If you thought the Twins were done inventing new ways to lose after giving up a ninth inning grand slam and losing in extra innings on Tuesday, the matinee that followed barely 12 hours later quickly entered the chat to convince you otherwise.
After giving up 17 runs, should Twins ... trade their best pitcher?
Wednesday was just another example of a team with an uncanny ability to lose in many different ways. When that happens, you know it's time to retool the roster.
July 29, 2021 at 2:12PM
The Twins outhomered the Tigers 7-0. And they lost 17-14. No team in MLB history, until Wednesday, had enjoyed such a dramatic home run margin over an opponent in a game and failed to win.
These Twins are not boring, at least. They make history!
And so on the heels of that game, in which veteran starter J.A. Happ was shelled (again) and his relief help was not any better, this logical conclusion has been reinforced: The Twins should make any good trade available to them before Friday's deadline, and that certainly includes trading away Jose Berrios.
Wait, what? They give up 17 runs and you want to make the pitching even worse?
Yes. As I explained on Thursday's Daily Delivery podcast, the defeat was just one of many this season that has come in a variety of ways. Whether the Twins lose 88, 95 or 100 by the end of this season doesn't matter. Nothing good is happening this year.
If you don't see the podcast player, click here to listen.
And it's not just the pitching. If it was one problem isolated, the case for keeping Berrios could be made stronger.
But while I will resist the "Total System Failure" label that was put on the 2016 season, we shouldn't fool ourselves by thinking too highly about any aspect of this operation.
The offense is probably the strongest of the weak links, but even after that 14-run outburst the Twins are just 12th in MLB in runs — good, but not great. They're No. 20 in batting average with runners in scoring position (.238), indicative of some randomness but also of a team that lacks the sorts of professional hitters who excel in the most meaningful situations.
The defense? FanGraphs has the Twins No. 28 in defensive runs above average, suggesting the Twins have given up 20 runs more because of bad defense than they should this season.
The pitching has been a nightmare. But that's with Berrios pitching well. They're not one or two tweaks away from a return to the good times. They're several major moves away.
The biggest of which should be trading Berrios while his value is high and the market is hot.
When he was hired after the disastrous 2016 season to reshape the Twins, Derek Falvey brought a reputation for identifying and developing pitching talent. It took a while, but the pipeline we were promised is now materializing.
