Willi Castro, INF/OF
Willi Castro was a big part of the Twins' success earlier on in the season, earning a trip to the All-Star Game as a result of his performance. The versatility to play the infield and outfield doesn't hurt either, but one does have to question if he peaked early on in the season, especially when considering that he had an up-and-down career with the Tigers before signing with the Twins ahead of the 2023 season.
Like Lewis did, Castro put up great offensive numbers in the early going, posting wRC+ marks of 110, 131, and 151 in the first three months of the season respectively, according to FanGraphs. He has disappointed since then. In July, Castro had a 68 wRC+, followed by a more respectable 99 in August, and an abysmal -14 mark so far in September.
Due to Castro's versatility, he will likely find himself in the lineup more often than not. His first-half performance proved to not be sustainable, but hopefully, he can perform more like he did in August, which was right around league-average offensively. The level of play in July and to this point in September is not acceptable.
Caleb Thielbar, RP
The Twins' bullpen has been a sore spot in the second half of the season, and while much of the panic has been directed at closer Jhoan Duran due to his dip in velocity and recent poor outing against the Royals, he has been a victim of bad luck and bad defense more than anything this season. The depth of the bullpen has been the problem, and someone like Caleb Thielbar sticks out, as he is in the middle of what might be his worst season in a Twins uniform.
Thielbar is a bit of a victim of Minnesota's roster moves, as some other relief pitchers who have been let go would have been good candidates for this spot. However, his current 5.62 ERA is the worst of his career, according to FanGraphs. It would be unfair to point out Duran's bad luck without bringing up that Thielbar's xERA 4.22 indicates some bad luck for him as well. However, Thielbar's walks are way up, currently at 4.10 BB/9 in comparison to 1.76 in 2023.
Thielbar has been a solid reliever since debuting with the Twins in 2013. It has been a stark drop-off in performance this season, and Minnesota has desperately needed someone like him to regain form out of the bullpen in the second half.
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