Twins Daily Top 20 Minnesota Twins Prospects: #6 Andrew Morris, RHP

[Seth Stohs]

Unranked coming into the season, Andrew Morris has solidified himself as one of the Twins top pitching prospects going into the 2025 season. 

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge

Zebby Matthews was Twins Daily's #20 prospect coming into the 2024 season. He pitched at three minor-league levels (Cedar Rapids, Wichita, and St. Paul) before joining the Twins starting rotation in mid-August. Matthews was arguably the fastest-rising Twins prospect of 2024, and one of the highest climbers in all of affiliated baseball. 

However, there was another pitcher who started the season in the Kernels rotation who followed closely behind Matthews at each level. Andrew Morris started the season outside of the Twins Daily Top 20 prospect rankings, just one spot behind Matthews. 

Matthews was selected in the eighth round of the 2022 draft. Morris was the Twins' fourth-round pick in the same draft, out of Texas Tech. 

They both participated in a pre-draft college workout in mid-June that year. They both signed in Fort Myers on the same late-July day. They both made one appearance for the FCL Twins that season. Matthews made one appearance for the Mighty Mussels. Morris made an appearance for them in the playoffs. 

After one start in 2023, Morris went on the Injured List with some right bicep tendinitis, so he missed about six weeks before rejoining the Mussels in mid-May. At that time, Matthews was putting up video-game numbers for Fort Myers and was promoted to Cedar Rapids in late May. He spent the rest of the season with the Kernels. Morris was promoted to the Midwest League near the end of July and joined their rotation. They were both instrumental in bringing the Kernels their first Midwest League championship in over two decades.

Let's jump to 2024. Both of these pitchers start the season back in Cedar Rapids. The two pitchers dominated the competition and quickly moved up. Matthews moved up on May 6th. Morris moved up on May 21st.     

Again, both pitchers were dominant in Double-A. Matthews was promoted to Triple-A St. Paul on Jul. 19. Morris was promoted to the Saints on Aug. 13. That's the day that Matthews was called up to the big leagues, after Joe Ryan went on the injured list. Matthews made his debuts, recorded many firsts, and experienced the ups and downs of MLB. Seeing how these two work, it just might not be too long before Andrew Morris jumps up to the big leagues and gets to experience all those things. 

Background
Andrew Burke Morris was born in New York City on Sept. 1, 2001. He moved all over the place. Lived in Alaska for awhile. Spent his high school years in Colorado. He chose to attend Division II Colorado St. in Mesa. He was pitching fall ball games when he was still 16, since he is a year younger than his high school graduation class. After three solid years there (18-2), he transferred to Texas Tech where he went 8-2. The Twins made him their fourth-round pick in 2022. Signed him for $500,000, and I bet they remain completely thrilled to have made that selection. 

Some Basic Stats
Morris has put up some incredible numbers in the Twins' minor leagues the past two seasons. At Fort Myers in 2023, he went 3-1 with a 2.59 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. He moved up to Cedar Rapids and went 5-1 with a 3.28 ERA. In a combined 84 1/3 innings, he had 79 strikeouts and just 19 walks. 

In seven Kernels starts early this season, he went 3-1 with a 2.15 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. In 12 games for Wichita (10 starts), he went 6-3 with a save, a 1.90 ERA, and a 1.02 WHIP. With the Saints, he made seven starts to end his season. He went 1-1 with a 3.48 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. In 133 combined innings, he had 133 strikeouts and just 32 walks. Simply put, most years, he would run away with the Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Year award with those numbers. 

He spent a lot of 2024 in Matthews's shadow, and understandably so. But his performance, at three levels, didn't go unnoticed by Twins Daily writers, as he jumps up to become our sixth-ranked Twins prospect (and this writer's #4). Obviously the coaches and the front office noticed. They don't jump push players up unless they are deemed ready. Morris proved them right. 

The Stuff
I spent far too much time staring at Morris's Statcast data from his final three starts. I had too much to do to dig deeply into all seven of his Saints starts, so I decided to check out the last three games. Why? because by then, he was approaching 120 innings pitched and had to be tiring late in the season. Right? 

Well, I came away from that research incredibly impressed, and here are some reasons why. 

The Pitches
Morris primarily throws four pitches. He has a four-seam fastball, a slider, a change up and a curveball. Each pitch is unique, and there may even be a third breaking ball in there as well, which is obviously intriguing.

The Fastball - His fastball averages about 94 mph, but he throws it anywhere between 92 and 97. It is a pitch that rides in on a right-handed batter, so you can see why it might be a potentially great pitch used up above the zone. 

The Slider - He throws his slider almost as much as he throws his fastball. In fact, in one of the three games I reviewed, he threw nine more sliders than fastballs. His slider is intriguing to me because of the variance in its velocity. Of course, it should be noted that it is possible that a few calls each game give the wrong pitch type and may not always get corrected. But in each of his games, he slider came in anywhere from 82-92 mph. The slider gives about the same amount of horizontal break away from a right-handed hitter as the fastball moves toward them. Enough to keep the ball off of an opponent's barrel. 

The Curveball - Morris throws from a high, over-the-top release point. He is able to generate a lot of spin, and his slow curveball drops off of the proverbial table. He only threw 9-13 of these pitches in each of the three games I dug into. The velocity ranged from 73-77 mph But it is crazy how much drop it gets. 

Something In Between - I mentioned earlier that there just might be a third breaking ball potentially. I saw that because, as you look at his movement charts, the slider and curveball are joined by a pitch that has its own distinct area. This chart comes from his September 12th star in Columbus. There are three pockets of breaking pitches. Obviously the slow curve gets the -54+ drop (blue), but there are two different pockets deemed "sliders." Is one a cutter? Is one a slider that he just takes a little something off of, decreases the velo a couple of ticks, and gets 10-12 more inches of drop? 

The clusters thee are a bit too distinct (and the velocity gap a bit too big) to think of it as one pitch he's just tweaking, I think. When you look at the relationship between movement on the pitch and velocity, some of the mystery burns off.

It sure looks like he has what we'd generally call a cutter, sitting around 90 MPH and with much more lift than a slider usually has. Then, he has the true slider, which sits more like 83-85. That's exciting. If you consider them distinct, both of these pitches grade out really well. There were 196 pitchers who threw at least 80 cutters at Triple A, according to Baseball Prospectus. THey have pitch-modeling grades for that level, and Morris's cutter ranked seventh among them in PitchPro, which takes into account release point, velocity, movement, handedness, count, and location. There were a whopping 455 pitchers who threw at least 50 sliders, and Morris's ranked fourth. That suggests he could have two elite offerings packed into what we first thought was just one pitch tyoe.

The Changeup - In the final three games, Morris threw his changeup 14, 17 and then 10 times. The velocity of that pitch was between 85-91. Frankly, if there is a pitch that could use some work, it might be the changeup. Typically, you'd like to see at least an 8-10 mph lower velocity than the fastball. He is generally closer to maybe 4-6 mph slower than the fastball. If he can take just a little bit of velocity off of the changeup, it might be more of a swing-and-miss pitch and really keep a hitter off-balance. However, I am also very much intrigued by this pitch. Go back to the charts above and look how much arm-side run he gets on the changeup (green dots in the Baseball Savant image, purple in the one from TruMedia). 

The Mix - With this four- or five-pitch mix, I think Morris has a chance to be a big-league starter. He has enough velocity. He gets the movement needed to work his fastball up in the zone. He has, apparently, a slider and a cutter, and he can really keep a hitter guessing when he throws them a low-70s curveball. The changeup is arguably the pitch he can most work on, but it already has shown a ton of potential. How to use his pitch mix to his advantage will always be the question, and something to work each game to figure out with his catchers. 

The Release Point - This is the other thing from looking at the Statcast numbers that excites me about the potential of Andrew Morris. In looking at Morris's release point, it shows what pitchers and pitching coaches mean when they talk about tunneling. Morris releases his pitches over the top, and his point of release is within a small range. In other words, when the ball comes out of Morris's hand, the batter can't tell from the release point if he's going to get a 97-mph fastball or an 87-mph changeup or an 89-mph cutter or a 74-mph curveball. 

Control & Command - In Cedar Rapids, Morris struck out 27.9% of batters faced. In Wichita, the number dropped a bit, to 25.2% and in his time in St. Paul, he struck out 19.6% of batters. That is certainly to be expected as a young player moves up and starts facing much more experienced hitters. In addition, his walk rate jumped from 4.5% in Cedar Rapids, to 5.6% in Cedar Rapids, to 8.0% in St. Paul. 

In Cedar Rapids, he threw 71.1% strikes. In Wichita, that number fell to 67.1% strikes. In St. Paul, it was a still solid 67.2% strikes. He clearly has very good control and doesn't hurt himself with walks. If anything, it'll be a matter of cleaning up his command a bit. Being a bit more consistent with location inside or just outside the strike zone. 

What to Expect in 2025?
By pitching at three levels in 2024, including the highest minor-league level, Morris has put himself into consideration for a call-up at any point during the 2025 season. What the Twins do this offseason in terms of their pitching staff will be a huge factor. Will Pablo Lopez, Bailey Ober, and Joe Ryan all be back? Will the Twins trade Chris Paddack? Would they really move Griffin Jax into the rotation? Is Louie Varland going to the bullpen? Can Simeon Woods Richardson duplicate, or maybe even improve upon his 2024 rookie stats? Matthews and Brent Headrick will likely get opportunities to start. The Twins also just added Marco Raya and Travis Adams to their stable of potential starters that are already on the 40-man roster. 

That said, if Morris shows more improvement and starts out the season strong at Triple-A, he can force the Twins' hand a bit. And, I'm sure the Twins would love for him to make their decisions difficult! 

For much more Twins Daily content on Andrew Morris, click here. 

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[Rod Carews Birthday]

Morris definitely looks like a guy to get excited about.  I love the fact that he appears to have two “ready” off-speed pitches to augment a solid fastball and curve.  I’m less worried about the changeup, because isn’t that the thing that the Twins are supposed to be good at teaching?  

The question for me is what is the best answer for his development.  Do you let him pitch as long as possible in AAA in hopes of really solidifying his status, or do you get him to the majors fairly quickly so as not to “waste the bullets”?  I understand it’s impossible to know because there are examples of pitchers flourishing in both situations and also examples of pitchers failing.  I also know that it depends on his results at that level, but the question of when is key here. 

[Tom Froemming]

Awesome writeup! This guy is a bulldog, competes his tail off. I love watching him pitch. Tons of strikes, good tempo, pitches with emotion.

[LambchoP]

I think our starters need time in AAA to finish off their development and make sure their ready for the majors. Ideally, if we trade Paddack, we'd somehow sign or trade for a SP to put in the rotation somewhere so Festa, Mathews and Morris will have plenty of time in ST Paul to get themselves ready, with Festa probably being the first one called up. This is wishful thinking though. I'm guessing Festa will be our number 5 SP, with either Mathews or Morris being first in line for call ups 

[DJL44]

Lots to like, he's made huge progress in a short time.

[tony&rodney]

Morris is an uncomfortable plate appearance for hitters. He doesn't wow anyone with his velocity or make pitches where batters look totally foolish. Morris was a guy I tuned into early in 2024 to watch him pitch. What I saw was someone who totally controlled most of the opponents. Yes, there is a distinct slider and cutter variance. The delivery is what sets Morris apart from his peers though. The batter doesn't seem to pick up the pitches and as a result the contact is usually poor. Quite a few guys shake their heads after meekly making an out or wondering how they swung through a pitch. I'm thinking Morris just needs to continue working on his command and control which is already pretty good. At some point in 2025, we should all get to see how MLB batters fare versus Morris. I see all of Festa, Matthews, and Morris as solid MLB starting pitchers once they gain a little experience.

[rdehring]

Great report, Seth.  Heck, Fantastic, thanks.

Ober, Varland, Festa, Matthews, Morris, etc., etc., etc.  Have one question bouncing around my brain.  The Twins are doing something I don't recall they have ever done.  That's drafting and developing top notch starting pitching.  Lots of it.

Which is it, Seth?  Is it their scouting and finding these guys in the lower part of the top ten rounds of the draft?  Or is it their development of these arms?  Maybe it is a bit of both, but I am elated at how well management has been developing these kids.

[SF Twins Fan]

It'll be interesting to see if the Twins trade any of these pitchers.  They have four solid to good pitchers in the big-league rotation in Lopez, Ryan, Ober and SWR.  The Twins have 6 pitchers in Festa, Matthews, Morris, Lewis, Raya and Adams ready for AAA.  Add in Dobnak at AAA and Pierson Ohl and CJ Culpepper at AA the Twins have a lot of depth.

Obviously, some won't make it to the MLB, and some will move to the bullpen, but they will need rotation stops to start the season.  Can the Twins make a trade to help out the major league roster?

[DJL44]

10 minutes ago, SF Twins Fan said:

Can the Twins make a trade to help out the major league roster?

They should absolutely trade Chris Paddack to help the major league roster.

[rdehring]

31 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

They should absolutely trade Chris Paddack to help the major league roster.

Helps two-fold, DJL.  First, they should get something back.  And more important, if they unload most, or all of his salary they would have dollars to use for another need.

[jmlease1]

Morris is doing very well. I really like seeing so little variance in his splits between LH and RH hitters; so many prospects struggle with one side of the plate as they get to the high minors and so far Morris seems to be able to handle it with his variety of pitches.

He's been remarkably consistent so far as a pro; outside of that first stint at Cedar Rapids (where he gave up a lot of hits), his numbers at every level have looked pretty similar. If he can get his K/9 back up around 9 and bring the BB/9 back down closer to 2 than 3 while continuing to keep the ball in the park like he has, you have to like his chances. I'm impressed with how well he's done so quickly: he's gone from low A to AAA in 2 seasons and just turned 23 in September.

It'll be interesting to see where he falls on the pecking order as starters are inevitably needed in MLB. He has to be behind Festa and Matthews; both have had a taste of MLB and are on the 40-man. He might be more ready than Raya, but Raya is on the 40-man already so depending on how things are going injury-wise, that could keep him down longer?

I'd probably go Festa, Matthews, Morris, Lewis, Raya, Adams, Nowlin (if he stays) in terms of readiness, but Adams or Raya could jump ahead on the call to MLB in 2025 if there's a 40-man crunch. It sure does make it easier to move on from Paddack knowing that we have guys like Morris waiting in AAA.

[bean5302]

1 hour ago, rdehring said:

Helps two-fold, DJL.  First, they should get something back.  And more important, if they unload most, or all of his salary they would have dollars to use for another need.

Paddack probably has a little to quite a bit of negative value. The Twins are likely going to have to pay some of his salary or toss in a prospect to unload the $7.5MM.

I've seen quite a few posts suggesting top tier teams who don't have traditional salary limits can take Paddack on, and that's true, but they could just as easily take an actually good pitcher on. Even a team like the Yankees or Mets or Dodgers only has a 26 man active roster. They don't want to fill that roster up with guys who don't help get them to the playoffs. Those big market teams would rather have the Cardinals pay down $15MM total and spend it the $18MM AAV on Sonny Gray.  It's a totally different story taking a MiLB flier with an opt out on somebody. That costs nothing and doesn't hit the 40 or 26 man rosters.

[bean5302]

I'm cautiously optimistic about Morris being a back end rotation arm. If Morris can be super durable, he could be a Kyle Gibson type of 2 WAR starter as a ceiling. Eating a lot of innings, generating a lot of ground balls, not striking many out. I think that's his ceiling, not his average.

Morris' 7.22 K/9 and 2.94 BB/9, and 4.28 FIP in AAA doesn't project well to  MLB.

[Jocko87]

3 hours ago, Tom Froemming said:

Awesome writeup! This guy is a bulldog, competes his tail off. I love watching him pitch. Tons of strikes, good tempo, pitches with emotion.

Bulldog is the exact word I had in mind watching him as well.  I got to see him in person in Wichita on a night he had far from his best stuff.  Dude's got a bit of moxie.  Kinda reminded me of a Roy Oswalt.

Bulldog plays up. 

[HerbieFan]

Kids like this are why I think Jax needs to stay in the bullpen.

[Guest]

But the important fact we all are waiting breathlessly for is, does Morris have large hands....

[bean5302]

4 hours ago, HerbieFan said:

Kids like this are why I think Jax needs to stay in the bullpen.

I can't agree with that. The consideration of moving Jax to the rotation is about his ceiling as a potential upper rotation starter. That's not something you're likely to ever see out of a guy like Morris who is more likely to top out as a durable innings eater. Think more Nick Blackburn than Francisco Liriano.

[DocBauer]

Matthews is ahead of him at the moment, and deservedly so. But he's ahead also in experience...slightly...with Morris missing some time early in 2023, but he's also about a year and a half older than Morris. That's not to downgrade Matthews at all, but rather, to indicate potentially even more development from Morris.

Great tunneling, good contr, and 5 pitches is very intriguing. A little more time at AAA and a tweak to that change and he's probably ready for his ML debut. But let's hope there's no need until June/July for that to happen.

[Rod Carews Birthday]

1 hour ago, bean5302 said:

I can't agree with that. The consideration of moving Jax to the rotation is about his ceiling as a potential upper rotation starter. That's not something you're likely to ever see out of a guy like Morris who is more likely to top out as a durable innings eater. Think more Nick Blackburn than Francisco Liriano.

What is different about Jax now from when he was a starter?  Remember, you have to dial his velocity back down (probably), you need to rely on more different pitches (likely) and you have to build his innings back up (definitely).  Granted, he's had great success in the bullpen, but I'm not sure that he is any more of a potential upper rotation starter today than David Festa or Andrew Morris.  Jax moved to the bullpen because he wasn't very effective in the rotation.  That happened to a few other guys whose names we know also -- Glen Perkins, Joe Nathan, and plenty more.  Great starters make more money than great relievers, but bad starters wash out of the league without making any money at all.  I know the argument is that he can always go back to the bullpen. . . that is true, but does that experiment make the Twins a better team in 2025 and beyond?

[gman]

We have a good stable of young starters kicking the door in, but it seems like there are always people who want to bring in a "veteran" pitcher for a couple of years. I just don't get it. If I trade Paddock I would look for a pair of good relief arms to add to the pen.

[mikelink45]

Waiting to see - not that long ago Winder and Headrick seemed like good prospects with excellent futures. Then there was Balazovic who I was sure would be outstanding - is he now pitching in the Yukon?  Just kidding.  Before that we had others that have now disappeared like Gonsalves and Thorpe.  Glad to see the hype, just waiting to see the reality.

[Wizard11]

There seems to be some heavy discounting of the value of Chris Paddack.  $7.5mm is not a bad price for a 4th starter.  It would not be atypical for a pitcher in his 2nd season after TJ surgery to pitch well.  Paddack when healthy still has good stuff.  I mention this in an Andrew Morris article as he is at this point a prospect who is and should be no more than option 8 or 9 on the SP depth chart.  We all hope Morris as well as Festa, Matthews, and Raya emerge as legit SPs but IMO it is a bit early to jettison a vet like Paddack especially when his perceived value is low.

[Doctor Wu]

2 hours ago, Wizard11 said:

IMO it is a bit early to jettison a vet like Paddack especially when his perceived value is low.

I think so too. Many people seem eager to trade Paddack for salary relief and/or to get something interesting/usable in return, but I'd prefer to hang on to him this coming season and see if, like you suggested, he's fully healthy two years past the TJ surgery and can help to fortify the rotation. Prospects like Morris look like they may be able to help soon, but "soon" may be another year or two from now, and as bean5302 wrote, some of these guys may not be much better than the Nick Blackburn types we burned through over the past decade. 

[Jeff K]

23 hours ago, DJL44 said:

They should absolutely trade Chris Paddack to help the major league roster.

I won't argue with that...and Paddack makes too much to be a relief pitcher which he appears to be more suited for.

[TopGunn#22]

It certainly does look like the "pitching pipeline" is flowing.  And as a result, with some gaping holes in the Twins current roster, some of that pipeline should be used to get that "Catcher of the Future", a 1B, a RH hitting OF with some pop etc...

Paddack is an excellent trade chip.  I'm not sure where BBTV has his value pegged but at $7.5 million with his past success and now entering his 2nd season after Tommy John surgery, he's probably JUST what the Red Sox, Orioles, Dodgers etc...would be interested in.  Especially if a decent prospect was added in a deal, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect the acquiring team to pick up all $7.5 million.  

The Red Sox and Orioles only have about 2 SP's penciled in for their rotation at this time.  If the Twins are aggressive and dangle Paddack, SWR, and some other minor league arms they could make a bid for a Teel or a Westburg.  The Orioles especially are overflowing with prospects and can't possibly find playing time for everyone.  And they are desperate for arms.  Somebody is going to make a trade with them and acquire a good young player.  It may as well be the Twins.

I'm still intrigued at what Jax could become as a SP, especially after seeing what Seth Lugo and Reynaldo Lopez accomplished last year.  However, if Duran is made available in a trade (possibly to the Dodgers in a deal to bring back MLB ready catching prospect Dalton Rushing) then Jax becomes the closer and any experiment with rotation consideration ends.  

SWR, Festa, Matthews, Morris, Lewis, Raya, Adams, Nowlin. These 8 are already in the major leagues or at AAA in St. Paul.  Add Dobnak as a perennial St. Paul arm until his contract ends and you've got an abundance of arms.  Add to that the depth we have in the lower minors and the time is right to trade a couple of these guys to improve the major league roster.  

The Twins aren't going to want to have THREE 2nd year SP's in their 2025 rotation (SWR, Festa, Matthews).  I'd trade SWR while his value is highest.  I'd probably hang onto Festa (who I think is SP #5 in 2025) and Matthews and Morris.  But the other arms and some in the lower minors I'd be exploring potential deals to improve the big league club.  We tend to load up on pitchers in the draft after we select a couple hitters.  We can trade from this surplus and keep adding to it.  

One trade I'd be interested in pursuing would be with the Marlins.  Their catching situation is horrible.  I offer Vasquez, Julien and Gabe Gonzalez for former Cy Young winner coming back from Tommy John surgery, Sandy Alcantara.  He looks to be ready to start the season and he would probably emerge as our #1 SP.  In 2022, he signed a 5 year, $56 million dollar contract with the Marlins.  He's set to earn $17 million in 2025, so with all the young arms Miami has and their huge need at catcher they may be willing to move his $17 million dollar salary and take on all $10 million of Vasquez while adding a couple young bats.  Alcantara has a club option in 2027 and then is set to be a FA in 2028. That's 3 years the Twins would have control of his age 29, 30 and 31 year old seasons. 

If I move Vasquez and Paddack in separate deals that $17.5 million makes the Alcantara acquisition a wash.  Include Willi Castro $6.3 million and/or Jhoan Duran ($3.70) in a deal to get a Rushing or Teel at league minimum and the Twins are money ahead. 

The end result is that you could have a rotation of Alcantara, Lopez, Ryan, Ober and Festa for the next 3 years with a "Catcher of the Future" and Griffin Jax closing.  And somewhere in that 3 year window you would be adding E-Rod and Walker Jenkins to the lineup.

If I'm a buyer considering purchasing the Twins, I'm VERY HAPPY with that future outlook.  And that should make the greedy Pohlad family very happy as well. 

There is a lot of potential for the Twins FO to make lemonade out of lemons this off season.  And I believe the new look front office is auditioning for their jobs with new ownership on the horizon.  A little here and a little there on the fringes isn't going to change much and put the Twins back on the path of division dominance and playoff success.  It will take a detailed plan, with several contingencies should a move or two fall through.  But the potential is there to make effective and long term adjustments. 

[mikelink45]

I am really curious about our pitching pipeline.  How would they line up?  Lopez, Ober, Ryan are sure things, but below that.  Is Paddock really the next one or are we projecting because so far his acquisition has done nothing for me. 

It would seem that Richardson is number 4.  And it seems like the posts reflect that Festa is number five if Paddock is gone.

Then is it Matthew and Morris?  

Who behind them?  Is Raya that close?  Is Adams ready for RP or SP?

[tony&rodney]

53 minutes ago, TopGunn#22 said:

One trade I'd be interested in pursuing would be with the Marlins.  Their catching situation is horrible.  I offer Vasquez, Julien and Gabe Gonzalez for former Cy Young winner coming back from Tommy John surgery, Sandy Alcantara.

My roster called Take 2 included a trade for Sandy. I send different players, maybe more in value, but believe this deal can be done. I also want both of Teel and Quero. I would acquire Quero first because we match up with the Brewers.

[Steve Lein]

17 hours ago, bean5302 said:

I can't agree with that. The consideration of moving Jax to the rotation is about his ceiling as a potential upper rotation starter. That's not something you're likely to ever see out of a guy like Morris who is more likely to top out as a durable innings eater. Think more Nick Blackburn than Francisco Liriano.

If I had any reason to believe Jax could be as effective as a starter as he has been a reliever, I would agree with you. But this story has already played out in the opposite direction, so I have none.

Take 3-4 ticks off his fastball, a few inches of break off all his off-speed pitches, etc... and you're back to you're description of Morris here, which is hopefully a "durable innings eater" at the back of the rotation, instead of lock-down set-up man.

Edited November 21, 2024 by Steve Lein

[TopGunn#22]

tony&rodney, do you have to be a Caretaker to get your roster plan posted?  Mine was called "Shake Things Up" but I'm not seeing anything listed.  Has yours been posted?  I'd like to see how your trade differed with mine so I could compare.  Even if you gave a little more than I did, I'd be on board with your Alcantara trade as well.  I think a rotation of Alcantara, Lopez, Ryan, Ober and Festa would be the best the Twins would have in a long time.  To have that rotation in place for 2025, 2026 & 2027 before Alcantara's and Lopez's deals come to an end would be sound payroll strategy.

My plan had Luzardo as the target, but some of the pushback on Luzardo is good reasoning and with Alcantara's $17 million dollar 2025 salary vs Luzardo's $8.6 million, I think you could get Miami to take the entire $10 million of Vasquez if you attached the proper prospect capital to the deal.  Alcantara is clearly the better pitcher and has only had the one Tommy John in his history which he appears on track to recover from in time for spring training. 

If you could somehow get Teel or Rushing without having to give up Duran it would be even better.  I just don't see a deal without Duran getting either of those guys with the glaring need for a closer both in L.A. and Boston.   

[HrbieFan]

On 11/20/2024 at 9:29 AM, DJL44 said:

They should absolutely trade Chris Paddack to help the major league roster.

If they can't get a decent return, could he be a high end bullpen guy?  I am definitely listening to offers for Paddack, Ober, Ryan and SWR.  Of the 4, I'd prefer to move Paddack and SWR