All Things 2024 Minnesota Twins In-Season Thread

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Sonny Gray was not only Minnesota's best pitcher last year but also the team MVP. Replacing the void he left atop the rotation is one of the Twins' biggest challenges following an offseason that yielded no outside additions designed to do so.

The front office is hoping that increased roles for returning players and key breakthroughs from young talent can make up for the loss of Gray, who's already dealt with renewed right hamstring issues after signing a $75 million deal with the Cardinals. Even if he was back, there was almost no chance Gray was going to replicate his career year, so one way or another, the continued success of Minnesota's rotation was always going to depend on other returning arms taking the next step. Now the pressure is heightened. Fortunately, it's a group that's well poised to deliver.

TWINS STARTING PITCHERS AT A GLANCE

Starting Rotation: Pablo López, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Chris Paddack, Louie Varland
Depth: Simeon Woods Richardson, Brent Headrick, Randy Dobnak
Prospects: David Festa, Marco Raya, Corey Lewis, Charlee Soto, C.J. Culpepper

Twins fWAR Ranking Last Year: 2nd out of 30
Twins fWAR Projection This Year: 6th out of 30

twinsdaily.com

Twins 2024 Position Analysis: Starting Pitcher

The starting five is strong, but the safety net is already gone.
twinsdaily.com twinsdaily.com
 



TRF Guy said:
Happy 46th birthday to two-time All-Star shortstop Cristian Guzmán.

He set a Twins single-season record with 20 triples in 2000.
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I was fortunate to attend what may have been Guzman's greatest game as a Twin, when he led the team to an 11-10 win over the Indians in the Dome, a classic Dome victory with Guzman chopping the ball into the turf for the game winning hit. The first two minutes of this video captures the night well:

And for Immaculate Grid purposes, it warms my heart that he finished his career with the Rangers :D
 

short ornery norwegian said:
It's Spring Training. players are working on different pitches - different grips - different deliveries, etc. it's more about getting the work in than it is about results.

I've seen people have great springs, and then stink up the joint once the regular season starts, and vice versa.

besides, if you remember - last season the Twins were 45-46 at the All-Star break. They went 42-29 the rest of the way. so even if they get off to a slow start, it's not the end of the season. they still play in the AL Central.
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All that is true. But other teams starters are doing the same thing and having more success. May be nothing, but would sure like to see a few strong starts before they go north.
 


TRF Guy said:
Happy 46th birthday to two-time All-Star shortstop Cristian Guzmán.

He set a Twins single-season record with 20 triples in 2000.
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The only foul ball I ever snared came off of Guzie's bat in 03 (I think) against the A's. Was sitting behind home plate and he fouled one straight back. It's interesting how beat up the ball is. Couple big chunks out of it. I wonder if those were there when the pitch was thrown.
 


Good points from Gleeman, in an article about the Twins’ mot signing a FA pitcher. Also some info on why MAT didn’t resign with us.

theathletic.com

Twins' payroll cuts, Anthony DeSclafani injury give Louie Varland his big chance

Trading for DeSclafani was meant to cheaply buy the Twins' rotation some time, but now they have no choice but to turn to younger arms.
theathletic.com theathletic.com


DeSclafani may never throw a pitch for the Twins after being shut down earlier this week with an elbow injury that could require season-ending surgery. It’s fair to think they should have anticipated more elbow problems for DeSclafani and behaved accordingly, but what the Twins could not have predicted was a modest $4 million investment being enough to sign a decent free-agent alternative.

Normally, that type of money isn’t even enough to shop for a free-agent starter in the scratch-and-dent aisle, but this has been anything but a normal offseason across MLB. One day after news of DeSclafani’s setback and just a week before Opening Day, starter Michael Lorenzen — ranked by The Athletic as the No. 40 free agent — signed a one-year, $4.5 million contract with the Texas Rangers.

Lorenzen was said to be holding out for a multiyear deal all offseason, and he certainly wouldn’t have accepted $4.5 million in January, when the Twins added DeSclafani. But with time running short, Lorenzen settled for one year and less than he made in 2023 ($8.5 million) and 2022 ($7 million) despite coming off a season in which he threw a career-high 153 innings as a first-time All-Star.

To be clear, Lorenzen is far from an impact arm. He’s a 32-year-old with a 4.11 ERA and his own checkered injury history, and even last season’s 4.18 ERA was more befitting a back-end starter than an All-Star. Of course, back-end starter was DeSclafani’s planned role. And if the Twins hadn’t traded for DeSclafani in January, they could have used that $4 million to sign Lorenzen in March.

Unfortunately, they didn’t have the benefit of hindsight. It’s similar to outfielder Michael A. Taylor taking $4 million from the Pittsburgh Pirates last week after previously turning down larger offers from the Twins. By the time Taylor’s price came down into their range, the Twins had already pivoted to trading for his replacement, Manuel Margot, who coincidentally also cost them $4 million.

Should the Twins’ front office have waited even longer for Taylor’s price to drop and for the free-agent starter market to play out rather than trading for Margot and DeSclafani? Maybe, but those are the types of compromised, budget-driven decisions a front office is forced to make when the team’s ownership takes away $30 million in spending room. Their options shrink and are often flawed.
 

Reigning American League MVP Joe Mauer signed an eight-year, $184 million extension on this date in 2010.
 






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BleedGopher said:
Shooter with a big scoop:

>> Top five fruits consumed by the Twins and staff during spring training, per the team: pineapples, 2,752 pounds; bananas, 1,240 pounds; watermelons, 660 pounds; strawberries, 552 pounds, cantaloupes, 450 pounds.

www.twincities.com

Charley Walters: Futures of Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell hinge on picking right quarterback

The Vikings have the Nos. 11 and 23 overall picks in the draft.
www.twincities.com www.twincities.com

Win Twins!!
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Does he still get paid or is this on a volunteer basis?
 

BleedGopher said:
Shooter with a big scoop:

>> Top five fruits consumed by the Twins and staff during spring training, per the team: pineapples, 2,752 pounds; bananas, 1,240 pounds; watermelons, 660 pounds; strawberries, 552 pounds, cantaloupes, 450 pounds.

www.twincities.com

Charley Walters: Futures of Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell hinge on picking right quarterback

The Vikings have the Nos. 11 and 23 overall picks in the draft.
www.twincities.com www.twincities.com

Win Twins!!
Click to expand...
Looks like cantaloupes are getting sent down.
 



Who the hell is gonna break camp and be in the bullpen for the month of April? No one is healthy, do we need to fire the trainer and hire a new one already.
 

Acala gave up a 3 run dinger today. Know it's just "practice" but I don't have a lot of positive vibes to start the season. Hope they can play .500 ball until pitching gets healthy.
 
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Wayne Terwilliger got paid to wear a baseball uniform for SIXTY-ONE seasons, from 1948 to 2005. (He took 1974 off to run the family bar in Michigan.)
 


gophersfan said:
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howeda7 said:
Excellent trade, Derek. Brilliant.
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The reality is there was no market for Polanco. He's over 30 now, often injured, limited defensively to the right side of the infield and getting paid 8 figures.

Needing to cut some payroll and make way Julien & Lee, they got what they could.

Any criticism I would make is picking up the $10.5 million option to begin with. Knowing the budget constraints, seems like they could have just used that to sign either a bullpen and/or end of the rotation arm.
 
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Ope3 said:
The reality is there was no market for Polanco. He's over 30 now, often injured, limited defensively to the right side of the infield and getting paid 8 figures.

Needing to cut some payroll and make way Julien & Lee, they got what they could.

Any criticism I would make is picking up the $10.5 million option to begin with.
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Then keep him and trade or non-tender Farmer.
 


and now for something completely different -

I don't know if anyone has been following the story about the dispute involving the MLB Players' Union. short version - some players, including a number of minor-league players, allegedly would like to see changes in the Union leadership. this faction reportedly wants the Union to dump its #2 person, Bruce Meyer, and replace him with Harry Marino, who formerly worked for the MLBPA.

but here's the local angle. in a new development, there have been allegations that players expressing critical views of current union leadership have been threatened or intimidated. and who is supposedly doing the intimidation: former MLBPA employee Josh Thole pointed a finger at ----

former Twins Pitcher and current MLBPA employee Kevin Slowey. Thole said he has been contacted by Minor-League player reps saying that Slowey called them to "bully and intimidate them" into changing their position.

from 2007 to 2010, Slowey was 39-21 as a starter for the Twins. went 0-8 with a 6.67 ERA in 2011. finished his major league career as a spot starter and reliever with the Marlins.
 

"Why in the hell did we trade for him, Todd???"

"I don't knooow, Mar-got!!!"
 

short ornery norwegian said:
and now for something completely different -

I don't know if anyone has been following the story about the dispute involving the MLB Players' Union. short version - some players, including a number of minor-league players, allegedly would like to see changes in the Union leadership. this faction reportedly wants the Union to dump its #2 person, Bruce Meyer, and replace him with Harry Marino, who formerly worked for the MLBPA.

but here's the local angle. in a new development, there have been allegations that players expressing critical views of current union leadership have been threatened or intimidated. and who is supposedly doing the intimidation: former MLBPA employee Josh Thole pointed a finger at ----

former Twins Pitcher and current MLBPA employee Kevin Slowey. Thole said he has been contacted by Minor-League player reps saying that Slowey called them to "bully and intimidate them" into changing their position.

from 2007 to 2010, Slowey was 39-21 as a starter for the Twins. went 0-8 with a 6.67 ERA in 2011. finished his major league career as a spot starter and reliever with the Marlins.
Click to expand...
Wait, a union being accused of using questionable means to get what they want? Say it ain't so. Most union leadership is no different than big corporate leadership. The only difference is one is a wolf wearing wolf's clothing and the other is a wolf wearing sheep's clothing.
 

Over giving up 5 homers in 13 innings this spring is not ideal. Unlike the rest of the snow birds those numbers con not migrate north.
 

My PREDICTED TWINS Record / 86-76.
 

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