Related: Minnesota Twins Sign Top-10 International Prospect, Daiber De Los Santos

On Wednesday, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli told KFAN that he would still bet on the Twins making a significant move before Spring Training opens in a month. Today’s latest hot stove news certainly isn’t that, but it’s intriguing nonetheless.

Minnesota Twins interested in Jake Odorizzi

So far, all has been quiet on the rumor mill surrounding the Twins. But on the Mackey and Judd podcast (SKOR North), local insider Darren Wolfson reported that the Twins recently worked out one of their former starters, who is currently a free agent, Jake Odorizzi.

“Last week, Jake Odorizzi — free agent starter — threw for some teams, including the Twins. He would fit into their budget. [He did not pitch last year] so there’s a reason why he had a showcase, right, he needed to show that he is still capable. But I am told that he looked pretty darn good.”

Darren Wolfson – Mackey & Judd Show (SKOR North)

Related: Twins Trade Chips Jorge Polanco and Max Kepler Both Participating in ‘Twinsfest’

Odorizzi last pitched in 2022, where he was good as a back-end starter for the Houston Astros during the first half of the season (60 IP, 3.75 ERA, 3.61 FIP). But after being dealt to the Atlanta Braves before the deadline, he fell off the wagon (46.1 IP, 5.24 ERA, 5.14 FIP). Jake hasn’t pitched over 107 innings since he was last with the Twins in 2019, the only season he was ever named an All-Star.

The Minnesota Twins lost to the Kansas City Royals on Saturday night 9-6. This is the second straight game the Twins have lost to the Royals and their third loss in a row overall..

Jake Odorizzi finally made his 2020 debut tonight, finishing with 3.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, and 2 K. Odo labored through 3 innings, running a pitch count up to 71. I only expected him to pitch 3-4 innings anyway. Jake likes to throw a lot of pitches and it’s his first start of the year so that’s whatever. The only thing that I really didn’t like about his start was this mistake to Soler in the 3rd inning.

UP, UP AND JORGE. ☀️?#AlwaysRoyal pic.twitter.com/ffrmt7RpWv

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) August 9, 2020

Hitters Game

Seven total homers were hit tonight, 4 by the Royals and 3 by the Twins… and Byron Buxton tallied four RBIs and his third straight with a home run. But it was Nelson Cruz who first got the Twins on the board. If you listen closely you can hear Duffy express his frustration after Cruz went yard.

NELSON CRUZ INTO THE FOUNTAIN! #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/chUxRerZLi

— The Sports Paige (@sports_paige) August 9, 2020

Three straight games with a bomb for Byron Buxton. Twins need it bad. pic.twitter.com/AHhxF8nQiJ

— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) August 9, 2020

Then came the bottom of the fourth inning, which was an absolute disaster. Lewis Thorpe gave up three runs without recording an out, and then Cody Stashak came in and sucked too. He let in three of his own.

It’s definitely time to give up on the Lewis Thorpe dream, and maybe he could spend his free time seeing a barber. The Royals scored six runs in total, hitting three home runs. Jorge Soler hit his second of the game.

Jorge Soler – Kansas City Royals (5) pic.twitter.com/sePD64u8nN

— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) August 9, 2020

Things never got better and the Twins would eventually fall to 10-5 on the season. They now only lead the AL Central by 1.5 games over Detroit. No, that’s not a typo.

The Best

Byron Buxton has finally found his swing, now homering in three straight games. When Buxton is on, he is my favorite player to watch and it is not even close. Twins fans can only hope that he can keep this going and doesn’t get hurt running into any center field walls anytime soon.

The Worst

Lewis Thorpe just does not belong in the MLB. My nephew’s 10U traveling baseball team could hit off of Thorpe. With a 6.23 ERA and velocity down under 90 MPH, it’s time for the Twin to try someone new.

Does Lewis Thorpe Have a Velocity Problem? – Major League Baseball News – https://t.co/E0um0g7KKt pic.twitter.com/HRKeDVUvSP

— MLB &NHL News Now (@MLB_News247) August 8, 2020

Every team is going to run into rough spots along the season, I get that. Still, losing three games in a row to the Pirates and the Royals is absolutely embarrassing. Not only did this Twins loss ruin my parlay, but it made a terrible MN sports weekend that much worse.

Nonetheless, the Minnesota Twins will return to action against the Royals tomorrow afternoon (looking to avoid a sweep) at 1:05 PM CT. Jose Berrios (1-1 4.80 ERA) will take the mound against Brady Singer (0-1 4.80 ERA).

Cameron Thomson | Minnesota Sports Fan

The Minnesota Twins received good news Thursday. Jake Odorizzi will be making his first start of the 2020 season on Saturday, against the Kansas City Royals.

Jake Odorizzi will make his first start of 2020 for the #MNTwins on Saturday at Kansas City.

— danhayesmlb (@DanHayesMLB) August 6, 2020

After experiencing upper back stiffness during Summer Camp, Odorizzi was placed on the 10-day injured list. Forcing him to miss his first two starts through the rotation. Thankfully, his replacements and the rest of the team picked up the slack. Starting the year with a franchise best 10-2 record.

Odorizzi mentioned in his pregame press conference that he wasn’t experiencing much pain. He instead noticed he was losing command and velocity on his pitches. When asked about how he and Wes Johnson knew he was ready, he said it was all about feeling comfortable with his velocity.

Jake Odorizzi, 85mph Slider and 93mph Fastball, Overlay. pic.twitter.com/gdij1CbmHf

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) October 8, 2019

While manager Rocco Baldelli stated he has preferred to pull pitchers due to pace and energy instead of pitch counts, Odorizzi will likely be on a pitch count this weekend. That shouldn’t be much of an issue facing the 3-10 Royals.

Jake Odorizzi making his return is the first step back to getting this rotation fully healthy. That’s something the Twins haven’t had, with three of their five starters being placed on the injured list.

Jack Kewitsch | Minnesota Sports Fan

The Minnesota Twins shuffled their rotation after defeating the Cleveland Indians 3-0 on Saturday night. They announced that RP Tyler Clippard will serve as an opener for the series finale on Sunday.

Tyler Clippard will open Sunday’s game for the #MNTwins. Homer Bailey will start Monday instead.

— danhayesmlb (@DanHayesMLB) August 2, 2020

This is a method that was first used by the Tampa Rays during the 2018 season. Twins RP Sergio Romo was the first player to serve as an opener for the Rays that year. We could see him as the second pitcher used. Clippard will pitch 1 or 2 innings and then the rest of the bullpen will take over.

Rocco Baldelli emphasized that using the opener on Sunday is about giving Homer Bailey a little more recovery time after the quick ramp up. Same reason he pulled Kenta Maeda after the 6th, offense was on field for long inning. #MNTwins trying to take care of their pitchers. pic.twitter.com/zN3I83jk1F

— danhayesmlb (@DanHayesMLB) August 2, 2020

The originally scheduled starter Homer Bailey will be pushed back until Monday. The Twins then start a 4 game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

One reason for this could to be give Twins SP Jake Odorizzi an extra day to get ready, as he is recovering from soreness in his upper back. Odorizzi is scheduled to have a bullpen session on Monday as he looks to return to the rotation in the near future.

Usually I would be nervous for a game in which we use the opener method, but the way that this bullpen is pitching I have no worries at all.

Cameron Thompson | Minnesota Sports Fan

The Bomba Squad is back! After a week of training, the Minnesota Twins are set to play live action baseball tonight, for our viewing pleasure. Remember, the 60-game regular season sprint doesn’t start until July 24.

The inter-squad scrimmage will be streamed Thursday evening from Target Field. The team is expected to stream the game on their social media platforms and their website. Aaron Gleeman hinted at it last night and I found a report from FOX 9, that even has expected pitchers.

Goodnight. Sleep tight. There will be a game Twins fans can watch via stream tomorrow night. pic.twitter.com/hm3JQ2uwrt

— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) July 9, 2020

It will start to feel even more real for the Twins with another intra squad game on Thursday night. The team plans to stream it online, so fans can tune in and get their first look. Jake Odorizzi and Lewis Thorpe will each pitch three innings, with Taylor Rogers and Sergio Romo also getting one inning. The game will feature public address announcements, walk-up music and other game elements.

Jeff Wald – FOX 9

Ok…live action baseball may be a bit misleading. This isn’t your normal exhibition game, televised every year during spring trainings, nationwide. Instead, this training (dubbed ‘Summer Camp’) and any subsequent “games” that take place, will be Minnesota Twins players facing off against other Minnesota Twins players.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

It is still a step towards Major League Baseball’s season beginning and some sense of normalcy! The game will even include PA announcements, walk-up music and more. As reported by FOX 9, Jake Odorizzi and Lewis Thorpe will get some innings in, before closer Taylor Rogers and middle reliever Sergio Romo, get work in too.

Outside of that, it is unclear what the game will completely look like. I expect to see it be as close to the real deal as it can get, when playing against your own guys. We could also see instructional breaks and situational moving of runners, etc… I guess we’ll find out.

Thursday evening’s game comes off the heels of a pseudo-scrimmage that took place on Wednesday. Opening Day starter, Jose Berrios, threw four shutout innings and struck out the same amount of hitters. Rookie starter (and Uber driver extraordinaire), Randy Dobnak, also pitched four scoreless.

Nelson Cruz breaks up the no-hitter with the Twins’ first (sort of) hit of the season.

(I promise I’ll stop tweeting updates of an intrasquad scrimmage now. We’re all just really excited to be watching something resembling actual baseball again.) pic.twitter.com/ICrRs7fvhi

— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) July 8, 2020

While we are still a few weeks off from the Twins officially taking the field against the White Sox in Chicago to open 2020, this will be a breath of fresh air for those of us itching for baseball. Let’s just hope the weather holds off…

Jack Kewitsch | Minnesota Sports Fan

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

As we get older, our birthdays become more meaningless by the year. Less people care, the shit you do get isn’t nearly as cool as it used to be, and fuck, you usually have to work anyway….

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Luckily for me, my birthday falls on a Saturday this year. I have the weekend off, the sun is shining, a morning round of golf is in order, and Minnesota sports has a trio of games today.

The Loons, (yes we’re talking about soccer again) are down in Chicago tonight to take on the Fire (*editor’s note: doesn’t Chicago have its own fire dept.?). They will look to keep up their playoff-esque play in their first match without their former captain, Francisco Calvo… vs their former captain, Francisco Calvo… The drama is THICK in Chi-town tonight, as the Loons’ faithful of this website (Me) continue to persuade the George Washington of this website (Eric) to jump on the band wagon. You can see the game on FSNplus/ESPN+ at 7pm.

And these Twins, though (for two)… They’re out of their fucking mind right now. The swag is so out of control, some of the boys are starting to walk with a limp. Opposing teams have no clue where the heart of the lineup is, because everyone is serving up gift-wrapped bombs, like it’s their birthday. Polanco leads the AL in batting average, Rosie leads the AL in home runs, and Jake Odorizzi hasn’t allowed a run since he was 12 years old.

Unfortunately for the Detroit Tigers, who were already disrespected 6-0 last night, they still have 3 games this weekend vs the 2019 Twins Bombers (a double header slated for today and one more game tomorrow). The Twins will look to increase their lead on Cleveland in the central, while hosting a lost Tigers club. But being fair to the Tigers, every team the Twins play lately looks lost. What a great time to be a Twins fan.

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3 shutouts in our past 4 games!

We’ve outscored opponents 26-1. Sweet.#TwinsWin #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/sZcbyeMz9N

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) May 11, 2019

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I don’t ask for much. I’m a simple man, who just wants to spend his birthday drinking beer on his deck while watching his Minnesota sports teams dominate. Birthday wish: give me the rare Minnesota trifecta today.

Please and thank you.

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While everyone in Minnesota is getting primed and lubed up for the Final Four that will be in town this weekend, there are way more important things going on in a place that is much different than our own… and much worse. In the land of Philadelphia, where horse shit is what’s for dinner, the Twins will be playing 3 very important baseball games.

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Of course, it’s only games 6,7, and 8 of 162 and soon, this series will be long forgotten as we continue to trudge through the 2019 MLB season. However, for a team that will have to prove it’s for real all season long, this is the perfect series to play early on, and that is why this measuring-dick (not a typo) series has me stuck at midnight.

We get to watch our suddenly sexy pitching staff face off against one of the best lineups in the MLB. And tonight, Jake Odorizzi will be the first in line, looking to prove his first start was for real and that his 2019-self will be a much better version than his first season in the Twin Cities.

What to Watch For:

There are some very intriguing things to keep an eye on throughout this series. Obviously, everyone is going to be excited to watch Bryce Harper. I don’t give a fuck about old-school baseball anymore. There’s too much that needs to be fixed to worry about that. I hope I see a Bryce Harper bat flip that lands in the god damn press box. But, beyond Harper, here are some things I’ll be paying attention to:

1. We are about to see an offensive explosion – This could be the perfect time to play the Phillies. We might see some sparks fly all weekend long. Though the Twins are 4-1 and off to a great start, they’ve been suprisingly held together by good pitching and timely hits…. quite the opposite of what we expected coming into the season. The Twins have just 1 Home run through 5 games. That won’t last long. I’m waiting to see some BOMBS dropped by the away team over the next 3 days.
2. Can our pitching hold up? – The Twins currently rank 6th in ERA, 5th in WHIP, and 4th in H/9, throughout the entire MLB… Those are real facts… check the link. How long can they hold up. I can’t imagine they’ll remain in the top-5 or 10 all season but if they can hang in the top-half of the league, we should be in for a fun summer, as long as the boom-sticks get going on offense.
3. Does the Baldelli Touch Continue? – Everything Rocco Baldelli has touched so far has turned to gold. Fuck, he threw a college pitching coach into the clubhouse and now our same shitty pitchers from 2018 are sitting in the top-5 of most major stat categories…. it’s insanity.
4. Willians Astudillo Cont. – How do you take this guy out of your lineup? He is hitting over .600 with an OPS of over 1.6 on the season… and comes through EVERY TIME he is put into a clutch situation… plus, you can play him anywhere. We know Astudillo will be part of the catching rotation but where else will he play and what will the Twins do to make sure he gets at-bats IF he stays on his smolder-streak…

I’m so jacked for this series that I’m a bit depressed they are starting with a night game tonight, instead of these day-games you get so used to at the beginning of the season… Keep the hope alive. And if you need more Twins in your life today, the first half of our podcast episode was dedicated to them this week.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

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On Saturday, hoping to recover from the series-opening beatdown vs the Texas Rangers on Friday, the Minnesota Twins watched as 2018 FA signing, RHP Jake Odorizzi, take the mound. Unfortunately, the newly signed hurler and his six earned runs over 1.2 innings turned a rough Friday night into a full-on head-pounding hangover on Saturday afternoon.

The 7-year pro’s dumpster fire of a performance was the quickest, non-injury related, exit of his 142 career starts.

Thanks to Odorizzi’s surprisingly short shift, Minnesota’s bullpen was forced to record a taxing, two-dozen outs Saturday. As a result of the over-worked relievers, and in the aftermath of the 9-6 loss, the Twins made themselves a roster move:

Fernando Romero optioned to AAA. Reliever coming up tomorrow

— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) June 23, 2018

While Fernando Romero heads to Rochester, RHP Alan Busenitz will be joining Paul Molitor’s fatigued bullpen.

Busenitz’, whose 35.2 career MLB innings (31.2 innings in 2017, 4.0 innings in 2018) have all come with the Twins, current AAA campaign includes an impressive 1.27 ERA over 17 appearances (28.1 innings). He’s been good  when the Twins have called upon him too. Really good.

As we watch one promising pitcher get another call up, Fernando Romero will experience his first demotion from the MLB back to the minors. He looks like he could use a reset. After his first handful of big league starts saw him produce an ERA of 1.88, the coveted prospect has now allowed 19 runs over his last 22.2 innings pitched, raising his 2018 ERA to 4.38.

In “well, that makes sense” fashion, Romero’s ERA spike directly correlates to an increase in hitters’ ability to get his ball into the outfield:

Fernando Romero:
First five starts: 29 strikeouts, 39 ground balls, 32 fly balls, 1 HR
Next five starts: 15 strikeouts, 31 ground balls, 49 fly balls, 5 HR

Strikeouts are way down, but it’s also surprising to see so many well-struck fly balls vs. a high-velocity ground-ball guy.

— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) June 23, 2018

As if he’s Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator, Fernando Romero “will be back”. The electric 23 year-old’s ultimate return to big league baseball is simply a matter of time. Here’s what Molitor had to say about Romero after the move:

“His starts, while they haven’t been horrific or horrendous or any of those type of things, it just looks like it’s been a little more laborious for him,” Molitor said. “Some of the things that a young pitcher goes through, I think it’s time to reset him. There’s obviously some things maybe that I don’t want to be too transparent about that I think he needs to work on. I’m sure he’ll get back to work.”

For Sunday’s series finale, the Twins will trot out Jose Berrios before Monday’s scheduled off-day. After their one day vacation, Minnesota will be slapped in the face by the start of a nine-game road trip.

According to Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press, “Adalberto Mejia appears to be the most likely candidate to replace Romero in the rotation.” Per Berardino, the LHP is currently “lined up to start on June 30 after going 3-1 with a 1.38 ERA in his first four June starts for the Red Wings.”

After last season witnessed Mejia post a 4.50 ERA over 21 starts, I’m excited interested to see the freshly turned 25 year-old makes his 2018 MLB debut.

With all due respect to Mejia, when in the hell can I get excited about seeing our real ace?

Ervin Santana’s ‘rough journey’ continues to drag on following surgery #mnTwins https://t.co/Fsec0XVPOd pic.twitter.com/f0RI7jepRu

— Pioneer Press (@PioneerPress) June 23, 2018

R-E-L-A-X! D-A-M-N-I-T!

Johnny Minnesota (@TheJohnnyMN)
MinnesotaSportsFan.com

As Minnesota gets set for this weekend’s three-game series  vs the Tampa Bay Rays, the A.L. Central leading ballclub should be plenty rested. Between a bullshit April blizzard, and off days surrounding the Puerto Rico trip, the Twins have played two games (25 innings, though) over the past week.

With their next trio of contests taking place away from Target Field, there’s no need to sweat the forecast. The Rays play their home games at Tropicana Field.

Tropicana Field is the Metrodome’s doppelgänger pic.twitter.com/egaWEWfFoL

— Johnny Minnesota (@TheJohnnyMN) April 20, 2018

Sidebar: My sources say there’s no chance there of a dome collapse due to snow.

After Lance Lynn takes the mound on Friday, barring any unforeseen events, Kyle Gibson will do the same on Saturday. While Lynn and Gibson have already combined for five starts, Sunday’s pitcher will be making his MLB season debut:

Sunday starter? Phil Hughes looks ready for first start for #mntwins since July, @LaVelleNeal reports https://t.co/jMLt6KOs53 pic.twitter.com/DW5rUewv6C

— Star Tribune Sports (@StribSports) April 20, 2018

Per LaVelle E. Neal III, the 31 year-old, Phil Hughes, will be activated from the disabled list in time to start Sunday against Tampa Bay. The move comes in anticipation of next week’s four game series vs. the Evil Empire:

Hughes’ appearance will mark the end of Paul Molitor’s previously employed four-man rotation.

Minnesota’s next (scheduled) off day isn’t until May 17th. With their best pitcher from 2017, Ervin Santana, expected to return around that time, how long Hughes stays among the reigning A.L. Manager of the Year’s Top 5 starters will remain to be seen.

The 2004 first round draft pick is coming off of a 2017 season that was a doppelgänger of his 2016 campaign.

Latest setback ‘disheartening’ for Phil Hughes, who could face 2nd season-ending surgery in 12-plus months. https://t.co/cfZ0RmNz1E

— Mike Berardino (@MikeBerardino) July 18, 2017

According to our friends at the Mayo Clinic, “Thoracic outlet syndrome is a group of disorders that occur when blood vessels or nerves in the space between your collarbone and your first rib are compressed.” While that breakdown makes the condition sound worse, Hughes has expressed that he FEELS better.

#MNTwins MiLB results: Fort Myers wins 5-4. Phil Hughes pitched a second time this season with the Miracle and grabbed the win. His line: 5 innings, 3 hits, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K.

— Martin Schlegel (@mschlegel34) April 15, 2018

Good to hear. Let’s hope that his feeling-better equates to pitching better. Despite starting his Twins’ tenure strong, his last two (shortened) seasons have been brutal.

Phil Hughes’ Twins Career:

Johnny Minnesota (@TheJohnnyMN)
MinnesotaSportsFan.com