All Things 2026 Minnesota Twins In-Season Thread

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I get it about the bullpen, that’s been obvious all season

But they faced the pitcher with the highest BA against and had given up the most runs in all of MLB. He left the game with a 3-9 record (got the win today) and a 6.83 ERA

Gotta do better against him

And yes, our bullpen blows donkey ass
 


GopherVotary said:
This bullpen…….
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It’s the middle that’s the issue, movie less now. Hopefully, Sands returns at some point in the second half as he’s a decent middle inning option - I had hopes for Festa, but the longer he’s out the more skeptical I am that he pitches in the Bugs this season.

Morris, Banda & Gomez have been pretty good, with the exception of Banda the other night, recently.
 
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Gopher_In_NYC said:
It’s the middle that’s the issue, movie less now. Hopefully, Sands returns at some point in the second half as he’s a decent middle inning option - I had hopes for Festa, but the longer he’s out the more skeptical I am that he pitches in the Bugs this season.

Morris, Banda & Gomez have been pretty good, with the exception of Banda the other night, recently.
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The Twins bullpen has also been stressed by the Starting Rotation.

With Lopez out 100%, Abel as well as Ober out for a large percentage, SWR ineffective then DFAd that's a huge chunk of innings needed to be picked up by the relievers.

Many more Opener/Bullpen games than optimal.
 

Nice article regarding Kriedler’s ascension.

www.mlb.com

Desire to 'press the issue' powering Kreidler's Twins breakout

MINNEAPOLIS -- When the Twins hired Keith Beauregard as their hitting coach this winter, Ryan Kreidler was excited to work with a coach he knew well. But he didn’t want to get ahead of himself. Kreidler had already changed teams twice in the previous three months, so he wasn’t sure
www.mlb.com www.mlb.com

MINNEAPOLIS -- When the Twins hired Keith Beauregard as their hitting coach this winter, Ryan Kreidler was excited to work with a coach he knew well. But he didn’t want to get ahead of himself.
Kreidler had already changed teams twice in the previous three months, so he wasn’t sure he’d get the chance to work with Beauregard or anyone on the Minnesota staff.

He needn’t have worried.
Kreidler continued his breakout season with a tiebreaking two-out solo homer in the seventh inning as the Twins held off the Rockies, 3-2, at Target Field on Sunday afternoon. The win gave Minnesota its fourth series victory in five tries.

It was the fifth homer in 93 at-bats for the versatile veteran, who’s long been known for his glove but never been able to put up offensive numbers in the Major Leagues. Kreidler entered the year with two homers in more than 200 plate appearances over four seasons.

Now he’s playing regularly, holding down shortstop defensively andproducing at the plate. And it’s all adding up to more opportunity.

“I’m just excited,” Kreidler said. “Super pumped. I don’t have very many big league homers still, so every one feels like a big deal. especially one that put us ahead. So, just excited.”

Kreidler didn’t break camp with the Twins this spring, losing out to Tristan Gray for the final roster spot coming out of Fort Myers, Fla. But he produced at Triple-A St. Paul and has shown himself to be valuable with an ability to play both shortstop and center field. And now he’s hitting as well.

After Royce Lewis was optioned to St. Paul in May, the Twins moved Brooks Lee from shortstop to third base, clearing the way for Kreidler and Gray to play short. Kreidler in particular has seized that chance, posting a .326/.392/.565 line in June.

He sports career bests in strikeout rate, hard-hit rate and barrel rate, indicating that this isn’t just a fluke. Kreidler may not hit like this all year, but there’s something different about him.
Performance wise, it starts with significantly improved average bat speed -- from 68.5 miles per hour in 2024 to 71 mph last year to 74.6 mph in 2026, above the Major League average of 72.1.

Mentally, it starts with a confident, free approach. Kreidler said he hasn’t specifically focused on bat speed, as some hitters do. Instead, he thinks the improvement results from a combination of being convicted in his approach and optimizing his swing.

“I would say the biggest thing is consistency of approach,” manager Derek Shelton said. “And I think [it helps a little bit that] he and Keith had a relationship before, because of being in Detroit together.”

Facing hard-throwing reliever Seth Halvorsen in a tie game in the seventh, Kreidler laid off a fastball out of the zone, then hammered a 97.9-mph heater at the top of the zone, drilling the pitch into the greenery over the center-field wall. It was the kind of swing on a fastball that he might not have been able to get to in previous years.
 

Ope3 said:
Brooks Lee upped his Career WAR to -0.4.

www.baseball-reference.com

Brooks Lee Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More | Baseball-Reference.com

Check out the latest Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More of Brooks Lee. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, bats, throws, school and more on Baseball-reference.com
www.baseball-reference.com www.baseball-reference.com
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On the strength of a 5 for 11 series against the Rockies, Brooks Lee has upped his Career WAR to -0.1.

At +0.8 for 2026.

www.baseball-reference.com

Brooks Lee Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More | Baseball-Reference.com

Check out the latest Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More of Brooks Lee. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, bats, throws, school and more on Baseball-reference.com
www.baseball-reference.com www.baseball-reference.com
 

From the Parkinglot said:
I feel like the twins might have a weakness in the bullpen. Will report back with my findings.
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dumb-and-dumber-no-way.gif
 



Twins' bullpen suffers blow as Banda (left lat strain) heads to 15-day IL​


www.mlb.com

Twins' bullpen suffers blow as Banda (left lat strain) heads to 15-day IL

HOUSTON -- The Twins will be without one of their key relievers for a while. Lefty Anthony Banda, who had emerged as one of manager Derek Shelton’s most trusted high-leverage options in recent weeks, was placed on the 15-day injured list Monday due to a left lat strain. He suffered
www.mlb.com www.mlb.com


He has been stellar of late, per the article -

He has a 1.00 ERA in 20 appearances since May 10.
 



On the plus side of the ledger, Ober’s rehab outing went fine and he’s hopeful that he only needs one more before returning to the rotation before the AS break.
 
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New Top 100 prospects list is out per MLB.

www.mlb.com

NEW: Updated Top 100 Prospects list -- highest risers, new faces and more

It’s about to be a big month in this neck of the woods. The 2026 Draft begins Saturday, July 11 as part of All-Star Weekend in Philadelphia, the All-Star Futures Game will be held one day later as part of the same festivities and all the way through the rest
www.mlb.com www.mlb.com

Twins have 4, headlined by Jenkins -

15Photo headshot of Walker Jenkins
Walker Jenkins		OF
Minnesota Twins Logo
34Photo headshot of Kaelen Culpepper
Kaelen Culpepper		SS
Minnesota Twins Logo
41Photo headshot of Eduardo Tait
Eduardo Tait		C
Minnesota Twins Logo
59Photo headshot of Emmanuel Rodriguez
Emmanuel Rodriguez		OF
 




howeda7 said:
Falvey's spending $14 million on Bell and Caratini instead of the bullpen has cost us at least 4 wins.
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While I doubt they are necessarily getting their full money's worth, the Bell and Caratini pickups don't look horrible anymore. Picked up some slack since Jeffers was shelved on the IL.

Ideally there should have still been some dough to fortify the 'Pen.
 


It's never easy. Even with a gift Strike 3 call and challenge veto.
 




Ope3 said:
It's never easy. Even with a gift Strike 3 call and challenge veto.
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Likely looking at a Tie ballgame now if that bad call had gone the other way.
 
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Ope3 said:
While I doubt they are necessarily getting their full money's worth, the Bell and Caratini pickups don't look horrible anymore. Picked up some slack since Jeffers was shelved on the IL.

Ideally there should have still been some dough to fortify the 'Pen.
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Bell’s currently 7 in the AL in ribeyes.
 

Ope3 said:
While I doubt they are necessarily getting their full money's worth, the Bell and Caratini pickups don't look horrible anymore. Picked up some slack since Jeffers was shelved on the IL.

Ideally there should have still been some dough to fortify the 'Pen.
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Both have improved. I'd still rather spend the $7 million from Bell on a reliever.
 

Ope3 said:
Likely looking at a Tie ballgame now if thatcall had gone the other way.
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Travis Adams is terrible. There's nothing there. Call up CJ Culpper or Rojas. As bad as it is, they have let multiple guys leave St Paul (Matt Bowman, Zak Kent) that are better than some of the trash they are running out there now.
 


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