Summer has officially started, and the Twins are feeling hot, with a 5-1 record last week! A sweep against the Rangers and a 2-1 series win over the Diamondbacks that was filled with homers and runs galore put the team at 38-41, only 3.5 games out of the AL Central lead behind two teams in Cleveland and Chicago that have dealt with significant injuries as of recent. Byron Buxton earned AL Player of the Week honors to start the week and added a couple more homers, including a grand slam against Arizona. He also reiterated his commitment to the team, telling Dan Hayes at The Athletic, “I don’t give a f—“ about trade rumors. Buxton currently sits second in the AL in homers, 6th in wRC+, and is a Gold-Glove caliber center fielder – sounds like a potential MVP candidate to me!
The Past Week on Twinkie Town:
- Check out The Feed, where you can add your discussions about the Twins!
- We’re starting a new segment called Daily Questions! Provide your opinion on the Twins and debate with the community!
- Game threads and recaps are back! Commiserate with your fellow fans as we experience the season together.
- Zach Koenig takes time to thank Byron Buxton for all his accomplishments over the last couple of years.
- Aidan Thomas reviews the state of the catcher position in the Twins farm system.
- With new faces showing up on the major league roster every day, Matt Monitto lists the remaining jersey numbers that have yet to be claimed in Twins history.
Elsewhere in Twins Territory:
- Aaron Gleeman at AaronGleeman.com looks at the reliever that might be putting an end to the revolving door at closer.
- Eleanor Hildebrandt at the Star Tribune provides context on why customer service at Target Field for today’s game might be a bit different, with concession stand workers going on strike.
- Theo Tollefson at Zone Coverage checks in on outfield Alan Roden and how he’s playing now that he’s back from injury.
- Betsy Helfand at the Pioneer Press looks at how Mick Abel’s setback impacts the Twins’ plan for the rotation.
In the World of Baseball:
- The Yankees have maintained their lead atop the American League, with a two-game cushion over the Tampa Bay Rays. The Guardians and White Sox are separated by a game in the AL Central lead, while the Mariners continue to hold the top spot in the West. The Blue Jays now occupy the third wild-card slot.
- The Dodgers, who are coming to town to face the Twins, are now tied with Atlanta for the NL Central lead. Milwaukee is 1.5 games behind, and the Cardinals, Phillies, and now Cubs have the three wild-card spots.
- With all the recent Tarik Skubal trade rumors, Mike Petriello at MLB.com explains the simple reason why Skubal might remain in Detroit.
- The MLB owners provided their latest proposal in the CBA battle, this time with a shocker of overhauling the draft process, most notably, making high-schoolers ineligible for the draft and implementing an international draft. Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan at ESPN have a deeper dive into the offer.
- Dan Szymborski at Fangraphs looks at the financial impacts on players with the newest owners’ proposal.
