Sid: Derek Falvey says Twins are ready for current, future challenges
Twins Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey said before the start of the Twins series with the Brewers that he believes his team is in the midst of a turnaround after a slow start.
But you have to wonder if that outlook took a big hit with the news Saturday that Joe Mauer was headed to the 10-day disabled list with concussion symptoms and a neck injury.
On top of that, Byron Buxton continues to play with a broken toe and has hit so poorly, just 2-for-23 in seven games back, that he was removed from the starting lineup for the Twins’ 5-4 loss to Milwaukee on Saturday. That dropped the Twins to 18-23 and 2½ games out of first.
“We thought all along that this was a pretty talented team. We had a tough stretch there and didn’t play very well, a tough road trip, but I think that this team is now showing what it can be,” he said. “There is talent on the field. The pitching has continued to get better, and I think our defense, with Buxton returning and some other guys stepping up, we are playing better collectively.
“We have to get healthy. [It] doesn’t help with Jason [Castro] being out for the season], but I think the healthier we get the more consistency we’ll see in our performance. With Ervin [Santana] coming back, Trevor May being an option for us, and eventually when Miguel [Sano] can get healthy we think we’ll be a better team going forward.”
Falvey is also preparing for a big offseason, as a number of veterans are set to become free agents and an even larger number of young players will be arbitration-eligible for the first time.
He was asked what kind of effort the team will make to sign free agents Mauer, Brian Dozier and Eduardo Escobar.
“In all of those cases everyone is treated differently in terms of what they want to do and what their pursuits are. I have always subscribed to the idea that once you get to the season you want guys to focus on what they want to focus on, which is on the field,” he said. “You’re not ruling anything out, not ruling out any conversation you might have in the future.
“But these guys want to focus on what they’re doing here, and they’ve earned the opportunity to make that decision.”
http://www.startribune.com/derek-fa...ecisions-to-be-made-this-offseason/483125361/
Win Twins!!