All Things 2024 Minnesota Twins In-Season Thread

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I said bubble wrap him until Opening Day...

 



Byron Buxton is having a tremendous spring training but there is now a new level of concern after he was scratched from the lineup Monday with lower back tightness.

If it's just a tight back, it's might be no big deal and he's just getting a day to loosen up. But any time Buxton has a health issue it raises concern. He played in just 85 games last season after hamstring and knee injuries sidelined and ended his year prematurely.

 

Duran was not throwing very effectively during Spring Training. If he was injured, that could explain why he was struggling.

it's a long season. I'd rather catch it now and get him healthy.

on the plus side - I'll bet this means Varland opens the season in the bullpen. as deep as the bullpen appears to be, that is one area where the Twins can probably absorb an injury early in the season.

as far as Buxton - he's trying to ramp up to full participation - playing the outfield, running bases, throwing - after a year of being a DH-only. I'm not going to panic over a sore back. at least it's not the knee. still 10 days to the season opener.
 


short ornery norwegian said:
Duran was not throwing very effectively during Spring Training. If he was injured, that could explain why he was struggling.

it's a long season. I'd rather catch it now and get him healthy.

on the plus side - I'll bet this means Varland opens the season in the bullpen. as deep as the bullpen appears to be, that is one area where the Twins can probably absorb an injury early in the season.

as far as Buxton - he's trying to ramp up to full participation - playing the outfield, running bases, throwing - after a year of being a DH-only. I'm not going to panic over a sore back. at least it's not the knee. still 10 days to the season opener.
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4 Man rotation to start?
I'll be surprised if they get anything out of DeSclafini. There's already talk he's done for the year.
 
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Tough injury day for the twins. Might need to call Scott B up and talk about one of his pitchers. Would be nice to invest inky money on a 1-2 year term vs prospects and the money to resign.
 





howeda7 said:
Confirmed? Lol. You can't make it up. I know they didn't really want him in this trade, but their record of trading for injured pitchers is still remarkable.
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I can only find a quote from Falvey who says it "might" be a season ender.
Either way, it's not exactly a surprising development.
 

howeda7 said:
I said bubble wrap him until Opening Day...

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Also from Bobby Nightengale, Buxton injury is not considered serious...day-to-day.

Not great news on the pitchers Duran and DeSclafini as others have mentioned. Also, the Randolph Rocket is dealing with a hamstring issue.

www.startribune.com

Twins closer Jhoan Duran to start season on injured list; starter Anthony DeSclafani likely out for season

Jhoan Duran is sidelined because of a right oblique strain, which occurred Sunday, and he will be placed on the 15-day injured list. The Twins open the regular season next week in Kansas City.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
I can only find a quote from Falvey who says it "might" be a season ender.
Either way, it's not exactly a surprising development.
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My expectations for him were: be out until May 1st. Make 4-5 starts. Get rocked. End up released or on IL by June 1st. So this is actually mildly positive as long as they make some effort to sign a replacement. Yes they have Varland. But Paddock is no sure thing and will be severely innings limited and who knows for Ober/Ryan either.
 



short ornery norwegian said:
Duran was not throwing very effectively during Spring Training. If he was injured, that could explain why he was struggling.

it's a long season. I'd rather catch it now and get him healthy.

on the plus side - I'll bet this means Varland opens the season in the bullpen. as deep as the bullpen appears to be, that is one area where the Twins can probably absorb an injury early in the season.

as far as Buxton - he's trying to ramp up to full participation - playing the outfield, running bases, throwing - after a year of being a DH-only. I'm not going to panic over a sore back. at least it's not the knee. still 10 days to the season opener.
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Ope3 said:
Also from Bobby Nightengale, Buxton injury is not considered serious...day-to-day.

Not great news on the pitchers Duran and DeSclafini as others have mentioned. Also, the Randolph Rocket is dealing with a hamstring issue.

www.startribune.com

Twins closer Jhoan Duran to start season on injured list; starter Anthony DeSclafani likely out for season

Jhoan Duran is sidelined because of a right oblique strain, which occurred Sunday, and he will be placed on the 15-day injured list. The Twins open the regular season next week in Kansas City.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com
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From the article just posted in The Athletic regarding pitching woes -

theathletic.com

Twins' pitching depth tested by injuries to Jhoan Duran, Anthony DeSclafani, Caleb Thielbar

DeSclafani could be headed for season-ending surgery, leaving Louie Varland to take over as the Twins' fifth starter.
theathletic.com theathletic.com


Duran, who managed to avoid the IL for his first two seasons, has been diagnosed with a moderate oblique strain after uncharacteristically struggling in a handful of spring games. While it’s positive news that Duran’s right arm isn’t the issue, oblique strains are unpredictable and can linger. Brock Stewart and Griffin Jaxare the leading closer candidates in his place.

Thielbar suffered a strained left hamstring early in camp and, after progressing to throwing live batting practice last week, it was determined that the 37-year-old left-hander won’t be ready by Opening Day, March 28 in Kansas City. His absence likely opens the door for rookie Kody Funderburk to make the team as the bullpen’s second lefty and elevates offseason addition Steven Okertto the No. 1 southpaw role.

DeSclafani’s right forearm and elbow have been a problem since last summer, which is why the Twins are on the hook for just $4 million of the 33-year-old’s $12 million salary as part of the Jorge Polanco trade with the Seattle Mariners. The righty missed most of last season’s second half with a strained elbow and has dealt with soreness throughout camp.

Ownership slashing $30 million in payroll this offseason made it difficult for the Twins’ front office to bring in meaningful rotation reinforcements and now their lone starter pickup may be facing season-ending surgery. Louie Varland is expected to take over as the No. 5 starter and he’s more than capable of handling the job, but the Twins had hoped to avoid dipping into their minor-league depth so soon.
 


Saw Duran last week in Ft. Myers. Hit 100 couple times on fastball but definitely down 3 - 4 MPH from what he threw last year. Maybe the oblique has been bothering him all spring and he didn't say anything.
 

Yeah, the news on DeSclaf is unfortunate. but this does open the door for Varland to pitch in the rotation - which is where he wants to be, and now he has the opportunity to show that he belongs there.

and the Twins still got a relief pitcher (Topa) and two prospects for Polanco, a guy who was clearly on the way out at MN with the arrival of Julien and Lee. In my book, they're still ahead on that trade.

on the bullpen injuries - now we get to see how good the depth is in the pen. Stewart and Jax will likely take turns closing. Funderburk showed promise last year as a LH reliever, and Okert is another LH option. also read an article about Staumont. He had that thoracic outlet surgery and his fast ball is back up to the 97-98 range.

also saw that Canterino has shoulder soreness. Falvey said they'll bring him along slowly and want him to be able to contribute later in the season.
 


howeda7 said:
Confirmed? Lol. You can't make it up. I know they didn't really want him in this trade, but their record of trading for injured pitchers is still remarkable.
Click to expand...
He was never expected to provided anything. He was basically a forced into the trade to offset some salary and help the twins get the other better pieces. The fact the twins didn’t add any other rotational pitchers this offseason is a mistake, but should not have been dependent on this guy pitching.
 

From the Parkinglot said:
He was never expected to provided anything. He was basically a forced into the trade to offset some salary and help the twins get the other better pieces. The fact the twins didn’t add any other rotational pitchers this offseason is a mistake, but should not have been dependent on this guy pitching.
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But apparently he was an excuse to do nothing.
 

Well, I think Varland will be fine, probably even better than Desclafani, but leaves them depending in Richardson if anything else goes wrong. No depth at all.
 

TNGophfan said:
Well, I think Varland will be fine, probably even better than Desclafani, but leaves them depending in Richardson if anything else goes wrong. No depth at all.
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David Festa is a higher rated prospect than SWR at this point.

There are also several reasonably priced FAs still available as well (we were never seriously going to land Snell or Montgomery).

Including -
mid-rotation right-handers Michael Lorenzen and Mike Clevinger remain available.
Other veteran free-agent options likely to be amenable to inexpensive one-year deals include Rich Hill, Noah Syndergaard, Vince Velasquez and Dallas Keuchel.
 

Happy 59th birthday to John Smiley.

Having lost Jack Morris to Toronto, the Twins traded former Gopher Denny Neagle and Midre Cummings to Pittsburgh for 20-game winner John Smiley on this very date in 1992.

Smiley was great in '92, posting a career-high 5.1 bWAR.
 

TRF Guy said:
Happy 59th birthday to John Smiley.

Having lost Jack Morris to Toronto, the Twins traded former Gopher Denny Neagle and Midre Cummings to Pittsburgh for 20-game winner John Smiley on this very date in 1992.

Smiley was great in '92, posting a career-high 5.1 bWAR.
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I remember Smiley's demeanor in direct contrast to his family name, as demonstrated by this '87 Topps Traded card:
1710862843971.png
 


Look, I'm not saying that everything is sunshine and roses, but it seems as if the default position among the Twins Daily crowd, Aaron Gleeman on The Athletic, and the Twitter/message board crowd when it comes to the Twins is Doom and Despair.

A starting pitcher candidate who nobody liked is injured - Oh No, there goes our pitching Depth!!
(again, nobody wanted this guy or liked this guy, but his injury is some huge blow to the team????)

Duran is injured - more Doom and Gloom. No one will be able to close a game!!!!

The Twins won 87 games last season with a bullpen that included these contributors
Emilio Pagan - appeared in 66 games
Jovani Moran - 43 games
Jorge Lopez - 37 games
Dylan Floro - 19 games
Jose DeLeon - 12 games
Oliver Ortega - 10 games

The Twins had 28 blown saves last year. only 8 teams had more blown saves.

I'll take my chances with this year's bullpen - even if Duran does miss the first month of the season.
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
David Festa is a higher rated prospect than SWR at this point.

There are also several reasonably priced FAs still available as well (we were never seriously going to land Snell or Montgomery).

Including -
mid-rotation right-handers Michael Lorenzen and Mike Clevinger remain available.
Other veteran free-agent options likely to be amenable to inexpensive one-year deals include Rich Hill, Noah Syndergaard, Vince Velasquez and Dallas Keuchel.
Click to expand...
I think Festa is still a year away, but who knows for sure.

God, please no Rich Hill or Dallas Keuchel. We've already tried both and it was painful.
 

Anyone else have any of these cards? I have a set of them but need to find them

1968 Topps Game

This insert set from the 1960s is unique. It’s a very limited set and like the 1964 Topps Giants seems to contain only the best of the best. The cards measure 2.25” x 3.25” so slightly smaller than today’s standard sized card. The cards resemble a deck of playing cards. The complete set has 33 cards, three of which are Twins players. Each card has a color image of the player, facsimile autograph, and a game outcome. This set contains a second year Rod Carew (#29) after his rookie card in 1967 was a dual card with the Senators’ Hank Allen.

twinsdaily.com

1968 Topps and the Minnesota Twins

Hey Twins fans! This is the fourth post in my series about Minnesota Twins baseball cards. Please read my first post here for deeper detail on my series. 1968 Topps Game This insert set from the 1960s is unique. It’s a very limited set and like the 1964 Topps Giants seems to contain only the best...
twinsdaily.com twinsdaily.com
 

TNGophfan said:
I think Festa is still a year away, but who knows for sure.
Click to expand...
I agree with Festa.
TNGophfan said:
God, please no Rich Hill or Dallas Keuchel. We've already tried both and it was painful.
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What about Dallas Hill?

If, they can get Clevinger or Lorenzen for a good deal and can’t see why they wouldn’t, they should sign them today.
 

TRF Guy said:
Anyone else have any of these cards? I have a set of them but need to find them

1968 Topps Game

This insert set from the 1960s is unique. It’s a very limited set and like the 1964 Topps Giants seems to contain only the best of the best. The cards measure 2.25” x 3.25” so slightly smaller than today’s standard sized card. The cards resemble a deck of playing cards. The complete set has 33 cards, three of which are Twins players. Each card has a color image of the player, facsimile autograph, and a game outcome. This set contains a second year Rod Carew (#29) after his rookie card in 1967 was a dual card with the Senators’ Hank Allen.

twinsdaily.com

1968 Topps and the Minnesota Twins

Hey Twins fans! This is the fourth post in my series about Minnesota Twins baseball cards. Please read my first post here for deeper detail on my series. 1968 Topps Game This insert set from the 1960s is unique. It’s a very limited set and like the 1964 Topps Giants seems to contain only the best...
twinsdaily.com twinsdaily.com
Click to expand...
Wow.

Were you born in the 50s?
 

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