Minnesota Twins lose 40% of their starting rotation to free agency

The Minnesota Twins were not the strongest division champion in 2023. They won the American League Central with an 87-75 record. That's nothing special, but nobody else in the division managed to finish above .500.

Well, the Twins might not even be that strong in 2024, with their ownership deciding a cut in payroll is in order.

And now Minnesota has lost 40% of its starting rotation in free agency within a period of about 36 hours.

Kenta Maeda on Sunday agreed to terms with the Detroit Tigers on a two-year, $24 million contract. On Monday, Sonny Gray joined the St. Louis Cardinals on a three-year, $75 million deal.

The Cardinals' projected rotation of Gray, Lance Lynn, Miles Mikolas, Steven Matz and Kyle Gibson probably averages about 35 years old, which is weird, but we're not too worried about St. Louis here.

We're looking at the Twins, who still have Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober in their rotation. The other two spots, who knows right now? Is that good enough to repeat as division winners? Possibly.

The Tigers added Maeda to a rotation that likely includes Tarik Skubal, Matt Manning and Reese Olson. Will Detroit be able to keep free agent lefty Eduardo Rodriguez, who was their team leader in starts (26), wins (13), strikeouts (143) and ERA (3.30) last season?

If yes, maybe Detroit, which was 78-84 a year ago, is positioned to take control of the AL Central.

And isn't it pathetic the White Sox aren't in this conversation? There is still a lot of offseason left, but you're again looking at a division that could be won with a mid-80s win total. Yet 85 wins feels like the unreachable star for the Sox.

Bullpen advantage shows up for White Sox in series opener vs. Twins

Garrett Crochet

If you just saw the 9-3 final score, you would think the White Sox coasted to a victory over the Minnesota Twins in the opener of their three-game series Tuesday night at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Well, this game was actually close through five innings. Sox starter Dylan Cease and Minnesota starter Kenta Maeda both gave up three runs in the second inning, but nothing more. Both starters left after five innings with the game tied, 3-3.

Here's the difference in this game:

Sox bullpen: 4 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 Ks, 0 BBs

Twins bullpen: 3 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 Ks, 2 BBs

The Sox took the lead for good when Jose Abreu connected for his seventh home run of the season, a 2-run shot off Jorge Alcala in the bottom of the sixth. The South Siders added two runs in the seventh inning and two more in the eighth, and that made for a comfortable finish. 

And hey, congratulations to Garrett Crochet (1-2), who picked up his first major league win out of the bullpen. Crochet entered with runners at first and third and one out in the top of the sixth inning, and he kept Minnesota off the board. The Sox scored in the bottom of that inning, and there's your win.

Also of note in this game, Yasmani Grandal hit a 3-run homer in the bottom of the second inning off Maeda to tie the game, after the Twins jumped to an early 3-0 lead.

In case you were wondering about Grandal's bizarre slash line, his 1-for-4 night brings it to .121/.372/.288.

Game 6 of the World Series ... a couple of key questions

Justin Verlander

The Los Angeles Dodgers are at home, facing a must-win situation Tuesday in Game 6 of the 2017 World Series. The Houston Astros lead the series, 3-2, and have two chances to capture the first championship in franchise history, but they'll have to do it on the road.

It would be hard for Game 6 to top the drama of Game 5, but here's a couple of key questions -- one for each team -- going into this game.

For Houston .... who closes?

The Astros have it set up just the way they want it. Their best pitcher, Justin Verlander, is on the mound with a chance to secure a title. Both bullpens are taxed, so it's a huge advantage for Houston to have this right-hander on its side. Verlander is the only starting pitcher to complete a game in these playoffs.

Can Verlander go all nine innings in Game 6? Well, maybe, but that's a lot to ask. And what happens if Verlander gets through seven or eight innings with a lead, but doesn't have enough left in the tank to finish?

Where do the Astros turn when their two best relievers during the season -- Ken Giles and Chris Devenski -- have blown multi-run leads during this series and generally have been arsonists?

How about Lance McCullers? Sure, he's slated to start Game 7, if necessary. But if you're Houston manager A.J. Hinch, and you have a lead late in Game 6, perhaps you push your chips to the center of the table, go to your best option and try to close it out right then and there.

For me, the next-best option after Verlander is McCullers.

For Los Angeles ... how long can Rich Hill go?

Hill started Game 2 for the Dodgers, and he was effective. He allowed only one run over four innings, but he was given a quick hook. Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts just wanted Hill to get through the Houston batting order twice before turning it over to the bullpen, which had been dominant up until that point in the postseason.

That backfired on Roberts in Game 2. Dodgers relievers coughed up six runs in a 7-6 loss, and Houston has been proving over and over again since that it can score against the Los Angeles bullpen.

As we've noted, Kenley Jansen and Brandon Morrow have been used a lot. They probably cannot be counted upon for multiple innings in this game, even though it is a must-win for the Dodgers.

It's imperative that Hill pitch effectively into the sixth inning, and perhaps he needs to get through the sixth inning for the Dodgers to win.

Based on what I've seen, Roberts needs to stay away from Morrow in this game. Kenta Maeda and Tony Watson seem to be the best bets to form a bridge from Hill to Jansen. And, yes, despite Jansen's diminished effectiveness, I think the Dodgers should go to him in a closing situation. He's still their best option, but they probably shouldn't ask him for more than three outs.

If Los Angeles can get through this Game 6, then maybe it can go Yu Darvish to Morrow to Jansen in a Game 7 situation.

White Sox prospect Yoan Moncada makes long-awaited debut

Yoan Moncada didn't get a hit in his White Sox debut, but he didn't make a fool out of himself either. He also didn't save the slumping Sox from getting run over by the Los Angeles Dodgers, who collected their 11th consecutive win and 31st win in their past 35 games with a 9-1, rain-shortened victory.

Moncada went 0 for 2 with a walk, and it was a well-earned walk. After quickly falling behind 0-and-2 in his first at-bat, he ended up seeing nine pitches before taking his base against Dodgers starter Kenta Maeda.

In the fourth inning, Moncada just missed extra bases with a line drive down the right-field line that landed foul. He ended up grounding out to first base. In his third and final at-bat, he lined out to center field on a 2-0 pitch.

Nothing wrong with those ABs. The first hit will come soon enough.

We can't say there was nothing wrong with Carlos Rodon's performance. The left-hander didn't make it out of the fourth inning and gave up four home runs, resulting in five Los Angeles runs. Yuck.

Relievers Chris Beck and David Holmberg provided little relief, combining to allow four runs in the sixth inning. The rains came in the eighth inning, and mercifully, the game was called.

Looking for positives? Hey, Melky Cabrera continues to swing the bat well. He hit a solo home run in the first inning for the only Sox run. He's probably hoping some team in contention is eager to acquire his services.

The folks who are gung-ho about the rebuild have been chatting about how the "fun starts today" with Moncada's call-up. Not really. This game wasn't fun. The Sox are 38-54, and it's hard to fathom them getting much more than 25 wins out of the remaining 70 games.

Does Moncada give us one other player to watch and talk about? You bet. Say what you will about rebuilding, but nothing changes the fact that this is hard to watch, and there are several dark days still in front of the Sox from now until the end of the season.