TWINS TRIVIA is hopefully a fun and informative site that will help you to better enjoy the Minnesota Twins and their wonderful history. “History never looks like history when you are living through it” – John Gardner, former Secretary of Health
The 21st century started on 1/1/2001 so the first quarter century has passed at the end of 2025. So lets take a look at what Minnesota Twins starters have started the most games for the Twins in that time period. I’m not going to look at their wins or losses, just how many times they have been able to take the bump to start the game. I will also try identify which pitchers were drafted by the Twins and which were not.
It turns out the leader of the pack is Kyle Gibson who pitched for the Twins between 2013-2019 and had a record of 67-68 with 845 strikeouts in 1,087 innings with a 4.33 ERA. A Twins 1st round pick (22nd overall) in 2009 and debuted on 6/29/2013.
D means he was drafted by the Twins and the number after it indicated the round. Trade means he was acquired in a trade, FA means signs as a free agent, Rule 5 means the Twins drafted him in a Rule 5 draft, and amateur FA means Twins signed him as an amateur free agent.
Keep in mind that some pitchers career’s started in the previous century so their number may look a bit strange.
When you come out to Target Field and want to watch Willians Astudillo play ball you have to check out each position on the field to see where he might be playing on any given day. The soon to be 27-year old is in his second year in the big leagues and has just 77 games under his belt. His 5’9″ (probably generous) and 225 pounds (probably understated) suits him fine for his primary position of catcher but Astudillo is more than that. In parts of two seasons with the Twins he has played every position except shortstop and I would expect him to play there at some point too. Astudillo even pitched during his first year with Minnesota.
Astudillo loves to play baseball and it shows, he has fun on and off the field and isn’t afraid to poke a little fun at himself. The “Tortuga” is a fan favorite and the he can play some ball. This season he is only hitting .269 but last season he hit .355 and struckout just 3 time in 97 PA’s. The man can put his bat on the ball no matter where it is pitched.
Astudillo first signed with the Philadelphia Phillies as a 17 year-old free agent in December 2008 but never got above High A ball in the Philly organization. In November 2015 Astudillo became a FA and signed with the Atlanta Braves. The following November he was a FA again and this time was signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks. When 2017 was coming to and end Astudillo was again a FA and this time signed with the Twins.
The “Turtle” started 2018 with AAA Rochester but was called up my Minnesota in late June and made his big league debut at the age of 26 on June 30th against the Chicago Cubs in Wrigley Field when he replaced Eddie Rosario in left field. Naturally Astudillo singled in his first big league at bat off former Twins pitcher Brian Duensing and knocked in a run. Astudillo made the 2019 Twins team in spring training but has visited the IL twice this season with a hamstring issue and an oblique strain and has missed 71 games.
Astudillo who enjoys playing winter ball back home in his native Venezuela but due to the political unrest in his country MLB is prohibiting MLB players from playing baseball there this coming off-season.
Here is a short video clip from a play Tortuga made just the other day, how can you not love a player like this?
Joe Mauer retires. Click on image to make it larger.
Joe Mauer picked as a catcher 1st overall in 2001 and is retired with a 55.0 WAR all with the Twins from 2004-2018.
Brian Dozier picked as a collegiate shortstop in the 8th round in 2009 and is currently playing for the Nationals. Current career WAR is 23.3 and WAR with Twins from 2012 to 2018 was 23.8.
Denard Span picked as an outfielder in the 1st round (20th overall) in 2002 and is currently not playing. Current career WAR is 26.2 and WAR with the Twins from 2008 to 2012 was 13.2.
Eddie Rosario picked as an outfielder in the 4th round of the 2010 draft and currently playing left field for the Twins since 2015 and has a 10.2 career WAR.
Trevor Plouffe was selected as a shortstop in round 1 (20th overall) of the 2004 MLB draft. Plouffe is not playing this season after being released by the Phillies and has a career WAR of 8.2. When playing for Minnesota from 2010 to 2018 his WAR was 8.6.
Byron Buxton was selected as an outfielder in 2012 with the 2nd overall pick in round 1. Has played center field for the Twins off and on since 2015 and has a career WAR of 8.5.
Jason Kubel was selected as an outfielder in round 12 of the 2000 draft and played for the Twins in 2004, sat out 2005 due to injury and from 2006-2011 putting up a 3.7 WAR before leaving as a FA. Career 4.1 WAR.
Mitch Garver was drafted as a collegiate catcher in the 9th round of the 2013 draft and has been with the Twins off/on since 2017 and has put up a 2.6 career WAR.
Aaron Hicks was drafted as an outfielder in round 1 (14th overall) and played for the Twins on/off from 2013-2015 before being traded to the Yankees. Hicks WAR with Minnesota was 2.3 and he now is up to a 10.2 career WAR with the Yankees.
Danny Valencia was drafted as a collegiate third baseman in round 19 and played for the Twins from 2010 to 2012 before being traded to Boston. Valencia put up a 0.9 WAR with the Twins. I believe Valencia is not playing in 2019 and has a career WAR of 5.6.
Pitchers
Scott Baker – click on image to make it larger.
Scott Baker (collegiate RHP) was a 2nd round pick in 2003 and started for the Twins from 2005-2011 and had a 15.7 WAR. After TJ surgery he pitched for Cubs, Rangers and Dodgers thru 2015 and ended up with a 15.6 career WAR.
Kyle Gibson (collegiate RHP) was a 1st round pick and 22nd overall in 2009 and is currently in the Twins starting rotation (since 2013) with a current career WAR of 9.6.
Glen Perkins (collegiate LHP) was a 1st round compensation pick (22nd overall) in 2004 from the Mariners for signing Eddie Guardado as a FA. Perkins joined the Twins in 2006 and pitched thru 2017. Perkins was a starter in 2008-2009 but ended his career as a closer with a career WAR of 8.7.
Brian Duensing (collegiate LHP) was a 3rd rounder in 2005 and pitched for the Twins from 2009-2015 primarily in relief but he did some spot starting early in his career. Twins WAR was 6.3. Duensing is currently with the Cubs and has a career WAR of 6.2.
Jesse Crain (collegiate RHP) was picked in round 2 in 2002 and pitched in relief for Minnesota from 2004 thru 2010 before moving on to the White Sox where he finished his career in 2013. Twins WAR was 5.4 and career WAR was 11.4.
Jose Berrios (high school RHP) was picked in round 1 and 32nd overall as a compensation pick for the loss of FA Michael Cuddyer in 2012. Berrios is currently in the Twins starting rotation (since 2016) and has a career WAR of 5.2.
Taylor Rogers (collegiate LHP) was picked in round 11 in 2012 and has been a reliever in the Twins bullpen since 2016 and has posted a career WAR of 4.6.
Kevin Slowey (collegiate RHP) was picked in the 2nd round and 73rd overall in 2005 and was used primarily as a starter for Minnesota from 2007-2011 and had a 4.4 WAR. He finished his career with Miami 2013-2014 with a career WAR of 4.7.
Nick Blackburn (collegiate RHP) wasn’t picked until round 29 (857th overall) in 2001 and spent his entire career with Minnesota from 2007-2012 and put up a 3.1 career WAR.
Pat Neshek (collegiate RHP) was picked by the Twins in round 45 in 1999 but didn’t sign and was again picked by the Twins in 2002 in round 6 and was a Twins relief pitcher from 2006-2010 with a year off in 2009 for TJ surgery and posted a WAR with the Twins of 3.0. Since then Neshek has pitched for six other big league organizations (currently with Philly) and has a career WAR of 10.9.
Some observations
Seven of the ten position players on the list were drafted out of high school.
Just one of ten pitchers on the list was drafted and signed out of high school.
Only five of the ten position players on the list are first round picks.
Three of 10 pitchers are first round picks.
Position players on the list not picked in round 1 were selected in rounds 4, 8, 9, 12, and 19.
Pitchers on the list not selected in round one were picked in rounds 2, 2, 2, 3, 6, 11, and 29.
Seems like the Twins should draft position players out of high school and pitchers out of college.
With the June Amateur Free Agent draft just a month or so away maybe it is time to look back and see who the Twins have drafted this century that has made an impact on the Minnesota Twins major league team. We all know that very few prospects make it to the big leagues and even fewer are stars, here is how the Twins have fared. Keep this in mind before you get overly excited about the Twins picks in this years drafts.
Twins draft choices since 2000
2000 draft – 52 drafted, 30 signed and 5 put on a Minnesota Twins uniform
Best Twins player – Jason Kubel (OF) was a 2nd round selection picked out of high school and debuted on August 31, 2004 and had a career WAR of 4.1. RETIRED
2001 draft – 50 drafted, 33 signed, 3 put on a Minnesota Twins uniform and 1 played in big leagues for another team
Joe Mauer
Best Twins players – Joe Mauer (C) a Minnesota native was the number one overall pick out of Cretin High School and he debuted on April 5, 2004 and played with Minnesota throughout his career that ended after the 2018 season. Won an MVP, six time All-Star, five time Silver Slugger, three time Batting Champion and three time Gold Glove winner. Career WAR of 55.0. RETIRED
Best Twins players – Nick Blackburn was a collegiate right-handed pitcher drafted in round 29 and debuted on September 7, 2007. Blackburn pitched his entire career for the Twins from 2007-2012. RETIRED with a 3.1 career WAR.
Wore a Twins uniform briefly – Jose Morales (drafted as a shortstop but switched to catcher).
Played in big leagues for another team – Kevin Cameron (RHP).
Pitcher Brian Duensing was a 2005 Minnesota Twins third round compensation selection for the Twins losing free agent shortstop Cristian Guzman to the Washington Nationals. Duensing signed with Minnesota for a reported bonus of $400,000 and began his ascent to the big leagues with the Elizabethton Twins and debuted in relief with the Twins on April 10th, 2009 in a 12-5 Twins victory at US Cellular Field. Originally a starting pitcher, the Twins used him as a spot starter and reliever from 2009-2012 before moving him to the bullpen full-time late in 2012.
After appearing in 354 Twins games from 2009-2015 and posting a 41-37 record with 2 saves and a 4.13 ERA it became time for the Twins and the 32 year-old left-handed Duensing to part ways. I recently ran across a Q&A that Duensing did with FanGraphs discussing the opt out and how he used it during his free agency which was a first for him in his baseball career. It shows how baseball isn’t always a bowl of cherries for everyone.
As 2014 is coming to an end it is a good time to look back on another Twins season, their fourth in a row without post season play. But you have to be a winner to make post season play and the Twins have been anything but a winner the last few years. It has been a toss-up when you try to determine who has been more inept, the Twins players on the field or the ownership and Twins executives that sit behind their desks and make the decisions that determine the experience that Twins fans will have to live with during the up-coming season.
The Twins have had many losing seasons over the years and the real core Twins fans complained but they accepted the team they had and they looked forward to the next season with renewed hope for more wins “next year”. But it is seems different now, I am not sure why, maybe the fans are more passionate, maybe it is social media that allows Twins fans to better express their frustrations but today’s Twins fans are just plain mad and disgusted with the caliber of play their home team has displayed since the 2010 ended. Hopefully the Minnesota Twins organization feels some of the passion that Twins fans have and will start to look at the product from the fans perspective and see what they can do to make the fans experience a little more fun and and not so tough on the wallet.
Since the Washington Senators moved to Minnesota after the 1960 season and became the Minnesota Twins the team has played 8,617 regular season games, winning 4,274, losing 4,335 and playing to a tie on eight occasions in 54 seasons of play. Boy, how time flies by, I still remember that 1961 season.
Looking back at Twins history they have two World Series winners and a third World Series appearance in which they lost game seven to Sandy Koufax and the Los Angeles Dodgers. In addition to the 8,617 regular season games the team has played a total of 64 post season games winning 25 and losing 39. Their last post season appearance was in 2010 and that brief playoff run lasted just three games when they were swept by the New York Yankees 3 games to zip. The teams last post season win was back in 2004 (if I am not mistaken that is about 10 years ago, YIKES!) when they beat the Yankees in game 1 of the ALDS series before losing the next three games.
So let’s take a look at the hitting and pitching statistics of the Minnesota Twins in post season play. Let’s see who stood out under the bright lights of post season play and who couldn’t or didn’t deliver when the pressure was on. The names you will see below will bring back many memories, some good, some bad, some sad and in some cases you will say “who in the hell is so and so, I don’t remember him”. But it is fun looking back.
Since the Twins started play in 1961 through the 2014 season a total of 751 players have put on a Minnesota Twins uniform and appeared in a game either as a hitter or a pitcher. Only 162 of them or 21.57% have appeared in a Twins post season game over the 54 seasons the Twins have called Minnesota home.
A two-hour and 6 minute rain delay before last nights Twins game at Target Field started was no biggie for Twins starter Yohan Pino. After all, he has toiled in the minors for 10 years and waited 30 years and 175 days before making his Major League debut against the White Sox on Thursday.
The right-hander went seven innings, giving up two runs and five hits and one walk while striking out seven, but was lifted after 7 innings with the score knotted at 2-2. His seven strikeouts were the second most in franchise history in a debut, tying him with Darrell Jackson and Bert Blyleven, and trailing only Boof Bonser‘s eight strikeouts set in 2006.
Andrew Albers
Alex McColl
Pino also became the oldest starting pitcher to make a big league debut in Twins history, passing Andrew Albers, who was 27 years and 304 days old when he made his debut with the Twins just last season. The Twins released Albers this past January allowing him to sign with a South Korean team. Albers ended up signing with the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization. The oldest pitcher in franchise history to debut in the big leagues was Alex McColl who pitched in his first game for the Washington Senators in 1933 at the age of 39 years and 151 days.
Oldest Twins rookie pitchers to debut in big leagues and have at least one start
If you look at the list of pitchers on the list above you will see that none of them were a starter for the Minnesota Twins for very long and in most cases most of them did not pitch for the Twins or anyone else for any length o time. Les Straker did start two World Series games for the Twins in 1987. History seems to indicate that if you do not debut in the big leagues before your 26th birthday (at least with the Twins), the odds are very much against you. We can hope that Yohan Pino has better luck but don’t bet the farm on it. Kyle Gibson just missed being on this list because his big league debut occurred in 2013 at the age of 25 and 249 days.
It is 10:30 A.M. and the ole digital thermometer shows a -11.1 degrees but at least it is bright and sunny. I a trying to put a positive spin on the brutal winter we are having here in Minnesota this year, an “old school” winter just like I remember them as I was growing up in Taylors Falls. Back in the days when I had to ride a rickety old school bus seven miles each way to and from school and I don’t remember school being cancelled due to the cold. I am sitting about 10 miles west of Target Field and I can picture what the ballpark must look like as it sits there snow-covered and frozen over. But in just a few months the snow will be gone, the grass will be green and baseball will once again be played there. We just returned from a week-long Caribbean cruise where the temps were always in the 70’s and 80’s and the water was in liquid form, it is sooooo easy to forget that winter exists when you are relaxing on a cruise ship. But it won’t be long and I will be hanging out at Hammond Stadium and I am anxious to see the improvements that have been made there. Maybe the Minnesota Twins themselves will show improvement too, you never know, stranger things have happened.
I read today that the Twins and Fox Sports North will telecast all the Twins home spring training games. BRAVO! Smart move by the Twins to give fans back here in Minnesota that can’t take a Florida trip for what ever reason to see some of the Twins prospects playing ball this spring. You give someone a taste of something good and you can count on them coming back for more. As they have for the last few years the Twins will broadcast all the spring training games on KTWN radio. For an old guy like me, there is something very relaxing when you get to listen to a baseball game on the radio.
Max Kepler at Home Sweet Home baseball camp
I have a ticket for TwinsFest on Saturday and I am excited about hanging out with some baseball crazy Twins fans and to see how the Twins will put on their first TwinsFest at Target Field, it will be interesting I think. The price for this event and the autographs keep climbing and I know it is a Twins Community Fund charity event but if the Twins are not careful they will price it out of reach for the average Twins fan. One of players I am most interested in seeing again is 1B/OF prospect Max Kepler who will be making his first trip to Minnesota and Target Field, hopefully he will be able to call this ballpark home in the not too distant future. Kepler has a busy off-season and one of those events had him participating in the Berlin Home Sweet Home baseball camp. It is always great to see Twins players giving their time to children and allowing them to get up close and personal with a baseball hero. Great job Max!
The Twins have agreed to transfer starter Andrew Albers to the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), reports MLBTR’s Steve Adams. Albers has agreed to terms with his new club as well, making the deal complete. The 28-year-old Albers was a great story for the Twins last year but with the Twins free agent starting pitcher signings this past off-season Albers had little chance of making the team this year much less joining the starting rotation. Albers was originally a 10th round selection by the San Diego Padres in 2008 but was released prior to the 2010 season. Albers then hooked up with Quebec, an independent team in the Canadian-American Association and he spent the 2010 season there. The Twins signed the left-handed Albers as a free agent in March of 2011 and he made his major league debut with the Twins as a starter on August 6, 2013 in a 7-0 trashing of the Kansas City Royals. Albers won his first two starts as a big leaguer by allowing no runs on just 6 hits in 17.1 innings. Albers finished the season with a 2-5 record and a 4.05 ERA. Albers was named the Minnesota Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Year for 2013. With a salary reportedly set to land in the “high six figures,” Albers stands to earn significantly more than he would have if he ended up in the minors. He also gets a chance to test the open market next year, as he will become a free agent after his season with Hanwha. Had he stayed with Minnesota, Albers would not have been able to become a free agent until 2019. Sounds like a win-win proposition for Albers and the Twins.
The big news in baseball yesterday was the New York Yankees announced signing of Masahiro Tanaka in a stupendous seven-year deal for $155 million. Tanaka is only 25 but if it was my money, I would have had a very difficult time spending it on a pitcher that has not thrown a single pitch in the major leagues. The Yankees were desperate for more young starting pitching and only time will tell if this was a smart move or not. This will be a fun story to follow in 2014. If I was going to spend that much money, I would have traded for David Price from Tampa and signed him to a long-term deal.
While I was out cruising the Caribbean MLB baseball announced that New York Yankees Alex Rodriguez‘s appeal was complete and that he had been suspended for the 2014 season. I have only one comment on A-Rod, this suspension is well deserved and I don’t plan to spend any more time writing about him in 2014.
Former Twins manager Sam Mele turned 92 just a couple of days ago (January 21). Mele took over as the Twins skipper from the fired Cookie Lavagetto during the 1961 season and led the team to the 1965 World Series which they ended up losing in seven games to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Mele remained the Twins manager until owner Calvin Griffith let him go during the 1967 season. Mele is now the oldest living person to wear a Minnesota Twins uniform. SABR bio. Happy Birthday Sam and many more!
I completed a fun interview with Ken Schrom, former Twins pitcher (1983-1985) and now president of the Corpus Christi Hooks (AA – Houston Astros) on Tuesday and I will post it here in the very near future so make sure you check that out. You can listen to Ken tell you how he was cut by a team that he was pitching for when he as actually part of the ownership group of the same team.
The Twins announced on January 17th that they have signed all three of their arbitration eligible players for the 2014 season when they agreed to terms with left-handed pitcher Brian Duensing, right-handed pitcher Anthony Swarzak and third baseman Trevor Plouffe on one-year contracts, avoiding arbitration. Duensing will earn $2 million in 2014, while Swarzak will earn $935,000 and Plouffe will earn $2.35 million. The last time the Twins went to arbitration was with Kyle Lohse in 2006 when Lohse was declared the winner when he asked for $3.95 million and the Twins countered with $3.4 million. The last time the Twins won an arbitration case was in 2004 when Johan Santana asked for $2.45 million and the Twins offered $1.6 million.
Earlier this month the team announced that single-game tickets for the 2014 season at Target Field go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. on Saturday, February. 22. In addition, tickets for the 2014 Home Opener against the Oakland Athletics on Monday, April 7 will go on sale starting at 4 p.m. on Friday, January 24 in conjunction with the start of TwinsFest. As in previous seasons, the Twins will apply variable pricing to all tickets for the 2014 season. Per-game prices for both single-game and season tickets will be based on factors such as time of year, date and opponent. The five-tier variable pricing structure will apply to all single-game tickets sold on Saturday, February. 22. Beginning the next day, Sunday, February 23, the Twins will apply demand-based pricingto all seating sections of Target Field for the 2014 season. Demand-based pricing, which prices tickets according to fan demand, is a practice that has now become very common. The system, which was implemented at Target Field in 2011, applies only to single-game ticket sales and does not affect Season Ticket Holder pricing. As of today I still can’t find any single game ticket prices on the Twins web site.
What the heck was Eddie Rosario thinking after failing his first test and then doing whatever he did to fail a second test? The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball announced yesterday that Minnesota Twins Minor League second baseman Eddie Rosario has received a 50-game suspension without pay after a second positive test for a drug of abuse in violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Rosario is one of the Twins top prospects and has a bright future in baseball and he does something like this just before possible making his major league debut with Minnesota in 2014? I know that youngsters make mistakes and I sure hope that this one wakes Rosario up and gets him thinking straight again.”It’s disappointing, but now he has to pay the consequences and be accountable,” Twins general manager Terry Ryan said. “Losing 50 games, that’s a huge setback. That’s a lot of development time, a lot of learning that he’ll miss. It sets back his progression [toward] going up to the big leagues. But young people make mistakes, and hopefully he learns from it.”
What the Minnesota Twins TV contract pays them and what is the length of the contract? According to recent reports the Philadelphia Phillies’ new deal with Comcast SportsNet is for 25 years, and the contract is worth $2.5 billion in addition to an equity stake and ad revenue. The rights fee will be paid out on a schedule that increases about 3 to 4% per year, averaging out to $100MM per season over the 25-year term. An average of $100MM per season? That is a good start on your annual payroll.
Lucrative television contracts for Major League Baseball teams are not new. The New York Yankees signed a 12-year, $486 million deal with the Madison Square Garden Network in 1988, a deal that propelled them to an improved financial situation. While teams were trying to improve finances through the“stadium boom”of the 199s and early 2000s, the Yankees were again striking gold with television money. They formed their own network in 2002, and immediately began reaping the benefits. The Yankees received an estimated $85 million per year from YES beginning with the 2013 season, a figure that could pay off 41 percent of their projected payroll of $207 million before selling a single ticket, hot dog or jersey. Prior to the 2010 season, the Texas Rangers signed a deal with Fox Sports Southwest worth $80 million per year. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim raised the bar for television contracts in December of 2011 when they reached a $3 billion, 20-year deal with Fox Sports. None, however, can come close to the level of the deal struck between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Fox Sports late in 202. The deal will pay out an unprecedented $6-$7 billion over the next 25 years. That translates to $240-$280 million in revenue per year. But not all teams are on the same pay scale, the St. Louis Cardinals for example are stuck with a deal that pays out a paltry $14 million per year and does not expire until 2017. A number of small-market teams are locked into similar deals for under $20 million per year including the Florida Marlins ($18 million per year) and Pittsburgh Pirates ($18 million) that will certainly affect budgets for re-signing players and making bids on free agents.
Terry Ryan (courtesy of SI.com)
If GM Terry Ryan is done tinkering with the Twins line-up. This off-season Ryan has stated repeatedly that the Twins needed starting pitching but that the Twins offense also needs help. Only the Houston Astros and Chicago White Sox scored fewer runs in the AL then the Twins sad total of 614. The Red Sox led the AL in runs scored with 853, that is a difference of 239 runs or 1.48 runs per game when compared to the Twins. I sure hope that Ryan doesn’t think that bringing back Jason Kubel on a minor league make good deal solves that problem. At this time the Twins payroll sits around $70 million with 3 arbitration eligible players in Brian Duensing, Trevor Plouffe and Anthony Swarzak that will probably get a total of $7 million or $8 million between them. After that most of the rest of the roster will not get much above league minimum so my guess is that the Twins will start the 2014 season with a payroll of about $85-$88 million, a jump of about $10-$13 million from the 2013 open day payroll. I was hoping for better coming off three miserable seasons in a row. I know that money does not buy you a pennant or happiness for that matter but I also know that you get what you pay for in the long run.
Brian Dozier
Why does 2B Brian Dozier get so little respect. Numerous fantasy baseball prognosticators have Dozier rated as one of MLB worst second baseman, rating him in the bottom 33% in all of baseball. I know he only hit .244 but he hit 18 home runs, scored 72 times, knocked in 66 runs and stole 16 bases. I know that fantasy baseball does not take defense into consideration and Dozier did pretty well with his glove but those are some pretty decent numbers for a middle infielder in spite of the low average. The Twins don’t seem to be doing anything to promote Dozier as an up and coming player either and you often hear that Rosario is the 2B of the future. Sometimes we just don’t appreciate what we have and keep thinking that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. I say that Dozier will be better than you think and will become a leader on this Twins team that has no face to it.
Why shortstop Stephen Drew is still unsigned on the free agent market. I would love to see the Twins open their wallet and sign the 30-year-old Drew to a three-year deal for say $25 million. That is not cheap but I don’t see any shortstops in the Twins minor league system that are ready for the big leagues either.
Miguel Sano
What the date will be when Trevor Plouffe becomes Miguel Sano‘s caddie. Although I think that Miguel Sano will start the season in AAA Rochester, I see him in Minnesota as the Twins stating 3B before Memorial Day. I for one can’t wait to see Sano in Minnesota and Plouffe on the bench or with another team.
Just a few thoughts on a cold winter day in Minnesota when the high temperature today will stay below zero and the high temperature for tomorrow is predicted to be a -15 degrees. Holy Cow! I can’t wait to get down to Ft. Myers and catch some spring training action.
