The Minnesota Twins Didn’t Tear It All Down, At Least Not Yet

[h2oface]

12 hours ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

At this exact moment in time, there is truth to this article. However:
1) Chances of Lopez being traded in offseason - 80%
2) Chances of Ryan being traded in offseason - 85%
3) Chances of FA signing with contract value over $5m this offseason - 20%
4) Chances of salary savings being reinvested in team - negative 42%

If the team sold tomorrow, and a new owner came in ready to spend this offseason, then the Twins would be more on a 1-2 year rebuild track than a 3-5 year rebuild track. If the team is not sold, Ryan and Lopez get moved, than this team is arguably the second worst team in baseball ahead of the Rockies heading into 2026.
 

I know someone else who likes to make up odds and statistics out of thin air. You sure it isn’t 1500%?

[DocBauer]

Greg, I agree with you mostly in regard to a "tear down" not being 100% as of TODAY.

The key to 2026 and beyond is if a sale of the team goes through. Maybe it's just hope. Maybe it's just logic that a new owner would look at mostly clean books after the sale and decide to actually invest some $ in their new acquisition and keep Ryan and Lopez. They might even be smart enough to sign Ryan to an extension, realizing a top of the rotation SP is tough to find. 

ASSUMING new ownership, I think keeping Lopez and Ryan makes sense for their new investment. I would seriously doubt they want to continue a full tear down of said new investment. They'd really want to further p*ss of their already upset fan base? 

MAYBE it's being naive, but Buxton, Lewis, and Wallner REMAIN potentially really good offensive players. Keaschall is here to stay, Lee isn't done developing yet, Jeffers is a decent catcher and a good offensive one, and Rodriguez, Jenkins, Culpepper, and a couple other solid prospects are so tantalizing close to add!

Lopez, Ryan, Ober, Matthews, Festa, Sim, Abel, and too many to list offer up not only a solid rotation, but arms to just immediately place in the pen. MAYBE the Twins go a little old school and move arms to the pen who might move back to the rotation the way the Cardinals used to use rookies and other young arms. They might still sign a couple solid FA options for $, but not BIG $. Bringing back someone like Coulombe, for example, on a decent contract. Or two. Maybe Adams and Ohl...who I wonder might they might do as 1 IP only options...could be #7 and #8 options in the pen as 2-3 IP twice a week pen options. The smart thing might be a couple solid FA, and then just move SP options to the pen immediately and just tell them; "you want to stay at AAA, or do you want to be in the Majors"? 

But even then, even with Buck, Lewis, Wallner, Keaschall, and some young talent so close, there's still no way to win without a better offense. 

ASSUMING new owners that would recognize keeping the strength of the team intact was a good idea. And ASSUMING a couple FA would be signed of any sort of quality to help rebuild the pen, and a couple of the collection of ALL THESE ARMS were moved to the pen in a massive...but potentially good...rebuild happens. The offense still needs work because you can't just bet on everyone being healthy and productive, and every prospect working out.

So after adding a couple decent, solid, but not expensive arms to the pen, and moving the depth arms to the pen IMMEDIATELY vs keeping them all at AAA for depth, would they then take an under $100M payroll and ADD a couple of BATS?

And by adding, I'm not saying a new owner would make another Correa move. I doubt we get a new owner who is of the Vikings Wilf quality, much less Cohen of the Mets. But would they make a solid signing at 1B or DH, or maybe a corner OF who are quality players? Would they hand out a couple $15-18M 1-2-3yr deals for a couple of quality BATS to augment what's on hand, knowing they MIGHT be able to recoup some value via trades if/when Rodriguez, Jenkins, Culpepper, and others arrive over the next year or two?

The future of the Twins is in a dangerous and interesting precipice situation where they sell off MORE if a sale doesn't come through soon. And that's where a further teardown takes place from ownership who could care less. OR, IF the team is actually purchased soon, things look a little brighter if they keep what's on hand, spend a little $ to even bring the payroll back to $130-140M for 2026 and look to the future.

Part of me really wants to see what Falvey and company could do with a new owner who actually cares about their investment without being handcuffed. Part of me is so confused about any sort of obvious path the current FO has in mind...including confusion about a handful of very questionable trades at the deadline that I've already stated previously...that I'm fully ready for a NEW FO and direction. As long as it doesn't include a complete teardown.

 

[Doctor Wu]

The elephant in the room is the sale of the team. Will we have the same ownership in February or is there a chance we actually get new owners by then? My guess is that until the team is sold we are not going to see any/many more major transactions or free agent signings, other than a few minor pieces added. But I agree with the premise of the article; this flurry of trades the Twins made last week does not signal a complete teardown is at play. But ... things can change. 

[tony&rodney]

When I read the articles of Dan Hayes I'm left with the impression that it is always the other team that initiates trade conversations. The Twins don't seem to go after a player as much as react to offers and suggestions. While this may not be totally true we did read Falvey quotes about how various teams liked certain Twins guys and the deals went from there. 

Hopefully the Twins have a specific target when they negotiate trades of Ryan and Ober (Lopez if he is dealt too).

[NYCTK]

13 hours ago, h2oface said:

I know someone else who likes to make up odds and statistics out of thin air. You sure it isn’t 1500%?

That's no way to talk about the greatest high school baseball player in NY State history.