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Home , Anthony Recker, Brandon Kintzler, Casey Fien, Derek Falvey, Dietrich Enns, Gabriel Moya (baseball)

Minnesota Twins Daily Clips Tuesday, August 1, 2017  Twins trade All-Star reliever to Nationals. Star Tribune (Neal) p. 1  Twins' slide was a self-fulfilling prophecy fueled by bullpen decisions. Star Tribune (Rand) p. 2  Twins-San Diego series preview. Star Tribune (Neal) p. 3  Brian Dozier critical of trade that sends Jaime Garcia to Yankees for minor-leaguers. Star Tribune (Neal) p. 3  John Shipley: It’s not looking great for Twins manager Paul Molitor. Pioneer Press (Shipley) p. 4  Twins trade Brandon Kintzler to . Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 5  Twins get prospect Watson from Nats for Kintzler. MLB.com (Bollinger) p. 7  Zulgad: Shortsighted will complain but Twins’ new brass made right moves. ESPN 1500 (Zulgad) p. 8  Wetmore’s 5 thoughts: Brandon Kintzler trade is the right kind of deal for the Twins. ESPN 1500 (Wetmore) p. 9  Twins send closer Kintzler to Nationals at deadline. p. 11  Preview: Twins at Padres. STATS p. 12  MLB Trade Deadline: How Darvish, Gray and every deal shakes up playoff odds. CBS Sports (Axisa) p. 13  Nationals Acquire Brandon Kintzler From Twins. Wilmoth (MLB Trade Rumors) p. 13  Kepler: Berlin, Bundesliga and . FIFA (Staff) p. 14  Rebuild committee, Twins to host groundbreaking ceremony at Tink Larson Field. Southern Minn (Ring) p. 15

Twins trade All-Star reliever Brandon Kintzler to Nationals La Velle E. Neal lll | Star Tribune | August 1, 2017

SAN DIEGO – Brandon Kintzler was feeding rhinos at a safari park in San Diego with his pregnant wife, Melissa, when the call came Monday, and mixed emotions followed.

The All-Star closer was being traded to Washington for a pitching prospect. While he was fine with staying with the Twins and seeing if they could get hot and make things interesting, he is headed to a team with the second-best record in the .

“I love it here, the coaching staff and everyone here,” Kintzler said. “It is what it is. I could always come back here [as a free agent] if it works out.

“But I get to go to a first-place team with a chance to go to the playoffs and do some things. That’s what we play for.”

The Twins shipped Kintzler in return for lefthander Tyler Watson, who has struck out 9.7 batters per nine innings in two-plus years as a pro. He was ranked as the Nationals’ 17th-best prospect by MLB.com. The Twins also received $500,000 in international signing bonus money, which can be used for this current period.

It was the Twins’ second deal to send away a veteran in as many days; they sent lefthander Jaime Garcia to the Yankees on Sunday. The trades came two days after Thad Lavine said the team faced an “unfortunate reality” in its chase for a playoff berth.

The Twins are 2-7 in their past nine games and sit 6½ games out in the Central.

It’s been quite an ascension for Kintzler, whose career included a stop with the St. Paul Saints in 2009. He signed with the Twins as a minor league free agent before the 2016 season, made the team, took over as closer last year and made the AL All-Star team this season.

Kintzler, 32, is 2-2 with a 2.78 ERA and 28 saves, third-best in the major leagues. He is making $2.93 million this year.

Among those Kintzler needed to speak with included bullpen coach Eddie Guardado, who mentored the righthander through his transition to closer. “I haven’t called Eddie yet,” Kintzler said. “That one is going to be a little emotional.”

Watson, listed at 6-5 and 200 pounds, is intriguing since he is only 20 with the ability to strike hitters out. He was a 34th-round pick in 2015 out of Perry High School in Gilbert, Ariz. He will be assigned to Class A Cedar Rapids.

“We felt we found a guy in Tyler Watson who has a chance to be a long-term starter,” said , the Twins chief baseball officer. “We’ll see where it goes. … The long-term view of him is that there’s a lot more growth in there.”

The deal was completed with just a few minutes remaining before the 3 p.m. deadline. A few other teams had expressed interest in Kintzler, including Boston and Arizona, in recent days.

In eight days, the Twins sent righthander to Atlanta for Garcia and catcher Anthony Recker; sent catcher to Arizona for lefthander Gabriel Moya; flipped Garcia to the Yankees for righthander and lefthander ; and dealt for Watson. That’s four pitching prospects and a backup catcher.

“That was one of our targeted and stated goals, going back to when we first arrived,” Falvey said. “We felt like we had some young position player talent. We felt we had a group that could continue to compete. We felt there were areas and opportunities to improve our at different levels.”

Kintzler’s trade, of course, leaves the Twins without a closer. They already are ranked 28th in bullpen ERA. The Twins have been outscored 15-2 after the fifth inning during their current road trip, a direct reflection on the relievers. Manager Paul Molitor might go with the committee approach until someone emerges from the pack, although Taylor Rogers and Tyler Duffey — Kintzler’s chief setup men — figure to get a look.

Then there’s the clubhouse fallout. Some Twins players still hoped to get on a roll even after Garcia was dealt Sunday. But they then blew a five- lead against the A’s to fall to 1-5 on their road trip, and now Kintzler is off to a real pennant chase.

“It’s tough because Brandon has helped us a lot of games,” first baseman Joe Mauer said. “It’s going to be an opportunity for someone else. We still have 59 games left to go. We still can do some things. We have to stay positive and keep playing.

“… Brandon will be missed. But I’m still planning on winning ballgames.”

Twins' slide was a self-fulfilling prophecy fueled by bullpen decisions Michael Rand | Star Tribune | July 31, 2017

The Twins stayed in or near first place in the AL Central for 3.5 months this season thanks to a combination of strong defense, adequate offense, a bend-but-don’t-break bullpen, mediocrity within the division and — let’s face it — some good old fashioned luck.

They were 48-46, half a game out of first place, on July 19 — just 12 days ago. They had given up 61 more runs on the season than they had allowed, but they had been very good in close games — 10-5 in one-run games at that point — and their bullpen, while sporting a bruised ERA, had established at least a capable 1-2 punch of Taylor Rogers and Brandon Kintzler at the end. If the Twins could get deep into a ballgame with a lead, they felt reasonably good about their chances.

It always felt precarious, though. All along, it seemed like the Twins were one or two dependable bullpen arms away from feeling really secure about life after the sixth inning.

It was a failure of roster construction — much of it bad luck for new bosses Derek Falvey and , and part of a lack of urgency on their part. Eventually, the bullpen woes became a self-fulfilling prophecy that fueled the Twins’ seemingly inevitable slide, turning them from buyers to sellers and from contenders to mediocrity at warp speed.

The bad luck was that so many of the Twins’ power minor league arms — they guys they’ve been waiting on for two or three years — succumbed to injuries. Also: Trevor May and haven’t pitched all year because of injuries. Ryan Pressly regressed. Those are significant obstacles.

The lack of urgency was this: the Twins’ bullpen was a problem last year (and in past years) under the old leadership team. To that group, the notable outside additions were Matt Belisle (a 37-year-old with a career 4.22 ERA) and Craig Breslow (a 36-year-old journeyman who has since been designated for assignment after a poor season). Neither were likely to be high-impact relievers.

Paul Molitor was screaming from the top of the tower for help, and the cavalry never came. The Twins survived because Kintzler and Rogers 2 overachieved, Tyler Duffey was good enough as a third option and the lower-leverage guys were used as much as possible when the Twins were ahead by a lot or down by a lot (more often the latter based on their run differential and 13-21 record in blowout games this season).

Then everything fell apart at once. Cleveland and Kansas City went on big winning streaks, turning the AL Central from mediocre to competitive. The Twins lost a bunch of winnable games on the West Coast, the last three of which have come in walk-off fashion. In two of those three games, the Twins led 5-0, only to lose 6-5. In the other, they led 4-3 in the ninth. Rogers had a bad week. Kintzler took the loss in one of those walk-offs. Suddenly the Twins are 7 games back in the division race at 50-53.

After Rogers gave up the two-run walk-off Saturday, Molitor said this (while also praising Rogers for how good he had been for most of the year): “It just goes to show you, you can’t take for granted the value of outs late in games and people who can handle that.”

It sounded like a manager throwing his hands up and saying, “This is all I have to work with, and when Plan A doesn’t work we’re in trouble.”

The bullpen the Twins built inevitably turned them from buyers to sellers right at the trade deadline. Maybe that’s the appropriate course of action. Maybe it’s what Falvey and Levine envisioned all along, and they sure helped the Twins get there.

Twins-San Diego series preview La Velle E. Neal lll | Star Tribune | August 1, 2017

Buxton expected to rejoin Twins at ballpark they have never lost at

Two-game series at Petco Park

Tuesday, 9:10 p.m. • FSN, 96.3-FM: RHP Jose Berrios (9-4, 3.76 ERA) vs. RHP Jhoulys Chacin (10-7, 4.22)

Wednesday, 2:40 p.m. • FSN, 96.3-FM: RHP Ervin Santana (11-7, 3.37) vs. RHP Luis Perdomo (5-5, 4.76)

TWINS UPDATE

The Twins will add two players to their 25-man roster Tuesday after trading pitchers Jaime Garcia and Brandon Kintzler. One is expected to be OF Byron Buxton. The Twins were in sell mode after falling seven games back in the AL Central with seven losses in nine games. … Rookie CF Zack Granite hit in nine straight games before his 0-for-4 Sunday. … The Twins hit 17 home runs in July after hitting 37 in both May and June. … Berrios hasn’t made it out of the fourth inning in two of his past three starts.

PADRES UPDATE

San Diego is 0-5 vs. the Twins at Petco Park all-time. … All-Star LHP Brad Hand, a Chaska High School product, remains with the Padres, having not been traded. He hasn’t given up a run in his past 19 appearances and has 19 in his past 12 innings. … OF Manuel Margot was named NL player of the week after going 14-for-28. … Chacin is 6-2 with a 2.06 ERA at home. … The Padres have the second-most hits and second- most runs in the major leagues since the All-Star Game.

Brian Dozier critical of trade that sends Jaime Garcia to Yankees for minor-leaguers La Velle E. Neal III | Star Tribune | July 31, 2017

OAKLAND, CALIF. – Brian Dozier agrees that the Twins could have done more, won more, to persuade the front office to keep adding to the roster.

They have not had more than a four-game winning streak this season, so they have been unable to get on a run that would have certified their playoff worthiness.

Still, when Dozier awoke to the news on Sunday that the Twins had traded lefthander Jaime Garcia to the Yankees for two pitching prospects — only six days after acquiring him from Atlanta, and a day before the nonwaiver trade deadline — it was as if hot coffee were poured in his lap.

“That’s frustrating within itself, to not go on a little run,” Dozier said. “A couple of games could have gone differently. We should be adding [players]. It’s frustrating.

“I know all these guys feel the same way.” 3

The reality is that the Twins are seven games behind Cleveland in the and five behind Kansas City for the last AL wild- card spot.

Their position prompted Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey and General Manager Thad Levine to switch gears. So Garcia was traded for pitching prospects Zack Littell and Dietrich Enns. The Twins sent the Yankees a little over $4 million in the Garcia deal, allowing New York to pay Garcia the minimum the rest of the season.

Garcia won his only start for the Twins, giving up three runs in 6 ⅔ innings on Friday at Oakland. He is expected to make his Yankees debut on Thursday at Cleveland.

Littell, 21, is 14-1 with a 1.87 ERA this season between Class A Tampa of the Florida State League and Class AA Trenton of the Eastern League. At Trenton, he’s 5-0 with a 2.05 ERA. In 44 innings, he has walked eight and struck out 52. An 11th-round pick of the Mariners in 2013, Littell was dealt to the Yankees last November for lefty reliever .

His fastball sits in the low 90s, but he also has command of his curveball. He will be assigned to Class AA Chattanooga.

Enns, 26, was a 19th-round pick out of Central Michigan in 2012. He is 2-1 with a 1.99 ERA this season, mostly with Class AAA Scranton-Wilkes Barre. One scouting report has him touching the low 90s, with a good and decent /curve. He’s headed to Class AAA Rochester.

Falvey and Levine have until 3 p.m. Monday to make any more trades without waivers. The have checked on the availability of closer Brandon Kintzler, who is a free agent at the end of the season, and Dozier and Ervin Santana are valued pieces.

“I’m a little more at ease this time,” said Kintzler, who was nearly traded last year before the deadline. “Last time, I was pretty stressed out about it. I had never been a part of it, and I really wanted to stay. I really liked where I was at. I know that, right now, with my situation, it’s a business and it is what it is.

“I would love to stay and finish what I started. If not, there’s always a chance to come back.”

Kintzler said teams 10 games out of first place at this time of the year have stormed back. Why not the Twins?

“This is the same group that was in first place for two months,” he said. “We easily could be 4-1 on this road trip. We have to get back to grinding together to win some ballgames.”

Kintzler said that before the Twins blew another lead Sunday.

Garcia was in Atlanta when the trade was announced, collecting some belongings to bring to the Twin Cities. Those belongings are now headed to New York. Twins manager Paul Molitor spoke with Garcia by phone Sunday morning, but most teammates never had a chance to wish him well.

Molitor told his team before Sunday’s game that expectations don’t change, even if the front office decides to sell.

“Get over it,” he said. “That’s the way it works. We are where we are. We’re one good run away from this having a different look. The last 10 days went against us. We’re still playing a lot of teams we need to pursue down the road.”

John Shipley: It’s not looking great for Twins manager Paul Molitor John Shipley | Pioneer Press | July 31, 2017

Remember that scene in “Ghostbusters” where the college student working on one of Peter Venkman’s garbage ESP experiments keeps getting shocked? With every answer, he receives an electric shock from Venkman, even when he gets it right. For this poor schmuck, there is no right answer.

Because all great art reminds us of our everyday struggles, this scene comes to mind every time Twins manager Paul Molitor goes to the bullpen this season. He can parse the statistics, see who’s available to hit off the opposing bench, even empty his mind and use his intuition, it doesn’t matter.

There is no right answer. 4

The Twins sent their best reliever to the Washington Nationals at the non-waiver deadline Monday, and now the manager might as well blindfold himself and throw darts at a roster next time he needs to pluck a reliever from the bullpen. Brandon Kintzler wasn’t a perfect closer, but the veteran right-hander was as close to a lock as Molitor had at his disposal.

This isn’t to say the Twins should not have traded Kintzler, an all-star for the first time this season at age 33. The Twins took a flier on him with a minor-league contract after the 2015 season and got more out of him than they could have hoped, and on Monday they got a little more. Tyler Watson doesn’t chart as a future all-star, either, but he’s left-handed and 20 and might prove useful. That’s a win.

But this isn’t about Watson, or either of the two young arms the Twins got for future trivia-question answer Jaime Garcia, who zipped in and out of Minnesota faster than Jesse and Frank James. No, this is about Molitor, whose job in a contract year just became impossible.

Cleveland and Kansas City are woke, and the Twins — already a lethargic 5-10 since the all-star break — have even less pitching than they had while routinely sitting atop the American League Central despite mostly lousy pitching. The message has been sent from high atop the left-field tower in : Auditions are open, please prepare a song, no Sondheim.

The Twins brain trust of Derek Falvey and Thad Levine did what they had to do, leveraged a couple of tradeable assets while not giving up on next season. By not trading right-hander Ervin Santana, coveted by many despite falling on hard times in July, they have assured fans that they expect to be viable next season.

To be a part of that, Molitor, it seems, will have to pull another rabbit out of his hat, which seems unfair and unlikely because, really, who has three rabbits in their hat? Molitor helped make 2015 an enjoyable season by keeping an undermanned team in the wild-card race into the season’s last weekend. After taking a 103-loss digger last season, the Twins have become a capable and sometimes exciting team because of a young core that clearly is finding its legs under Molitor’s tutelage.

Is that enough?

Owner felt strongly enough about Molitor to make his presence in the dugout this season mandatory for whoever was hired to replace former GM last fall but made it clear that when his three-year deal was up at the end of the season, the decision belongs to Falvey, the team’s first president of baseball operations.

Falvey is careful not to publicly throw all his weight behind the modern analytics-driven style of executive management pioneered by Billy Beane and perfected by Theo Epstein, but it clearly is his bailiwick. And it’s not Molitor’s. The hall of fame infielder with more than 3,000 hits looks at the numbers, but he’s more beholden to what we in the newspaper business call “institutional knowledge” than he is to the math.

I’m not sure I’ve seen a manager spend more brain power on trying to win a baseball game than Molitor, sometimes to the point of madness. You see him go to the bullpen in a game that seems lost and want to yell at the TV, “There’s nothing in there!” Still, Molitor looks at the numbers, checks his gut and walks to the mound.

What else can he do?

Twins trade closer Brandon Kintzler to Washington Nationals Mike Berardino | Pioneer Press | July 31, 2017

For the second straight year, the Twins have dealt away an unlikely all-star just weeks after that career milestone.

After sending infielder Eduardo Nunez to the for young left-hander Adalberto Mejia in July 2016, the Twins sent closer Brandon Kintzler to the Washington Nationals just before Monday’s 3 p.m. non-waiver trade deadline.

In return, the Twins will receive Class A lefty Tyler Watson, a 34th-round pick in 2015 rated the Nationals’ 17th-best prospect by MLB Pipeline. Watson, 6-foot-5 and 200 pounds, has a modest fastball at 90 mph but draws raves for his curveball and progressing change-up.

The 20-year-old Watson went 6-4 with a 4.35 earned-run average in 18 outings (17 starts) for Class A Hagerstown in the South Atlantic League. In 93 innings Watson has struck out 98 while walking 24.

His nine-inning rate of 9.48 ranked seventh in the league. His 2.32 walk rate per nine innings ranked 17th. A high school product of 5

Gilbert, Ariz., Watson signed for $400,000 to bypass a Loyola Marymount commitment. He was assigned to Class A Cedar Rapids in the Midwest League.

Also sent to the third-place Twins, who entered Monday seven games behind the in the American League Central, was $500,000 in international bonus pool money for the 2017-18 signing period. That boosts their approved international cap to $5.75 million, on par with any team in the game.

According to multiple sources with direct knowledge, the , and also were among the contending teams showing interest in Kintzler in the final hours. Kintzler, who turns 33 on Tuesday, is a pending free agent working on a one- year contract for $2.93 million this season.

Having converted 45 of 52 save chances since moving into the role in early June last season, Kintzler’s improved velocity and strong groundball rate proved attractive enough to net a prospect like Watson. A recent three-outing downturn, during which he issued three walks and retired just eight of 17 batters faced with a 13.50 earned-run average, had given some teams pause.

Over his previous 38 outings, however, the undersized right-hander had posted a 2.35 ERA with just five walks and a .604 on-base-plus-slugging percentage allowed in 38 1/3 innings.

Had the Twins waited just four more days to promote Kintzler from Triple-A Rochester in May 2016, they would have had the journeyman under club control through next season. His opt-out date wasn’t until May 15, but he was promoted on May 7 when was claimed off waivers by the .

The Nationals, running away with the , recently added a pair of Oakland A’s relievers — and — via trade but were still on the prowl. Nationals pitching coach Mike Maddux, older brother of Hall of Fame pitcher , could soon benefit from a lesson his brother gave Kintzler, a fellow Las Vegan, more than a decade ago.

“I was rehabbing my shoulder in 2006, and (Greg Maddux) was working out at a place I was rehabbing and we talked a little bit,” Kintzler recalled recently. “That’s where I started talking really about two-seamers. I always thought it was finger pressure because he moved it so much, but he told me no. That made it a lot easier for me. I didn’t have to worry about finger pressure.”

So what was the secret? Maddux told Kintzler it was where he placed his landing foot in relation to his target.

“He said, ‘I just land over here when I want to throw it outside and land over here when I want to go inside,’ ” Kintzler recalled. “That really simplified it for me. It was awesome.”

Of course, it took Kintzler a couple of years to get the hang of it as he fought his way through independent-league assignments in Winnipeg and St. Paul. He got his career on track in 2009 after signing with the after starting the American Association All-Star Game for the Saints.

“I can’t really control my body mechanics that much,” he said. “I started to do it when I first got healthy again. It definitely made my backdoor a lot easier to throw. That’s the pitch. Being able to do that to the glove side is what propelled my career. I started learning that in Double-A.”

While right-handed batters were hitting .286 with a .330 on-base percentage off Kintzler this year, lefties were hitting just .197 and reaching base at a .256 clip in 82 plate appearances. For that Kintzler credits the so-called “front-hip sinker” that Maddux made famous.

“He just made it look like a ball for a really long time and brought it in,” Kintzler said. “If it had been finger pressure I would have been screwed. I wouldn’t have been able to figure that out.”

After posting a 2.93 ERA in 135 outings for the Brewers in 2013-14, Kintzler was sidetracked by leg and shoulder issues in 2015. He signed a minor-league deal with the Twins that offseason.

Kintzler said he hadn’t been able to thank Maddux personally for the lesson.

“I don’t really see him much,” he said. “He plays golf at all the places I go. I’ll get to run into him one day.” On Sunday the Twins traded left-hander Jaime Garcia to the six days after acquiring him from the . They came out of that deal with a pair of minor-league pitchers, including Double-A right-hander Zack Littell, now rated the 16th-best prospect in the 6

Twins’ system by MLB Pipeline. Twins get prospect Watson from Nats for Kintzler Rhett Bollinger| MLB | July 31, 2017

SAN DIEGO -- The Twins made a move shortly before Monday's non-waiver Trade Deadline, acquiring prospect Tyler Watson and $500,000 in international bonus pool money from the Nationals for closer Brandon Kintzler.

The Twins, who became sellers after trading lefty Jaime Garcia to the Yankees early Sunday, just six days after acquiring him from the Braves, added much-needed pitching depth to their organization for Kintzler, who is set to be a free agent after the season.

"You have to think about the long-term value of the club," Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey said. "Brandon is one of the best stories in baseball, making his way to the All-Star Game after injuries and otherwise. He's a quality person and we knew there would be interest in him at the Deadline. We fielded a number of calls, and after Washington made the call and offered something above the bar in our minds, we thought it was a value important to the long-term building of this club."

Watson, who is ranked as Minnesota's No. 18 overall prospect by MLBPipeline.com, has posted a 4.35 ERA with 98 strikeouts and 24 walks in 93 innings with Class A Hagerstown. The 6-foot-5, 200-pound lefty has a career 3.40 ERA with 178 strikeouts in 164 1/3 innings since getting taken by the Nationals in the 34th round of the 2015 MLB Draft. The 20-year-old is expected to report to Class A Cedar Rapids.

"There were two pieces to this deal to put it over the top," Falvey said. "Tyler is a young left-handed starter we feel is just scratching the surface of who he can be. Taller pitchers can take a little longer to develop, but we feel there's more in the tank. And we were able to acquire some cap space, the ability to add flexibility to our international pool, and there's real value in that."

With Kintzler gone, the Twins are likely to turn to lefty Taylor Rogers as closer in the short-term. He has struggled recently, but he has a 3.79 ERA with 32 strikeouts in 40 1/3 innings. Rogers leads the Majors with 24 holds.

Kintzler, who turns 33 on Tuesday, was named an All-Star for the first time in his career in 2017, posting a 2.78 ERA with 28 saves. He's struck out 27 in 45 1/3 innings, but he makes up for it with his elite ground-ball rate. Kintzler was originally signed by the Twins as a Minor League free agent before the 2016 season, but he became closer last season after Glen Perkins' shoulder surgery.

The D-backs, Rockies and Rays also reportedly had interest in Kintzler, who is making $2.93 million in his final year of arbitration. It's the second straight year they've traded an unlikely first-time All-Star, as they sent infielder Eduardo Nunez to the Giants last year for lefty Adalberto Mejia. Right-hander Ervin Santana and second baseman Brian Dozier also received interest from other clubs leading up to the Trade Deadline, but both are under contract through next season, and the Twins were looking for strong returns. Santana and Dozier are considered clubhouse leaders, and trading either one of them would've been an unpopular move among teammates.

"There was certainly interest in [Dozier and Santana], but also for a number of players on our club, which isn't atypical," Falvey said. "But we valued that additional control for some of these guys. We view them as part of our team here."

The Twins were pressed into being sellers after losing seven of nine, while the Indians and Royals have been red hot. Minnesota entered Monday trailing Cleveland by seven games in the AL Central and five games back of Kansas City for the second AL Wild Card spot.

"It's always tough," Falvey said. "The reality is that each week is a set of data points and a measuring stick of where you are. We've fallen further back in the division than we'd like. I don't believe in marking yourself as a buyer or seller, because there are opportunities to buy and sell at the Deadline. But we had to make decisions today based more on the medium-term and long-term than short-term."

Fantasy spin | Fred Zinkie (@FredZinkieMLB) With 28 saves in 32 chances with the Twins this season, Kintzler has proven that he can handle ninth-inning duties. However, the right-hander lacks the swing-and-miss skills of a typical closer (career 6.3 K/9 rate) and may work in a setup role in front of Doolittle. For now, mixed-league owners should retain both Doolittle and Kintzler on the expectation that one of the two will compile many saves down the stretch. Meanwhile in Minnesota, the Twins could hand their closer's role to Rogers, who leads the AL with 24 holds and owned a 1.93 ERA on July 21 before hitting a rough patch in recent outings. The club could also consider Trevor Hildenberger, a Minor League stopper who has shown exciting skills (19:3 K:BB ratio) across 17 1/3 career innings in the Majors.

7

Zulgad: Shortsighted will complain but Twins’ new brass made right moves Judd Zulgad | ESPN 1500 | August 1, 2017

The shortsighted will say the Twins should have been buyers. The shortsighted will vent over the Twins now lacking a closer. The shortsighted will say nothing has changed with the Twins.

The shortsighted will be wrong.

After holding first place in the American League Central for much of the season, the Twins entered the All-Star break two games over .500 and 2.5 games back of Cleveland in the division.

This presented a conundrum for chief baseball officer Derek Falvey and general manager Thad Levine. In their first season with the organization, and having inherited a team that lost 103 games in 2016 and was still filled with plenty of holes, Falvey and Levine had to decide whether to attempt to add to a flawed roster or become sellers and add pieces for the future.

Clarity came in the form of a 5-10 record since the All-Star break. Publicly, Falvey and Levine might express disappointment about the Twins’ recent swoon. Privately, the duo likely would tell you the fact their club has dipped three games under .500 and 6.5 games back of Cleveland isn’t a bad thing at all.

On Sunday morning, the Twins sent recently acquired pitcher Jaime Garcia to the New York Yankees for pitching prospects Dietrich Enns and Zack Littell. Then before Monday’s non-waiver trade deadline, Falvey shipped All-Star closer Brandon Kintzler to Washington for pitching prospect Tyler Watson and $500,000 in international signing bonus money.

Garcia, who made one start for the Twins after being acquired from Atlanta, is in the final season of his contract. Kintzler’s contract also is set to expire. So the fading Twins turned two upcoming free agents into three pitching prospects as Falvey tries to duplicate the success he had in Cleveland of finding lively arms who turn into productive big leaguers.

That won’t be enough for many Twins followers who have convinced themselves that Falvey and Levine should have torn apart their own farm system in order to make a run with this collection of players.

It will be difficult for them to take the usual path of directing their anger at what they consider to be owner Jim Pohlad’s cheap ways, considering Minnesota picked up most of Garcia’s contract to get him from Atlanta and then agreed to pay the majority of that contract with the Yankees in order to get better prospects.

Instead, the angst ridden will scream about the Twins having only one winning season in Target Field and being mostly a train wreck in five of the past six years. Their frustration is understandable but this time their outrage is silly.

The Twins sat atop the top of the AL Central for an extended period not because they were that good but because outside of the Astros, Yankees and the Red Sox the American League has been bad for much of this season.

And for this there are some who thought the smart play might have been dealing top prospects from the farm system that badly needed additions, not subtractions.

There is no doubt that Falvey and Levine arrived in Minnesota with a plan to build a franchise that can consistently contend for a at some point. That time wasn’t now and the past two weeks have helped to clear that up.

For that, Falvey and Levine are likely thankful. Someday, those who are bent out of shape about the moves of the past two days will understand why.

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Wetmore’s 5 thoughts: Brandon Kintzler trade is the right kind of deal for the Twins Derek Wetmore | ESPN 1500 | July 31, 2017

The Twins had a productive day before Monday afternoon’s non-waiver trade deadline. They sent Brandon Kintzler to the Nationals for a pitching prospect and a half-million bucks of allotted money that they can spend on international free agents. It was the right kind of move for a franchise that’s not yet ready to make the next big jump and win a postseason series.

Monday’s move didn’t signal that the Twins were sellers. That pronouncement came the day earlier, when the team announced it had traded starter Jaime Garcia to the Yankees for a couple minor league pitchers. You didn’t need to wait until Monday’s deadline to know that the 2017 Twins were folding up the tents.

This column presents 5 thoughts on Monday’s trade deadline for the Twins.

1. With a few exceptions, the 2017 season has played out about as well as the front office could have hoped.

I wrote about that thought in my Saturday morning column, in which I suggested it was time for the Twins to throw in the towel after four months of mostly competitive baseball.

That opinion got a little more credence in the past two days, with Minnesota sending Kintzler and Jaime Garcia, free-agents-to-be, to teams vying for the postseason. To some fans (and no doubt some players) there’s a sting to the concession that this team simply isn’t good enough to invest in its improvement. And if you’re not good enough to add win-now players for prospects, then you’d better be selling, because the other contenders around you are busy getting better before the deadline. There’s a real opportunity cost, in other words, for simply hanging onto a guy like Kintzler, and the Twins front office apparently wasn’t willing to pay that price, either, in a long-shot attempt to make up a 7-game deficit in the American League Central.

Here’s what I wrote Saturday:

If you take the long view with this Twins’ rebuilding project, perhaps this season has represented about the best-case scenario. Miguel Sano and J.O. Berrios look like great pieces around which to build. You kept fans interested all the way up to the trade deadline (and maybe beyond). Some veterans played well, increasing their trade value. And just in the nick of time, the Indians and Royals sprinted out in front, which relieves the pressure the Twins otherwise might have felt to trade prospects for win-now players.

Given the current standings, adding to this team probably would have been a mistake. If they were 2.5 games out, though, to “sell” would have been horribly unpopular decision among the team’s fan base. The recent slide and subsequent hot streaks for Cleveland and Kansas City make that decision a bit more palatable, I think.

2. The Twins sold, but it was more of a garage sale than an estate sale.

They traded two guys who will be free agents this winter. Heck, one or both of them could be re-signed this winter, if the Twins wanted to explore that path.

There were a couple other players that I was extra curious about Monday, and those were players that are under contract for next season. Ervin Santana’s name was in the rumor mill this summer, last winter and last summer. That’s what happens when you’re a competent working for roughly a market-rate contract and posting a sub-3.50 ERA on a losing team.

Ditto for Brian Dozier, whose name filled headlines on rumor aggregation websites this offseason –as much or more than any other player who didn’t actually get traded.

So, if you’re bummed about the Twins selling pieces, you can take some solace in the fact that they’re only giving up on 2017. The 2018 season still figures to be a competitive one. And to that end, you’d expect to see the front office address some needs this winter in free agency or through additional trades.

Someone framed it to me this way Monday, and I’m paraphrasing: In theory, if you were trying to win in 2018 and Ervin Santana was a free agent, would you sign him for one year and $13.5 million (with an option year)? Same question for Dozier. Is he worth one year and $9 million if he’s a free agent this winter?

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I think the answer on Dozier is yes, even if he won’t hit 42 home runs again this season. If the Santana contract looks steep to you for a 35-year- old guy with a career 4.06 ERA in the American League, consider that 37-year-old Rich Hill (career 4.01 ERA) signed with the Dodgers last winter for 3 years and $48 million.

So anyway, the two trades this week show the guys who run the Twins are giving up on this year. But they’re not ready to do the same on next year.

3. With the closer now out of town, the natural question is: Who closes now?

My short answer to that question is that it doesn’t really matter. What does it matter who pitches at the end of games if the goal isn’t to win as many games as possible this season? Sure, the guys left in the clubhouse – and the manager – are likely interested in giving this thing their best go the rest of the way. That’s the professional and respectable thing to do. But whether you miss the postseason by one game or 20 games, the end result is the same. (For the record: I’m not suggesting tanking the rest of the schedule to earn a better draft pick or anything. It’s just that on the list of things to worry about for the Twins as a franchise, the guy closing games for the final two months of this season wouldn’t even make my list.)

With that said, somebody has to pitch at the end of games. I guess I’d be surprised, given the roster’s current construction, if one person was assigned that duty. Even Kintzler emerged from a close-by-committee approach after Glen Perkins got hurt and flamed out in the role.

Taylor Rogers had been the primary in front of Kintzler. He was having an excellent year but this past week has been a rotten one for the lefty.

Trevor Hildenberger has looked good in his limited opportunities this season, including some big outs Sunday against the A’s with a nasty changeup.

Glen Perkins is on the comeback trail. I don’t know if his shoulder will ever fully recover to allow him to be the pitcher he was pre-injury, but if he gets close, you could see him with the Twins, and maybe closing games.

Matt Belisle is a veteran pitcher and has been better lately after a disastrous start to the season out of the bullpen.

Ryan Pressly has the best stuff of the group, in my opinion, but he hasn’t gotten the job done this year in lower-leverage roles. If you had asked me in who would take the closer’s role if Kintzler was traded, I would have said Pressly. Now that seems like a stretch.

Deep sleeper: John Curtiss has had a terrific year in the minor leagues, and his stats make him look like a future contributor for the Twins. But it’d be really hard to imagine Minnesota calling up a reliever and asking him to close games for them.

If you’re worried about the fact that the Twins don’t have an experienced closing option, consider their previous closers. Kintzler was a minor league signing who was invited to Twins spring training last year. Before that, Perkins was a failed starter before transforming into one of the most successful closers in Twins history. And his predecessor, Joe Nathan, was a shortstop-turned-starting-pitcher-turned-All-Star-closer. The short point is that closing experience can at times be overrated.

4. The Twins quietly added 4 pitching prospects to their system, which looks stronger today than it did two weeks ago.

You might look at this trade deadline for the Twins from afar and not think too much of it. The takeaway for me is that you can never have too much pitching. At least that appears to be the belief of Twins CBO Derek Falvey and GM Thad Levine.

The prospect they got from the Nationals, Tyler Watson, is interesting. He’s 20 years old and still in low-A ball, so he’s got a ways to go before he makes it to the big leagues. Maybe he never will. Maybe he’ll be great. There’s a wide range of possible outcomes. If you consider a guy like Watson to be a lottery ticket, then the Twins are buying them in bulk to increase their odds of hitting the big one.

With the Nats’ A-ball affiliate this year, Watson has a 4.35 ERA in 93 innings, mostly as a starter. He’s got a 98:24 strikeout-to-walk ratio, which is pretty good. According to numbers from , that translates to a 25% strikeout rate and a 6.1% walk rate. You can’t just fast forward a couple years and expect to plunk those same numbers into a Major League rotation, but early minor leagues success is, of course, a good thing.

Baseball America ranked him the 27th best prospect in the Nationals’ system this winter. MLB.com had him at No. 17 before the trade to the 10

Twins. MLB.com has already slotted him in as No. 18 in the Twins’ farm system. I try not to get too hung up in individual rankings. He’s a good pitching prospect — but not one of Washington’s best — in the eyes of those evaluators, anyway.

And he’s not the only prospect added to the ranks this week. The Twins paid something like $4 million of Jaime Garcia’s remaining salary so that the Yankees could get him at a better price – and so the Twins could raise their asking price on the caliber of prospect in return.

They got pitchers Zack Littell (No. 16 in the system, per MLB.com) and Dietrich Enns from the Yankees for 2 months of Garcia and some cash.

And don’t forget that since the Twins got a minor league catcher (Anthony Recker) from the Braves in the original Jaime Garcia trade, they were freed up to flip catcher John Ryan Murphy to the Diamondbacks for an intriguing reliever prospect, Gabriel Moya.

That’s four young pitchers the Twins didn’t have two weeks ago. And all for the cost of giving up on this season, selling two months of Kintzler closing games, paying Jaime Garcia’s checks, and swapping minor league catchers from Murphy to Recker. It’s subtle, but it might matter in a few years.

5. Brandon Kintzler was feeding a rhino when he found out he’d been traded.

At least, that’s what the former Twins closer told MLB Network Radio shortly after the deal was announced. The Twins had an off day in San Diego following a series in Oakland, and I guess Kintzler was on a safari? Just a foot note in the great story of a career. A career that almost ended twice and took Kintzler through independent baseball, where players tend to be forgotten unless they’re exceptional. Kintzler had some decent years in Milwaukee, but then he latched on with the Twins on a minor league deal last year. All he did was wait his turn, then pounce on the closer’s role when it was offered to him, and he never let up.

He has the kind of story you share with young ballplayers when you’re trying to get a point through about perseverance.

Monday must have been a bittersweet afternoon for Kintzler. On one hand, he’s now headed to the postseason on a run-away division winner, where he ought to get the chance to pitch in important situations in the postseason. On the other hand, the word I heard is that Kintzler was sad to leave Minnesota, the team that gave him a real opportunity last year when apparently few believed in him.

He rewarded that faith over the past year, and exceeded even the most optimistic expectations during his time in a Twins uniform.

Twins send closer Kintzler to Nationals at deadline Associated Press | July 31, 2017

MIAMI — After adding three relievers in two weeks, the Washington Nationals still aren’t sure who’s going to be their closer.

They suddenly have plenty of candidates.

The NL East leaders added another Monday by barely beating the trade deadline to acquire All-Star right-hander Brandon Kintzler, who is 28 of 32 in save opportunities this year.

Kintzler joins newly acquired Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle, both obtained July 16 from the , in the back of the bullpen. The deals transformed the Nationals’ biggest weakness into a strength, and manager Dusty Baker will sort out who pitches when.

“It gives me options. As a manager you like to have as many options as possible,” Baker said before the Nationals opened a series at Miami. “It’s a continual experiment depending on how guys do. The better a guy performs, the more I can slide him into a certain place.”

The Nationals began the week with a 13-game lead despite a 5.07 bullpen ERA, worst in the NL. General manager said there’s plenty of time to settle on a pecking order for the revamped relief corps.

“We’re going to get a feel for how the bullpen comes together and how they gel and what roles we would like to see them in,” Rizzo said. “We’ve got two months left in the regular season to kind of figure out which is the best way to attack.”

The Nationals acquired Kintzler for 20-year-old left-handed pitching prospect Tyler Watson and $500,000 in international bonus pool allocation. Watson has a 4.43 ERA in 14 relief appearances in Single-A this season.

The Twins were sellers at the trade deadline as they began the week seven games back in the AL Central. 11

Kintzler, a pending free agent, took over as the Twins’ closer in June 2016, converting 45 saves since the promotion, and has a 2.48 ERA this year. The former 40th-round draft pick, who spent three seasons in the independent leagues before making his major league debut with Milwaukee in 2010, has a 3.24 ERA over 271 career major league appearances.

“He pounds the strike zone, has a good sinker, throws a lot of ground balls, gets a lot of weak contact,” Rizzo said. “He’s capable against right- handers and left-handers, and a guy that is obviously experienced in pitching back ends of games. He has the capabilities of pitching in a lot of different roles, one of those roles being the ninth inning.”

Madson and Doolittle also have ninth-inning experience, although neither is a true closer. But Rizzo said he now likes the bullpen’s depth and balance.

“You’ve got lefties who can get out lefties and righties,” he said. “You’ve got righties that can get out righties and lefties. It’s a very versatile bullpen with guys that can get important outs at the back end of the game.”

The Nationals have had issues at the bottom of their rotation, but Rizzo said they didn’t pursue a starting pitcher before the trade deadline.

Preview: Twins at Padres STATS | August 1, 2017

SAN DIEGO — The Minnesota Twins and expect to welcome back two key players as they open a brief two-game series on Tuesday.

The teams return to play one day after Minnesota traded closer Brandon Kintzler, who had 28 saves, to the Washington Nationals.

Minnesota, who is 3-6 in interleague games this season, should swing the clubhouse doors open for center fielder Byron Buxton. He completed a weekend rehab stint and it appears his groin and migraine issues are in the past.

Buxton, who has been out since July 15, is hoping to produce in the final two months of what has been a disappointing season. While he’s leading the Twins with 16 stolen bases, that is also his number of RBI. He is hitting just .218.

The Padres, who didn’t trade All-Star reliever Brad Hand, are eager to pencil in first baseman Wil Myers into the lineup. Myers is the face of the franchise after signing the team’s richest contract ever in the offseason, but his backside has been on the bench.

San Diego manager Andy Green sat Myers for the final two games of the series against the . With the Padres not playing Monday, Myers has consumed a three-day respite in sunny San Diego.

If that doesn’t get Myers going, the Padres might be running out of ideas.

Since running out there after the All-Star break, Myers has produced a .196 average. It’s obvious Myers has been pressing, which forced Green to have a clubhouse meeting of one with a reluctant Myers.

“I think these couple of days — not by his request by any stretch, but by my judgment — should be good days for him to step back and get back after it,” Green told mlb.com.

Myers admits his swings aren’t the real issue. Just like most hitters, Myers’ obstacle comes down to the most important six inches on the diamond — between his ears.

“It’s one of those things where I have to find the right mental approach and find that confidence again,” Myers said. “I definitely think it’s going to help. I definitely don’t think it can hurt at all. I think this is one thing that can only help me.”

While San Diego’s roster is flooded with youngsters, Myers was being counted on to provide the veteran influence any club needs.

The Twins’ Jose Berrios (9-4, 3.76 ERA) will have the task of making sure Myers doesn’t break out in his first career outing against the Padres. Despite not being in the rotation coming out of spring training, Berrios has the second-most wins on the staff and has allowed two earned runs or fewer in eight of his 14 starts.

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But after prevailing in seven of his first eight decisions, Berrios has been spotty. In two of his three previous outings, he hasn’t seen the fifth inning.

He was solid his last time out while surrendering one run and four hits in 6 2/3 innings in a win over the New York Yankees. Twins manager Paul Molitor said Berrios returned to the basics with his stellar effort.

“He had been working on his mechanics in between starts and then you overthink it when you get on the mound and forget that you’re a major league pitcher,” Molitor told the media after that game.

The Padres will counter with Jhoulys Chacin (10-7, 4.22), who has won four straight decisions. Against the Twins, Chacin has split two career decisions with a 5.40 ERA.

MLB Trade Deadline: How Darvish, Gray and every deal shakes up playoff odds Mike Axisa | CBS Sports | July 31, 2017

The following is an excerpt from the article:

Baseball's annual non-waiver trade deadline came and went at 4 p.m. ET Monday. The biggest deals saw Yu Darvish go to the Dodgers and Sonny Gray to the Yankees, though plenty of other trades were made as well. Here's our trade tracker. As always, teams make deadline trades for different reasons. Some make trades to improve their postseason odds. Some make trades to increase their World Series odds. And some make trades with the long-term in mind. Not every deal is made for the here and now. That said, every trade does change the postseason outlook to some degree. Here, via SportsLine, is how Monday's notable trade deadline activity has shaken up the 2017 playoff projections.

Nationals acquire Brandon Kintzler

WINS NL EAST ODDS POSTSEASON ODDS WORLD SERIES ODDS Before Kintzler 97.9 97.5% 98.6% 12.6% With Kintzler 98.1 97.8% 98.7% 12.8% Change +0.2 +0.3% +0.1 +0.2%

The Nationals, similar to the Dodgers and Darvish, acquired Brandon Kintzler from the Twins because they have World Series aspirations. They have a big lead in the division and have more or less punched their postseason ticket. Kintzler is not a dominant late-game reliever -- he succeeds more with ground balls than strikeouts -- though he is an upgrade. He's also a rental, so this is a short-term addition.

Nationals Acquire Brandon Kintzler From Twins Charlie Wilmoth| MLB Trade Rumors | July 31, 2017

The Nationals have announced that they’ve acquired Twins closer Brandon Kintzler. The Twins will receive lefty Tyler Watson and the rights to international bonus spending in return ($500K worth, via a tweet from MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand). In a corresponding move, the Nationals have announced that they’ve designated righty for assignment.

Kintzler could take over ninth-inning duties for a Nationals bullpen that has endured late struggles in recent seasons, though GM Mike Rizzo said today the precise bullpen alignment will be sorted out over the coming months. The veteran righty will become the third reliever to make his way to Washington this month, with Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle having arrived previously from Oakland two weeks ago.

The 32-year-old Kintzler isn’t a prototypical closer, with strikeout rates of just 5.8 K/9 and 5.4 K/9 in the last two seasons. Nonetheless, he’s enjoyed success in the role those last two seasons, with a 2.98 ERA, a strong 1.7 BB/9 and 45 saves in that span. He throws his fastball in the 94- MPH range and gets good sink, leading to an excellent 57.8 career GB%. He’s making $2,925,000 this season and is eligible for free agency in the fall, making him a pure rental for the Nats.

The 20-year-old Watson earned a $400K bonus after the Nationals selected him in the 34th round of the draft in 2015. He was in the midst of a strong season with Class A Hagerstown, with a 4.35 ERA but with 9.5 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 93 innings. MLB.com rated him the Nationals’ 17th- best prospect, noting that he rarely throws harder than 90 MPH but locates well, throws on a downhill plane and could add velocity as he matures.

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Kepler: Berlin, Bundesliga and baseball Staff| FIFA | August 1, 2017

Europe to the majors is a path less trodden by baseball players plying their trade in the USA – even more so when you add a German Bundesliga club into the equation. But multi-talented Max Kepler, an outfielder for (MLB) side Minnesota Twins, was not your average student athlete growing up in Berlin.

A rising baseball star who also received a scholarship to the Steffi Graf Tennis Foundation, Kepler was on the books of Hertha BSC as a teenager, where he counted current USA defender John Brooks as a team-mate in the youth academy.

“I was six-years-old when I started playing soccer, the same age I was when I first got into baseball,” said Kepler, in conversation with FIFA.com. “Every kid gets into soccer when you’re from Berlin and I started playing it growing up. You’re exposed to it from a young age.”

A former goalkeeper, Kepler attended the John F. Kennedy School in Berlin along with ex-Hertha star Brooks, who made the move to fellow Bundesliga side Wolfsburg in May. It was at the German-American institution that Kepler was given the chance to flourish at baseball as well as the beautiful game, where he was drawn to the goalkeeping position on the football pitch when not honing his skills on the baseball field.

“Playing as a goalkeeper, it correlated with other sports I was playing at the time – tennis, baseball,” said Kepler, who after eight years in the USA is bereft of a Berlin accent. “I was always very hands-on with sports. I played attack too, but I was thrown in the goal.”

While a talented prospect with Hertha, Kepler was something of a trailblazer in Berlin by opting for baseball over football, focusing solely on the sport at age 15 with hopes of turning professional. A move to a baseball academy in Regensburg, a city situated on the river Danube in Bavaria, meant the gifted athlete had to relinquish his place in the Hertha youth set-up to chase his baseball dream – but it was a move that would pay dividends.

After the 6’4 (1.92m) Kepler caught the eye of international baseball scouts with his raw ability, he signed with current side Minnesota Twins for a European-record bonus. Being well-placed to gauge the differing demands of football and baseball, Kepler said: “In soccer you have to run a lot, you have to really keep your stamina up to date and in baseball, you don’t really need it as much unless you’re a starting pitcher. Baseball is about short explosive work and it requires more agility, while soccer is more about stamina, duration-type running.”

USA move, following football Stateside The son of a Polish father and American mother who both moved to Germany to pursue their aspirations of professional ballet, Kepler naturally had the support of his parents when he chose to move across the Atlantic to realise his dream. Moving to Florida at the tender age of 16 to cut his teeth at one of the Twins’ minor outfits, graft, talent and determination saw the left-handed outfielder graduate to the senior set-up where he is now among the starters of the MLB side.

Like his former Hertha team-mate Brooks, Kepler is well-versed in plying his trade in front of tens of thousands of supporters nationwide and sees similarities between German football supporters and baseball fans in USA on gameday.

“I don’t think there’s too much difference between soccer fans in Europe and baseball fans in the US – both fanbases are crazy about their sport,” the 24-year-old said. “I wish they were as crazy for baseball as they are for soccer in Germany, and the other way around here but I think, with time, that will expand. But it’s exhilarating to go to a soccer game in Europe as it is in the US to see baseball.”

Amongst his rigorous baseball schedule, is Kepler able to talk football with his team-mates at the Twins?

“Everyone’s into the World Cup when it comes around but apart from that, we don’t have any big soccer fans [at the Twins],” he said. “I still keep track of how Hertha Berlin are doing, particularly as John Brooks was there. The [Bundesliga] games are usually on when I’m at practice but I watch the highlights all the time.”

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Rebuild committee, Twins to host groundbreaking ceremony at Tink Larson Field Dan Ring | Southern Minn | July 31, 2017

It won’t be just the usual suspects participating when the shovels hit the dirt at the Tink Larson Field Groundbreaking Ceremony 4:30 p.m. August 9.

Dave St. Peter, Twins CEO and President, plans to be on the roster backed up by a support team from the Twins Community Foundation Board and the Pohlad Family Foundation. That group will join members of the Tink Larson Field Rebuild Committee for a groundbreaking ceremony that's open to the public.

Rebuilding the iconic grandstand that was nearing 80 years old caught the attention and support of the Major League Baseball franchise that has been a Minnesota tradition since 1961. The Twins' direct financial support, plus their outreach to others in their network, has played a vital role to rebuild the grandstand.

Current bids for the rebuild of the Tink Larson Field grandstand are due back August 8. Waseca City Council is set to meet August 15 to discuss bids for construction. If approved, construction will take place through the fall, cease in the winter and continue in the spring and summer.

Immediately following the ceremony, local officials and representatives of the Twins will be available to discuss the project. Come out to the ballpark at be part of the fun at 7th Ave. NE and 4th St. NE.

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