The Twins Have Done Enough To Play Meaningful Games In August

Following the Cleveland Guardians series, Rocco Baldelli poked his head into the Minnesota Twins clubhouse with a brief message. Baldelli is not one for big speeches and believes in empowering his players to be leaders. Still, he offered something evident but also that he should highlight.

“I did tell our guys after the game, just very quickly, that every series we play from here on out will be the most important series of the season,” he said after Minnesota’s 5-3 loss to the Guardians. “This season, we've still got two months to play. We've got plenty of games going on.

“We’re playing a team that’s in first place. They’re, overall, playing good baseball this season. Our division has several teams playing good baseball right now (and) I don’t want anyone to get too caught up just in case anyone might be thinking that this series mattered any more than any other series.”

By splitting the Guardians series, the Twins missed an opportunity to gain ground on Cleveland. However, they took two of three from the Kansas City Royals in the next series. Kansas City is surging, but Minnesota staved them off while trying to catch the Guardians in the AL Central. They also nearly swept the defending champion Texas Rangers in four games on the road and are chasing the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees for the best record in the major leagues.

You would have been dumbfounded if I told you that the Royals series would be more consequential than four games in Arlington. The Rangers won 90 games and the World Series last season; Kansas City won 56 and finished in the junior circuit’s worst division. A lot can change in a year. However, the Twins have mostly built off their success last season.

They’re within striking distance of MLB’s best record despite starting the season 7-13. They have a potent offense when Royce Lewis, Carlos Correa, and Byron Buxton are simultaneously healthy. However, Correa and Buxton are on the IL. Brooks Lee stepped up in Correa’s absence but is also injured. Joe Ryan is out for the season, but Minnesota’s pitching pipeline is starting to manifest.

Bailey Ober is Minnesota’s 12th-round pick in 2017 of the College of Charleston and will be its second playoff starter behind Pablo López. They acquired Simeon Woods Richardson in the José Berríos trade, and he looks capable of being a No. 3 starter in the postseason. The Twins must rely on David Festa (2021 13th-round pick out of Seton Hall), Zebby Matthews (2022 8th round, Western Carolina), and Louie Varland (2019 15th round, Concordia St. Paul) to get them through the rest of the season.

Assuming that Derek Falvey has installed his pitching pipeline installed correctly. The Twins have created a winning formula. They’ve spent draft capital and big money on their lineup, and it’s productive when healthy. Conversely, they’re developing pitchers they traded for or drafted from small schools in the low minors to become major leaguers. They needed the first-overall pick in 2017 to take Lewis and $200 million to sign Correa, but they’ll always have a 12th-round pick and enough budgeted for the signing bonus.

It seems impossible that the Twins could be competing for MLB’s best record in a year where they cut payroll, weren’t on TV for most of the season, and didn't do much at the trade deadline. Still, they are, and it’s because of sound roster construction, Baldelli’s patient management style, and the strength of their superstars. They’re playing meaningful baseball in August and could in September if they stay healthy.

“I want the guys feeling good about themselves [and] about the way they just played over the last few days,” Baldelli said after the Guardians series. “That was all, and it was very brief. I’m sure they already forgot what I was talking about when I walked in there, and they’re already eating their food and getting their family day on the field or going home and having a good bite to eat somewhere else, maybe.

“I want them to just move on, and I’m sure they will.”

Baldelli wants his players to expect to win. And, in a chaotic season, they do.