Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins have reportedly "checked in" on free agents Kyle Schwarber, Adam Duvall and Michael Brantley as they prepare to defend their American League Central title, according to The Athletic's Dan Hayes. 

Schwarber, 27, could serve as a replacement for designated hitter Nelson Cruz if the Twins opt not to re-sign the slugger. The former Chicago Cubs star hit 11 home runs in 59 games last year after mashing 38 homers in 2019. Brantley, meanwhile, could fill a need at right field after Minnesota waived Eddie Rosario last week.

Per Hayes, the Twins and Cruz remain in contact and are hopeful they can reach a deal on a new contract, but talks are moving slowly.

"We continue to be in conversations with a number of free agents and teams on potential trade targets," Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said. "Nothing has really come together, but I would say we’re active in conversations with players that are free agents that were on our team last year as well as players externally."

Urgency may be kicking in as the rival Chicago White Sox began the week by adding frontline starters in pitcher Lance Lynn and outfielder Adam Eaton. 

Brantley, 33, is projected to earn $21.3 million per season on his next contract, according to Spotrac, after slashing .300/.364/.476 with 22 RBI. 

Adding another outfielder is more of a luxury for Minnesota than a necessity at this point. Alex Kirilloff, 23, looks ready for a promotion to the big leagues after rising quickly through the Twins organization over the last few years. Moving on from Rosario opened up a spot for him to challenge for an everyday job if Minnesota is unable to land a preferred free agent. 

"We start from a place of feeling really good about our team," general manager Thad Levine said. "It’s a team that we’re building off from a very strong nucleus of players that are returning. We’re taking a patient approach to the offseason. We’re having conversations with agents and teams, but we’re going to be very selective. We think we’ve got a very good club."

Minnesota Twins star third baseman Josh Donaldson has been left off the team's roster for the AL Wild Card matchup against the Houston Astros because of a calf injury.

Donaldson left Friday's contest against the Cincinnati Reds and did not play in either of the final two regular-season games.

Manager Rocco Baldelli noted Donaldson would not have been able to play in the field.

"We weren't going to be able to put him at third," Baldelli said, per La Velle E. Neal III of the StarTribune. "So the question is, do we use him once a game as a pinch hitter? And if he comes out of the box at 75 percent and aggravates it? We're not willing to take a chance."

Here's a look at the Twins roster for the three-game, opening-round series, which begins Tuesday:

Injuries have been a major storyline for the 34-year-old in 2020. He missed a chunk of games early in the season with a right calf injury, leaving the Twins without a key bat and a solid fielder at the hot corner.

That particular injury was a concern, considering that calf issues hampered Donaldson in the 2017 and 2018 seasons. 

This latest setback is a disappointment for Minnesota given that Donaldson signed a four-year, $92 million deal with the team and was expected to help a Twins club that reached the postseason last year turn the corner toward World Series contention.  

However, he's played in just 28 games this year, hitting .222 with six homers and 11 RBI. That's a far cry from the 37 homers and 94 RBI he posted last year with the Atlanta Braves. 

The Minnesota Twins earned back-to-back American Central division titles on Sunday after the Chicago White Sox's 10-8 loss to the Chicago Cubs.

Minnesota's prodigious power propelled the team to a division crown last year after hitting an MLB-record 307 home runs en route to a 101-61 record. 

Minnesota's power stroke once again flashed this year, but its pitching proved to be its greatest asset, with the team entering Sunday third in the league in ERA.

Kenta Maeda, who the Twins acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the offseason, went 6-1 with a 2.70 ERA and 80 strikeouts to pace the starting staff.

The Twins have smacked 91 dingers through 59 games this year.

At the dish, Nelson Cruz paced the Twins with 16 homers, and Eddie Rosario, Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano each hit 13.

Minnesota Twins third baseman Josh Donaldson addressed his ejection in Thursday's 4-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox.

Donaldson hit a homer in the sixth inning and proceeded to signal his frustration with umpire Dan Bellino by purposefully kicking dirt on home plate as he finished his home run trot.

The three-time All-Star explained Saturday how his larger issue is the lack of accountability for MLB umpires, per ESPN.com:

"[If] the umpire consistently isn't doing [his] job correctly, that's affecting our careers, that's affecting our success. At the end of the day, there's no reprimand, no accountability for the guys that are making the decision. As a matter of fact, they don't care. They don't care at all, most of them. They just want to get the game over with, for the most part, and it's pretty sad because guys are making six figures a year and there's no accountability."

Donaldson had some reason to be upset after Bellino signaled for a strike on a slider that missed away. He told reporters he asked Bellino for an explanation on the call, to which Bellino didn't respond.

"He was wanting me to do something, so I gave it to him," Donaldson said of Bellino with regard to dragging dirt on the plate. "I was like, 'Look, if he really wants this attention, I'll give it to him.'"

Donaldson said he hadn't yet heard from MLB officials about a fine or suspension for his actions. If the league didn't feel his show of defiance was worthy of retrospective action, it might feel differently after his comments Saturday.

Ian Kinsler similarly received a $10,000 fine in August 2017 after directing his ire toward Angel Hernandez.

A comparable penalty would be drop in the bucket for Donaldson, who's in the first year of his four-year, $92 million deal with Minnesota.

The Minnesota Twins have clinched a spot in the 2020 MLB postseason following Saturday's 8-1 win over the Chicago Cubs. 

The expanded playoffs will put eight teams into the postseason in each league, but the Twins should be a top contender given their 32-22 record. The top four seeds will host the best-of-three, first-round series before the American League Division Series are held in neutral sites in Southern California.

Minnesota will hope to improve upon its recent history in the playoffs.

After winning 101 games in 2019, the Twins were swept in the ALDS by the New York Yankees. Two years earlier, the team lost to the Yankees in the AL Wild Card Game.

The organization has lost 16 straight playoff games overall, and it hasn't won a playoff series since reaching the AL Championship Series in 2002. The roster has turned over several times since then, but there is still a lot of anguish surrounding the fanbase.

This year's squad certainly has the talent to produce better results.

Minnesota has one of the scariest lineups in baseball, ranking third in the AL in home runs. Nelson Cruz has played like an MVP candidate with a .314 average 1.026 OPS and 16 home runs, while Miguel Sano, Eddie Rosario and others can change a game with one swing.

The pitching staff also got significant reinforcements this season, led by former Los Angeles Dodgers veterans Kenta Maeda and Rich Hill. Maeda has pitched like an ace in 2020, going 5-1 with a 2.52 ERA entering Saturday night. 

With Tyler Clippard and Tyler Duffey pitching well ahead of Taylor Rogers in the bullpen, the team has all the ingredients necessary to contend for a title.

Minnesota Twins third baseman Josh Donaldson celebrated his fifth home run of the year by getting ejected as soon as he crossed home plate on Thursday:

Upset with a strike call two pitches earlier in his at-bat, Donaldson crushed one to left field then stomped on the plate and proceeded to kick dirt across the batter's box on his way back to the dugout, prompting umpire Dan Bellino to eject him. The veteran made a return visit back to make sure the plate was fully covered before heading to the showers.  

The run gave the Twins a 3-2 lead in a vital game against the Chicago White Sox as the two clubs battle for control of the American League Central. 

Minnesota entered the finale of the four-game series at Guaranteed Rate Field two games back of the Sox for first place. Thursday's game marks the last time the two teams will meet in the regular season and put some added pressure on an already tense matchup. 

Donaldson may have let the moment overwhelm him.

The 34-year-old veteran was handed a four-year, $92 million deal by the Twins in January to help the club contend in the AL and provide some leadership in big games like Thursday's. 

Instead, he was forced to leave in the sixth inning as Minnesota turned to Ehire Adrianza off the bench. 

It's been a rough year overall for the former Oakland A's star. Injuries have allowed Donaldson to play just 21 games this season while slashing .210/.369/.508 with nine runs batted in. 

Now in one of the biggest games of Minnesota's season, he finds himself on the bench rather than leading the way on the field in the late innings. 

An already unpredictable 2020 MLB season just got a little weirder.

Tuesday's game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Minnesota Twins was delayed when a drone flew overhead at Target Field.

According to The Athletic's Dan Hayes, players in one of the bullpens threw baseballs at the drone but were unable to connect. The device flew out of sight around one of the parking lots outside of the stadium.

The Trevor Bauer jokes basically write themselves.

Fans are prohibited from attending games for the foreseeable future amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Perhaps somebody wanted to get a bird's-eye view of the action in Minneapolis.     

Minnesota Twins third baseman Josh Donaldson suffered right calf tightness and was forced to leave his team's game against the Cleveland Indians on Friday, per Dan Hayes of The Athletic.

Donald hit a first-inning single and came around to score after an Eddie Rosario double. He played in the field during the first and second frames, but Ehire Adrianza pinch-hit for Donaldson in the bottom of the second.

Minnesota signed Donaldson to a four-year deal prior to the 2020 campaign. He has gone 4-of-22 with a home run, a pair of RBI and three runs in seven games.

He dealt with shoulder and calf injuries during the 2018 season and played just 52 games for the Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Indians. He slashed .246/.352/.449 with eight home runs and 23 RBI in those contests in a performance that was far from his prime production.

Donaldson is one of the best sluggers of his generation as a three-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger winner. He also took home the 2015 American League MVP while helping lead the Blue Jays to the postseason.

Fortunately for the Atlanta Braves, he bounced back last year and hit 37 home runs with 94 RBI.

It was that production that led the Twins to signing him to a significant deal, but they will have to turn elsewhere while he is sidelined. Look for Adrianza to see more time at third base if Donaldson is sidelined.

The Minnesota Twins honored George Floyd with a moment of silence at 8:46 p.m. local time during their home opener Tuesday against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, was killed after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, a white man, knelt on his neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds. Chauvin was charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, while the other three officers on the scene were charged with aiding and abetting.

Twins first-base coach Tommy Watkins took a knee during the moment of silence, according to Jim Souhan of the Star Tribune.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli and several players kneeled during the national anthem on Opening Day as a protest against racial injustice.

"I've found that the more you look around and the more you converse with people, the more that you find a lot of common ground on a lot of different things, on a lot of different topics," Baldelli said before the game, per Betsy Helfand of the Pioneer Press. "And I find that a very beautiful thing."

The walls at Target Field also have signs that read "Justice for George Floyd" and "Black Lives Matter."

Minnesota Twins general manager Thad Levine opened up about the problems within his organization and across Major League Baseball when it comes to hiring practices within front offices. 

Speaking on a front-office diversity roundtable (h/t ESPN's Joon Lee) on Tuesday, Levine explained why hiring practices have become "flawed" in the sport:

"We've become too reliant on the fact that there are so many candidates that desire to work in baseball. Unintentionally, we've become complacent. Our applicant pool that's flooded our office has been filled with a lot of talent. It's been in large regard homogeneous. We believe that diverse thoughts, life experiences and beliefs inspire a welcoming, inclusive environment and enhances the development of our employees and fuel the growth of the Minnesota Twins organization. All of these words are substantive, we need our actions to be transformational."

MLB is among many sports leagues that has come under scrutiny for a lack of diversity, particularly in prominent positions. 

Speaking to reporters last month, Chicago Cubs president Theo Epstein admitted to questioning his own hiring practices because "the majority of people that I've hired, if I'm being honest, have similar backgrounds as me and look a lot like me."

Epstein added he needed to start questioning his attitudes and assumptions "to find a way to be better."

In an article published June 30, Lee noted the percentage of minorities in charge of MLB front offices has increased from 3 percent in 2001 to 10 percent today and there are no women in a top baseball operations position for any team.  

There are currently eight people in charge of MLB's executive offices, led by commissioner Rob Manfred, all of whom are white men. 

Levine noted the Twins need to "stay committed" to their mentoring program that provides guidance and insight to people interested in pursuing a career in the sport and the best way for them to achieve that goal.