Does Anyone Want to Come Here?

[Sjoski]

7 minutes ago, Dave Borton said:

Average April temperature is 47.* Snow is a known factor. You want to come here? Really?

Totally agree...Target Field is beautiful,  but building a dome-less stadium in Minnesota was very short sited.

Even hockey players have the weather figured out.

4/6 last NHL Championship teams are from Florida.  The other two are Vegas and Denver. 

[Doctor Gast]

3 hours ago, jorgenswest said:

If I am a once top prospect catcher looking for a fresh start and opportunity Minnesota would be near the top of my list. There is a clear opening at number 2 and a chance to be number 1 if Jeffers is moved at the deadline. Opportunities in the Twins bullpen are vast. There is an opportunity to come here take over the closer role during the season and change a career. It may be an opportunity to a former top prospect shortstop or first baseman.

There are players out there that just need a fresh start and new opportunity to take the next step. Anyone looking for that opportunity should want to come here.

 

Falvey said he wants to improve development & fundamentals (he must have heard it somewhere & thought that it was something good to say), but IMO, he has no idea how to do it if it doesn't include analytics. But that is exactly what we need. 1st of all, improve our in house players & those in other teams that aren't given a chance or the right instruction they need. We can't develop our own catchers; how can we expect to develop others who are looking for a chance? Once we finally find someone who really knows what he's doing, establish fundamentals & development. Then we can start to move ahead. If not, forget about it.

[Sjoski]

54 minutes ago, gman said:

And with that Correa still opted out after 1 year. 

The Twins were fortunate Correa wanted out, then like a dog....return to its own vomit...plus, stick themselves with a $33 Miillion vet bill.

[Doctor Gast]

I've stated this for years, we need to try to draw Charlie Greene (BP coach) from MIL. He'd make an excellent Bench coach. He's a son of a college coach, played some MLB at catcher, Been a big part of the MIL's great catching development, he was head of the team's development & now is the Brewers' BP coach. He could eventually become a great MLB manager. He could help the Twins on many levels. Could he be open for a promotion & a shot at the future manager spot? Could Tori, La Troy & Nelly be open for the OF/3B coach, BP coach & hitting/1B coach jobs? They'd be great assets. If the Twins ever want to be competitive again with Falvey, they need to tell Falvey to take a vacation & clean house with the coaching staff.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

2 hours ago, yeahyabetcha said:

Not sure of your point.  But if you believe the Twins will, can, should spend at the level of the Dodgers and Jays you are going to be disappointed.  

For 2026, clearly I don’t expect the Twins to spend money, I do expect them to cut more payroll. I do not expect a competitive Twins team in 2026.

if a team wants to actually compete for a World Series, they have to spend on a roster.

 

[Richie the Rally Goat]

1 hour ago, dxpavelka said:

O - P - P - O - R - T - U - N - I - T - Y

Will always make folks want to come.  I heard all the rubes on this site talk about the fact that nobody would be interested in the manager job.  And yet guys were.  Same will be true for players.  

You are right, every player and coach who’s not good enough to play for a good team will jump at the chance to play for a bad one. There’s only 30 teams, and the money increases a lot from the minors.

[PatPfund]

I seriously doubt MN is a top choice for anyone, but as many pointed out, opportunities are limited, and all players and coaches will opt for the least attractive MLB job over one at AAA (and until the Twins try to undercut the Pirates in payroll this isn't the least attractive. For coaches, the window closes fast; if Shelton offers a chance to move up or... just be employed in MLB, and they don't have someone else making a solid offer, it would be pretty brave to say no. 

On the player side, the Twins never really jump in early anyway; they wait until looming ST pushes prices down. For players in this spot, signing doesn't doom them; if they sign late with the Twins and play well, they can get traded right on to playoff rosters that passed them over in the offseason (like Bader to Philly, and Ty freakin' France rostered in the World Series). 

Being less than a garden spot isn't great, but it shouldn't be too much of a hindrance for next year.

[NYCTK]

1 hour ago, Sjoski said:

Totally agree...Target Field is beautiful,  but building a dome-less stadium in Minnesota was very short sited.

Even hockey players have the weather figured out.

4/6 last NHL Championship teams are from Florida.  The other two are Vegas and Denver. 

Chicago Cubs are a very high profile free agent destination (when they want to be). New York is often the most high profile free agent landing spot for baseball players. Neither of their teams in either city have roofs and it doesn't deter anyone. 

Yes, the early April weather isn't as bad on average, but I also sat in Citi Field for a game that was about 40 degrees this year. Not near the 32 or whatever Target Field experienced that same night, but I'm just saying the lack of a roof is not a factor in free agents not wanting to go to Minnesota. 

I'm no longer there, but the 4 years or whatever it was for which I lived in the Twin Cities with Target Field, there was never a single day I wished it had a roof. And it's so annoying still hearing this tired discussion. 

Thank GOD Target Field doesn't have a roof. 

[Schmoeman5]

2 hours ago, dxpavelka said:

Three of the eight highest payrolls didn't even make the playoffs.  Four of the other five won't win the World Series.

But 5 did. And 1 will. Rube

[Woof Bronzer]

2 hours ago, dxpavelka said:

Three of the eight highest payrolls didn't even make the playoffs.  Four of the other five won't win the World Series.

How'd the bottom eight payrolls do?

[Woof Bronzer]

7 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

Chicago Cubs are a very high profile free agent destination (when they want to be). New York is often the most high profile free agent landing spot for baseball players. Neither of their teams in either city have roofs and it doesn't deter anyone. 

Yes, the early April weather isn't as bad on average, but I also sat in Citi Field for a game that was about 40 degrees this year. Not near the 32 or whatever Target Field experienced that same night, but I'm just saying the lack of a roof is not a factor in free agents not wanting to go to Minnesota. 

I'm no longer there, but the 4 years or whatever it was for which I lived in the Twin Cities with Target Field, there was never a single day I wished it had a roof. And it's so annoying still hearing this tired discussion. 

Thank GOD Target Field doesn't have a roof. 

The average April high in Minneapolis is 57.  It's 62 in NYC., and rains more often.  It's really not that different.  On average the Yankees actually have more rainouts per year than the Twins. Yet I've never heard anyone suggest a roof on Yankee Stadium. 

Thank God TF doesn't have a roof indeed.  Every single time I've been to Miller Park the roof has been closed because of morning rain, even though it was sunny and summery by first pitch.  Gross.  

99% of free agents sign with the club who gives them the most money.  It's not complicated.  Pay them and they shall come.  

[rv78]

2 hours ago, dxpavelka said:

O - P - P - O - R - T - U - N - I - T - Y

Will always make folks want to come.  I heard all the rubes on this site talk about the fact that nobody would be interested in the manager job.  And yet guys were.  Same will be true for players.  

Are you 100% certain that there were multiple guys interested in the manager job or did they hire the only one that was? Interviewing for and actually wanting the job are not the same. Could be after the interviews, they hired the only one who agreed to the constraints that Falvey has in place outlined in the interview.

[Woof Bronzer]

2 hours ago, ashbury said:

We're back to echoing Terry Ryan's old lament: sometimes you just can't get free agents to take your money.

AKA the Small Market Blues.

"We need a new stadium in order to attract free agents"

[Greglw3]

2 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

All ideas are welcome. O'Hearn might be ok. Arraez is strictly a DH with no power and no speed. If the Twins were flush with power, speed, and good defenders then Arraez would be at least a consideration. As is the Twins are flush with DH players. Mendez can hit. He is also a DH. I'm ready to see any or all of Jenkins, Rodriguez, Fedko, and Culpepper. I really like Gonzalez but he is a DH also until he gets more repetitions. Change should happen. It is difficult to know when the youngins will be ready. 

I'm in basic agreement with you. I’m very hopeful on the players you named and highest on Gonzalez.

I did do a Google on Luis Arraez 2025 scouting report and found a few surprises, that if true, make him even more of a fit.

Might have to consider the source, the Google AI, which seems 80% brilliant, 10% iffy and 10% flat out wrong.

I’ll post the Arraez scouting report but wanted to mention that I’m maybe an aberration among current Twins fans, as the advent of the "new metrics" (based on SABR research mostly) and the metrics I and many early Twins fans grew up with kind of create a 'generation gap' of statistical understanding.

That is what it is and it’s hard to buck the current lines of thinking but then, when I give my opinion, I have to have my own personal integrity behind it. There are probably a lot of areas where the olds stats and scouting reports might agree with the defensive metrics OAA, Zone, etc and OPS+ but I largely find them misleading and placing too much emphasis on power. This is why I think the Twins can’t hit, too much emphasis on pulling (Kepler), launch angle and launch speed.

By way of insight, I grew up on 1970s Twins baseball, filled with high batting averages but only the occasional power hitter like Larry Hisle or Bobby Darwin. Ubiquitous were hitters that hit .280 and above, often over .300 and the Twins scored runs in bunches for most of the 70s behind such hitters as Jim Holt, Steve Braun, Tony Oliva, Rod Carew, Lyman Bostock, Glenn Adams, Mickey Hatcher, Ken Landreaux....almost all hit .300 and many well over .300 but with moderate power. Anyway, here’s Arraez’s scouting report:

[rv78]

If I was a player and knew of the current situation in the Twins organization, I would take less money to play for someone else. Buxton, Ryan and Lopez will be asking for a trade by next years deadline if they aren't moved this off-season. Possibly Jeffers too if he has a good 1st half.

[Rufus]

It sure would be nice to read a positive article once in a while.  Why wouldn't a player want to come here?  Wouldn't it be better than going to Tampa or Sacramento and playing in minor league facilities?  How about Colorado or Florida or the White Sox they sure are in disarray.  Then there is Pittsburgh who released Rowdy Tellez 4 plate appearances short of enough a bats to get a $200,000 bonus.  MN is not and never will be at the top of free agents lists, no matter how much money the owners spend.  But there are sure worse places and situations for a player to choose.

 

[Steve J]

I think we would be better off had they contracted in 2001.  We would likely long have had a new team with zero connections to the Pohlads.  That would have been worth it.  

[Steve J]

Quote

Why wouldn't a player want to come here?  Wouldn't it be better than going to Tampa or Sacramento and playing in minor league facilities? 

Because for all the excuses and begging for the alms of being a "small market" team, the Twins have the population and demographics of a mid-market club.  The Pohlads are squandering a market.  Tampa and Sacramento have real small market limits.  

[Western SD Fan]

There may not be players that "want" to come here, but there are always players that need to come to a team like Minnesota for various reasons.  Whether it's because they need to resurrect their career, coming off an injury, or it's still better than accepting than signing in Korea or Japan.  Of course, these types of signings also have the additional potential of being traded at the deadline for prospects.  All these are the perfect Falvey targets of course.  Like any small/mid-market team, Falvey needs to be creative in making quality trades that bolster the lineup and making free agent signings that complement the team, not necessarily making the big splashy signing.  Successful examples were trading for Odorizzi and Pablo or signing Bader and Carlos Santana.  

I also look at how players have been developed or talents adjusted during the Falvey Era.  Using Odorizzi again, the Twins pitching coaches identified his strengths, weaknesses, and areas he could improve on using analytics.  That likely gave him a final life after he left Minnesota.  That seems to be using analytics to improve the talent and skills that Odorizzi already had.  The other end of the spectrum has been the development of the younger players, both pitchers and position players in recent years.  Falvey and Co has let the analytics determine the player's talents.  We've been hearing for years about how both minor and major league coaches have tried to change player's approaches at the plate consistently trying to turn singles and doubles hitters into home run hitters.  Austin Martin is a perfect example.  Twins coaches have tried adjusting his mechanics and swing ever since he has come to Minnesota.  Finally, Martin went back to his approach that he had at Vanderbilt and saw some improvement at the end of the season.  I think as Falvey and Co has become more reliant on analytics; they let the analytics drive the train and change a player rather than use analytics to improve a player's talents and skills like they did in the earlier days with Odorizzi or Polanco.  

One final point to make.  Many of us here at TD, me included, have been critical of the usage of analytics in making even some of the simplest baseball decisions.  There obviously is a need for analytics or places like Driveline wouldn't be in demand.  Hopefully, this manager and coaching shakeup will be a chance to reset how they use analytics as an organization and a team and use it like they did in the earlier years and not how it has become in the last couple of seasons.

[Parfigliano]

3 hours ago, Sjoski said:

I agree on Bader, but he’s the exception. But that’s precisely the point. The article is lamenting that the ‘Harrison Bader tier’ is now the ceiling for Twins free agency. That’s as good as it gets.

Look at the pattern: Gallo, Margot, Shoemaker, Bundy, Archer, Happ, Simmons… the list goes on. Most of these signings have been complete failures or placeholders—warm bodies with little upside. They’re not impact players. They’re not needle-movers. They’re just a roster filler. And when that becomes your norm, it’s not bad luck—it’s a broken strategy.
 

Sign crap get crap and block younger players because with TC once crap is signed crap will be an everyday player

[the_brute_squad]

I don't want to see mid to low level free agents. I'd rather see, and assume most fans would, a team full of prospects and mixed in with current veterans that show the youngens how the game is supposed to be played. 

[LA Vikes Fan]

5 hours ago, jorgenswest said:

If I am a once top prospect catcher looking for a fresh start and opportunity Minnesota would be near the top of my list. There is a clear opening at number 2 and a chance to be number 1 if Jeffers is moved at the deadline. Opportunities in the Twins bullpen are vast. There is an opportunity to come here take over the closer role during the season and change a career. It may be an opportunity a former top prospect shortstop or first baseman would take.

There are players out there that just need a fresh start and new opportunity to take the next step. Anyone looking for that opportunity should want to come here.

 

I agree and that's the type of free agent for whom the Twins are attractive. They aren't attractive to high end players who will get paid regardless of where they go and will prefer to go to a team competing for the playoffs at the very least. That ain't your 2026 Minnesota Twins unless we catch lightning in a bottle multiple times. So forget Josh Naylor, think Miguel Andujar or a trade for Ryan Mountcastle. Forget Kenley Jansen or Ryan Helsley, think Devin Williams or Taylor Rogers. Forget Realmulto or even Danny Jansen, think Elias Diaz or, dare I say it, a reunion with Christian Vasquez. Those are the type of free agents we can get, assuming we can get any at all 

[JADBP]

5 hours ago, Whitey333 said:

Maybe, just maybe, the Twins are stripping it down to make the franchise more attractive to a potential buyer. Wishful thinking?  Yes probably.

OMG!!! How does stripping down the franchise makes it more valuable?  Who wants to invest in a loser?  Who wants to invest in a rudderless, talent-starved, no-future team?  Who wants to invest in a team where  the revenue has been decimated by inane leadership driving fans away?!!?!

[LA Vikes Fan]

5 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

Pay them and they will come. Pretty much no one is taking a discount to come here, but if the Twins offer market rate they won't have trouble signing players. 

The issue is, they won't offer market rate, at least not for significant free agents. The front office won't have the budget to sign any stars, so they won't sign any stars.

Despite the issues on the roster and things looking dim for 2026 (unless some prospects show out early), player will still come here to play. If the money is right.

The organizational leadership may be terrible at business, dreadful at PR, and staggeringly tone-deaf with the fans, but they've got a good reputation around the league for taking care of players and their families. Target Field is a great park to play in. Twins Cities in the summer isn't a barrier.

It will simply come down to money.

I don't agree. With the good FA it will only come down to money if the Twins offer a significant over pay. Good players get paid wherever they go. If you're Josh Naylor and you get roughly the same offer from 3 or 4 teams including the Mariners, Astros, and the Twins, why on earth would you go to Minnesota? You wouldn't. You would go to the team that gives you the best chance to win and be in the playoffs. That isn't the Twins. In fact, you would probably take less to stay in Seattle because they actually competed for a WS berth in 2025 and might again in 2026 and probably take less to go to Houston and compete for the playoffs.  

Sorry, but I think your take that "money is the only thing" is way too cynical and not in line with the way things actually work. 

 

[Teflon]

I'm pretty sure Trevor Bauer would play for the Twins for a minimum contract. We could also let him coordinate the after-game drone show.

[Jacksson]

Not having a domed stadium was a doomed decision by the cheapskate Pohlads.  They failed to recognize that their attendance base extends far beyond the MSP/STP metro area.  No individual having to make any kind of drive to see a Twins home game in April/ May/ Sept/Oct when there is a high risk of bad weather, will make the financial and drive time commitment to attend a game with the possibility of rain or cold temperatures.  Although the stadium is touted as being nice, the lack of a roof, the parking issue, the  location, and the cost, just don't give me any desire to see a AAAA baseball club. 

[mikelink45]

The answer is simple - No.  What else can be said.  Quality attracts quality.  Chaos is where players go when they have no other choice.  Rookies or nothing this year and next. 

[NYCTK]

2 hours ago, Teflon said:

I'm pretty sure Trevor Bauer would play for the Twins for a minimum contract. We could also let him coordinate the after-game drone show.

Why would anyone wanna see one of the worst pitchers in Korea on the Twins? Never mind how ****** a human he is. 

[Jacksson]

The only players who would consider voluntarily coming to Minnesota are AAAA & AAA  free agents and failed former MLB players who have disappointed in recent years  and been cut loose.  Given the current state of the team, anyone coming here will be looking to resurrect their careers for a chance elsewhere in the 2027 season OR  be hoping for such a productive first half of the 2026 season that they will be traded to a different, competitive, organization at the 2026 trade deadline.  Any hope for improvement will come from the hoped advancement of the players (Outman?? - Really??) received in the 2025 fire sale and the further asset liquidation by trade which will come during the 2025 offseason and at the 2026 trade deadline when Lopez, Ryan, Jeffers, Larnach, Wallner are peddled away.

 

[Gamblerssoftball]

When are new minority owners going to be revealed to the public? If I'm not mistaken, it is soon. I don't know if there is much significance to it, but their identities may give us small glimpse into the Twins future investments in talent. If they aren't baseball people then I'm afraid their investment is only to gain collateral in an appreciating asset. Baseball people, on the other hand, might want to see better baseball.

I might have missed it, but there must be rumors floating around...