What was projected to be one of this club’s best assets entering the season, quickly proved to be the opposite of that. And now, it seems like every game the Twins lose is, in large part, at the hands of their leaky bullpen. On Tuesday, they claimed one familiar reliever, in Michael Tonkin. But let’s be real, he isn’t the answer.

Former Minnesota Twins reliever Taylor Rogers waived by Giants

So, how can the Twins fix player personnel issues now that the MLB trade deadline has passed? Well, it’s not easy. But Wednesday evening, it became very possible, when the San Francisco Giants waived three veteran players, in an attempt to clear salary off their books. One of the players waived was former Twins closer, Taylor Rogers.

WAIVERS: #SFGiants have placed INF Thairo Estrada, LHP Taylor Rogers, and LHP Tyler Matzek on outright waivers.

— MLB Transaction Tracker (@MLBMovesTracker) August 29, 2024

San Francisco is giving up on their season, that’s all this move means. I know your next question. Is Taylor Rogers any good anymore? Yes. In fact, he is having one of the best seasons of his career.

Related: Has Brooks Lee Fallen Out of Twins’ Current Infield Plans?

In 51.1 innings pitched, the former Twin holds a 2.45 ERA, a 160 ERA+ and 2.66 FIP. He would immediately alleviate Minnesota’s middle-to-late relief issues, not to mention flip their left-handed bullpen weakness into a strength.

LHRP Taylor Rogers has been placed on waivers by the Giants, he’s been an elite reliever this year (3.44 FIP, 28.2 K%), under contract next year $12M, Mets should put a claim in here. Danny Young has been solid but Rogers would bolster this pen’ a lot. pic.twitter.com/8wVHQGexhf

— Dom B (@DomB92_) August 29, 2024

Yes, the Twins have bullpen problems. But a closer look at the numbers tells us that, overall, things aren’t as bad as they might seem, lately. Minnesota’s 3.91 bullpen ERA, entering Wednesday, was the 7th-best in the American League.

That’s not earth shatteringly low, and it will now go up after another difficult night for Twins relievers. But it’s average. Griffin Jax is one of the best setup/firemen in all of baseball, and Jhoan Duran is still (usually) lights out. Inserting a lefty like Rogers right behind those two could legitimately change everything about how Rocco, and opposing teams, view this bullpen.

Only one thing Pohlad family stands in the way of this all-too-obvious reunion…

So what is stopping the Minnesota Twins from bringing Taylor Rogers back to Minneapolis? Probably the Pohlads. In order to sign him, they’d have to get the go-ahead to pay the remainder of his 2024 salary, which would cost the Twins $2.1 million in additional payroll.

Not only that, but they’d also be on the hook for his 2025 salary, which is over $12 million. That’s not a lot of money for a high-end reliever who we know is comfortable at Target Field.

Related: Twins Pondering a Position Change for Royce Lewis?

But for an organization that has REFUSED to add any additional money to their payroll over the past 9 months, any signing that includes bringing on significant money gives me pause.

Can president of baseball operations Derek Falvey convince Joe Pohlad to sneak some cash out of his dad’s emergency stash? If so, this would be the perfect opportunity.

If this was the end of Chris Paddack's season, his final stats will include 135 2/3 innings, a 3.38 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. Since 1986, José Fernández and Walker Buehler are the only rookie pitchers to finish with equal or better numbers in those three categories.

— Dennis Lin (@dennistlin) September 12, 2019

Later in the night, Taylor Rogers was reported as part of the package heading back to San Diego. Then Thursday morning, it broke that the Padres were also including right-handed relief pitcher, Emilio Pagan. The final piece to the puzzle came a few minutes later. The Twins were parting with 27-year-old power-hitting corner outfielder, Brent Rooker, an MLB-ready prospect coming off injury.

Rooker or Larnach

Brent Rooker was the worst of three young corner outfield prospects in Minnesota, all of which are much better with the bat then they are chasing down fly balls. Now, they have more at-bats for Alex Kirilloff and Trevor Larnach. Kirilloff will get some time at 1st base too. Larnach projects as a DH down the road and is starting his year in St. Paul. It was Larnach who was rumored to be in this trade last night. That was after he was surprisingly scratched from the Saints lineup just before their second game of the season.

Trevor Larnach is no longer in the starting lineup for tonight, the @StPaulSaints announced. Was originally batting 3rd and playing left.

— Brandon Warne (@Brandon_Warne) April 6, 2022

So when driving my kids to school this morning, I was happy to hear it was Brent Rooker heading West and not Trevor Larnach. Settling on Rooker, instead of Larnach, could be why the Twins had to eat a large chunk of Taylor Rogers’ salary, to get the deal done. If so, it was worth it.

Classic Twins move

Make no doubt about it, this is a classic Minnesota Twins move. That doesn’t mean it isn’t a good one. Taylor Rogers is scheduled to be a free agent after this season. Clearly, the Twins weren’t going to bring him back. He would’ve been dealt at last year’s deadline had he not been injured. Now, they get an additional year of control in a legitimate bullpen arm, with Emilio Pagan.

The Twins have the young high-powered arms in the Minnesota bullpen, that we shouldn’t miss Taylor Rogers that much. Chris Paddack is more in return than anything they’d get for Rogers at the deadline. Paddack is another back-end starting pitcher — this one with three years of control — who has the upside of a top rotation arm.

If Derek Falvey and Thad Levine couldn’t find a front-end fix to their rotation, this deal with the Padres is as good of a consolation prize as I could have imagined. And still, the Twins roster and payroll is primed for a bigger blockbuster move before the deadline. Hopefully for a playoff-grizzled, still high-end starting pitcher.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Rosario’s non-tender isn’t a surprise, but Wisler is definitely a surprise considering his 2020 performance and the fact that the Twins have already lost Trevor May from the bullpen, with Sergio Romo and Tyler Clippard also free agents.

We’ll be speaking with Falvey shortly.

— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) December 3, 2020

#MNTwins agree to terms with five players on 2021 contracts. pic.twitter.com/GW0otG75U9

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) December 3, 2020

Contracts Offered

Everyone else who was due to be offered a contract by today’s non-tender deadline has been offered, other than Rosario and Wisler, who were non-tendered. The only person left to sign his offer sheet is Taylor Rogers. Some of those deals are for major contributors to this team, including Byron Buxton, Jose Berrios and Tyler Duffey.

The values these players have signed for are below. We don’t appear to be heading for any major arbitration disagreements but we’ll obviously have to keep an eye on what happens between the front office and Taylor Rogers.

*UPDATE (Dec. 3, 9 AM): Taylor Rogers and the Twins have come to a contract agreement, per Dan Hayes (The Athletic). The table below has been updated accordingly.

Now that these deals are signed and Eddie Rosario + Matt Wisler are set for free agency, the Minnesota Twins and other teams around the MLB will sift through some of the surprise non-tender free agents, and continue to fill out their rosters.

We’ll be here with any news that drops for the Twins.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Earlier this week, Minnesota Twins starting pitcher, Kenta Maeda, had one of the best starting pitching performances that Rocco Baldelli has ever witnessed. He took a no-hitter into the 9th inning, before giving up a base hit to to the first batter of the inning, Eric Sogard, on his 115th pitch. After he exited, Closing Pitcher, Taylor Rogers, took the bump in his place.

Normally lights out, Rogers has been a bit off during this shortened MLB season. That pattern continued Tuesday, when he surrendered three runs and the lead Maeda and Co. had built up.

The Twins still came back and won that game so all was well… but not for Rogers. According to Kenta Maeda (through translation), Rogers left an apology letter on Maeda’s locker and also offered to buy him some alcohol or something, in return for blowing his lead and win.

The grateful Maeda took to his popular YouTube page to describe the whole heartwarming scenario. Here is the video. Below it, you’ll find the translation from Japanese to English, from one of Maeda’s YouTube subscribers, Andy Yang:

English Translation

Hello again everyone, Kenta Maeda here. So, I pitched yesterday and threw a no-hitter.

\[Guy off camera:\] No you didn’t, you were close though.

Oh, I think my memory is failing me. I thought I threw a no-hitter, that’s weird. Anyway, I failed at throwing a no-hitter yesterday. I made it to the 9th inning. It’s not like I was planning on throwing one, but it would’ve been a nice personal achievement.

We were winning 3-0 in the 9th and I surrendered a hit to the leadoff batter, so I got switched out for our closer. And I saw all over the comments throughout the news and media that our closer blew the save and that I got a no-decision. So, everyone seems to be feeling bad for me. But that’s just baseball, sometimes your closer gets hit, it doesn’t matter what team you play for.

So I would like it if people stopped commenting negative things about that. There’s nothing you can do about it and he told me he’s really sorry about it. But our closer, Rogers, felt so bad that he gave me a letter/present…and he left it at my locker.

—

It says ‘Kenta’ on the front, both in Japan and the US. I have experience with closing pitchers coming to apologize after a blown game but it seems rarer in the US. It isn’t like we as starting pitchers even want them to feel sorry about it. Everyone knows that if the closer blows a save, there’s nothing you can do about it and that it’s fine.

When I played for the Hiroshima Carp, \[Katsuhiro\] Nakagawa and \[Shota\] Nakazaki often closed. Nakagawa was way more experienced than me so even if he got hit, I never said anything. With a guy like Nakagawa, he was less experienced but I always saw how hard he practiced and took baseball seriously. So I never had any negative feelings towards them for blowing a save, and I don’t for Rogers either. He’s a great teammate who trains hard and takes the game seriously.

I told him not to worry about it. It’s not like my pitching line gets erased or anything and we won the game anyway. But Rogers just felt so bad that he initially offered to buy me some alcohol. Some of my translators and trainers told him that I don’t drink, though. So some of my staff just casually said maybe if we go out to drink you can pay the bill or something.

—

But he insisted that it has to be something that benefits Kenta directly. So one of my trainers told him about this really high-quality Japanese rice from a store I like, and he purchased that for me as a gift. So along with this letter, he presented me with this ticket to trade-in for the rice. I can’t read the letter myself so I had it translated. Basically, it says “I am so sorry for ruining your phenomenal pitching performance yesterday.” This really made me happy. I don’t think there are that many pitchers out there who care this much to go out of there way to do this.

Thank you again for all your positive comments. I urge you again to be nice to Rogers too because he’s a great teammate. That’s basically what I wanted to say in this video. The Minnesota Twins aren’t too well known as a franchise in Japan, but the team is really filled with great teammates so I want that to be known.

Now regarding my near no-hitter, apparently the strikeouts I’ve racked up in the last 8 games is some sort of Twins record…so I’m happy to be able to find myself in Twins history. It’s been like 20 years…or 60 years? Something like that…since it’s been last done.

—

\[Guy off camera:\] That’s a really big range.

Well, I can’t remember which one. They told me but I forgot. But anyway, the team gave me the game-ball and the uniform I wore yesterday. I washed it but there’s this MLB official sticker on it. An MLB record keeper was there after the game to have me take my jersey off and put the sticker on it on the spot.

So anyway, I had no intention of making this video before the start yesterday but I just wanted to let everyone know that the Twins are a great team and that I’m happy about the performance yesterday.

How Much Do You Love Kenta Maeda?

This may be one of the greatest videos I’ve ever watched/read. It’s definitely the best translation I’ve ever read. I’ve heard about Maeda’s YouTube channel and I have heard about his teammates raving over how funny and personable he and his translators are… but this puts it at a new level.

He only made the video, though, because Rogers was so gracious and apologetic for blowing that save. I’ve always enjoyed Rogers’ interviews and he seems like a down-to-earth guy… but you never know what happens behind the curtain (especially during the coronavirus ages) for sure.

For Rogers to go out of his way to write the apology note and then make sure that Kenta gets something he really wants, after he turned down everything Taylor first offered, shows his genuine nature. It was such a cool gesture that Maeda made a video about it…

If I become friends with two people who play baseball at the Major League level, I hope it’s Kenta Maeda and Taylor Rogers. Here is a snapshot of Kenta’s performance from the other night.

Kenta Maeda has not allowed a hit through 8. ?

Watch the 9th inning live on @MLBNetwork or https://t.co/Z3s2EpgF39: https://t.co/lOViwkfZup pic.twitter.com/8w3ld5qG7l

— MLB (@MLB) August 19, 2020

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Bombas…and lots of them tonight. They didn’t all come from the Minnesota Twins, though, so that’s a problem. Do we still call those Bombas? After getting back in the win-column Monday, Baldelli and Co surrendered four long balls (including a devastating one late), during a 6-4 loss Tuesday to the Milwaukee Brewers. The Twins, now 11-7 on the season, see their lead in the AL Central shrinking fast. They now sit atop the Detroit Tigers by just .5 games.

THE POSITIVES

The game started with a bang. Jorge Polanco took the first pitch he saw, a four-seam fastball, for a home run. With Josh Lindbolm has thrown fastballs 35.8% of the time so far this year. Baldelli said in his pregame presser than his hitters would look to key in on fastball early in counts.

It paid off immediately, when Eddie Rosario went deep for another solo shot. That gave the Twins 20 solo shots (out of 28 home runs total) on the season. Not ideal, but runs are runs I guess…

Rosario makes it back-to-back Bombas. 2-0 #mntwins T1.

As mentioned, just look as Lindblom’s pitch mix. https://t.co/NVQh5zam3B pic.twitter.com/0cs8kFLoa3

— Jack Kewitsch (@JackKewitsch) August 12, 2020

Back to the note from @MillerStrib :

Twins were third in highest percentage of solo home runs – 18 of 26, or 69.2 percent.

Now it's 20 of 28 – 71.4 percent. Still third as Red Sox were at 72 percent and Jays have hit solo shots with 14 of their 15 homers.

— LaVelle E. Neal III (@LaVelleNeal) August 12, 2020

But Rosario wasn’t done there. Homering again in the in the third, this time a two-run blast, to give the Twins a 4-1 lead. Showcasing the increased patience at the plate he has developed from last year.

Oh Eddie is en fuego! 6th homer of the year and third in last two games.

His plate discipline has been much improved and it’s showing! #mntwins pic.twitter.com/JuDtxyJsyw

— Jack Kewitsch (@JackKewitsch) August 12, 2020

When you know, you know. ??#BombaSquad | #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/qGnNJi88Zo

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) August 12, 2020

Byron Buxton

Bombas weren’t the only positives from this game though. Buxton found a way to get three hits, including two infield singles, while the bullpen found a way to keep the Brewers relatively punchless for most of the game. This included Cody Stashak showcasing better command after “the worst outing of his career” (according to Dan Hayes – Athletic) and Matt Wisler efficiently working through 2.2 innings.

Cody Stashak used a 92 mph fastball up and away to setup his 83 mph slider down and in to get a strikeout here.#MNTwins pic.twitter.com/VG34xLoFNL

— Tom Froemming (@TFTwins) August 12, 2020

THE NEGATIVES

Yet the Twins still ended up losing the game after being up 4-1. A reoccurring theme so far this year. Score runs early and then taper off in the later innings. Giving up four bombs to the Brewers, including two to catcher Manny Pina and a death-dealing blow in the eighth to Jedd Gyorko.

Gyorko’s home run came at the hands of Taylor Rogers. While it wasn’t a save situation, it is still frustrating for Twins fans to see their stopper surrender runs at an alarming rate over the last week.

Gyorko with the game-winning HR for the Brew Crew!

(via @fswisconsin) pic.twitter.com/ola5unLaeF

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) August 12, 2020

On top of that, Luis Arraez struck out multiple times, in consecutive games, for the first time in over two years. He was playing Class A ball in Fort Meyers the last time he did that. After striking out just 26 times in 92 games last year, Arraez already has 8 Ks in 15 games this season.

TIME TO WIN THE SERIES

While not an ideal outcome, after jumping out to an early lead, the Twins still have a chance to win the series tomorrow against the Brewers. First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 pm. It will be Kenta Maeda (2-0, 2.65 ERA) dueling Eric Lauer (0-1, 9.53 ERA).

Maeda has 16 strikeouts in 17 innings (3 starts). He is heavily utilizing his changeup and slider vs years past. This has lead to a decreased walk rate and higher whiff rates. With so much of the bullpen being utilized today, Baldelli is hoping to see Maeda go seven innings.

Jack Kewitsch | Minnesota Sports Fan

The Bombas are back, but it wasn’t enough to get by the WORST TEAM IN BASEBALL. As the Twins fell to the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-5 in a game they controlled through 8.5 innings. Then, Taylor Rogers blew the save in the bottom of the ninth and allowed a two-run walk-off single.

BOMBAS ARE BACK

It was a perfect start for the Twins offensively. Miguel Sano got back to his slugging ways, hitting a missile over the left field wall at 114 mph. This drove in three and gave the Twins an early lead.

A Sanó storm with a direct hit at PNC Park. ?❄️?❄️?❄️#BombaSquad | #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/A7fJltgBdv

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) August 6, 2020

Yet Sano wasn’t the only one to get in on the action. Both Eddie Rosario and Byron Buxton went yard to center. For a team who hit a record 307 home runs in 2019, having gone a couple of games without one before Wednesday was…weird.

Shiver me timbers!

?????#BombaSquad | #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/a9rX1631cE

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) August 6, 2020

Heave ho, Bucko! ☠️?#MNTwins | #BombaSquad pic.twitter.com/DKp58C35bX

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) August 6, 2020

The Twins currently have 20 team home runs. Sitting only three back of the damn Yankees. Still plenty of time for them to catch up and retain the Bomba Squad crown.

MAEDA STILL ROLLING

Although Kenta Maeda gave up a three-run home run to Gregory Polanco in the second to tie it at three, it was the only damage he would allow. Going six innings allowing just three hits and one walk, while striking out four. The home run put a dent into his near-sterling ERA, but it wasn’t much. As Maeda now has a 2.65 ERA, which is still top-tier.

He could have given up only two hits had it not been for the official scorer ruling Sano booting the ball as a single. This should have been ruled an error and also would have given Maeda only two earned runs instead of three. Damn you human errors!

Kenta Maeda allowed three hits in six innings. One of them was a ball misplayed by Miguel Sanó and another was his only big mistake — a homer by Gregory Polanco.

18 rather clean, efficient outs outside of that. Another great start.

— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) August 6, 2020

OFF TO KANSAS CITY

The Twins will head to Kansas City to face the Royals in the coming series. With Devin Smeltzer (1-0, 11.57 ERA) on the mound for the Twins, it looks to be a bullpen-heavy outing. He will go up against Jakob Junis (0-0, 4.15 ERA).

As announced today, Saturday’s game will feature Jake Odorizzi making his first start of 2020. Finally being cleared from the injured list.

The Royals series kicks off a 16-game stretch where the Twins will face the Royals and Brewers in alternating series. With both teams struggling, it is the perfect chance to runaway with the AL Central.

Jack Kewitsch | Minnesota Sports Fan

The Minnesota Twins have started the shortened MLB season 8-2. While the offense has started slowly, the pitching staff has absolutely dominated under the watchful eye of pitching coach Wes Johnson. The starting rotation is still working on stretching out, which means the bullpen has been shouldering a larger load. No problem.

What should be the nickname for the @Twins stellar bullpen?

Reliever Believers? Pen Pals?

Let’s hear your thoughts ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/D9Z72PVm1W

— FOX Sports North (@fsnorth) August 4, 2020

One of the biggest keys to creating this absolute monster bullpen has been pitching coach Wes Johnson. Johnson has taken this unit and transformed it from a liability a few years ago to a total lockdown unit in 2020. So what sort of changes has Johnson implemented and what is leading to so much success from? Let’s find out.

THE JOHNSON FACTOR

Johnson had his work cut out for him when he was named pitching coach in 2018. The Twins went 78-84 that season, and had a team ERA of 4.50. Johnson was able to trim that to 4.18 in his first season as pitching coach. So far this year? The Twins boast a 2.70 ERA as a staff (through Monday night’s game), which is 4th best in all of Major League Baseball.

Johnson came to the Twins with a goal of trying to embrace analytics. Wes has long been revered for his ability to help pitchers add to their velocity. On top of that, Johnson has the Twins pitchers focusing on their secondary stuff, and throwing fewer fastballs.

Is this type of success sustainable? The answer is a resounding yes. But how are the top Twins bullpen arms so dominant? The answer is in a variety of ways.

TYLER CLIPPARD

Clippard, who the Twins signed in the offseason, has brought experience and versatility to the Twins bullpen. He has experience as an opener, and a closer, and has thrown almost every inning in between. At 35, he may not possess what he once did in terms of stuff, but Clippard has excelled so far this year with his offspeed stuff. He seemingly generates weak popups with every out he records.

Tyler Clippard since his last Save on July 22, 2018:

80 Games
87.1 IP
3.09 ERA
0.973 WHIP
9.9 K/9
2.2 WPA

— Jim Passon ?? (@PassonJim) August 2, 2020

TYLER DUFFEY

Wes Johnson has turned Tyler Duffey into one of the most dominant relievers in baseball in just over 2 years. As a converted starter, Duffey came to the bullpen with a full arsenal of pitches. After removing a few from his repertoire, Duffey has relied on his fastball and lethal slider. He has become adept at missing bats, I mean good luck trying to hit that slider.

since august of last year tyler duffey’s 43% miss rate is the highest among all relievers with 20 or more appearances.

that breaking ball is FILTHY. #mntwins pic.twitter.com/TDU2DIbtkV

— parker hageman (@HagemanParker) August 1, 2020

TREVOR MAY

Trevor is another converted starter, but just seems much better suited for a late inning role. May has benefited from an uptick in velocity since joining the bullpen, and has the bulldog mentality required to handle high stress innings. May has dominated hitters with his explosive fastball and can lean on his offspeed pitches when necessary. But my favorite part about what he brings to this bullpen is the hunger to keep trying new things.

What is the next thing for Trevor May? How can he take another step forward in his career? https://t.co/55w35V1rMQ

— Twins Daily (@twinsdaily) August 1, 2020

CODY STASHAK

Stashak is the youngest member of this core Twins bullpen group. But make no mistake, Stashak definitely deserves the innings he’s getting. After setting a Major League Record most strikeouts before his second career walk, Stashak is fearless. If you step into the box with Stashak on the mound, be ready. He is going to come right after you.

Yep, that was Cody Stashak pitching as the #MNTwins setup man in the 8th inning of a close game on Saturday night. He made some history, too.https://t.co/CnkwHmuwdi

— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) August 2, 2020

SERGIO ROMO

With so many options in the Twins bullpen that feature serious fastballs, it makes sense that there would be one or two options to slow things down. Romo has been around forever, and like Clippard, has a ton of valuable experience in many roles. An at-bat against Romo is going to feature nasty sliders and a frustrating lack of speed. Romo doesn’t need a blazing fastball to get you out. He can do that with movement and location.

Killer changeup for the K from #MNTwins Sergio Romo #BombaSquad pic.twitter.com/eUL1NEqUmS

— Michael Augustine (@AugustineMLB) August 3, 2020

TAYLOR ROGERS

All of these bullpen arms give way to the guy who finishes off most Twins wins. Rodgers has become one of the best closers in baseball. His explosive fastball is accented perfectly by his devastating slider. As previous Twins closers like to make the ninth inning eventful, Rogers usually wastes no time shutting the door. He has no fear and is the perfect leader for this group.

Taylor Rogers slider #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/qwacTZKspG

— Tom Froemming (@TFTwins) July 30, 2020

All of this has led to the best and deepest bullpen in Major League Baseball. Some of the adjustments made by this group have been mechanical, but others have been mentality changes. And all of them have turned this group into an absolute monster. We owe all of the success to Wes Johnson. Now hopefully Wes can fix the starting rotation.

Seth Toupal | 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

If I read one more thing questioning who the Twins closer will be for 2019, as if it’s something that actually matters, I’m going to take too many Dramamine and lay my head on a fucking train track. Seriously, what is happening? I thought baseball was the new “woke” sport where everyone was into changing all of the old school ideas that don’t make sense anymore…

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via GIPHY

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The “Closer” position in baseball is the most overhyped and overpaid position in all of sports history. Sure, there are big moments and big 9th innings where closers have been the most important part of that game. But, how often is the 9th inning the most monumentous part of a baseball game? Not very often.

The most common way to earn a “Save” is for a relief pitcher to enter a game in the 9th inning, with a lead of 3 runs or less. If they keep the lead and win the game in that inning, the “Save” is theirs.

I’m fine with the concept. But now, MLB teams are saving their best pitcher for the 9th inning. No matter what. Think about that for a second without the blinders of recent baseball history being held over your eyes. Why would you do that?

What if you’re entering the 8th inning and your team just came back and tied the game in the half-inning prior? With only 6 outs left and the momentum in your favor, you’d want your best relief pitcher to take the mound, right? WRONG. In today’s game, you can’t put the closer in, in that situation. If they hold your opposition and then your team takes the lead in the next half-inning, your closer gets the “Win” (tragic, right?) and no longer qualifies for the save…

Or even better, what if you are in the middle of the 7th inning and the bases are loaded in a tie game? Do you want to put your best bullpen arm out there to save that game from going south quickly? That guy might not have a 9th inning to save if your opponent gets one more hit in the 7th…

Again, why does that make sense? Are we trying to get saves for our best bullpen pitchers or are we trying to win baseball games?

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via GIPHY

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It’s time to write the “closer” role right off of the MLB rule books and the Twins should lead the charge. Turn Trevor May and Taylor Rogers into your “holders” for late innings when you need to keep runs off the board, while putting outs on it. Either elevate “holds” as the key stat for pitchers or make up a new one…

Example: How about an outs to runs ratio for bullpen pitchers? Maybe a +/- stat based on that…? Anything is better than a “Save” being what everyone cares about and what gets relief pitchers paid. 

Rise above the nonsense, Rocco. We can be better than this. Pitch our best bullpen arms in the biggest situations…. no matter the inning.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

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