Twinkie Town: FanShots

Slowey to the DL, Swarzak called up

2009-07-04T11:58:38Z

Slowey to the DL, Swarzak called up

Slowey to the DL with a strained wrist. Somewhat surprising after the extra inning game that the Twins didn't call up a reliever for a few days before recalling Swarzak to start in 5 days.

Keith Law On Twitter: Twins Sign Europe's Best Prospect

2009-07-03T21:47:31Z

Keith Law On Twitter: Twins Sign Europe's Best Prospect

German catcher Max Kepler has signed with the Minnesota Twins. Terms aren't currently disclosed, but Law's opinion of Kepler is a good one. We'll see what we can find out about Kepler over the coming days.

Twins interested in Sanchez, Capps, and Grabow

2009-07-03T14:48:15Z

Twins interested in Sanchez, Capps, and Grabow

Well hopefully, Bill Smith will at least get Sanchez. Sanchez will require the most players to be given up, but throwing in two more may be a little much.

Kevin Slowey: Unluckiest Pitcher in Baseball?

2009-07-02T22:45:07Z

Kevin Slowey: Unluckiest Pitcher in Baseball?

It's in a graph. It must be true.

Twins Make Offer to Miguel Angel Sano

2009-07-02T22:42:45Z

Twins Make Offer to Miguel Angel Sano

It's been mentioned in the open thread, but according to LEN III, the Twins have reportedly made an offer to the Domincan prospect for around $3 million dollars. Age verification by MLB should be completed yet today.

buyer's market?

2009-07-01T19:37:13Z

buyer's market?

Buster Olney says it's a huge buyer's market for salary dump trades:

The expectation among a lot of general managers is that you're going to see a lot of teams looking to make deals like this, eating some salary to get rid of as much as they can. The small handful of teams that appear willing to take on salary -- the Red Sox, the Phillies, the Giants, the Mets, perhaps a few others -- will be in position to dictate terms in what will be a buyer's market.

If this is true, all the more reason the Twins should be buyers. When they are within reach of first in a shabby division, have an embarrassingly low payroll, and were just given a huge public subsidy, there's no excuse not to take on some salary if it will make the team better -- especially if the going rate is rock bottom, and the trader even has to kick in some salary. If the Pirates are subsidizing a player going to the Yankees, it sure sounds like a buyer's market. So let's take somebody's overpriced second-baseman off their hands!

Pirates selling: Sanchez next?

2009-07-01T02:25:07Z

Pirates selling: Sanchez next?

How about Delmon, Casilla and Ayala for Sanchez?

Six relievers handling load on road trip

2009-06-30T23:57:41Z

Six relievers handling load on road trip

hee hee, she said "handling load", hee hee!

The Tale of RA Dickey

2009-06-29T20:58:18Z

The Tale of RA Dickey

I loved this Souhan article about RA Dickey - who, it turns out, doesn't even have a ulnar collateral ligament (that's the one Neshek and Liriano tore).

The SI story on Joe Mauer

2009-06-26T02:50:05Z

The SI story on Joe Mauer

One of the best reads I've had this year. So good, it's worth posting twice.

Span activated from the DL

2009-06-25T15:32:51Z

Span activated from the DL

Pridie back to AAA

Manship promoted to Rochester

2009-06-24T16:57:17Z

Manship promoted to Rochester

Once again, Seth gets the scoop.

Joe Mauer's Second SI Cover

2009-06-23T18:35:32Z

Joe Mauer's Second SI Cover

Next up: Time.

Valencia promoted to Rochester

2009-06-23T16:22:51Z

Valencia promoted to Rochester

According to Seth, this blog's top prospect is one step away from the big leagues. This puts him in position to become Joe Crede's replacement in 2010.

Twins call up Keppel

2009-06-22T17:49:00Z

Twins call up Keppel

No word on who's going down. The Twins probably have to wait to DFA a pitcher to make room. Alternatively, they could option Morales back.

Another first rounder bites the dust: Twins release Henry Sanchez

2009-06-20T15:26:47Z

Another first rounder bites the dust: Twins release Henry Sanchez

We could all see this coming. Just goes to show you compensation picks do not always pan out. Koskie was a Type A free agent and the two picks we got for him will likely never make it out of A ball.

The Greatness Of Joe Mauer

2009-06-19T16:32:04Z

The Greatness Of Joe Mauer

Joe Mauer is playing baseball like someone left RBI Baseball on easy. Here's an article that explains just how great Mauer is right now.

The Young and the deal-less:

2009-06-18T20:22:19Z

The Young and the deal-less:

The Twins are out there hunting for bullpen depth and young middle infielders. It probably won't come as a shock that they're letting teams know the enigmatic Delmon Young is exceptionally available.

This is really the only Twins tidbit but still, it's interesting/good to see that they're looking to cut bait on Young. I'd be willing to be this is why they've been playing him as much as they have hoping he'll improve. He has a bit with his recent hitting streak hopefully he can have a decent month to improve his value.

Span to the DL, Pridie called up

2009-06-17T13:01:39Z

Span to the DL, Pridie called up

Even though Span's condition (inner ear infection) is not serious, it will take a few more games to heal and the Twins need a full bench.

Perkins activated, Crain optioned to AAA

2009-06-16T20:38:02Z

Perkins activated, Crain optioned to AAA

Who knew he had options left? Well, Seth did. Next question: Why didn't they option him sooner, like before Gardy could put him into a tie game in the ninth inning Sunday?