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Cole Hamels to the Braves for 1 year, 18 million. That would've been doable for us. https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/28224887/sources-cole-hamels-braves-reach-1-year-18-million-deal
Today is one of the biggest releases on the calendar in the hobby world. As Topps pumps out the latest Bowman Draft product, collectors feast their eyes on an opportunity to grab autographs and cardboard of the next great stars. For the Minnesota Twins specifically, a Bowman product hasn’t been this exciting in a few years. While collecting sports cards is a hobby, a large contingent of its appeal is monetarily driven and provides an aspect of gambling. Outside of buying specific cards you cov
Per Buster Olney at ESPN (posted this morning), the Phillies are the front-runners for Wheeler. The Reds, White Sox and Rangers are also mentioned as possibilities. "The bidding for right-hander Zack Wheeler continues to progress toward resolution, with the Philadelphia Phillies seen by sources as the most potent bidders -- and the Reds, White Sox and Rangers also involved." SOURCE: https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/28222913/sources-phillies-seen-top-bidder-zack-wheeler
Once again, it's that time of year and December 1 saw my inbox being hit with the yearly IBWAA Hall of Fame ballot. Although this isn't part of the official BBWAA vote to enshrine players in Cooperstown, there's plenty of crossover between voting parties and many of the same principles are the same. At this time the IBWAA allows voters to select up to 12 candidates. You can find my 2018 ballot here, and my 2019 selections here. As was the case last year, I wound up with a ballot less than the
Judging the fielders in the age of shifts is a difficult challenge. As I read about Sano – should he move to 1B I am constantly trying to evaluate what the qualities are for those two bases. 3B – quick reflexes (believe me the ball gets to 3B quick) and a strong arm. 1B – reflexes of a different type, not grabbing missiles, but rather erratic throws, short hops, flexibility to stretch and grab, and still a range for fielding the position. 1B have that strange responsibility for “covering the bas
When the Twins Bombas broke the MLB record for HRs there was elation - and rightfully so. It is fun to see records fall and even to have some marks like 56 straight game hitting streaks seem to be impossible to break. When I was young (1950s) I got hooked on baseball and my little transistor radio would sneak under my pillow at night so I could follow the Milwaukee Braves. I loved the way baseball connected me with my dad and Grandpa, the way it related to the old town teams my relatives playe
My 2020 Offseason Blueprint gives out multiple different avenues the Twins can go down to acquire starting pitching, among some signings for depth/bench pieces. Sign Free Agent Starting Pitchers. Develop pitchers from the farm system. Trade for a young controllable starter. Backup Catcher. Nice bullpen piece. Sign Free Agent Starting Pitching The Twins probably won’t sign Gerrit Cole or Stephen Strausburg, because they will be too much money, so the Twins will sign the next tier of starting pitc
In one of the discussion entries I saw the question - what will happen to catchers when the Robo ump is put in place and the quick hands ability to steal (frame) a strike is no longer a vital skill. This got me thinking about what are the other attributes of a good catcher. My first thought is the ability to call a good game, to put the pitcher in a better position to fool the batter. Of course the Houston Astronauts are pushing for a change there too. Maybe we will have head phones on the cat
Although we have grown accustomed to slower offseason activity when it comes to Major League Baseball free agency, that doesn't make the reality any more exciting. Sure, the Minnesota Twins have spent $30 million already in retaining Nelson Cruz and Jake Odorizzi, but the true free agents are still out there. Before adding new talent to Twins Territory the franchise gave fans something else they've been clamoring for over the past few years; the baby blue's. In 2020 Majestic is being replaced
Last night the Twins Daily Twitter account tweeted out a poll, asking which free agent pitcher people would want the Twins to sign.
As I am typing this right now, 71% of people voted Wheeler, 15% voted Bumgarner, and 9% voted Ryu, with 5% saying they wouldn’t want any of the 3. I personally voted for Wheeler as well because I think he definitely has the stuff to take his game to another level, but it surprised me that an overwhelming majority of people want Wheeler, considering Bumgarner’s
You have all been very patient waiting for my 2019-2020 offseason plan. Your patience is now rewarded as I present to you the master plan for winning the 2020 World Series. {Cue the calliope.} This plan includes six free agency signings, one major trade, three contract extensions, and one token raise as a reward for a great year. The Trade to End All Trades Step one is to call the Arizona Diamondbacks and offer them the opportunity to greatly improve their day-to-day lineup. The Twins send
In early December 2018 the Minnesota Twins found their replacement for Brian Dozier. With the fan-favorite having been traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers prior to his free agency, Derek Falvey and Thad Levine needed to find another second basemen. Replacing Dozier’s pop wouldn’t be easy, but they tabbed a former All Star to do so when they inked Jonathan Schoop to a one-year deal. Now with the season behind us we can evaluate how it turned out. At the time of his signing I wasn’t too terribly i
My 2020 Offseason Blueprint builds a Twins roster that can win the World Series within the next two years. I’ve tried to address the three weaknesses that TD staff have ably outlined in previous articles: A rotation depleted by free agency and in need of a second front-line starting pitcher. Poor infield defense. An inability to attract first-tier free agents. How do Falvey and Levine get the Twins that third World Series Title? Aggressive free agent signings and a blockbuster trade. Pay for
I am not advocating trading him, but I have read so many trade Rosario scenarios I began to wonder what would happen if we took another of our players and put them out there. Admittedly Betts is the FA RF that will dominate all discussions, but what would Kepler bring us? Here are his basic stats for the MLB career and a comparison with his MIB stats. The first note is that he had not matched his MILB stats in the first three years, but he did last year - OBP/S/OPS. Is this his next platform
Prior to the 4pm deadline to decide on the qualifying offer presented to Jake Odorizzi by the Minnesota Twins, a decision was made. The 2019 All Star made the choice to return to Wes Johnson and Rocco Badelli’s staff on a one-year pact. This one will be lucrative at $17.8 million, but in the end all sides win. In 2020 Odorizzi will be just 30 years old and is coming off a career year. He had a mechanics breakdown and blister issue mid-season for the Twins but bookended that performance with ex
Throw another log on the off-season blueprint fire because here's one more opinion about how the Twins should approach the winter. I believe this game plan is realistic and it would make the 2020 Twins a more complete team than the 2019 Twins. This off-season is all about adding quality pitching (hopefully a lot of it!), and my blueprint does just that. Assume that I was named honorary GM for the winter and let's fast forward to March 2020 to look at what I did before handing the keys back to
As I was pondering about the potential rotation for the Twins in 2020, I remembered something. It had been in the back of my mind but it came to the forefront today. Thad Levine, in an interview with Aaron Gleeman, proclaimed that the Twins explored a trade during the season for Trevor Bauer. I can not remember the exact quote, but it went something like this: “We are interested in the player (Bauer), but it is unlikely that the Minnesota Twins will make a deal with the Cleveland Indians.” O
It hasn’t quite been a year, and unfortunately, we aren’t yet to the point of embarking upon Fort Myers for Spring Training, but the Minnesota Twins signed Max Kepler and Jorge Polanco to contract extensions last offseason. Both deals felt incredibly team friendly at the time, but Ozzie Albies and Ronald Acuna Jr. already had preconditioned us for those feelings. Now after the first season into their extensions with the Twins, Kepler and Polanco have already paid for themselves. For two straig
First I non-tender Cron, tough decision, but have too many moving parts to keep him. This leaves me with C - Garver 1B - Sano 2B - Arreaz ss - Polonco 3B - Gonzalez LF - Rosario CF - Buxton RF - Kepler DH - Cruz Of - Cave OF - Wade UTL - Adrianza C - Like the thought of signing Maldenado for about $3 This should give me the flexibility in case Gordon is ready which in a lot of other bloggers posts would cause me to either lose him or trade him for little value. This should also leave me wi
In January 2019, Thad Levine answered a question at Twins Fest: "The best time to acquire players of that magnitude is when your window to win is wide open, not when you got your fingers underneath the window and you're trying to jam the window open. I want to do it when we're projected to win the Central and we're ready to put our foot on someone's throat". After a fantastic 2019 season ending in a disappointing fashion, Derek Falvey addressed the media and is quoted as saying "We're goin
Introduction Coming off 101 wins in 2019, the Twins have put themselves in a position that GM’s could merely dream of. They only have around $70 million in guaranteed contracts and expected arbitration salaries on the books for 2020, making the possibilities almost endless. The window is open and it’s time to take full advantage of the roster and payroll situation the Twins' brass has put together over the last couple of years. Arbitration Decisions • C.J. Cron I chose to non-tender Cron.
I have had the good fortune to be with Mark Harris, a former minor leaguer who threw batting practice for the Twins in the sixties. He once threw Home Run Derby to Aaron and Killebrew and has their autographs! He proposed a question to me that I flunked on, but it was too fun not to pass on. Name five pitchers who had a Cy Young and were convicted of a felony. https://dcbaseballhistory.com/d-c-baseball-history-assorted-videos/1960-home-run-derby-washington-players/ Good luck
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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