageman (@ParkerHageman) July 30, 2018

That’s not all the news that came out though, this afternoon. Eduardo Escobar was close to Twin fans’ hearts but trading Brian Dozier may lead to more rioting on our facebook page than even Escobar did. He is the ultimate piece that, WHEN traded, will have the detractors yelling “Pohlad Pocket Protectors!”. But, it looks like he is more likely to go, than to stay. Most of us already knew this but the writing looks to be thicker and thicker on that locker room wall…

There’s still a strong sense that the #Twins will deal Brian Dozier to a contender by the deadline, even though no obvious fit jumps off the map.

— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) July 30, 2018

And before I can even finish this post, Lance Lynn has now been moved to the Yankees. Off the bat (how do you like that pun), this looks like a guy that some really like and others have given up on. Brandon Warne from ZoneCoverage.com says below, that part of his issues have been health related…

It looks like nobody wanted Lance Lynn more than the Yankees. And for Lance, he now gets to go back to a place where he was very good, for a team that has a REAL chance at winning the whole damn thing. Good for him.

Former top-100 guy. Big raw. Can really hit, has struggled to stay healthy. https://t.co/mUGf5FChre

— Brandon Warne (@Brandon_Warne) July 30, 2018

For the record, I never like negative news surrounding one of my teams and nobody likes to see franchise staples be traded away from the Twin Cities. Unfortunately, that’s just how the MLB works. This is how teams operate when the deadline comes, depending where they are sitting in the standings that season. You can hate that if you want. But, that’s what’s been proven throughout the league, for any team outside of Boston and New York. It’s about gaining assets. In professional baseball, more than any other sport, top prospects fizzle out and lower-tier guys end up with long professional careers. It’s a numbers game.

And, if you believe that this is how every competent MLB front office would operate (which I do), then it’s difficult to get out my pitch fork. We can’t let our impatience from the incompetence of the past affect how we treat this new regime. They deserve SOME of the patience and time that the last regime got. So, that’s what I’ll give them.

At least until I see what they do with the $100 Million they will have to spend this offseason….

Eric Strack
Minnesota Sports Fan (@RealMNSportsFan)

Just as I was about to blow my brains out in my cubicle this afternoon as I waited for the clock to tick down to the weekend, my Twitter notifications came to save the day:

#DBacks close to acquiring #Twins’ Eduardo Escobar, sources tell me and @DanHayesMLB.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 27, 2018

We all love Escobar and the rush that took place when the message popped up wasn’t necessarily one of happiness. But, we’ve all been waiting on pins and needles to see what the Twins’ front office was going to do, given the up and down nature of its team on the field. Well, now that we just traded arguably our most consistent player this season, I think we have our answer.

The Twins look like they are going full-sell mode. Dozier, Gibson, Lynn, and others should all get their travel bags ready and make sure they are ready for a physical with their new team.

Reports are now rolling in as to the return haul the Twins will get from Arizona. Since I’m not an Arizona baseball savant, I’m not going to make any judgements. It looks like 2 of them are on the team’s top-20 prospect list. But, I’ll be keeping my eyes on those who follow along even closer than I do as we start to see opinions fly on this deal. So, follow along with us on Twitter.

#MNTwins getting Duran, Maciel and Trinidad back from Arizona. @JeffPassan had it first.

— Dan Hayes (@DanHayesMLB) July 27, 2018

Maciel is the D-backs’ No. 11 prospect, Duran is ranked No. 19 and De La Trinidad not among Arizona’s Top 30 prospects. https://t.co/hDd9o18Wxh

— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) July 27, 2018

More breaking news:

It looks like Miguel Sano will be activated in reaction to this trade. Wow, Twins news flying at us hot and heavy today…

Source: Sano will join Twins in Boston tonight.

Not expected to arrive in time to play, but will take Escobar’s roster spot.

Would be available tomorrow. https://t.co/a1bqYQ4ZIr

— KSTPSports (@KSTPSports) July 27, 2018

Eric Strack
Minnesota Sports Fan

BREAKING REPORT: Multiple sources including are reporting that Eduardo Escobar has been traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks (waiting on details) – post up shortly on MSF (link in bio) #mntwins #twins #twinsterritory #gotwins #mlbtrade #mlbtraderumors #mlbtradedeadline #mntwinsbaseball #minnesota #mlb

A post shared by Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) on Jul 27, 2018 at 2:07pm PDT

Coming off of back-to-back losses to the AL Central bottom-feeding White Sox, the Minnesota Twins had Mr. José Orlando Berríos take the mound for Thursday afternoon’s series finale.

Only a mere 2 hours and 14 minutes after Berríos threw the game’s first pitch, the Puerto Rico native put a proverbial bow on Minnesota’s nerve calming victory:

José Berríos (@Twins) throws his 2nd career complete game in a 7-2 win over the White Sox.

Berrios improves to 6-1 with a 2.28 ERA in his career against the White Sox, including 3-0 this season. pic.twitter.com/UMPhmyfLk6

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 7, 2018

Less than two months ago, Berríos finished a marvelous 7.0 inning showing vs the same division foe with 11 Ks and 0 BBs. During Thursday’s “Cradle to the Grave” performance, the third-year big leaguer fanned 10 without, once again, rendering a single walk (109 pitches, 6 hits allowed).

via GIPHY

Bada bing, bada boom. Just like that, the talented RHP is flirting with an extremely familiar LHP from recent Twins’ history:

Today was Jose Berrios’ second start of the season with 0 walks and 10+ strikeouts.

The only pitcher in Twins history with more than two such starts in a season is Johan Santana, who did it three times in both 2004 and 2005.

There have only been 45 such starts in Twins history.

— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) June 7, 2018

José Berríos 2018 Stats: 7-5 W/L, 3.66 ERA, 74.2 IP, 84 SO, 0.92 WHIP 

The win, which included HRs from Ehire Adrianza (2), and the on-fire duo of Eduardo Escobar (12), and Eddie Rosario (14), moved the Twins’ overall record to 27-32. With Cleveland taking the day off (lazy), Minnesota will officially enter the weekend 4.5 games back of the division leader.

While the below .500 W/L isn’t meeting preseason expectations, considering the Twins’ aggressive issues surrounding health, shit could be a lot worse. Hopefully, for the years remaining 100+ contests, the injury bug isn’t so attracted to Paul Molitor’s squad.

In the interim, before Target Field welcomes Mike Trout and the Angles for the weekend’s three game set, here’s an update on a Mount Rushmore’s worth of recovery processes:

Ervin Santana:

Good report for Ervin on visit to Melone. Could resume throwing Thursday

— Mike Berardino (@MikeBerardino) June 5, 2018

According to additional reports, Santana “will still need to complete a full ramp-up before he returns to the majors, but it seems promising that his earlier setback has only required a brief respite.”

Joe Mauer:

Twins mulling rehab assignment for Joe Mauer https://t.co/4Ew1Yt9IjH pic.twitter.com/9tF82x6wIy

— Pioneer Press (@PioneerPress) June 7, 2018

Byron Buxton:

Per Phil Miller of the Star Tribune, the centerfielder’s “pain reduction” in his toe “has been slow.” There has only been “moderate progress towards his return.”

Trevor May:

Tommy John rehab complete, #MNTwins send Trevor May to Triple-A Rochester. https://t.co/hUfA0zgGOg pic.twitter.com/re3V5S8zUC

— Star Tribune Sports (@StribSports) June 7, 2018

The All-Star game is a little over a month away. As you can see by this 2015 gem, May’s reinstatement comes at an appropriate time:

Johnny Minnesota (@TheJohnnyMN)

MinnesotaSportsFan.com

At least for this upcoming season, Eduardo Escobar will be playing baseball in Minnesota. Per Thursday’s reports, he and the Twins agreed to a one year, $4.85 million deal.

The signing came a day prior to the MLB’s arbitration deadline. Missing Friday’s cut off means that any remaining arbitration-eligible players and their team need to exchange proposed salaries for the 2018 season. The purpose of swapping desired contracts is to prepare for a potential hearing on what a player should be paid.

The January 12th time-limit is now irrelevant to Escobar. One of the Twins’ clubhouse favorites and his employer hashed things out without a third wheel. With the 29 year-old now set to make almost $5 million this year, the only thing he should be exchanging are chips at the Bellagio.

In what I consider no coincidence, they reached an agreement amid the MLB’s sexual assault investigation of Miguel Sano. With his upcoming availability in great flux, motivation to retain Escobar naturally increased.

This upcoming season will mark the switch hitter’s 8th in the majors. Of his 619 career MLB games, our infield’s Renaissance man has played 574 of them with Minnesota. In 2017, Escobar hit .254, with a career high .758 OPS. Over last year’s 499 at-bats, he also compiled a career high in HRs (21) and RBIs (73)

With Eduardo Escobar secured for what Twins’ Nation hopes is another exciting season, the following five players still remain arbitration-eligible: Robbie Grossman (OF), Ehire Adrianza (IF) and pitchers Kyle Gibson, Ryan Pressly, and Trevor May.

Relax fanboys and fangirls of Ryan Pressly. I like your passion, but damn. If Pressly and MN don’t agree to a deal by Friday’s deadline, they’ll still probably end up agreeing to one and avoid any hearings. Until actually sitting in front of arbitrators, the two involved parties can continue negotiations.

Cowboys? What the f*ck?

That’s a real hard deadline you have their, MLB. What a joke. I always wondered where my WI Public University professors got their contradictory approach to cutoff dates from.

Johnny Minnesota @TheJohnnyMN
Minnesota Sports Fan MinnesotaSportsFan.com