Twins Preview with Former Catchers Anthony Recker & Joe Siddall
4/30/202650 min
Former MLB catcher and current MLB Network analyst Anthony Recker (3:21) joins Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker to chat about the identity of the 2026 Minnesota Twins, if they're working towards a defensive or offensive-first mindset, Bailey Ober's changeup, why a healthy Mick Abel would help the team's pitching staff, what impresses him the most about Kevin Gausman, and why the Padres have been the biggest surprise to start the year. Then, Blue Jays analyst Joe Siddall joins the guys (26:54) to discuss the adjustments Kazuma Okamoto has made, Brandon Valenzuela's potential, Ernie Clement's ability to cover all areas in his at-bats, Daulton Varsho's strengths and weaknesses, and Jeff Hoffman's usage in low-leverage situations.
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsKevin Barker· Host0:00
[upbeat music] All right, welcome back to Blair and Barker, brought to you by Capital One. Capital One, giving Canadians credit for 30 years. Joe Stittle will join us from, uh- Yep ... Minneapolis- Mm-hmm ... or Saint Paul.
Jeff Blair· Host0:31
Mm.
Kevin Barker· Host0:31
The Twin Cities.
Jeff Blair· Host0:32
That's it. Later on in the show.
Kevin Barker· Host0:34
Mm-hmm.
Jeff Blair· Host0:35
Uh, 7:40, first pitch tonight.
Kevin Barker· Host0:38
That's what I heard.
Jeff Blair· Host0:39
That's right.
Kevin Barker· Host0:40
Yep.
Jeff Blair· Host0:40
Dylan Gossman against Bailey Over.
Kevin Barker· Host0:41
Yep.
Jeff Blair· Host0:42
And, uh, again, I'm, I'm plugging this. On Juan Adia's solid- [laughs] ... Barker will be doing Blue Jays Central tonight.
Kevin Barker· Host0:49
Yeah. Yeah.
Jeff Blair· Host0:50
There you go.
Kevin Barker· Host0:51
Oh.
Jeff Blair· Host0:52
He'll be on the air at 7:00- Wow ... on Blue Jays Central with Brad Fay.
Kevin Barker· Host0:55
Thanks, Jeff. Thanks, Jeff.
Jeff Blair· Host0:56
There you go.
Kevin Barker· Host0:57
Yeah, there it is.
Jeff Blair· Host0:57
That's about all I need.
Kevin Barker· Host0:59
That's it, huh?
Jeff Blair· Host0:59
You're gonna do it all weekend, aren't you?
Kevin Barker· Host1:01
That's what I heard. Yeah.
Jeff Blair· Host1:03
Four games against the Twins.
Kevin Barker· Host1:04
It's crazy, right?
Jeff Blair· Host1:05
They saved the best for you.
Kevin Barker· Host1:06
You should be doing it.
Jeff Blair· Host1:06
They saved the best for you, don't they?
Kevin Barker· Host1:07
Didn't they really? Yeah, 13 and 18, boy. It's really digging deep.
Jeff Blair· Host1:11
[laughs] Um, yes. The, uh, Mini- Minnesota Twins are 13 and 18.
Kevin Barker· Host1:19
Oh.
Jeff Blair· Host1:19
Um- It would help if Vlady went deep once or twice. Yeah.
Kevin Barker· Host1:23
Wouldn't it?
Jeff Blair· Host1:24
Well, I mean, the Twins, the, the season, you know, the season, uh, they, they had a six-game road trip. They went