With the MLB trade deadline fast approaching, Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli wants Major League Baseball to know that his team is for real: “The time is now.” The sixth-year manager warned the league that his second-place Twins, fresh off a series victory over the Detroit Tigers, are a force to be reckoned with after the all-star break.
“It is a serious collection of players. Not decent, OK players,” Baldelli said to The Athletic's Dan Hayes. “There are some stars out there on the field and some excellent young players that we don’t know how good they’re going to be yet, but they’re already pretty good. It’s a nice mix, but these guys can really play at a high level. So come see them.”
This isn't the first time Rocco Baldelli has said something to fire his team up. Back in May, the Twins skipper publicly called out his team's struggling offense after a poor skid earlier in the year.
While losing two straight to the Brewers set the team back initially, the Twins have since caught fire this week, taking two out of three from the league's best team in the Philadelphia Phillies at home before winning two of three this weekend on the road against the Tigers. The Twins now have two straight series victories to start the second half and have reason to be confident, especially with Royce Lewis returning to prime form after a stint on the IL.
After being out for multiple weeks, Lewis has since gone 3-for-9 at the plate, slugging a double and a two-run homer against Detroit ace Tarik Skubal on Saturday. Since the all-star break, the Twins' bats are red-hot as the squad is scoring nearly five runs per game offensively.
Rocco Baldelli's crew will get even stronger once their stars get healthy. Hot-hitting bat Jose Miranda is expected to be back soon, and superstar shortstop Carlos Correa should return from the 10-day IL sometime next week.
Bailey Ober shines amidst Twins resurgence
Thanks in part to the shutdown efforts of starting pitcher Bailey Ober on Sunday (8.0 IP, 11 Ks, 1 H), Minnesota's rotation continues to shine. Simeon Woods-Richardson, Joe Ryan, and Pablo Lopez have all thrown quality starts since their return from the midsummer classic.
After an 11-strikeout, one-hit performance against the Tigers, Rocco Baldelli is confident in Ober's abilities down the stretch.
“He’s very consistent,” the 2019 Manager of the Year said. “He’s mentally very tough. He’s strong. He knows what to do. He slows the game down very well. He’s a very good pitcher.”
In the middle of the MLB trade deadline, the Twins have yet to make any moves to bolster an already-loaded roster.
With a series against the New York Mets on the horizon, the Twins and Rocco Baldelli could keep reminding folks that “the time is now.”
Follow Us
Subscribe
