The Minnesota Twins’ playoff dreams? Yeah, they are completely and utterly dead. Forget it. Done. Finito. After a mid-August sweep against the Braves gave everyone a flicker of hope, this team just imploded, dropping seven of eight games and sliding eight games below .500. They tried to rally with three straight wins, but since then, they have lost five of their last seven. Sitting at a dismal 69-77, the math is brutal: they would need to finish 12-4 just to hit .500, and probably 13-3 to even sniff that 4.5-game wild card deficit.
This Is What a Season Collapse Looks Like
Look, it’s mathematically possible, sure, but let’s be real: a Twins team that has gone a pathetic 13-22 since August 1 is not pulling off some miraculous run. Multiple projection sites peg their playoff odds at just over two percent. Two percent! That’s not a flicker, that’s a flatline. It’s time to stop clinging to “what ifs” and start looking at “what’s next.” The smart play here is to get some fresh blood from Triple-A, give these guys some real big-league experience, and see what they’ve got before the offseason hits. This is how you build for next year, not by pretending this one still matters.
Time for the Kids: Who Gets the Call?
If I were running the show, I would be making some serious moves ahead of Friday’s series opener against the Guardians. We are talking about promotions that should have happened already. First up: Emmanuel Rodriguez. This dude is the Twins’ No. 5 prospect and he’s got a ridiculous .909 OPS in St. Paul. What more does he need to prove? Bring him up! Then there’s Hendry Mendez, their No. 8 prospect. The kid is only 22, hitting .286 with a .800 OPS in his first 71 Triple-A games. He needs a shot. And let’s not forget Aaron Sabato, a 2020 first-round pick who has blasted 23 dingers for the second straight year. Even if he is not a long-term fixture, he deserves that MLB debut. On the pitching side, give Marco Raya another look. He pitched six innings for the Twins this summer and is riding a six-inning scoreless streak with the Saints. He’s got that MLB bullpen upside, forget the Triple-A numbers. These guys are on the 40-man already, except for Sabato, but making room for him should be a no-brainer.
Out With the Old, In With the New
To clear the deck, you gotta make some tough calls. Alex Jackson is just rotting on the bench with three plate appearances in a month. Cut him. Ryan Kreidler isn’t part of the future, so he’s gone. Ben Ross got his MLB debut, but he’s not playing, send him back down. And Taylor Rogers? He’s a pending free agent who has been super mediocre this season. Time to move on. With these changes, you get a fresh lineup against right-handers, like Luke Keaschall at DH, Brooks Lee at 3B, Kody Clemens at 2B, Ryan Jeffers catching, Kaelen Culpepper at SS, Walker Jenkins in CF, Emmanuel Rodriguez in LF, Aaron Sabato at 1B, and Hendry Mendez in RF. That bench gets some new life too with guys like Josh Bell, Royce Lewis, Trevor Larnach, Victor Caratini, and Gabriel Gonzalez. It’s about seeing what you really have for next year.
The Twins face the Guardians this Friday, and while the wins might not matter for this season’s standings, every game from here on out is an audition. It’s a chance to build something real for the future, not waste time on a dead dream.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
Leave a Reply