Noah Syndergaard Vs Top 5 FA SS

[Alex Wilde]

There has been quite a bit of discussion on this site about fans wanting the Twins to sign both a top end starter, as well as a cornerstone player at SS. This FO seems unlikely to spend big on two players given that their last big FA signing in Donaldson didn’t necessarily turn out as they had hoped. Now don’t get me wrong, I love Donaldson’s fire and he’s been playing well when he’s on the field, but it’s hard to pay a 35 year-old guy this much when he’s got lingering problems with injuries. Now my question to you all is, who would you rather have on the Twins for the next few seasons, Noah Syndergaard coming off of TJ or a top 5 FA SS? I would lean towards taking the risk signing Syndergaard and signing a good defensive SS or giving Palacios a chance in spring training to open the 2022 season as the starting SS. The hope would be to have Syndergaard anchor your starting rotation with Maeda and possibly Pineda behind him. Followed by Ober and one or two young arms like Winder, Strotman, Ryan, Jax, Duran, or Balazovic. I like the upside here with the rotation and the likelihood of keeping a great lineup (when healthy) to help the Twins stay in contention next season. Palacios has at least earned a promotion to AAA to end this season and should be given a chance to make the big league roster next season. If push comes to shove, signing a good defensive shortstop to another 1 year deal wouldn’t be a detriment to the 2022 season either. Let me know what y’all think below!

[Vanimal46]

The top 5 SS, no question. I was a big fan of acquiring Thor a couple of years ago. Now? I’m worried he may be damaged goods after missing the last 2 seasons with TJ surgery and further complications this year. 

Looks like he’s about to start a rehab assignment soon, and if he does return this year, it will most likely be in the Mets bullpen. I can’t imagine any team offering more than a 1 + option year if/when he hits free agency this winter. 

[bean5302]

There's no reason to sign one player when the one signing won't make the difference for the team.

Donaldson is on pace for close to 3 WAR this year. He's been worth near his $21MM salary. It seems to me teams try to buy at $6MM per WAR but the average actual production is $8MM per WAR. Donaldson is right in between. If he finishes the year hot, he'll more than earn what the Twins were trying to buy.

The Twins' market size suggests the team should carry an annual player payroll in the $140-150MM range right now. In 2019, they should have been in a position to push it over their sustained max like other teams almost univerally do. Maybe $170MM+?

In any case. Free agent shortstops. I don't anticipate the Twins are going to do anything other than re-sign Simmons. Maybe an outside shot at Corey Seager. The owner is extremely risk averse when it comes to long contracts. Just how it is.

Noah Syndergaard may well not become a free agent. The Mets are going to give him a QO and depending on whether or not he plays, his velocity if he plays and how effective he is, there's a fair likelihood he'd take it just to rebuild value and get the QO off the table forever. Syndergaard is reported as throwing mid 90s yesterday. If he pushes back up to 97-98, and does well in his return to MLB in a couple weeks out the pen, he'll likely decline the QO and seek a long term contract. He'll get at least 5 years $125MM from somebody in that case, but likely more. The Twins won't do it.

[Mike Sixel]

SS, and not close. 

[chpettit19]

Like all these sorts of questions it depends on the money for each. Can they get Thor on a lower AAV for 3-5 years coming off an injury or is he looking for a 1 year deal (likely accepts the QO from the Mets in that case) or is he going to get someone to give him 20+ a year for 5+ years? I don't want him for 5+ years at 20+ per. Too many injury concerns and he wasn't great in 2019. But 3 years at 15-20? I'd take that. I think the Twins may have their eyes on someone like Baez as a SS signing. Great glove and hits the ball a mile. His K% and awful OBP may lower his price to something the Twins are willing to do. Get him for 5 or 6 years and plug him in as a Gold Glove SS and 25+ HR guy out of the 6 hole. He sounds like he may take a discount to play 2B in NY with his buddy Lindor, though. Beyond him I don't know that any of the other 4 SSs fall to the Twins price range.

Assuming the money makes sense in whatever deal they'd sign in our hypothetical Thor vs SS scenario I guess I'd take Thor. Not a fan of Polanco at SS, but I think the team is better with him at SS and Thor on the mound next year than a big name SS and lesser pitcher. But would be good with either option, assuming the money makes sense. But I'm also a believer that Lewis makes his debut next year and is our future SS.

[TheLeviathan]

You open the checkbook for the hitter.  Your pitching needs to be a pipeline as a mid-market team.  Pay the dudes in FA who are on the field 150 times.  It's the more reliable investment.

[mike8791]

It all depends on real intent of ownership/FO.  Pohlad and Falvey have both stated they're not in rebuild mode, indicating their committed to being "competitive" again in 2022.  To do this, top priority must be acquisition of a pitcher who can slot in above Maeda.  A guy like Thor(there really isn't any other FA who has his combination of youth and potential) fits the bill.  Yes, he's a risk, but that's a risk this FO should be willing to take if they truly aim for contention in the next couple years.  

This need for a top-of-the-rotation starter is much greater than for one of the premier FA SSs.  While not ideal, either Simmons or Polanco would fill the bill until one of the prospects emerges.  The same cannot be said about any of our pitching prospects emerging as a #1 starter in at least the next couple of years.  Yes, it is possible, but a longshot(the Twins highest ranked pitcher post-deadline is Balozavic at #89 on MLB's top 100 list, and he is the only Twins pitcher on this list.).

Addition of a FA like Thor, together with resigning Pineda or (much better) a trade for an emerging starter whose floor would be a #2 or 3 would be a good starting point for the 2022 Twins.  With a bounty of MIs and pitching talent in the upper minors, the FO should be able to pry such a promising talent away from a non-contending club(Miami would be a good starting point).  Two strong late-inning relievers should be added from the FA class, as well.  With at least $50MM available to spend in 2022, these acquisitions are eminently doable.  It would be a nice bonus to add one of the top FA SSs, too, but with this club's history of  conservative spending, that is highly unlikely to occur, especially if they commit to resigning Buxton - a move that is an absolute necessity for this team to be realistic contenders over the next 2 years.  Can the FO get smarter and more open to bold moves this offseason?  The answer to those questions will likely be the best indicators of managwement's real commitment to a quick turnaround.

[Rosterman]

If Sundergaard would accept a obe-year deal, he would take the qualifying offer and use that season to not only have a grat paycheck, but be playing for free agency bigtime. The Mets would hope he would excel in his play, if need be he could play as a trade chip. So I would count him out if he is offered a QO. I don't see any team paying $100 million for three weeks out of the pen at this season's end. If the Mets don't offer, than he is fair game.

 

I want to see more of Miranda, now. If he can play third, Polanco at short and Arraez at second. I want to see how BAD it might be in the infield. Please, front office. Especially if you are playing Rooker in the outfield (who not also first base) and Donaldson seems to be the DH - which would be a luxury to have a DH who could also play third if need be.

 

I'm also hoping we see Strotman, Balazovic and Ryan for at least 3-4 starts each. Go with the six man rotation or pair up a couple of guys to keep Barnes and Ober innings down.

 

Quite frankly, I see the Twins going cheap in 2022. Unless they take the plunge and get a first-rate closer. And one would only come here if they think the young team could win, so we probably will have Rogers again, or a "project" arm.

 

I'm not averse to the young and exciting Twins. My worries are people like Sano and Kepler who have fallen, and if Jeffers and Larnach can improve drastically. Average and all seems down across the majors, so we aren't cringing as much as we should of a lineup that can't go 1 for 4 in game.

[bean5302]

Syndergaard becomes a free agent without a QO is about 1% right now. The only thing which would prevent it from happening if the Mets think they can sign him for less than the QO. Honestly, Syndergaard would have to get hurt or pitch terribly for any chance the Mets would risk it. It's more likely the Mets lock Syndergaard up long term before the end of the year to prevent him from hitting free agency in the next several years. Make no mistake, the Mets want Syndergaard on the roster 100% next year and they absolutely want to extend him.

[chpettit19]

2 hours ago, TheLeviathan said:

You open the checkbook for the hitter.  Your pitching needs to be a pipeline as a mid-market team.  Pay the dudes in FA who are on the field 150 times.  It's the more reliable investment.

The "pitcher plays 33 games vs position player plays 150" idea has always been an interesting thought exercise for me. So I looked up some info (incredibly imperfect, but gets us some general info). 

I went with Thor and Javy Baez (I think he'll be cheapest SS thus most likely Twins target of the 5).

Thor's best year he faced 825 batters (32 starts). Imperfect, but gives us an idea of how many "events" he impacted on the field.

Baez's best year he had 645 PAs and 654 "chances" (PO + A + E) in the field. Imperfect, but gives us an idea of how many "events" he impacted on the field.

So it's Thor 825 to Baez 1299.

This is an imperfect way to measure this, but I think it gives us a frame of reference when debating pitcher vs position player impact. I think it shows how valuable/important shortstops are in that they impact so many plays on the field each year. In contrast Mike Trout has maxed out at 435 "chances." That's over 200 fewer opportunities to impact the game in the field. Obviously there's more factors like the positioning of other players (Buxton, for example, allows you to play your corners closer to the line) based on the range of your fielder, etc. but it's still an interesting look. And Trout had almost 700 PAs that year (he had 7.03 PAs+Chances/game in 2015, Baez had 8.11 in 2018).

All this to say that I change my vote and signing one of the SSs would be my move. They just impact the game more. Again, with the caveat that the money makes sense.

[Mike Sixel]

Arraez and polanco out of position? Yikes. We already know polanco is bad at short. Why would people think this is a good idea?

[nicksaviking]

I'll take the shortstop; but I think they're still going to need to shell out for a Ray/Syndergaard/Rodon next year too.

I'd guess they'd prefer a short term deal for a Scherzer/Verlander/Greinke, but those guys already made their money; they can pick where they want to play based off of winning/location preferences.

Looking at the 2022-23 free agent pitchers. Jose Berrios was smart, he's almost certainly going to be the top free agent pitcher. deGrom may make more per year but he'll be 35. After those two, pickings are slim.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/08/2022-23-mlb-free-agents.html

If the Twins don't get a front line starter in free agency this winter, they won't get one the following year either. I still prefer trades, but it's going to be hard to get other teams to listen on elite pitchers. If this isn't addressed there's no reason not to rebuild if they don't plan on fielding a rotation to rival the top clubs in the league for the next two years.

 

[Major League Ready]

3 hours ago, mike8791 said:

It all depends on real intent of ownership/FO.  Pohlad and Falvey have both stated they're not in rebuild mode, indicating their committed to being "competitive" again in 2022.  To do this, top priority must be acquisition of a pitcher who can slot in above Maeda.  A guy like Thor(there really isn't any other FA who has his combination of youth and potential) fits the bill.  Yes, he's a risk, but that's a risk this FO should be willing to take if they truly aim for contention in the next couple years.  

This need for a top-of-the-rotation starter is much greater than for one of the premier FA SSs.  While not ideal, either Simmons or Polanco would fill the bill until one of the prospects emerges.  The same cannot be said about any of our pitching prospects emerging as a #1 starter in at least the next couple of years.  Yes, it is possible, but a longshot(the Twins highest ranked pitcher post-deadline is Balozavic at #89 on MLB's top 100 list, and he is the only Twins pitcher on this list.).

Addition of a FA like Thor, together with resigning Pineda or (much better) a trade for an emerging starter whose floor would be a #2 or 3 would be a good starting point for the 2022 Twins.  With a bounty of MIs and pitching talent in the upper minors, the FO should be able to pry such a promising talent away from a non-contending club(Miami would be a good starting point).  Two strong late-inning relievers should be added from the FA class, as well.  With at least $50MM available to spend in 2022, these acquisitions are eminently doable.  It would be a nice bonus to add one of the top FA SSs, too, but with this club's history of  conservative spending, that is highly unlikely to occur, especially if they commit to resigning Buxton - a move that is an absolute necessity for this team to be realistic contenders over the next 2 years.  Can the FO get smarter and more open to bold moves this offseason?  The answer to those questions will likely be the best indicators of managwement's real commitment to a quick turnaround.

Not being in "rebuild"  suggests not trading away established players with multiple (3+) years of control does like Chicago did a few years ago.  It does not dictate a strategy solely focused on 2022.  Some fans are going to take that crumb of information and turn it into they were lied to when the FO does not follow an all-in strategy.

[tony&rodney]

The Twins have the money to sign both. If they hope to be an above .500 team next year they need two pitchers and a shortstop. While they can "get by" (maybe) with Inglesias, it would be nice to sign a good shortstop. In any event, Big Mike is not a solution and Kenta Maeda is best termed a #3 spot for a rotation. If Pineda is signed he becomes a #4 pitcher. Through trade and/or free agency the Twins need two pitchers to top the rotation.

[Mike Sixel]

41 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

I'll take the shortstop; but I think they're still going to need to shell out for a Ray/Syndergaard/Rodon next year too.

I'd guess they'd prefer a short term deal for a Scherzer/Verlander/Greinke, but those guys already made their money; they can pick where they want to play based off of winning/location preferences.

Looking at the 2022-23 free agent pitchers. Jose Berrios was smart, he's almost certainly going to be the top free agent pitcher. deGrom may make more per year but he'll be 35. After those two, pickings are slim.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/08/2022-23-mlb-free-agents.html

If the Twins don't get a front line starter in free agency this winter, they won't get one the following year either. I still prefer trades, but it's going to be hard to get other teams to listen on elite pitchers. If this isn't addressed there's no reason not to rebuild if they don't plan on fielding a rotation to rival the top clubs in the league for the next two years.

 

Yup....if you wait until the ONE YEAR...they aren't always there.

Looking at the bad teams, not sure who the Twins can even trade for this year.....

I do agree, if they aren't even going to get at least one great pitcher, just punt the year.

[mike8791]

"not being in "rebuild" suggests not trading away established players with multiple (3+) years of control does like Chicago did a few years ago. It does not dictate a strategy solely focused on 2022. Some fans are going to take that crumb of information and turn it into they were lied to when the FO does not follow an all-in strategy."

What does "not trading away established players" have to do with adding needing pitching in 2022?  Are you suggesting that FO doesn't need to acquire top end pitching this offseason to be in contention in 2022?  No one is suggesting blowing up this roster this offseason, nor should 2022 be the only focus.  Your argument misses the point here!

[nicksaviking]

1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

Yup....if you wait until the ONE YEAR...they aren't always there.

Looking at the bad teams, not sure who the Twins can even trade for this year.....

I do agree, if they aren't even going to get at least one great pitcher, just punt the year.

Doesn’t always have to be a bad team. The Dodgers and Rays weren’t.

Though if they’re serious about competing, they better be confident that they get another career year out of their next trade target too.

[TheLeviathan]

4 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Yup....if you wait until the ONE YEAR...they aren't always there.

Looking at the bad teams, not sure who the Twins can even trade for this year.....

I do agree, if they aren't even going to get at least one great pitcher, just punt the year.

I'd make a play for Zac Gallen.  I think you can get Jon Gray at a decent FA price as well.  

You could spend 50M (ish) and land Seager and Gray and then trade a couple pieces for Gallen and have a MUCH better team.  I think that's reasonable in price and very doable.

[Mike Sixel]

9 minutes ago, TheLeviathan said:

I'd make a play for Zac Gallen.  I think you can get Jon Gray at a decent FA price as well.  

You could spend 50M (ish) and land Seager and Gray and then trade a couple pieces for Gallen and have a MUCH better team.  I think that's reasonable in price and very doable.

Gallen or Means.... Probably realistic targets. Neither is a one, maybe not a two.....

[TheLeviathan]

3 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Gallen or Means.... Probably realistic targets. Neither is a one, maybe not a two.....

Yeah, probably 2s.  But Gallen might have upside to be more than that.  He's had some arm issues, but that dude is talented.

[LA Vikes Fan]

7 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Arraez and polanco out of position? Yikes. We already know polanco is bad at short. Why would people think this is a good idea?

And he’s not bad at second. Polanco may be a top 5-10 second baseman when you combine his bat and glove. Lets not mess with that. Let’s build around that. 

[chpettit19]

11 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Gallen or Means.... Probably realistic targets. Neither is a one, maybe not a two.....

Not sure those are realistic targets. Both those teams are bad, but the O's have refused to trade Trey Mancini for years and he's going to be 30 in his last year of control next year. Means has 3 years of control left and Gallen has 4. Those types of pitchers are rarely traded. Blake Snell was just traded with 3 years of an extension left, but you really don't see teams trade #2 pitchers with 3 arb years left, let alone someone like Gallen who will make about 700k next year then have 3 arb years (assuming new CBA doesn't change things a bunch). So I'd agree they're the types of guys the Twins should want they're not really realistic. Teams just don't trade those kinds of guys and both of those teams have said as recently as this year that they're not trading them.

[TopGunn#22]

This is the task of the FO this off season:

1.  Sign Buxton to an extension.  With his injury history but also his potential, he and the twins should be able to come to a mutually satisfying agreement.  If we trade him, we will not get close to his true value.  Heck, as I've stated before, MLB trade Values has Kepler at 30.4 and Buxton at about 25.0.  Come on.  The Twins clearly ended up valuing Buxton more than Berrios going forward, so with their best pitcher now a Blue Jay, the FO certainly must be planning how to set up a competitive pitching staff for 2022 and beyond.  And look, anytime the Twins have been competitive, in the pennant mix, it's been because they pitched.  No matter how good their hitting was.

As usual, my thoughts align pretty closely with Mike Sixel and Tony&Rodney, but I must point out that Leviathan added Jon Gray and Zac Gallen to the list of potential targets.  The Twins have a TON of talented minor league pitchers, some of whom need to get healthy.  That's why it's always good to have a LOT.  Injuries happen and depth is necessary.  While Thor intrigues me I see the Mets offering a QO and Thor accepting to build his value back up.  If the Twins were in the same position with Thor we'd be doing that.  I can't see the Giants letting Gausman slip away but I'd be looking at him.  I'd look at Stroman.   John Means and Sandy Alcantra are a couple of trade options.  Carlos Rodon is certainly someone I'd look at.  And I've also been advocating for two "good" BP arms.  One a "closer" (Rosenthal/Yates types) and another solid arm.  Some of our up and coming arms could be lower leverage RP's while we get their feet wet while just as an example we have Rosenthal to close, and Rogers and BP signing #2 as well as Duffey to handle the 6th, 7th & 8th.  I'd be kind of underwhelmed with bringing Pineda back, but at least he's a better option than Shoemaker or Happ (have you guys noticed how well Happ is pitching for the Cards??).  

A better SS would be nice.  But to compete, after locking up Buxton, I invest most of my money into pitching.  Jose Iglesias or Freddy Galvis could hold down the fort for a year.  If Baez could be had for $12-$15 million a year, I'd consider it.  His glove is fantastic.  He's durable, hits with power and can run a little.  He just strikes out waaay too much and he'd be hitting in the vicinity of Sano.  Talk about rally killers.  But I also wholeheartedly agree with those who want to see Miranda up here playing 3B.  I want to see Ryan, Strotman and Balazovic in that 6-man rotation.  I'd like to see Austin Martin if we'd allow it.  The FO needs to get a look at these guys on a major league diamond to get just a sense of what they may or may not have.  

I think the Twins could compete in 2022.  They certainly should be better than this season's version that the FO put together and Rocco has underwhelmed with.  These guys were all hired by the Pohlad's to bring "sustained excellence" to the franchise.  We don't have anything near that right now.  Guys like Kepler and Sano haven't "grown" they've regressed.  Obvious areas like the pitching staff have been completely messed up.  The FO and Rocco have dug themselves a hole and the Pohlad's should be demanding better.  It's also incumbent on the Pohlad's to offer the FO the resources to CORRECT the situation.  That's what smart businesses do.  But the leash for Falvey/Levine and Rocco should be short.  2022 must show significant improvement or a different regime may need to be brought in to set a new course for 2023 and beyond.   

[Otto von Ballpark]

21 hours ago, bean5302 said:

Noah Syndergaard may well not become a free agent. The Mets are going to give him a QO and depending on whether or not he plays, his velocity if he plays and how effective he is, there's a fair likelihood he'd take it just to rebuild value and get the QO off the table forever. Syndergaard is reported as throwing mid 90s yesterday. If he pushes back up to 97-98, and does well in his return to MLB in a couple weeks out the pen, he'll likely decline the QO and seek a long term contract. He'll get at least 5 years $125MM from somebody in that case, but likely more. The Twins won't do it.

Good point about the qualifying offer. If Syndergaard takes a one-year deal, it's very likely back to the Mets on a QO.

And I think him accepting a QO is a pretty likely outcome, even if he comes back and throws well out of the pen to finish the season. I tend to doubt he'll get 5/125 in that case -- that would be unprecedented, given the amount of time he has missed immediately leading up to this offseason (and the questions about his performance during 2019).

[Otto von Ballpark]

MLBTR has a nice list of potential FAs this offseason:

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/11/2021-22-mlb-free-agents.html

It's not a star-studded class of SP, but there are still a lot of interesting names that shouldn't break the bank.

[Number3]

Teams that go the FA route don't have to make decisions between who they might be able to get the following year. The Dodgers grabbed Sherzer and Turner from the Nats in one fell swoop just to plug some gaps. Twins must win with their own talent and selective trades. See Tampa Rays, Cardinals and a few others. High priced FAs would ruin the locker room. "Here I come to save the day" won't work unless you sign a bunch of supermen as a normal way of doing business.

[Dodecahedron]

22 hours ago, Alex Wilde said:

There has been quite a bit of discussion on this site about ... Noah Syndergaard 

Yes there has.  Make it stop!

[bean5302]

1 hour ago, Otto von Ballpark said:

...I tend to doubt he'll get 5/125 in that case -- that would be unprecedented, given the amount of time he has missed immediately leading up to this offseason (and the questions about his performance during 2019).

I can understand where you're coming from. I present Yu Darvish. Which one would you rather have? Darvish (31) circa 2018 or Syndergaard (26) circa 2022? There are no real questions about Syndergaard's 2019 IMO. 3.38 xERA, 3.60 FIP. His "ERA" makes no sense.

[Brandon]

2 hours ago, TopGunn#22 said:

This is the task of the FO this off season:

1.  Sign Buxton to an extension.  With his injury history but also his potential, he and the twins should be able to come to a mutually satisfying agreement.  If we trade him, we will not get close to his true value.  Heck, as I've stated before, MLB trade Values has Kepler at 30.4 and Buxton at about 25.0.  Come on.  The Twins clearly ended up valuing Buxton more than Berrios going forward, so with their best pitcher now a Blue Jay, the FO certainly must be planning how to set up a competitive pitching staff for 2022 and beyond.  And look, anytime the Twins have been competitive, in the pennant mix, it's been because they pitched.  No matter how good their hitting was.

As usual, my thoughts align pretty closely with Mike Sixel and Tony&Rodney, but I must point out that Leviathan added Jon Gray and Zac Gallen to the list of potential targets.  The Twins have a TON of talented minor league pitchers, some of whom need to get healthy.  That's why it's always good to have a LOT.  Injuries happen and depth is necessary.  While Thor intrigues me I see the Mets offering a QO and Thor accepting to build his value back up.  If the Twins were in the same position with Thor we'd be doing that.  I can't see the Giants letting Gausman slip away but I'd be looking at him.  I'd look at Stroman.   John Means and Sandy Alcantra are a couple of trade options.  Carlos Rodon is certainly someone I'd look at.  And I've also been advocating for two "good" BP arms.  One a "closer" (Rosenthal/Yates types) and another solid arm.  Some of our up and coming arms could be lower leverage RP's while we get their feet wet while just as an example we have Rosenthal to close, and Rogers and BP signing #2 as well as Duffey to handle the 6th, 7th & 8th.  I'd be kind of underwhelmed with bringing Pineda back, but at least he's a better option than Shoemaker or Happ (have you guys noticed how well Happ is pitching for the Cards??).  

A better SS would be nice.  But to compete, after locking up Buxton, I invest most of my money into pitching.  Jose Iglesias or Freddy Galvis could hold down the fort for a year.  If Baez could be had for $12-$15 million a year, I'd consider it.  His glove is fantastic.  He's durable, hits with power and can run a little.  He just strikes out waaay too much and he'd be hitting in the vicinity of Sano.  Talk about rally killers.  But I also wholeheartedly agree with those who want to see Miranda up here playing 3B.  I want to see Ryan, Strotman and Balazovic in that 6-man rotation.  I'd like to see Austin Martin if we'd allow it.  The FO needs to get a look at these guys on a major league diamond to get just a sense of what they may or may not have.  

I think the Twins could compete in 2022.  They certainly should be better than this season's version that the FO put together and Rocco has underwhelmed with.  These guys were all hired by the Pohlad's to bring "sustained excellence" to the franchise.  We don't have anything near that right now.  Guys like Kepler and Sano haven't "grown" they've regressed.  Obvious areas like the pitching staff have been completely messed up.  The FO and Rocco have dug themselves a hole and the Pohlad's should be demanding better.  It's also incumbent on the Pohlad's to offer the FO the resources to CORRECT the situation.  That's what smart businesses do.  But the leash for Falvey/Levine and Rocco should be short.  2022 must show significant improvement or a different regime may need to be brought in to set a new course for 2023 and beyond.   

If other factors are taken into consideration like a Buxton extension then this.

If its just an either or ? you sign the SS who can help on a daily basis.  not someone who pitches every 5th day and is more prone to long term injuries.

 

[LA Vikes Fan]

Pitching. We need pitching more than anything else. Period. We should spend our money on what we need. Yes, we need a SS too but we can get away with a Jose Iglesias/Freddy Galvis type, even Simmons again IF we improve our pitching. We shoudl have 30-40m to spend on FA contracts after re-sgining Buxton which is the first priority. I think it's a better move to spend 80-90% of that money on pitching.