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Twins Video

I would sell off the expiring contracts this July but it isn’t a rebuild. I am going the 2024 Tigers route. They traded off four expiring contracts and let the players in their system have a chance to play. All four played significantly in their first half in #2 starter Jack Flaherty, lefty reliever Andrew Chafin, catcher Carson Kelly and Mark Canha. They replaced Flaherty with an opener and Tyler Hilton and Beau Brieske emerged. Brant Hurter was the lefty reliever. Spencer Torkelson returned from his exile to the minors and had a .945 OPS in August. Dillon Dingler got his feet wet at catcher. I am guessing the plan was to see what they needed for 2025 but it resulted in a couple rounds of playoff baseball.

That means we trade Willi Castro. That will hurt. Not Jack Flaherty hurt but it will hurt. Keaschall will be returning and let’s look at Austin Martin.

We trade lefty specialist Danny Coulombe. That will hurt. The bullpen is very thin. Everyone is healthy and two on the current roster don’t look to be major league ready. Is it time to see Connor Prielipp in a relief role? Maybe not. The plan for a full healthy season is a priority. If not then Funderburk gets off the shuttle and gets a two month consistent shot.

Can they get anything for Paddack? Take what they can get and make sure Festa, Matthews and Woods Richardson have a spot in the rotation the rest of the year.

Can they get anything for France? The return for Canha was little but the open spot gave a chance for Torkelson to earn back some trust. Maybe Clemens gets a good share of 1B. Maybe Julien returns here. What does Keaschall look like at 1B? Miranda’s last stand?

It might mean paying some of the contract for Vazquez but let’s do it. Let’s see Mickey Gasper at  catcher for two months. Teams will run against him. In AAA he gives up a stolen base every 6.5 innings while Camargo is one of the best and gives up a stolen base every 9 innings. It amounts to an extra stolen base every three games. Can his bat make up the difference even if it a stolen base per game at this level? Let’s see about the rest of his game at catcher. Marco Raya had some very positive things to say about Gasper behind the plate.

Bader will hurt too. Will Rodriguez be healthy? Probably not. That leaves an opening for Carson McCusker or Walker Jenkins. They might also send out Keirsey now and bring up Martin. Get Keirsey some at bats for a few weeks and maybe he gets a real shot with the bat when he returns.

Anyone else? Justin Topa is not matching his 2023 season. I would trade him. The bullpen already has holes to fill today. Maybe the return for some of the other players is a failed starter or a blocked minor league reliever they give a chance in the pen for the final two months.

Why not rebuild? There are a few reasons.

  • The largest is I want the new owners to be able to shape this club. If they want to go for it in the next few years they need Joe Ryan, Jhoan Duran and to a lesser extent Griffin Jax. Selling this players is easy. New owners wanting to replace them will be hard. The new owners need to be able to set the direction. 
  • The sweet spot for selling is the deadline with 1 season remaining. They have two. The return for them will not be that much less next summer and it gives the Twins a better chance to compete next year. I suppose someone could argue that they may get injured. It is also true that the key prospect we get in return for them this year could get injured.
  • There are some players they need to make decisions on to help build next year’s roster. Many have shown flashes in the majors and shown success in the minors. This winter’s decisions will be more informed if they open these 7 spots.

I endorse the Tiger Plan

7 Comments


Recommended Comments

Dman

Posted

Yeah I agree pretty much 100%.  I guess if it was a monster return for Duran or Jax I could see moving one of them but it would need to be for a position of need like catcher and AAA close to starting arm or something.

If they just sell the players that essentially are already gone I don't think this team is too far away.  Next year if they get Correa going along with Buxton that will help. I have to believe Wallner can be better and Larnach seems close to being something. Keaschall might be something.  Would be nice to find out if McCusker can be the big right handed bat they need. Next year Culpepper and Jenkins could be options to help the team at some point. Rodriguez and Gonzalez might be ready as well. Jullien should probably get a second look.  If Raya keeps things going he might be an option next year on the pitching side and he might be a better arm than Festa, Matthews or SWR.

So again I agree with you.  If they just keep things together. I think they have the potential to be a very good team next year. Tearing it down too far would be a mistake IMO.  Getting some of these younger guys playing time might be just what they need to have a faster start next year.

Julian Bernick

Posted

I agree but ONLY because of the ownership question.  I don't think you want to trade away a bunch of core guys and + 2-3 year solid bullpen guys etc. before the new owners and (presumably) their new front office evaluate that.  

IF the ownership question is resolved before September, I'd agree - sell your expiring guys now and do the tear-down over the winter (but only IF new owners by then.)  

Thinking back to the 90s/OO's, there was some real pain and suffering and revolving door stuff before things settled on a nucleus of Hunter/Cuddyer/Mauer/Kubel/Morneau etc.  We're probably at the beginning of that journey, not the middle.

 

 

 

Jeff K

Posted

I agree that Funderburk should get off the shuttle; however, I think he should get off the 40 man roster.  What does a guy have to do to prove he isn't a ML pitcher?

jorgenswest

Posted

4 hours ago, Jeff K said:

I agree that Funderburk should get off the shuttle; however, I think he should get off the 40 man roster.  What does a guy have to do to prove he isn't a ML pitcher?

Fair enough on Funderburk. The 59.2 innings with a 4.29 isn’t suggestive of future failure or success but he is 28. He will have an option remaining next year so an additional two month look might be helpful in whether to roster him next year. If they are sellers they will have more roster spots to fill than proven relievers for the bullpen. Do you prefer looking longer at the lefty Misiewizc over him?

Jeff K

Posted

12 hours ago, jorgenswest said:

Fair enough on Funderburk. The 59.2 innings with a 4.29 isn’t suggestive of future failure or success but he is 28. He will have an option remaining next year so an additional two month look might be helpful in whether to roster him next year. If they are sellers they will have more roster spots to fill than proven relievers for the bullpen. Do you prefer looking longer at the lefty Misiewizc over him?

I don't think either of those guys help the big club.  The Twins have a lot of work to do repairing the numerous weaknesses on the 40 man roster.  I do understand that Funderburk is no worse than others, but it is a not a complement.  Upgrading talent & depth for 2026 is critical.

Chris Hove

Posted

I agree about dealing off the expiring hitter contracts, but I want to keep Jax, Varland, and Duran for the future. I also agree that the Twins have guys they can plug in if Castro, France, or even Vazquez gets traded. Insert Keaschall, Martin, and Gasper. My biggest question is, do you make a trade to make a trade and see what you have in the young guys? I don't think there's much value in our hitters compared to the pitchers being mentioned. Also, what are we expecting back for a Castro trade? It all depends on how we value our players and what we think they're worth.

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