July ended so promisingly for the Twins. They had a winning record for the first time since April, general manager Jeremy Zoll left no doubt that they planned to be buyers at the trade deadline, and their playoff odds had climbed to nearly 40 percent. And then, unfortunately, August started.
After being swept by the Phillies in a two-state, three-game, four-day series, the Twins are 4-10 in August. They've dropped to the 10th-best record in the 15-team American League and their playoff odds are about 20 percent, as the division title looks out of reach and there's a seven-team logjam for the final wild-card spot.
There's still plenty of time to turn things around. After all, the last wild-card spot is currently held by a losing team just 1.5 games in front of the Twins. But with 37 games left, they will have to go 22-15 down the stretch — a 96-win pace matching their best 37-game stretch all season — just to finish with a winning record.
Let's open up the mailbag and see what's on your minds about a third-place team that needs to stop treading water and start swimming with six weeks remaining.
Note: Submitted questions have been edited for clarity and length.
Zebby Matthews reminds me a lot of Louis Varland when he was still a starter. Flashes of good stuff, but too many fat pitches hit for homers. Do the numbers back that up? Can we start dreaming about Matthews as a reliever? — Emma I.
I absolutely think it's a viable comparison. Matthews now, like Varland then, has good raw stuff and above-average velocity, but poor command and inconsistent off-speed pitches have led to a middling strikeout rate, too many blowup starts, and way too many homers.
And their respective numbers as starting pitchers are about as close as it gets:
Now, that doesn't necessarily mean Matthews can't still become a quality starter, and it certainly doesn't mean moving to the bullpen will turn him into a high-end reliever like Varland. But there are enough similarities, in terms of both stuff and the type of struggles as starters, to think Matthews could follow the same path.
Also of note: Varland was 27 years old when he switched to the bullpen full time. Matthews will be 27 next season. There's no need to make a change now, because the Twins' injury wrecked rotation lacks other options, but the clock is ticking on Matthews as a starter and I'm intrigued by what he could do as a reliever.
What are your thoughts on the Twins potentially floating Emmanuel Rodriguez as trade bait this winter? — Mike W.