Minnesota Twins 2014-2020: Here's Your Damn Thread

[Grovetown Scotty]

Apparently the Twins got tired of TC always winning the HR contest. Analytics .

Rumor has it the bear head was getting pretty stinky inside and the Pohlads didn't want to spring for a new one.

[J22]

If only they would have waited an extra year to call him up and start his service clock?

[bearpaw28]

Apparently the Twins got tired of TC always winning the HR contest. Analytics .

Rumor has it the bear head was getting pretty stinky inside and the Pohlads didn't want to spring for a new one.

Probably a combination of that, plus the service time clock issue (as noted earlier)

[Beauner]

19 years seems like a really long time to be a mascot.

[Bertogliat]

This is a sign the Twins are saving up for a new starting pitcher!


Woohoo!

[bearpaw28]

It’s a failure,’’ Judge said of Altuve’s home run knee-capping a 103-win season, the Yankees’ first AL East title in seven years and the beating they administered to the Twins in the ALDS. “We talked about winning the division and winning the World Series. No matter how many games we won during the regular season it is a failure.’’ When the Twins get to this point mentally...that & (if in our lifetime)..the PPP sctually spend significant money on quality starting pitching...a 3rd World Series title will then be palatable & maybe even attainable

[Vegasgopher]

Berrios is the only twin selected as a gold glove finalist, there are 3 finalists for each position in each league...

Kinda woulda thought cron would get a sniff at 1b, he's a vacuum over there (and the way we throw we need it)

[Maize]

Kinda woulda thought cron would get a sniff at 1b, he's a vacuum over there (and the way we throw we need it)

What now? I don't know what the number nerds say, but to me, the Twins infield picked up a lot of extra errors this season because Cron wasn't able to cover over mistakes the same way Mauer could(including when it mattered most).

[Slap Shot]

Not sure I've ever visited the site so no idea if these guys are tuned in or not. Yes I'm aware of the lacking 's'.

http://twinsdaily.com/_/minnesota-twins-news/minnesota-twins/4-off-the-radar-pitching-trade-targets-for-the-twins-r8567

4 Off-the Radar Pitching Trade Targets for the Twins

More details for their arguments at the link:

Chris Paddack, RHP
Team: Padres
2019 Stats: 146 IP, 3.33 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 9.8 K/9, 2.0 BB/9
Contract Status: Under team control through 2024

Sonny Gray, RHP
Team: Reds
2019 Stats: 175.1 IP, 2.87 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 10.5 K/9, 3.5 BB/9
Contract Status: Signed through 2022 ($10M/yr) w/ $12M option in 2023

Chris Archer, RHP
Team: Pirates
2019 Stats: 119.2 IP, 5.19 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 10.8 K/9, 4.1 BB/9
Contract Status: Club options for 2020 ($9M) and 2021 ($11M)

Clayton Kershaw, LHP
Team: Dodgers
2019 Stats: 178.1 IP, 3.03 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 9.5 K/9, 2.1 BB/9
Contract Status: Signed through 2021 ($31M/yr)

Also: http://twinsdaily.com/articles.html/_/minnesota-twins-news/minnesota-twins/kris-bryant-decision-could-have-ramifications-for-twins-and-byron-buxton-r8569

Kris Bryant Decision Could Have Ramifications for Twins and Byron Buxton

Kris Bryant was a star prospect on the way to the big leagues back in 2015, but the Cubs kept him in the minor leagues to pick up an extra year of service time. At least this is what Bryant is alleging in a grievance field with the Major League Baseball Players’ Association. The decision in this case could have ramifications across the baseball landscape with Minnesota’s own Bryon Buxton.

Bryant’s Case
Bryant is alleging manipulation of his service time that will keep him from reaching free agency until after the 2021 season. Bryant’s agent, Scott Boras, and the MLBPA are arguing that he started the 2015 season at Triple-A, so the club could delay his service-time, a move that is entirely within an organization’s rights.

That spring, he had hit .425 with nine home runs in 40 at-bats and those numbers were no accident. In an interview with Sahadev Sharma at The Athletic, Bryant talked about how he trained differently for that spring so he could put up strong numbers and make it hard for the team to send him down.

“It was so obvious,” Bryant told The Athletic. “‘Oh, he’s gotta work on his defense.’ Stuff like that. But now I can look back on it and just laugh about it because I was told to work on my defense… and I think I got three ground balls in those games that I played. So it’s like, ‘Oh, now he’s ready.’”

He made his big-league debut on April 17, 2015, which meant he only missed 12 days that season. Still, he will fall one day short of being eligible for free agency after the 2020 campaign.

Buxton’s Case
Buxton’s own service time issue doesn’t exactly mirror Bryant’s, but he could have an argument if Bryant wins his case. During the 2018 season, Buxton struggled through multiple injuries and ended the year on the Rochester Red Wings roster. He wasn’t made a September call-up and this choice didn’t sit well with Buxton at the time.

“Yes, I ain’t sugarcoating nothing,” Buxton told the Star Tribune last December. “It kind of didn’t go over well.”

Migraine headaches, a broken toe and a strained wrist cost him much of the 2018 season, but his health seemed to be improving in August with Rochester. He batted .365/.400/.596 (.996) with nine extra-base hits in 12 games and he had every reason to think his performance warranted a September call-up. But by keeping him down, the Twins picked up another year of team control. Instead of reaching free agency following the 2021 season, Buxton will have to wait until after the 2022 campaign.

Minnesota had reasons for keeping him down including a lingering wrist injury, poor strike zone discipline, and not enough playing time at the big-league level. However, Thad Levine admitted service time played a role in why Buxton was kept in the minors.

"I think part of our jobs is we're supposed to be responsible to factoring service time into every decision we make," Levine said. "I still feel pretty resolute in saying that the other three factors were more present for us in this decision-making process than that. We wouldn't be doing our jobs if we weren't at least aware of service-time impacts on decisions we make."

Realistically, this is an issue that needs to be addressed in the next collective bargaining agreement. There’s not timeline for a decision in MLBPA’s case for Bryant and there’s no guarantee he will win, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on.

[Maize]

I think Walker Buehler would be a great off-the-radar acquisition for the Twins.

[Vegasgopher]

Literally ANY of them would be an upgrade

[grothm01]

No chance LA gives up Walker.

[Maize]

No chance LA gives up Walker.

Same chance as getting Paddack, would be the point.

[Beauner]

No chance LA gives up Walker.

Same chance as getting Paddack, would be the point.

Probably would cost a lot to get Paddack. However, as the article asserts, pitching has not been SD's problem.
Their offense has been embarrassing. They're going on 11 consecutive years without scoring 700 runs in a season.

Trading a top young pitcher for top young hitters, especially if SD has other high-end pitching options, is their rationale.
That said, to get Paddack the article says you're likely giving up Lewis or Kiriloff, plus a Rosario/Kepler, plus another prospect.

[Cowgirl]

Yeah, I know they are a couple days late, but some good memories. Everyone should watch them, it will make you smile. I do have to say that I’m glad baseball pants fit a little less like skinny jeans these days.

[Beauner]

The first domino from the Twins staff goes.
Former hitting coach James Rowson was hired by the Marlins to be the bench coach and "offensive coordinator".
Derek Shelton is a likely candidate to get a managerial job. He's got a third interview with the Mets and reportedly has met with the Pirates multiple times too.

Seems likely that both of them are going to bring some former Twins staffers with them.

[streakygopher]

Yeah, I know they are a couple days late, but some good memories. Everyone should watch them, it will make you smile. I do have to say that I’m glad baseball pants fit a little less like skinny jeans these days.

I remember one of Reardon's first close opportunities for the Twins I was cleaning up my boat and listening to the game when he gave up a game losing grand slam. I thought, "Who is this bum?" People thought the Twins were going to be decent, but they didn't even win 90 games that year. Nobody could have predicted they would win a world series. They went into Detroit and shocked everybody with a series win against a great team with big names, including Jack Morris.

[Don Adams Wheel of Justice]

Getting a World Series payoff in '87 was pretty special for me as a 16 year old kid who watched a lot of crappy Twins teams growing up. I would dearly love for any Minnesota team to win a title just to give this generation of kids and younger adults the same payoff.

In other news, one of my greatest regrets is over-serving myself whiskey coke's during game 6 of the '91 series and blacking out prior to Puckett's HR.

[Bonin21]

I was two in 1991. So you wonder why I hate being Loserville my whole aware life.

[Slap Shot]

Hey hold my be- ah eff it.

[Vegasgopher]

I went to 5 games of the 87 series (4 home, 1 road) as a Soph at the U...I literally do not remember how the hell we got to st Lou for game 3 alive or how we made it home..whew, those were the days...

[Cowgirl]

Hey hold my be- ah eff it.

If I recall he almost got another home run ball that night too.

[D2D]

I went to 5 games of the 87 series (4 home, 1 road) as a Soph at the U...I literally do not remember how the hell we got to st Lou for game 3 alive or how we made it home..whew, those were the days...

At least you can remember which game.

[Vegasgopher]

I went to 5 games of the 87 series (4 home, 1 road) as a Soph at the U...I literally do not remember how the hell we got to st Lou for game 3 alive or how we made it home..whew, those were the days...

At least you can remember which game.

They played baseball? Hmmm