No Distance Left Duran

 

Just as the Twins really need to win to stay in the race for the AL Central, let alone the AL Wild Card, they find themselves without Byron Buxton, the main piece keeping them competitive all year.

So what I'm saying is, if the Twins have any cool tricks they'd like to pull, now would be the time.

It's not really as if Buxton's the only great thing about this team, especially as Luis Arraez, Jorge Polanco, Carlos Correa and Gio Urshela [aka the whole infield] are playing really well right now, but Buxton gives this team an edge they don't have otherwise. And now that he's been gone, the Twins have been sinking fast, losing six in a row last week, and inevitably handing off the division to Cleveland.

However, all's not completely lost. The Twins have won their last four, and are up against some lower-tier competitors before heading to the Bronx, and it looks like they're getting Trevor Larnach and Bailey Ober back very soon. The team's also figuring out who fits best where, as Nick Gordon and Jose Miranda have been starting games and doing well with it, Gilberto Celestino makes for a decent backup centerfielder, and Jhoan Duran has become the more reliable pick in the ninth inning. Duran, who's a rookie, has been phenomenal this year, with a 1.91 ERA and 73 strikeouts, in addition to six saves he's picked up along the way. As the Twins have struggled to fill the ninth in Taylor Rogers' absence [as have, ironically, the Padres], having a young, efficient hurler like Duran is a very good thing, and I hope he benefits this team going forward. 

I also want to point out that even with all the injuries to starters, and even with Kenta Maeda and Randy Dobnak taking even more time to recover, the Twins have gotten innings out of people who wouldn't ordinarily be working options. Dylan Bundy has an ERA around 4 but he's still pitched 100 innings and won 7 games. Chris Archer has been very injury prone recently but he's made 22 starts and only has a 4.34 ERA. Aaron Sanchez was cut by the Nationals earlier this year and even he's a good innings eater still, with a 4.26 ERA and 13 Ks in 3 starts. They're all warming things up until Ober, Winder and Mahle get back [which is hopefully soon], but it could have been a TON worse.

I'm not sure if this Twins team will make it to October after all, but with the amount of working elements and the amount they're about to get back, I'm certainly not counting it out.

Coming Tomorrow- A solid reliever for a team that didn't want to ruin their friendship with the league by winning a division this year.