David Popkins has seen this movie before.
The former Minnesota Twins hitting coach helped guide the Toronto Blue Jays to a big offensive season in his first year with the club, but this year the bats have gone cold. Before Tuesday’s 9-3 win over the San Francisco Giants, Popkins was asked about the slump and reached back to his Twins days for an answer that landed with a little extra flavor.
“I remember in Minnesota, we had a very similar time like this, and it was literally a sausage that guys smacked before they went up to the plate that freed them up.”
That line was a nod to the Twins’ famous “Rally Sausage,” a clubhouse oddity that became part good-luck charm, part baseball folklore. As MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park reported, the whole thing started when Kyle Farmer got a giant summer sausage in the mail and brought it to the clubhouse to be eaten.
Instead, it wound up in the dugout, where hitters started grabbing the log of meat for luck. Former manager Rocco Baldelli worried it could turn into a health hazard, but the only thing that really caught fire was the Twins’ offense, which rode the sausage to a 12-game winning streak and a major uptick in production.
Popkins’s time in Minnesota eventually ended after the 2024 season, and the Blue Jays are now searching for answers of their own. Toronto finished second in the American League and fourth in baseball with 4.93 runs per game last season. This year, the production has dropped all the way to second to last in the AL and 28th in baseball at 3.98 runs per game.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been the biggest name in the slide. He’s hitting .263/.345/.344 with four homers and 35 RBI in 87 games, and the rest of the lineup hasn’t done enough to cover for him. That’s left Toronto at 43-49 and in third place in the American League East entering Wednesday.
The Twins, meanwhile, have flipped the script after a rough first season without Popkins. They were 10th in the American League and 23rd in baseball with 4.19 runs per game last season. Entering Wednesday, they sit first in the AL and seventh in baseball at 4.90 runs per game.
No, the Blue Jays probably aren’t about to start smacking sausages in the dugout or turning to grocery-store magic. But Popkins’s old Twins connection is now part of the conversation as Toronto tries to get its offense moving again, while Minnesota’s bats keep powering a playoff push.
In Other News...
Former Twins Reliever From Polanco Trade Resurfaces In AL Central
Justin Topa has resurfaced in the AL Central after a rough stretch that pushed him out of Minnesota earlier this season. The right-hander, once part of the return in the Jorge Polanco trade, was released by the Blue Jays and has now landed in the Royals organization, a familiar kind of move for a reliever trying to get his footing back in a division where every bullpen arm seems to matter.
For the Twins, the more immediate point is that they moved on and kept searching for help, while Kansas City is trying to patch together innings of its own. The Royals have one of the leagues most troubled bullpens, and that kind of need can create a quick path back to the majors for a pitcher like Topa if he shows he can stabilize things in Triple-A. [Read more 🡒]
Twins May Be Running Out Of Time With Tristan Gray
Tristan Gray opened the season as one of the Twins surprise roster stories, and for a while it looked like he might be more than a short-term fill-in. He gave Minnesota some early pop, hit .273 with three homers through the first month-plus, and even delivered a grand slam in the home opener, enough to make his place on the roster feel earned rather than merely temporary.
The problem is that the shine has worn off quickly, and the Twins are now having to weigh whether the early burst was a real foothold or just a fast start. Grays offense has backed up, and the defensive side has become harder to ignore as well, leaving Minnesota with a familiar roster question at a time when the club would love more certainty from the left side of the infield. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Just Sent A Clear Deadline Message About Their Bullpen
The Twins added another arm to a bullpen that has spent much of the season searching for stability, acquiring right-hander Tommy Nance and international bonus pool space from Toronto in exchange for minor leaguer Ryan Sprok. Nance brings five years of major league experience and has worked to a 3.82 ERA this season, giving Minnesota a veteran relief option as it tries to stay in the race.
The move also fits the way the front office is approaching the stretch run, with the club still intent on contending rather than stepping back before the deadline. Minnesota will need to clear a spot on the 26-man roster to make room for Nance, and that kind of decision can say plenty about which arms the Twins trust most as they try to steady the late innings. [Read more 🡒]