NOW With An Unexpected Bonus

I picked up 4 Topps NOW cards in June. 2 were MN Twins. Eddie Rosario is definitely a Top 5 Twins Eddie, along with AL Doubles leader Eduardo Escobar and bullpen coach Eddie Guardado. Rosie is probably going to be the All-Star from the Twins' roster this year.

I put this right into a One Touch, so apologies for the blurry scan. This was a bonus card for ordering the Spring Training Twins team set- since Eddie had such an impressive game, Topps made a gold parallel (with a new photo) to commemorate his 3 HR outburst.

The other Twin was the team's best starter this year, Jose Berrios. He's been brilliant and, well, the opposite of brilliant so far this season, tossing a couple Complete Games, and having some big strikeout totals, and also having some real clunkers. His last good start was against Texas, a pitching duel against his old teammate, Bartolo Colon.

Colon had 3 cards this month (and a 4th if you count the Living Set), I opted to just get one- 2,500 Ks seemed more momentous than the other two which were about tying specific win totals of other pitchers. When he passes Dennis Martinez and becomes the winningest Latin American born pitcher, I'll probably pick that one up too. I'm hoping he gets at least 5 more victories this season to make an even 250 for his career.

Oh, yeah, and this overachiever. I liked the picture, I like milestones, I hadn't added any Trout NOW cards to date... so... there ya go.

NOW The Twins Finally Have A Little Spring In Their Step

The Twins are winners of 5 straight and are nipping at Cleveland's heels for first place in the AL Central. It took them quite some time to heat up, just like the weather in MN, and just like the shipment from Topps with the Twins' 2018 Spring Training Team set.

The two rookies included were Zack Granite and Felix Jorge, both of whom are currently in the minors. Granite is on the DL at the moment with a bum shoulder, as are veterans Ervin Santana and Miguel Sano.

The Twins' shiny new Relief Corps has been hot and cold, though Addison Reed has been the most consistent of the bunch. Berrios is appropriately shown working out, as he's taken on the mantle of the hardest working man in the off-season, with crazy workouts of pushing cars on the beaches of Puerto Rico popping up on social media all winter long. 

The set features the first appearance of Logan Morrison in a Twins' uniform, and he's just now starting to swing the bat well after a horrendous April. Topps sent an extra copy of Zack Granite for some reason...

The backs of the cards are all identical below the player's name and the card number.

Since I am a sucker, I opted to buy the "autograph" edition and I was pleasantly surprised to pull a Brian Dozier card.

I like the photo selection, and even though they didn't include my dude Kennys Vargas, I think they did a good job of player selection.

Guess Who's Coming To Spring Training?

The Twins have rarely been active in free agency. The Wild Card berth last season, combined with new front office personnel has changed things a bit. They saw big needs in the bullpen and in the rotation, and the first big signing of the off-season was the Mercurial Mercenary, right handed closer Fernando Rodney. The soon to be 41 year old is a 3-time All-Star, with 300 career saves. For his career, he averages a strikeout per inning, which is something the bullpen desperately needed.

Thankfully, the Twins did not stop there, bolstering the bullpen further with another pair of high quality arms. Lefty specialist Zach Duke battled the injury bug in 2017 -- pitching just 18.1 innings for the Cardinals. The Twins are counting on him regaining the magic from 2014 through 2016, when he piled up over 200 strikeouts for Milwaukee, Chicago, and Saint Louis. Addison Reed split last season with the Mets and the Red Sox, closing games for New York, and setting up for Kimbrel in Boston. He too struck out batters with regularity in recent years, providing velocity, depth, and a veteran presence.

The Twins still had work to do on the mound, and after missing out on Yu Darvish, acquired Jake Odorizzi from the Rays in exchange for minor leaguer Jermaine Palacios. This was the third time Jake had been traded, first from the Brewers in the Zach Grienke trade, then to the Rays along with Wil Myers for James Shields. Last season, his ERA+ was exactly league average, and he had his lowest innings total since his rookie season. He certainly doesn't replace Darvish, and he won't out pitch Ervin Santana's 2017 production either. But the fact is that even a league average arm helps the Twins' rotation immensely.

The surprise signing of the spring was Logan Morrison, who seemed destined to go wherever Eric Hosmer didn't go between KC and San Diego. The addition of a 30+ homer bat to the middle of the lineup is nothing to sneeze at. Morrison decided to come to the Twins over KC (who also submitted an offer) because he wanted to play for a team with a chance to contend. This was a pleasant surprise - however it probably means the end of the line for my favorite Twin, Kennys Vargas, who is now out of minor league options.

I had been waiting to make this post because I was hoping the Twins would add another starter, especially considering that Ervin Santana will miss a month or so to start the season. They instead gave a contract to Anibal Sanchez, hoping to catch lightning in a bottle. If he is healthy and can figure out the mechanical issues that derailed his final years in Detroit, he could make for a decent 5th starter. The Twins also signed a trio of former MLB regulars to minor league deals to provide depth and some injury insurance. Chris Heisey, Jordan Pacheco, and Erick Aybar aren't likely to crack the 25 Man Roster, but having these guys in camp provides a little competition for the younger players like backup catcher Mitch Garver, and incentive for veterans like Robbie Grossman and Eduardo Escobar to stay on their toes.

Baseball is back!

Yeah! First pitch of the Spring on T.V. ! Finally some baseball to watch. Can't wait for the season to get started.

Big day

Great news!  Pitchers and catchers report today! Get to work, ya bums!

Coming soon, I have a supertrader package from Wes, and a Transatlantic Triple Break post from the Card Papoy.