No Significant Twins Winter Meeting News

[SteveLV]

Title says it all.  All kinds of news including trades and multiple signings, nothing involving our squad.

Color me disappointed.  It would be nice to be aggressive rather than passive once in a while.  It sorta worked (after a long and winding road) with Correa last year, but we are looking at leftovers once again Twins fans.

I hope this post ages poorly and something still happens, but I doubt it.

By the way, Fedde receives 2/$15M?????  He was nontendered by the Nat's 2 years ago, career ERA north of 5, and one year in Korea and he gets that deal.  Seems nonsensical....

[Cory Engelhardt]

I mean, the majority of baseball is saying the same thing right? 

I feel like the winter meetings were a much bigger deal before there was social media and everyone had zoom and cell phones. It's still a really nice job fair, but it's not really a thing anymore that teams have their only chance to meet face to face with other organizations or with players/agents like it used to be.

I'd imagine things pick up in the next 2 weeks, take a lull during the holidays and new years, and start again early-ish January, not just for the Twins but all teams. 

[ashbury]

Look at the nonsensical contracts being handed out. Why aren't we being aggressive too?

[Mike Sixel]

What? Almost nothing happened at the meetings. Almost no signings, few trades. IS this a real post? Seriously, I''m asking if this is a real post or a joke post? Because every baseball writer says the same thing....nothing happens at these meetings anymore hardly.

[nicksaviking]

Ohtani is holding up the whole league. That wasn't a criticism, just an observation.

Spring training is still over two months away, so there's really no rush outside of killing my boredom. And since there's only three free agents I have interest in, the few free agents who are signing just makes it more likely the Twins will swing some trades later.

Also, a disgraceful piece by Buster Olney about the Ohtani situation:

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39049998/shohei-ohtani-secret-free-agency-mlb-dodgers-blue-jays

Basically obtuse to the worst part of modern journalism. "I want to know everything, right now! How dare you keep information about your contract negotiations from me, I need to report on this immediately to stay relevant!"

[Mike Sixel]

2 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Ohtani is holding up the whole league. That wasn't a criticism, just an observation.

Spring training is still over two months away, so there's really no rush outside of killing my boredom. And since there's only three free agents I have interest in, the few free agents who are signing just makes it more likely the Twins will swing some trades later.

Also, a disgraceful piece by Buster Olney about the Ohtani situation:

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39049998/shohei-ohtani-secret-free-agency-mlb-dodgers-blue-jays

Basically obtuse to the worst part of modern journalism. "I want to know everything, right now! How dare you keep information about your contract negotiations from me, I need to report on this immediately to stay relevant!"

ya, these old guys are ridiculous. It's none of our business at all. 

[Parfigliano]

4 hours ago, SteveLV said:

Title says it all.  All kinds of news including trades and multiple signings, nothing involving our squad.

Color me disappointed.  It would be nice to be aggressive rather than passive once in a while.  It sorta worked (after a long and winding road) with Correa last year, but we are looking at leftovers once again Twins fans.

I hope this post ages poorly and something still happens, but I doubt it.

By the way, Fedde receives 2/$15M?????  He was nontendered by the Nat's 2 years ago, career ERA north of 5, and one year in Korea and he gets that deal.  Seems nonsensical....

Thats today's baseball

[chpettit19]

8 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Ohtani is holding up the whole league. That wasn't a criticism, just an observation.

Spring training is still over two months away, so there's really no rush outside of killing my boredom. And since there's only three free agents I have interest in, the few free agents who are signing just makes it more likely the Twins will swing some trades later.

Also, a disgraceful piece by Buster Olney about the Ohtani situation:

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39049998/shohei-ohtani-secret-free-agency-mlb-dodgers-blue-jays

Basically obtuse to the worst part of modern journalism. "I want to know everything, right now! How dare you keep information about your contract negotiations from me, I need to report on this immediately to stay relevant!"

 

6 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

ya, these old guys are ridiculous. It's none of our business at all. 

While I 90% agree with this idea about the secrecy of the Ohtani situation, baseball also has an offseason problem. They'll never be football who controls the headlines all year long, but "the hot stove" has become the "freezing stove with a couple flair ups here and there." Ohtani presented a very unique opportunity to grow excitement in the baseball offseason which would've been great for the sport as a whole. But I do agree that it's entirely his right to do things as quietly as he'd like and it's none of our business what's going on. But it's unfortunate for the sport as a whole that they can't drive more excitement between November and March/April.

[Mike Sixel]

Just now, chpettit19 said:

 

While I 90% agree with this idea about the secrecy of the Ohtani situation, baseball also has an offseason problem. They'll never be football who controls the headlines all year long, but "the hot stove" has become the "freezing stove with a couple flair ups here and there." Ohtani presented a very unique opportunity to grow excitement in the baseball offseason which would've been great for the sport as a whole. But I do agree that it's entirely his right to do things as quietly as he'd like and it's none of our business what's going on. But it's unfortunate for the sport as a whole that they can't drive more excitement between November and March/April.

Agreed MLB has an issue, ,but it's not the players' responsibility to fix it (as you say).

[Jocko87]

5 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Ohtani is holding up the whole league. That wasn't a criticism, just an observation.

Spring training is still over two months away, so there's really no rush outside of killing my boredom. And since there's only three free agents I have interest in, the few free agents who are signing just makes it more likely the Twins will swing some trades later.

Also, a disgraceful piece by Buster Olney about the Ohtani situation:

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39049998/shohei-ohtani-secret-free-agency-mlb-dodgers-blue-jays

Basically obtuse to the worst part of modern journalism. "I want to know everything, right now! How dare you keep information about your contract negotiations from me, I need to report on this immediately to stay relevant!"

I had heard about this piece but not read it until now. Holy crap what an ass. This is, as he alludes to, the single craziest free agent negotiation in the history of baseball certainly and even up there with some of the soccer stuff overseas.  How dare he not want to make a media spectacle of it.  It would only be downside for Ohtani.

To think he would uplift each city with a media tour as he broke their hearts is peak stupidity and selfishness. If he could explain how any of this helps Ohtani, I’d listen.  He wants it for himself but he’s saying the game and MLB. 

It goes back to the observation that most of the time these insiders are blindsided by anything major breaking because they are really just mouthpieces for teams and agents.  Ohtani said keep it quiet, what do you know, they are quiet. 

[Jocko87]

2 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

 

While I 90% agree with this idea about the secrecy of the Ohtani situation, baseball also has an offseason problem. They'll never be football who controls the headlines all year long, but "the hot stove" has become the "freezing stove with a couple flair ups here and there." Ohtani presented a very unique opportunity to grow excitement in the baseball offseason which would've been great for the sport as a whole. But I do agree that it's entirely his right to do things as quietly as he'd like and it's none of our business what's going on. But it's unfortunate for the sport as a whole that they can't drive more excitement between November and March/April.

I don’t know that they have an off-season problem. That’s most likely an opinion assigned by people like Onley that need the clicks.  I’m pretty confident they aren’t going to drive a lot of revenue for the sport but the ESPNs of the world will benefit.  In the new TV landscape that relationship will be different and it’s probably going to prove wise to not be beholden to your coverage overlords.

[nicksaviking]

13 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

 

While I 90% agree with this idea about the secrecy of the Ohtani situation, baseball also has an offseason problem. They'll never be football who controls the headlines all year long, but "the hot stove" has become the "freezing stove with a couple flair ups here and there." Ohtani presented a very unique opportunity to grow excitement in the baseball offseason which would've been great for the sport as a whole. But I do agree that it's entirely his right to do things as quietly as he'd like and it's none of our business what's going on. But it's unfortunate for the sport as a whole that they can't drive more excitement between November and March/April.

I'm putting that on the league though, not the players. If MLB wants to copy the NFL, it's the commissioner, the owners and when necessary the players union that need map out all the offseason events and artificially encourage the pomp and circumstance. 

NFL players don't do this, yet Olney did allude to LeBron James taking it upon himself to promote his decisions with his contracts. Uh, does Olney not remember that James got dragged across the coals every time he tried to make a show of him choosing his next home? He basically turned himself into a Kardashian and NBA fans HATED it. I'm sure the media loved it because it gave them all kinds of stories to write, but how would this help Ohtani?

[chpettit19]

9 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

I'm putting that on the league though, not the players. If MLB wants to copy the NFL, it's the commissioner, the owners and when necessary the players union that need map out all the offseason events and artificially encourage the pomp and circumstance. 

NFL players don't do this, yet Olney did allude to LeBron James taking it upon himself to promote his decisions with his contracts. Uh, does Olney not remember that James got dragged across the coals every time he tried to make a show of him choosing his next home? He basically turned himself into a Kardashian and NBA fans HATED it. I'm sure the media loved it because it gave them all kinds of stories to write, but how would this help Ohtani?

LeBron also got paid for that. It helped him personally a ton. These guys get dragged across the coals every time they do anything in the age of the internet. There's no winning the PR war as a professional athlete. NBA fans HATED it, and still tuned in. Just like people hate the Kardashians, but still tune in and have made them into billionaires. 

It's absolutely not on the players to fix the league's problem. Not saying it is. And that's why I said I 90%. But the league doing better also means the players do better. All we hear about these days in Twins Territory is how the TV model has died and now the Twins are screwed, but don't be mad at the Pohlads because other teams are going to be screwed and slash payroll, too. If that's actually true then it becomes a player's problem every bit as much as the league's problem because if revenues actually do go down because Ohtani and Trout and Betts and Freeman and so many other stars in baseball prefer to stay private then salaries go down.

I have absolutely no problem with Ohtani wanting to have this be private. And it's going to be fascinating to see if he picks the Dodgers after Roberts made things public. But Olney isn't totally off base about this being bad for the league. It is. Not Ohtani's job to fix that by any means, but it is bad for baseball. Both things can be true.

[chpettit19]

16 minutes ago, Jocko87 said:

I don’t know that they have an off-season problem. That’s most likely an opinion assigned by people like Onley that need the clicks.  I’m pretty confident they aren’t going to drive a lot of revenue for the sport but the ESPNs of the world will benefit.  In the new TV landscape that relationship will be different and it’s probably going to prove wise to not be beholden to your coverage overlords.

The NFL and NBA hold their drafts, and draft lottery in the NBA's case, during their offseasons. They have specific deadlines/timelines for free agency and contracts. They have a very specifically structured calendar to draw in as many fans, and drive as many clicks, as possible throughout the year. It keeps them in the national media headlines all year long. It's far better for their business than MLB who does their lottery on their own network, holds their draft mid-season (on their own network), and has 4 months where fans don't ever have a time to really lock in on their sport so it dies in the national media headlines.

Ohtani could've change that. Not his job to, but I'd bet the people in the league offices are pretty pissed he's choosing to do things this way. Those "coverage overlords" pay a pretty penny for these things. If not having coverage overlords is going to be a good thing for baseball I'm glad the Twins are at the front end of it and am excited to see these payrolls explode moving forward!

[nicksaviking]

42 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

ya, these old guys are ridiculous. It's none of our business at all. 

And you know what, maybe if Olney wants there to be grand promotional changes to MLB, he should also point fingers at his employer and rival sports networks. ESPN typically broadcasts ONE game a week, and it's usually the Dodgers, Yankees or Red Sox. They could at least have a game a day on ESPN 2, even if it was a day game. What else are they showing during the summer? Fox Sports, ESPN and CBS Sports are carried on pretty much all major live streaming services. If they had any intention of helping the game thrive, they could be bidding to put regional streaming games in front of nearly every home with no additional user charges, just like fans got with over-the-air broadcasts for decades.

Obviously owners would have to accept a reasonable offer, but I never hear of the actual nationwide sports networks, who already have the infrastructure in place, as an option.

[LewFordLives]

7 hours ago, SteveLV said:

By the way, Fedde receives 2/$15M?????  He was nontendered by the Nat's 2 years ago, career ERA north of 5, and one year in Korea and he gets that deal.  Seems nonsensical....

Especially when it involves the White Sox. They've indicated they are going into a rebuild, so why give that money to a guy who won't be around when they're competitive again?

[David Maro]

Ohtani this Ohtani that,there are what 25 teams who are not looking to sign him.Why are they waiting to see where he is going.He is a good DH who can't pitch next year.The Twins have holes at 1st,2nd and center.They also are in need of a SP as well as BP help.Maybe the FO are looking for the next Bundy.What happens if Buxton can't cover center.The idea of waiting until March every year is getting old.

[FlyingFinn]

9 minutes ago, David Maro said:

The Twins have holes at 1st,2nd and center.

Since when do the Twins have a hole at 2nd???

[Mike Sixel]

18 minutes ago, David Maro said:

Ohtani this Ohtani that,there are what 25 teams who are not looking to sign him.Why are they waiting to see where he is going.He is a good DH who can't pitch next year.The Twins have holes at 1st,2nd and center.They also are in need of a SP as well as BP help.Maybe the FO are looking for the next Bundy.What happens if Buxton can't cover center.The idea of waiting until March every year is getting old.

I'm guessing here....but other players are waiting for Ohtani to sign, so they can negotiate with the big spenders....which is holding all of them up.....

It isn't even middle of December.....and almost nothing has happened all over baseball....

[DJL44]

Sounds like there will be a TV contract announcement tomorrow

Target Field teases 'big announcement' for Thursday, possibly involving Twins - Sports Illustrated Minnesota Sports, News, Analysis, and More

[nicksaviking]

A TV deal seems like a weird one for Target Field Events to announce.

I think they've made a big deal every time they revamp one of the stadium bars. I'd guess it's something like that.

[tony&rodney]

Baseball is relatively unimportant in the offseason. I must admit here that I only really follow baseball and love all of the hot stove nonsense. Still, how many Twins Daily readers have yet to follow a single game of Vikings, Wolves, Wild, college football, NCAA basketball, etc.? The people who peer into TD are big baseball fans and even most of them manage to spend a fair amount of time with other sports. The wider audience across the country will glance over an article that covers the Juan Soto to Yankees trade with pretty much nonchalance. 

It's cold outside, even for those of you who walk around outside in shorts and a t-shirt because of the 40 degree weather. Baseball is in the background and that's ok. It means those of us who enjoy the speculation idiocy can think about our teams and goof around with the rosters. Others, who follow baseball and still peruse these sites can cough up their objections to any speculations as they check their fantasy football rosters. It's all good entertainment on these days of early afternoon sundowns, where a gin and tonic can faintly bring back for a brief moment the memory of summer. No significant news from the Winter Meetings in Nashville is still better than most of the news.

[tony&rodney]

11 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

A TV deal seems like a weird one for Target Field Events to announce.

I think they've made a big deal every time they revamp one of the stadium bars. I'd guess it's something like that.

They are going to drop the prices for beer by 50%.

[Craig Arko]

22 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Sounds like there will be a TV contract announcement tomorrow

Target Field teases 'big announcement' for Thursday, possibly involving Twins - Sports Illustrated Minnesota Sports, News, Analysis, and More

Looking at the video maybe they will be launching a satellite into orbit, so perhaps a Jim Thome guest appearance. 

[ashbury]

27 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Target Field teases 'big announcement' for Thursday, possibly involving Twins - Sports Illustrated Minnesota Sports, News, Analysis, and More

The long-rumored move to Nashville is happening.  Target Field will be taken apart and shipped on a fleet of flatbed trucks headed for Tennessee.

Ultimate impact on the Minnesota Twins still TBD.  They are looking at existing facilities in Anoka.

 

[nicksaviking]

2 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

They are going to drop the prices for beer by 50%.

You say that with no discernable sarcasm. Why would you do this to me?!?!

[David Maro]

Everyone is saying trade Polanco and Julien can't play 2nd.Do they really think Farmer is the answer at 2nd.And yes they may have help in St Paul,but that is not a given.As far as all the other big name players waiting on Ohtani to sign the Twins will not be signing any of them.

[Doctor Wu]

On 12/7/2023 at 6:29 AM, tony&rodney said:

No significant news from the Winter Meetings in Nashville is still better than most of the news

You said it! Most other national or international news nowadays is beyond depressing! Give me the boredom of the Rule 5 draft any day!

[Dave Borton]

On 12/6/2023 at 5:29 PM, tony&rodney said:

I must admit here that I only really follow baseball and love all of the hot stove nonsense. Still, how many Twins Daily readers have yet to follow a single game of Vikings, Wolves,

Well here is one. Have yet to see 1 football, basketball or hockey game. I do go to a Gophers volleyball game with my daughter on occasion. I checked the Gophers-Badgers after the game since my buds in WI bust my cajones and I want to feel the ax coming at them.

I have let go of other sports, one by one, since my high school sports involvement showed I definitely needed grades since my prowess on the court and fields wasn't going to command a full-boat ride to a Div I athletic scholarship (winks).

"Hot stove?" Not radiating much heat this Winter. I check MLB, the wires, and TD daily. When there is a signing of significance, I scour the contract. My interest in ball is as much from the business side as in the game. 

The NFL and NBA have taken their games and marketed to future generations.  Kids don't play ball anymore. The best athletes? They are on 100-yd fields and wooden courts.

30% of the  ballplayers under contract come from other countries. Why? Promotion, MLB didn't read the train's time schedule 50 years ago and the train left without her. MLB misses that same train every year. <Color me sad>.

 

 

[Major League Ready]

19 hours ago, David Maro said:

Everyone is saying trade Polanco and Julien can't play 2nd.Do they really think Farmer is the answer at 2nd.And yes they may have help in St Paul,but that is not a given.As far as all the other big name players waiting on Ohtani to sign the Twins will not be signing any of them.

Not everyone is saying this.  A few people saw him struggle at first and have chosen to completely ignored that he settled in and was pretty average at 2B.  The only way he gets traded is for a really good SP with 3 or more years of control.