Spring Training Surprises

[Doctor Wu]

As we head into the month of March it looks the Twins are pretty much set to start the regular season. Not many, if any, position battles to think about. Or ... could there still be something else brewing? There have been SOME trades that occur during spring training, but it's rare that happens. What do others on this board think? Could there still be a surprise trade of some magnitude that happens before the season opens? 

[tony&rodney]

Falvey said he was done. He got all of his dream guys in the trades made this offseason. 

The bench is (mol) Vazquez, Santana, Farmer, and Margot. None of these guys are trade targets. Kirilloff has very low value at this point. Carlos and Byron have no trace deals. Castro doesn't have significant value to other teams. Would the Twins trade Jeffers, Julien, Lewis, or Wallner? Kepler has been on the block for two years.

So there is is a very close to zero chance the Twins are even thinking about trades. We can revisit this in November.

[Nashvilletwin]

3 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

Falvey said he was done. He got all of his dream guys in the trades made this offseason. 

The bench is (mol) Vazquez, Santana, Farmer, and Margot. None of these guys are trade targets. Kirilloff has very low value at this point. Carlos and Byron have no trace deals. Castro doesn't have significant value to other teams. Would the Twins trade Jeffers, Julien, Lewis, or Wallner? Kepler has been on the block for two years.

So there is is a very close to zero chance the Twins are even thinking about trades. We can revisit this in November.

I think you are right for the time being.  But given the depth at AAA, if this team is contending at the deadline, we shouldn’t rule out a Mahle type deal (hopefully it works out better this time).  Patience my friend. 

[tony&rodney]

27 minutes ago, Nashvilletwin said:

Patience my friend. 

I'm about as slow and patient as the species comes.

A trade can always happen, for sure. A Mahle or Jorge Lopez type trade is avoidable to some extent. We will all look around for any  interesting, possible, or needed additions in late July. I'm not really expecting anything. Until then the coast is clear.

[Doctor Wu]

I think some sort of trade in July is more likely, but I still wouldn't be totally shocked if something happens before the end of March. 

[Mike Sixel]

I think the surprise could be AK in AAA...

[nicksaviking]

On 2/29/2024 at 8:42 AM, tony&rodney said:

I'm about as slow and patient as the species comes.

A trade can always happen, for sure. A Mahle or Jorge Lopez type trade is avoidable to some extent. We will all look around for any  interesting, possible, or needed additions in late July. I'm not really expecting anything. Until then the coast is clear.

Right, those were the mid season trades. The Twins haven't done well there.

Off season trades on the other hand they have nailed. So if trading some time this season is cards, patience probably should only extend to opening day.

[tony&rodney]

3 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Off season trades on the other hand they have nailed.

I'm a hopeful Twins fan who likes to say they win the WS every year. Alas.

I looked back at my hopes that the Twins could trade Arraez, Larnach, Winder, and a ml'er for Pablo Lopez but backed off because I thought Miami would be crazy to trade PL and then shifted to variations of trades looking to acquire Cabrera and/or Luzardo. In January of 2023 JL was not as highly thought of as his is currently. Right now that PL-LA deal looks good for the Twins.

I'll admit that I was very frustrated by the big trade this offseason and believe the conversations and negotiations went counter to making the Twins a better team. We shall know more by November. I'm not screaming about it.

[nicksaviking]

12 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

I'm a hopeful Twins fan who likes to say they win the WS every year. Alas.

I looked back at my hopes that the Twins could trade Arraez, Larnach, Winder, and a ml'er for Pablo Lopez but backed off because I thought Miami would be crazy to trade PL and then shifted to variations of trades looking to acquire Cabrera and/or Luzardo. In January of 2023 JL was not as highly thought of as his is currently. Right now that PL-LA deal looks good for the Twins.

I'll admit that I was very frustrated by the big trade this offseason and believe the conversations and negotiations went counter to making the Twins a better team. We shall know more by November. I'm not screaming about it.

Yeah, I'm not screaming about the Polanco trade, it was fine, it just wasn't very impactful. I never expected Polanco to get the kind of player I desired all by himself, but I was hopeful the Twins would be the team adding in pieces in the trade to get the best player in return.

I still think that if they haven't already, the front office is going to realize pretty quickly here that having no players with options on the 26-man roster that actually should be optioned, is a pretty big issue. I'm no longer expecting them to make a trade, but I still think moving one of Wallner, Kepler, Julien or Kirilloff is still a realistic possibility.

And while I'd no longer put him in the above class of player, if all the outfielders ahead of him stay healthy and on the roster, I could see Larnach moved in a low key deal. 

[tony&rodney]

2 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Yeah, I'm not screaming about the Polanco trade, it was fine, it just wasn't very impactful. I never expected Polanco to get the kind of player I desired all by himself, but I was hopeful the Twins would be the team adding in pieces in the trade to get the best player in return.

I still think that if they haven't already, the front office is going to realize pretty quickly here that having no players with options on the 26-man roster that actually should be optioned, is a pretty big issue. I'm no longer expecting them to make a trade, but I still think moving one of Wallner, Kepler, Julien or Kirilloff is still a possibility.

And while I'd no longer put him in the above class of player, if all the outfielders ahead of him stay healthy and on the roster, I could see Larnach moved in a low key deal. 

Agree with all of the above. I would add, as a topic finished and thus not really worth further discussion, that Falvey had some options to be the team that added pieces but he balked and wasn't willing to hold out either. Maybe next time.

Have to feel a little sorry for Larnach because he doesn't have a role or avenue to play with the Twins (IMO). i wish they would just let him go.

[nicksaviking]

55 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

Agree with all of the above. I would add, as a topic finished and thus not really worth further discussion, that Falvey had some options to be the team that added pieces but he balked and wasn't willing to hold out either. Maybe next time.

Have to feel a little sorry for Larnach because he doesn't have a role or avenue to play with the Twins (IMO). i wish they would just let him go.

Yeah, at this point, I'd think a non-contending team would still probably be interested in rostering Larnach. Normally he'd seem like a player you'd get a decent-but-not-elite relief pitcher for, but the Twins clearly don't need more of that. I'm not really interested in prospects at this point, but the best you could probably do is get some non-40 man kid in A ball with promise, or maybe a pitching version Larnach. Someone who's falling from grace but still has one option. Another club's SWR maybe.

[JD-TWINS]

On 3/1/2024 at 9:52 AM, Mike Sixel said:

I think the surprise could be AK in AAA...

??????

He hit .270 with a .348 OBP and a 117 OPS+ in 2023……..unless he has some sort of mental breakdown he’s starting at 1B v. RH pitching ……70% of the games.

[Mike Sixel]

1 hour ago, JD-TWINS said:

??????

He hit .270 with a .348 OBP and a 117 OPS+ in 2023……..unless he has some sort of mental breakdown he’s starting at 1B v. RH pitching ……70% of the games.

Hence it would be a surprise. It's literally the only one I could think of. I don't expect it at all

[stringer bell]

1 hour ago, JD-TWINS said:

??????

He hit .270 with a .348 OBP and a 117 OPS+ in 2023……..unless he has some sort of mental breakdown he’s starting at 1B v. RH pitching ……70% of the games.

I expect Kirilloff will be the DH against right handed pitching pretty often, especially early in the season. That said, it would be a real surprise to see him optioned to start the season. 

[jkcarew]

Nothing more happening for the Twins…save for catastrophic ST injury to key player. So, let’s not go there.

I do think this is a very important year for Kirilloff. He needs to stay healthy and perform. He has yet to do both for anything close to a full season. If Lee is the near future at 2B, the clock is ticking on Kirilloff to grab 1B by the throat. If he doesn’t/can’t, his Twins future could start to look more Randy Bush-ish. (Not that a good team couldn’t use a Randy Bush…he’s got 2 WS rings. It just doesn’t lead to the pay day at free agency that Kirilloff probably still has in mind.)