Enough Already! Let's Play Ball!

[Seth Stohs]

Everyone seems to want to talk about the Twins’ payroll. Wait! That’s not true. Is it? I can’t be the only one bored by the topic.

Tonight, the Twins will take on the Minnesota Gophers in an exhibition game. On Saturday, they start their official spring schedule. Wouldn't we much rather talk about, read about, or listen to baseball topics?

Disclaimer: It is perfectly fine to be a Twins fan who enjoys talking about topics like payroll. It is also perfectly fine to be a Twins fans who doesn't care about such things and wants to watch what should be a very exciting team get their season started. 

Image courtesy of William Parmeter

On Tuesday, Twins owner Joe Pohlad told WCCO radio that the payroll would not increase significantly from its current state other than potentially in a small (inexpensive) move. Would ownership consider signing one of the big four free agents remaining (Bellinger, Chapman, Montgomery, Snell) for $30 million, even for one year? Plainly, Pohlad said, “No.” 

As expected, Twins Twitter went crazy in response to Pohlad’s candid comments and had many questions. Frankly, I’ve had to stay off of The social media company formerly called Twitter, or at least I muted the term “payroll” from my page. It’s boring. The team was honest about the TV and payroll situations going back to the GM meetings in November. There are no real surprises here. There isn’t new information. We learned that the Twins re-upped with Bally’s for one year and hope to negotiate with other MLB teams next offseason. Yup. Same topic, different day. 

Twins media gathered around Twins shortstop Carlos Correa on Wednesday in Fort Myers. Two offseasons ago, he and his new agent (at that time), Scott Boras, reached out to the Twins, which led to the two sides agreeing on a three-year, $105 million deal with opt-outs that we all knew he would take. Last offseason, we certainly recall the wildness of the Correa situation. When the Giants and Mets decided to fear Correa’s medical information, the Twins were able to swoop in and sign him to a six-year, $200 million deal that could reach $285 million over 10 years if various options are picked up. Is he disappointed that the Twins have been so public and honest about reducing their payroll? 

Fortunately, the veteran is media savvy and provided an excellent response. “I think with the team that we have right now, we can compete against anyone, and you know, whatever business stuff they're going to do upstairs, that's their business. They understand the business way more than most players do. And there's a reason why they're doing that, which is way above my pay grade. I'm just getting paid to play baseball, but I do know one thing, and it's that I trust in this group of players. I trust in the young talent that we have. I trust in our farm system, and I trust that the product that we're going to put on the field is prepared to go out there and compete against anyone.”

Those are the words of an leader! 

And I agree with the veteran. And I think most of you agree. There’s no reason to believe that this roster can not only win the AL Central but win in the playoffs again, especially if they add at the trade deadline. 

Correa added, “So yeah, you always want to have guys with names and pedigrees and guys that have done it before, but at the same time, there’s a lot of young guys out there that can get the job done. And, we obviously trust them, the guys that we have in our farm system.” 

It took several years, but the work done and the money spent on player development over the past six or seven years is bearing fruit. More coaches. More technology. More coordinators. More video. More individualized plans. More velocity. We have seen successes with position players and pitchers in various roles. There are guys ready to move up, and I like the idea of trusting them. 

Anyway, here is a list of topics I would prefer to read about or listen to than payroll. 

1. Anything. 

Oh, you were looking for a longer list. Alright, here is a partial list of topics I would prefer to read about or listen to than talk of payroll. 

1. What kind of numbers can Royce Lewis produce if he can play in 150 games? (same question for Carlos Correa… and Byron Buxton… and Alex Kirilloff… and Trevor Larnach…) 
2. Is it just me, or is Bailey Ober incredibly underrated? Why aren’t we hearing anything about trying to lock him up for the next six or seven years? 
3. Will Edouard Julien get an opportunity to hit against more left-handed pitching to see if it’s something he can improve upon? It’s an area that he says he spent a lot of time on in the offseason. 
4. How excited can or should Twins fans be about the idea of Byron Buxton playing center field again in 2024?
5. I’ve seen a couple of the Gypsy Rose Blanchard movies, her interviews in jail, and a couple of interviews since her release. I’m tired of it (but I would rather watch more of it than hear more discussion about the Twins payroll). 
6. How solid is the Twins roster (on paper) that former top 100 prospects like Trevor Larnach, Jose Miranda, and Josh Winder will likely start the season in St. Paul? Louie Varland and Jorge Alcala could start the season with the Saints. 
7. You had me at Pablo! Pablo Lopez is a preseason favorite for the American League Cy Young Award. Can he find another level and a little more consistency? 
8. What will the limitations be for Chris Paddack as he returns from his second Tommy John surgery? Seeing him come back in the bullpen last fall was exciting. Can he (or will he be allowed to) reach 150 innings? 
9. Listen to Vlad Putin talk about Russia’s history with Ukraine for an hour. 
10. Speaking of returning from Tommy John surgery, what can we expect from Matt Canterino in 2024? What can we hope for from Matt Canterino in 2024? Can he be a bullpen option in the playoffs (like Varland in 2023)? 
11. While they are unlikely to be on the Opening Day roster, it will be exciting to see how quickly David Festa and Brooks Lee get to the big leagues in 2024 and what role they will play for the Twins down the stretch.
12. Listen to a presentation created for Rhodes Scholars about Real Analysis, Differential Equations, and other mathematical fundamentals. 
13. We saw what Carlos Correa can do when the games matter, but what kind of numbers is he capable of putting up playing on healthy feet? 
14. The back end of the Twins bullpen could be very good, with Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Caleb Thielbar, and Brock Stewart. They have added several veterans in an attempt to bolster the bullpen. How will Rocco Baldelli and Pete Maki utilize the bullpen in games, and how will Thad Levine and Derek Falvey utilize that depth and player options?
15. Who will be the Brock Stewart of 2023 in 2024? Which player (hitter or pitcher) will come up as a relative unknown, maybe a minor-league signing, and become a key cog on the Twins roster? 
16. Can Brock Stewart 2024 be as reliable as healthy Brock Stewart 2023 was? If healthy, he can dominate. The same is true for Jorge Alcala and Josh Staumont. 
17. I’d rather read about or listen to shows that talk about the Minnesota Vikings constantly during the offseason than hear more on the Twins payroll situation. 
18. Which Max Kepler will we see in 2024? Last July, Twins fans had given up and were entirely ready to move on from the German outfielder. Then his bat came to life, and he hit so well in the final months of the season that not only was it an easy decision for the Twins to pick up his option, but Keith Law wrote that he could have got $20 million a year for several years in free agency had the Twins declined the option. 
19. Who is the Twins #4 catcher right now? Last year, Christian Vazquez and Ryan Jeffers stayed healthy all season. That’s unusual. In the offseason, the Twins added Jair Camargo to the 40-man roster. The burly backstop can rake and does a solid job behind the plate. But what if they need a fourth catcher? Would they go with a veteran with a handful of games in the big leagues like Brian O’Keefe, or would they jump directly to their top catching prospect Patrick Winkel? Maybe Chris Williams would finally get a chance.
20. I think I’d rather take a course on colonoscopies. If it comes with labs... that's debatable.  
21. I’d rather have a conversation about what happens if Shane Bieber and Triston McKenzie stay healthy and Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams progress rather than suffer from sophomore slumps. 
22. It’d be great to read more stories about the Twins players or that games start on Friday. I can’t wait to read spring training play-by-play on Twitter. I want to see more video from bullpens. 
23. Derek Falvey and Thad Levine’s contracts are allegedly up at the end of 2024. Since they joined the organization, the team hasn’t officially announced their extensions (though news came out after the 2019 season that the two had signed five-year extensions to keep them through 2024). Have the Twins extended them already? Should they? If they’re lame-duck leaders, what does that mean? 
24. Will Bobby Witt, Jr. be the top player in the AL Central this year? Earlier this month, the shortstop signed an 11-year, $288.7 million (with opt-outs starting at Year 7 and options that could make it a 14-year deal. In addition, the Royals signed #3/#4 starters such as Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo and traded for Kyle Wright. They bolstered their bullpen with Nick Anderson, Chris Stratton, and Will Smith (who has won three World Series championships in the past three years with three different teams). Have they added enough to compete with Cleveland and Detroit for second in the AL Central in 2024? 

I could probably keep going, but since it’s 2024, maybe I’ll limit my list of topics I’d much rather be reading about or listening to than the Twins payroll. 

Sure, payroll is a topic. It has been and it should be. We’ve learned long ago that while payroll is a factor, “Baseball Decisions” are way more important. More important. Do we have to talk about it every day? 

I like baseball. Let’s talk about baseball.

Repeated Disclaimer: It is perfectly fine to be a Twins fan who enjoys talking about topics like payroll. It is also perfectly fine to be a Twins fans who doesn't care about such things and wants to watch what should be a very exciting team get their season started. 

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[CCHOF5yearstoolate]

Quote

 

Anyway, here is a list of topics I would prefer to read about or listen to than payroll. 

1.   Anything. 

 

Baseball is back, baby! I am beyond ready to talk about actual baseball, even if that's the prospect squad vs the Gophers.

As the great Ernie Banks would say, "Let's play two!"

[FlyingFinn]

Lots of great points and questions. I can only answer one of them right now - Chris Williams will not be/is not the Twins #4 catcher. If he's called up for that purpose, it's only until the veteran free agents plane hasn't landed yet. It's just not his major league position.

[Muppet]

Hell's yeah. 
Throw me on the small lump of fans that don't care about Sonny Gray or payroll. I'm more excited about this team than I was last year at this time. Last year was the first year I was excited about this team since Mauer and Morneau were coming off MVP seasons. 

This is the perfect time to think of every players ceilings and not their floors. We can replace Sonny Gray with Bailey Ober, Pablo Lopez, and Joe Ryan getting even better and Paddack and DeSclafani having successful returns from injury. The combo of Julien and Lewis remind me of a time when Barry Bonds and Bobby Bonilla or McGwire and Canseco were ready to define a team for years to come (though hopefully in the Twins case it works out much better in the end). The rest of the diamond is stacked. Really stacked. Not a single Gallo in the group. This is gonna be a great year. 

I'm gonna call it. Bailey Ober gets Cy Young votes this year. 

[Dave Borton]

1. Quote

   How excited can or should Twins fans be about the idea of Byron Buxton playing center field again in 2024?

   As tired as Seth is of payroll discussion, last year I became so tired of Buxton discussion and I just would skip the thread.
   
   I am still there. 

[In My La Z boy]

10 minutes ago, CCHOF5yearstoolate said:

Baseball is back, baby! I am beyond ready to talk about actual baseball, even if that's the prospect squad vs the Gophers.

As the great Ernie Banks would say, "Let's play two!"

Nailed it! I love this time of year. I am always optimistic. IF we get there best, there is no better trio than Buxton Correa and Lewis! I am enormously high on Paddock and if Ryan & Ober take another step forward we'll go very far. This is probably the best Bullpen we've ever had on paper, and I have always LOVED Santana. Plate discipline KING - reminds me of the Cruz signing. I love this team! Let's play ball 😀

[sweetmusicviola16]

19 minutes ago, CCHOF5yearstoolate said:

Baseball is back, baby! I am beyond ready to talk about actual baseball, even if that's the prospect squad vs the Gophers.

As the great Ernie Banks would say, "Let's play two!"

I saw that we were also playing Northeastern University today. So it really is, "Lets play two!"

[Brandon]

Lets have a deep dive discussion on the Twins payroll.  It will be great!

or ......

I am fine talking payroll.  I don't care for the bashing of ownership too much.  I also don't care what the payroll is if the Twins have a complete competitive team.  They do.  So, we should be wrapping up the payroll discussion for the offseason and the potential moves as well.  and get ready to see how this team does this year,  

[DJL44]

I think a lot of times we see the hot stove discussion too much during the season here (what will the roster look like in 2028?). Hot stove talk is a good way to pass time during the winter but during the season I like to see a lot more discussion of what is happening during the games, especially since I don't get to watch very many of them. For the game articles, tell me something I can't read in the box score.

[tony&rodney]

Can Julien prove that he was underrated by playing a full season productively?

[DJL44]

A lot of your 24 questions are also "hot stove" speculation. It's time to focus on scouting reports and spring training games.

I will bite on a couple. 

Bailey Ober is already "locked up" for the next 4 seasons until he's 31 years old. Do you really want to guarantee his ages 32-34 seasons right now?

Talking about players on other teams is fine. Baseball Think Factory died, and I don't have anywhere else I discuss players on other teams.

I'd still rather talk Twins payroll than hear one word about the Minnesota Vikings.

 

[Dave The Dastardly]

When are we going to have the obligatory discussion regarding the inaccessible TV viewing/blackout crap? Once we get that, Twins payroll, wildly speculative trade possibilities and inane statistics out of the way games will begin and we can start ripping the coaches and individual players' performance.

Baseball! Get to know it!

 

[PatPfund]

Man, I laughed so hard when I read the title, then found myself nodding 'yep' to all of it (well, maybe not 17). I'm also sick of PECOTA, ZIPS, projected win totals, predictions on this, that, or anything, and all the gorp that feeds us during the offseason.

This team is SO much better than they were a year ago (when they started with Gallo; IL-ed Kirilloff and Lewis; Ober, Wallner and Julien headed to the minors, and severely hobbled versions of Miranda, Correa, and Buxton). I just want the ball to roll out on green grass, take in the sights and sounds of the Greatest Game, watch the guys on the field, and see what really happens (instead of what some person/system predicts). Play ball!

[TwinsDr2021]

agreed Correa does sound like a leader, but also a guy that knows he is taking up around 25% of the payroll, can he really complain about payroll when he is making that much, I say no unless he was promised he would never be taking up that amount.

agree with DJL above why would the Twins lock up Ober, when they have him locked up for 4 more season, seem like a team trying to right the payroll wouldn't do.

As for most of the rest, I believe most have been talked about quite a bit, minus colonoscopies which I think doesn't meet the standards on this site.

[Whitey333]

I'm trying hard to be optimistic and not pessimistic about the upcoming season.  Like always the Twins propaganda machine pumps out hype and hope.  I am not excited about our starting and have questions about the bullpen.  I guess one big frustration is the continued philosophy of profits over fans.  Hence most of us cant even watch the games.  This is the 4th or 5th year of that.  The Twins were under no obligation to resign with Bally.  They could have opted for mor local tv and more viewers.  They chose money instead.  They signed for 85% of previous contract.  Instead of reinvesting in the on field product they decided to pocket the money.  They lie a lot

[Craig Arko]

I can find you some really good videos about Real Analysis and Differential Equations. 
 

But yup, let’s get going with In play, runs.

[Doctor Gast]

I know what you mean Seth. I'm ready for some progress reports from some of our players. But thinking about our #4 catcher wouldn't make me happy, thinking about what'd happen if Vazquez got hurt is bad enough.

[Jocko87]

Love it. Love it. Love it!

Happy to talk payroll after the season when we know how well their plan worked. I've been a staunch supporter of them this offseason and believe in the plan. Maybe the only contract I'd have liked to see would have been Soler but I can understand not doing it both from a financial and baseball standpoint.  If all the kids crash, we are in for a long few years regardless of the money spent. It's the player development that's put them in a position to ride this wave and they deserve credit for that.

24 minutes ago, Craig Arko said:

I can find you some really good videos about Real Analysis and Differential Equations. 
 

But yup, let’s get going with In play, runs.

Honestly, this is the one that caught my attention too. Nerd. 😂

[jimbo92107]

'Tis spring, and another bumper crop of special potatoes nestle just under the frozen loam, soon to be dug up, cleaned off, then lovingly carved into perfect spheres for baseball. Thousands and thousands of these tough little taters are harvested each year for our beloved national pastime. They are carved, dried, toasted, then carefully painted with plain red seams. The time-honored ritual begins anew. 

Down the road a piece, a grove of ash trees creaks in the wind, almost ready for the great lathes. Farther along, the forlorn lows of countless cattle announce the time of another harvest, which produces a million pounds of hamburger and hot dogs, along with leather for thousands of gloves, and twice as many cleats. 

The time has come. Pitchers and catchers have reported. Fielders are stretching and jogging. The Avengers have assembled. Baseball has returned to America. 

[South Dakota Tom]

58 minutes ago, Craig Arko said:

I can find you some really good videos about Real Analysis and Differential Equations. 
 

But yup, let’s get going with In play, runs.

"Jerry and Marge go Large"  with Bryan Cranston, Annette Benning, and Rainn Wilson.  It's on Amazon, Roku, and Paramount+. 

[IaBeanCounter]

1 hour ago, PatPfund said:

 

This team is SO much better than they were a year ago (when they started with Gallo; IL-ed Kirilloff and Lewis; Ober, Wallner and Julien headed to the minors, and severely hobbled versions of Miranda, Correa, and Buxton). I just want the ball to roll out on green grass, take in the sights and sounds of the Greatest Game, watch the guys on the field, and see what really happens (instead of what some person/system predicts). Play ball!

2023 Opening game starting lineup

Kepler, Correa, Buxton, Larnach, Miranda, Gordon, Gallo, Vazquez, Taylor.  In my opinion Taylor had a good year and Kepler was good for half of the year, the rest had disappointing years.  Its remarkable that the Twins held it together until reinforcements arrived.  

[mikelink45]

What a great topic. We need this topic. I love TD, but I was having a real hard time staying on board the last couple of months. All the speculation about. Should we trade for this guy or that guy as well as the payroll and are we paying enough?  It's tough when you have a site like this and have to fill it with something every day. Is the same problem with 24-hour a day newest networks have - sometimes you have to reach deep to come up with a column. So thank you! Seth. I like the voice of reason. 

[Gamblerssoftball]

Thank you, thank you!! I couldn't agree more about stopping payroll talk. Enough already, let's roll with this team. I'm very optimistic about the season ahead. 

[LastOnePicked]

Find someone who loves you the way Seth loves Twins baseball.

I personally enjoy payroll talk - and even trying to put a little pressure on boosting the roster through free agency - but I also value that there's some real optimism and appreciation for the team. I hope they meet your/our hopes.

[HerbieFan]

Preach Seth!

[ashbury]

3 hours ago, South Dakota Tom said:

"Jerry and Marge go Large"  with Bryan Cranston, Annette Benning, and Rainn Wilson.  It's on Amazon, Roku, and Paramount+. 

Never heard this story before, whatsoever.  Thanks!

[Shaitan]

lol at the phrase "above my pay grade" from a pro athlete

[akmanak]

I get the article, but I am glad the organization got this much pushback. The owners duped the fans into purchasing a new stadium and the only way management will understand that the fans are fed up is if they simply don't show up. 

 

The management wants us to emulate the Rays? How is their attendance? How about the Royals? How many fans filter into that stadium yearly?

[Linus]

I too am looking forward to baseball. But how hard is it to be a fan when you can’t watch?  Seth’s list doesn’t matter much when you are being asked to support a team you can’t watch. The Twins could have fixed it but chose money instead.