CLEVELAND — A new era of Twins baseball — the era of opportunity, if you will — began this weekend.
It figures to be painful, at least at first, like it was on Friday.
All-star starter Joe Ryan, who had been rumored to be on the move, gave up two runs in six innings and the Twins rallied for a pair of runs to tie the game up in the seventh, but could not muster any other offense and Kody Funderburk eventually gave up a walk-off hit to Kyle Manzardo in the 10th inning of a 3-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field.
But it might be potentially fruitful down the road, particularly as the players whom the Twins acquired in trades this week start graduating to the big leagues. Aggressive moves at the trade deadline on Thursday — the front office dealt 10 players off the major league roster — have opened the door for different players to step into larger roles.
Players like Austin Martin, who returned on Friday from Triple-A for the first time this season and had three hits in the loss to the Guardians. Players like Justin Topa and Cole Sands, who will have larger roles after the bullpen was decimated by trades. Topa pitched a scoreless seventh and Sands a scoreless eighth on Friday.
“I’m excited about all the opportunities that are going to be given to some guys that either are deserving or have been waiting in the wings and now are going to get an opportunity to showcase that on the highest level,” third baseman Royce Lewis said.
It probably won’t look pretty at times. But, frankly, neither has the season up to this point or the Twins wouldn’t have reached the trade deadline six games under .500, looking to sell.
“We haven’t been able to win like we wanted to win. We’ve shown glimpses of greatness and glimpses of one of the worst teams in baseball,” catcher Ryan Jeffers said. “Maybe a reset was needed. Maybe this is the harsh reality of what was needed for this club. It’s a hard pill to swallow for players, fans and everyone associated with the organization. It’s the reality of what we’ve got moving forward.”
The Twins’ traded arguably their top five bullpen arms — Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Brock Stewart, Louie Varland and Danny Coulombe — and will now look to reform their rework their bullpen.
Their defense will surely take a hit with a pair of former Gold Glove Award winners — Carlos Correa and Harrison Bader — gone. Edouard Julien, back from Triple-A on Friday, bobbled a ball in the first inning that should have been a double play. That run eventually scored.
But the final two months of the season will give the Twins a chance to assess which players should have roles on the team moving forward.
“(Thursday) was just a weird day overall,” outfielder Trevor Larnach said. ‘The game goes on, we all have to move on. We’ve got an entirely new team, but a lot of new guys. I think everyone is excited to meet each other and play with each other, move on, really.”
Before Friday night’s game, the Twins added pitchers Travis Adams, Pierson Ohl, Erasmo Ramírez and José Ureña to the roster as well as infielders Ryan Fitzgerald and Julien, Martin, a utilityman, and Alan Roden, the only player acquired in a trade currently on the major league roster.
Roden, 25, was playing for Triple-A Buffalo, the Toronto Blue Jays’ top affiliate, in uniform and ready for a minor league game when he got word of the trade.
“For me, I’m a young player,” he said. “I’m a rookie so I’m still getting my feet wet with being in a clubhouse, major league clubhouse. … I’m definitely still learning and I think we’ll all move forward together.”
That they will.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli and president of baseball operations Derek Falvey addressed the group before Friday’s game, something they felt necessary after a difficult, emotional day for the team. And now, they’re looking for players to take hold of their newfound chances and run with them as the Twins try to salvage the rest of the season.
“Let me be clear: This is not take five steps back and just watch the young guys play and whatever happens, happens,” Baldelli said. “That is not what’s going on here. The mentality is to go out there and win every day.”
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