Minnesota Twins Back to Selling Hope

[Bodie]

1 hour ago, Doctor Wu said:

Not having a consistent lineup MIGHT be part of the problem. I'm no analyst, so I can't pinpoint the main problems. But whatever the case, the Twins were not winning enough this season, so frankly I'm very happy about this sell-off, re-set, or whatever you want to call it. Bring up some prospects, try some new players. I'm looking forward to seeing new players on the field and on the mound. We have a long way to go obviously, but I have to say the I really do feel some hope for this team. I'll be following the Twins no matter what happens.

How about we rephrase the question...

What does it say about your roster when you don't even want to use a regular lineup?

A week ago Rocco had a roster where he had 2 positions that had "regulars".  One has a recent injury history that makes his availability a regular question and results that made me question if he was ever healthy since signing.   The second has a longer and even worse history of availability. 

I agree that regular production requires regular playing time.  But, this is a team that wanted to start the season with 2 IFs whose defense were both rock bottom in baseball. If (when) Bader wasn't in the lineup,  the outfield also had two of the worst defenders in baseball! 

It was an obvious (to me) recipe for failure.  That Falvey actually seemed pleased with his work is even more of in indictment of his professional abilities than even his outright failure in constructing the roster!

[Bodie]

13 hours ago, Craig Arko said:

Beats selling despair. 

Twinsdaily.com seems to think it is a viable business model...

[theBOMisthebomb]

"Hope" = no chance to win the World Series, be a legitimate contender to advance in the playoffs, and not relevant. This is a frustrating place as a serious fan after what happened in 2023 postseason and no World Series appearance since 1991. 

[farmerguychris]

20 hours ago, bloomwcjkl said:

We aren't a team that should have a $36 million player. Making the playoffs is our World Series. I'm good with that. Like winning the Division is the Vikings Super Bowl.

I call BS on this statement.  

If you're not trying to win it all - then whats the point of even trying at all?  The Pohlad family has an estimated net worth of 3.8Billion dollars.  They can afford it, and if they intentionally elect to put more money in their pockets instead of trying to make their customers (the fans) happy, then screw them.  

People say they need to run it like a business.  I don't agree with that, but say they did.  Facts are, they can lose millions of dollars a year from a profit standpoint, and they will STILL make money because the base value of the franchise increases so drastically.  

We have bad owners, plain and simple.  Why should we give them a pass because for 2 years they acted like they cared.  They signed Donaldson and then Correa to get to an AVERAGE payroll.  According to ranker.com - we have the 13th richest owner in mlb.  

They simply value money over their customers.  As much as I hate it, they have that right.  BUT - we can stop supporting them.  

A new owner can't get here fast enough for me, and I blame them more than anyone else for the collapse of where we were less than 2 years ago.

[jkcarew]

At least the future hope is real. Just hope, but honest.

The selling of a ‘contender’ over recent years has been 100% fraudulent.

[Thumbs Down Guy]

22 hours ago, Nashvilletwin said:

’27 there won’t be much baseball played this year.

IMO this is the most significant point that so many are avoiding. I truly wonder of the Twins will be sold just in time prior to a strike/lockout. Who would want to pay premium price for a business that takes an extended income break. My fear is that the Pohlads will own the team until after the collective bargaining agreement is completed.  I think we Twins fans maybe in purgatory for an extended time. 

[Thumbs Down Guy]

18 hours ago, DocBauer said:

Some good prospects oh so very close to taking over jobs and debuting besides, this team needed a shakeup. We can call it re-tooling as well. I was 100% on board with moving the impending FA, which they did except for Vazquez, even though I really liked Bader, Castro, and Coulombe. 

I had accepted 1 of Jax or Duran going. I sure didn't expect BOTH to be dealt. And I personally don't think Bradley alone for Jax was a value move. (Not at this time anyway). But EVEN STILL, knowing the deals came a couple hours apart, I would never have made the Varland deal. And I'll repeat that I think betting on Stewart's arm NOT falling off for the next year or two was smarter than moving him for Outman. He and Varland give you at least a couple arms to begin the 2026 pen re-build with some strength. 

I'm not going to rehash every deal and every player and every "fit" directly. As @Riverbrianstakes, every team sells HOPE every season to some degree. It's a lot better than having NO hope. But while we have roughly 5 months to watch and wait, see what happens, and HOPE, I think it's OK to pause 1 week after the firesale and take a step back and just see what HOPE means for the Twins going forward.

#1] At the risk of being obvious, ACTUAL NEW OWNERS offers the most. Bonnes has roughly calculated that a Twins payroll sits somewhere in the $90M range as of now. IDK if that includes a couple arbitration bumps and minimum salaries for a full 26 man team or not, but it's a place to at least start.

Despite owing Houston $10M for each of the next 3 years, moving Correa DID free up $20M that COULD allow for additions and/or extensions. Even getting the Twins back to the 2025 level offers some hope if the new owners would like to nudge their new investment forward. They don't have to take the payroll to $150M to still have room to make additions.

#2] Unless the Pohlads are still in charge...see point #1 again...or the new owners are just as cheap and disinterested...doubt it...you'd like to think WHOEVER makes up the FO, they would keep the rotation in tact for the time being. Lopez's numbers are booked, and Ryan and Ober aren't going to be overly expensive yet. 

Looking ONLY at the ML level, AAA, and AA arms that haven't JUST been recently promoted, there is the following collection of SP arms: Lopez, Ryan, Ober, Sims, Festa, Abel, Bradley, Morris, Lewis, Raya, MacLeod, Klein, CJ Culpepper, Prielipp, and MAYBE we can include Rojas as he was promoted to AAA after being just acquired. 

And that's deliberately leaving guys like Hidalgo and Bowen off from AA who need more work, as well as leaving off Adams and Ohl, who I believe are now pen fixtures.

So that's 13-14 arms to fill up the rotation for the Twins, AND the Saints. Is everyone having a great 2024? No. Will everyone be 100% healthy all of 2026? No. But that's enough arms for depth, for now and the near now, as well as room for a couple to begin put in the pen NOW-NOW for 2026. OR, included in possible trades for help elsewhere. (Just PLEASE don't touch the top 3 for now). That's a lot to work with for depth, and to help re-build the pen.

#3] It's not hard to squint a little and see a decent lineup/position roster for 2026, even with some obvious question marks.

Lewis has begun to look comfortable again. Anyone really want to give up the talented 26yo? Buxton is amazing and finally has his legs under him. Even in an inconsistent and injury interrupted 2025, Wallner still has a .323 OB%, .480 SLG%, and and OPS over .800. His career OPS is around .850 right now. Keaschall is just NOT Superman, despite his early flashes. But he's a damn fine prospect with a lot of talent and skills this team needs. Like him or not, Jeffers is still one of the better offensive catchers in the game.

The point is, there's SOMETHING to work with already in place. 

I've left the decent, solid, but not great Larnach out as I think he gets moved in the offseason due to need, and the preponderance of LH OF options in place. 

Ignoring the bench, the obvious holes are LF, 1B, and DH. And those 3 holes make a difference as to whether the offense is good or not. The good news, I guess, is those might be the easiest 3 spots to address. 

Is the oft injured enigma that is Emmanuel Rodriguez maybe the biggest key to the 2026 offense? He's a legitimate CF backup option, more than capable of being a very good corner OF, and brings some OB%, power and speed. Even in ANOTHER injury plagued season, he's got an OPS above .800 for St Paul. Bad luck? Still growing in to his still only 22yo body? IDK. But if he could be healthy, or relatively so, I'd just put him in LF and bat him at the bottom of the order and let it fly. (The Brewers path if you will).

If he keeps this up, Kaelen Culpepper could be ready June/July. That changes the complexion/depth/variety of the INF. But he's probably not ready opening day. (SEE: Keaschall). 

Could Gonzalez maybe also be a June/July option as a RH OF if he also keeps this up? Might Fedko just surprise the hell out of all of us as a 4th OF option sometime next year?

What if Roden starts transferring his really solid MILB/AAA numbers and becomes a solid ML player? Remember, we're still only talking about 132 PA in his rookie season as I type this. While not a true slugger, could he be part of the 1B conversation considering he has experience there?

Might the FO...new or not...be able to bring in an under 30yo 1B like long time Twins nemesis Josh Naylor...only making $10.9M this season...to help stabilize 1B/DH for a year or two?

OK, I'm getting long winded here. But the point is there ARE some options for LF, even as an initial platoon until Rodriguez and/or Jenkins are ready. 1B/DH might be a fairly inexpensive add. Squint your eyes a little for opening day, widen them a bit for June/July, and you/I can see a solid lineup that has more speed and athleticism than we've had for some time.

#3A] What is the DIRECTION of the offense? Power kills, and power kills! But a more well rounded lineup is best. We change coaching staffs, and they go to Toronto and have one of the best offenses in the league. We lower the team K numbers and the offense tanks. How much of that is players or approach? While not ignoring power...and they shouldnt...recent drafts have had a stronger focus on speed and athleticism. But DECIDE what your approach is going to be, and make sure you have the coaching staff in place to make it happen!

#4] I object to the idea that building a good bullpen is at all easy. It's a hell of a lot easier than building a starting staff for sure! And I also object to the idea that if you don't have the ability to compete for a playoff start, then who needs a closer, or a TOP pen. Well if you just give away games, of course you won't be able to compete.

The HOPE factor isn't hard when you look at the rotation and depth of talent. And the offense isn’t hard to see hope when you look at what's on hand, what's very close to making a difference, and just a solid add or two.

But trying to re-build a bullpen overnight to be competive is a different story. So if we want to cling to HOPE for 2026...or even 2027...where do we begin?

Again, sorry I'm rambling, but if you're reading this far, hang with me for a little longer. LOL

As of TODAY, you can probably write Sands and Topa in to 2 of the 8 man spots. (Topa is fringy at best). HOPEFULLY we see more of the 2024 version of Sands going forward.

BOTH of Adams and Ohl have been part of an experiment this season for guys they think have potential, but just aren't ML SP options. (There are other). They throw 2-4 innings every 4th day. That is preparing them, and others, to be able to throw 2-3 solid innings at the ML level ever 3 days. It means 1 time through a lineup, maybe 1 1/2 times. On occasion, they may be asked to go 2 times through. That means they, and swapped out once in a while since they have options, are 2 arms in the 7-8 spots who provide a bridge for the "better" arms 1-6. I think it's a really smart idea. But once the rotation settles down over the next couple days/weeks, I'd really love to see what each could do for 1 IP to see what might be there. Isn't this a trial and error 2 months?

You're going to see various arms like Hatch and Kriske, and others before the season is done, and a couple others brought in to ST, to just see if you can find some lighting. Remember, that's how we found Stewart and Thielbar. (Also Jeff Hoffman who we didn't keep. Ugh!). Over the years we've gotten guys like Harper, Morin, and Wisler for 1yr contributions. And that's just recent history.

So maybe/hopefully, we find ONE viable arm that route.

Despite being 35yo next season, I'd make Coulombe a priority FA singing due to familiarity between both parties. He assumes his same role as a 1 batter or 1 inning middle option. (Chaffin and others might be similar options). And we're still talking only $3-4M.

IF we have new owners. And IF they are willing to raise payroll beyond at least one solid BAT initially...not including a cheap depth piece or two...how great would it be to add 2 decent, not All Star quality arms from both sides for a combined $16M? I'm just sptballing here. A couple solid, proven veterans, who have some life left, to bridge the gap for the prospects to take over.

IF they do that, it provides a bridge for young arms to take over, and leaves the 2026 Twins with a mediocre pen at best. But it's better than being horrible.

But how about in addition to a handful of bridge arms, the FO actually makes some strong moves and just tell Bradley...for example...we're going to tweak your stuff and use you as a setup man and maybe even a closer. How about they tell MacLeod you've got pretty good stuff, but we just don't see you as a SP as the ML level, but you might be a really good pen option really soon. Lewis is not a bad prospect despite a rough 2025 season where they are changing his sequencing. Maybe he's potentially devastating with his decent velocity and repertoire including his amazing knuckleball. 

A couple solid FA signings to the pen with the limited options on hand, and making the hard decisions for certain prospects to make the transition could pay big dividends soon. 

I'm not super optimistic about 2026. But if we don't trade away from the front of our rotation, if we add at least ONE quality BAT, and if we add at least a couple solid BP arms to help out in this transition time, and move a couple of the depth arms with talent, I can see a bullpen that doesn't suck, and has potential. 

 

 

 

Always enjoy hearing from your perspective. Hopefully the Twins got the LH starter that you have wanted for sooo long.