Chin Music w/ Roy Smalley, LaVelle E. Neal III & Jim Souhan - Minnesota Twins Podcast · Talk North Podcast Network

Twins' arms, outfielders

·25 min·5 clips

Fort Myers sets the mood first. Lavelle is in the press box, so the conversation has a useful on-site feel instead of a distance guess. Pablo Lopez is the first marker. A casual press box conversation turns into an injury update: Lopez is a little more than two weeks removed from surgery and close to basic activity again. The sweat-and-cardio detail says more than a neat timetable would. From there, the show gets practical. Jim asks what the rotation would look like if the season opened right away, which sounds simple until the depth chart starts pushing back. Joe Ryan is treated as part of the front end. Bailey gets more time because the question is whether he can leave camp around 75 pitches. If he can, he is not just there for a cameo. He can start and maybe work into the sixth inning. The tone stays plain, with a little healthy doubt. Nobody turns the rotation picture into a big reveal, because pitching plans are usually health, workload, and the best guess available that morning. Lavelle's value is that he is there, watching and talking, catching the details that make a roster projection feel less like a spreadsheet. The episode also has a little old baseball memory near the end, when the conversation turns to a former player's career and how trust can shrink after someone is done playing. The aside lands because relationships around the game do change. Even a reporter trying to build a good relationship may not get the same access once a player's circle gets tighter. Jim closes by handing off next week's show while he is away, leaving Lavelle and Roy with the baseball talk.

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