2019 Minnesota Twins In-Season Thread

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Win Twins!!
 

STrib: Twins ace Jose Berrios says he turned down contract offer, waiting for bigger payday

Jose Berrios has a contract now. Maybe not the one he wants, but it’s OK for the moment.

Berrios, like the rest of the Twins’ players who have fewer than three years of major league experience, agreed to a one-year contract this week for, as is the Twins’ habit, slightly more than MLB’s $555,000 minimum salary, according to a source with knowledge of the signings.

Berrios, who has two years and 44 days of service time and will be eligible for salary arbitration next winter, wishes he could sign a deal for much bigger money, such as the $35 million Max Kepler got last month and the $25.8 million agreed to by Jorge Polanco in their five-year extensions.

Well, OK, he’d like more than that.

A pitcher who has pitched in an All-Star Game and become his team’s Opening Day starter before his 25th birthday is potentially worth far more. And the Twins and Berrios have not been able to agree on exactly how much.

“Every player wants to sign a multiyear deal, but we know it’s a business,” Berrios said after pitching 3⅓ innings against the Red Sox on Wednesday. “I have to manage my business, too. … We’re waiting for the best for both sides. If it doesn’t happen this year, maybe next year.”

http://www.startribune.com/twins-ac...ct-offer-waiting-for-bigger-payday/507121362/

Win Twins!!
 

per Sid:

Getting Sano healthy

There’s no question the biggest disappointment of spring training hasn’t happened on the field, but was the injury to third baseman Miguel Sano, who cut his foot in a celebration of his Estrellas Orientales team winning the Dominican League World Series and will now be sidelined through the first month of the season.

Falvey said that after Sano recently had a procedure on the cut at the Mayo Clinic, the hope is to get him fully healthy and have no setbacks going forward.

“What we did by sending him to Mayo is to make sure we have a better understanding of the specific timeline,” the 35-year-old executive said. “Rather than wait and hope that some of that healing would happen on its own, we took a more active role in that. Now that may have been a step back to take two steps forward, with the idea that he would be out of any type of boot or any type of protection as we get close to the beginning of April.

“That puts him close to potentially in games after doing a lot of more physical activity in games by the middle of April, which would set him up for a return to play at the major league level by May 1. That’s realistic. That’s our hope. That’s our plan. Hopefully getting him May 1 on will be a big boost for our club.”

First base battle

Maybe the biggest roster spot battle is going on at first base, where free agent signees C.J. Cron and Lucas Duda are battling with Tyler Austin, who the club acquired from the Yankees last July in the Lance Lynn deal.

Austin has hit .414 with a home run, two doubles, four RBI and a run scored in nine games.

Cron has hit .286 with two homers, three RBI and five runs scored in eight games.

Duda has hit .333 with three doubles, four runs scored and five walks in 10 games.

Falvey said this is the kind of competition the team hoped for when they made the moves to bring in quality position players.

“It has been great. C.J. came in and had the leg up in the competition in terms of his production over the past couple years,” Falvey said. “We know what Tyler Austin can do when he swings the bat and has continued to show that power production and where he can be. In Lucas Duda we have a true pro’s pro, a guy who goes about his business as well as anybody and has been a great fit in our camp, a lefthanded bat that can complement [a righthanded-hitting-heavy roster].

“We all try to keep our fingers crossed to stay healthy through the end of camp, but if that’s the case and we get towards the end, we’re going to have some difficult decisions to make, that’s for sure.”

http://www.startribune.com/former-t...or-remains-out-of-baseball-for-now/507123992/

Win Twins!!
 

The extended forecast looks good through the middle of next week. Hopefully stays in the 50's through the first home stand.
 

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Stop it. This irrational exuberance always dooms us.

Who knew I had such an affect on things around the world? Maybe I should say that I will never win the lottery or something so I jinx it and actually win. With my luck though I will probably win it while on my death bed.
 



Sid Hartman: Twins expected to be Indians' lone challenger this season

With Opening Day on Thursday, many media outlets believe the Twins will be much improved and, more important, will be the lone challenger to Cleveland for the AL Central crown.

When ESPN.com released its preseason MLB power rankings, it had the Twins ranked No. 11 overall, writing, “The biggest question is whether new manager Rocco Baldelli can unleash the talent of some of the Twins’ much-touted former top prospects.”

NBC Sports ranked the Twins as the No. 18 team in all of baseball but had similar thoughts about their chances for success, writing: “The Twins took an expected step back in 2018, but the talent is still there in 2019. Perennial breakout candidate Byron Buxton is still young enough to put it all together one year, and there’s no one else outside Cleveland with a chance of competing for the division right now.”

USA Today has the Twins at No. 16 and wrote that they “quietly got a lot better this winter” in their free-agent signings.

The Twins are mostly healthy except for the injury to Miguel Sano’s heel that will keep the third baseman sidelined for at least the first month of the season.

But there’s no question that they figure to be the only challenger to Cleveland in a very weak AL Central.

The Vegas oddsmakers have the over/under on season victories as such: Cleveland at 90.5, the Twins at 84.5, the Chicago White Sox at 74.5, Kansas City 69.5 and Detroit 68.5.

One thing to keep an eye on is that the Indians also lost four key players to free agency. Outfielder Michael Brantley signed a two-year, $32 million deal with Houston. Third baseman Josh Donaldson signed a one-year, $23 million deal with Atlanta. The Indians also lost their two best relievers as Andrew Miller signed a two-year, $25 million deal with St. Louis and Cody Allen signed a one-year, $8.5 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels.

The only free agent that Cleveland signed to a major league deal was 37-year-old reliever Oliver Perez.

So there’s no doubt that the Twins, who brought in Nelson Cruz, Jonathan Schoop, Marwin Gonzalez, Martin Perez and Blake Parker, have really improved their roster while Cleveland has weakened a little.

http://www.startribune.com/twins-expected-to-be-indians-lone-challenger-this-season/507570442/

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Reusse: Rocco feeling 'pretty good' about bullpen, which is hard to believe

Rocco Baldelli, the Twins’ rookie manager, was giving his perfunctory answers to sports writers’ questions before Saturday night’s exhibition vs. the Orioles and was asked about a bullpen that has gone through a volatile spring.

To the surprise of no one in his small audience, Baldelli said:

“I would say that I feel really good about where we sit. We have some very good arms that we can choose from at this point to fill out our bullpen, but I think we also know the bullpen, in general, it’s a volatile type of spot with limited innings and opportunities.

“Sometimes you can’t anticipate all you want how things are going to go … you have to play things by ear and make the absolute best of the circumstances. I think that as we look at the guys that we’re talking about, that we have good arms to choose from, for sure.’’

This occurred one day after the best arm in that bullpen, the right one belonging to 24-year-old Fernando Romero, was sent across the parking lot with the rest of Fernando’s large frame to open the season at Class AAA Rochester.

http://www.startribune.com/rocco-fe...t-bullpen-which-is-hard-to-believe/507571192/

Win Twins!!
 

Who knew I had such an affect on things around the world? Maybe I should say that I will never win the lottery or something so I jinx it and actually win. With my luck though I will probably win it while on my death bed.

If your personal luck is like that of MN sports, indeed. And your family will lose the ticket.
 

Partly sunny and a high of around 50 forecasted for Opening Day Thursday. Will be a little cooler over the weekend but still not too bad.
 



Sid: Twins opener will usher in a new era with Rocco Baldelli taking a unique approach compared to previous Twins managers

As Twins President Dave St. Peter prepares for Opening Day on Thursday against the Indians, his 29th season opener with the ballclub, he said that after working with managers Tom Kelly, Ron Gardenhire and Paul Molitor, he has noticed some differences in the approach of Rocco Baldelli, the 14th manager in Twins history.

"Rocco is different in that he is really a product of more of the modern metrics in baseball," St. Peter said. "He comes from the Tampa Bay organization, one of the more progressive organizations in our sport, he's very rooted in all of that information and how it can help him make decisions. I think it comes very naturally to him. At this point it makes him very unique amongst our managers.

"He also is very young, very focused on relationship-building with players on an individual basis. That has gone over incredibly well in our clubhouse. Our players are really feeling good about that. Over time I think that's what Rocco is about. He's about garnering as much information as he can to make decisions, and he's about building relationships with players. I'm highly confident we have the right guy in that role and he's going to have great success."

Still, St. Peter said when it comes to judging how Baldelli will perform, he's going to give the 37-year-old former first-round pick some breathing room.

"He hasn't managed a game yet, we're going to give him time to build that legacy," St. Peter said.

http://www.startribune.com/twins-op...ompared-to-previous-twins-managers/507752612/

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STrib: Twins ace Jose Berrios sets his goal: to be one of the best pitchers in baseball

With a season completed and another one approaching, Jose Berrios took time during the winter to declare his goals for 2019.

“Yeah. I always do,” Berrios said. “Every offseason, I write in my notebook that I have in my apartment right now.”

Please understand that this is important. It’s what leads to him pushing cars across fields near his home in Puerto Rico during training sessions, or using the beaches as gymnasiums while others are soaking in sun, or running 3½ miles the days after his starts.

His goals fuel his commitment. And it seems as if he’s always working toward something.

“I want to [win] 20 games,” he said. “I put in that goal last year, and I didn’t accomplish it, but I have the chance to accomplish it this year. I want to put the team in the playoffs again. [The 2017 playoffs were] fun, and I want to be there again. And make the All-Star Game. That’s what was fun for me last summer, and I want to be there again.”

After another winter of relentless workouts, Berrios is ready to tackle these goals. He’ll do so with a second curveball he’s developed. And a changeup he plans to throw more than ever to complement his curveball. Those improvements are coming off a 2018 season during which the 23-year-old went 12-11 with a 3.84 ERA and pitched in his first All-Star Game.

http://www.startribune.com/twin032819-cover-story/507363592/

Win Twins!!
 

Win Twins! More excited about this opener than the past 8 years or so. I have a feeling Buxton and Kepler will take a step forward and that the pitching will be better.
Good day for baseball!
 

My quick take going into game #1:

Twins will score more runs and hit a lot more home runs.

Outfield defense will be really good. (although Rosario will still come up with some wacky plays now and then)

Infield defense could be iffy - and I think they'll miss Mauer's glove at 1st.

starting pitching is the biggest question mark for me. Berrios is solid. Gibson will be OK, but will likely get off to a slow start while recovering from E. Coli.
Pineda is a ? coming off TJ and knee injuries. Odorizzi is coming off a bad year. Perez is coming off a bad year. How much difference can/will the new
Pitching coach make?

and the Bullpen is iffy. I like Rogers. But Hildenberger and May still have to prove they can be consistent over a full season. I'm not a big Mejia fan. and the new guy Parker may have to be the closer.

bottom line - I could see a lot of 8-7 and 7-6 games. Keep the Tums handy and don't tell the kids they can stay up until the end of the game - because I can see some 4-hour games happening.
 

Now that you are at the game
Are you in Hormel's Row of Fame?
If you're in a lucky seat
You'll win a Hormel hot dog treat!
Great for lunch!
Great for dinner!
You will be a wiener winner!
In the Hormel Row of Fame!
 

On KFAN today they were talking about how the twins have tried to sign Berrios to a longer deal like they did with some of the younger guys this offseason but Berrios turned them down. It would be interesting to hear what was being offered. I think they could easily double whatever they were offering him and they would still be getting him at a discount and a good deal.
 


It's only one game, but if one were looking for a sign, the way Berrios pitched is a good one.
 

It's only one game, but if one were looking for a sign, the way Berrios pitched is a good one.

He's good. No doubt. But he's only going to start 35 or so games this year. That leaves another 127 games for someone else to start. As I said earlier, I am not a fan of the starting rotation - unless Pineda, Perez and Odorizzi all demonstrate that they are healthy and capable of having better seasons.

With Berrios on the mound, the Twins can win a 2-0 game. With the other guys, they might have to win a 7-6 game. that will be the test.
 

He's good. No doubt. But he's only going to start 35 or so games this year. That leaves another 127 games for someone else to start. As I said earlier, I am not a fan of the starting rotation - unless Pineda, Perez and Odorizzi all demonstrate that they are healthy and capable of having better seasons.

With Berrios on the mound, the Twins can win a 2-0 game. With the other guys, they might have to win a 7-6 game. that will be the test.

We have analytics now. Each of those pitchers should win a ton more games with all our fancy analytics! We are going to the world series!


wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
 

He's good. No doubt. But he's only going to start 35 or so games this year. That leaves another 127 games for someone else to start. As I said earlier, I am not a fan of the starting rotation - unless Pineda, Perez and Odorizzi all demonstrate that they are healthy and capable of having better seasons.

With Berrios on the mound, the Twins can win a 2-0 game. With the other guys, they might have to win a 7-6 game. that will be the test.

Pineda will surprise you.
 

On KFAN today they were talking about how the twins have tried to sign Berrios to a longer deal like they did with some of the younger guys this offseason but Berrios turned them down. It would be interesting to hear what was being offered. I think they could easily double whatever they were offering him and they would still be getting him at a discount and a good deal.

Someone in the media recently said the two sides were way off when it came to $$$ and years in their negotiations. It might have been Doogie that said it though so take it with a grain of salt.
 

I was almost as happy seeing how god awful the Indians lineup is going to be this year with Lindor currently out. Even with him they have 2 guys to avoid if you can and just pitch to the rest.
 



Someone in the media recently said the two sides were way off when it came to $$$ and years in their negotiations. It might have been Doogie that said it though so take it with a grain of salt.

Doogie's source was Berrios' agent.
 

Someone in the media recently said the two sides were way off when it came to $$$ and years in their negotiations. It might have been Doogie that said it though so take it with a grain of salt.

That wouldn't surprise me. I see at least two things working against the Twins when it comes to what they are going to offer:

1. Berrios is still pretty unproven, as he has some elite stuff when he is pitching at his best, but has not yet proven that he can sustain that over a longer period of time.

2. Aside from maybe Mauer, the Twins have not been willing to throw large amounts of money at anyone, let alone someone that plays at the most valuable position on the field and, thus, would likely demand top dollar.
 




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