It's Back to the Drawing Board at Shortstop for the Minnesota Twins

[RpR]

On 8/9/2025 at 7:48 AM, Major League Ready said:

You and I were not on the Bader bus alone last winter but there were plenty of open seats.  The difference this year is there is no illusion of contending.  IMO, we should avoid signing any vets (except perhaps RPs) for 2026 because they take up a roster spot that could be used to audition players that could be part of the solution.

Turn the Twins into a AAA by guess and by gosh team.  

Auditions are done at AAA and a final tryout in Spring Training; if they can beat out a free agent veteran, then they passed their audition.

[tony&rodney]

Great to have a guys like Bader as a 4th outfielder and Willi Castro as a utility player. These guy have retained their athleticism. They also played pretty well. I don't want either of these two in the starting lineup on a regular basis. How did the Twins do with their veteran utility guys starting? We can say they did their part and they did, if viewed as utility players. The Twins need to raise the bar with their starting lineup. At that point where they are competitive, then they can grab utility players. 

[Major League Ready]

50 minutes ago, RpR said:

Turn the Twins into a AAA by guess and by gosh team.  

Auditions are done at AAA and a final tryout in Spring Training; if they can beat out a free agent veteran, then they passed their audition.

Apparently trading 40% of the 26 man roster did not make it clear for you that they were rebuilding.  Playing mediocre veterans in a rebuild phase is counterproductive and nonsensical.

[Squirrel]

3 hours ago, ashbury said:

Yep.  Brainfart.

Which only makes the trade worse.

Yep, the point I was trying to make …

[RpR]

1 hour ago, Major League Ready said:

Apparently trading 40% of the 26 man roster did not make it clear for you that they were rebuilding.  Playing mediocre veterans in a rebuild phase is counterproductive and nonsensical.

In a rebuild a lot more poorly performing players would be gone.

They dumped the pitching staff.

[Major League Ready]

1 hour ago, RpR said:

In a rebuild a lot more poorly performing players would be gone.

They dumped the pitching staff.

Next year they will be auditioning OFers all year.  Larnach is gone next year unless he goes absolutely wild the rest of the year.  Buxton is the only guy that is a certainty for the OF.  Walner is highly probable but he is going to be a 4th or 5th OFer that plays the DH role most of the time.  LF and RF and the 4th OFer is up for grabs next year.  Culpepper very likely takes over SS.  The need a new 1B and back-up catcher as well as a long-term solution for the primary catcher.  We will have to agree to disagree on what is happening and how to manage it.