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What a week it’s been since episode 23… We’re breaking it all down. And our new producer, Lance Bass-Wiczek adds a whole new dimension to the show!

– How much trouble are the Vikings in as they enter Philadelphia this weekend? Is it a must-win game? We discuss our panic levels… let’s just say that the Vikings REALLY need to win.

– Jimmy Butler is whining and nobody cares. How should Thibs handle it? Unlike most, we discuss how incredibly well he’s dealing with this situation so far. But, things could get awkward very quickly this week…

– Does Joe Mauer retire? Should he? How does he not after game 162, where he had the best “going away” ceremony possibly in history?

– Paul Molitor got the ax. Was it the right move? Did Falvine do it the right way? Who is on their list for new candidates? We break it all down.

– Why some blockbuster moves this offseason could push the Twins into the upper-tier of the MLB very quickly but the Twins won’t do it.

– We finish the show with a quick roundup of everything else that’s relevant in MN Sports, including Gopher Football struggles, Gopher Basketball getting underway, and the Minnesota Wild start their season this week!

This might be our most fire episode yet…

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So, while many (including myself) hoped the Twins would keep Paul Molitor around for the forseeable future, it looks like the front office have something else in mind. How quickly it happened following the game 162 on Sunday, says a lot too…

Paul Molitor has been fired by the Minnesota Twins

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) October 2, 2018

If you remember, owner Carl Pohlad forced the hand of his new front office regime when they were hired two years ago. Taking the job at the top of the Twins’ organization meant your coach for 2017 would be Paul Molitor. Then, when he surprisingly made the one-game playoff last season and won AL Manager of the year, their hand was pretty much forced again.

It would have been a tough stance to take, had the new Front Office fired him after last season. Paul isn’t just another coach for a Minnesota pro team. He’s a Minnesota Legend. It would have taken some large testicular fortitude to fire him after the season he had last year.

So, they waited. However, you have to wonder how itchy they have been to make this move. Again, they didn’t need any more time after 2018 ended, to make their decision.

But now, the bigger question looms….

Who is going to replace Paul Molitor?

I’ll be back once specific names start being released. Until then, here is a list that a writer at MLB.com put together for quality candidates going into this offseason.

UPDATE 1:55 PM, TUES: Here is the first tweet/report, that I’ve seen from a credible source, with names that the team is supposedly looking at for their new coach:

Possible #Twins managerial candidates: Brad Mills, John McDonald, Jayce Tingler, Brandon Hyde. @MLB @MLBNetwork

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) October 2, 2018

Eric Strack
Minnesota Sports Fan @RealMNSportsFan

Welcome back for Volume II of this yet-to-be-named weekly column….

Before we dive in, I want to direct you to the bottom of this page where you can subscribe to Minnesota Sports Fan so you get a friendly email whenever we post a new article or podcast! It’s FREE!

This week, we have a very Vikings-feel but there is plenty to recap and elaborate on, from the other pro teams here in the lovely state of Minnesota. Let’s get caught up on what has happened so far this week.

Terence Newman: By now you may have heard that Terence Newman elected to retire and open up a roster spot for younger players, when the Vikings cut their roster down to 53 players, last weekend. With young players like Mike Hughes and Holton Hill, Newman was going to be a mentor whether he got regular playing time or not. Newman, the perfect embodiment of “team player” said in his own words, that continuing to play at the expense of a younger defensive back would be “selfish“. Coach Newman (gonna be weird for a little while) wasted no time in getting to work from a new perspective:

DBs assistant coach Terence Newman in the standard coach’s windbreaker now. pic.twitter.com/x3J3VQ6qPO

— Andrew Krammer (@Andrew_Krammer) September 5, 2018

The Opener Strategy: Kill it. Bury it. Forget about it. The Twins are getting creative with their season effectively over. Recently the Twins have been experimenting with the “opener strategy” which simply means they bring in a reliever for the first inning and then a starter or long reliever after that. Gabriel Moya got the first opener start on Sunday, and Trevor May got his turn Tuesday. The results were…. NOT INSPIRING. I can appreciate the desire to be ahead of the curve with analytics in Major League Baseball, but make sure you can ride the bike with training wheels before you try without them. FWIW Kohl Stewart looked good as the “primary pitcher” on Tuesday, but both games were losses. Good riddance for now.

Final: #Astros 5, #MNTwins 2: May gives up 4 ER in 1 IP as opener. Kohl Stewart 5 scoreless innings. Grossman RBI double

— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) September 5, 2018

Matt Wile: The Vikings have a new punter! After waiving Ryan Quigley the Vikings claimed Wile off waivers from Pittsburgh. Quigley struggled with hangtime and punt average even though he went all of last year without a touchback. Wile, in limited action, appears to have a better leg and after a rough preseason with Quigley, the Vikings clearly wanted a fresh start at the position. It will be interesting to see if there is any sort of learning curve for Vikings rookie kicker Daniel Carlson and Wile. Matt has bounced around, but did have a pretty good preseason, which is encouraging:

The Seahawks rookie was the highest graded punter in the NFL this preseason. pic.twitter.com/zaK3gKdWxR

— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) September 5, 2018

Here are some other things that caught my attention this week:

The #Vikings have signed CB Jalen Myrick (@5__On__It) to the practice squad.

Jack Tocho has been placed on practice squad/injured.

?: https://t.co/WA45qvmnZl pic.twitter.com/jAnjZXWOfX

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 5, 2018

Welcome back to Minnesota Mr. Myrick! Always good to have former Gophers with the Vikings.

Sources: Free agent Luol Deng will meet with the Minnesota Timberwolves within the next week as sides discuss potential deal.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 5, 2018

You either hate this move or you don’t. Eric broke this down yesterday and Twitter has been going bananas about Thibs potentially bringing in another former Bull to fill out the bench. It would be a minimum deal. Calm down.

Scoop that didn’t make podcast episode 171, but I can elaborate on in episode 172 later this week: #Twolves are hosting some recognizable names for free agent workouts this week. Among those here, I am told: Nick Young, Arron Afflalo and Corey Brewer. #AllEyesNorth pic.twitter.com/beM3BoTNHH

— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) September 4, 2018

It appears the Wolves are doing their due diligence to add some more shooting to the bench. Are you upset with any of these guys as potential bench options?

Thank you to the entire @Vikings organization for the opportunity, especially my family & fans for the overwhelming support. Today may sting for a bit, but I find peace knowing He has a plan for me. My days in the NFL aren’t over. #ItsAGodThing #NoStruggleNoProgress pic.twitter.com/Qfip6sOMIA

— Jake Wieneke (@jake_wieneke) September 1, 2018

Best of luck Jake, in whatever is next for you. Maybe you’ll get to wear the Purple again somewhere down the road.

That is enough for this week. Football is finally back in our lives as of Thursday night (hopefully the Eagles get stomped) and the Vikings should start 1-0. The Gophers could move to 2-0 on Saturday. Life is good. More to come next week.

Seth Toupal @sethtoups

Minnesota Sports Fan

The Minnesota Twins have been out of the playoff chase for quite some time, especially after their most recent series vs. Oakland. But even with the front-office looking forward to next year, there are still plenty of reasons to keep watching the games taking place on the field. Let’s go over some of them:

Tyler Austin:

Austin was acquired in the Lance Lynn trade, and has been raking since he joined the lineup. He’s hitting .333 with 6 home runs, in 12 games since joining the team, including an absolute moonshot against Oakland on Sunday:

Tyler Austin, Destroyer of Baseballs. pic.twitter.com/NV7gViV0VS

— Parker Hageman (@ParkerHageman) August 26, 2018

With Joe Mauer potentially nearing the end of his Twins career (more on that later) and Logan Morrison, who likely won’t to wear a Twins’ uniform again, after being shut down for the year with a hip injury, there’s a huge void at first base that will need to be filled. Austin has the potential to be a middle-of-the-order bat to pair with Miguel Sano (more on him later too).

Austin looks like a player who simply needed a change of scenery and full-time opportunity. There is plenty to like about his approach at the plate:

this is a real nice swing. pic.twitter.com/glNtOXGOI7

— Parker Hageman (@ParkerHageman) August 26, 2018

Plus, Austin’s dad seems pretty happy he has moved on from New York. FWIW: Austin wasn’t particularly pleased by his dad’s tweets…

Tyler Austin’s dad a savage for this ? pic.twitter.com/y4cYC6NJJK

— Pinstripe Dynasty (@ChaseForThe28th) August 21, 2018

Tyler Austin on his father’s tweet that “Tyler has more hits in a week with Twins than (Greg) Bird has in a month with Yankees”: “It’s embarrassing, to be honest. I called and told him to take it down right away. That’s not acceptable.” Said he’ll be contacting Bird to apologize.

— Phil Miller (@MillerStrib) August 21, 2018

Stephen Gonsalves:

Gonsalves represents the next wave of pitchers who could have a major impact on this Twins roster over the next few years. The first couple of starts for Gonsalves haven’t panned out as many would have hoped, but Gonsalves’ potential is worth the price of admission. Once he learns to consistently locate, he is going to be a big contributor, as evident by his first MLB strikeout:

#MNTwins No. 5 prospect Stephen Gonsalves painted the inside corner to notch his first @MLB strikeout. Watch live: https://t.co/XFqNtkk9Ts pic.twitter.com/gSLaZgsKWK

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 20, 2018

It is fair to assume Gonsalves is dealing with heightened nerves from his first few starts in the big leagues, and once he gets the hang of things he will come back toward his minor league numbers.

More than anything, I think the locations of Stephen Gonsalves’ change-up tonight revealed how nervous/amp’d he was for his Major League debut. Watch any of his MiLB starts and he’s keep that pitch down. pic.twitter.com/ET2iR5n2Dx

— Parker Hageman (@ParkerHageman) August 21, 2018

Michael Pineda:

Pineda, who the Twins signed during the offseason while he rehabbed from Tommy John surgery, has recently begun a rehab assignment in hopes of joining the Twins’ rotation sometime in September. Before the news of his knee irritation, the results of his rehab assignment looked encouraging. Unfortunately, some news over the weekend may dampen the Michael Pineda 2018 party:

Michael Pineda is coming back to Minnesota. He’s dealing with some right knee irritation that is going to result in an MRI on Monday.

— Brandon Warne (@Brandon_Warne) August 25, 2018

Here is some video from Michael Pineda’s start for AAA-Rochester tonight. His line: 4 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 Ks, 55 pitches, 32 strikes. He will join the #MNTwins in September and is expected to be in the Opening Day 2019 rotation. pic.twitter.com/OlnrBcjf2k

— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) August 22, 2018

Regardless of whether or not Pineda can join the rotation in September, he’ll be slotted in for 2019 and should factor in as a big contributor. If he’s able to shake off the knee soreness, he’ll get a chance this year to show Twins fans some of the filth he routinely threw while with the Yankees.

Michael Pineda took a perfect game into the seventh inning before a double from Evan Longoria broke it up. #Yankees pic.twitter.com/m4V7XZahMn

— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) April 10, 2017

Add him in with Jose Berrios and Kyle Gibson, and the Twins have a very intriguing top end of the rotation for 2019.

Joe Mauer:

My final reason to watch the rest of this season deals with a franchise cornerstone who may be playing his final games with the Twins. Mauer; who was the AL MVP in 2009, is working his way up the list of Twins all-time greats, in many offensive categories. It’s hard to believe that Mauer has been a fixture in the lineup since his debut in 2004. He’s been a model of consistency throughout his career. Check out this hit chart:

Joe Mauer’s 2,086 career hits. https://t.co/xiHCA5QiY8 pic.twitter.com/sTk97uchtm

— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) August 25, 2018

With the numbers Mauer has put up in his career, it’s fair to wonder how much better they would have been had concussions not taken their toll on him in 2013 or if the infield shift had waited another 5 years before taking over the league. The concussion symptoms forced him to switch positions, along with lingering effects that now force him to wear sunglasses while hitting during day games. At the same time, the shift has taken away his patented up-the-middle base hit, and countless others that used to make it to the outfield on the regular. As a result, we’ve seen a dip in production. Mauer hit .323 from 2004-2013 and has seen that dive to .277 ever since…JK

Despite the concussion and infield shift terrorism, Mauer has still provided many clutch moments to this day:

AS CLUTCH AS IT GETS!!!

Joe Mauer’s pinch-hit 3-run homer gives the @Twins the lead! Stream the game NOW on #FOXSportsGO: https://t.co/A3DSEGIIyu pic.twitter.com/1pcqc5tNZf

— FOX Sports North (@fsnorth) August 18, 2018

One thing is for certain, if Mauer does decide to call it a career after this season, he will have a place along the other Twin greats.

One thing I love about Joe Mauer is how humble he is.

He questioned if he was really worthy of being recognized pregame with Morris, Molitor, & Winfield on the strength of St. Paul Baseball.

About 15 minutes later he led the game off with a homer & is a triple shy of the cycle. pic.twitter.com/rzgdqGMReZ

— Dustin Morse (@morsecode) August 19, 2018

So there you have it. The season may be lossed but there are still plenty of reasons to tune in. We didn’t even touch on September call-ups, which I will probably take a look at when more start to take place. But for now, just sit back and enjoy a few more games before baseball is left in a cloud of NFL dust.

In fact, the Twins are back in action tonight:

Seth Toupal @SethToups
Minnesota Sports Fan

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

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

Unlike most businesses, the Minnesota Twins had themselves a productive Monday.

The professional baseball organization kicked off the work week by (literally) welcoming the Detroit Tigers to Target Field. Apparently, some Land of 10K Lakes-residents are familiar with the division rival’s new manager:

Large crowd assembled in the visiting dugout for the return of Ron Gardenhire. #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/rthmYskVXa

— Dan Hayes (@DanHayesMLB) May 21, 2018

Sidebar: Small world, am I right?

Once the nostalgic chitchat eventually ceased, the two teams took to the diamond.

After trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the fifth, a two-out/two-run Max Kepler double tied it up at deuces. That’s where the score would remain until the bottom of the eighth, when Logan Morrison watched ball 4 to earn a rare RBI walk that gave the Twins the lead. One batter later, some slick Eddie Rosario baserunning provided the always-appreciated insurance run.

Speaking of appreciated, a light needs to be shined on Rosario’s walk-off catch:

Eddie Rosario catch to end the game and Fernando Rodney didn’t even need the arrow. #MNTWins pic.twitter.com/eohbWBWnc5

— Fairweather Marvin (@MAD_Marvin) May 22, 2018

In the aftermath of another José Berríos’ gem (8 IP, 3 H, 2 ER), Minnesota kept their Monday grind going by announcing a roster move. The noteworthy transaction immediately diverted attention away from the team’s 4-2 victory.

The designation for assignment means that Minnesota has a week’s time to either trade or send Phil Hughes through waivers. Due to the aggressive amount of money ($22.57M through 2019) remaining on the RHP’s contract, he will most certainly be hitting the wire. Once the other 29 teams pass on that raw deal, the 31 year-old will officially be released.

Baseball can be a harsh and humbling game. Respect to the Twins organization and fans for always treating me so incredibly well. Will miss you guys ❤

— Phil Hughes (@PJHughes45) May 22, 2018

After spending his first seven MLB seasons with the Yankees Evil Empire, Hughes agreed to a three-year, $24 million deal with the Twins, during the 2013-14 offseason. Upon completion of an impressive 16-10 (3.52 ERA, 209.2 IP) 2014 campaign, Minnesota restructured and extended the starting pitcher’s contract.

Unfortunately, since then, the California native has been unable to return to that 7th place Cy Young voting form.

When you look at how much he got bit by the damn injury bug, that would seem to make sense:

• 4/29/2015: Left Hip Flexor Strain (Day-To-Day)
• 8/10/2015: Lower Back Inflammation (15-Day Disabled List)
• 9/28/2015: Illness (Day-To-Day)
• 6/10/2016: Fractured Left Knee (60-Day Disabled List)
• 5/22/2017: Right Biceps Inflammation (10-Day Disabled List)
• 7/18/2017: Recurrence Of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (60-Day Disabled List)
• 3/28/2018: Strained Left Oblique (10-Day Disabled List)

To address all the money remaining on Hughes’ deal, the Pohlad owned franchise is going to end up footing that ($22.57 million) bill. While that’s a tough proverbial pill to swallow, the right-handed hurler’s plethora of bad breaks make it equally difficult to hold anything against him.

Paul Molitor summed up the situation as follows:

Due to the imminent returns of Ervin Santana and Trevor May, the writing relating to this move was on covered the wall. In regards to Hughes’ immediate roster replacement, that information is expected to be announced on Tuesday.

In closing, once the veteran pitcher is officially released, he’ll be considered a free agent. As you can see, there’s a decent chance he remains in the AL Central:

Keep an eye on #Tigers as a potential landing spot for Phil Hughes. He had a long talk with #Tigers bullpen coach Rick Anderson today and publicly thanked Anderson for his contributions as PC after their record-setting 2014 season that led to ill-fated, 3-year extension.

— Mike Berardino (@MikeBerardino) May 22, 2018

Sidebar: Small world, am I right?

Johnny Minnesota (@TheJohnnyMN)
MinnesotaSportsFan.com

When it comes to appearing extremely intoxicated, the last couple weeks of the Twins’ season deserve a gold silver medal.

Cinco de Mayo & The Kentucky Derby on the same day…this is the greatest day ever for drunk frat bros.

— Andy Ruther (@AndyRuther) May 5, 2018

With that attempt to lighten the mood complete (things might get a little dark here), let’s talk baseball:

After starting off the season 8-5, the Twins played the next 13 games to the tune of a 2-11 record.

It’s been the tale of fraternal #Twins when looking at the #mntwins start to the season…. #minnesotasports #minnesotasportsfan #minnesota #minnesotatwins #mlb

A post shared by Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) on May 3, 2018 at 8:34am PDT

As disturbing as that graphic is, Saturday’s victory actually marked the team’s second win in a row and third of their last four. They’ll enter Sunday just a half game back of Ron Gardenhire’s Detroit Tigers for second place in the AL Central. While that accomplishment is certainly nothing to write home about, beggars Minnesotans can’t be choosers.

So, hopefully Minnesota’s very recent on-the-field play, unlike Miguel Sano’s weight goals, are moving back in the right direction. Unfortunately, that’s not the case away from the big league diamond:

.@Twins place catcher Jason Castro (right knee meniscus tear) on 10-day DL; select catcher Bobby Wilson from Triple-A Rochester; transfer RHP Ervin Santana to 60-day DL.

— MLBRosterMoves (@MLBRosterMoves) May 5, 2018

Jason Castro’s 10-day DL designation means Mitch Garver will take on the majority of reps at Joe Mauer’s old position. Who’s for the new catcher on the Twins’ roster? Bobby Wilson was acquired via a FA minor-league deal in November of 2017.

Over the course of eight different MLB seasons (324 games), the 35 year-old has a career batting average of .214 (.268 OBP). With all due respect to Wilson, barring some sort of out-of-body experience, I hope he reaches the 330 career contest plateau as part of a different organization.

Unless you’re hosing runners down at second like Yadier Molina, Bobby Boy’s one home run every 47 at-bats coupled with his barely-above .200 batting average isn’t going to cut it:

via GIPHY

Sidebar: Indications are that Castro’s slow start at the plate is attributed to this meniscus issue.

Speaking of not going to cut it, Minnesota’s current team ERA of 5.02 ranks 26th in the majors. For comparison purposes, Ervin Santana’s 2017 ERA closed at an impressive 3.28.

Although the 2x All-Star’s transfer to the 60-Day Disabled List may appear daunting, the headline’s bark significantly outperforms its bite.

More bad news for the #mntwins. Ervin Santana has been moved to the 60-day DL #mlb #twins #minnesotatwins #disabledlist

A post shared by Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) on May 5, 2018 at 3:53pm PDT

The two month hiatus is retroactive to the beginning of the season. Due to that extremely important wrinkle, Santana will be permitted to return from this lingering finger issue on May 28th.

Despite the May eligibility date, according to Paul Molitor, the 35 year-old pitcher’s need for live batting practice sessions prior to his (brief) Minor League assignment, “leaves the first week of June as a more likely landing spot for Santana’s return.”

While that would equate to (basically) another month’s time without the reliable right-hander, a certain call-up last week may ease our pain slightly.

The way I see it, despite all of the Twins’ recent pain (literally and figuratively), things easily could have been much more excruciating. First of all, Cleveland’s recent struggles leave them sitting only one game above .500. In addition to that, it’s not like Minnesota still has one of their starting pitching eggs in Phil Hughes’ basket.

I don’t care if it was a ball, the life on this 98mph fastball from Fernando Romero blew my mind.

Fiiiiilthy. pic.twitter.com/XPMlviF6n9

— Pitcher List (@PitcherList) May 2, 2018

Johnny Minnesota (@TheJohnnyMN)
MinnesotaSportsFan.com

Despite my soft spot for Fernando Rodney, if the near future sees him drop another save or two, it’ll be time for the 41 year-old to be given a different bullpen role.

While this piece is based on a Twins’ pitcher named “Fernando,” whose last initial is also “R,” it surprisingly doesn’t surround the veteran reliever. Meaning, Mr. Rodney’s leash as Minnesota’s closer (albeit assumedly short) still exists.

As a result, the sure to be fisticuffs between my brain and heart won’t be occurring today. Phew, that was close.

via GIPHY

Thankfully, this particular table is reserved for a different “Fernando.”

Struggling #MNTwins make bold move, promote top prospect Fernando Romero to starting rotation https://t.co/ECynQTUiel pic.twitter.com/g5zK3CHjTc

— Star Tribune Sports (@StribSports) April 30, 2018

In case you missed the reports, Fernando Romero is slated to make his MLB debut on Wednesday.

The 6’0″ 215 lbs right-hander will be taking over the bullpen-bound Phil Hughes’ spot in the rotation. As implied by this March 4th, 2018 headline from the Pioneer Press, the 23 year-old has an aggressive amount of potential:

When it comes to Minnesota’s up-and-coming talent, outside of SS Royce Lewis, Romero takes a back seat to no one.

The Dominican Republic native, has sat out almost all of the last two years (injury and eventual Tommy John). The anticipation surrounding the young flame thrower actually took off in 2016. His sub 2.00 ERA over sixteen Single-A starts (5 Cedar Rapids, 11 Fort Myers) during that season “shocked observers.”

It’s probably fair to say he shocked some hitters, as well:

Fernando Romero still humming it in there at 97-98 MPH here in the 5th. #Kernels

— Jeff Johnson (@jeje66) June 9, 2016

Since then, despite ending last year on the DL, he hasn’t skipped a beat. The power throwing pitcher finished his 125-inning 2017 campaign with a 3.53 ERA, 120 strikeouts, and 45 walks (Double-A Chattanooga).

As for this year, Romero has “fared well in his first taste of Triple-A, posting a 2.57 ERA with 20 strikeouts and 10 walks in 21 innings.

Here’s the @BaseballPro scouting report on Twins top pitching prospect Fernando Romero, who’s joining the rotation Wednesday in place of Phil Hughes. https://t.co/pieLJtcYJg pic.twitter.com/KgfoUAFLtB

— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) April 30, 2018

Please do not share that information with the Toronto Blue Jays or any of their affiliates. Thank you.

You can share this tidbit with them, though: Fernando Romero “has the mound swagger that all the great ones seem to possess.”

To close, let’s hope this shake-up is exactly what the doctor (and fans) ordered. Either way, having Hughes in the rotation was putting way too much stress on the already stressed out relievers.

However it all plays out, Ervin Santana should be back before we know it. On top of that, Lance Lynn should be almost finished with his version of Spring Training:

Lance Lynn 8.46 ERA
Alex Cobb 13.11 ERA
Greg Holland 7.36 ERA

It’s almost like facing pro lineups for a month before the season is pretty important…

— Phil Mackey (@PhilMackey) May 1, 2018

Johnny Minnesota (@TheJohnnyMN)
MinnesotaSportsFan.com

It’s difficult to believe that it has only been ten days since the Twins had an 8-5 record and were sitting atop the AL Central. As they say, time crawls when you’re getting your ass kicked.

I don’t want to seem like the “get off my lawn” guy, but Paul Molitor’s club is going to have to pick up the pace. The winning percentage of .100, during this brutal stretch isn’t, going to cut it. On a fortunate note, it’s not as if we’re sitting here talking about the Vikings losing nine of their last ten. This is baseball, baby.

With the Twins’ schedule showing 139 games remaining, it seems important to take the Meek Mill approach:

In an initial attempt to calm some nerves, let’s take a look at Minnesota’s two most important starting pitchers:

José Berríos

Berríos started out this 2018 campaign by only allowing five earned runs over his first four starts (27.2 innings). After that Johan Santana mid 2000-esque dominance, the Puerto Rico native has struggled over his last two appearances:

As scary as Sunday’s zero strikeout performance may have been, the 23 year-old didn’t seem concerned:

Berríos also said (through a translator) “everything works off the fastball and that he “couldn’t control it today.”

That’s understandable, right? Some days, for whatever reason, your “A-Game” is nowhere to be found. When it comes to José Orlando Berríos, I don’t expect his top-notch stuff to be lost for very long.

Ervin Santana

With May right around the corner (it’s already here if you’re late to reading this), Ervin Santana is yet to make his 2018 inaugural appearance. For now, he will remain in Florida and continue to rehab from the calcium deposit removal surgery. Although there is no specific return date anticipated, the Twins’ 2017 best pitcher is “nearing his first bullpen session.”

In the event Ervin was already around, you’d assume Phil Hughes and Tyler Duffey would have seen little to no innings. Unless you’re a member of the Hughes or Duffey family, that hypothetical switcheroo is like moving from 2008 to 2018 in the cell phone market. Time for an upgrade.

via GIPHY

Moving onto the next proverbial Xanax, this odd situation could have been a lot worse:

Byron Buxton the only player ever to fracture his toe while on the DL for migraines

— Seth Klein (@SethDaSportsMan) April 28, 2018

While the hairline fracture is frustrating, at least the deviant foul ball decided to stop it’s bodily harm short of a full-fledged busting of that big toe. In the event that occurred, Byron Buxton probably would have been out 4-6 weeks. According Minnesota’s manager, he is hopeful “it becomes tolerable in a more reasonable timeframe.”

Despite that dose of positivity, Sunday’s Twins-related reports did appear to have one BIG issue. It surrounds our All-Star third baseman:

Sano out while battling hamstring tightness: Twins slugger Miguel Sano will miss his second… https://t.co/yyKfOMHO9n

— New Sports Updates (@newsprtsupdates) April 29, 2018

Per Jim Souhan of the Star Tribune, Molitor “did not sound optimistic” about Miguel Sano returning to action on Monday.

Speaking of not sounding optimistic, how about Souhan’s take on the hefty 24 year-old:

Okay, Okay. Damnit. That’s not a good sign.

It’s especially not a good sign when you parlay the weight gain with Justin Gard’s Tweets from 2017:

Molitor on Sano weight issue: “His heart, mind, soul are in the right places. He just hasn’t figured out the best way to get to his goals.”

— Justin Gaard (@jgkfan) October 10, 2017

More Molitor on Sano: “He can do better…I don’t know how big is too big for Miggy…he’s a big guy. We can do better.”

— Justin Gaard (@jgkfan) October 10, 2017

Contrary to popular belief, I’m not a doctor. While hamstring injuries are apparently “often preventable,” was this one? At the end of the day, if Sano can stay healthy and play baseball at a high-level, who cares if he’s pushing four bills?

However, I don’t think the man who wound up as AL Manager of the Year was referring to Miguel packing on 5-10 more pounds. Despite Molitor saying they “can do better,” indications are the situation may have gotten a little worse:

Miguel Sano running through a stop sign at 3rd pic.twitter.com/PLBmcEoxbT

— Brian (@hrbekroenick) April 5, 2018

Johnny Minnesota (@TheJohnnyMN)
MinnesotaSportsFan.com