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Twins’ Rocco Baldelli calls out pathetic offense as team holds players-only meeting

Originally posted on ClutchPoints | By Andrew Meyers | Last updated 5/21/24

Being a streaky team is not something MLB franchises want to be labeled as. Going back and forth between winning stretches and losing skids can take a toll on a clubhouse and leave the players questioning their performances on a daily basis. No team better embodies the “streaky” mantra this year than the Minnesota Twins.

The Twins lost their seventh consecutive game on Monday, a 12-3 shellacking at the hands of the Washington Nationals. It was Minnesota’s worst defeat since their first loss of the season, an 11-0 shutout against the Kansas City Royals on March 31.

The Twins offense has faltered heavily during this losing run. They’ve scored 12 runs in the last seven games and were held to four or fewer hits in four of those games.

Minnesota couldn’t get much going off Nationals rookie Mitchell Parker on Monday. Relying heavily on off-speed stuff, Parker earned his second career MLB quality start after holding the Twins to three runs across six innings.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli did not mince words when discussing his team’s lack of adjustments at the plate.

“The guy just stood out there and threw off-speed pitches for four innings, and we didn’t do anything about it,” Baldelli said, per the Associated Press. “We continued to kind of wave at them and look for fastballs. Which today, they weren’t coming. Especially for the first five, six innings. And in this stretch of games where we’ve been struggling, that’s been a common theme.”

Minnesota’s seven straight losses match its worst losing streak under Baldelli, who took over managerial duties in 2019.

Players air frustrations as Twins look for answers

Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli (5) in the dugout during a game against the Washington Nationals during the second inning at Nationals Park. Rafael Suanes-USA TODAY Sports

Teams typically do not want to have players-only meetings because they almost always come during a disappointing stretch. On the flip side, they often do work and send a spark through a clubhouse.

Twins starting pitcher Pablo Lopez, who surrendered seven earned runs in five innings on Monday, thinks Minnesota’s post-game discussion was beneficial.

“Externalizing gives you the sense of relief,” López said. “When you say things out loud, when you hear things being said out loud, it puts things in perspective. So I think we said things that maybe we were thinking but weren’t saying out loud.”

Preceding this streak was a stretch of 17 wins in 20 games for the Twins, giving them a 24-16 record. They were within a half-game of first place in the wide-open AL Central. Minnesota is now 24-23 and is six and a half games out of first.

Minnesota has endured three different losing streaks of at least four games this season before it plays 50 games. Perhaps even more shocking is that the Twins won 12 in a row at one point yet find themselves only one game above .500.

“You start to forget some of the things that you’ve experienced when you flip it. I mean we’ve flipped the season completely around multiple times already,” Baldelli said. “I’ve seen a lot of streaky baseball, we all have. This is next-level stuff.”

Things don’t get much easier for the Twins over the next few weeks. After two more against the Nats, the Twins will see the defending champion Texas Rangers, a confident Kansas City Royals squad and a rejuvenated Houston Astros team. The stretch is capped off with a trip to New York to face the Yankees, owners of the best record in the American League.

There is reason to believe Minnesota can right the ship and get back into contention. Maybe this player-only meeting will be the turning point.

This article first appeared on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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