Like others, I am an optimist and refuse to stop being one. Right NOW, they are an average team with potential. I just don’t know if they CAN maintain until the break. I sure hope they can!

Correa was great before he missed time last season, and was great when he came back. I simply refuse to believe such a well conditioned, smart player is suddenly losing his bat at 30yo! I fully expect him to have a strong 2nd half, I just hope his 2nd half starts soon. We also need Wallner and Jeffers to get hot again soon. IF Lewis’s latest injury is truly mild, he should be back in July. He was starting to look like his old self before this injury. Very possible he has a strong 2nd half as well. 

On the youth side, Keaschall will be back in July as well. He won’t be the Superman he was in his debut, but hes a well rounded and high quality player who appears ready for MLB. He doesn’t have to be as good as he was in his debut to make a difference. I’m NOT betting on it, but what if E Rodriguez comes back fairly soon and gets hot, like he was flashing before his latest setback? Could he MAYBE bring a spark to the lineup the way Wallner did in 2023? What if Eeles keeps raking and producing at St Paul and his “pop” suddenly comes back? Could he bring a spark along WITH Keaschall for the 2nd half?

While there’s some “IF’s” in there, most of what I stated is pretty practical.

Unfortunately, the problem may be the pitching injuries. 

No Lopez until August is a problem.

Stubborn or real, Ober insists a sore hip isn’t his problem, it’s mechanics. Can he just maintain solid starts with his secondary stuff and smarts, and straighten out his mechanics to be at least solid with a sore hip? I’m not betting against Paddack RIGHT NOW after only the 2nd poor start of his season. I doubt his total IP for the SEASON, but considering how well he’s been tossing, I’m not losing faith after only his 2nd bad start.

I have a lot of belief in Festa, basically a rookie. The Festa who threw so well in 2024 after a poor couple early appearances is the REAL Festa, IMO. Personally, I’m throwing away the start against the A’s because of weird circumstances. I’m betting on the 2024 and early 2025 version and him growing and getting better as he gains experience. Again, he’s basically a talented rookie settling in. As of TODAY, with what little we know, Matthews might not be out long. That helps. But in the meantime, we need SWR to be the solid 2024 version of himself that was solid and growing before running out of steam at the end. 

With a talented “rookie” in the rotation, and another talented “rookie” hopefully back in about a month, it’s imperative that Sim takes a step forward. 

But with Lopez out, and Ober not quite right…hopefully that’s all…the 8th man in the pen is going to be interesting. I’m expecting no initial greatness from Adams, but he provides a really interesting option to be a middle man bridge to help eat innings and keep the Twins in games without over using the rest of a good pen. The problem is he’s the only other 40 man option other than Raya who has options and can be sent down if we need to re-load that 8th spot for a few days. Do we play the DFA game with McCaugan, Dobnak, Wentz, and Tonkin? Or do they make room for someone like Morris…promoted too early but get his feet wet…in order to play the up and down game for that 8th spot?

It changes a LOT if Matthew’s injury is mild and he’s back soon. But for NOW, that 8th spot suddenly becomes important.

ONE RUN games are killing the Twins record due to the offense, not the pen or rotation. And while there are real possibilities for the offense to be better and rise to top 15, maybe even top 10 status in regard to runs scored, I’m worried about the rotation even though I believe in Festa and have SOME belief in SWR.

The Twins MIGHT have a pitching issue between Ober not being himself and Lopez out, along with Matthews. But Festa is as good or better a prospect than Matthews. Let’s just bet Ober guts it out and figures it out, and SWR continues to mature and pitch like he did most of 2024. That’s the ideal result. 

I worry about how one of the best and deepest rotations in all of MLB are suddenly being tested. But my greatest concern is blown opportunities to win games by an inconsistent offense that has too much talent to be so far below average.

Even with questions and worry about the rotation, I STILL believe an uptick in the player roster providing better production can lead the team to a better than .500 record, 85-90 wins. But it only happens if they take a step or two forward. The bite is, they ARE capable of being better than they have been. But once again, NO CONSISTENCY.