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Minnesota Twins’ GM Terry Ryan is putting his neck out, again, signing Torii Hunter to a $10.5 million, one-year deal. Frankly, this Twins reunion **** is getting old – literally. Hunter will be 39 years old next year, is the worst defensive right fielder in the game, and will be severely overpaid. He should be making low-end DH money, yet he’s being paid ten times more than any outfielder the Twins have, despite being worse than any outfielder the Twins have (I think Arcia will hit much better
Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ------ On paper the Minnesota Twins' reunion with 39 year old Torii Hunter last night, seems a bit puzzling. Rational thinking and looking at records and results of games, would suggest that a team coming back from seasons of 99, 96, 96 and 92 losses and hurting primarily in pitching and defense, would need an aging 39 year old outfielder with diminishing defensive skills being the marquee transaction of the season, as much as a painful communica
Can someone please explain to me what Terry Ryan is thinking? For three years we've been rebuilding. Guys like Correia, Marquis and Pelfrey were brought in as payroll was slashed. And now, in the past 3 hours, two pieces of news have convinced me that they have absolutely no clue what they're doing. First, we signed Torii Hunter to a 10.5 million dollar one year contract. No, I didn't meant to write 1.5 million, or 0.5 million. It is a 10.5 million dollar contract. To improve one of the worst
As the finishing touches are being put on the 2015 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook (CLICK HERE to order last year's version for 30% off), my mind has been focused on many of the young players that are making up one of the strongest farm systems in baseball. There are a lot of big names like Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano in the system and the hope is that those players turn out to be All-Star caliber players for years to come. There are also players that might not end up being in contention fo
<img src="http://assets.podomatic.net/ts/19/ad/da/paulpleiss/1400x1400_10146621.jpg" alt="itunes pic" /><br />This week we keep it short, under an hour, to discuss the new additions to the Twins coaching staff. It's just Jay (The master of underscores) and Paul this week, and they both started the podcast a couple of beers in trying to shake the remnants of a Thanksgiving Hangover. A little hair of the dog. Or just a good excuse to drink beers and talk baseball.
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My blueprint evolution Constructing Twins off-season blueprint has been an interesting exercise the past couple of years. There have been many needs to fill and the team tried to fill those needs with multiple trades and acquisitions. It is my humble opinion that the Twins limit their FA acquisitions & trades to one big transaction for each year for the next three years. The two obvious positions wind up on most everyone’s blueprint this off season would be corner-outfielder (left field) and
Swarzak outrighted to AAA and off the 40 man. https://www.fantasysp.com/player/mlb/Anthony_Swarzak/3766816/twins-sent-rhp-anthony-swarzak-outright-to-triple-a-rochester
A report has surfaced over the past week indicating that the Cincinnati Reds are exploring trading outfielder Jay Bruce if the right deal were to surface. With the Hot Stove season inching closer with each coming day, it should come as no surprise that trade rumors are floating at rapid rates. Unfortunately, the Minnesota Twins have yet to be linked to any big name free agents or potential trade candidates so far this offseason. This should not come as a surprise to most Twins’ fans as Terry Rya
For the last three years, the Murphy family has tried to answer a single question: how can we help get Tony Oliva in the Hall of Fame? http://votetonyo.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/VoteTonyO_Tony_Oliva_Official_Fan_Club-300x200.jpg The Vote Tony O Team No one asked them to answer that question. Not the Twins. Not Tony himself. They weren't deputized or drafted. They chose to do it themselves, coming together in a kitchen to found Vote Tony O to find out, "how can we help get Tony Ol
I think it's time to either pull the plug on Hicks as an OF and make him a pitcher or trade him to say like the Red Sox now for one of their "failed prospects". The Twins drafted Hicks as an everyday player but some in the organization thought he'd be a better pitcher out of HS. I think he was clocked in the upper 90's with a good CB. I think you could potentially get Middlebrooks, Betts, or Bradley Jr in a trade. Or find some other teams that has a prospect that hasn't panned out yet and se
After the inaugural season at Target field, the Twins brass made the fateful decision to remove the 14 black spruce trees from centerfield. When viewed in retrospect, this decision, it seems clear, has placed a curse on the franchise. Consider: The Twins won 58% of their games in the first season in which they called Target Field their home, including a whopping 65% of the games they played at home in the great outdoors, with a piney backdrop. Since felling the trees, the team has won 41% of
This is a fun time of year when everyone looks ahead to the possibilities of their team adding new personal by trades, free agency, or the farm system. The Twins and their fans are no different. If you are a re-building team (see Minnesota), this is a time for hope. New players, new coaching staff-everyone is excited. Please tell me how Torii Hunter, WillyMo Pena, and 26 year old pitchers from Korea are supposed to give Twins' fans encouragement? I thought we saw this last winter. Do the name
As a fan who's defended the Twins adamantly over the last four years, this start to free agency couldn't have been any more disheartening. I'm very aware that the gears of major league rebuilds turn slowly, particularly when you look at where the Twins organization was after the 2011 season. I staunchly defended signings like Marquis, Correia, and Pelfrey for two reasons. One, the starting pitching markets in those seasons weren't particularly deep, and two (more importantly), it didn't make
<img src="http://assets.podomatic.net/ts/19/ad/da/paulpleiss/1400x1400_10126373.jpg" alt="itunes pic" /><br />Jay and Cody chart a path through new territory as BOTH Eric and Paul sit out this week. Why? You must not have received the invite either. While the Pleiss twins frolic around the Pacific northwest in a celebratory stupor, Cody and Jay navigate through a gauntlet of hot stove chatter, 2015 speculation, free agent courtships and all in all manage just fine without the twin
It was about a week ago where the Minnesota Twins AFL team, the Salt River Rafters, clinched their spot in League Championship game, but they still had a few games left to play before that. Eddie Rosario entered the season’s final week with a chance at a batting title, and two relief pitching prospects had yet to allow a run in a league play. How would they finish? Let’s check out what happened in week 6! Byron Buxton – Did not play. Buxton had surgery on his fractured finger three weeks
There are plenty of ways to go about trying to fix the Twins team but some patience might be required as the club waits for some younger pieces to work their way through the minor leagues. The Twins Daily crew put out some solid information in the 2015 Offseason Handbook. One of the best parts to read about this document is the blueprint plans put together by the writers. There are plenty of options for the Twins but here is how I would go about trying to fix the team. Some of these ideas will
The Arizona Fall League season came to a close with the Championship game on Saturday, with the West Division champion Peoria Javelinas facing the East Division champion Salt River Rafters, for whom Minnesota Twins prospects play. The teams traded haymakers inning after inning in Scottsdale, AZ, with seven total home runs and twenty-one runs scored. Eddie Rosario got the festivities started for the Rafters, launching a 1-1 pitch deep over the right field fence off Peoria starter Miguel Almon
You can download the new Talk to Contact ( @TalkToContact) episode via iTunes or by clicking here, and if you want to add the show to your non-iTunes podcast player, this is the RSS Feed. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cRVFPJ6O12I/VGXnr0afhrI/AAAAAAAAJic/5nTu670Uhqo/s1600/MVPs.jpg On the one-hundred and eighth episode of Talk to Contact, the boys were joined by Nick Nelson (@NNelson9) from TwinsDaily to talk about the movement of bloggers from their mothers' basements to the mainstream in the
<img src="http://assets.podomatic.net/ts/19/ad/da/paulpleiss/1400x1400_10104264.jpg" alt="itunes pic" /><br />On the one-hundred and eighth episode of Talk to Contact, the boys were joined by Nick Nelson (@NNelson9) from TwinsDaily to talk about the movement of bloggers from their mothers' basements to the mainstream in the past several years. We also talk about Paul Molitor's coaching staff, and what we think about Gene Glynn at third base and Rudy Hernandez as the assistant hittin
At the All-Star break, the Twins were in decent shape, just 6 games under .500 and on pace to finish with a win total in the mid-70s that would have demonstrated clear progress in their rebuilding efforts. But they faltered out of the gate in the 2nd half, dropping 9 of 13 to finish July (the first 10 of which were at home). Now 11 under .500 and 11 games out of 1st place, it was time to sell the veterans and turn to youth. Out with Kendrys Morales, Josh Willingham, Kevin Correia and Matt Guerri
Danny Santana: Projecting Regression and Estimating Value There has been occasional to frequent mention of the “fluke” seasonal performance of certain players; namely, Danny Santana and Eduardo Escobar- Brian Dozier in the not so distant past. Usually, the notion is raised within the contexts of position placement and possible trade packages. One recent thread in particular discusses, in depth, the idea of trading Santana for starting pitching help of varying degrees of quality. http://twins
The MLB Free Agency period opened last week after, and in unsurprising news, the Minnesota Twins have yet to make any moves. Former Twin Michael Cuddyer inked a two-year, $21 million deal with the New York Mets, and all twelve pending free agents to receive qualifying offers, declined them. In the Arizona Fall League, the Salt River Rafters moved on without the Twins’ Byron Buxton manning centerfield, but welcomed back another one of their participants. Let’s check out what happened in wee
The Twins have been notoriously slow at moving pitchers through the system while they wait for consistency. I thought it might be interesting to see how some of other young pitchers moved through their systems. How about Yordano Ventura? Yordano Ventura and Alex Meyer both pitched in the Carolina League in 2012. Meyer started in low-A and arrived about the time Ventura was leaving. What was the Royals plan for Ventura? Did they wait for consistency? 2010- He started the year in the Dominican s
On Saturday, Tait went 2-for-4 with a walk and his 17th double. The 19-year-old is hitting .219 with 17 doubles and 15 home runs at High-A Cedar Rapids.
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